I GUESS it’s a sign if the times that when you're privy to other people’s conversations in the confines of a cafe these days, it’s likely to be one end of a phone call that you’re obliged to eavesdrop upon; people seem to be so much more animated when on their mobiles than in real life, even when real life is sitting at the same table.
If I'm late in coming to this realisation, I beg your forbearance – I'm afraid I'm one of those fools who usually eats lunch at their desk.
On Friday, however, I treated myself to an out-of-office experience and a trip to a new-ish eaterie on Belfast’s Saintfield Road.
Goodness Rocks: from the name, I was steeled for a soundtrack of Christian country and shiny staff trained to say “Bless you”, when giving change.
And yet it’s rustic-yet-tasteful wooden exterior and the fact that it had been busy at 9.15 every morning as I passed by on my commute to work for the past few months both appealed and intrigued.
Ditto the location. Knockbreda? Metro-sexual men doing the coffee-and-laptop thing in the window of a hip-looking joint in outer suburbia – like, next stop, Carryduff?
First impressions were good – a pleasant hubbub, contributed to by two couples all unselfconsciously engaged in separate phone conversations; eager, pleasant-seeming staff; and an attractive interior that could serve as an example of how society might be transformed for the better by the application of creative joinery to those thousands of pallets piled high every summer instead of a can of petrol and a match.
Oh, and a corner for kids to play in, stocked with toys, a TV screen and DVDs – one box already ticked on the reasons-to-come-back list.
Most welcoming, though, were the counter and display fridge, the colours and textures of whose wares jumped out at you: the greens of fresh leaves, the reds of crispy-looking peppers and ripe tomatoes, piled in little dishes and bursting forth from the ends of tasty-looking wraps.
Ah, so this was the 'goodness', then.
There were bean burgers, turkey burgers, and fish cakes, all made in situ and all reasonably priced at between £3 and £4, and baked sweet potatoes stuffed with good things and topped with Mozarella cheese and served with your choice of healthy salads.
You could get shakes including a ‘berry blast’ and one with banana and peanut butter.
For a first-timer this visual array and the lists of what’s on offer chalked on various blackboards – and, at risk of revealing my OCD tendencies, I’d give extra marks for handwriting there – were daunting, so I welcomed being told that the day’s ‘stew’ was Thai red curry with chickpeas and sweet potato, the soup, tomato and basil.
It being a soupy, stewy day, I ordered the former, my dining partner the latter.
The hearty soup had a cracking kick of garlic that made its presence known at the end of every mellow mouthful.
The stew – I tasted liberally – was spicy, chunky, warming and delicious, and came with seeded flatbread (which might have benefited from being heated, I thought).
Having worked up some confidence, I joined the queue that had now formed at the counter and ordered a fish cake and accompanying salads.
I chose Tex Mex – a spicy coleslaw of carrots, red cabbage and a light dressing; one with broad beans and basil; and a really delicious salad of quinoa, toasted cashews and plump juicy cranberries which I could have eaten a bowl of as a meal on its own.
The fish cake was tasty and substantial – so much so that herself opposite helped out and was in agreement, particularly about the salads.
We had Americanos to finish, along with a ‘raspberry ruffle’, my choice from the selection of ‘energy balls’ on display, containing such fuel as dates and peanuts, presumably to help you push your wee one's pram back up the hill opposite towards Four Winds.
Very minor quibbles include the fact that the pop radio station blaring had me almost longing for some soft Christian country.
Also, there’s uncovered food at chin level on a counter across which you have to lean to make myself heard when ordering – meaning you’re talking and breathing over it, as is everyone else.
But, on the whole, Goodness Rocks pretty much rocks.
THE BILL
Soup £3.50
Stew £5.50
Fishcake (£3.85) plus three half portions of salad (£1 each) £6.85
Americano x 2 £3.50
Energy ball £0.83
Total: £20.18
