The Daily Grind

Together with Espresso Yourself and Wild Thyme, a café with the same name in New South Wales gets a mention in a blog about puns in cafe names. The Daily Grind is a name that has also been used for skateboard retailers and online newspapers but it is also a coffee shop in the Alice Springs arcade. This may be a franchise or just a popular name. The name of the Café is emblazoned in gold glittery lettering above the door of this coffee shop in the Yeperenye Centre Arcade, Alice Springs. In addition to coffees, teas and chocolates it does a range of sandwiches.

The hot chocolate comes in large cup with a white froth and a sprinkling of cocoa. The taste is not as rich as your reviewer would like and not as creamy either. It does come with a white and a pink marshmallow though; the gold standard in hot chocolate presentation.

La Casalinga

La Casalinga was a restaurant in Adelaide that closed about seven years ago. According to Babelfish this is Italian for "The Housewife". It has also seems to have been used for restaurant names in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane but your reviewer visited a well established cafe in Alice Springs by that name. It was not quite clear where to sit and how to order in this restaurant. There was a takeaway counter dealing with the takeaway pizza trade. The dine-in patrons were sat in one of two areas. On one side of a line in the floor patrons were offered table service and in the other the patrons had to order at the takeaway counter, except for drinks which were ordered at the bar. This was confusing and not explained by the waitress greeting us. We therefore ended up ordering food at the takeaway counter and the drinks at the bar. The food could have been better.

The hot chocolate was $3.50 and needed to be purchased from the bar rather than the take-away counter. The hot chocolate was a milk chocolate flavour and topped with a white froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder.

Bar Doppio Mediterranean Cafe

Bar Doppio is one of the laneways running off the Todd Mall in Alice Springs. It is one of those Cafes with retro chic and included symbols from the 50s and 60s like the metal and laminex tables. It resembles places in Adelaide like Cafe Komodo and The Deli. The Cafe sells a good range of breakfasts and provides free internet service. It was apparently frequented by comedienne, Fiona O'Loughlin.

The hot chocolate cost $3.80 and came with a pink and a white marshmallow. It was served in a good sized glass. It was topped with a creamy brown froth and has a good chocolaty flavour. This is Merkel’s pick of the Alice Springs Hot Chocolates based on his short visit there.

Overlanders Steakhouse

The Overlanders Steakhouse at 72 Hartley Street, Alice Springs is an Australiana-Themed eating establishment. It is decorated with heavy timber, galvanised iron and plenty of knick-knacks reminiscent of outback Australia and the cattle industry. The table service was friendly and efficient and the food was good grill standard and included specialties such as Kangaroo, Emu, Crocodile and Camel. At more than $30 for a main course this was an expensive restaurant but there was no silver service here in keeping with the rustic Australian theme.

The hot chocolate cost six dollars and was presented in mug topped with cream with a sprinkle of cocoa in the style of a Vienna chocolate. Your reviewer has tasted better Vienna hot chocolates. The good ones have rich chocolate flavour and are not sweet because the whipped cream usually provides this sweetness. This one was a milk chocolate flavour.

The Cycads Restaurant

"The Cycads" is the restaurant for the Best Western Elkira Resort Motel at 65 Bath Street, Alice Springs. This is a pleasant night-time venue with plenty of seating inside and outside in their garden. It has good menu of local and imported produce and provides friendly tables service.

The hot chocolate cost $4.00 and came in a Piazza D’Oro mug. This decorative white ceramic mug has the logo on the outside drinker-facing position and the company logo “L’Artista Dell’Espresso” appears facing the drinker on the inside of the cup. Babelfish translates this as the "The Artist of the Express" which seems to describe a resident painter on a train service however it is more likely something to do with the art of making coffee. The hot chocolate was topped with a white froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. It was rich and creamy enough and provided a good chocolate flavour.

Sporties Cafe

This is a big licensed bar and cafe on the Todd Mall of Alice Springs. There is plenty of seating inside and outside onthe mall. Patrons sitting outside should beware of an old lady extorting funds for looking at her aboriginal artwork. Myrtle thought she was buying a work of aboriginal art and the lady took her money giving nothing in return.

The hot chocolate was $4.40 and came with a pink marshmallow. The drink was finished with a froth and sprinkle of chocolate powder. It was fairly chocolaty and was served in a tall glass.

The Ghan

Merkel and Myrtle made the trip to Alice Springs by train in a Ghan Red Service Cabin and returned in a Gold Service Cabin. The countryside was looking resplendent after the drought-breaking rains had turned the farm country to a verdant green before this country made way for the red sand and saltbush further north.

Red Diner

It was good that Choo Choo’s Cafe hot chocolate was so good because the drink in the Red Diner aboard The Ghan was terrible. It was instant hot chocolate from a vending machine operated by the staff. There was no real froth and it was far too sweet. It was served in a paper cup and cost $2.50.

Queen Adelaide Restaurant (Gold Diner)

The trip back from Alice Springs was much more comfortable in the Gold Service Cabin. There is more room in the cabins, there is a lounge car for sitting in comfortable chairs and watching the scenery go by and there is a table service restaurant instead of the self-service dining car. The tables have table cloths and patrons are served tasty meals by friendly staff. The main differences between this and other restaurants is the moving scenery outside and the clinking of the crockery as the train moves along.

Unfortunately the hot chocolate was little better in the Queen Adelaide Restaurant. The drink was complimentary and served in a ceramic cup but the taste was much the same as in the red diner.