<Coffee al fresco - the height of luxury? With time for breakfast, MMC and two friends waltz into Buskers Cafe, the mall's answer to outdoor dining. Sandwiched between King William St, Haigh's and Darrell Lea, Buskers has a sweet location. A cafe that you don't even have to walk into; the crazy convenience compensates for loss of shopper shuffle-space. The Order: two skinny lattes and one flat white, have here. The Price: $3.20 p/p, and no separate accounts.
'Al fresco' is agreeably Italian for 'in the fresh air'. Certainly as first time visitors, it's an electric feeling to burst from intersection bustle into cafe-pen serenity. Is it just MMC, or have diagonal crossings made the day-to-day pedestrian experience that little bit more frantic? It's none too frantic in Buskers, where a dearth of fellow patrons earns us the full choice of clean, unoriginal furniture. The Service: with the full attention of an unoriginal waitress, pleasant.
Wistful with a white sheet of milkfoam, friend of MMC calls in the violins. The Pour: at one third foam, latte is loamy. Artistically, nothin' whatsoever going on there. One glance at buzzing Beehive Corner reminds MMC why decoration matters. Now a chock-a-block slice of gothic revival-ism, in 1896 the Beehive building screened Adelaide's first moving pictures. In 1915, Mr Haigh's tasty trade in chocolate and sweetmeats began. Somewhere in the perhaps-70s, buskers outside starting pan flute-ing in the mall. In the 90/00s, the busking space was filled with a cafe ironically named in their honour.
A mall without buskers - like a cafe without coffee? Even without the celebrity of busker-bred John Butler (WA), Adelaide has some gems. There's psychadelic central market guy, slumped xylophone man, or Mr Smooth in the shocking suits. There's the painted-statue man, and the kid who's halfway through Kumon violin school - let's hope he can scrape pennies for proper lessons. Who did we miss?
Can just anyone busk? It's similar to the question 'Can just anyone make coffee?' The Answer to both: in Adelaide, not so much. The brews we're brought are browned with overrun crema - a burnt, bitter flavour that mentor of MMC calls strong and MMC calls astringent. Surprisingly, buskers have to declare they're 'fit and proper persons' without 'relevant criminal records'. All MMC requires is a fit and proper barista, with relevant coffee training.
The Lesson: like baristas, buskers have to comply with certain rules. Buskers must not play bagpipes. Buskers must not perform within 2 metres of the central line of the mall. Buskers cannot perform outside prominent buildings such as the Town Hall, or in privately owned areas like the Central Market. Buskers must pay for permits, but at $2.60 per day or $23.00 a month, it's cheaper than a coffee habit. Baristas, on the other hand, must not forget yesterday's golden rule - well-ground coffee + a thirty second extraction = music to MMC ears.
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