Naked Duck

Dropped right in the middle of tourist strip of the Darling Quarter and tucked behind the IMAX, quacks the Naked Duck. Predominately a lunchtime business crowd busies this cafe, as a fast and healthy option in between a day at the office. I was unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on your perspective) to visit during Darling Harbour's "Month of Love", where PDAs are encouraged and a sea of hearts and bright lights assault the senses even during the daylight hours.

The reuben is not on the permanent menu, but graces the "specials" board. Although how "special" this selection of treats is, is yet to be determined as it has seemingly remained the same for at least the past year with the reuben being one of the contenders. Greatness was not expected, mainly due to the fast in-and-out nature of the cafe and it leaning more towards a sandwich haven than anything else - not that there's anything wrong with that. I selected the take away option with no rosemary fries, which dropped the price by one dollar and saw me leaving the cafe with a neat styrofoam take away package in hand.



The specials board promised braised corned beef with sauerkraut and swiss on rye sourdough and that's (almost) exactly what was delivered. The braised corned beef had a slight deli ham taste and feel to it and the rest of the ingredients were something that your mum could whip up for you in a jiffy after soccer practice. The beauty in the sandwich was not in the end product, but how it was made in the hustle bustle of the cafe prep area. As I watched a number of other sandwich orders being placed, the method of constructing the sandwich is something I have not yet witnessed anywhere else. The filling of the sandwiches were meticulously stacked on top of each other on the large cutting board and lined up in a row, eagerly awaiting the separately toasted bread. For better or worse, the fresh sandwich ingredients were then swooped up by the toasted bread and delivered to their owner. The filling stayed fresh but the cheese suffered a lack of melt-age, but it was worth it just to witness a host of naked sandwich fillings lined up neatly in a row.

Come for a quick bite - the salads and roast meat looked a lot more delicious than the sandwiches and seemed to be the order of the locals.

7.5/10

Website: The Naked Duck