PATISSERIE PORN STARS
DACI AND DACI BAKERS
31-33 New Town Rd, New Town 6288 7077 Open daily 8am-5pm
If Hobart has a Paris end, it must surely be New Town. There’s Jean Pascal, in Carlton St, Jackman & McRoss, in Cross St, and now Daci and Daci has completed the flaky, buttery triangle by opening its second bakery on New Town Rd.
Replacing previous tenants Brother Mine and the Crumb St Diner, it opened on September 10 after a reasonably quick turn around by Cheryl and Naser Daci. It seems renovation has been a constant task for the patisserie power couple in 2018.
Not only have they renovated their house to sell and moved into another requiring work but their flagship bakery and cafe in Murray St, right next door to the State Government’s executive offices, was spruced up around the same time the New Town site was secured.
Just last year, the couple divested themselves of their tapas eatery — the Black Footed Pig in Brooke St — freeing them up to focus on other projects. “We weren’t looking for another site necessarily but the opportunity presented itself,” Cheryl says.
The clincher for Daci and Daci 2.0 was the offer of a commercial cooking space on the for-lease sign. Out the back there’s more than enough room for a huge bread oven, a proving cabinet, and a French bread mixer complete with quirky tortoise and hare buttons to indicate speed.
Cheryl says the Daci and Daci’s pastry chefs no longer need to share the Murray St kitchen space with bakers, with all the bread now baked at the New Town site. There’s handy storage space and, of course, the high-profile shopfront at the busy Augusta Rd intersection near Hill St Grocer and The Friends’ School.
We make our first visit for breakfast on a Saturday morning. A gleaming Gaggia coffee machine scattered with coffee beans takes pride of place in the front window, with the cafe menu displayed on a music stand.
A queue of people is waiting to be seated but thankfully we booked ahead. The interior is much more continental than its urban cool days as Brother Mine. A custom-made cake cabinet filled with what could best be described as patisserie porn takes centre stage. Colourful Mandy Renard works adorn the walls, along with a full-length gilded mirror dating back to the mid-1800s which Cheryl sourced from the Drill Hall antique emporium in New Norfolk.
Two of us order the salmon and eggs, two opt for the breakfast beans, while the fifth member of our party can’t go past a croque monsieur, which, he informs me, is French for “Mister Crunch”. Croque monsieur is a sophisticated name for what is essentially a ham and cheese toasted sanger, but I digress.
Like sunshine on a plate, my duck eggs sit atop a lightly toasted slice of brioche. Alongside is the rolled up smoked salmon, garnished with crunchy pea shoots. This simple but satisfying breakfast gets extra zing from a squeeze of lemon. I also try my companion’s beans, which have a pleasing hit of spiciness that makes at least one of our breakfast crew reach for a tissue. Served with two slices of grain toast, they are liberally scattered with fresh herbs including mint, parsley and coriander. The venue is crowded, but conversation flows easily across the table.
When I return for a midweek lunch, the atmosphere is more subdued. I try a wedge of cauliflower frittata topped with cheesy goodness and served with lightly dressed salad greens. Mister Crunch tucks into a beef pie. With a round knob atop the flaky pastry, it looks as though you could lift the lid to reveal the rich meatiness inside. He spurns his salad, so I help myself.
We finish by sharing a banoffee cake — smooth banana mousse on a chocolate shortbread base filled with caramel. The edge is spiked with popcorn, adding a salty dimension to what is a very sweet treat. As we leave the New Town triangle, I grab a bag of rosewater and pistachio meringues to share with colleagues back at work in Salamanca Square.
Le Verdict? Tres bien!