There is a cafe at Kulnura service station which has great burgers, including vegetarian varieties for the non meat eaters.

At Aberdeen on the New England Highway, south of the Police station are a series of shops. Ones a bakery, the other (next to the Fishing Supplies Shop) a cafe. Both are excellent and the burgers at the Cafe are huge. A good spot to stop, have a feed and swap drivers.

If anyone ever has the pleasure (I doubt thats the right word but will do for the time being) of finding themselves in the little town of North Star, 1.5hrs south east of Goondiwindi (or about the same time north east of Moree), I highly recommend the food at the Commercial Hotel/Motel. Whilst this is the only place to eat or stay in North Star, the food is excellent, the helpings are huge and the cost very reasonamble. E.g. A rump stake the size of your arm, with vege's, gravy and chips, $22.00!!. The cook Kerrie-Anne is really nice and her partner, Paul, the barman will keep serving you alcohol till you collapse (no such thing as Responsible Serving of Alcohol in North Star). Whilst serving you, and taking your money, he'll tell you many a yarn to pass the time away.

Been doing a bit in the Cowra area over the last couple of years and found Cuppa on Kendal (63b Kendal St) on the main st very good for breakfast, brunch, lunch not much after 2pm as the cook goes home. But quality food up to 2pm and good coffee cakes all day.

I stopped off at the Quinty Bakehouse at Uraquinty last Sunday morning. The home-made banana bread warmed up and a mug of hot chocolate provided a welcome end to my 6 days in the field.

Further up on the Pac Hwy is New Italy (between Grafton and Ballina). They have great coffee but crap pasta funnily.  There is an interesting sort of museum that tells how the Italians came to the area (via a dodgy scheme in Bouganville from memory) and has displays on each Italian region.

Jason - you just jumped in before me with your recommendation of Fredo's pie shop at Fredrickton! We never drive by without stopping there on the way north.

A bit further north, the Thai restaurant at Woolgoolga (main shopping street) is superb - super quick service, tasty authentic dishes, huge serves and there's always lots of people in there (usually a good indication). There's also a pleasant, leafy courtyard where you can sit outside if the weather is nice. Being Woolgoolga, there's also at least 3 Indian restauarants but we've never tried them  - maybe someone else has.

Until the Pacifc Highway bypasses Kempsey and its satellite, Frederickton, you can't drive past the Fredo Pie Shop without getting either a gourmet pie (crocodile, tandoori, shepherds, etc) and an ice-cream.

If you are heading out Glenorie way, or beyond to Wisemans Ferry etc, It is well worth a stop at Glenorie Bakery / Deli - I haven't been disappointed yet. Nice pies and sweet treats.

The Bulahdelah bakery has fantastic sausage rolls and for the starving vegetarian, delicious cheese and spinach rolls (and pasties). Avoid the takeaway, but if you're just passing through and the bakery is closed, the mobil service station does good chips (and probably good meals as well, though I've never tried).

The sourdough bakery at blackheath also gets a vote from me.

Paul,

Havent you opened the proverbial can of witchetty grubs. Now this is up here I will start to include in my field note books records of cafes, pubs, restauarants and motels that should be atteeded or avoided at all costs. As an initial star, let me just say that the sour doe bakery at Blackheath is a nice stop off on a trip across the mountains, with a decent cup of strong coffee collected from the cafe around the corner. Also, stay clear of the motel in Appin last time I was there even the cockroaches are fearful of using it.

As an aside, dont you hate it when you go to some of these country cafes and ask for a strong cup of coffee only to see two table spoons of instant go into the cup as opposed to the usual one. hmmm so yummy...NOT!!!

If you travel out as far as Bourke, the town bakery is the ONLY place to get a good coffee and good tucker, dont waste time on any other venues. At Louth, the little town pub/general store is a welcome spot in a small outback town and the locals are friendly!

The local cafe at Tarcutta along the Hume Highway (near Wagga) is okay for the usual take-away food and drinks. It's extremely popular with the road construction crews associated with the current Hume Highway upgrade. I can't say that I'm overly impressed with any eating places furher down the road at Holbrook.  I've also struggled to find a good pub-style meal at Albury - any suggestions?

There's also a great "organic food" shop in the main street of Bowral. The front of the shop sells organically grown fruit & vegies, the rear is a cafe area. I can recommend the pumpkin soup, and bangers and mash (both dishes come with lots of herbs & spices) at the end of a very cold day (max of 5 C for the entire day last time I was there).  

I think the Comedy Company gave the greatest bush tucker advice ever when they had their Bush Tucker Man spear a KFC fillet burger in a creek.

When you are doing field surveys the big question is not 'have I got all my gear', or 'can I get access to certain parts of the site'; or 'will I get shot by some stroppy neighbour?'  No, the most important thing is "can I get a decent coffee and a feed in the nearby town?" Everybody knows that after spending a few hours clearing traps, chasing some small, brown bush bird or setting quadrats in spikey, sclerophyllous scrub, sustenance is required. Regional victuals have improved exponentially in the many years I have spent as a consultant travelling this fair state but there are still some "black spots", where the barista is a dill or the Danish pastry is more like putty.  As highlighting such places could bring opprobrium or legal action upon the ECA, I propose we develop a register of top tips for purchasing food & drink in non-metro areas.  For instance, when in Bingara (north of Tamworth) don't get your coffee at the café, go to the pub at the north end of town.  Rylstone (near Mudgee) has a couple of great cafes, this quality of fare sadly lacking in its twin town, Kandos.  Alternatively, when in that region, the restaurant at Running Stream on the Macquarie Highway does great grub.  These are just a few examples of how we can assist each other's nourishment and reward deserving small businesses in the bush.  I hope there is more reaction to this topic than my previous post, Biocertifictaion (0 responses).