You'll have to forgive me if I begin to drool a little, but this was a damn fine breakfast. I feel it is okay to swear, because this is gen-u-wine, rootin' tootin' American western style dude food… but
so much better than you could possibly imagine from that rather dubious description.
Miss Kitty's Saloon recently opened at the far end of Beaufort Street and no matter where you live, it's worth the drive. This was the first time I have looked at a breakfast menu and had to pick my jaw up off the floor.
Miss Kitty's Saloon
Oysters for breakfast anyone (4 for $13)? Buffalo wings ($15.80)? How about chicken and waffles ($19)?
The most 'normal' thing on the menu is… hang on… there is nothing normal about this menu. It's brilliant. You can piece yourself a serve of eggs with toast or bacon and eggs if you must, but you have to hobble it together from the 'extra's' menu ($4.50 each).
But I don't know why you would want to when you can have a stone baked mushroom tart with slow cooked eggs and hollandaise ($16), steak and eggs with peas and fries ($19.80) or a frozen yoghurt parfait ($9).
I took a friend on the long drive to Inglewood and I could tell she was a little nervous. We were a long way from Kansas and being greeted by a metal drum complete with leather saddle by the front door probably didn't help.
But walking in, the atmosphere immediately felt vibrant. People actually looked happy. The staff looked like they were enjoying themselves – it seems like an obvious thing, but so often I find that staff (especially early in the morning) look miserable. Not at Miss Kitty's Saloon. The food here was wonderful, but the service was top-notch.
The chef bangs the triangle every time a dish is ready, adding to the cheery cacophony
We were seated at what would have been called a teppanyaki bar had we been in a Japanese restaurant, but here, it was a slab of polished steel that ran alongside a work bench. Through the wire mesh that backed the bar we could see stacks of firewood, ready to be fed to the open pizza oven that burned warmly in the corner of the open kitchen.
While we waited for our coffees we were lucky enough to watch one of the lovely staff make the dough for the wholemeal donuts. Right on front of us: there are no secrets at Miss Kitty's.
Watching the donuts being made in the open kitchen
She was a real find, and happy to answer all our questions. She knew all the answers too, no running off to ask the chef the finer details of what was in our breakfast.
Our breakfast. Let me stop and wipe the dribble from my chin.
We both ordered the chorizo and slow cooked eggs, sweet potato hash and green sce (which I am guessing stands for sauce) for $17. I like hollandaise as much as the next girl. Tomato sauce, yep, I'm Aussie after all. I even love a good tangy Thai dressing, but while this 'green sce' was full of ingredients you don't normally see this side of 6pm, it was the perfect choice for the dish.
Chorizo and slow cooked eggs. My new Number 1 breakfast
Roasted green peppers, jalapeno, garlic, pimento and coriander still a little chunky, sat under a spicy chorizo sausage, while two crunchy crumbed disks of sweet potato added necessary sweetness to the meal. A slice of fire toasted bread and two perfectly cooked slow cooked eggs finished the dish.
You know that saying about having a party in your mouth? Well, I was having a gun-fight where everyone was wearing burlesque and Stetsons. And I loved it.
My only complaint is that I would have liked another slice of toast to help soak up the delicious egg and juices. But even bereft of bread I still managed to clean my plate.
I practically licked the plate clean
Eating with girlfriends is awesome for so many reasons, one being that you can order dessert at breakfast and not get any disapproving looks. After watching the wholemeal donuts being made right in front of me, I had to order one ($6). It was practically mandatory.
Wholemeal donut with custard and toffee apple. At breakfast
For anyone worrying about health aspects of the 'wholemeal', don't let it concern you. These light, puffy donuts come out sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and a dinky jar full of genuine creamy custard and chunks of toffee apple. Phwoar.
The softest, fluffiest buttermilk flapjacks this side of Texas
My friend ordered the buttermilk flapjacks ($12.80), a stack of three super fluffy pancakes, with sticky banana and chunks of honeycomb butter. Yeee-ha.
The china might not be to everyone's taste
Miss Kitty's Saloon is a fun place. It looks a bit like a junk shop but in the nicest possible way. It's full of wood and random bits and bobs, the crockery is mismatched and there are two chaise lounges (or are they beds?) that people seemed afraid to sit on too early in the day.
However the food is top quality (thanks to owners and chefs Iain Lawless and Liam Atkinson) and I challenge you to come and strap a feed bag on (so to speak) and not leave with a huge smile.
