Cafe 279, Marrickville

Nana Boot has come to visit Baby Pea and we pop down to the shops for milk, fruit, chocolate and, er, passport photos. With 20 minutes developing time to kill, we head over the road to 279. The blackboard outside offers scones with jam and cream and there are souvlaki specials for $7, but Nana Boot is under doctors orders to eat beef so we decide to split the steak sandwich with chips.

Two of the tables come with squashy sofas so I plonk Baby Pea down beside me while I eat. Steak sandwich isn't something I order often as I'm cautious about tough meat, but this one is better than expected. With thick white toast, grilled onions and a ton of tomato and lettuce, it's not at all glamorous but the flavours come with childhood memories of summer backyard barbecues. The thin steak is well caramelised and beefy, not too chewy. I get most of the chips and I eat them all up with the little bowl of ketchup. Bliss.

Cafe 279
279 Illawarra Road, Marrickville NSW 2204  
p. 02 9558 7434 ‎