Perryman's Artisan Bakery

Making pies for generations Perryman's Artisan Bakery is a North Adelaide institution. More recently, the Pie Buyer's Guide rated Perryman's pies as one of the top pies in South Australia.

North Adelaide is long, although not impossible, hike for most CBD office workers. Lucky for city-slickers like you and me Perryman's have recently opened a new outlet on Grote street. I took one for the team and compared it to the Tynte St outlet so you don't have to. Thank me later.

A perfect South Australian lunch is a Perryman's pie washed down with a Farmers Union Iced Coffee. Perryman's make a pie that gets better with each and every bite. The more you eat the more perfect you realise it is - thick, buttery pastry; lightly but perfectly seasoned gravy; quality minced meat with not a hint of gristle in sight; and warmed to the perfect pie-smashing temperature. It sits at the very peak of pie-man-ship.



The pasty, though less rave-worthy than the pie, is still well executed - buttery pastry; a nice mix of diced veggies; a smattering of meat; and lightly seasoned.



On the verge of greatness but not quite there yet is the Thai chicken sausage roll. The light, delicate mince of obviously good quality chicken is in my opinion under-seasoned and under-flavoured. There were hints of chilli and citrus with some herbal notes (kaffir lime or coriander perhaps) but increasing the flavouring-to-chicken ratio and a good dash of salt would work wonders.



Perryman's also make a selection of sweet pastries based on old German recipes. The danish I ordered had stewed apple right to the edges (a rarity in this pastry-penny-pinching times); a sweet glaze; and light, chewy pastry. Tasty indeed.



Perryman's vanilla slice is a good 'un - pastry creme sandwiched between short but flakey pastry. It's the perfect sweet pastry for office workers - because the filling is so firm you don't have to worry about it exploding all over your tie (exploding-slice mishaps are more common than you might first think... I've seen men lose eyes and still occasionally have flashbacks...). I did, however, find the icing to be tooth achingly sweet.



Perryman's CBD outlet lives up to the reputation of it's iconic North Adelaide store and is a must add to the lunch list of any white collar pie aficionado.

From Scratch, Leigh St Pop Up

Today was the first day of the Leigh Street closure. It might sound odd to trumpet the closing of a street but banning motor vehicles means more space for pedestrians, cafe frequenters, diners and generally hipsters like you and I. It's all part of the State Government and City Council's push to bring the vibe back to the Adelaide CBD. I reckon it's a great idea - the wooden furniture and alfresco dining look great. Sure, it looks a little quite now but this was first thing on a cold winter's morning. Come back at lunchtime during summer and I guarantee Leigh St will be jumping.




My sources (well, twitter really) told me that From Scratch had arranged a celebratory pop-up pastry stall with Coffee Branch providing the java - an extremely attractive proposition. I picked up a rum and raisin scroll and then waited in line for a flat white with the other cool kids in Coffee Branch.



I wouldn't call myself a coffee connoisseur but I know what like and Coffee Branch do a good cup'o'java - warm, rich and creamy.

And the rum and raisin scroll was amazing - sugary glazed slight chewy pastry dotted with plump, juicy, slightly rummy raisins.



There is a weeks worth of closed Leigh St celebrations coming up. I'm planning to eat as much as I can!