PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAOn days when the weekend seems like an eternity away, it’s the small things that make life bearable. Like a friendly nod from the barista pumping out takeaways or perhaps just the familiar smile from the busy waitress as she runs dishes to a table. They mightn’t seem like much but these are all the required trimmings that come together to create a great cafe.
Tucked on the corner of a Surry Hill’s backstreet is Two Good Eggs. It’s not quite in the city, yet close enough to lure the corporate crowd keen for a relaxed lunch in the uber-cool 2010 postcode. From the outside, the two-storey building which Two Good Eggs occupies reminds me of a Manhattan loft and on entering the cafe, my assumptions are confirmed. The high ceiling with old, exposed wooden beams looms overhead and the floor-to-ceiling sash windows create a warehouse vibe.
Scoring a table by the window, I catch glimpses of overly keen workers exercising during their lunch hour and I quickly opt for a salad instead of the wagyu beef burger I was eyeing off earlier. My dining partner chooses the baked eggs with fetta, pumpkin and pesto and I fear I’ll have food envy. The salad arrives first and I sign in relief – it’s satisfying packed with strips of smoked salmon, avocado slices and long cucumber ribbons . As I chew, tiny bursts of salty fresh capers cut through the richness of the salmon and avocado. But it’s the baked eggs that proudly arrive in a clay ramekin served on a wooden cutting board with two slices of organic sourdough on the side, that make a point. At first glance, I’m worried. Are the yolks running? As my partner cracks the surface of the dish, a runny yolk oozes out, covering the large wedges of roasted pumpkin and chunks of buttery fetta. The combination of the dish is special and I have to say, these two eggs are not just good, they’re bloody good.
Lunch hour is over and as we go to leave the cafe, I glance upwards, noticing for the first time a photograph of the Budapest skyline which seductively looms over the cafe. I walk back to the office with a spring in my step feeling inspired and very satiated by my two, bloody good eggs.
Anna Lisle