Lunch with a view ... of the bike shop

Where Marrickville to Newtown

Why After a two week hiatus from blog-related bike riding I was feeling pretty guilty, and while the one-and-a-half-hour return trip to my pal Jacq’s dinner party on Saturday night soothed that a little, I still had to go somewhere I could write about. Luckily a lunch date with my mother in law was set for Sunday, so I picked a new café I wanted to try - 2042 Cafe and Deli (403-405 King Street, Newtown, 9550 2500). Just across the road from King Street Cyclery it seems tailor-made for two-wheeled foodies so it was no surprise to see a couple of bikes already parked outside the wide open frontage.

Being open for breakfast and dinner, 2042 has plenty of choice on its menu for the hungry midday diner, even without the possibilities opened up by the well-stocked deli counter. To maximise options, eye up the multiple blackboard menus on the walls. We snapped up a special of chicken, pork and pistachio terrine along with a standard salad of roasted pumpkin, haloumi and rocket with pine nuts balsamic dressing.

The terrine looked and tasted worthy of a French bistro and came with slabs of Sonoma soy and linseed bread, while the salad was a satisfying mound of sweet pumpkin dice, tangled with rocket and crumbled lumps of salty haloumi.

It’s worth a visit just to browse the deli shelves. OK, it’s no Essential Ingredient but there are gourmet pantry items here you won’t find elsewhere in Newtown. I had my eye on these savoury jams from Spoonfed Foods, but I managed to get away empty-handed except for a brown paper bag containing a soft slab of chocolate and pecan brownie for afternoon tea.

How To get to Newtown station, from Sydenham Rd, follow the same route as for Addison Rd markets, but go straight on rather than turning left onto Addison. Cut through the little park (steep hill alert!) to get onto Stanmore Rd, cross at the lights and turn right onto Cavendish Lane. From there, it's laneways all the way to the top of Enmore Road.

Distance About 3.5km (one way)

Damage Salad $14.95, terrine $10.90, brownie $3

Tip

• Don’t BYO reading material – food-mag fiends can choose from a whole shelf full, including old issues of Cuisine, delicious. and Australian Gourmet Traveller.