At the start of November, Sylvia and I drove to Port Fairy for a relaxing holiday. We stayed our favourite holiday rental, Orchard Cottages, and spent a few days eating good food, reading and watching tv. I considered some walks but it rained so much that we just kept reading our books.
We didn't take much food other than some necessities such as baked beans and vegemite. Luckily Sylvia remembered how bad Port Fairy tap water is so we brought along quite a few bottles of our much loved Melbourne tap water.
We were pleased to see Terence the cat, whom we had seen on previous holidays. He came in on our first night when we went to
East Beach Fish and Chips (146 Griffiths Street) for some excellent chips and corn jacks. I think he was disappointed we didn't have any fish but he still hung around for a while.
We didn't do lots of big meals out but found a few places we enjoyed
eating.
Rebecca's Cafe (70-72 Sackville Street) is a place I have visited quite a few times on
previous visits to Port Fairy. It has a modern Australian cafe menu that provides a
few vegetarian options. I like some of the vintage decor effects. There was an old typewriter next to our table that gave great amusement to little kids.
I had the lentil burger with sweet chilli sauce and avocado, plus a salad on the side. I also ordered chips because they are meant for burgers! The burger was nice but big and messy. I had to use a knife and fork and found it too much for me.
I liked the salad on the side with the burger. Sylvia bravely ordered the bruschetta with pesto, feta, roasted tomatoes and rocket. I suspect it would have been very nice if not dissected by a child. Sylvia ate some of it but I had most of the rocket with my salad. She also ordered the garlic bread which she loved. I was so full after my burger but Sylvia always has room for an ice cream.
I had a case of not quite finding what I wanted when we were looking for cafes in Port Fairy and then finding something good later. Sylvia was set on visiting
Le Crepe Man (43 Sackville Street) from the first day. Finally I caved. My problem with the place was that they offered quite plain sweet crepes with lots of variations (including gf and vegan). But the savoury crepes were complex and not quite what I was after but there were very little options for vegetarians.
Is it any surprise then that on our visit we both chose sweet crepes. I had the strawberries, nutella and maple syrup. It was delicious. The fruit worked well at cutting through the rich sauces. You can see in the background I had a jar of Lana's Garden Rhubarb Relish. I have been working my way through this jar and absolutely love it.
Sylvia had the banana with butterscotch sauce and ice cream. She really loved it.
Le Crepe Man had a really nice ambience. It is a little french and a little modern with old wicker baskets and a big vase of flowers, magazine racks and preserves for sale. The menu is hand written on the blackboard with bon mots like "Let
them me eat crepes".
We enjoyed browsing shops in Sackville Street, even though I noticed a few favourites had disappeared since our last visit a few years ago. Sylvia's favourite was The Old Lolly Shop. It has a for sale sign in the window, so I wonder if it will be there on our next visit.
It was unseasonably cold so I lit the wood stove to warm the house on a couple of nights. It
is so lovely to relax in the glow of the fire of an evening. I was reading
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt which is an amazing book but so weighty that it needs the quiet of a holiday house to do it justice. And being in a place we knew well was a really nice way to unwind.
To read about previous visits to Port Fairy:
Mmm I adore crepes!! Especially savoury ones and even plain ham and cheese. I wish all burgers came with fries as a given.
ReplyDeleteSylvia's banana with butterscotch sauce and ice cream does look delicious.
ReplyDeleteApart from the cold, it sounds like you had a great weekend. The crepes look superb.
ReplyDelete