Overall score: 77/100
Dannyboys is a hip and funky
alternative to Subway tucked away in one of Brisbane's most hip and
funky suburbs, Kelvin Grove. The gentrification occurring here is
going through like a wrecking ball and Dannyboys is well placed.
At first I was a bit puzzled visiting
here. The shop is not in the main shopping area, which doesn't
inspire confidence. It's also a bit utilitarian from the front; I
kind of had to search for it and I doubt the small A-frame sign at the front
would be enough to catch the attention of shoppers just down the
road. Regardless, I was glad I found it, and after walking through
the doors, the shortcomings of all that hidden facade is all but
forgotten. Inside: cool, modern, well designed, completely in sync
with its location. The menu looked great, but it was located high,
very high in fact, which was an interesting choice. I was greeted by
a smiley happy person who put me at easy and while I took a very long
time to make my choice, I never felt pressured or like I was an
inconvenient annoying wart. A quick notable point were the crates
used as stools with a seat pillow as a topper. These are a great
up-cycling idea but as I sat there devouring my meal, I noticed it
was actually kind of uncomfortable; not uncomfortable like having a
haemorrhoid, but more like a slight annoyance to your buttocks.
After what felt like a long time, I
ended up with a pumpkin soup entree and a 'Big Bear' (I looooooove
sauerkraut). The soup was fine. Tasted like pumpkin soup should, but I
have to admit, it was a stock standard soup on this day; no interesting edge, special hit-you-in-the-face spice or herb. The unexpected highlight of my visit
was the single piece of accompanying bread roll. This little piece of
bread bought back memories of the 'proper bread' I used to devour as
an ankle biter; it was light yet crunchy, slightly salty, cooked to
perfection and all delicious. A reasonable start.
The sub that followed was a slight disappointment. The bread, for a sub, was overly crunchy for me. It
was actually so crunchy (and admittedly probably so fresh out of the oven) it broke through the delicate unaccustomed
roof of my mouth. Crunchy bread is fine, but in a thick sub it just
didn't work. The ingredients inside were miss-matched. When you see
sauerkraut in the ingredients of a sub, you imagine it will have SOME
of it in there for a hint of flavour and acidic balance. This sub
though was loaded up; now don't get me wrong, I love the stuff almost
as much as I love a good game of Origin. In a sub though I am looking
for balance, and balance had unfortunately gone for a walk. I
couldn't taste the pastrami, the thousand island sauce all but disappeared, which is really saying something, as the
main salad ingredient overpowered the dish. All other ingredients
disappeared. Did it taste nice? It was kind of OK, but this really
was a 'sauerkraut sub'.
You can kind of see what Dannyboys is
trying to do; modern, hip, different, the ultimate anti-Subway. It
was then such a shame that a good setup became a mediocre meal, with
an uneventful pumpkin soup and a tsunami of sauerkraut. The place
prides itself on the bread and as well it should, the piece presented
with the soup was delightful. In my opinion a slight rethink to
restore the balance in their Big Bear sub would fix my visit's low
point and perhaps a slightly softer crust on the bread in the sub would have
transformed the experience into a memorable fast food alternative. Urbanspoon reviews are very much in the positive so a revisit is
definitely on the books. 77/100
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