Cabin fever

In a perfect illustration of how much Brisbane feels like it's come alive in the years since I moved away, I fell for a little cafe on the weekend which was a musty old pharmacy the last time I lived in the neighbourhood. My little sister's just moved into that area that's either Ashgrove or Red Hill or Paddington, depending on who you ask. Her new pad's a few streets from the townhouse I called home for most of my uni days, in Bramble Terrace. She and her mates recommended this new-ish hole-in-the-wall on Enoggera Terrace. It's called either Cabin or Cabinessence, depending on how fancy you want to sound.

Cabin itself isn't fancy. If you want anything other than coffee, mind-blowing avocado toast or a pot of tea, you'd best look elsewhere. My sister recounted a telling anecdote about when she took a couple of more conservative country boys out for breakfast. When she asked at the counter for a menu, she was told by the person behind it, "I am the menu". The boys were already out the door.

Granted, our coffees took their sweet time in arriving to our street-side table. But when they did, they were gooood, and served on vintage saucers while each table's sugar bowl sported a different old novelty teaspoon. Little touches like these made it feel like a treat to sit on cushion-topped milk crates and mismatched old chairs, flocks of pot plants adding to the nanna's-sunroom vibe. I've passed the joint a few times since, and it's always pretty packed. And - seriously - that avocado toast is something else.


It was all part of a perfect Brizvegas Saturday: an early start at the West End markets + round two coffee at Cabin + window shopping down Latrobe Terrace into Paddington + accidentally spending the last of my funds on a cheeky lil Karen Walker dress (seriously, Meow Meow's closing down and there are some crazy bargains to be had) + lunch dumplings from the Kelvin Grove markets + an afternoon nap in the air-con + riding Baby Blue over to West End, listening to Yeasayer while my huge old pleated skirt threatened Marilyn Monroe moments + rounding out the night boogying to blues at the Boundary after jugs of Coopers and a delicious cheap dinner.

So yeah - I'm gonna be in Brisbane for a couple months. Wanna hang out? x