The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally.
We were baited to Firestone by the promise of some truly delicious looking Korean-Italian fusion food on their social media accounts. It turns out all that stuff was on an old menu. This is what we found instead.
I will start with the best dish of the day, the Truffle Mushroom Risotto ($21.90). This vegetarian dish was packed full of different types of mushrooms and truffle oil. It was creamy and umami, and even though it was vegetarian I did not miss the meat at all. Additional sliced or grated truffle was on offer for a supplement, however we declined. While it wasn’t exactly what we were looking for, this dish was very good. I can recommend it.
The Chilli Dog ($12) was chilli only in so far as the sauce was chilli. There was no chilli con carne component, which is what you would expect to get if paying $12 for a hot dog named “chilli dog”. A no go.
I was really not a fan of this miso salmon benedict ($18.90). Unlike most miso salmon dishes on the streets of Sydney, this particular miso salmon was raw salmon, thick-cut, marinated in miso and mirin. It had a too-fishy flavour that kind of repulsed me. The rest of the eggs benedict was absolutely fine, but the salmon left a taste in my mouth that I can still recall to this day (about two weeks down the track).
This iced soy taro latte ($7.70) was solid. Not too sweet. Quite refreshing.
Standard teal cup large soy cappuccino. ($5.50) .
VERDICT A tough sell. Perhaps their Hornsby branch has a more enticing menu.
My girlfriend and I often fall victim to sponsored posts on social media, and it was just such a sponsored post that led us to Storgē and Co., one of North Parramatta’s foremost demountable-based Latin American restaurants.
Storge and Co features a mix of indoor and outdoor courtyard seating, though it appears that the indoor seating is not used on days with clear weather. We parked in the Petbarn next door, making a note to buy some cat food so that we wouldn’t feel bad about taking their customer only parking.
The Crispy Dog ($10) is pretty good. It is a hot dog of grilled chorizo, pico de gallo, parmesan, and a rich creamy sauce, topped with a generous serving of potato crisps for an extra crunch. The flavours of this hot dog were quite good. The chorizo sausage itself had quite a complex flavour which rose beyond mere saltiness, which I did not expect from a $10 hot dog. The pico de gallo provided freshness, whilst the potato crisps were salty and crispy. The white creamy sauce was a bit heavy, though in conjunction with all the other flavours and the deliciously toasted bread was not as unbalanced as in the pepito.
This creamy monstrosity is the Pepito ($15). It is essentially a toasted sourdough baguette, filled with 24-hour marinated beef tenderloin, parmesan, mozzarella, and topped with “heavenly sauce”. The beef was very tender, juicy, and tasted good, but that was essentially the best part. There was an absolute cheese overload, and while I can’t tell you the exact components of the heavenly sauce, I assume it is named so as the rich fatty creaminess books you an express ticket to heaven. The sauce and two cheeses mixed together make this a very heavy roll indeed. Not at all wholesome, and not really that good to taste either.
Enthused by our recent positive empanada experience at Mas Tinto, we ordered Storgē and Co.’s cheese and guava jam empanadas (3 for $9.50). Unlike Mas Tinto’s Storge and Co’s were a major disappointment. Where Mas Tinto’s guava and cheese empanadas were lightly but deftly flavoured, Storge’s take is much more heavy handed. I was surprised to find both a too-sweet and too-salty filling, The flavours were unfortunately far too strong, and the dipping sauce did nothing to help with this. It would’ve been better for them to sell them individually, but I imagine that if they did they would only sell one to each customer, and no more following that.
The Thre3* Milk Cake ($6.50), consisting of sponge cake soaked in and topped with three or four different types of milk reminded me of something served for dessert at a year 6 camp. Not awful, but not very good either. A strange hit of nostalgia, and a no go from me.
INTERIM IMPRESSION I think ultimately, out of the things that we tried at Storgē and Co., there are more losers than winners. While their Crispy Dog was good, it’s only a member of their seasonal menu, and not part of the regular cast. I wouldn’t mind coming back to try their Reuben Sandwich, though a return to Storgē and Co. is reasonably low on my list of things to do.
A RETURN
True to my word, I returned to Storgē and Co whilst servincing my car at West End Mazda across the road to try out their Reuben Sando ($12). The sauerkraut to meat to cheese ratio was certianly achieved, but I felt that whilst the bread was well toasted the insides remained extremely tepid. If I had to rate this sandwich against the two other Reuben’s previously in my life, I’d put this between the excellent one at Croquembouche Patisserie that I had no less than 10 times in 2020, and the extremely low-tier average one I had at Nepean Hospital in 2019.
Whilst I won’t bore you with exterior shots of the Beef Empanada (3 for $9.50), I can tell you they looked exactly the same as the guave empaanda from the outside. They were, however, much better. The more solid contents meant that the beef empanada wasn’t as piping hot, and therefore more easy to eat. The savoury filling of potato and beef was quite hearty, and the flavours were actually well comlimented by the provided dipping sauce. They were really not bad.
VERDICT After trying quite a few things on their menu, I think really only the Crispy Dog was anything very special.
Storgē and Co. 69a Church St, North Parramatta NSW 2151 0413 054 553
Copper Rose appears to be a cafe specialising in American style diner food.
The chilli hot dog ($8) was good. I enjoyed it, but my partner enjoyed it even more. There was a good helping of chilli con carne, which helped to optimise the filling to bread ratio. I still think it could have used less bread, but this was a good attempt. The mustard was a bit superfluous.
The Big Brekky Roll ($9) optioned with tomato relish was really good. A good mix of bacon, egg, and hash brown. I would rate this way over the big brekky burger at McDonald’s, for example, which has similar fillings. Would definitely get this again.
I enjoyed the limited foods that I tried at Copper Rose. I’d like to order more from them again soon, probably try out their Philadelphia Cheese Steak. Judging from the quality of the stuff that I have tried, it’s likely to be good.
UPDATE OCTOBER 2020
I did order from Copper Rose again, but I forgot all about the philly cheese steak. Instead, I got:
The Big Brekky Roll in wrap form ($9) was not as good as the big brekky roll in roll form. Go figure. I even added an additional sausage for $2, however the taste did not please me. Stick with the classics with this one.
The Marinated Chicken Burger ($8) was great value. The chicken fillet is marinated in balsamic vinegar, to achieve a nice and tangy taste, which mixed well with the rocket and mayonnaise. This is a recommendation.
