Cornersmith, Marrickville

How good do those eggs look? Can you believe that you will get amazingly poached eggs in places like Marrickville? If it was 5 years ago I would be very surprised actually. Back then, Marrickville was renowned for their cheap Vietnamese feed for anyone who did not want to travel all the way to Cabramatta, Canley Heights or Bankstown. These days, there are plenty of cafes serving perfectly poached eggs like these bad boys. With all the cafes and casual dining joints sprouting up around this suburb, you might think that it's becoming as hipster as Surry Hills. Almost.

One of the cafes that has been putting Marrickville into the Sydney cafe scene was Cornersmith. When I first heard about it, I thought it was another hipster cafe joint serving yummy brunch food. What stood out was its focus on sustainable and ethical produced ingredients, including their house-made pickles. When you are waiting to be seated, just write your name and the number of people on the chalkboard then wait for your name to be called out when the table is ready. Most days I've been there were quite busy, however it's quiet on weekdays if you end up having a day off.

Mocha (S - $4.00, L - $4.50) 

Very pleased with the coffee here. Got the right balance in terms of sweetness from the cocoa and bitterness from the coffee beans. Plus it delivered a smooth texture and it has certainly got me energised for the day since I was very tired that morning. And the coffee art is very pleasing to the eye to the point that I did not want to ruin it. If you are a fan of Mecca coffee then you will be very happy to hear that Cornersmith sources their coffee beans from them.

Chai Tea ($4.50)

Did not try the chai but it had a fragrant aroma when I was able to smell it from across the table. CC was quite pleased with this version.

Soft Poached Free Range Eggs with Sourdough Toast and Green Tomato Relish ($9.00) plus Kale and Apple Salad, and Pasture fed Ham ($5.00 per side)

So glad with my dish choice this time. I was seriously amazed at how these eggs were poached perfectly especially with the egg white casing itself around the soft-cooked egg yolk. Just makes you feel reluctant to cut into it but then you gotta have the runny egg porn goodness, which was thankfully worth it. I was pleased with the sides as well. The kale apple salad and the green tomato relish delivered a combination of sweet and sour touches to the whole plate. Plus the pasture-fed ham tasted so good with the egg and toast. Wouldn't mind coming back for a second serving. My only minor issue with this dish was that the sourdough toast was too hard for us to cut so we eventually ended up picking it up by the hand. Apart from that, I was happy with this dish and would certainly order this again at a later visit. 

Runny egg porn

Ploughman's Plate (Single - $18.00, Shared - $30.00)

The Ploughman's plate was an organic feast consisting of pasture fed ham, Maffern cheddar cheese, pickled beetroot, Pepe Saya butter, pickles, radishes, grapes and toast. During my last few visits here, the ingredients in this platter has changed depending on what's available in stock on the day. I tried a bit of the cheese which had an aged vintage taste as well as the pickles, beetroot and the grapes. Both CC and I thought that each element on the platter was a tasty, refreshing, healthier and surprisingly not too heavy feed. It's a good way to explore the various homegrown food produce available at this cafe.

This is a great place to go when you want a healthier meal with freshly made ingredients that is ethically sourced from local food producers. There are also plenty of vegetarian dishes and salads, which is great for your non-meat eating friend. The serving sizes were reasonably substantial though not overwhelming and the prices were actually quite cheap for most of the menu items. You can even buy one of their pickles, honey jars or other food produce in store to take home. The menu at Cornersmith changes regularly depending on what produce is available in stock at the time. This ensures that everything served here is freshly sourced. Because of the constant menu changes, it will certainly keep me coming back to see which fresh produce is available in store next time.

EDIT: At the time of this post, it has just been announced that Cornersmith was awarded Best Cafe at the SMH Good Food Cafe Guide Awards 2014. Congratulations to the Cornersmith team for this achievement! :D

Cornersmith

314 Illawara Road, Marrickville NSW 2204

(02) 8065 0844

https://www.facebook.com/Cornersmith

Mon-Fri: 6:30am - 3:30pm

Sat-Sun: 7:30am - 3:30pm