Totally Fresh, Gawler Place

I think I've finally found my soup joint this Winter. Unfortunately for me, it looks like most of Adelaide had already found it.

I was walking down Gawler Place and noticed that the line for Totally Fresh was just about the door. Being a human sheep and knowing that the taste buds of most South Aussies are generally good so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

After a short wait a chalk board listing 5 or 6 different soups including minestrone; chicken and corn; tom yum; and tomato and bacon greeted me once I reached the front of the line. I ordered the minestrone. The soup tasted truly of tomato and had plenty acid to get the salivary glands going. Vegetables were plentiful and tender but held their shape well and the chopped herbs added an uplifting freshness. You may have noticed that I'm finding it a little difficult to sell this soup. What can I say - it's soup. I'd be the first to admit that I have trouble getting excited about soup - but it was really excellent.




The following day I returned and ordered a Cajun chicken roll. Bizarrely, in addition to the spicy chicken, carrot, capsicum and lettuce the roll also had warm rice noodles. I didn't think rice noodles were particularly Cajun but they added a warm slippery texture that really worked. This was a fresh, tasty roll.



A day later I purchased a Caesar salad pizza for lunch.The great flaw with this pizza was the base. Neither thin and crispy nor thick and chewy the base was somewhere in the middle. In fact, it was more like shortbread than anything else and needed some more salt and some more char. And despite the over generous salad dressing the toppings were pretty good. Particularly impressive was the still runny baked egg.



Totally Fresh promise fresh, nutritious and fast lunch and on those they deliver. The soup is excellent and rolls are good but the pizza is let down by its base.

Viva Espresso - Ham Sandwich, Pirie St

A friend of mine recently raved about the sandwich at Viva Espresso - and particularly about the multi-grain bread. This is fortunate because Viva Espresso wasn't really on my lunch radar (and it probably should have been). We made a date and had lunch there today.



I reckon this is one of Adelaide's great sandwiches. Great quality ham; sweet crunchy pickles; tangy Dijon mustard, sharp cheddar cheese; cucumber; tomato; and a selection of lettuce leaves. A thoughtful and well balanced sandwich indeed.

You know that bread you get when you go to really good Baker's Delight? Not the flavourless doughy stuff but the kind with the thin almost crackling crust and soft fluffy interior. Well, two thick multigrain slabs of that sandwiched the filling. Probably not baked on site but pretty damn good.

I also ordered a regular serve of pommes frites. These were the best chips I've had for a while - crunchy on the outside and cloud-fluffy inside. Make sure you have a couple of friends to share them with because even the regular serve is massive.



Unfortunately I only realised that empty ramekin half-concealed behind the massive cone of pommes frites was for the sauce bar - yes, I said SAUCE BAR. Mayo, tomato sauce, bbq sauce - you name, it's all there for your chip dipping pleasure.

Viva Espresso is a little on the pricy side but the serves are generous and the quality excellent. And despite the fact they were wall to wall with customers the service was friendly and efficient.

Dozo Sushi Expess - Katsu Pork Roll, Pirie St

Just a quick blog one this time. I went back to Dozo Sushi Express (see my other reviews here http://theofficeeater.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/dozo-sushi-express-pirie-street.html and here http://theofficeeater.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/dozo-sushi-express-pirie-st.html) to try the katsu pork roll.



I was hoping for some mega crunch and more thoughtful fillings but I was to be disappointed. Same roll, same tomato, same cucumber, and because the sauce penetrated every bite and soggy-ed up and overpowered the katsu - the pork tasted practically identical to the chicken I had last time.



These rolls should be excellent so I'll return to Dozo to try another but I feel as though I'm destined to be underwhelmed.

Dozo Sushi Express - Tempura Chicken Roll, Pirie Street

Last week I promised myself that I'd return to Dozo Sushi Express to try out a mysterious menu item - the Japanese sandwich. Ordering the the tempura chicken sandwich I hoped that I'd end up with some mega-crispy chicken on soft white bread - something to rival the oyster po' boys and southern fried chicken sandwiches of the United States. I didn't quite get that but I did end up with a pretty tasty roll.

Let me start with the most defining element - the sauce. Teriyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise were applied liberally and amalgamated to penetrate every mouthful with its rich, savoury creaminess. The bun (light, soft and white as hoped incidentally) barely stood up to it and would most likely have drowned if I weren't such a fast-eating guts. The sauce also turned the once crispy chicken soggy. Don't get me wrong - sauce soaked batter is delicious but didn't provide the crunch I had hoped for. The cucumber and (out-of-season and therefore a little mealy) tomato were seemingly added as an afterthought.



This was a good roll but it could have been - and I think wanted to be - so much more. Had the integrity of the crunchy chicken remained intact and had the other fillings been give some more thought and attention (some pickles to cut through the richness for example) this have been truly excellent roll. Instead, it was just another sandwich at $7.50 price point. That being said, Dozo offers some interesting fillings (like potato salad or katsu pork) that have piqued my curiosity so I'll no doubt return to test these.

Daily Choice, Southern Cross Arcade

I had to grab lunch on the go today. Fortunately, that bastion of cheap, delicious eating - Southern Cross Arcade - just happened to be on my way between here and there and Daily Choice just happened to have the shortest line. That's unusual for Daily Choice because they do arguably the best banh mi in the CBD - although unfortunately they seem to be receiving less custom now that Soonta Rolls has opened up. I don't really rate Soonta Rolls - the sauces are cloyingly sweet and over applied while their rolls always leave a strange metallic aftertaste.

I ordered the stewed beef roll and smashed half of it before I remembered to take a quick snap.



Delicately flavoured with star anise the stewed beef was meltingly soft while the lettuce and lightly pickled carrots provided a bit of crunch and cut through. I suspect the chillies are grown in someones backyard because some of these little firecrackers pack quite the wallop. But the thing that really sets the Daily Choice banh mi from apart is the quality and consistency of the bread rolls. You'll never find a stale roll here. Rather, they are crisp and crunchy on the outside while being light and chewy inside.

The staff at Daily Choice have got banh mi making down to a fine art so that even when the lines are long the wait is pretty short. And at $4.50 per roll - the price is right (see the Larry Emdur comeback reference I made there?).

Coromandel Snack Bar

After a two year blogging hiatus (which included the arrival of my first born and a new job) I have returned!

Today was haircut day.

I was hesitant to cut my hair fearing that the loss of insulation would result in catching a cold. Nonetheless, it was necessary to trim my hirsute mane as I was starting to look like the wild man of Borneo.

What I love most about haircut day is that my walk to the barber takes me past the Coromandel Snack Bar. I was a regular here when I worked on Grenfell St but seldom get the opportunity eat here these days (other than haircut day, obviously).



I have a colleague who swears by their daily specials (teriyaki chicken or black bean beef with fried rice today) but I think Coromandel Snack Bar (or the Coro as I affectionately call it) does one of the best club sandwiches in Adelaide - and at a very competitive price ($5.50)



Some of the elements of this club sandwich fall into the so bad it's good category. Buttery toasted fake white bread provides a crunch that disintegrates when it hits your tongue. The chicken is some sort of savory white mystery meat from a plastic bag. But the lettuce is always crunchy, the tomatoes are always ripe and juicy and the bacon fried on a hotplate that must have accumulated years of flavour.



So, if you find yourself looking for lunch on haircut day check out the Coro. Don't be fooled by it's hole-the-wall facade or its dated decor. The food here good, there's lots of it and it's reasonably priced. You might find there's a bit of wait during peak lunching time and don't worry if when you place your order it doesn't get written down or that the lady behind the counter has just taken another 5 orders. They never forget and your food always arrives.

MYO, Flinders St

MYO stands for Make Your Own. And you do exactly that. You make your own sandwich, roll, wrap or pizza. This might sound tedious to some people, but I quite enjoy it. Especially because the range of fillings MYO offers is vast. The below photo shows about a third of the filling selections.

Once you've assembled your sandwich (or focaccia or wrap or pizza) you move over to the heat station. Completed with toasters, pizza machines and ovens, MYO provides the equipment to make a hot and melty lunch.

In case you're wondering, I made a focaccia with goan green chilli chutney, chicken, cheese, roast capsicum, tomato, beans and mayo (see what I mean? The range of fillings is huge!).

It's worth bearing in mind that this is not a fast lunch, nor a cheap sandwich (just over $9). But it's fun and you get exactly the sandwich you want.