Here’s the guy you should talk to about your dinner plans

Our Local Butcher is someone that looms large in my childhood memories. Always affable and attentive, each trip to his store seemed more like a consultation than just a purchasing mission.  

Rob is bringing that culture back. He and his team are passionate about their produce and keen to share some tips on how to best achieve the dinner you desire.

We also appreciate Rob because he sources responsibly grown meat and makes his own small goods in house, the traditional way. We serve Robs free range chicken and smoked free range ham.

Later in February we will be going with Rob to tour some of the farms he works with so we can see for ourselves how they care for their animals and their pastures.

Butcher on Brunker deliver too, so you can get your responsibly grown meat, with a smile at your door.

butcheryonbrunker.com

A sneak peak behind the pearly gates of Pillidge Farm

When we die, we want to go somewhere where mulberries drip from enormous shady trees, pumpkin vines run rampant, kale grows like hegdes and we can fill our baskets with persimom, plums, pomegranate, passionfruit and grapefruit. Chris and Erin are tending that little piece of heaven, and it’s called Pillidge Farm.  

We shop for fruit and veg with Erin at Newcastle Farmers Markets and we offer her seasonally flavoured kombucha on our menu. Right now it’s Fig and Orange Blossom.

Chris has been collecting our gelato containers for so many years he has a shed-full. If you buy a tray of wheatgrass from Pillidge Farm, it’ll come in one of our gelato containters.  #resourceful Love it.

@pillidgefarm

Putting a little Hunterbelle on a plate changes everything

Would you like to know why our labna is so good?  We start with incredibly thick, tasty and fresh yogurt from Jason and Annie at Hunterbelle. The marinated feta you love with just about everything at estabar, is also made by Hunterbelle.

Everything Jason and Annie touch seems to turn into gooey, creamy deliciousness!  

This family business make their yogurt and all their cheeses using milk from a nearby Swiss Brown Cow Dairy. These beauties were bred in the Swiss Alps especially for producing milk for cheese.  

Hunterbelle is a prime example of Hunter Valley Producer excellence and we’re proud to work with them.

hunterbellecheese.com.au

If you’ve noticed a stunning piece of street furniture or art, Tom probably made it

Several years ago we were ready for a bit of a make over here so we rang Tom.

We asked Tom to create a beautiful space for people to sit out the front.  At that point we had a series of long timber bench seats and it was all very linear – very unTom.

Tom wanted to curve the seating around the curve of the road, he wanted to create this line that drew people into our space and kind of held them gently within it.

We couldn’t exactly see what he had in mind, but we shut-up and let Tom do the thing he is best at. We love our shapely bench seats and the way they subtly provide space and time for our people to connect.

He also built our bench tops - out of an old RSL dance floor, how fun is that!

@tomireland_design

Local Crop brings farmers market produce to Hunter Street

Stanley has a heart for bringing produce from Hunter farmers and producers to the people. It’s wonderful to be able to talk to Stanley about ‘who grew what’ and what the new season will bring.

We really admire his knowledge of seasonal produce and connection with local producers.

You’ll find all kinds of cheeses, milk, coffee, bread, sweets, honey, oils and lots and lots of fresh, local and seasonal fruit and veg at Local Crop.

If you can’t get in there, Stanley will even deliver for you.  

localcrop.com.au

After all these years, we’re still just as excited about Single O.

These guys don’t stop. They’re always pushing the envelope further and further towards delicious and
sustainable coffee.

We began working with Single O in 2007. We wanted to partner with a coffee roaster that would keep us up to speed with coffee best practice. Particularly, practices that show the bean and the grower the respect they deserve, sustain the environment and make a really tasty coffee.

As an example, The ‘Juggler’ automatic milk dispensor came out of the Single O brains trust. It not only eliminates use of plastic milk bottles, it saves milk wastage by auto-dosing exactly what the barista needs. It also helps us make our coffee service faster and cleaner.

Over the years we have made many trips to Single Origin for barista training and advice. A few of us have even been fortunate enough to visit coffee growers in Panama and Costa Rica with Single O.

We’re grateful to work with a business that looks to the future of the bean, its growers and us, its barista’s.

singleo.com

Lee is a red hot photographer, we’re working on her high fives

Lee really see’s people. She see’s the face you present to the world, and then looks deeper to find the beautiful complex human you are and dives deep in to really capture your spirit.

She does the same when she’s shooting estabar dishes and experiences for us. She pushes and prods to find the reason we want that photo - so she can capture our intent as well.

Every year on Mothers Day Lee spends a few hours capturing portraits of our esta mums and their families. Please remember to book your mum in with us next Mothers Day - her portraits are family treasures.

leeillfieldphotographer.com

this is Frankie, bears live at Frankies house - but they eat at estabar

We can’t imagine why Frankies’ bears come all the way to estabar to eat when they live right there at the source of James and Rose’s famed Brinjal Pickle and Kassoundi.  

Using family recipes that date back to the 1920’s James and Rose make a small range of delicious pickles and chutneys that top the charts at estabar, but apparently are of no interest to bears.

We love the Brinjal through our scrambled eggs and with Little Tin Sheds’ sun kissed tomatoes, labna and sourdough.

The Kassoundi adds a little spice to our Classic Toastie with free range egg from Just Been Laid, free range ham from Butcher on Brunker, cheese and sourdough by Baked Uprising.

“‘At estabar of course,’ was Frankies’ adorable reply.”

The story behind the bears.

Frankie has two older brothers who like to scare the living daylights out of him with the classic idea that bears live under their stairs.

James, in trying to reason with Frankie asked, ‘well, where would the bears be eating?’

‘At estabar of course,’ was Frankies’ adorable reply.

www.jamesandrose.com.au