Call it a rebellion against my 'white bread' childhood but I'm very much enjoying the resurgence of new bakery cafes where the emphasis is on fresh baked artisan breads and sandwiches along with your coffee.
One of the best things about traveling through Germany for me was the sheer number of bakeries offering a variety of thick, seeded breads and filled rolls with coffee (although the coffee wasn't very good there, but that's another story).
You may have noticed one of the five newish
Luneburger German bakeries springing up in your neighbourhood (if you live in Sydney) which aren't too bad if you're after a tasty fast food version, minus the coffee. And apparently there are more on the way.
Two bakery/cafes that have caught my attention, both in the Crows Nest area, are Montagu which has been around for a while, and the recently opened, St. Malo organic bakery cafe. Both are going for a rustic and cosy yet sophisticated feel with the interior of the latter even boasting a chandelier and chocolate toned wallpaper along with chunky wooden tables.
I've visited St. Malo a couple of times and can report that both the coffee and the sandwiches are extremely good - I tried a vegetarian sandwich with pesto, spinach, pumpkin, capsicum and goats cheese - the ingredients were very fresh and the bread was moist and deliciously tasty. St. Malo has been open for a few weeks now and seems to be quite a hit with the staff barely keeping up with demand for sandwiches in particular. The regular customers dining beside me were enthusiastically discussing the spelt bread muffins and other items they've tried so far. I'll definitely be returning to St. Malo to try some of their other offerings.
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Montagu has a huge variety of interesting sandwiches with quite a few vegetarian options. Unfortunately, they don't have a website so I can't include their full menu here but standouts would have to be the chickpea pattie with watercress and tahini on five grain bread and Tuna sandwich with egg, olives, spanish onion, rocket and mayo. They also do organic lamb with yoghurt and pork with walnut sandwiches among many others. Their bread is from Infinity and Brasserie Bread, and they have quite a variety including quinoa and soya loaves.
These innovative bakeries serving fresh breads combined with quality ingredients and good coffee are a very worthy and very welcome addition to all the other cafes out there.
And it tastes so much better than white bread.