Flavour Report with Derek Goforth: A planned quick trip to the Jaffle Shack turned into a messy, long wait

I paid a visit to the city centre to do some Christmas shopping, but sadly the two places I wanted to visit to do my latest Flavour Report were closed. Rather than go without our Sunday treat, we headed the short distance over to the Jaffle Shack by the beach. Now to many, the Jaffle Shack is a Geraldton institution, so I know anything other than a perfect report will ruffle some feathers. Well prepare for a slight ruffling, as this trip was not the best experience I have had with the shacks. We opted for a couple of lattes and a savoury jaffle — salmon, cream cheese, capers on wholemeal bread. At just under $25 this was standard for a lunch out in Geraldton. The order was taken quickly, and the place was busy (no queue but also nowhere to sit). But there is the beach wall and plenty of shade among the grass, so this is never a big deal. What was a big deal, however, was the wait. We got out coffees after 10 minutes, but it took more than 35 minutes for the jaffles to arrive, with no apology or explanation for the wait. Not only that, the jaffle was a mess, arriving squashed into a paper bag. It looked to me that the bread had not been placed properly when the jafflemaker was shut, resulting in filling spilling out and some bread edges not toasted. I am not after perfection, but this was a letdown, particularly as I have had much better service and jaffles from both Jaffle Shacks in town. The coffee as per usual was great, up to their standards — smooth and packed with flavour. The flavour of the jaffle, despite the wait and presentation, was certainly above-average. It was a nice balance between the salmon and the tangy capers. It was such a shame the sandwich was practically falling apart by the time we picked it up though. I can only imagine this was an anomaly as I have heard nothing but good reports about both shacks, but it did put me off visiting if it was just for a quick coffee and jaffle while out shopping.