Smashed Gero (on toast): Go Health review

Would you pay $9 for juice? I never considered myself the type but Go Health in Stirling Central has me second-guessing myself. When I think about it logically, I often pay $12 for a pint and $5 for a caffeine hit. Why not show the same respect to something good for me? My date and I both had to work through most of Christmas, which has meant our professional and social diaries were as fully loaded as the Facebook comments section of a Geraldton Noticeboard thread about fireworks. We arrived feeling like we would rather be sitting in a dark, air-conditioned room scrolling aimlessly on our phones. After drinking a hot pink juice — which balanced notes of beetroot, ginger, pineapple and pear seamlessly — we started planning a beach day. Perhaps beetroot juice is magic. Perhaps bodies just respond well when they consume nutritious food occasionally ... alas, just another of life’s little mysteries. I ordered a cauliflower fritter with a thick layer of tomato paste, spinach, pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes. The best way I can describe the flavour profile is classic Western vegan cuisine — earthy, fresh with complex textures. It’s certainly not for the white-bread-sausage-sanga-dads among us, but Go Health makes sure to provide menu items for a variety of palates. My date ordered a continental bagel, which was stuffed with salami, sun-dried tomato, cheese, spinach and chargrilled vegies. It was dripping with oil and made from dense bread which, along with the vegies, gave the bagel a real heartiness. He said it could have used some extra freshness, but for the most part, it was well balanced. As for coffee, I ordered a double shot in a cup. I wish I hadn’t. It blew my socks off, meaning a single shot would probably be just right. Go Health serves up one of the punchier coffees in Geraldton. Despite all the great parts of my experience, one question was bubbling in my head: Why am I sitting under florescent shopping centre lights in the eye-line of Woolworths? I got my answer promptly after chatting with the cafe’s lovely staff. Go Health used to sit on Marine Terrace until it burnt down in March 2018. The owner has been rebuilding her business ever since. With that added context, I took off my dining snob hat and realised Go Health was a welcome pit stop for leisurely grocery shoppers, or time-poor friends squeezing coffee dates into a busy day of errands. And the best Indian food in town is available in the same centre, and the teriyaki tofu from the sushi place in Northgate is restaurant-class. When it comes to Geraldton’s culinary scene, I am fast-learning one should not judge a book by its cover.