April 29, 2013
-
Jacksons Dodd Review
When someone mentions “Preston”, the first thing that comes to people’s mind who know of the area think of 2 things:
1. Northland Shopping Centre and
2. Preston Markets.
However, one of Preston’s best kept secrets is not the shopping centre or the crazy people you have to deal with at the markets during the week but:
Jackson Dodds (611 Gilbert Rd Preston) itself. If it weren’t for Urbanspoon itself, I don’t think I would have visited this place and stumble upon the Northern Suburbs perhaps best kept secret in terms of places that serve a decent breakfast.
Jackson Dodds, is a corner cafe, with some really crazy artwork on the side wall. Outside dining is available and there’s no nice view to be had. You’re looking at either a petrol station or into other shops and look at people catching the tram. The outside dining is obviously people who want to enjoy the weather or can’t help polluting their lungs PLUS the inside of the cafe itself is relatively small and wouldn’t be able to seat everybody otherwise.
Some of the reasons as to why I like Jackson Dodds:
- the staff are friendly
-the service is pretty prompt (although sometimes coffee can take awhile to come out but as busy as they are, I can understand)
-the food is fresh and extremely tasty
On my last visit, I ordered a chai latte, which I quite enjoyed. It wasn’t too milky, too hot or too “cinamonny” (if you know what I mean)
My sister had the “seasoned avocado” with poached eggs and bacon on multi- grain bread. I can tell you the seasoned avocado was a MAJOR hit with MR_54632 and I suspect this will now be his brunch choice from now on. The avocado was nicely seasoned and made the dish a whole LOT tastier.
Mr_54632 had the “Big Breakfast” with haloumi, bacon, spinach, poached egg on toast- I’m not a fan of all that bacon nor am I a fan of the spinach. But if it’s for you because you’re really hungry OR hungover- this is the dish
and I had the Eggs Benedict with haloumi that I ordered on the side.
I can tell you- I LOVE Eggs Benedict, it’s usually my dish of choice and if a place stuffs that up- I would NEVER ever eat breakfast there again. It’s also one of the easiest dishes to stuff up because it’s not exactly easy to make (because I can’t make it myself). There have been times when I’ve been served up up egg that’s bordelining a “hard yolk”, it’s supposed to be runny. It’s to say, all of our poached eggs were nice and runny.But it’s not just the runny yolk that’s a problem. The hollandaise sauce can be a BIG hit and miss. There have been places where the sauce has been too runny, tasteless or bitter. Jackson Dodds gets the combination right (well for me anyway) and I’ve enjoyed the consistency that comes out time and time again.
I’m not surprised that a place that’s located in such a weird location is completely packed (I’ve visited all hours of the day) and constant stream of customers. If you serve up good food and good coffee then the masses will come- it doesnt matter where you are, and even if the parking can be a bit hard to find at times.
It may not be as chic as Auction Rooms/Hardware Societe/ 3 bags full/St Ali but heck, those places aren’t trading in an odd area such as Preston.
For us, it’s a great find… and it gives us hope that the Northern Suburbs isn’t falling behind everywhere else.
