Lox, Stock & Barrel, Bondi Beach

I'm sitting slightly lopsidedly on a stool peering at a menu. My hairdresser Elly from Stevie English Hair looks back at me her eyes questioning. We're locked in a conundrum. A food conundrum to be specific. The choices on the menu at Lox Stock & Barrel are tempting and given that both of us are in our workout gear and after lunch will head off to work out, then over ordering isn't a particularly prudent idea. But the sandwiches beckon in this low carb world and take on vaguely pornographic proportions. Sandwiches are now a treat for many and eating one without removing at least half the bread feels almost naughty.

So there we stare at the menu while our friendly waitress sits down next to us and explains things before realising that we are just too confused and decides that she'll come back later. You see I'm oddly tied to the lox and cream cheese bagel, merely by the fact that lox appears in the name of the deli slash diner and it seems all about bagels. Then a customer comes out and thanks the waitress for recommending him the home made brisket pastrami on a bagel. We finally order, a lox bagel and a house made pastrami sandwich later and an eye on the brioche buns if we have room.

Even though neither of us are ordering coffee, she points to the barista whose hair she has done and tells me that he makes good coffee. The drinks arrive first. Elly's drink is a iced tea in a ginger refresher flavour which is slightly sweetened.

I like the fact that the drinks come in kid's sizes and you don't need to be a kid to order one. My drink is a salted dulce de leche milkshake with a frothy top (there's also dark chocolate espresso flavour). The salted caramel is actually very lightly salted and tastes more like a straight caramel milkshake although you could probably shake some salt into it from the canister on the table but I don't trust my hand.

The food comes out about fifteen minutes later. The home made brisket is served on fresh rye bread with a chewy crust. The pastrami is soft and tender and splayed on a bed of Russian coleslaw and images and the meat is moist against the bread.

The bagels are made fresh every day and are priced at $4.50 for a toasted bagel with all of the usual toppings plus a few more (nut butter, labne, cashew nut hummus). We both liked the smoked lox bagel out of the two mains. They had run out of a few of the bagel flavours (there are six varieties) but we chose onion to go with the cream cheese, caper, red onion and rocket. The onions on top are a nice touch as bagels can be a bit dry and thick otherwise and we both finish every bite.

Even though it's a baby sized scroll, it's nice to see things that are $2 nowadays. They offer to serve it warm and it's meltingly good. Gratifyingly, there's a little cinnamon syrup that oozes out when you cut into the buttery scroll too.

We get up to leave and in what seems to be a never ending game of musical chairs our table is snapped up quickly. Such is life here even on this quiet Monday lunchtime (I'd hate to see what weekends are like!).

So tell me Dear Reader, do you ever feel compelled to order an item if it features in the name of an eatery? And do you research what you'll eat and look at the menu ahead of time?

Lox Stock & Barrel

140 Glenayr Avenue, Bondi Beach, NSW

Tel: +61 (02) 9300 0368

Open 7 days 7am until 4pm, dinner Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm