rubys organic cafe – Stirling, SA

29 Mt Barker Road, Stirling, SA, 5152

I have actually frequented Rubys on a number of occasions – when I first moved back to SA, I came here with friends – when I was having problems in a previous ministry, I came here with a mentor for sage advice – when a colleague of mine from Victoria was interviewing with a local Baptist church, this was the place that we came too for a coffee – so I have known about rubys for quite some time, and now finally have done a review.

According to the business card which you can grab as you walk past, ‘rubys organic cafe is a licensed and certified organic café specialising in gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and organic food’ and it also does coffee.  The café itself is pretty small – with about 6 tables inside, and the same number on the footpath – so you need to choose your time of day carefully.  After you have placed your order and sat down, you need to listen carefully – over the noise of the cars, buses, coffee grinder and espresso machine – as your name is brutalised, which indicates that your coffee is ready and you can come collect it from the window – kind of Cibos on Gouger Street.  If you choose to sit outside – the plastic café blinds make the experience kind of like having a coffee in a hothouse – but other than that….

Latte Quality – Excellent – easily the best coffee of my day spent reading and reflection upon the theological concept of the Wilderness and Exodus.

Cost – $3.80 – which is higher than average – and the glass was smaller that my previous coffees – but it easily tasted the best.

Coffee Supplier – Brasilia Coffee

Fair Trade – Again, Yes and No.  No mention of their coffee being Fair Trade – but their sugar was.

Special Notes – I also ordered a mini cheesecake (pictured) after a nasty sauce pie experience courtesy of the Lobethal Bakery franchise around the corner – and while it looked yummy, it was actually so dry it was hard to swallow. I needed the coffee to lubricate my throat in order to eat it – not sure if it was gluten, dairy or organic free – but it was certainly moisture free.

Venue Suitable for:

• Quiet Chat, Deep and Meaningful, Study – It would really depend on your timing and your ability to do all this amidst distraction.  This was easily the busiest place in Stirling and for the middle of the afternoon, it was not unusual to have a line of 5 people waiting for take away coffee – let alone the numbers waiting for food inside.

The Loca·vore – Stirling, SA

49 Mt Barker Road, Stirling, SA, 5152

Not sure how long this place has been trading for, but to me it seems very much a Stirling kind of place (for those who live in Melbourne – think Olinda, or Sassafras – for those from Hobart, think Sandy Bay…).  In fact, when I ventured in at lunch time last week I was not even sure if I was allowed to be there – the door was wide open, the lights were on – but there didn’t seem to be anybody home – and then, wearing my jeans and a t-shirt, when I ordered just a latte…well I guess the best you can say, is that my patronage was tolerated.

The Loca·vore looks very trendy – and from a design perspective (a throw back to my life before ministry and coffee), I loved it – the blend of the bricks and timber and glass – it felt great.  There is plenty of comfortable looking seating inside, and a smattering of tables on the footpath (from where I took the above photo).  It was great place to sit and watch all the expensive cars go by.

One thing I like, and must give them credit for is their ethos – from their website:

Locavore (local-eater) lives by the principles of the 100-mile diet. That is wherever possible, all produce is sourced from within a 160 km radius. When in doubt we follow these principles:  If not local, family farmed; if not family farmed, organic; if not organic then fair-trade. A recent Choice Magazine survey found that the average basket of food in Australia has travelled 72 000 km. So we estimate we have saved 300 000 000 food kilometres, since we opened in October 2007.

Latte Quality – Good – there was an excess of foam on the glass (see picture) – but that just insulated a strong, deep and rich flavoured coffee with hints of caramel…

Cost – $3.80 – which is higher than average – but probably about right for Stirling.  In its defence, the glass was bigger than the previous latte in Stirling.

Coffee Supplier – Brasilia Coffee

Fair Trade – Again, Yes and No.  Their menu board said that all their coffee and tea was Fairtrade – but the Fairtrade logo was no where to be seen, and to the best of my knowledge (happy to be set straight) Brasilia don’t do a Fairtrade blend.

Special Notes – When not just serving coffee, The Loca·vore is a wine bar, a tappas bar and a live music friendly venue.  They also have  a website, which is just to be finished – just like the Brasilia Coffee one….

Venue Suitable for:

• Quiet Chat, Deep and Meaningful, Study – I would say yes – it was quiet enough for sure – but make sure you dress appropriately and perhaps order more than just a coffee.

The Store – North Adelaide, SA

157 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide, SA, 5006 (Cnr Melbourne & Jerningham Streets).

The third coffee stop of my 36 hours of leave in the city was a breakfast latte at The Store.  As I waited for it to arrive, my wife and I reminisced about the time when we met here with our friend and pastor, who was going to conduct our wedding the following year – we ate breakfast, drank coffee, and completed the ‘notice of intended marriage [aka Form 13 – regulation 38 – marriage act 1961]’…ahh those were the days.  The Store is located across the road from Café Bocca, on the south side of Melbourne Street – on, what I have deigned to call, ‘coffee corner’ and as the name would suggest, ‘The Store’ is much more than just a Café.   It is also a Grocery Store for those who can afford to live in North Adelaide, and who love to dine on locally produced food.

Latte Quality – Excellent – just the right temperature to enjoy as we made our way home from our short break.

Cost – $4.70 grande take-away

Coffee Supplier – Brasilia Coffee

Fair Trade – No indication in store about it – and the website is ‘under-construction’ so who knows?

Venue Suitable for:

• Quiet Chat/Deep and Meaningful – Outside of the busy meal times, this place would certainly work – plenty of space, both inside and out.
• Study and Reflection – As long as you are going there outside their peak periods should be fine.  This part of North Adelaide is also handy for grabbing a take away coffee and walking the streets, if that works well for conversation.  The Cibo across the road also has an Internode hotspot – so you can sit in either Bocca or The Store – enjoy a good coffee, and use their internet!

Website thumbnails provided by BitPixels