Carrington Café

This is quite a spacious Café with plenty of table inside and a couple of tables outside. It is also is called Carrington Café Snack Bar according to a sign inside but this seems a mouthful. It does a range sandwiches and light meals and is not too crowded because it is at 94 Carrington Street away from the main shopping precincts.

The hot chocolate is available at $3.40 for cup and $3.90 for mug. It is served in a glass with a wire handle and a pink marshmallow. It has been while since Merkel was provided with a marshmallow. The drink was finished with a tasty froth and sprinkle of chocolate powder. It was rich and creamy.

Citrus Tree

Citrus Tree at 85 Pirie Street, is a nicely fitted out lunch café. It has a range of baguettes and sandwiches available. There are a few tables inside and a couple on the footpath under umbrellas.

The hot chocolate comes in a black ceramic cup and saucer. It is finished with a tasty froth and an ample sprinkling of chocolate powder. The flavour of the hot chocolate is reasonably rich and not too sweet. It costs about $3.20.

Peggy's Coffee

The Junior Marmadukes played cricket against Westminster College on Saturday. Taking up a number of cricket pitches on the impressive grounds of the College was the Westminster Fair which seemed a huge occasion for the school. Of course with every good fair there is a mobile coffee vendor and today it was Peggy's Coffee in little pink an white trailer.

The hot chocolate came in a paper cup. It was topped with a heap of tasty froth and a sprinkle of cocoa. The drink was not rich or creamy enough for Merkel's taste but was sufficient refreshment for a good game of cricket. The hot chocolates at Café a gogo, Trak Catering Services and Wicked coffee were superior. The Junior Marmadukes won by 3 runs.

How Sweet it is

Topham Mall has been a good location for a hot chocolate at the Dessert Spot and Café Ela'te. "How Sweet It Is" is a cake shop at shop 8, Topham Mall but it also has a chocolate mixer on display. How Sweet It Is also sells cakes at 241 Pulteney Street but your reviewer is not sure whether they have the hot chocolate machine. There is nowhere to sit and eat at How Sweet It Is, so Merkel went for a curry at Kamala's Kitchen in Topham Mall.

The thick cup of liquid chocolate cost four dollars and is in the style of the Italian Hot Chocolates reviewed earlier. It was served in a paper cub with no froth nor did it have any marshmallows like at Swiss Glory. The chocolate was rich and smooth. The thick Italian style chocolate at Cibo and Adelaide Coffee Bar was still better because of presentation of the drink.

King William Cafe

This Café on at 358 King William Street is a few doors South of La Trattoria. It has a variety of a different table styles inside with some bar seating looking out the open window onto King William Street. There is also a couple of tables for al fresco dining on the wide footpath. King William Café serves a range of sandwiches and some interesting varieties of burgers. Merkel had the Tandoori chicken burger which was tasty.

The hot chocolate came in a generous ceramic mug topped with a creamy froth and a liberal sprinkle of chocolate powder. The drink was more chocolaty than some but still should have been richer. The cost of the mug was $3.80.

Starlight Lunch Bar

This a small snack bar at 108 King William Street with about four tables inside and three tables on the footpath. The Starlight Lunch Bar sells sandwiches and standard snack bar fare. It is juts around the corner from New York Coffee Bar and Grass Roots.

The hot drinks are available in three sizes. Merkel settled from the small hot chocolate. It came in a glass with a wire handle served with a white, not particularly tasty froth and sprinkle of cocoa. The hot chocolate was very insipid but only cost three dollars.

The Lunch Club, Renovated

Like Duthy Street Deli, The Lunch Club at Unley Shopping Centre has also recently been renovated. The Lunch Club was one of the first Cafés reviewed in this blog. The new fit out provides more seating space and more counter space but it pretty much has the same menu and friendly customer service as the old café.

Merkel has previously reviewed the standard hot chocolate and the Vienna hot chocolate. On this occasion Merkel tried their iced chocolate. This came in a tall glass topped with vanilla gelati, cream and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. The drink looked decorative with the swirls of milk and chocolate syrup visible through the glass walls. Unfortunately the syrup was sickly sweet. The ice cream was nice but the result was a drink that was too sweet and absent of serious chocolate taste. The iced chocolate cost $5.50.

Grass Roots

Grass Roots is right next to the New York Coffee Bar. Grass Roots has an address of 2 Pirie Street which is odd because New York Coffee Bar has an address of 4/118 King William Street. Grass Roots seems to be lean towards organic food without being fully committed "We seek local and organic produce where possible".

The hot chocolate is only available in paper cups. It is three dollars and creamy but not very rich. It comes with a white froth and a sprinkle of cocoa.

Duthy Street Deli, Renovated

This favourite suburban café has recently had a makeover. The old floorboards which had few holes have been replaced. Comfortable chairs and snazzy lights have been purchased. The kitchen area has moved and the space available for seating has been expanded to meet the growing demand. The menu is still much the same with some good standards and exotic touches. The artwork is not hanging on the walls yet but this would be expected to return.

The hot chocolate is $3.80 and comes in tall glass with a handle and with a delicious dark chocolate disk. The chocolate in the drink is not as dark or as tasty as the chocolate disk but it is not bad. The drink is topped with ample froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder.

Zuma's Caffe

Zuma's is a busy Caffe at 56 Gouger Street. Its back door opens to the Adelaide Central Market. It provides a range of meals.

The hot chocolate comes in a small glass with no handle. It has plenty of creamy froth with a sprinkle of chocolate powder on top. The drink was rich and creamy but there just was not enough of it. The cost was $3.30.

New York Coffee Bar

Having sampled some of the hot chocolates from the USA Merkel went to the New York Coffee Bar with some trepidation. This is a pokey little shop with only a couple of tables on the footpath outside. This Coffee Bar is in a little group of shops on the corner of Pirie Street and King William Street in the Adelaide CBD. It does a range of baguettes and light meals.

The New York Coffee Bar does sell hot chocolate in glass mugs and saucers. Unfortunately you have to be luck to get one of the tables out front if you are going to get these. Merkel was therefore faced with having to endure a paper cup. The hot chocolate however was surprisingly good. It was dark, rich and tasty. It was finished with a creamy froth and ample sprinkling of chocolate powder and came with a marshmallow dunked in the drink. This was all for the budget price of three dollars.

La Trattoria

Above the doorway it proclaims La Trattoria has been established since 1975 back in the days when Pizza was a novelty in Adelaide. It seems this Italian restaurant has been part of Adelaide forever. It is a lively bustling restaurant which provides good table service and a range of good food. It has been at the same address on 346 King William Street for all its history.

The hot chocolate comes in Di Bella coffee cup with a white froth and a sprinkle of cocoa. The drink itself was not particularly chocolaty and even the sediment which usually can be relied on for chocolate flavour was disappointing. The cost of the hot chocolate was four dollars.

BTS Cafe

Next to Butterflies at 33 Pirie Street is BTS Café specialising in cupcakes. A lovely reader suggested I visit BTS in an earlier posting. This Café has very feminine pink and mauve décor. The shop sells cupcakes so do not expect a meal, but they also sell some special beverages. Merkel and Myrtle grabbed some lunch over the road and then stopped at BTS for a cake and hot chocolate.

The cup of hot chocolate is made from 40grams of real Callebaut Belgian Chocolate. Merkel knew he was in for a treat. It was served in a plain white ceramic cup and saucer, complete with a pink and a white marshmallow. The froth was unpretentious, fairly thin and a light brown colour. The drink was special and unmistakably dark and Belgian. This is not a thick or creamy hot chocolate but the taste is remarkable for lovers of fine chocolate. The cup cost $3.95 and the mug cost $4.95.

Burgundy Snack Bar

The Burgundy Snack Bar is an unassuming Café at toward the quiet end of Flinders Street at 196. There is range of sandwiches and light lunches available and there are only a couple of table inside and outside.

The hot chocolate is on the menu as Swiss chocolate and it costs $3.20. It came in a glass mug with handle and was finished with a bubbly froth and semicircle of chocolate powder. The chocolate was rich and not too sweet. This was a pleasant surprise for such and modest looking snack bar.

Wenzel's Cakes

This bakery chain has an outlet at 181 King William St, Hyde Park just next to Kibbi's. Wenzel's also does coffees and hot chocolates and has a couple of small tables on the footpath. The hot chocolate was brought out by the friendly waitress in a colourful ceramic cup and Merkel was asked to give it a stir as the chocolate was on the bottom. It came with a froth and sprinkle of cocoa on top. It was too sweet and syrupy for Merkel's taste and cost four dollars.

Kate Ceberano

Kate Ceberano performed with her band at the Spiegeltent last week. This was not the Famous Spiegeltent in Elder Park for the Festival but the more infamous Doppelspiegeltent in the Garden of Unearthly Delights.

Kate was in a mischievous mood and gave a sold out crowd a very entertaining show on Thursday night. While she is better known for complicated melodic songs influenced by jazz rhythms and styling, Kate was happy to let her hair down and do covers of Blondie singer Debra Harry and the Divinyls Chrissie Amphlett. She carried this off adeptly, complete with rock posturing and facial expressions.

Kate joked with the audience through the night and did not let them down performing favourites such as Pash and Bedroom Eyes. At the end of the hour long concert she had the audience standing and cheering.

After the concert Merkel went in search for a new place to have a hot chocolate. Unfortunately he was not admitted to Fringe Club without a proper pass. Even his fame from reviewing hot chocolates was not sufficient to gain entry. So the Coffee Branch remains the best hot chocolate venue in the Garden of Unearthly Delights.

SB's on Hutt

This is a reasonably priced Café on Hutt Street available for breakfast and lunch. It is next XO Supper Club and Barendoe. SB's provides a standard menu of breakfasts and lunches and have seating inside and outside.

The hot chocolate is only three dollars and comes in generous ceramic mug and saucer. A pink and a white marshmallow are provided and hot chocolate is finished with an ample froth and sprinkle of chocolate. The hot chocolate is on the menu as a "Swiss Deluxe" hot chocolate. This is a sweet hot chocolate with a hint of the malty Swiss chocolate taste alluded to in earlier postings. This was a good value hot chocolate.

Kings Hotel

Formerly the Kings Head Hotel, the Kings Hotel is on the corner of King William and Sturt Streets. This is an Adelaide Fringe venue displaying an exhibition of photographs of South Australia called "Clearly SA" presented by Sharon Callaghan and Paul Mitchell. These are wonderful photos of landscapes, landscape features or close detail of rocks and wood. Many of the photographs are rendered onto canvas to give them added colour and texture.

The Kings Hotel has a many good walls for exhibiting these photos in the hall, function room or the Den Restaurant which has a well through a glass panel in the floor. Merkel and Myrtle enjoyed lunch in the Kings Bar.

The hot chocolate came in a glass without a napkin to preserve the fingertips from the heat. The drink was topped with a white froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder and cost $3.20. The drink itself was not particularly chocolaty.

Vino Ristorante

This is a fine Italian restaurant at 46 Unley Road. The décor is busy with orange and green cloth draped from the ceiling, coloured lights and walls adorned with many paintings, posters and awards. Chianti bottles with candles adorn the tables and the evening lighting is dim and quite conducive to a romantic evening.

The hot chocolate came in a stemmed glass with a handle. It was topped with a light froth heaped on top with a sprinkle of cocoa. The drink was chocolaty and a little sweet but still quite satisfying. It cost $3.50.

Shakespeare on Love

William Shakespeare was a master at writing about love. His words have had resonance with men and women through the centuries. "Shakespeare on Love: A Feast in Eight Courses" performed by "Poor Yorick" was an enchanting evening.

Cheryl Bradley and Rob MacPherson played their way through the love scenes of eight of the Bard's well known love scenes to the accompaniment of a lone Cellist. A couple of sonnets were thrown in for good measure. The couple brought great meaning to some wonderful words ably supported by Kate Fraser, who performed the parts of the more incidental men and women. "Picnic at Connies" was an intimate garden setting that worked well with the chosen scenes. This was a thoughtful and well constructed piece of Adelaide Fringe entertainment.

There were wines and nibbles available at "Picnic at Connies" but no hot chocolate. Merkel and Myrtle crossed Unley Road to visit Vino Ristorante for supper which will be reviewed in another posting.

First, Richmond Hotel

Richmond Hotel is another Adelaide Fringe Venue showing an exhibition of fine art. “First” on the first floor of the Rundle Mall Hotel provides an excellent gallery and fine dining venue. When Merkel and Myrtle visited, the Fringe exhibit was “Australiana and Wildflowers”. Lauren-Jade Ryan is a prolific artist and there are plenty of paintings of flowers in the exhibit. Lauren-Jade has also painted the portrait of Isobel Redmond, contender for the South Australian Premier in the forthcoming election. If you are not into the fairly two-dimensional still life pictures there are a number of more abstract works on show by other artists.

“First” has a choice of tables and lounges and a small balcony area for patrons to sit outside and look down on Rundle Mall. It has a menu of sophisticated meals and some tapas style “lounge food”.

The hot chocolate came in a generous glass with a paper napkin wrapped neatly around it to save Merkel’s fingertips. The hot chocolate had plenty of bubbly froth covered with chocolate powder. The drink was rich and tasty and not too sweet.

The Gallery Bar

The Gallery Bar (now called Gallery on Waymouth) is a new café at 30 Waymouth Street which also qualifies as an Adelaide Fringe venue. This is a fine looking gallery and café on two levels at present. The roof top garden will make a third level and is still under construction. The Adelaide Fringe exhibit at The Gallery Bar is called "mini ART" which shows about sixty small works from other Fringe exhibits. This was a great way of seeing the sort of work that is available over Adelaide during the fringe. All the works can be purchased by auction. The Fringe guide has this exhibition finishing on 10 March so readers may have missed out but there will always be some art work to view here.

The food and drink was quite reasonably priced given the classy nature of the Café. The hot chocolate was four dollars and came in a ceramic cup and a saucer. It was very creamy but not chocolaty enough for your reviewer. It was finished with a creamy froth and a sprinkle of cocoa.

Holy Cow

Womadelaide is a huge celebration of world music. Your reviewer attended on the Monday and found some great music acts including Tim Finn, Frank Yamma, Xavier Rudd and Ravi & Anoushka Shankar.

There were almost as many food stalls as there were acts. Your reviewer chose "Holy Cow" for his hot chocolate. A couple of photos of Holy Cow were snapped by Mike Gogh at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/4417168466/ . This is an eastern style tent where patrons could buy coffee and cake and sit on the carpet to consume it or take it away. The Holy Cow used organic ingredients.

The hot chocolate cost four dollars and was served in a bio-degradable paper cup. It was made with creamy organic milk but it seemed to have very little chocolate in it. It was finished with a white froth and a sprinkle of cocoa. Expect the Holy Cow to return for Womadelaide 2011. It certainly has the right look for the event, but there may be better venues for patrons who like to sip a hot chocolate while they take in the wonder of world music.

The Garden of Unearthly Delights

The Garden has sprung into existence for the last few Adelaide Fringe Festivals. For a few weeks a year it transforms Rundle Park in a magic world of tents performers and events. This year it is bigger than ever, taking up most of the park.

The Marmaduke family attended Frank Woodley's latest show "Bewilderbeast" in the Spiegel Tent last night. Your reviewer is confused about Spiegeltents this year. There seems to be two in Adelaide. One is in Elder Park for the Adelaide Festival and one is in the Garden of Unearthly Delights for the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Perhaps the Elder Park one is the famous Spiegeltent and the other is the infamous Spiegeltent. Perhaps one should be Spiegel II or the Doppelspiegeltent. Nevertheless, the tent in the Garden is very impressive. It is plush, comfortable and finished with stained glass and mirrors.

Frank Woodley is a genius. He has always been a master of mime and physical theatre as he demonstrated with his drunken golfer skit. In Bewilderbeast he also showed his talents as a stand-up comedian and a comedy musician. Unlike more brash comedians he has a shy, modest persona but bumbles through his comedy with great timing and humour. His guitar work was fairly free-form and at times his strumming and voice seemed unsynchronised. This enabled him to deliver some very funny lines without being constrained by rhythm or melody.

The hot chocolate after the show came from "Coffee Branch" which was one of the many food stalls in the Garden. The Coffee Branch was serving fair trade coffee and chocolate. It provided a creamy and tasty hot chocolate. Your reviewer had the large cup for $5.00. It was finished with light colour froth with a semi circle of chocolate powder on top and was served in a paper cup.

Saldechin

The first thing that hits you when you walk into Saldechin is the huge space and the marble walls. This is a heritage listed building first built as a bank in an age of opulence. The ceiling is very high and the owners have continued the theme of opulence by providing sturdy tables and comfortable seating. The menu at Saldechin is eclectic, with different breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. Yum Cha is available for lunch as well as other meals. Tapas is available at night.

The hot chocolate is fairly unremarkable compared with the venue. For $3.20 your reviewer received a hot chocolate in a Lavazza coffee cup finished with a light brown froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. Your reviewer would have preferred the chocolate a little richer.

Jazz at the Wheatsheaf

Three young musicians from Sydney have organized a series of fringe show at the Wheatsheaf this week. Franklin (Tenor Sax), Arthur (Trombone) and Dobson (Double-Bass) are teaming up with some their friends in different combinations. Merkel attended the first night which started with a quartet of two Tenor Saxes, Bass and Drums. The two saxes worked well together and the ensemble work with the rhythm section was tight.

The second set was more challenging. Some of the music was less accessible and the lack of drums meant that the driving rhythm was gone despite the best efforts of Dobson on Bass. All the musicians were unquestionably talented and the Sunday gig where they all get together promises to be entertaining.

The Wheatsheaf is on our list of Adelaide Fringe Venues. Merkel observed the Wheatsheaf had an espresso machine but did not trouble the staff for a hot chocolate this evening because of the busy event.

Pittstop Coffee Shop

The name of this coffee shop is not a mis-spelling. It is actually on Pitt street (with double-T). They do light meals and coffees. Hot chocolates were not on the menu but Merkel asked for one anyway.

The hot chocolate came in small glass with a white froth on top. There was no sprinkling of chocolate. The drink was also very light and had very little chocolate taste. It cost $3.40 and was not much of a hot chocolate. Merkel perhaps should not expect a good hot chocolate when it is not featured on the menu.

Fringe Exhibitions on Unley Road

Merkel and Myrtle found a couple of fringe exhibitions away from the bustle of the city on Unley Road. Koppamurra Gallery at 32 Unley Road was exhibiting "Adelaide, Athens of the South…". This was a photographic exhibition of pictures taken around the CBD of Adelaide paying attention to the Greek influences in columns, doorways and sculpture. The colours of the photos were adjusted to give the pictures a surreal effect. Many of the features were recognizable as Adelaide but the artistic effect was one of another world. This was a fun exhibit where you could appreciate the Greek influences and spot the Adelaide landmarks.

Up the road a bit further at 109 Unley Road is Cold Krush . This store/gallery sells vinyl records, fancy shoes, T-Shirts, art work and a range of oddities. This venue was exhibiting "Busting Out" which is a collection of artwork done with parts of a bus. There were a number of bus windows painted with bright colours and designs. There was lamp made from holding bars from inside a bus. There were bus panels, ticket bins and even a mechanism for showing the bus number and destination. This was a clever theme and artistic designs were matched with the form and sometimes the original decoration of these recycled objects.

Neither of the venues provided catering but there are a number of hot chocolate venues nearby such as Small Talk, Boho, Serves you Right and Free.

Café Komodo

Café Komodo is a rambling venue developed from an old building with a number of rooms similar to The Deli. The theme is definitely retro with the Laminex and steel tables, the vinyl LPs stuck to the wall and the music of the Beach Boys piped through the Café. This is a busy Adelaide Fringe venue with a number of shows in the evenings. The Café is down a narrow alley decorated with mozaic tiles at 118 Prospect Road, behind the home wares shop "Lizards on the Fridge".

The Café is currently exhibiting "Music a Muse" where artist Emma Kruszynski portrays people playing keyboards and stringed instruments and suggests the mood of the music through the colour and the vibrancy of the image. These were light, happy and simple images.

The hot chocolate was delivered in a generous brown ceramic beaker topped with a white and brown froth with a heart pattern on top. It looked so inviting that your reviewer took a sip before he remembered to take a photo. The flavour was one of a good quality dark chocolate. The cost was four dollars.

Highbury Hotel

The Highbury Hotel has a bistro that doubles as a function room. It is big and spacious and provides a good standard menu of meals. The seat in the bay window was very pleasant overlooking the leafy suburb of Highbury.

The hot chocolate is $3.00 and comes in a Caffe Aurora coffee cup. The hot chocolate was far too sweet and came with a sachet of sugar, if this was not sweet enough. The drink was finished with a white froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder.

Casablabla

Casablabla is an active night time venue with live music, DJs and dancing. During the day it is more sedate and not particularly crowded but still a good place for a Tapas lunch with a number of exotic influences. It is a big venue with three bars and a couple of performance spaces. Casablabla is one of our Adelaide Fringe Festival venues. Casablabla was to be the venue of live show “Triple Agent Snuzge Snuzge Fluffy Knickers” and photographic exhibition “Wandering in Marrakesh”. The exhibition has moved to the Higher Ground Art Cafe. Still there is plenty of impressive unlabelled artwork on the walls.

The hot chocolate came in a bright red cup and saucer topped with a white froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. The drink was pleasant and was rich and chocolaty without being overpowering and cost about $3.50. The hot chocolated was presented with a sugar cube on the saucer. Your reviewer hasn’t seen a sugar cube for years and it looks neater than the normal paper packages you get normally.

Is it a Long Way to the Top?

Merkel and Myrtle attended the Adelaide Fringe Festival venue, the Arkaba on a Monday night to see a comedy debate. The topic "Is it a Long Way to the Top" was in deference to AC/DC who were performing in Adelaide the next evening. The show was held at the "Top of the Ark" which is only on the first floor. It is actually not a long way to the "Top of the Ark". This venue has been operating since Merkel's childhood. Jason Pestell, the capable moderator of the debate, suggested some of the audience may have even been conceived in the venue. Jason was ably supported by the two captains of the debating teams, Jason Chong and Justin Hamilton. The teams were anchored by well known personalities Tom Gleeson and Greg Fleet. The evening was a wonderful collection of different comedy styles, spontaneity and irreverence.

The "Top of the Ark" had a long but fast moving queue at the bar and probably did not serve hot chocolate anyway. Merkel had a hot chocolate before the show downstairs in the bistro. This came in the same style glass as the hot chocolate he had in the Arkaba six months ago. This time however it was sweeter, weaker and came with two marshmallows dunked in the drink. The cost was $3.50. Actually "before the show" is a bit misleading. It was the week before as Merkel did not want to risk missing the show by waiting for a hot chocolate.

Foyer Café, Adelaide Festival Centre

Merkel and Myrtle visited the Adelaide Festival Writers' Week to see Richard Dawkins talk about his latest book "The Greatest Show on Earth". Sitting under the trees or under the tents in the Torrens Parade Ground, listening to writers talk about their work is a very pleasant way to pass the time. Richard Dawkins spoke with clarity and explained the structure and messages in his book and dealt with questions well. One of the takeaway points was that the subtitle to the book was going to be "The only game in town" but was vetoed by the publisher. This very much summarises the rational view on evolution.

After the talk, Merkel and Myrtle went to the Adelaide Festival Centre Foyer Café rather than compete with the crowds for the catering at Writers' Week. This is a fairly explicit example of Café Foyerism. The service was poor with only one waiter/chef manning the fort. The tables had not been cleared of rubbish, the prices were expensive and the fellow had to yell out when the food and hot chocolate were ready. The hot chocolate was served in a glass with no napkins available anywhere. Nevertheless the hot chocolate was good and dark and not too sweet. It was finished with a tasty forth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. It cost $4.20.