Our "Guest Blogger", Corey, got such a good response, he has decided to join us here at Morning Glory.
Welcome aboard, Corey. We all look forward to more of your amusing posts in the future.
What springs to mind when you think of a themed franchise restaurant? Same measured food, same price, same staff, same nostalgic crap on the walls.
The same can be said for Hog's Breath Cafe, Morayfield in Queensland. This is my local HBC franchise and this was my first venture into the establishment for brekkie. Not all of the franchisees choose to serve “the cornerstone meal of the day” over the weekend however I'm happy to say that the management have kicked a goal.
As you would expect, there's a skeleton staff on hand (big thanks to the Australian Government for abolishing time-and-a-half and such for the service industry. This isn't a political blog so I'm just going to leave that there for you to ponder) and the place was dead quiet. There were six of us - three hungry adults and three active kids who spent more time at the adjacent playground than at the table - a father and daughter enjoying an early lunch and a young family inside. Might have been busier earlier in the day as we arrived at about 10:30am, bordering on the brekkie/lunch handover.
Lets have a look at the fare on offer:
Boss Hog's Big Breakfast:
Vienna loaf – Toasted lightly and crisp
Two poached eggs – Weren't traditionally poached in water/vinegar but still good and runny
Three hashbrowns – Deep fried to perfection
Bacon – Leaning towards “American style” however didn't have so much fat as to make you feel dirty by eating it
Breakfast steak – Thin and tender, an excellent effort and well complimented with the bbq sauce provided
The rest: Caramelised onions, cheese, lettuce and a freakin' mountain of mushrooms (these were the stand out. I've not had mushrooms this good for a long time)
So what can I say. Don't order this if you're expecting to eat lunch....or even dinner. For a smidge under twenty bucks this is a shitload of food. I'm sorry to express it in such a vernacular however this is the only adjective that's suitable for this effort. I'm partial to a large-ish brekkie on the weekend however this knocked me for six. The mushrooms were amazing and everything on the plate went very well together. This dish just worked. Having breakfast steak so thin, yet so juicy and tender is a feat unto itself. On the downside, the first cafe latte was weak and made me feel a little less of a man, however I ordered the next one with a double shot and all was good in the world.
Our waitress was friendly and never too “in your face”. Checked once if we were enjoying our meal and was never too far away for coffee or clearing plates when we were done. Funny part was that she referred to past patrons and “patients” - turns out her other job is at a dental surgery - and we weren't sure if we needed to make a stop at the hospital on the way home.....
Hog's Breath Cafe. Same measured food (mountain of it), same price (very reasonable), same staff (friendly and down to earth), same nostalgic crap on the walls (you get the idea).
If a HBC franchise does weekend brekkie somewhere near you, I suggest you go check it out.
