Sometimes, when the weather is cold and grey, you just really need a hash brown.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Or a doughnut, croissant, or maybe some hot chips.
Luckily Wollongong eateries have some of the best possible versions of these comfort foods, for when there's nothing more warming than something crisp and starchy.
Yachties Donut House
Yachties - the little blue hut in the middle of Wollongong Harbour - serves, in my opinion, some of the best cinnamon doughnuts you've ever tasted.
Based on how busy they can get, both in the heat of summer and when it's cold, lots of people in Wollongong agree.
Made fresh and always hot - perfect on a blustery autumn day - they are tasty and soft, but not so fluffy that they're dry.
The outside, dusted in cinnamon sugar, remains crisp even after they've cooled (just don't drop them in the sand like my three-year-old always manages to - no need for that extra crunch).
Yachties also does a mean - and affordable - bacon and egg roll, and excellent coffee.
Opus Coffee Brewers
The rotating menu of decadent topped or filled bagels at Opus qualifies for this list on its own, but the fact that the Keira Street cafe has the option to add a house-made hash brown as a side to pretty anything else takes the cake.
For $8, you get a huge and perfectly oblong slab of potato, which is crispy and hot on the outside and soft and creamy in the middle. It comes with a dipping sauce of kewpie and sriracha and a liberal sprinkling of salt. Carb heaven.
And if you need a sweet hit, the miso caramel slice and the burnt basque coffee cheesecake, which you can sometimes find in the cakes counter are both mouth-watering.
Millers Bakehouse
The Millers almond croissant is supplied to cafes, restaurants and suppliers across the Illawarra, and sold direct to the public at the bakeries outlets in Bulli, Wollongong and Port Kembla.
Encrusted with scorched nuts and with a sweet gooey middle, it's a cult favourite for a reason and is sold by the hundreds each week.
There's plenty more on Millers revolving menu of sweet treats that's worth a taste: cinnamon buns (which are sometimes cardamom buns), savoury, cheesy onion croissants, perfectly constructed, flaky plain croissants and rich, fruity pastries.... Mmmm.
Ain't Nonna's
Market Street cafe and restaurant Ain't Nonna's is known for its huge sheets of plain and topped focaccia inspired by Italian-American restaurants and Chicago-style pan pizzas.
There are usually between two and four different focaccias on offer, with the topping changing daily depending on the season and availability of produce.
You could find could be potato and gorgonzola, eggplant, honey and chilli, nduja sausage, fresh zucchini or seasonal mushrooms, or perhaps a focaccia sandwich layered with multiple Italian cured meats. But get there early - its often sells out.
The bread is baked fresh each day, with enough to service breakfast, make sandwiches at lunch and then be served in slabs alongside antipasti at dinner.
As well as the usual daily toppings, the Ain't Nonna's crew has had fun creating an ode to Bunnings sausage sizzle with a sausage and onion focaccia, a modern take on controversial ham and pineapple pizza, and - the ultimate carb-on-carb - a chicken salt and gravy chip roll topping.
Rosie's Proper Fish and Chips
The fish served by this relatively new Coledale eatery is standout - beer batter made with Principle beers that is so crisp it shatters, to reveal soft, melting fish fillets inside.
But today we're here for the carbs - which has got to be the handcut potato scallops and chips, which can be ordered cooked in oil or tallow (beef fat) for that authentic British touch.
The scallops (potato cakes, to some) are coated in the aforementioned batter, and are perfect topped with the zingy tartare, or eaten with a side of minty, fresh peas.
And the chips, perfectly imperfect, aretasty, fluffy, golden and have plenty of those best little crunchy ends. This place opened just after the Mercury sought out the region's best hot chips last summer - but it's definitely a top contender.