The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry | A Sydney Food Blog

Little Indi, Alexandria

December 11th, 2013  |  Published in Cafes  |  3 Comments

LittleIndi-001

No one can say there’s an oversupply of vegetarian cafes inside hardware stores – in fact, Little Indi in Alexandria is the only case study I can think of.

LittleIndi-002

It’s an unusual pairing – you don’t immediately associate decking, paint tins or toolbox-filling accessories with raw food or tofu, but this eatery has a way of staying unpredictable. It’s split in two: there’s a stand inside the store’s loading dock, where you sneak a look at the menu and order; then there’s a deck outside, where you can sit near pallets upcycled into herb gardens or other rustic fixtures. All the furniture feels like the “after” shot of a DIY project. Little Indi’s sustainability credentials are also evident in all the natural, crafted finishes and the composter nearby.

LittleIndi-003

All this worthiness is admirable, but also helpfully backed up by an inspired menu. Produce, which is kept local as possible, is so bright and rich that it looks like it’s been colour-graded. The Marinated Asparagus salad ($12 as main/$4 as side) is all salt, greens, sweetness and crunch: a lovely jumble of leek, sprouts, kale, pangrattato and goat’s fetta.

The rolls, on Iggy’s ficelle bread, are definitely worth trying. They come in great flavour-flirting combos, such as nectarine, ricotta, asparagus, lime agrumato and basil ($10) or egg, zucchini, relish, and avocado ($10). They’re served with cutlery, but the bread is so rustic that you will spend hours earnestly sawing away with a (compostable) knife before you make much headway. “I feel like my cutlery is composting away right now,” says Will, as he energetically tries to slice his ficelle. I went for the hands-on, napkin-destroying method instead.

LittleIndi-004

There’s also raw felafel (strangely sweet and delicious), bargain-priced Buddha rolls, vegan balls and all the health-conscious drinks to match (organic slow juice, whey cool smoothie or alpine green tea, anyone?). The only underwhelming item I’ve had is a brown rice miso, where the raw vegie shreds overpowered everything and just tasted joyless and crude.

Otherwise, Little Indi (which is run by the duo behind this year’s Naked Indiana pop-up) proves that eating well doesn’t necessarily mean being shortchanged on flavour. The eatery’s close proximity to tools and garden hoses is still a mystery, but perhaps that’s part of Little Indi’s two-in-one appeal. Come for the power tools, stay for the inventive dishes.

Note: according to the recent comment below, it seems that Little Indi has closed. To keep updated any future ventures, it’s probably worth keeping an eye on the Naked Indiana page. 

Little Indi, 50 McCauley Street, Alexandria NSW instagram.com/insideindian

Tags: , ,

3 Comments

  1. Cyndy says:

    great idea in the hardware store and fab photos. Thanks for sharing this.
    Cyndy

  2. Kristen Hodges says:

    Little Indi has closed up shop as of yesterday Feb 21st 2014. From what one of the hardware guys told me the owner is pregnant and has working on a new idea for future endeavours.

  3. Campbell says:

    a new cafe has opened in The Hardware Store , Alexandria , from the people behind Something for Jess in Chippendale. Cubao serving excellant street food and Coffee

Leave a Reply to Campbell Cancel reply

Search

About

Hi, I'm Lee Tran Lam. When not blogging with my mouth full, I'm usually writing, presenting Local Fidelity on FBi radio, making zines, producing podcasts or continually breaking promises about how I really am gonna get through my book pile one day.

All the good pictures on this blog are by photography ace (and patient boyfriend), Will Reichelt, (all the dodgy ones can be credited to me)!

The lovely banner is by friend and ultra-talented illustrator Grace Lee.

This site redesign was made possible by the next-level generosity and expertise of Daniel Boud, whose code-tinkering ways are only outranked by his seriously inspired way with a camera.

You can read more about my co-conspirators here.

This is a blog I do for pure fun and zero influence – there's no sponsorship, sneaky advertorial or advertising. I pay for all the food mentioned, 'cos it seems the ethical thing to do.


About

This is a blog about eating and drinking in Sydney, Australia (with the odd cross-border or off-topic detour). BYO appetite.

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Search