Cafe makes great steak sanger and gong proves it by Neil Keene

 Who needs duck terrine and blue cheese souffle when you can have a steak sandwich and a hotdog? Evidently not the judges of the National Tourism Awards, who handed one of Australia's most coveted dining gongs to a cottage cafe in NSW where hot dogs and other simple classics are the order of the day. Bent on Food in the Mid North Coast town of Wingham took out the Best Tourism Restaurant category at the recent awards, edging out prestigious venues such as Pier One restaurant in Hobart, Darwin's Skycity and the Hilton Brasserie in Adelaide. Dinner for two at those establishments might include duck, souffle or quail seared in dried cranberry butter and will likely set you back more than $100. The most expensive single meal on Bent on Food's menu is the big breakfast for just $18. Owner Donna Carrier, who worked in Sydney's wine industry before moving north in 2004, said the secret to her success was her locally sourced ingredients. The steak sandwich features beef raised in paddocks nearby and tomatoes grown a bit further up the coast , while the hotdog frankfurts are smoked by a German butcher 10 minutes away. Ms Carrier said about 75 per cent of the food on the menu came from suppliers in the region. "We're not an Aria or Tetsuya's or anything like that but we do fresh food and we do local food and we do it with a bit of a twist, " she said. "People who come here can see a bit more of the area just with what's on their plate."