MELBOURNE, Australia — It is 11:53 a.m. on center Sunday on the Australian Open and the queue already snakes its means over 80 meters into the guts of Backyard Sq.. The mercury has hit 33 levels Celsius (91.4 levels Fahrenheit), nevertheless it’s deterred no one. As an alternative, tennis packages have change into makeshift followers, and water bottles are being emptied on prime of sunburnt heads, as lots of proceed to patiently wait their flip.
This queue is not for entry to Rod Laver Area. Neither is it for some other Melbourne Park present court docket. It isn’t for a merchandise stand, not for a refreshing Aperol Spritz, not even for a selfie with 10-time event champion Novak Djokovic. As an alternative, it is for a sandwich. And a $27.50 (US$17) sandwich at that.
Tennis hasn’t been the one attraction at this 12 months’s event Down Underneath. The truth is, these slugging it out on court docket might have simply been compelled to play a finest supporting position to Melbourne icon Entrecôte and its bustling pop-up restaurant.
The Prahran-based French brasserie-style eatery has made an enormous splash in its Australian Open debut by bringing 5 delectable dishes to the occasion, nevertheless it’s the sandwich that is generated probably the most buzz among the many tens of 1000’s of ravenous spectators pouring by means of the gates every day.
The label “sandwich” may be promoting what Entrecôte proudly name ‘Steak Frites Mitraillette’ a contact brief. What does that truly imply, you ask? Tender Rangers Valley Black Market beef, delicate fries, and a top-secret herb butter sauce, all stuffed right into a crispy six-inch by two-and-a-half-inch baguette.
From the second the gates swing open till the final spectators have departed, Entrecôte is pumping these sandwiches out with manufacturing line effectivity. Immaculately dressed employees glide across the miniature kitchen quarters like some type of acrobatic routine, serving up baguette after baguette to the hungry lots. And but, the queue by no means appears to shorten.
Make a journey to Melbourne Park this fortnight and it’ll really feel as in the event you spot extra of those loaded baguettes than you’ll folks. It is change into the novelty of the occasion; did you actually attend the Australian Open in the event you did not style the Entrecôte sandwich?
Spectators can anticipate to attend roughly 45 minutes for service between the hours of 11am and 3pm, which brings us to the primary of two urgent questions: Is it well worth the wait? The second query, is it well worth the hefty $27.50 price ticket?
An ESPN very unofficial ballot of 20 patrons who had devoured the baguette confirmed 80% believed the time braving the tough Melbourne UV was properly spent. Many stated they’d even queue once more. Of these polled, 65% stated the worth of the sandwich met the associated fee.
It isn’t fairly Wimbledon’s strawberries and cream, however beef in bread … properly, it is unquestionably Australian.