Comments on: Hardware Societe: a mixed bag

By: The Hardware Societe – Morning Chomp-Fest Part 1 « Almost Always Ravenous

The Hardware Societe – Morning Chomp-Fest Part 1 « Almost Always Ravenous — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 06:50:31 +0000

[...] breakfast. At last count there was a crazy-frenzy of 27 blog posts just on Urbanspoon – 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20 … (ok i give up… too lazy to link [...]

By: Lyz

Lyz — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:31:39 +0000

Loved, loved, loved my breakfast at HS, but yes, a friend of mine also got off on the wrong foot with them. Lusting after a croque monsieur, deliriously excited she could have it on gluten free bread, she was a little disappointed to be told it could not be made without the béchamel. I’ve cooked professionally, I completely understand the need to not deviate from tradition, however for those who go through life without experiencing the joy that goes beyond ham and cheese, maybe a concession can be made…maybe.

By: Emily

Emily — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 09:33:21 +0000

Amy

Yes you should definitely try Hardware Societe for breakfast, I thought the food was good and the place cute.

I note that Hardware Societe recently was named as one of the top 10 breakfasts in the Cheap Eats guide (http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/epicure/articles/2010/02/22/1266687040087.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1), so you may have a busy breakfast! That being said, I can’t imagine it being too crazy on a Monday morning.

Thanks for stopping by and let us know how your breakfast goes!

By: Amy

Amy — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 09:24:41 +0000

I loved beetroot, and was so excited to read on Mellie’s blog that Di and her partner were back. I’m trying out their new place tomorrow morning for breakfast, and, as is my wont, started salivating a day or night in advance and wanted to whet my appetite by reading a few blogs and reviews. I read your review and started wondering whether I should sms my friend to change venues for the morning! thankfully, I found the comment from Di above and have to say that I’m really impressed by her response to you and your reader’s comments. Tangentially, I’m not a big macaroon person, but I’ll be making sure to order a few to take away tomorrow morning. I’m glad i found your blog, too, i’ll have to subscribe =)

By: hardware societe

hardware societe — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:08:01 +0000

Thank you for your comments, though I would like to answer some of your complaints.

Firstly, we take pride in how we serve our food, and serving the bircher museli without stonefruit does not do the dish justice. From memory, you told me you were allergic to stonefruit, and I could NOT guarantee that our museli mix did not contain that. As you can appreciate we take allergies very seriously and I did not want to put you or myself at risk. I am sure you understand that and appreciate the position we were in.

If you did not enjoy your experience with us, and for that I am terribly I am sorry. Obviously I would like to give you the opportunity to try us again, and see if we meet your expectation 2nd time around, given we love what we do and take pride in the food we serve and service we provide.

As Joyce said, the customer is always right, yes I agree, but I was simply protecting the both of us.

As for the macaroons, if you have never attempted to make them before, the quality is totally dependent on the age of the egg white (the older the better) and the texture of the almond meal etc. The dark blue had intended to be a darker colour, the colouring was clearly we were in the hands of the gods! As for the berry filling, it was blackberry and white chocolate and black berries are light on flavour.

Very sneaky on the photo front, impressed!
My apologies once again, I hope we see you back again. Di

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:05:07 +0000

Yes I do think it is a great place – very cute decor and the food was pretty great as well. I don’t really like being critical about places but the fact is I did have an uncomfortable experience there.

I don’t like making things difficult for people but on the allergy front I really didn’t think my little request would be such a big drama.

Anyway, you should go and check it out for yourself, they even had Crema Catalans there – yum! Oh and the coffee was great (not that that is a big priority for you Joyce!!)…

By: Jetsetting Joyce (MEL: HOT OR NOT)

Jetsetting Joyce (MEL: HOT OR NOT) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:39:59 +0000

Aw, I’ve been waiting for a chance to visit Hardware Societe and am disappointed to read that you had an uncomfortable experience there. Maybe I’ll have better luck since I don’t have food allergies, but still, surely the customer is always right when you own a restaurant, even if they order well-done steak or don’t want stone fruit in their meal.

Jetsetting Joyce

By: Hannah

Hannah — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:28:39 +0000

Blue butterscotch? I don’t even think the craziness of that can make up for rude/uncompromising service! Sorry to hear you were treated like that – such experiences tend to put a dampener even on the good parts of meals!