A day in the mountains sure can work up your appetite - but the Blue M Food Co & Cafe in Katoomba had just the treat - or treats - for Jillian and her friend...
On a sunny day, sitting out on the verandah surrounded by the gardens would probably be a delight, but as it was bitterly cold [around 9 degrees and that was without the wind chill factor] we chose the indoor verandah - which unfortunately is situated right next to the cake display cabinet, along with the hand-made biscuits which were, this weekend, in the shapes of hippos, elephants etc.
A very friendly greeting was given and we were immediately thrown into the difficulty of deciding which meal to select. As they are part of the slow food organisation we knew everything would be wonderful, but I finally decided on the lamb burger which was a ground lamb, feta, preserved lemon & oregano pattie, with artichokes, olive tapenade and delicious tabouli.
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Liz chose the sauteed medley of mushrooms [containing a generous helping of fresh, sliced garlic], which also had goats cheese and greens. And medley was right - lots of different types of very tasty mushrooms were served.
After that we obviously didn't need anything else to eat, so naturally we chose to share the slightly-warmed [as suggested by our waitress] rhubarb, apple & custard crumble with both cream and ice cream.
They appear to get a good return of customers, as a lot of those who entered after us were greeted by name, with "can I have my favourite" being called out to the kitchen on their way to their tables - the kitchen is at the end of the indoor verandah with no doors or walls to keep them out of sight.
To compensate for our over-load [yes, the crumble was delicious], we then walked through the rest of the establishment, which sells all sorts of food - both produced by themselves, or by other slow food companies in the area and includes such items as pastas and sauces, mustards, lollies, jams, lemon butters etc. It has a takeaway section there if you want to order a meal on the go, it also has art for sale and even second-hand books. Quite an eclectic little establishment.
Service was terrific, the food was terrific and the prices very reasonable. We are already discussing a return when the weather will let us eat outside. And seeing there are now a lot of good places in that area, you need to be better than good, and slightly different, to make your mark.
www.bluemfood.com