Blog Archive

Sunday, April 19, 2015

First Impressions: Miss Kay's - Brisbane CBD

Miss Kay's on Urbanspoon

With the trend of American style food and craft beer continuing to explode in Australia with very little end in sight it makes sense that Brisbane's city centre would start to get more of these venues and Miss Kay's is a continuation of that trend.

However rather than being on the Riverside where almost every other trendy food place is, Miss Kay's is located at the Casino end of Queen Street mall which puts it in a great spot for a week day lunch for me with it being less than a 10 min walk from work.

Having been open just over a week I figured I'd waited long enough before heading down to check it out, it's a nice spot with some out door seating, indoor seating and even a loft area with exposed brick, tiles, wood and a clever use books and book shelves.

Upon entering there is a nice diner style vibe to the place with red neon signs, a big long wooden bar and a vibrant and large menu to read from.

The menu has fries, onion rings and even chicken wings but what everyone wants is the burgers and there are some great sounding food here and all fairly decently priced.

Burger's range from Cheeseburger's ($10) to a food challenge that consists of a 5 patty burger and a pile of fries for $35 although if you eat it in 15 mins you get a $30 return voucher and a photo on the wall of fame.

All week I knew I wanted the Mac Daddy, a burger with beef patty, mac n cheese, fries, bbq sauce, mayonaise and a lettuce leaf but I did also add maple bacon.

extreme closeup!
The burger was super more-ish and totally smash-able with the mac n cheese gushing out everywhere and fries getting stuck in the cheese, oddly enough the piece of lettuce on it offers up just enough crunch to balance out the creaminess and adding bacon just amps up the meaty goodness and adds some smokey sweetness from the maple.

This burger is a meal on it's own, you don't need a side of anything and if you wanted to eat it that way add another patty for an extra $4 and you have a mega burger to keep you full for hours.

The buffalo wings I had were pretty tasty, a tiny bit of spice but I didn't get any bite from a vinegar or a citrus in there but enjoyable enough and it's great to see a portion size like 6 wings as an option as many places either give too few or too many for insane prices (wings really aren't expensive, come on!).

My work colleague had the pulled pork and seemed to very much enjoy it, we both however agreed that whilst the chips have a special seasoning they aren't that tasty but they do compliment rather than over power the burgers.

As for the drinks there is plenty of options, soft drink, cock tails, as well as a fairly good amount of taps just unfortunately none of them are local craft but don't be disappointed because there is some great local Brisbane beer in bottles which is a win as far as I'm concerned.

Hopefully as time goes on some of the ample tap room can be taken over by local and national craft beers.

So the food is pretty damn tasty, the drinks aren't too bad but there is one issue..

There is only 1 entrance, enough room for 2 people to get through but unfortunately to order your food you line up at a counter that forces the line out the one entrance and down the street which inadvertently blocks the foot traffic and causes some confusion from people just trying to get by.


This is also the same entrance staff have to bring food out so it does need to be fixed.

I witnessed this at 11:45am on a Friday so I can't imagine what it's like at 5:30pm at night, hopefully a solution can be found, possibly having 2 ordering stations could negate the issue somewhat.

For a business that has barely been open a week, Miss Kay's seems to be kicking ass and punters are enjoying themselves and I look forward to going back for another tasty burger.

Friday, April 10, 2015

Putia - Pure Food @ Banyo

Putia Pure Food on Urbanspoon

I love breakfast, possibly more than any other meal with my mind conjuring images of bacon, eggs, french toast, sausages and other delicious treats when I stop to think about it.

However I don't often venture out for breakfast and sometimes don't want breakfast at breakfast time! (brunch, brinner, I'm looking at you!)

So a cafe serving breakfast nearly all day (until 2:30pm) is pretty appealing to me and that's where Putia comes in!

Chef Dominique Rizzo and her team have created a lovely venue with a very large tree taking centre stage in the outdoor deck area and ample seating both inside and on the front sidewalk there always seems to be room for somewhere to sit even when busy.



The menu is a mix of breakfast classics like Bacon and Eggs and avocado toast but with some some more modern takes on breakfast like the pulled pork with fried eggs and pumpkin waffle with salted caramel.

The sweet spot for eating at Putia for me is anytime after 11am because you have both the breakfast and lunch menu's available too you which opens some nice extra options.

There is also a cabinet of sweet treats all made in house daily in case you want something extra or something to take away with cheese cakes, sweet potato cake with cream cheese frosting and other goodies being on offer.


From the few times we've been to Putia we've had nothing but a great experience, even when busy the friendly staff remain calm and answer any questions you have about the menu and have no problem with changes like leaving toast off or swapping to gluten free bread etc. 

We've liked it so much that we went twice in one weekend and brought some friends the second time with plans to go back again! It can be difficult to find a place that caters to everyone's dietary requirements and desires for what makes up a good meal but Putia seems to be very close to being able to do all that!

This is a strange thing but I also really enjoy the large coffee mugs, wide brimmed and easy to drink from although a bit heavy when totally full but the width of the mug makes for the best cappuccino with heaps of tasty chocolate on top!

On Friday and Saturday nights Putia is also open for dinner and you can have a beer or wine with your meals, I imagine the out door area looks very nice when all lit up.

If you live on the North side and are looking for a relatively well spaced out and comfortable venue to enjoy a tasty breakfast, a good coffee or even a quiet dinner on a Saturday night then Putia is for you.