Cafes

Goulburn River Valley: Binney Street, Euroa

4/15/2012 06:19:00 PM

The last day of our visit through the Goulburn River Valley was spent exploring Binney Street, in the town of Euroa.  There are a lot of fab little shops and cafes on this strip, and it's a great spot to spend a weekend morning.  (N.B. A lot of the shops seem to close around midday on Saturday, so get in early!)


The Weekend Local
45 Binney Street
Euroa VIC 3666
Ph: 0417 363 992
Website

Only open on weekends, The Weekend Local stocks a selection of great products sourced from within 150 kilometres of Euroa.  Lots of regulars pop in for coffees and biscuits too.


I loved checking out all the products available, most of which I'd never seen before in Melbourne, including olive oil made from their own olive grove.  Properly 'local' local produce!



The displays were all attractive and well-maintained - I was amazed by how much they could fit into the small store!  They also have a good focus on gluten-free products - cake mixes, biscuits and that sort of thing.



Fare Enough
55 Binney Street
Euroa VIC 3666
Ph: (03) 5795-1667
Website

Owner Wendy Lunghusen opened Fare Enough after moving to the region and realising there was a gap in the market for a whole-foods store.  They sell an excellent range of grains, seeds, flours, cereals, nuts, dairy products, oils, sauces and dressings.  Think, specialty items like organic rapadura sugar, incredibly fresh nuts, oat bran, malt extract, wheat flakes, wild rice, soy grits...


You can also buy loose leaf teas, or sit in and enjoy a coffee.

Or perhaps buy some sushi or other light lunches!

Most exciting for me were the big containers of honey and tahini!  Tahini!! If only I'd brought a bucket with me...

Cacao!

Fare Enough, Euroa
Wendy generously gave me some gorgeous fresh hazelnuts, organic rapadura sugar and black glutinous rice flour to experiment with at home.  I've already made a couple of pretty special things with the hazelnuts and the rapadura sugar, and I can't wait to show you!


Albert's Cafe
44 Binney Street
Euroa VIC 3666
Ph: (03) 5795-3340

A friend of mine had recommended Albert's Cafe to me, so I was especially glad when I saw it was on our itinerary.  It's a cosy cafe with a warm atmosphere - a lovely spot to get some respite from the rain!





They have a concise weekend lunch menu - when we were there it included items like an open sandwich with Avenel smoked ham, coleslaw, gherkins & a mustard aioli ($14), a focaccia with chicken, avocado, bacon & Swiss cheese ($12.50), and an eye fillet served on a potato rosti with spinach, Swiss brown mushrooms & balsamic ($19.50).

I would have loved - loved, I tell you! - to try the open sandwich or the eye fillet, but we were still so full from The Butter Factory's substantial breakfast that all we could manage was to share a slice of frittata between us. (I know, I know, total fail on my part!)

Roasted sweet potato, spinach, black olives, cherry tomato & bocconcini cheese frittata served with salad - $12.50
The frittata was impressive - nice and eggy, with a good range of vegetables, which were cooked through but still retained a nice bite.

I'm not much of a soft-drink drinker, but I was in the mood for a little something sweet, so ordered an Old-Style Lime squash, thinking it would be a muted pale green drink, much like a San Pellegrino...

So have another drink of green elixir... And we'll have ourselves a little mixer...
...I didn't realise it would be such an intense green! Woah! A real Elphaba green!  (Probably a good thing I had a little extra energy for the long drive home).

After lunch, we were invited into the kitchen to have a chat to the chef, and spied this gorgeous cake coming out of the oven.
Cake cooling down

I was so full that I hadn't even contemplated dessert or coffee... but after seeing that cake come out of the oven, I knew it would be a wasted trip if I didn't at least try one of their cakes!

Albert's Cafe's selection of cakes

The staff there kindly packed up a piece of rhubarb and raspberry crumble cake (with cream!) to take home.

Rhubarb and Raspberry Crumble Cake

The drive home ended up being a bit stressful - it was bucketing down with rain, there was very poor visibility, and loads of big trucks on the Hume Highway.  Not fun!  So I was very happy to have a nice piece of cake to enjoy at home with a cup of tea.  And you know what?  The cake was incredible!  So buttery and moist, with a beautiful sour contrast from the raspberries and rhubarb.  I think there may have been a bit of nut meal in the batter, but I can't be sure.  Perhaps if they'd be kind enough to share the recipe with me...?

Rhubarb and Raspberry Crumble Cake
Alberts Cafe on Urbanspoon

I really enjoyed our trip to the Goulburn River Valley, and appreciated the opportunity to discover a new region.  I've been a real city girl all my life, and it was lovely to experience a bit of country hospitality, without it being as touristy or crowded as some of the more well-known regions closer to the city.  All the people we met on the trip were so nice too, and rightly proud of their region.

Sarah and Sandra visited the Goulburn River Valley region and ate at Albert's Cafe as guests of Goulburn River Valley Tourism.

This is the third and final post in the Goulburn River Valley Trip series.  Other posts in this series: Murchison, Kialla West & Shepparton and The Euroa Butter Factory.

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2 comments

  1. Ahhh, I remember the good old days where the shops used to close at midday on Saturday and be closed on Sundays! I'm so glad it's not the case anymore.

    Loving all your Goulburn River Valley posts. Will have to make sure I refer to these when we're planning a country trip. It's good to see there are lots of good food places too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi April - I'm glad about the opening times too! I'm never up before 11am on a Saturday anyway, hehe.

    Let me know if you do end up visiting any of the places we went to - I'd love to know your thoughts! :)

    xox Sarah

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