Jackie McMillan
Google
Known for their well-made Campos coffee, Anonymous is a little Blackheath café that began back in 2012. In 2016, the team expanded to a second venue, Synonymous, located in nearby Medlow Bath just a short walk from the famous Hydro Majestic Hotel. With an emphasis on using locally grown, seasonal produce, and making their own bread, pickles and relishes, both venues represent good spots to break a journey across the Blue Mountains if you like eating honest, tasty food.
The interior at Anonymous is modest and functional. Shelves constructed with repurposed wood are lined with colourful pickle jars, illustrating their make-everything-in-house ethos. The items inside these jars are put to excellent effect on the Anonymous Mixed Plate ($20), which comes with three different condiments – a beetroot relish, a fig condiment that's perfect for cheese, and a lovely mixed curry pickle that’s sour and compelling. Consume them with three different meats – thick slices of house-corned beef, a whirl of prosciutto and carved leg ham. You'll also find three cheeses - a farmhouse Cheddar, a creamy, tangy blue cheese and a slightly less exciting brie. The plate is rounded out by a beetroot-cured boiled egg, springy mixed leaves, lightly pickled julienned carrot, a mound of pickled cucumber slices, and lightly toasted, buttered fig and caraway soda bread. It’s a wonderful lunch grazing plate that showcases great produce for a reasonable price, with more food on it than I could eat.
Using the same palate of ingredients – the key to a successful, small café menu – the Reuben Toastie ($18.50) takes the slow-cooked corned beef, creamy American cheddar and pickles, and teams them with cabbage ‘slaw and Dijon mustard. The well-balanced mix is sandwiched between thick slices of toasted organic sourdough, and presented with more of those nicely dressed, springy mixed leaves. The serve is generous, and the price reflects the time and labour that goes into making so many of the ingredients in-house.
We washed our meal down with Bulla Booch Kombucha ($5.50) flavoured with black tea and a hint of mango. It’s locally fermented in Bullburra, in small batches to ensure each (fully recyclable) bottle is perfect. The simple, old-fashioned frothy Vanilla Milkshake ($6.50) also proved a winner - both are great ways to refresh and refuel before hitting the road ahead.
