SOMEBODY’S going to tell me to get out more, but I’ve got a theory that not enough lunch time food has an old-fashioned home kitchen edge to it.
Sure, most cafes have a range of burgers, and occasionally it’s wonderful to have one with pulled pork or halloumi or smoked rib.
Other times, it’s nice to have a works burger with a flattened beef patty, oozing egg, dripping bacon, fried onion, beetroot, pineapple, fresh tomato, lettuce and your choice of barbecue or tomato sauce.
Come to think of it, is there a butcher in town anywhere that sells a steakette anymore? Forgive me, for I digress.
One of the great things about living in Logan is that we have such a big population of New Zealanders, and they tend to tap into their home traditions better than most.
This is where we segue into the delights of The Alley Pitstop, a shipping container that has been turned into a bustling cafe on the premises of Harley Davidson at Slacks Creek.
The guys here batter the fish by hand. It’s golden.
Those looking for a novelty – or if you’re a kiwi, some good old comfort food – go no further than the Grand-Paua Burger.
No need to over-complicate this one. It’s a paua fritter, paua sauce and sandwich salad popped between toasted Turkish bread.
They can even take you to the exact spot they source the paua, at Chatham Island which is about 800km east of the South Island.
Which takes me back to the fish and chips. Some will tell you the type of fish doesn’t matter once it hits the deep fryer. I beg to differ.
Here, it’s New Zealand hoki fillet. In New Zealand, so many of their towns still have corner stores that cook their fish and chips the same way they did 20 years ago.
The guys at The Alley Pitstop have been able to provide comfort food, along with a little bit of “healthy”, and the breakfast menu is a fine example.
It covers off all the staples such as bacon and eggs, eggs benny and a tradie roll. The big breakfast is what you’d expect, but vegetarians are covered off with a big brekkie of their own – haloumi, eggs, sauteed potato, kumara and spinach, mushrooms, spinach, grilled tomato and home-made relish on Turkish toast.
It’s a great alternative, even for meat eaters.
The scotch fillet steak sandwich proved popular during our visit, but the most pleasant surprise in my humble book of comfort food was a simple mince toastie with egg and cheese.
On a cool day, piping hot mince in gravy sits beautifully alongside a flipped egg inside a sandwich toasted on the grill so the outside is golden and the inside still soft.
Grab a green lip mussel fritter to go and you’ll have a day reminiscing about the green carpet which blankets the mountains of the North Island, or the wines of Marlborough, or ….
Or the milkshake you indulged with your grand paua burger not two hours before.
