STRAUSS.
189 Elizabeth St, Brisbane QLD
open 6.30am - 3pm | Monday - Friday 07 3236 5232.

It's a trap for young players, breakfast in the city. Especially this city in winter. Hobart, Melbourne, even Sydney, they know it's going to be unpleasantly cold sometime in the year. Brisbane, not so much. Oh, it gets cold enough. But nobody likes to acknowledge that, especially not in the way we live. Because of this there are some lovely places to have breakfast in the city, but you can't go there in winter because all of the seating is outside, often in the middle of a wind tunnel.
Strauss does not seem well located. Tucked away at the end of a long, lonely alleyway, which seems more of an afterthought than a design tweak in a city which is desperately trying to reclaim its backstreets, Strauss has plenty of outdoor seating, but you can bustle on past that and grab yourself a warm and cosy spot inside. Indoors, the cafe is all exposed brick, brushed steel, and hardwood. It's very Manhattan loft space. The clientele are city workers, of course, but they seem to be the sort who assiduously seek after the secrets of the city that most punters, happy with an egg McMuffin and a Styrofoam cup of Ronald McDonald's finest Java, never find.
The coffee at Strauss is of a kind that coffee nerds will seek out, travelling an extra three or four blocks if necessary. They will make all the classics, naturally, but you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't allow them to make you a filtered brew.
Whoa! Back off. Put down those pitchforks right now.

By filtered coffee I don't mean the astringent liquid tar beloved of America's roadside diners. I mean fresh, individually made glasses of superfine premium Arabica. The only place I drink black coffee is at Strauss, and I drink it every time I go there. Served in large, delicate stemless wine glasses (well fuck off, that's what they look like) the filter coffees are a revelation. I don't know whether it's the glass, but the flavour profile is so gently complex it always reminds me of drinking wine. And who doesn't want to drink hot wine on a cold morning?
That's not enough of course. We must eat too, and the thing I like about Strauss is the minimal, stripped back menu. Nothing complicated, but everything made from fresh, top shelf ingredients. It was crowded when I had breakfast yesterday, and I took a seat at the bench running the length of the open kitchen area, allowing me to watch the young woman preparing the meals work her magic. The crowds kept coming, the meal dockets rolled in, and she never stopped moving; sawing through great thick logs of freshly baked sourdough, juggling dozens of perfectly poached eggs, sprinkling fresh raspberries on steaming hot bowls of porridge. It was inspiring and not a little intimidating to watch her work.
I had a simple ham-n-eggs combo, that arrived as two pink slices of prosciutto on thick slabs of buttery toast topped by a couple of golden googs. I rarely get past this menu item, but if I did it would probably be to sample the sweet treats which look devastating.
I meant to take Professor Boylan to breakfast here while he was out, but I failed him in that regard. I let the Prof down, I let myself down, I let Australia down.

w from brisbane asserts...
Posted November 26, 2015
John Birmingham asserts...
Posted November 26, 2015
bawpcwpn mumbles...
Posted November 26, 2015
NBlob has opinions thus...
Posted November 26, 2015
damian has opinions thus...
Posted November 26, 2015
For those who demand "well done", either very cheap cuts or something glammed up from balsa wood and cardboard will suffice.
NBlob asserts...
Posted November 26, 2015
damian has opinions thus...
Posted November 26, 2015
trib swirls their brandy and claims...
Posted November 26, 2015
- pat dry the meat before cooking with paper towel
- rub meat with a little extra-virgin olive oil, and season with freshly ground black pepper and Maldon sea salt
- seal the meat 1 minute each side on the hot plate
- once sealed, transfer to grill over a very hot flame - 1-2 minutes for rare/medium-rare, 4 minutes per side for medium, 6 minutes per side for revolting
For your really gutsy steak - a 2" thick monster or your Cattleman's Cutlet, go 6 minutes on the first side on the grill, then 4-5 minutes on the second side; at least until the juices come through and start pooling on the up-side. For a thinner cut, or a lamb cutlet or similar, take a minute off per side.Once cooked, rest the meat for 2-3 minutes, slice and serve.
insomniac swirls their brandy and claims...
Posted November 26, 2015
trib has opinions thus...
Posted November 26, 2015
Best.
Barnesm asserts...
Posted November 26, 2015
If you want to take you steak cooking to the next level you should try Sous-Vide Steak.
Brother PorkChop mutters...
Posted December 2, 2015
she_jedi is gonna tell you...
Posted November 26, 2015
I've also tried the Heston Blumenthal theory of turning your steak every 30 seconds (check out the episode of How to Cook Like Heston where he covers beef, and then the science (SCIENCE!) behind cooking the perfect steak), and found this works very well too. Because you have to monitor the steak constantly, you get a good feel for when it's cooked through to when it's burnt if you're cooking for philistines.
My brother has tried sou vide steak, and he finishes it off by tossing it on a really hot BBQ for a few seconds each side to give it the BBQ lines and flavour and make it look like a real steak.
coriolisdave has opinions thus...
Posted November 27, 2015
The other highly-recommended technique - which works regardless of your flipping preference - is to grab a meat thermometer and cook the steak until it hits the appropriate temperature for preferred "doneness".
Seems a bit like cheating, to me, but millions swear by it.
GhostSwirv ducks in to say...
Posted November 27, 2015
Intuitively I have been cooking all of my meat all of my life using the now-called Heston method, enduring the slings and arrows and empty VB cans of family and friends berating me for my high protein rotations and yet strangely I do not have my own sciency cooking show or legion of online fans?
Marinated butterfly lamb is my speciality - and with a new decking, outdoor dining and BBQ area, not to mention the SPA, I cannot wait till Melba's weather settles down into proper outdoor cooking mode.
Nocturnalist asserts...
Posted November 27, 2015
+++Because you have to monitor the steak constantly, you get a good feel for when it's cooked through to when it's burnt+++
Reminds me of PJ O'Rourke's number-one steak cooking tip, which is that it's vitally important to hover over it constantly, scowling and prodding it with a fork. It does nothing for the steak, but it does stop you from wandering off to watch TV and turning your expensive prime cut into a flight jacket.
Bondiboy66 is gonna tell you...
Posted November 27, 2015
Penley has opinions thus...
Posted December 4, 2015
Murphy_of_Missouri would have you know...
Posted November 27, 2015
Yeah, while my mom likes hers the same way General Grant did the reality is that Cindy prefers hers mooing and I'm somewhere in the grey area.
So I finally turned the steak grilling over to Cindy, who does it perfect, every, single, damned, time.
I'll stick to ribs, brats, and burgers on the grill from this point forward.
insomniac is gonna tell you...
Posted November 27, 2015
Murphy_of_Missouri mumbles...
Posted November 27, 2015
Almost like sex.
she_jedi has opinions thus...
Posted November 27, 2015
Nocturnalist would have you know...
Posted November 27, 2015
+++I'm somewhere in the grey area+++
If your meat has gone grey by the time you cook it I think I may have spotted at least one contributing factor to your stomach problems.
Murphy_of_Missouri ducks in to say...
Posted November 27, 2015
No, mine has to be clear of the pink.
Abe Frellman mutters...
Posted November 27, 2015
Nigelau puts forth...
Posted November 27, 2015
Quokka ducks in to say...
Posted November 27, 2015
Justin puts forth...
Posted November 27, 2015
Justin ducks in to say...
Posted November 27, 2015
<div style="transition: all 0.1s ease;">JB, you would be a fool not to upgrade to a webber, it will improve you skills far beyond any app ever will. Any of the webberQ range will suffice, the new ones even have a sear station now to get it all nice a crispy and caramelized on the outside, while staying BLOODYon the inside. <div style="transition: all 0.1s ease;">Practically cooks the steak itself..............all you need to do is stand round drinking beer and 'supervising'....
DarrenBloomfield has opinions thus...
Posted November 27, 2015
But if you want to cook a steak in less than the 8 weeks that method takes, the big three tips are:
really hot grillturn often (yes really - it's a Heston tip)no substitute for touching the meat - the "thumb test" really is a good guide for how far on a steak is done.
The fun is in the experimenting.
Don't forget when and how to season: Best article ever on the subject - its Scienz!
http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/03/the-food-lab-more-tips-for-perfect-steaks.html
Therbs mutters...
Posted November 27, 2015
Bangar has opinions thus...
Posted November 27, 2015
Spanner swirls their brandy and claims...
Posted November 28, 2015
Take it out of the fridge 30-40 min before cooking so it's not cold in the centre.
1 minute to each side on the plate then 2 minutes each side on the grill or griddle pan.
Cover with foil and rest.
Place steak in mouth hole and wash down with red.
ShaneAlpha has opinions thus...
Posted November 28, 2015
Brother PorkChop would have you know...
Posted December 2, 2015