Bread with a hole
I’ve never quite understood the appeal of bagels. Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up with them and the idea of boiling bread just seemed wrong. Over the last few years I’ve accepted them into my diet reluctantly, but always been pleasantly surprised.
I remember clearly the first time I had a smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers bagel. Yummo. I had the same lunch every day for a fortnight. I’m still not sure if it was the bread that ‘made’ it so good or if it was the overall combination.
There are a number of cafes in Bungendore that offer Eggs Benedict as a breakfast and brunch option. The Gathering Cafe on ‘the real main street’. During summer it is edged with rows of lovely flowers and trees The outdoor seating extends along the footpath. In a nice and practical rustic touch, the furniture and cutlery is mismatched. The table that I squatted at is clearly an old door.
The chairs vary from wood, wire and plastic.
Ramesh and George who kindly invited me to join them, as there was only larger tables available, had ridden out from Canberra for a Sunday jaunt, as so many motorcyclists do. They were lovely.
‘Are you local?’
‘No, I’m on my way to record a podcast, you?’
‘Ohh I like a good podcast, is yours good?
‘I like to think so!’
After more brief, cordial conversation about what they do for work and what I do and them taking the name of my podcast, they got on their bikes (Ninja and Goldwing respectively) to make the return journey.
I sat and wrote while waiting for my order to arrive. Fresh orange juice and EB with bacon. I’d already had a coffee and seeing as I had a big day ahead I felt a caffeine high wasn’t really going to be all the constructive. I had a Wild Secret podcast to be recorded and quite a lot of driving, plus I was going to pop in to see Robert at the Original Lamp Shop in Braidwood. He always got for a chat …so me talking a million miles an hour would not be helpful.
My food arrived. Described on the menu as ‘Toasted bagel, poached eggs, holandiase on a bed of spinach. Add Ham, Bacon or Salmon +2’ Ok, so whoever wrote the menu can’t spell hollandiase, but they can be forgiven, it’s complicated.
The sauce had a golden yellow tinge that the photo doesn’t show well. The bacon was crispy round the edges, and spinach, fresh and perky. The eggs, once cut into had the most glorious rich orange yolks that dribbled over the bacon.
I took a moment to inhale, enjoying the tang of lemon from the sauce, which I was rewarded with upon tasting. So good. A careful balance of flavours on soft bread that you could cut with the knife provided without fear that it would shatter and take out another patron’s eye.
I devoured every bite. It was heavenly.
There was a group of ladies on the table behind me. They were talking about work and making sounds of joy, they pretty accurately summed up my dining experience with a series of sounds not normally heard while sat on a wire chair, at a door on trestles.
comfort
may come as a surprise
not always planned -
kindness of strangers
mismatched cutlery
After finishing my food I sat and watched the others around me as I drank the remainder of the orange juice. In the shade or the veranda there where dogs tucked under tables. People gathered to laugh and enjoy good coffee and even better food. This is an establishment that avoided closing during CoVid. They have a what appears to be a loyal local fan base, and it’s not hard to see why. They even say thank you on their menu.
I’ll be back. Maybe the salmon next time.
Location: The Gathering
Address: 12 Gibraltar st, Bungendore, NSW 2621
Website: www.thegathering.com
EB Price: $19
