#3 Red Cacao

#3 Red Cacao, Stirling, Adelaide Hills

redcacao.com.au

High five me with a grin, a slice of chocolate and a coffee on the side! This is SUCH a cute place. Small enough that it could be your entranceway to your overly large 27 bedroom home, Red Cacao offer a treat for the senses that I haven't met in other places before. It was such a choice place for many locals and Adelaidians on their late Saturday morning that some people even didn't bother with the option to wait a few minutes for a table to free up, but took takeaway options instead. Mind you, it was a gloriously wintery day in Stirling - foggy, constant rain, autumnal leaves still adding colour to the grey skies, people rugged up with beanies and scarves and long thick jackets.

So, you've been seated, and your drinks have been ordered. Not only do you get some triple coated almonds to demolish while your eyes take in the sight of your presented choices, they pair what coffee you choose with what 2 chocolates that match your drink. BRAVO! for such a great idea. I went off the regular trail and opted a choice of the Barista Blend mug of Flat white - a fruity bright bean of origin I am not sure, which was paired with a delicate Vanilla chocolate that had a melt in your mouth soft centre, and also a Hazelnut chocolate. I am pretty sure I was exhausting everyone with my grunts of appreciation and "I totally blog food - not" commentary - while my friend Miss K did the same from her palate of appreciation.

We also had some fruit (?) loaf - which was the perfect savoury addition to the somewhat sweet choices we had on our table already. Buttered those slices of loaf up and enjoy the beautiful warm bread and goodness!

And then what more could be better after such a fabulous feast, but to feast your eyes around the township of Stirling in the beginnings of winter. Such joy for the senses, and a perfect way to spend the weekend morning.

#1: Mockingbird Lounge, Glenelg

 #1 - Mockingbird Lounge, Glenelg, South Australia

http://www.mockingbirdlounge.com.au/

Meet the Mockingbird Lounge - which if you were like me and hadn't been privvy to its sass and vibe - is the place you have quite literally ALWAYS wanted to go to: a bookshop, filled with nooks, grannies and crannies, and plenty of rooms to sit in where you can drink hot beverages and eat delicious food amongst that not-so-musty library smell - while attempting to stealthly beat your opponent at a board game. 

Is there more you want to ask for?

From the front, it looks like a teeny tiny place. At this point, you might even hesitate to enter. You step in the door, and to your right the front counter is laden full of delicious yums to tease you. On most of the walls throughout this beautiful cafe (sorry, Lounge) are tall bookshelves, filled with books beloved by people for you to purchase. On the other walls displays art for sale or funky gifts you can get for your loved ones 
(even if the loved one is yourself).

Listen to the hilarious reasonings for why your neighbours who are playing "up words" think their word is actually in the dictionary and that its real. Listen to the ladies discuss the fashion of famous Adelaidian's that they have seen turn up to events. ("Come on, Nicole (identity hidden footballers family member), you're too old to wear that skirt - even though we all want to wear that skirt, we wouldn't"). Listen to the laughter from the studio at the very end of the property - the studio with the BookClub meeting on Saturdays.
And the yums I got to try today - I had two delicious flat white coffees in not-so-quaint mugs your granny would raise her eyebrows at, with a white chocolate and raspberry muffin. YUM! Such a fun place to visit - very easy to get to - and now another home-away from home for me down here near the seaside.
And the yums I got to try today - I had two delicious flat white coffees in not-so-quaint mugs your granny would raise her eyebrows at, with a white chocolate and raspberry muffin. YUM! Such a fun place to visit - very easy to get to - and now another home-away from home for me down here near the seaside.

Get your Jane Austen collection in a vintage bound book for $10. I'm serious. Walk through the rooms that are filled with chatter and laughter about life and continue out to the back - a formerly shaded area that has been opened up to allow the sun to shine on you.  Grab a table amongst your newest friends (you may call them 'people you haven't met yet') and get your serious game face on.

Did your eyes read correctly? BookClub. Much like the Jane Austen Book Club, but with a twist. You can join up a group together and read through a Mockingbird Lounge book of the month, catching up to share your thoughts and ideas. Or, you can join up as an individual and be put into a group with others of whom you may not even know and whose opinions may marry or clash very greatly with your own. OR, you can bring your book club to utilise the bookclub of the Mockingbird Lounge - so you don't have to organise your own books for a while. And its pretty cheap ($10 per month).