Sunday 19 April 2015

Ruckers Hill Cafe and Ukelele Festival

It was the old record player re-purposed as a cafe table that first caught my attention as I walked past Ruckers Hill Cafe.  We had just had a nightmare finding parking in Northcote.  If there was a parking spot we missed it and then it was gone when we returned, or someone took it from under our nose.  Finally we rushed down Northcote High Street to meet E who was volunteering at the Ukelele Festival.  I suggested we backtrack to Ruckers Hill Cafe and was very glad I did.

It is not a huge cafe.  There wasn't much room inside so we saw on a bench outside.  We ordered Zucchini and Carrot Fritters for E (above) and Olive Cream Cheese Slice for me (below) and Cheese Toastie for Sylvia (not pictured).  In keeping with the ambiance of the cafe, everything was presented beautifully with lots of colourful and healthy vegetables.

I am not usually a fan of these eggy slices but was delighted with this one that had interesting add-ins, lots of flavour and a generous pile of salad on the side.  While the salad had a lot of lettuce, it had a great dressing that made me happy to eat my way through it.  My slice had big blobs of mild cream cheese in it which were well balanced by the olives. 

It was a great place to sit.  We saw lots of fellow ukelele players as we watched the passers-by.  Some stopped to chat.  Others gave us a big smile and an entertaining remark as they rushed by.  The waitress was friendly as we talked to her about the Studio Ghibli films.  I even liked that we could go in and look at the old piano as we waited.  If we had had more time we might have stayed for dessert and one of the interesting juices.

We had a ukelele performance to go to and then found ourselves at Yuni's Kitchen for a drink.  Actually E and Sylvia had a drink and I had a wander around the shops.  Before I went I checked out the menu and we agreed we should return to eat there some day.

Yuni's Kitchen has a lovely courtyard with a painting of a dove one one side and the Chalice Church on the other.  I was fascinated by the quinces and pomegranates growing at the side of the church.  Are they for passers-by or does the church or the cafe use them?

Whatever their purpose it added a really nice touch to a leafy courtyard with shade cloth and lots of space for kids to run around.  We could also hear the faint sounds of ukelele performances in the church.

We then went to see E play at the Shellac Gallery.  It was great to see him playing solo and to hear him performs songs I have heard him practicing in the bedroom.  And I had a catch up with my friend Heather.

While at the Shellac Gallery we were also able to check out the ukelele artwork.  I really liked the above black and yellow ukelele which was decorated with pasta.  Then we had promised Sylvia some time browsing the beautiful toys in the Big Dreams shop.

By then I was ready to go home.  E stayed on for more gigs but I was so tired that I took Sylvia to buy some chips from the Fish and Chip shop (Abdul's Halal Takeaway) on Elizabeth Street, Preston to take home for dinner. 

Luckily the staff were kind and honest.  I absent-mindedly left both my purse and Sylvia's dolly behind as we left but someone came out to let us know.  Then we collapsed at home with excellent hot chips and corn jacks.

Ruckers Hill Cafe
212 High Street
Northcote
Open Tue-Fri: 7:30am-3:30pm, Sat: 8:30am-3:30pm, Sun: :900am-3:30pm

Ruckers Hill Cafe on Urbanspoon

16 comments:

  1. Every time I hear about ukeleles I think of you and E and Hawaii! :D

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    1. Thanks Lorraine - we really need to get to Hawaii some day :-)

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  2. I do find parking dramas incredibly stressful. What a beautiful church. Those fritters look wonderful and that egg slice looks really interesting xx

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    1. Thanks Charlie - we parked so far away from the High Street that when we left I got Sylvia to stay with E while I went to get the car - later I found out there was a fete on nearby as well as the festival!

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  3. You always find such lovely places. Those Zucchini and Carrot Fritters look amazing

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  4. My stomach is growling looking at that food!

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  5. This place looks like a great find! A ukelele festival sounds like so much fun.

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    1. Thanks Jenny - the festival was fun - though a bit less centralised this year than the last few I have been to - but it is really nice to just spend time in Northcote high street when it is on and enjoy the atmosphere of ukelele players wandering about with their ukes and being friendly

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  6. I love that blue and yellow photo with the ukelele. Well done to E on his playing and your meals do look really fresh and flavourful.

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    1. Thanks Kari - I really liked that photo too - it is E's uke against the Dove painting in the cafe by the church. Sylvia and I arranged the photo while he was off buying drinks :-)

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  7. I love going on these adventures with you Johanna. I even feel pooped for you! Thank you so much for sharing another delightful outing:)

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    1. Thanks Louise - nice to hear from you - glad to have you along for the (virtual) outing.

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  8. I was at Yuni's a couple of weeks ago though they weren't going to be open for another ten minutes so I could only glance around briefly. The outside area was nice. Northcote has been good to us for parking during the week, on a weekend it's awful! We had a couple of shows at the town hall so we took the bus and tram.

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    1. Thanks Faye - I think you are wise to take PT for shows on weekends. Sometimes I think I just need to appreciate getting a walk and park further away rather than getting stressed about trying to park nearby. Though even that wouldn't have helped with the lights out at the corner of separation street and high street which added to my stress! We go to Northcote occasionally so I hope to get back to Yuni's some day

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  9. Sounds like a fantastic way to spend the day. My hubby bought me a ukelele recently and I am determined to learn how to play it. So far... it's not going so well ;p Ah well. I love the ukelele art - so creative.

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    1. Thanks Kimmy - good luck with the ukelele - Sylvia is learning so I try some of the notes and chords with her sometimes but I learnt piano as a kid and do not find the ukelele as easy as the piano where it is so obvious where the notes are. But ukeleles are so portable and social.

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