The Baron, Castle Hill

So, first things first. Although The Baron's address is listed as "Castle Street, Castle Hill" you'll find them tucked away on Old Castle Hill Road.  Don't make the mistake that we did and wander around Castle Hill for 40 minutes wondering where the hell a) you are and b) where the cafe is!  And for the record, Google Maps - you are NOT my friend. OK?

The address conundrum is simply explained. The Baron resides on the outer-rim of the enormous Castle Towers shopping center. Shopping centers really do my head in now that I'm "an old lady" (back in my 20s I could happily spend all weekend inside one of these places...but not any more).

It's a blessing not to have to go inside this monotonous shopping center to find a great neighbourhood cafe bursting with fresh and flavoursome locally-sourced food, wonderful coffee and friendly staff.  The cafe has a really unique vibe with it's urban, industrial styling and minimalist approach to the decor.

First order of the day is an Iced Coffee ($4.50) for both myself and The Boy.  The Baron does a really sophisticated, minimalist looking Iced Coffee - not a dollop of cream to be seen anywhere, just a great-bodied espresso poured over vanilla ice-cream. 

The Boy orders the BLAT ($8.50) and I'm surprised at how huge this sandwich is for the small price tag.  Crammed between two thick slices of bread is a mound of crispy bacon, tomato and avocado. It's gone in less than 60 seconds.

Keen on ordering something vegetarian I'm told that the Young Man's Salad (which changes daily) is a Mushroom Bruschetta with asparagus and Persian Feta. Sounds great, but it's obvious from the first mouthful that there's quite A LOT of (tasty tasty) shredded pork and bacon lurking in this Mushroom Bruschetta. Whilst I'm not a vegetarian by any means, I prefer not to eat meat when out and about as I like to eat free-range for ethical reason.  That said, I'm not going to dump a perfectly good meal in the bin if it inadvertently has meat in it - that would be a waste of food, and I'd feel pretty bad that the animal died only to end up in the bin for my "ethics". Turns out The Baron actually serves up free-range pork anyway - from Schultz Butchers in the Barossa Valley.  I'm happy to hear this as that BLAT looks like a good option for next time.

So the long and the short of it - really really good mushroom and pork Bruschetta, with perhaps just a little too much oil drizzled over the salad as a dressing.
 

And who is The Young Man I hear you ask?  You'll see his Polaroid, along with all the other staff members stuck to the back of the Coffee Machine for easy reference. This visual aid might be more for the staff's benefit however as The Baron turns into a small bar once the sun sets over Western Sydney. And who is The Baron? Well, he was the first free-man to own land in this neck of the woods.

The Baron is at Shop 461, 4-16 Castle Street (Castle Towers Shopping Center), Castle Hill.  Like I said though, you'll find them down on Old Castle Hill Road, next to Games Workshop.