The Spur

There’s much to be thankful for in good old Redcliffs Village. Naturally enough there’s no mall and thank God for that. But what it does have is a Chinese Restaurant, a Fish & Chip shop,a cafe, a quality butcher, a Thai Takeaway, an award winning dairy(Mr Lu award for customer service), a service station, womens fashion store, doctor, physiotherapist, chemist....and I have most likely missed someone but sincerely apologise if so.
What on earth has any of this got to do with The Spur? The Spur is Redcliffs' resident cafe and serves its little community well with the likes of paninis, quiches, bagels, cakes, pies, sausage rolls, sandwiches and more. In recent times (2011 actually) I lived nearby and oft ambled in through their doors for my morning infusion. Service is invariably friendly and prompt enough with even attention-seekers finding some satisfaction, the food is Kiwi cafe fare so you’re not going to write home to your relatives in the South of France about it or even ask for the recipes. However, it serves its purpose and we all keep going back, time and time again, to cafes just like this for a further helping, day after day, week after week. The convenience factor is important and the consistency of quality is also a consideration. The French have their baguettes and fromage, we have our paninis, bagels, quiches, pies etc and the ubiquitous Canterbury salmon. Not at all to be sneezed at I’d have to say.
My long black was a punchy little number with a meritorious sting in its tail. The staff kindly provided me with a small white jug of hot water to allow me room to extend my joy another moment or two, albeit in a diluted fashion.
The chicken, cranberry and brie Panini was, as we alluded to above, everyday cafe fare but it was more than an acceptable snack for this gargantuan gutbucket! The chicken was moist but firm, the cranberry tasted like cranberry(surprise, surprise) and the slices of brie were,you guessed it, soft, smooth, sensuous....
What’s more, the diner at The Spur can choose to spread his (or her) wings by venturing out the back of the premises to one of the three tables where will be found the gentle warmth of the winter sun on flesh ( weather permitting) and the close proximity of such wonders of nature as sweetly chirping birds, gently swaying plants of many colours and the nostril flaring exhilaration of the salt sea air.
My advice: Stop in to the The Spur for your afternoon coffee and cake, pop over to the excellent family butcher for a kilo or two of fillet steak, grab a lotto ticket at the dairy if that is your want, pick up your twice weekly order of horse strength sedatives from the chemist and then head for home. Enjoy the good life!