Is This Not The Most Extensive Childrens Menu?

Forgive me! Oh Forgive Me!!!
But can a grown-up order from a children's menu in 2012?

Is it just me, or have you noticed a propensity in restaurants to feed our children high fat, low nutrition fillers?
This is not the sole domain of fast food restaurants either. Some rather high-end eateries still offer the token nuggets, spag bol, and chips as their only suggestion for the nourishment of our children.

While some of you are quietly muttering shame whilst watching your children eat their trans fat delicacies, we in Brooklyn are settling into a delightfully prepared meal of our own, while our little ones are well nourished, happy and occupied with their own healthy, attractive and balanced meal. A meal I might add, that has been selected by them, from an extensive childrens menu....not a couple of dishes rustled up under sufferance by a chef who would apparently prefer children did not darken his/her sacred doorway in the first place.
Remember Adrienne the chef at Delish @ 12 is a qualified nutritionist? And yes, she loves children.

IT HELPS FOLKS!

AND IT SHOWS!

Adrienne has assembled some real delights and on Saturday the menu takes effect.

I myself have a young grandson who is hankering to try several of the items on the menu and I can confidently allow him free reign. Take a look for yourself.

No professional food stagers have been used in these images, just a trusty iPhone, but I think you can see enough.

Breakfast (until 12)

Kids size Granola with fruit compote and milk   $7.5

Kid size big breakfast – 1 egg, bacon, sausage, tomato and toast  $10

Fruit wedges with strawberry dipping yoghurt  $8.5

2 Pancakes with maple syrup or honey  $8.5      Ice-cream $2 extra

 

Lunch (after 11 am)

Corn fritters with bacon, lettuce, fruit chutney and sour cream  $9.5

Kid size barra and chips with salad  $12.5

Grilled chicken tenders with salad, chips and dipping sauce  $12.5

Spaghetti and meatballs  $9.5

Vegetarian lasagne with salad  $9.5

Hotdogs with cheese and tomato sauce and chips   $8

Desserts (after 11am)

Rainbow jelly cup with vanilla ice-cream

Home-made ice blocks made with fresh fruit juices

Watermelon wedges coated in coconut

2 Pancakes with maple syrup or honey  $8.5      Ice-cream $2 extra

Drinks

Hot chocolate regular $4.5 large $5

Babycino $2.5

Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Lemonade, Fanta $3

Ginger beer, $3.5 blood orange $3.5

Organic Bottled juices  $3.8

Milkshakes: Chocolate, caramel, strawberry, vanilla, coffee, lime, banana $5 add malt $0.5

Fresh Juices:  Seasonal fruit – apples, oranges, watermelon, carrots, celery, ginger

(Choose one or mix your own) $7

Delish@12 Cafe & Restaurant

12 Dangar Road

Brooklyn

Ph (02) 9985 7870

Hours: Mon to Sun from 8:00am

Right past the Hawkesbury River train station towards the Marina.

Outstanding produce used in the kitchens of Delish@12

It goes without saying that if a restaurant is to serve meals of the highest order, then the produce sourced by the chef must be the very best on offer...preferably the best on offer locally. (Food generally doesn't travel well) Make no mistake that this is the case at the newly refurbished Delish@12 on the beautiful Hawkesbury River in Brooklyn. No stone is left unturned to hunt down suppliers who can truly stand by their produce. Watching the menu evolve, as wonderful new suppliers come aboard, has been a real joy to behold (both as an observer and as a shameless taste-tester)

Imagine my further delight last Saturday, on finding a bakers stand freshly loaded with Morpeth Sourdough, amongst Delish@12's diverse retail offerings. Not only could we relax over our mouth-watering breakfast and creamy latte, we could purchase the famous Morpeth Sourdough without leaving Brooklyn. This is what I love about a day in Brooklyn. Within a javelin-throw of the Hawkesbury River Station is everything that a day-tripper (or resident) could possibly need. 

 It seems only reasonable to stumble over Morpeth Sourdough in Morpeth, but freshly baked racks of Ciabatta, Casalinga, & Fruit & Nut Sourdough at Delish@12 was exciting. For those who dont know the Morpeth Sourdough story, Stephen Arnott (the owner of Morpeth Sourdough) is the 6th generation of the original William Arnott (yes - THE Arnotts) who honed his skills as a baker in Scotland before blessing Morpeth with his presence all those years ago. More on this amazing family business here The Morpeth Sourdough Story

I digress though.
Delish@12 serves their very own chef-made Chai tea. This wonderful beverage is loaded with anti-oxidants, and has remarkable health qualities when ingredient substitutions have not been made.
So go ahead - you can sip happily in the knowledge that no ingredient substitutions have been made with this product at Delish@12. And it tastes sublime.

Isis Herb Teas are also served and retailed at Delish@12. These teas are researched using history, science and plant genetics to ensure the range can address various health issues as an adjunct to traditional medicine. Crucially they taste beautiful, and I never thought something so medicinal could be so refreshing. The always evolving product line that is Isis Herbal Tea is incredible, and their company story can be read at this link:  Isis Herbal Teas

I can only marvel at chef Adriennes passion for food preparation and quality ingredients, after all that is why she cooks, and I merely write copy. It is no exaggeration to declare that Adrienne was bubbling over with delight about her newly sourced free-range eggs from Libreri Farms. Libreri raise their hens at Greta on the New England Highway, and those eggs are superb

Then again without good coffee, we all know the entire 'house of cards' can come tumbling down. That is when Tia & Ben (house baristas)  truly come into their own. Piping hot,  and made with unarguable passion - great coffee does not just materialize. It takes great beans, a premium machine and skilled baristas to produce consistently good coffee commercially.
Be warned however, having tasted great coffee at Delish@12, you will be ruined. Only the very best will appeal in future! Delish@12 favours organic coffee beans.

Delish@12 Cafe & Restaurant

12 Dangar Road

Brooklyn

Ph (02) 9985 7870

Hours: Mon to Sun from 8:00am

Right past the Hawkesbury River train station towards the Marina.

Healthy - Organic - Fresh - Innovative - Breakfast

New Breakfast Menu Simply Rocks

There is increasing publicity about the value of a good hearty breakfast. "Eat like a king in the morning" seems to be the current 'buzz phrase'.

 

Well I don't know about you, but preparing food fit for a king at an ungodly hour of the morning (prior to flopping down at my trusty computer) is a tad beyond the realms of possibility 6 mornings out of 7. But today is SUNDAY, Fathers Day no less, so we marched ourselves off to Delish@12 to taste-test the new breakfast menu. Yes folks, in order to keep you all in the loop and up to speed with the inner workings of Destination Brooklyn, I took a hit for the team.

WOW! With careful time management I may just be able to cram breakfast at Delish@12 into my 7 day a week schedule. Frankly, we were paralyzed with indecision when we reviewed the menu. I settled for their very own Home-made Baked Beans in a vegetable ragout - topped with 2 divinely poached eggs. 

This is a seriously healthy option for breakfast - gluten free, only healthy carbs, and a taste sensation to boot. Adrienne the resident chef at Delish@12 explained that the sweetness of the dish came from the choice of vegetables. This was not a dense tomato base 'a la tin', it was a light as air tomato base that made this gorgeous breakfast simply perfect.

Yesterday I watched a friend devour (sorry but that is the only word that comes to mind) a gorgeous breakfast bowl of Balsamic & Thyme Mushrooms served with baby roquette & goats cheese. I even watched his 2 year old daughter stuffing her chubby fists into the bowl at every opportunity. A 2 year old is a somewhat trusty barometer for the taste of vegetables I would have to suggest.

Enough talk though. 

The menu is below, and at the very bottom is the address and contact details for Delish@12 - Brooklyn. From 8.00am in the morning, treat yourself to some seriously beautiful food prepared by chef Adrienne. 

Adrienneis a qualified nutritionist, which means the menu has been researched and prepared with your health in mind. I have further updates coming about Adriennes home-made healthy chai tea (no synthetics), free range eggs that are to be served as of next week, new retail products being offered in their homewares section....so much to say and so little time. 

Watch this space.

Breakfast (till midday)

• Smashed avocado with feta on sourdough toast.
• Balsamic & Thyme Mushrooms with baby roquette & goats cheese (rye toast)
• Own Baked Beans in a Vegetable Ragout warmed & topped with 2 poached eggs
• Porridge with brown sugar, a sprinkling of cinnamon & home made fruit compote
• Home-made granola with yoghurt, fruit compote & honey
• French toast with crispy bacon & maple syrup
• Bacon & egg roll on Turkish
• Eggs Benedict with various tasty options
• Brooklyn Bite - an all day breakfast
• Simply toast - amazing jams - amazing breads

There's also a myriad of extras

Amongst the many beverages on offer are the chefs gorgeous Chai, the wonderful healthy teas from Isis 

(flufighter, mindmender, cardiac), and 'choose your own' juices.

Open: Monday to Sunday 8:00am

Right past the Hawkesbury River train station, at 12 Dangar Road - Brooklyn.

(02) 9985 7870

Massive Transformation of Brooklyn Cafe/Restaurant

Recently this idyllic cafe in Brooklyn underwent a massive transformation which ran parallel to its new ownership. Despite its gorgeous sheltered alfresco setting, and its endless capacity for people watching, the interior of Delish@12 is now an equal and formidable draw-card.

 This is a retail cafe done like no other - a proud artisanal cafe. Enticing you inside is more than the generous aroma of delectable coffee beans and ovens brimming with cookies and tarts. 

Hanging in windows, stacked on rustic shelving, and placed around the cafe with incredible precision, are the most beautifully unique gifts and decor items sourced by their very skilled in-house decorator.

I kid you not...Aladdins’ Cave has nothing on Delish@12.

Those of you who are aware of my lengthy background in interior and product design could well understand that it takes a little more than an aromatic candle, or some well-placed flowers to get me excited. Nonetheless my first visit to the newly outfitted cafe left me gasping with excitement as I clutched a large ceramic bull ant in fire engine red (white too) that would set any outdoor landscape apart. 

Not a large expensive piece of designer furniture that would provoke coronary problems over your nice relaxing latte, but an affordable, exquisitely decorative item that anyone would be proud to give as a gift...or take home and refuse to part with. (hmmmm)

Vibrant Moroccan-style ceramics fill the interior, and brilliant coloured glass candle holders hang suspended in the front windows. I defy anyone to solemnly wait for their gorgeous latte without being drawn inside to peruse this treasure trove.

Today I was given the good news that the fun has only just begun. New stock is rolling out for some time to come yet, and I wait with bated breath as it is revealed.

Considering any purchase from current stock can simply be carried out under the arm of a happy diner, and without financially foregoing lifes’ necessities over coming days, I think Delish@12 are onto a winner here.

It is all the more reason to make Brooklyn your daytrip destination this weekend. There is so much in Brooklyn to appeal to the daytripper... a train station over the road from nearly everything, galleries, boating & fishing, the Riverboat Postman, National Park, and of course the most beautiful Hawkesbury River....a river the locals are proud to call home.

Delish@12 Cafe & Restaurant

12 Dangar Road

Brooklyn

Ph (02) 9985 7870