On the way to dinner.......

Thanks to a few of my readers I had another of those experiences today – the ones which make life so worthwhile. I took my reader’s advice and went to Juiced Up at Kingston for a bit of late lunch, along with great dining-out friend Kelly, who had heaps to tell me about her recent 2 week holiday in Vietnam.

Knowing we had dinner booked for round 6 pm (see next post tomorrow), we only wanted something small-ish, so thought we could accomplish two things at once: check out this famous Juiced Up place, plus fuel up till dinner time.

What a great little place! The owner/operators, Mark and San (?) have got to be THE most delightful, friendly, personable and NORMAL human beings I have come across in ages! They are a shining beacon in the world of hospitality. They epitomize everything I wish all café owners to be.

No bullshit, no false promises, no shoddy ingredients, no fake smiles to be found here. Integrity in all things is the order of the day.

Kel and I examined the menu for a small-sounding menu item and both decided the Beef, bacon and brie burger ($7.50) sounded great, so ordered 2 of them. When they arrived, they were huge – and we cursed that we hadn’t ordered one between the two of us. It was delicious. Kel, having an appetite way bigger than me, managed to eat ¾ of hers, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I only nibbled at mine – just enough to know that had I not being eating out that evening, I would have pigged out big time there this afternoon, and been more than happy to do so.

As it was, I will be returning very soon to do justice to more of their menu.

I was impressed with the way they treated all comers, as well as a new staff member whose first day of work there it was today. She was being trained in the most non-threatening and kind way imaginable – unlike so many training scenarios I have observed in my 40-odd years hanging round the hospitality industry.

I ordered a Chocolate Banana Smoothie, explaining that as I have a REALLY sweet tooth, I needed it way more chocolatey than their average customer. Newbie consulted with Mark, who advised she use choc ice cream in there as well as the other goodies. A fair amount of time, thought and effort was put into this one random customer's Choc Banana Smoothie - which this random customer genuinely appreciated. As a customer, I want to feel they care, and I did feel that.

The couple also own the Juiced Up in North Hobart, which was the original property for them. They bought and established the Kingston Beach one when they realized the limitations of the North Hobart outlet, which apparently doesn’t have much in the way of kitchen facilities – but having not been in there, I can’t attest to that.

I highly recommend this couple and their business to anyone wanting to be treated with care and respect; wanting great food and generally wanting a true café experience, the way I think ALL cafes should operate.