Cnr Masonite Rd & Pacific Hwy, Heatherbrae, NSW 2324
www.heatherbraespies.com.au
Heatherbrae Pies is located a couple of hours north of Sydney, and is an ideal place to stop off for lunch or a snack on a road trip up the NSW coast. Ever since starting this food review blog, I’ve anticipated coming here to do a review. The opportunity arrived, I checked their website, and yes, they do indeed sell Sausage Rolls and Vanilla slices!
1003 Pittwater Road, Collaroy, New South Wales
This place is a local institution. It’s been nestled in the same spot in a conspicuous green and yellow building on the side of Pittwater Road, amidst a row of residential houses, for as long as I can remember. On weekends people pull up to park out the front in a continual stream, dash inside to grab a bag of hot pies, and then leave to let the next car grab a spot. Some people linger and eat on the sparse pair of aluminium tables out the front, or sitting on the wooden benches in front of an adjacent house. In the couple of hours around lunch time, there is usually a queue stretching out the door.
The somewhat run down building is decorated with numerous stickers and plaques indicating the numerous pie competitions that the eponymous Sylvia and Fran have won with their recipes. They have a selection of 30-40 different pies, with fillings ranging from the traditional plain minced beef, through chunky steak, to middle of the road combinations such as steak and potato, steak and mushroom, and steak and kidney. Then they stretch into more exotic flavours such as Mexican beef; lamb and rosemary; satay chicken; Thai chicken curry; beef stroganoff; and their multi-award winning chicken, avocado, and brie pie. There are sausage rolls too, in regular and cheese and bacon varieties. Vegetarians are definitely not left wanting either, with a selection including roast vegetable; Thai vegetable curry; Mexican vegetarian; spinach and feta; and potato, pumpkin, and sour cream pies – which are delicious enough to tempt even carnivores.
Stall 66, Adelaide Central Market, 44–60 Gouger Street, Adelaide, South Australia
www.adelaidecentralmarket.com.au/traders/providore
Adelaide’s Central Market is a marvellous place, the likes of which we unfortunately don’t have in Sydney. It is like a classical European food market, with multiple permanent stalls selling all sorts of fresh food ingredients and some specialty items like wines and cakes. There are a dozen or more fresh fruit and vegetable stalls to choose from, each displaying luscious, colourful produce: butchers, fishmongers, cheese sellers, bakers, and so on. And mixed among them all are cafes and stalls selling meals of all ethnicities. It’s easy to spend an hour or more here, wandering around and enjoying the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes.
One of those stalls is Providore, and walking past I spotted something that I couldn’t tear my eyes away from. Sitting in the display case was a tray of delectable looking slices labelled as “Greek vanilla slice”. They were in a large slab, dusted with a layer of icing sugar on top, and sliced into square pieces. Naturally, I had to try one. (Even if there was no sign of a sausage roll anywhere nearby.)
16 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest, New South Wales
This is one of those wonderful places you get in Australia – the French bakery run by Vietnamese staff. The Vietnamese learnt the art of baking during the French occupation of French Indochina from 1887 to 1954, with the result that today many of the best baguettes and pastries in Australia are produced by Vietnamese immigrants. Indeed, the bread and cakes here are superb. But as we all know, the true measure of an Aussie bakery rests on those two standards of the true blue diet: the sausage roll and the vanilla slice.
I approached La Baguette with every intention of purchasing a sausage roll and a vanilla slice – although in my mind I remembered this is one of those establishments that refers to their vanilla slices as “Napoleons”. I was however thwarted by the fact that they didn’t have anything resembling a vanilla slice or labelled as either that or “Napoleon” in the counter display. And when I asked them, they said that they didn’t make them! Undaunted, I procured a sausage roll, advertised on the menu as a “pork and veal sausage roll”.
12/450 Miller St, Cammeray, New South Wales
pattisonspatisserie.com.au
Pattison’s is a small chain with a dozen patisseries scattered across the northern suburbs of Sydney. This one at Cammeray has a long glass counter stuffed full of delicious looking cakes and pastries. As well as the traditional Aussie favourites, they do trendy new things like macarons and fancy cupcakes. They also bake bread and muffins and other such things.
The first day I tried to review this establishment, they had sold out of vanilla slices, so I had to delay my tasting to another day. The next time I was in the area, I ordered one of the sausage rolls from their hot savoury selection, and a slice. I took them out to sit in the sunshine in the adjacent courtyard as I ate. This area has a bit of restrained buzz from the other shops and cafes in the complex.