Cuckoo Callay (Newtown)

BACON BACON BACON!!! OI OI OI!!!

Cuckoo Callay is a cafe conveniently located right next to the entrance of Newtown train station. Starting from 9th of Feb for 12 weeks (which by my calculations means till 3rd of May), Cuckoo Calley is running a Bacon Festival, which means a mouth-watering sample of dishes featuring what must surely be the greatest animal to land on our plates.

The actual cafe is not huge; we went for lunch on Friday, the staff were helpful enough to move some tables together on the outside for our group of 8. I wouldn't imagine this would be possible during their busy periods. The staff were very friendly, and the service was excellent - they provided a new dish for my late colleague after the initial dish got cold, gave us a free beer after he accidentally opened the wrong bottle and replaced another beer which was flat. Small attention to detail was also impressive - with the cups for water coming with ice already inside.

Now onto the dishes...they say a picture is worth a thousand words...well I'll let you enjoy the following succulent novel:

Best. Chips. Ever. $9. (that's the name...it was good but probably not the best chips ever)

Bloody Bacon Cuckootail $14. (Bloody Mary with bacon)

Pumpkin fritters with salmon (aka Cinderella's Breakfast). $18. One of my colleagues didn't order from the bacon menu...not judging or anything but that's poor form!!

Bacon, Get in Ma Belly. $20. (Pork belly, with limited Bacon...)

What a Croque of Bacon $19

Don’t Go Bacon My Heart $19. (Bacon chicken burger)

Bacon All the Rules. $24. (all things bacon...and poached egg + sourdough cos diversity is important)

Drizzle Sticks $10. (bacon drizzled in chocolate and hazelnut)

Recommendation:

• Definitely try the menu during the bacon festival. Food was tasty (though to be fair, it's hard to go wrong with a bacon theme), service was top notch.
• Location is right outside the train station, so very easy to access. However, the cafe isn't very big so might be difficult for large groups. Usually they don't do bookings either.
• You can write a message on the bathroom door as shown below:

Bertoni Cafe (Balmain)

First came the cronut, then we had the ramen burger...now hold onto your hats, here's the lasagne burger!!

Following the footsteps of previous food mashups, Bertoni Caslinga (Cafe) in Balmain has combined a lasagne and a beef burger. Being a huge lasagne fan, this was one place I simply had to visit.

The famous lasagne burger

The "bun" is made of the lasagne half (lasagne sheets, mince and cheese), which has been fried so that it has a crispy texture. The middle consists of a beef patty, with more cheese. Served with chips, it was very filling. Overall, the flavour was fulsome and it was fun to try another novelty food mashup, however I wouldn't say it was the greatest lasagne or burger beef I've had before.

If the lasagne burger isn't your thing, the cafe also offers a range of salads, pastas and paninis for a very reasonable $15.

Recommendation:

• Very filling (don't even think about it if you calorie count), consider sharing.
• Not the biggest cafe, seats maybe 20.
• Try the coffee.