A foot injury incurred from the mere act of standing up after seated for a long period inflicted so much damage that it saw me housebound for a week, then grinning and bearing it for another two weeks (and counting). Daily life can be dangerous, I tell you!

So with limited mobility in mind, we ended up at Joe Black, a convenient cafe located close to Museum Station.

To start, we try the Expresso Coke aka Rocket Fuel ($6.00), a cola with coffee and ice. N and I were glad to have T’s coffee loving self in tow, as we’d both wanted to try this beverage but between N’s distaste for coffee and my hypersensitivity to caffeine, something so highly caffeinated would not have been a wise choice.

To our surprise, we all enjoy this immensely. It’s pleasantly refreshing – the iced cold coffee and cola – yet creamy without the addition of milk due to the fizz of the cola. The flavour was rich and reminiscent of a sarsaparilla with dialled back liquorice notes. The sweetness of the cola counters the bitter notes of coffee that N dislikes.

We follow with an Organic Coconut Water Cold Brew ($6.00), a single origin made overnight with coconut water. The coconut came through as a round finish to the coffee, but doesn’t add much to the taste of the body of the coffee. I don’t particularly prefer it over an ordinary cold brew.

N and I had the Stormin Norman ($12.50), a slice of sourdough toast with diced Spanish onions, cherry tomatoes, avocado, topped with two poached eggs.

Oozy eggs are the first sign of a good meal, and here they were perfectly runny sitting atop a generous helping of avocado and cherry tomatoes. Indeed, I had more toppings left over than bread, and I always enjoy that! They were light on the use of onions, which I’m not a fan of and find can overwhelm other flavours The produce was fresh, with the salad fresh and crisp.

T goes for the Pork Belly Sandwich ($12.00) a panini with housemade slow cooked pork belly grilled, tomato and greens and soy-ginger sauce. He enjoyed the crispiness of the pork belly immensely.

Various artworks adorn their walls, this one being a quirky take on the Sydney Train network. Old, dusty volumes of the Commonwealth Law Reports also adorn the shelves, although that’s only interesting to someone who deals with volumes of old legal materials on a daily basis.

The staff at Joe Black could not be more welcoming to old- and first-timers alike. They are warm, friendly and keen to share anecdotes from their time serving customers.

Joe Black is located at 27 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills NSW 2000