On the beach
I met my sister, Sally, in a cafe on Flynns Beach. Luckily I didn’t have Fè with me because this isn’t one of the two dog friendly beaches in Port Macquarie.
Sally had driven down from Woolgoolga to meet me. So lunch was on the menu and this one had been recommended. I don’t get to see her often so we try to make it a nice time and this was no exception.
While it’s an order at the counter type of place the service was rapid and with a smile. I image it’s busy year round and it could be so easy not to care, but given the amount of locals here it appears a high standard is the norm.
We both ordered eggs benedict. Sally had mushrooms and I opted for bacon. For drinks we had a melon cooler that came in a jam jar with half a mint plant and a paper straw, my ‘tropical’ came in a plastic bottle with the settled seeds of a passion fruit on the bottom.
As we chatted many patrons came and went, the sun shone but we marvelled at how being a solely outdoor venue the weather could be hit and miss. It’s rare to find somewhere that’s literally ‘on the beach’. There’s usually a road between the sand and menus.
The eggs arrived.
They both looked so pretty. Golden yellow hollandaise flowing over a neat stack of eggs, bacon (mushrooms), wilted spinach, and toast. All garnished with micro greens.
The sauce was tangy and warm, leading me to suspect that it may be…
…drum roll please…
…homemade.
I really must start confirming this suspicion, but I’m usually, as I was this time, so surprised that I simply forget to ask.
The bacon was delicious. Rich and smoky without being overpowering.
Sally was so hungry that before I was half done, she was nearly all done. I think it hit the spot!
We chatted over lunch about our travelling adventures for work. She told me all about her lovely new van, I told her about the poo in the sink of the last public toilet I used. 1 nil to moi.
I enjoyed mine, far more than the previous one. It had more complexity of flavours, and the presentation made it more appetising, even though I wasn’t hugely hungry, I ate with gusto.
After lunch we sat in the sun for an hour looking out at the sea. We talked about family, how our respective businesses are growing (she’s a second hand furniture dealer), my pending hip replacement, and the ridiculous injuries we’ve both done to our fingers in the last year. Her trapping her hand in a van door so solidly it dislodged the door while picking up a *free* table and me severing a nerve with a hacksaw while making a frog hotel.
She totally wins that round! 1:1
Before too long it was time for her to head home, a two hour drive north. We waved goodbye.
Ten minutes later we ran into each other at the petrol station and I gave her the bottle of wine I’d forgotten to give her the first time we bid each other farewell. But not better the trady in the van next to hers tried to chat her up. 2:1 Sally.
This time it really was adieu. She turned right onto the Pacific Highway and I turned left.
I had a two metre tall lemon myrtle tree to pick up.
Location: Sandbox
Address: 36 Tuppenny Rd, Port Macquarie NSW 2444
Web: Facebook
EB Price: $15 with mushrooms/bacon etc. extra
