Monday, December 12, 2011

French Onion Soup

This took WAY longer to make than I remembered. Leftover Corned Beef from the previous night's Reubens made an excellent substitute for Lardons. I burnt my mouth a little and I don't care (tant pis!).

Rye Bread with Caraway

A regular staple at the Float Camp last year.
This particular loaf became some very delicious Reuben Sandwiches.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Milkshakes at Pearl


"You don't put bourbon in it or anything?"
- Vincent Vega, Pulp Fiction

Ever wonder just exactly how Mia Wallace's Five-Dollar-Shake tasted?
I may have the answer.

First, let me say that this is by no means a comprehensive review of Pearl and, as good as their milkshakes may be, they certainly do a lot more than that. On this occasion however, it was the milkshakes that brought all the boys (and girl) to the yard.

After a hard day of being a gangster in LA moving house in Brisbane, circa Summer, one (actually, three of us) feels the need for cooling refreshment and rejuvenation. Nothing says Summer like a milkshake and we heard Pearl does the best this side of Inglewood.

Oozing incandescent wood-grain Parisian bistro trendiness, Pearl is not a place that screams 'Milkshake'. In fact, in a place like this, a milkshake might seem a sort of obligatorily compromising menu after-thought. Looks can be deceiving though and the frothy, dairy goodness has its own subsection on page one.

The milkshake is a simple concoction and pleasingly, Pearl keeps it that way. The varieties are classic favourites with a little gourmet touch, nothing outrageous or avant garde that would risk making the whole thing into a farce. The five choices are Strawberry Jam, Chocolate Ganache, Fresh Espresso, Homemade Butterscotch and Vanilla Bean, of which we opted for the latter three.

Screaming old-fashioned integrity in their colossal stainless steel cups and blue-striped paper straws, the shakes come to you straight from the mixer. The flavour is the first thing you notice and the little gourmet touch is evident. This is not the standard cheap ice-cream topping fare; the descriptive titles taste legit.
What really got me though was the texture. It seemed to increase in thickness and smoothness the more you drank. The first sip is quite thin and would suggest too high a milk to ice-cream ratio, but the more you drink, the more it seems to thicken. By the time you're at the bottom you almost need a spoon to get at what resembles freezing cold velvety latte foam.
I'm sure there's a reasonable physics based explanation for this but I don't really care. It's a magic milkshake, ok?

Now the caveat. Sorry, there is one. This milkshake is good, yes, and large also. But it's expensive. $7.50 expensive. It's the most expensive milkshake I've ever had. Maybe Pearl's reputation is what drives the price up but it's still kind of hard to justify. It's not the kind of thing you want to go having every day but definitely worth trying at least once./To paraphrase Vincent Vega one last time, "I don't know if it's worth seven and a half dollars, but it's pretty f***ing good."



Pearl Café
28 Logan Rd. 
Woolloongabba, Queensland
07 3392 3300
Pearl Café on Urbanspoon

I'm still here

Sorry for the lack of posts. I blame a combination of months of travel, lack of reliable internet at home, long working hours and the overwhelming laziness and general indolence characteristic that I have in place of anything resembling a self-motivated work ethic.

But enough of that silliness. I'm back now, settled in a new place with a lovely high speed connection and no excuses for not writing (I finally caught up with Breaking Bad today so I'm really out of exciting procrastination material.)

 I visited some noteworthy places overseas, though I unfortunately did not take notes. I have some photos though and hopefully over the next little while the memories will come back like so much badly made espresso (seriously, Australia, you have it GOOD when it comes to coffee).

Jesse
Gratuitous Canadian Fast Food Porn. For shame.