Drive In Coffee

I have written in a previous post about Melbourne's coffee culture.  It is hard to tell whether it is the quality of the coffee itself that is most important to Melburnians, or the social aspect of drinking it with friends.  Cafes abound in nearly every corner of the city, often several within a stone's throw of each other.  We recently walked into our local shopping mall around 10:30 on a Saturday morning to find every table and chair in the food court occupied with coffee drinkers.  In many cases, tables had been pushed together so groups of people could socialize as they consumed their caffeine. 

All this to say that an experience I had last Friday was a bit unique.  Looking to kill some time before an appointment, I was searching for a place to buy a coffee and perhaps a treat for the children when I came upon a stand advertising coffee and donuts.  I pulled in, searched for the entrance, and was pleasantly surprised when I realized I would not even have to leave my car.  This is a convenience to which we are quite accustomed in the U.S., but that is not all that common elsewhere.   

 

 

The cheapest thing on the menu, the donuts, were of course not available, so we ordered muffins and one flat white (a double shot of espresso, with steamed, not frothy, milk poured on top).    While we waited for our order, we entertained ourselves by reading the larger menu.  I wish I had taken a picture of the whole of it, but this is what I have:

For those not in the know, biscuits (abbreviated to bickies here), are what we call cookies.  I was intrigued by the kids' dotty biscuit.  It didn't sound terribly appetizing, but a look on the internet tonight revealed that it is basically a sugar cookie with Smarties placed on top and commonly sold for between two and three dollars:

Now we will know for next time, and perhaps we will even try baking up a batch of our own.

Comments

[Kent Keller]

Haven't read all of your posts yet....Did you explain that "Smarties" in Australia were a competitor and similar to M&M's, not the small sweet tart candies that are sold by the same name in the USA?

[Christie]

Kent--I probably should have explained that they are similar to M&M's. We are acquainted with them because of all the time we spend in Canada, where they are more common than M&M's. Most of my readers probably aren't familiar with them though, so thanks for clarifying.

[janetjames]

Mmmm - those "Smartie" cookies look delicious (or as Canadians often say "delish".) Think I will make some for the grandkids tomorrow - or better yet, let them make some for me!

Your "unpacking" day must have seemed just like Christmas ! What fun ! Everything put away yet?

[Shanda]

I was chuckling over the "kids dotty biscuits" when I read it on the menu and then saw that you were also intrigued. I was glad to see the comments btw you and Kent, b/c I also thought they looked more like mnms than smarties.
I'll try making them, too!
I already enjoyed my cup of coffee this morning but reading your post makes me want to go have another. Preferably in a coffee shop. With no children. And a good book. *Dreams*

[Christie]

Aunt Janet, having the girls make the cookies for you sounds like a great idea. Please let me know how they turn out if you do make them. We got the boxes unpacked and everything put away by Tuesday afternoon, leaving me scrambling for how to fill up the rest of the week (I had too many helpers on that job). Shanda, I do hope you get that cup of coffee in a shop---I'll join you in the dream.

[Greg]

I've been drinking about four cups of coffee a day lately, more than ever in my life except at Grandma's house. First for the delight and slowing down, but really mostly after hearing this NPR story about Alzheimer's: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128110552. Since I really wanted to hear this news, I've vowed not to pay attention to any more stories about the medical effects of coffee, ever. Except for ones where they find it's even better for you.

[Karin Smith]

caramel pear sounds fantastic!

[Christie]

Thanks, Greg, for the NPR link. I miss NPR terribly (I know I can listen to it online but it's just not the same), and I treasure stories such as this one. It confirms that I am not drinking enough coffee at this point, something I can easily rectify. The only problem is that I am substituting the unavailable half and half with chocolate, biscuits or toast liberally spread with butter and jam. Maybe I need to start swimming laps with the older two.