East End Providore

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Posted 2013-08-18 by Dave Walsh ⇒ follow

As you wander about Adelaide's East End it soon becomes apparent that it has become synonymous with upmarket eateries and quality clothing stores.

But of course it hasn't always been so - years ago people came to the huge Fruit and Produce Exchange in Adelaide exclusively to buy fresh quality local produce to eat.

Since the market closed in 1988, until recently there hasn't been a place like a gourmet deli where you can treat yourself to the finer foods - or take them home to enjoy at your leisurely pleasure.

is not the only cafe in Adelaide to cater for those with a hunger for good coffee and tasty treats, but for the residents of the East End it is a godsend. The focus is on the best quality produce - local if possible, or imported when appropriate.

One could easily become quite self indulgent when shopping here. Crusty bread rolls peer out of paper bags, beckoning your attention. Cashel Blue Cheese from Ireland jostles with Wyfe of Bath (UK) and Manchego Moharado (Spain) for a place on your plate.

Local house pate (white wine, garlic, rosemary & lemon) sits comfortably with varieties of imported prosciutto, confident of its Aussie appeal. Swiss chocolate and 11 styles of coffee are on the beverage list today to give you time to browse the delicacies.

Old style wooden boxes of colourful fruit bask in the sunlit window, beckoning the browsing bystander. But my attention was drawn to the all day menu - the sight of these raw gourmet ingredients had stimulated my appetite and I wanted to see if things tasted as good as they looked.

After helpful cafe host Daniele talked me through the menu du jour I settled for the Goody Two Shoes sour dough sandwich - poached chicken, avocado, baby spinach, and fresh tomato. I love chicken sandwiches with lettuce, avocado, or rocket, so this was a good match for my tastes and it is made freshly as you wait.

Customers may choose to sit outside with a coffee on a fine day and enjoy some of the most generously cushioned chairs I have seen at any cafe in Adelaide.

The sourdough sandwich certainly lived up to my expectations - a deliciously fresh bread roll, with lots of gently spiced chicken and just enough tasty salad vegetables to stop me wanting more. Delicious! And to wash it down I skipped the coffee and tried some rich dark organic apple juice from McLaren Vale - much better than the pale supermarket imitations you find in Adelaide.

If the weather had been a bit warmer I might have been tempted to choose some gourmet food from the deli to picnic in Adelaide's East Parklands just metres away. I could have picked up a coffee too, but the East End Cellars are wickedly close, so a bottle of red would have been on the cards too.

But it will have to wait for another day - spring is on the way, and will still be there to tempt me! If you're keen, you can find them on Facebook , Like them or say g'day.