Crosstown Eating House Review

All of yesterday I was craving for the scallop carbonara at Pearl Cafe and in an effort to shut me up, T said we could go that night. So I was happy and excited that I was able to get my milkshake and pasta that night. Had my new dress and new bag, life was sweeet. T was sulking about us going to Pearl Cafe so much and not Crosstown (right across the road) and I said "If they've changed the menu at Pearl Cafe and don't have the scallop carbonara anymore, we'll go to Crosstown Eating House okay?!" Aaaaand... boo-hoo, they JUST changed the menu on the day!!! *pout* So I got a malt milkshake to go and took it over to Crosstown.

It was buzzing in there, really busy!! We had to sit at the bar because there were only big tables left, and by big tables I mean tables of 4. They really don't like to waste perfectly good seats at Crosstown so be prepared to share a table if it's just the two of you going! Before I start, let me tell you a little bit about this place. It's relatively new, it only opened a few months ago so it's still trying to get all the elements right - and doing a pretty good job so far. They largest tables they have seat a maximum of 8 people, they are fully licensed and don't allow BYO. They also don't do reservations AND they don't do any coffees with the exception of a short black because they don't want people to come in, order coffees and hog a table for hours. If you want a coffee, go to Pearl Cafe across the road! The food at Crosstown is meant to be shared so all the dishes are pretty small. An adorable thing they have there are bag hooks underneath the bar and also at most tables! Sooo practical and clever.

Ok, on to the food! They had changed the menu since the last time we went there which was nice so we ordered a lamb cutlet with minted yoghurt ($9) - where else can you get to order ONE lamb cutlet?! Love it! We also ordered 3 oysters ($9), duck liver paté ($12) and a white anchovy, roast garlic and toast dish ($16)  as our entrees. The lamb cutlet was better than the last time I had it there - juicy, tender and savoury and the yoghurt a nice cool touch. The oysters were served oh-so-fresh, with a wedge of lemon and they were delicious and very creamy! We were tempted to order more, but wisely decided to save our stomachs for our mains. Of course, the paté was for T and he said it was very nice and creamy. The mini toasted bread looked really cute and T fed me a small bite of toast with pate on it and I nearly vomited (still trying to acquire the taste for it but miserably failing).  The anchovy dish was one we'd had before and it is a very interesting looking dish with the roasted garlic being a whole bulb of garlic cut in half and roasted. The anchovies in oil were nice and sour and put them both on the toasted bread, you get a nice burst of flavour in your mouth.

As we were finishing off our entrees, we were trying to inconspicuously have a look at what other people at the bar were having (hey hey, before you shake your heads, just remember that everyone at the bar was looking at me like I was a weirdo on her first night out of the house because I was taking photos of every single dish we had!). Anyway, the couple across from us had a very colourful dish which we deduced was the citrus cured ocean trout ($22) so we ordered that as an afterthought. It was pretty good, with tiny morsels of apple and orange as well as a liberal scattering of coriander (not a fan) but I thought some dressing would have done wonders to the dish.

For our mains, we ordered the mushroom and thyme risotto ($19) and the truffled sausage, polenta and jus ($23). The risotto was average, probably not as creamy as I would've liked and I found it just a tad bland. The first bite of the truffled sausage sent me over the moon because I just LOVE truffle and there was a strong truffle essence in it. I also liked the creamy polenta in the jus but after about 5 bites, I was over it and couldn't have anymore. The polenta also became part of the jus and lost it's original flavour and texture after awhile. 

There are only 3 desserts on the little menu at Crosstown. There was a melon and champagne granita, a panna cotta and a chocolate mousse - all $9. Of course I went for the chocolate mousse and it was very dainty and quite satisfying for 1 person. There was a layer of strawberry jelly at the bottom topped by a dark chocolate mousse and garnished with crunchy toffee. T didn't have any dessert, he was THISCLOSE to ordering the steak and chimichurri ($18) that almost every other table had for dessert but deemed himself too full in the end.

In summary, Crosstown is a quirky new eating place that everyone should definitely try once. The menu will intrigue you but once the food arrives on your table, it quickly wears off and you're left with average food. The wine list is not very extensive and the wait staff all look like they can't WAIT for the night to be over and get the heck outta there!

Rating: 6.5/10

Crosstown Eating House
23 Logan Road
Woolloongabba

Phone: 07 3162 3839
Website: http://www.thecrosstown.com.au/

Opening Hours;
Monday & Sunday: Closed
Tuesday: 6pm till 12 midnight (kitchen closes at 10pm)
Wednesday to Saturday: 12 noon till 12 midnight (kitchen closes at 10pm)

Pearl Cafe Review

Soo, it was a Friday night and T and I were driving home from a movie.. T asked me what we were going to do the next day and I replied enthusiastically "FUN STUFF!!" and so T said "You wanna go to that Pearl Cafe of yours??" upon which I responded with as much as a dance as I could manage while driving while singing "Miiiilkshake, I'm gonna get a milkshaaaaake" :D I've only been to Pearl Cafe once before but got fixated as I do, and have been going on about it ever since.

At the last minute, Y decided to join us with our lovely shared dog, Cocoa. As we'd heard, Pearl Cafe was packed full at lunchtime on a weekend (plus we needed an outside table because of Cocoa) so the lovely waiter took my name and number down and said he would call us when they had an outside table available. He gave us an estimated time of half an hour so we had a little stroll around, had a look at some artwork and in less than half an hour, I got a phone call and hey presto, we got ourselves a table outside!

Our waitress gave us a run through of their daily specials which consisted of a rump sandwich with caramelised onions and tomato relish, croque-monsieur/croque-madame, a prawn salad and a haloumi salad. We arrived at 12.45pm so we were told that the breakfast menu was no longer available and we had to order from the lunch/dinner menu, upon which T responded with a grumble and a "hmmpf". T and Y ordered coffees while I, of course, ordered my much awaited chocolate milkshake. Pearl Cafe offers many flavours of milkshakes, including malt, vanilla, berry and butterscotch (all of which I intend to try in my future visits). The other two enjoyed their coffees very much and I loved my milkshake, it was rich and chocolatey and heavenly on a searing hot day like today.

T then asked the waiter about Pearl Cafe's infamous fish finger sandwiches and the waiter informed us regretfully that they had JUST sold their last one. T was infuriated that he missed out and very much disappointed and I think that just ruined the whole lunch for him, tee-hee. The best comment that came out of his mouth about the food for the rest of the meal was "It's good". To make things worse, a little while later, the last fish finger sandwich was served to someone sitting on the table next to us!

In the end, T and Y both got the croque-madame which is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with a creamy sauce and an egg on top (hence the "madame"), I got the scallop carbonara and we just had to get the prawn salad to share between us. The scallop carbonara was absolutely delicious - smooth and creamy with bits of juicy bacon and scallops that were cooked perfectly. It was a nice-sized portion, perfect for lunch. I had half of Y's croque-madame and I did like the grilled ham and cheese and the creamy sauce but we all thought that there was a bit too much bread and that it would've been better as either an open sandwich or tightly pressed together with the bread toasted. The prawn salad was absolutely amazing - perfectly cooked prawns with spinach, artichokes, tomatoes and yes, CREAMY dressing. I'm not a salad person at all but this is probably in the top 3 category for me in terms of favourite salads I've had in my life.

Pearl Cafe has a pastry chef who comes in and uses anything that is in stock so their dessert selection changes extremely frequently. There isn't even a dessert menu, it's what's on display that day. I went and had a look right after we finished eating and I wanted about 7 desserts on display! After much debate, we made the tough decision of narrowing it down to two to share between us and we got the chocolate roll with mascarpone cheese as well as the lime and raspberry tart, both with ice cream. Y and I thought it would be great if they could have a little tasting platter of all the desserts! I bet everyone would choose that option. The chocolate roll with mascarpone was an interesting combination and the chocolate sponge was soft and spongy. The tart was zesty and fresh and got everyone's vote as the favourite. Not my favourite desserts ever and they didn't warrant an obsessive urge to have them all day everyday (as some desserts do) but still, one of the best lunches I've had in a long time.

I will be definitely be going back again and again and again to Pearl Cafe and I'm pretty sure everyone who tries it will do the same. They're not open Mondays and Sundays but they are also open for dinner so get there to try the awesome food and service there, it's totally worth it. The ambience is of a cosy, relaxed cafe and I will probably be there, slurping on my milkshake with unbridled glee :)

Rating: 9/10

Pearl Cafe
28 Logan Road
Woolloongabba

Phone: 07 3392 3300