Pretika Goodall hands us our beautiful and simple Bega tasty cheese toasty. Photos: Lisa Herbert.
You’re on a road trip to the Far South Coast. The music is good, the banter with your mates even better. The caffeine craving hits you just as you pull in to Bega, and with it, a chance to sample the best cheese in the country, melted between two slices of golden toasted bread.
What makes the perfect toasted cheese sandwich? It has much to do with the bread used, but then there’s the butter applied to the outside pre and post-toasting. How dark and how flat. How much cheese and is it melted through? There’s also the smoky crunch of cheese that has escaped onto the grill plate and stuck itself onto the bread. Oh yes, you know what I’m talking about!
To find answers to this cheesy conundrum, I volunteered to take one (more like three kgs) for the team, and sink my teeth into the crispy buttered outer of a selection of suggested sangas throughout the Bega Valley.
My pick is pretty amazing but simple, and reeking of childhood memories of comforting, crispy-buttered-white, flowing-golden-stringy-goodness by the fire on a cold post-school afternoon. But as I discovered, there is more to this than cheese. There are tomatoes, and mustard, ham and corned beef, béchamel, vegan cauliflower, pumpkin and onion jam to add.
There are some absolutely gorgeous hand-held wonders of comfort to be had where ever you turn.
Sometimes simple is the best. Bega Heritage Centre lives up to expectations.
The Bega Cheese Heritage Centre: 11-13 Lagoon Street, Bega Phone: 6491 7762
You have to love it when the smiling person serving you is quick to reply “It absolutely is!” on my suggestion they must serve one of the best cheese toasties in the valley, given who they are.
At $6 a pop, with an option to add Vegemite, this toasted delight reached all my expectations and ticked all boxes.
White farmer’s style bread, obviously spread with Bega’s beautiful butter, which allowed for a crispy yet delicately crunchy bite through to a totally liquefied oozing of thick Bega ‘tasty cheese’ goodness. A tiny explosion of green garnish on a white oval plate, and there it is…
I offer up to you my pick for best “toasted cheese sandwich” in the Bega Valley.
The Nook in Bega serves fabulous toasties and jaffles, including a great Ruben.
The Nook Espresso, 158 Carp St, Bega Phone/text: 0490 844 295
The use of sourdough bread in the making of a toasted sandwich is an inspired move, and one that many local toasters make use of, there being some great sourdough bakeries in the region. Using sourdough means the sandwich can withstand a larger load of ingredients and definitely means a bigger crunch. I know there are some who prefer the softness of a classic white farmer’s loaf – but sourdough has something to say.
Sourdough, I suspect, also soaks up a much greater amount of butter (no margarine please, healthy fats here I come). At Bega’s The Nook they use Wheatley Lane Sourdough from Candelo, one of my favourite bakeries. They make the most of Bega butter, and of course their secret weapon – the infamous Bega Heritage Cheddar.
These sandwiches are divine, well priced and always excellent. My favourite is the ‘Classic’ (Smoked Ham, Bega Heritage Cheese, Tomato) but they also toast up a great Ruben, The ‘Salami’, The ‘Shroom’ and a Cuban.
Red Cafe’s beautiful thin sourdough and rich roasted pumpkin, with Bega Heritage Cheddar cheese of course!
Red Cafe: 161 Carp St, Bega Phone: 6492 2004
I’ve always loved Red Cafe’s crispy quesadillas and felt sure they’d serve up a wicked toasted sandwich. I was not proved wrong.
Lovely thin slices of crispy Honorbread sourdough, smothered in gorgeous golden grease, with roasted pumpkin, roquette, sun-dried tomato pesto and Bega Tasty Cheese and a sweet side-salad garnish with perfectly paired bitter leaves and flowers.
A delight to quite a few of the senses and not too harsh on the wallet.
Dairy Queen: French woman Aurele Roy tastes the Croque Monsieur from Blend at Tathra.
Blend at Tathra: 37 Andy Poole Drive, Tathra Phone: 6494 5145
Bronnie at Blend is a total cheese freak and keeps a pretty cabinet, not of Moet Chandon, but a plethora of perfect fromage from around the world.
From this cabinet, she draws an often smelly Swiss classic and makes a to-die-for Croque Monsieur – Swiss Gruyere, double smoked ham, and house-made, tarragon flavoured béchamel, toasted in Blend’s very own house-baked sourdough.
A substantial breakfast for anyone, and a perfect lunch which I happened to be enjoying when a lovely lilting French voice piped up next to me “it is a croque monsieur, non?” Oui! The lovely Aurele agreed it was a very good CM, and the sourdough added a dense extra layer of flavour – and Mmlle Aurele would know, she is French after all.
Crisp and corny, a delicious toasted treat from Candelo Store & Cafe.
Candelo General Store and Cafe: 48 William St, Candelo Phone: 6493 2100
In the lovely hills of the Bega hinterland lies the picturesque village of Candelo. A town often busy with live music and its popular monthly market. The cafe is a beautifully refurbished building from 1904 dressed up with shiny new and old pressed tin and polished woodwork.
Their toasted sandwich menu is full of show-offy smoked meats, pickled veggies and Bega cheddar cheese. I had the corned beef – there is always something satisfying about melted cheese, smoked meats and sharp pickles in a toasty.
And of course, they use local bakers Wheatley Lane’s beautiful bread. It is a very flavoursome and crunchy sandwich with that extra layer of smokey flavour us humans find so enticing.
Delicate, sweet onion jam with gruyere, mozzarella and Meredith goat cheese… are you kidding?
Honorbread: 8 Bunga Street, Bermagui Phone: 64934880
We’re very spoilt for sourdough in the Bega Valley, and you will never hear me complaining about it! Incredible edible Kardamumbullas, big buxom country white loaves, beautiful baguettes and yes, a gorgeous toasted sandwich offering.
I had my arm totally twisted (as you can imagine) into trying the Honorbread’s ‘Three Cheese, Rosemary and Onion Jam’ toasty. Housed between two slices of country white with of course a load of butter, it was almost like a huge buttery savoury biscuit – thin slices and sweet cheesy goodness, with loads of crunch.
Memories are made of this!
Not to be trifled with, this vegan sanga is outstanding.
Boneless Vegetarian Cafe: 1/14 Lamont Street, Bermagui
When you start asking people to recommend their favourite toasty, so many suggestions come at you. However, when four separate people, (only one of whom is a vegan) recommend the same vegan offering, one is compelled to investigate.
The Boneless ‘Roast Cauliflower & Truffle Cream’ toasty was one I thought on sight – “no way will I finish this”, but then I proceeded to devour it with some speed.
I have always loved the flavour of slightly over-roasted cauliflower with its hints of caramel. And this creamy filling, coupled with Emily’s secret ‘Vegan Truffle Cream Cheese’ within two slices of crunchy Honorbread sourdough was absolutely scrumptious. Lip smacking, with no nostalgic thoughts of dairy culture at all. Just really bloody good.
There’s my pick of the best the region has to offer, but if you’d like to send us pictures and suggestions of your favourite cheesy sanga from the Bega Valley, we’d be most humbly appreciative, and our waistlines will thank you!
That road-trip sounds more appealing now, doesn’t it?
Editors note: Lisa Herbert dines at her own expense. Reviews are honest and not based on a commercial relationship.
Original Article published by Lisa Herbert on About Regional.
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