Martin FrimetAble Arcadia offers something new
April 14th 2008 05:20
Arcadia Cafe, on Gertrude Street, was meant to be all about its famous breakfast roll. Bacon, spinach and a perfect poached egg all set in a slightly crusted, slightly salted focaccia and then loaded with a special herb mayo. It’s a simple and effective idea that, on my first visit, had equally simple consequences; an empty plate and a satisfied buzz in my stomach. Followed by the smoothest and finest of coffees, the whole affair might easily have been a breakfast version of the nectar of the Roman gods, yet I couldn’t help but leave Arcadia Cafe with an uncomfortable tugging at my stomach. I hadn’t failed to notice a cabinet full of effusive and interesting looking lunch specials, and, with a breakfast that good, I wondered just what heights those lunches might scale. The Arcadia and I were clearly far from finished.
By the time I finally was able to return, a fortnight or more later, Arcadia’s image in my mind had risen to something approaching myth. That stock continued to soar when the daily lunch offerings were clearly very different to those I remembered the last time, but still looked every bit as appetising. Though we could easily have chosen any (or all) of the ten or so options in front of us, we restrained ourselves and, after much heated discussion, were able to order and then find a seat in the cool, clear and uncluttered dining area. For my part, I think I sat in silence, sipping coffee and counting down the orders until ours arrived.
As our waitress approached, I admit, I was now expecting the world. Lamb and pine-nut pizza spoke of travel and adventure and excitement while toasted chicken, avocado and cheese sandwich was an old favourite which, I was certain, would be rendered magically anew just as plain old bacon and eggs had been turned into the cafe’s celebrated breakfast roll. A dish of cannellini beans, banana chillies, roast pumpkin and cherry tomatoes looked and sounded like the kind of salad Rocky would be proud to eat and came too.
Unfortunately, my tongue-melting, brain-fizzing fantasies were quickly stifled. The pizza’s topping had a decent flavour yet it was a little dry, while the base was even worse, something like chewing hardwood. The ingredients were clearly good but the idea as a whole looked like one that had been pushed just a little too far and lost any authentic voice. I was sure the clearly talented chefs at Arcadia could have made a lamb and pine nut kofte or a more traditionally-topped pizza with truer aplomb. Quick amends were made, however, by a salad that was still full of invention but earthy and realistic and incredibly tasty at the same time and, even at a small portion, would have made Rocky put down his fork for a second before he was able to finish it all off. The sandwich too, was warm and crisp and a far better effort than the damp, undernourished version of this that I have had too many times before.
Everything on view at Arcadia attests to a kitchen that enjoys itself and loves to try new flavours and new ideas and, though I yearned for a little more simplicity in some of the dishes, I accepted the failures in return for some of the massively clever and cultured successes that Arcadia was also able to offer. If I’d wanted kofte I could have gone to Sydney Street or for pizza gone to Lygon Street but, for something fun and fresh and full of new ideas – many of which worked wonderfully well - Arcadia seemed hard to beat.
Arcadia Cafe
193 Gertrude St
Fitzroy
By the time I finally was able to return, a fortnight or more later, Arcadia’s image in my mind had risen to something approaching myth. That stock continued to soar when the daily lunch offerings were clearly very different to those I remembered the last time, but still looked every bit as appetising. Though we could easily have chosen any (or all) of the ten or so options in front of us, we restrained ourselves and, after much heated discussion, were able to order and then find a seat in the cool, clear and uncluttered dining area. For my part, I think I sat in silence, sipping coffee and counting down the orders until ours arrived.
As our waitress approached, I admit, I was now expecting the world. Lamb and pine-nut pizza spoke of travel and adventure and excitement while toasted chicken, avocado and cheese sandwich was an old favourite which, I was certain, would be rendered magically anew just as plain old bacon and eggs had been turned into the cafe’s celebrated breakfast roll. A dish of cannellini beans, banana chillies, roast pumpkin and cherry tomatoes looked and sounded like the kind of salad Rocky would be proud to eat and came too.
Unfortunately, my tongue-melting, brain-fizzing fantasies were quickly stifled. The pizza’s topping had a decent flavour yet it was a little dry, while the base was even worse, something like chewing hardwood. The ingredients were clearly good but the idea as a whole looked like one that had been pushed just a little too far and lost any authentic voice. I was sure the clearly talented chefs at Arcadia could have made a lamb and pine nut kofte or a more traditionally-topped pizza with truer aplomb. Quick amends were made, however, by a salad that was still full of invention but earthy and realistic and incredibly tasty at the same time and, even at a small portion, would have made Rocky put down his fork for a second before he was able to finish it all off. The sandwich too, was warm and crisp and a far better effort than the damp, undernourished version of this that I have had too many times before.
Everything on view at Arcadia attests to a kitchen that enjoys itself and loves to try new flavours and new ideas and, though I yearned for a little more simplicity in some of the dishes, I accepted the failures in return for some of the massively clever and cultured successes that Arcadia was also able to offer. If I’d wanted kofte I could have gone to Sydney Street or for pizza gone to Lygon Street but, for something fun and fresh and full of new ideas – many of which worked wonderfully well - Arcadia seemed hard to beat.
Arcadia Cafe
193 Gertrude St
Fitzroy
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