Overview
You've gotta love the way the folks behind Woolloongabba's Canvas think. Not content with serving up some of the inner east's best bites and beverages, they're doubling their output by brightening up a second spot just across the road.
Prepare to rock down to Electric Avenue (and have a catchy, cheesy '80s song stuck in your head as well). Thankfully, that's not an indication of what the bar and bistro will be like when it opens its doors at 23 Logan Road. Taking over the space formerly occupied by the Crosstown Public House, Canvas owners Daniel Rodriguez and Bodie Schofield, their former head bartender Nick Royds and carpenter Adam Pykett will launch what they're calling "a fun, intimate venue with a few secrets to discover" within the fortnight.
Designed to be the kind of place you could kick-start your evening, drop by late or hang around all night, Electric Avenue boasts ex-Sourced Grocer chef Will Quartel in the kitchen, whipping up more than just your usual bar food. Whole grilled kimchi-glazed fish, blackened duck breast and black garlic crepes — yes, that's a dessert — are just some of the menu standouts. Lunch will also include the "fish and bush" combo of crispy fish and tempura saltbush, while snacks range from pork crackling with pecan salt and pepper and corn husk aioli to crispy cockscomb (that's the top 'waddle' on the chicken, in case you didn't know) with spicy remoulade.
Patrons can expect to wash all of that down with their choice of more than 70 wines, or a range of cocktails that twist the classics. Yes, one is called And Then We'll Take It Higher in honour of the track you're still humming as you read this, and will feature dark rum, sherry, dark chocolate liqueur, house pimento bitters and espresso in an absinthe misted glass. As for those surprises, you'll have to head upstairs to find out the answers when the place opens — for the time being, the Electric Avenue crew are keeping that revelation close to their chest.
Electric Avenue will open at 23 Logan Road, Woolloongabba within the next two weeks. Keep an eye on the Canvas Facebook page in the interim.
Image: Canvas.