Monday, June 29, 2009

The great Aussie Road-Trip

When you're packing up for a road trip, there's one thing I always ask myself- what are we going to nibble along the way? That's right, it's all about the snacks and portable food and this time we set ourselves a challenge... we were to stop for nothing along the way apart from coffee if necessary (and yes, coffee is always necessary).

The challenge: Two days of driving, all the way from Melbourne to Coffs Harbour for a friends wedding. The only stops were to be for the toilet, petrol and a coffee along the way... no snack food was to be purchased- what we ate was to come from an eski on the back seat.

The food: Nuts, fruit, cordial, olive bread, cheese, mini quiches, home made oven dried potato chips, home made sausage rolls with BBQ sauce... nothing else. 
No chocolate, no sugar filled fizzy drinks, no Maccas, no chips and certainly NO Red Bull.

The verdict: Bloody great idea. We made it and the selected food was ideal. No mess. No crumbs. No sugar high and then crash. No preservative headaches. No nausea. NO grumbling tummies- bliss for a road trip.

The sad little side note: I forgot to bring a knife for the cheese and bread- thank god that we enjoy chunks and hunks of the good stuff, and who doesn't like tearing things apart with their bare hands I ask?

The lack of a little gem: I firmly believe in not writing a place off just because it doesn't look the part. Particulalry when in unknown territory. I mean, what if you miss that perfect little gem of a place just because it didn't look like the shit? Think of all the missed opportunities and brilliant flavours that could simply pass you by... but then again, this theory has lead to some disasterous dinners... and our road trip coffee was no exception. 
We pulled up at a service centre (KFC, Hungry Jacks... the lot) looking for a coffee. There was -surprisingly- an organic outlet for all things snack bar and burger-ised. The AllPress coffee looked hopeful- and it's gotta beat fast food coffee right? 
Wrong...
Too hot to hold through the takeaway cup (bad sign), burnt coffee as well as rotten soy (what was that organic brand again)... we ended up tossing it- not something I'm inclined to do... but I live in hope and I'll find that little gem yet. 
Note to self: trust Patience's gut instinct on this, he has a nose for good coffee. 

1 comment:

Katherine said...

Sausage Rolls look delish!! recipe please!! xxoo