MONDO, Attadale
by JENNY D’ANGER:
Mondo is Italian for world, and Deli Di Mondo’s shelves groan with an assortment of boutique comestibles from around the globe including olive oils, unusual teas and exotic sauces.
There’s also great range of petrochemical-free shampoos and body lotions, 40/50s china and glassware at the cafe/gourmet deli.
In fact there’s so much to look at lunch was on the table before my eyes had made it halfway down the funky cushions and pouffes aisle.
The cafe food presented a similar problem and I had agonised between the cauliflower fritter with minted yoghurt and a Mediterranean tart.
The tart ($13.80 with salad) won out—just—with its glorious combination of colours; bright red capsicum and tomato and white fetta.
A feast for the eyes, it was also a winner in the taste stakes, the sharpness of the cheese combining perfectly with the filling and the sweet capsicum and tomato topping.
The accompanying salads were also delicious, including an Asian-style coleslaw with shredded coconut and sultanas drizzled in a sweet vinegar dressing, and a puy and chick pea one.
The other half of the D’Anger duo had the tuna pattie ($13.80), and it was a massive ball of potato and tuna subtly laced with herbs and spices.
Having gulped down a deliciously fresh-squeezed orange and mango juice ($6.90) it was time for tea and cake and there was no going past the apple and butterscotch or lemon syrup ones ($4.50).
It was hard to say which was the better.
Both were moist and flavoursome, with the apple cake rich with a tooth-achingly sweet butterscotch melange running through it like a motherload, and the syrup cake sharp and sweet.
My brother and his wife put me onto di Mondo after a memorable breakfast.
They were so impressed by the big brekkie’s lashings of bacon, sausage, egg and hash browns he was texting photos before his coffee had cooled.
Owners Sherry and John have been on Hislop Road, Attadale for a couple of years but only recently added the cafe extension.
All but the occasional apple pie is made daily on the premises.
Sherry sources the eclectic deli provisions as a foil to the generic blandness of chain stores.
“I’m so scared we are in trouble of losing our identity,” she says.
“I don’t go to Coles or Woolies, I’m the butcher, baker kind of girl.”
She hopes to source more regional hand-made goods in coming months and is happy to hear from local artisans.
Deli Di Mondo
12 Hislop Road, Attadale
9330 3771
open Mon–Fri 7am – 6pm, Sat 7am–4pm
closed Sunday (at the moment)