If you’ve been watching McLeod’s Daughters on GPB and pondering what is cooking in the kitchen at Drovers Operate, you are not on your own. The good news is, there is a location in Georgia cooking up classic Australian fare, ideal for the short hiatus right up until new episodes return in June or for catching up on the complete 1st period on line and on GPB Passport.
Australian Bakery Café has usually been a tempting spot for me in excess of in Marietta. Admittedly, I initially arrived throughout the cafe all through one of GPB’s several booths at Marietta StreetFest. Normally, the café is just throughout the square from our booth but busy competition days rarely go away time for us booth volunteers to stop by retailers or have a bite to take in. Nevertheless, I have been intrigued ever since but never experienced a serious option to visit.
Till now, that is, with the premiere of the initially season of McLeod’s Daughters. Although I’ve acquired very a little bit about sisterhood, farming, and how to support a cow with gastrointestinal issues (I was about as horrified as Tess when Claire confirmed her, and the viewers, how it’s done), I have been curious about the day-to-day lifetime on Drovers Run further than the farming. In certain, Meg’s meals for the loved ones and team and if Tess’ dishes were being certainly as inedible as the clearly show produced them seem. So considerably, McLeod’s Daughters has highlighted breakfast foodstuff, meat-and-potatoes foods, and the aforementioned curry creations from Tess, but I was particular there had been additional. Specifically of the pie-shaped assortment.
So, I went on an journey to Australian Bakery Café with my mom and my fiancé to uncover what produced Australian pies and treats surface so delightful.
Situated at 48 South Park Square in Marietta, as soon as you move through the doors you’ve arrived Down Beneath, in a paradise of baked merchandise, confections, and other great treats. The café is component counter provider cafe, part grocery shop, and section on line supply provider, and if it is your very first time browsing it’s really hard to pick out what to attempt initial. Not only do they feature the popular pies, but there’s also pasties, sandwiches, salads, sausage rolls and a lot of pastries and patisserie to decide on from, all shown in brightly-lit glass instances.
Fortunately, the crew driving the counter was patient with us as we deliberated what to buy. At some point, we settled on a curry chicken pie, a steak, cheese, and onion pie, a steak, cheese, and bacon pie, and a sausage roll to share. Just after deciding upon our sides and tender beverages (there is a selection of options available, from breakfast potatoes to aspect salads, as properly as bottled beverages and a soda fountain), we observed a absolutely free desk and learned a little bit a lot more about the café (and its several, a lot of choices).
Australian Restaurateurs and childhood friends Mark Allen and Neville Metal opened Australian Bakery Café in December 2001 after a number of productive culinary ventures again house. They experienced a crystal clear mission: to convey a taste of Australia to the United States in the type of authentic meat pies. Practically 20 years later on, they go on to be the dwelling of the only authentic Australian meat pie on the japanese coast and serve up dishes to hungry locals, visitors, and lots of Australian and New Zealand expats searching for a style of dwelling in the U.S. According to their web site, they now give over 27 varieties of pie, in both of those classic and modern day interpretations. And we were being about to test a few of them.
I chose the curry hen pie, typically inspired by Tess and how a great deal she missed curry herself when at Drovers Run (and needed to use up some of the milk Madonna, her new dairy cow, was generating in abundance. Capture up on this episode now on line!). If I lived on Drovers Run, curry is undoubtedly one particular of the issues I’d overlook much too, and this pie was no exception! It is a yellow curry that reminded me of a warmed-up curry chicken salad, not as opposed to the kind of sandwiches served in an afternoon tea, covered in a buttery, flaky pastry crust. The curry was not far too spicy but packed loads of taste, and was fantastic for one particular of the to start with warm spring times in Atlanta this year. However, I’m glad I opted for a aspect salad with my food, as one pie is extremely filling!
My dining companions equally appreciated their steak-centered pies as properly. Both equally of them had their respective cheese and onion or cheese and bacon blended evenly with the beef in their pies, with golden crusts on major. The two agreed that the pies ended up ideal consolation foods: straightforward to eat, hot and delectable, and the breakfast potatoes in individual had been an fantastic accompaniment. Nonetheless, the star of the food for us was the sausage roll. But we are a tiny biased.
For the reason that as substantially as we required to check out the pies, my fiancé and I have been pretty excited to get our palms on a suitable sausage roll! Equally of us spent time in England as students and, in transform, were being released to the heavenly handle that is the sausage roll. On a university student price range, both of us ended up grabbing these as breakfast or snack objects from the popular chain Greggs though learning overseas and, considering the fact that going back to the U.S. and starting up our careers, we have not had significantly of a chance to indulge in them. But our experience at Australian Bakery Café built it worthy of the wait!
Right after reducing the sausage roll into thirds (my mom experienced still to check out one and we weren’t about to allow her go without having possessing a bite), my fiancé and I each individual took a chunk of our sausage roll and promptly, our faces lit up. This was not the English model we remembered: it was far better. Complete of spices and taste, it wasn’t the comforting, still bland model we had been accustomed to. It had dimension! It was remarkable! It took us both equally suitable again to England and our research abroad programs!
Tears may perhaps have been shed in community for the sausage roll. It was that fantastic. But we couldn’t mourn our now-devoured roll: we had grocery items to verify out and dessert to purchase!
Australian Bakery Café keeps a wide variety of groceries obtainable for obtain, which includes products from South Africa, the U.K. and Australia. Even though there was Vegemite and loads of other Australian snack foodstuff and condiments I’m but to turn out to be acquainted with (one particular of the quite a few explanations I’m in require of a return visit to the café!), I was pleased to see a good deal of British treats and sauces available that I did realize! From Nando’s PERi-PERi Sauce (I’m nonetheless waiting for Georgia to ultimately get a Nando’s) to HobNobs to Crunchie bars, it is a fantastic area to stock up on snacks for your following British or Australian Tv marathon on GPB (I’m partial to Downton Abbey, McLeod’s Daughters and winding down my weekend with MASTERPIECE on Sunday evenings).
But we determined to leave them for another time: instead, we selected to get dessert to go, a food that was significantly easier for me to pick out what I needed. Primarily based on assessments and guidance from good friends in Australia, I realized I wished to order a pavlova and a lamington.
I also realized a really essential lesson: never wait until the conclusion of your meal to get your dessert, significantly if you want a pavlova. There were being two still left in the situation when we arrived and throughout our food, someone came in and bought the very last two pavlovas! I was crushed for a minute or two just before eventually selecting to acquire house a lamington and a vanilla slice. That experienced been my friends’ 3rd selection if the 1st two weren’t accessible, as vanilla slices are seemingly a significant deal in Australia. There’s a level of competition for them and everything.
After getting my desserts, I bid farewell to Australian Bakery Café for now, right up until teatime later that day (the pies actually do depart you stuffed!). I’m glad I did, so I was ready to savor the treats effectively! The lamington was a light sponge cake that was not far too extremely chocolatey, with the coconut delivering a hint of texture and taste (and was my favourite out of the two). The vanilla slice was a combine of flaky pastry, vanilla custard, and topped with icing. It was a bit diverse from desserts I’m utilized to, but it was pretty creamy with the icing delivering considerably of the sweetness. These desserts are generously sized as perfectly, and wonderful for sharing.
All in all, a amazing time was had at Australian Bakery Café! I can’t hold out to go back again, if just to at last get my hands on a pavlova (and an additional pie, another sausage roll, a further lamington, et cetera).
Check out Australian Bakery Café’s web site, Facebook and Twitter accounts for their hrs, menu, and on-line delivery solutions (so you can get your deal with even if you’re outdoors of Atlanta!). Capture up with McLeod’s Daughters on our website and on GPB Passport prior to new episodes air starting June 17, 2021 at 8 p.m.