Village Cafe Restaurant and Bar - Airlie Beach - 5 out of 10

On this morning - still while on holidays - I thought I'd try another cafe, this time actually in the Main Street of Airlie Beach, but sadly, I seem to have lucked out with this place.

I ordered my Eggs Benedict with bacon and a side of mushrooms, but as you can see, mushrooms was translated by the English-as-a-second-language waitress as side of hash brown. Damn.

Tucking into the benny was the next issue with the hollandaise sauce extremely salty. Way too salty for me to enjoy.

It was so disappointing.

On the plus side, the eggs were cooked evenly and both runny.

But the Benny was just way too salty. And there were no muschies.

Atmosphere on the deck where sat was nice and service was quite fast.

There are many other cafes along the main street of Airlie Beach - hopefully we can visit one of these soon!

Overall 5-out-of-10.

The Coffee Club - Port of Airlie - Airlie Beach - 9 out of 10

Having family at Airlie Beach I've entually got around to trying out an Eggs Benedict from one of the many restaurants and cafes around the Main Street. On this occasion it was the Coffee Club at the Port of Airlie - a complex still under construction away from the main street.  This coffee club has been around for some time and I have previously visited and had a benny which I enjoyed.

Today's Eggs Benedict with bacon and a side of mushrooms came out and my first thought was "spinach"!!

Admittedly, and this was my mistake, at the Coffee Club it was an order of "Eggs Benedict with Spinach and Mushrooms, and a side of Bacon", so, the amount of spinach was perhaps to be expected.  Sadly, the "side of bacon" which is on the menu as two rashers - came out as one rasher. Disappointing.

But on a positive note, this was a very tasty benny - albeit with a overwhelming taste of spinach with most bites. It was also very pleasing to see that both eggs were cooked the same and were both runny - quite rare on our adventures so far!

Nice atmosphere by the water, and nice quick service topped off a great benny that was sadly held back by a lack of bacon and a huge amount of spinach.

Overall 9-out-of-10.

Bella Baristas on Capella - Clermont - 10 out of 10

My other local cafe in the small town of Clermont (Lotta Latte's is the other - the review of their benny is HERE!) and also it's the original cafe in town where I have had several bennys in the past.

I'll admit I haven't been here for a little while - there are at times lots of customers and a lack of seating - although Bellas is slowly acquiring more seating, and on this occasion, I found seat and service was quite fast - and as always - very friendly!

First glimpse of the benny - usual order of Eggs Benedict with bacon and a side of mushroom - had me please to see a lot bacon but no mushrooms!

Fortunately, the mushies were underneath the eggs and bacon - and the brown streak on the top of the plate turned out to be barbeque sauce!  It added an interesting 'tang' to the overall flavour which was quite nice!

So, we had plenty of bacon, and plenty of hollandaise sauce!  Sadly though, the eggs were a little over, but there was still some runniness.

Leaving the cafe I though that, yes, this is quite probably the best benny I've had so far on these adventures - but - the eggs could have been a bit runnier!

Overall:  Well deserved 10 out of 10!

Stellarossa Espresso Bar - Caneland Central Shopping Centre Mackay - 9 out of 10

After a busy morning of errands, I called into Caneland Central Shopping Centre for and Eggs Benedict with bacon and a side of mushrooms.  On this occasion I chose one of the other cafes in the form of Stella Rossa – there are two Coffee Club cafes at Caneland Central and on a previous occasion I tasted and review a benny at the smaller Coffee Club inside the centre – read my review here – http://eggs-benedict-hunter.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/the-coffee-club-inside-caneland-central.html

Having never visited Stella Rosa before I went in and was rudely greeted by the manager but seated by a nice waitress who took my order.  What came out looked stunning – one of the fullest plates of Eggs Benedict I’ve seen – and heaps of mushrooms!

And above-all-else, this benny tasted magnificent!

Rich hollandaise sauce, nicely cooked bacon, delicious mushrooms, and, more importantly, runny eggs!

This was perhaps the best Eggs Benedict that I’ve had so far – and certainly a lot better than the lack-lustre benny served up by the Coffee Club inside Canelands.  The very busy atmosphere and the manager’s rudeness was a little bit of a letdown though.  9 out of 10.

Le Porte Rosse - Emerald - 8 out of 10

I’m travelling ‘down the road’ to Emerald of this Eggs Benedict – with bacon and a side of mushrooms – to an award winning Italian restaurant that also does a nice breakfast service – La Porte Rosse.

I've had an Eggs Benny here before and was impressed particularly with the massive and tasty field mushrooms – on this occasion however, I lucked with the mushies but a tangy hollandaise sauce made up for that!

This is possibly the best tasting eggs benny I've had thus far!

My wife ordered a breakfast with a tangy hollandaise sauce and it looks like this sauce with loaded up into my plate too.  It was delicious!

Disappointingly, the eggs were hard and, as the photo show, there was a lot of fat and grease left over on the plate which I didn’t think looked real nice.  Also the benny is served on a toasted muffin rather than (say) Turkish bread.

Overall, this was a damn good benny served and in a nice atmosphere. It was let down though by the hard eggs and amount of fat left on the plate.  8 out of 10.

The Coffee Club - Inside Caneland Central Shopping Centre - Mackay - 7 out of 10

There two Coffee Club cafes at Caneland Central Shopping Centre - one inside and one outside overlooking the Pioneer River.  I had this benny at the long established cafe inside the centre which is looking a bit tired in places.

This Eggs Benedict was a bit lack-lustre.  It was nice and all, but could be better.  There was a nice slice of Turkish bread topped with mushroom and the bacon and poached eggs.  It certainly did look nice.

The bacon could've been cooked more and a bit crispier, while the eggs were overcooked and no runniness in them at all!

It was a nice breakfast but I guess with Coffee Club being a chain type store, this Eggs Benedict is probably made to a set recipe and so is a fairly reliable representation of most Coffee Club cafes around Central Queensland.  7 out of 10.

Lotta Latte's - Clermont - 8 out of 10

For my first Eggs Benedict review I'll present some thoughts on a local benny at Lotta Latte’s in my home town of Clermont.  Lotta Latte’s is located in the old Clermont Gentlemen’s Club building on Sirius Street.

I’m ordering and Eggs Benedict with bacon on Turkish bread with a side of mushrooms.

I’ve had good bennies here in the past and this one was no exception.  It looks pretty simple with nice Turkish bread and an ample supply of hollandaise sauce.

Bacon is well cooked and some nice tasty field mushrooms are on the side and were manageable on the fork.

On this occasion, my eggs weren't too runny, although pretty much every time I visit Lotta Lattes the runniness of the eggs varies!

Ok this occasion I thought it was a solid effort. 8 out of 10.