http://www.corridorkitchen.com Necessity is the mother of invention. Tue, 23 Feb 2021 23:46:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.38 http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2014/05/jess-to-cubao-alexandria/ http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2014/05/jess-to-cubao-alexandria/#comments Sun, 25 May 2014 23:49:38 +0000 http://www.corridorkitchen.com/?p=6367 Street-food-inspired café Jess to Cubao opened quietly last week in the former Little Indi site inside the Hardware Store, Alexandria. The café is the brainchild of Something for Jess owner Philip Ocampo, and I had been waiting with bated breath to see who would take over the space, so it would be an understatement to say that I was keen to check the place out. Something for Jess is one of my favourite recent cafés, and their reputation is such that their very particular single origin coffees and glorious (and local) constructions of ‘stuff on toast’ have made their way on to most Sydney café addicts’ wish lists, so comparisons between Cubao and SFJ are inevitable. So too are comparisons between Cubao and the space’s former tenants, zero waste wunderkinds Frank Meura and Rebecca Chippington of Little Indi/Naked Indiana. So how does Cubao compare?]]> http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2014/05/jess-to-cubao-alexandria/feed/ 2 http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2013/05/the-rag-land-smokey-o%e2%80%99s-popup-13-14-may-2013/ http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2013/05/the-rag-land-smokey-o%e2%80%99s-popup-13-14-may-2013/#comments Thu, 30 May 2013 22:11:59 +0000 http://www.corridorkitchen.com/?p=5436 From home supper clubs to warehouse dinners, popups are all the rage these days, and the hype isn’t always warranted. But in the case of Smokey O’s slow southern style bbq, it certainly is, and a staunch band of devotees flock to their pork in the park lunches and regular appearances at north of the bridge market stalls to fill their bellies with bee bee cue goodness. So when I found out they were popping up at my local cafe, The Rag Land, I knew I had to go and get a taste of whatever Americana-inspired breakfast/brunch/lunch treats they’d have on offer.]]> http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2013/05/the-rag-land-smokey-o%e2%80%99s-popup-13-14-may-2013/feed/ 3 http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2013/02/cafe-review-excelsior-jones-ashfield/ http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2013/02/cafe-review-excelsior-jones-ashfield/#comments Fri, 08 Feb 2013 01:57:29 +0000 http://www.corridorkitchen.com/?p=5032 hub of hipness in a post-industrial wasteland. It also ensures a good mix of truly local customers and those who are willing to really look for their next caffeine hit. A counter intuitive business strategy, but one which has been well established - make your product accessible, but not *too* convenient. Put your small bar down an allyway or behind a suit shop. Plant your flagship Aussie donut store in Penrith. Make your customers hunt around a bit. The rest is history. So to say that Excelsior Jones is off the beaten path/in an unexpected place/not where you’d think would be a tad misleading. It’s exactly where you’d think- in a suburb crying out for a good café, and I’m betting there’ll be plenty more where this came from. ]]> http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2013/02/cafe-review-excelsior-jones-ashfield/feed/ 3 http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2012/08/cafe-review-whole-bean-espresso-bar/ http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2012/08/cafe-review-whole-bean-espresso-bar/#comments Fri, 10 Aug 2012 00:19:43 +0000 http://www.corridorkitchen.com/?p=4102 You’ve gotta love a coffee place that bills itself as ‘the second best coffee in Marrickville’ (and the 11th best in Australia). Regardless of the quality of their coffee, its fair to assume they have a sense of humour. At least, that was my logic the first time I tried to go to Whole Bean, on a Saturday, but the joke was on me as at that point, they weren’t open Saturdays (they are now), so I added them to my list for sometime soon. ‘Sometime soon’ came sooner than I thought, as one gorgeous day last week I headed there with my partner in coffee and in life to try the second best coffee in Marrickville. Whole Bean is housed in a Marrickville Warehouse just off Victoria Road, and comprised of a coffee roaster, syphon bar and more edison light bulbs than you can poke a stick at, not to mention recycled coffee sacks and velvet curtains. It’s a cavernous space, and one you can rent out for functions, should you be so inclined. The space is large and there’s plenty of seating, another benefit of many cafes in this part of town. ]]> http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2012/08/cafe-review-whole-bean-espresso-bar/feed/ 7 http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2012/06/cafe-review-ps-cafe-dulwich-hill/ http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2012/06/cafe-review-ps-cafe-dulwich-hill/#comments Thu, 07 Jun 2012 21:25:29 +0000 http://www.corridorkitchen.com/?p=3662 My urbanspoon wishlist currently totals 197 to-try places! But keep ‘em coming, I say. Kaye emailed me a while ago and suggested I check out PS Cafe in Dulwich Hill. It’s right by the train station, which is always a good thing for a non-driver like myself, but my sweet Signor R chauffeured me nonetheless. It’s an unassuming little corner place, like many in the inner west, part of a clump of local shops near a train station. A bit like Paper Cup in Stanmore or Cornersmith in Marrickville. We’re bright and early one Saturday morning at this cute little corner cafe with equally cute staff, who take our coffee order while we wait for the other half of our party. If a bicycle on the wall signals a coffee mecca, Senhor R muses, this place must do pretty good coffee- there’s vintage scooter parked inside! It’s secondhand furniture wall-to-wall (pro tip - cheaper in Dulwich than Surry Hills...) and quirky knick knacks abound. It’s a little chilly with the doors left open, but there you go.]]> http://www.corridorkitchen.com/2012/06/cafe-review-ps-cafe-dulwich-hill/feed/ 11