Is there a trend happening here? Casual food from the rest of the English-speaking world invading DC (see my review of LEON)? If so, more, please!
I finally visited the latest iteration of Bluestone Lane Café, the coffee-obsessed Aussie chain (there are three Bluestone Lane Coffee Shops here as well, but they have very limited food menus). It took awhile because it’s a long walk from the nearest Metro stop. I finally had incentive, though, because my friend Carolyn wanted to do a recce in advance of her planned trip to the Land of Reversed Seasons next month. (and, flash: as we sat in the café, the DC Circulator rolled past the enormous windows bound for Union Station. We had found our ride home.)
The Café occupies part of the ground floor of a new building, shared with the West End Library. Two of my favorite things, coffee and books, side by side. I was predisposed to approve! Entering the light-flooded, high-ceilinged space, replete with such markers of Millennial attraction as fiddle-leaf figs and blond wood (hard on your behind) furniture, we were greeted by a winsome server with an unmistakable Aussie accent. Lucky was his nickname, and lucky we were to be served by him. Also lucky: comfy pillows which we could use to cushion our backs or bottoms.
Bluestone Lane Interior: Light and Figs
The Counter, Dominated by the Espresso Machine
Tablescape with Filtered Water and Blue Umbrellas
And how was the food? Tasty but overpriced. I found the Brekkie Board (half portions of avocado toast and granola with Greek yogurt) not quite worth $16.00. Carolyn got the full-on portion of “classic avocado smash” with prosciutto add-on, also $16.00. Other options include sandwiches on brioche, grain bowls, and various combinations of quinoa, kale and poached eggs. All good, but they don’t raise the Café above many other lunch options downtown.
It’s been a few years since I was in Australia, so I can’t vouch for the terroir of this particular strain of health-conscious cuisine, but little of it strikes me as particularly indigenous to that continent. But then, what Bluestone Lane trades on is the quality of their coffee.
And here’s where I have saved the best for last. On those several trips I made to Australia, one of the unique and outstanding taste sensations (about even with the mud crab and Moreton Bay bugs), was the delightful surprise of, and subsequent shameless indulgence in, Australian-style iced coffee. Indeed, if I lived there it is absolutely a given that I would weigh many more pounds than I do now, and it would all be the fault of Australian iced coffee.
Lucky, Food, Iced Coffee in Center (Pride of Place)
All That’s Left Are the Vanilla Bean Seeds (Sign of Superior Ice Cream)
So I was hoping against hope that the menu item labelled “aussie iced latte” would, in fact, translate to the obscure object of my desire; and lo! it was so! Belated research on Bluestone’s website reveals the ingredients: “A double shot of espresso poured over whole milk and ice cream.” It was not described on the café menu, but we relied on Lucky’s assurance. And I was transported to Brisbane, and my first delighted discovery of this treasure. It lacked the remembered whipped cream topping, but that was gilding the lily even then.
So I left Bluestone Lane Café happy, and thanks to the iced coffee, sufficed. I would come back for that singular attraction; in fact, I am already craving it, and plotting my return.
