“All she does is swan around eating all that fancy schmancy food,” I hear you say.
Okay, I’ll come clean. For the most part, it’s true.
One thing I’d like to put on the record though is that unlike many cheap magazines, I pay for each and every meal I review, so you can be guaranteed that none of the reviews you read on this page are “sponsored”.
It’s one of the old tricks in journalism. Pose as a food writer, have restaurants sling you a meal, and everyone – except you, the reader – walks away happy.
Also, I never reveal my identity at any of these reviews.
Anyway, back to the fancy schmancy food – yet another myth I plan to debunk because today I plan to reveal the best meal under $5 that I’ve come across in Logan.
Even a food writer’s got to watch the wallet every now and then.
The kitchen team at Beenleigh Bowls Club serves up $4.95 fish and chips every Monday night, and for that price it wouldn’t have surprised me if they’d come out with a few fish fingers or a couple of nuggets, and some frozen chunky chips.
But no. On a real plate comes a golden crunchy piece of battered fish – like a good chip, brittle on the outside and soft in the middle.
With fish though, we must draw the line at mushy, and this was definitely a solid fillet. I’m not going to suggest by any stretch that it was straight from the trawler, but the fish was wholesome and flakey.
There were plenty of chips, deep fried and salted. Not only satisfying, but plentiful enough to stop any hankering for dessert, although there was a tempting bit of cake in the cabinet near the bar.
So you’d think that was it. The plate, knife and fork a bonus. But on the side was a well-cut coleslaw, neatly sliced, sitting in a neat pile atop a lettuce leaf.
Now, I know the draw of any club is to have you in the door at 6pm, and playing the pokies by 6.30pm.
For some, that might be the case, but this was a real meal in a setting far more pleasant than an unloved cafeteria with hollow walls and the banging of plates coming from the kitchen.
To the contrary, the club has just had a refurbishment with new bathrooms.
You probably knew it was coming, but there is one catch (not a fish pun). You have to buy a drink, which will probably tick the bill up to around $10 a head.
If you can control yourself by not throwing your hard-earned into the pokies, you’ll walk out feeling famished and maybe even a little guilty that you’ve been given so much for so little.
Anyone know of a better budget meal? Send a note to the editor at media@mycitylogan.com.au and mark it “Attn: Honey”.
