Bacon Festival @ Cuckoo Callay, Newtown
I hardly go to Newtown which is insane I know, considering the amount of incredibly tasty eats there. I blame the boy, he hates the lack of parking and reckons the area is too trendy haha but since I could fix one of those problems we took a bus to Cuckoo Callay (324a King St, Newtown) which is just outside Newtown train station. I’ve crammed 3 visits into this post because if you haven’t already heard, Cuckoo Callay is featuring a special Bacon Festival menu celebrating all things porcine!
Ya Bacon Me Crazy ($20) made my heart skip a beat when it arrived, I mean, LOOK AT IT! She’s a beaut! The buttermilk waffle was fluffy on the inside with crisp edges, there was house-made bacon as well as my fave Black Forest Smokehouse maple bacon, an intense flavour bomb of chocolate coated bourbon bacon, a scoop of sweet caramel and cinnamon ice cream and the whole shebang is doused with maple syrup. If you love the sweet and salty combo then this is for you!
Bacon All The Rules ($24) is one giant meatfest but when you think about it, it’s pretty much an elaborate bacon and eggs haha there’s Black Forest Smokehouse maple bacon, bourbon bacon, bacon steak (OMG), bacon sausage and bacon-crumbed poached eggs served on sourdough. Unfortch the eggs aren’t fully crumbed in bacon and then deep fried as I had imagined but they were still tasty with perfectly gooey centres.
Bacon, Get In My Belly ($20) is a glorious slab of pork belly with a sticky sweet chilli & fennel seed sauce. The pork belly is a bit on the oily side but oh man the crunch! The crackle! The creamy fat and juicy meat! Luckily it comes with a bacon, caper, coriander and lime salad to cut through the richness.
I was quite taken with the Bacon Dawg ($16), a lightly toasted bun housed a maple glazed bacon sausage with gruyere sauce, tomato and quince relish, shards of crackling and dill mustard pickles. I loved the side of crinkle cut potato chips but could only manage a couple because damn that hotdog was uber filling!
What a Croque of Bacon ($19) is the least bacon-y out of the whole menu, though to be fair I missed one dish, the Jammin’ Bacon ($9), sourdough toast served with homemade bacon and bourbon jam so I can’t say for sure whether it’s less bacon-y than that. Bacon, basil and vintage cheddar croquettes served with bourbon bacon, pea puree and two poached eggs. The croquettes were creamy and would be the perfect winter comfort food but yeah MOAR BACON yo!
The Don’t Go Bacon My Heart ($19) burger was pretty massive- stuffed with beer candied bacon, popcorn chicken, a dollop of beer and tomato chutney, mustard aioli and slaw on brioche buns. The side of pickles was a welcome touch!
For dessert we got the Drizzle Sticks ($10)- Black Forest Smokehouse streaky bourbon bacon drizzled in chocolate and hazelnut. I’d heard that the bacon was meant to be crispy but instead they were sad and droopy and really just not what I’d had such high hopes for. I think I was imagining deep fried bacon strips?
The Bloody Bacon Cuckootail ($14) is a classic Bloody Mary but with the added bonus of a bacon garnish and it surprisingly works, with the smokey flavour of the bacon shining through. And yes I had to include my bacon tatt in the shot 😛
The bacon festival menu is running until early May but there’s also a limited normal menu in case you want something less cholesterol laden 😛
Cuckoo Callay
324a King St,
Newtown
Trading Hours:
Mon – Fri: 6am – 4pm
Sat: 8am – 4pm
Sun: 8am – 3pm