Wide Open Road is located on the very same street that I used to live in the early noughties, although back then it was a NQR supermarket, and the nearest decent cafe was in Fitzroy.

It’s run by a couple of the pioneers of the Brunswick cafe scene, so it’s no surprise that it ticks certain boxes. Tasteful interior – check; well made coffee – check; friendly service – check; good food – check; house-roasted coffee; reclaimed timber furniture – check; single-speed bikes parked out front – check.

Nice filling, shame about the 'bread'

The menu is somewhat limited, and features some smaller offerings, such as the BLT. It’s only $6, which is a fair price, even given its diminutive size.

The mayonnaise they use is particularly good, although I was less impressed by the pide bread used. I’m not overly fond of pide at the best of times, but this was also a bit stale. I’d much prefer the casa linga used at Babka for their sensational BLTs.

My coffee looked terrible, the overly dark crema a tell-tale sign of over extraction. Surprisingly though, it tasted very good, so no complaints there.

Update (02/04/11): The price of the BLT has increased to $8, without an increase in size, which takes it into rip-off territory. The coffee was great today though.

Despite being fairly busy, it arrived quickly quickly. The pita bread was toasted, and was spread with what tasted like tahini and garlic sauce. Pickled turnip and a parsley provided great depth of flavour, with the latter also providing texture, as did the tomato and lettuce. Being a double, there was quite a lot of chicken, and it was perfectly cooked.

People rave about Kebab Station, up at the Coburg end of Sydney Road, but I think it’s Tiba’s that serves Sydney Road’s (if not Melbourne’s) finest kebab.