I never thought that I'd get attached to my car but there I was, farewelling "Red Riding Hood" and handing over the keys to her new owner. The car sale was the reason why I was across the bridge in Neutral Bay and I thought that if anything could make me feel better about farewelling my beloved car, it would be a good meal with a friend. Charlie who lives on the North Shore suggested that we have lunch at Wild Basket on Grosvenor Street.
Charlie and I arrive at the same time and since it is mid morning, it isn't too busy but come lunch time Wild Basket fills up. It is a store selling food products as well as a cafe and is said to have good coffee. Except while Charlie and I both love cooking with coffee, we don't drink it much. "Oh that is a bit of a fail," we said to each other.
I order a chai latte with soy milk (why I don't know, I'm not a soy milk fan) and it comes as a pot of loose leaf chai tea steeped in hot milk and sweetened with honey. Despite my soy milk mistake, it's just the way I like chai - aromatic and milky.
The meatball sandwich has avocado, horseradish mustard, gruyere cheese, caramelised onion, pickles and rocket. Alas ours didn't have avocado and was missing that crucial moisture. It was strong in pickles and mustard, perhaps too strong and the meatballs didn't have any sauce to them either so we both felt that something was missing from this and a couple of things were too strong. We didn't notice the lack of avocado until after we finished it.
Okay I totally broke my cheese toastie ban for this but my argument is...well actually that I am a total glutton for this one. The menu said "Not for the faint hearted," which is actually what made me want to order it. There are three farmhouses cheeses in this sandwich with cheddar, camembert and blue cheese along with salami. The blue really makes the sandwich and whilst Charlie can only get half way into hers, I scoff my entire half and then worry about why one person finds something too rich whereas I find it just right. Does that mean that I'll be working out for the rest of my life? Arrgh, the reality is too hideous to contemplate so I just order dessert.
Alas the lamington is very dry and I didn't have more than one bite. After we pay, we take a walk around the cafe looking at the items for sale. Charlie spots some organic Australian garlic and my attention is riveted by someone nearby with something delicious for lunch. I stop myself from following my nose and asking them what it is because that might be embarrassing.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you ever ask someone about what they're eating if it smells or looks good? And do you tend to go for rich foods?
This meal was independently paid for.
Wild Basket
17 Grosvenor Street, Neutral Bay NSW 2089
Phone:(02) 9908 7868
Sunday 8:00 am - 3:00 pm
Monday to Friday 7:00 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
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