Time for a coffee

May 25, 2026

Cheese and Mushroom Toastie

I think I may have mentioned a number of times that generally I don’t do sandwiches, and when looking for something for lunch, I would prefer not to have a sandwich. I do get the attraction of sandwiches and it’s a preference rather than a absolute hatred and boycott of anything between two slices of bread.

However despite that preference, I do quite like a mushroom toast. Not everywhere does them though. I was on my way to York and I had stopped at the Solihull Retail Park to charge the car. Though there was lots of retail outlets, there didn’t appear to be many places to eat. In the end I headed off to M&S which had a cafe. I did wonder what to have and in the end when I saw they did a cheese and mushroom toastie I was sold. You could have had it with chips, but who needs lots of carbohydrates, so went with a small bowl of accompanying slaw.

It was nice that they bought your food to the table, so I didn’t need to wait at a counter wondering if that next toastie was mine or somebody else’s.

I am not really what to say about the toastie, except I did enjoy it. There was nice proportion of cheese and mushroom and it was nicely browned as well. The slaw added some needed freshness and the vinegar dressing cut through the richness of the cheese.

For a quick lunch it was ideal, and I enjoyed it.

May 23, 2026

Chilli Squid

Though there are plenty of places to eat in York, I headed off to the Designer Outlet to charge my car. While I was there charging my car, so I headed into the outlet and went to Wagamama.

As well as a chicken donburi, I also had some chilli squid. This has been a staple for Wagamama for many years. This was a nice generous portion of crispy squid, dusted with shichimi spice, and served with a chilli and coriander dipping sauce.

I do like this dish and I was not disappointed, really tasty squid and the dipping sauce is the perfect accompaniment.

May 22, 2026May 21, 2026

Lentils and Sausages

I did some sausages with lentils. For the lentils I cooked some pancetta with onions, red pepper and mushrooms, before making a sauce. I added some garlic puree, tomato puree and a Knorr chicken stock pot into the pan, and then I added some water. When the sauce was finished, I added the cooked lentils from a carton. I really like the Cirio lentils that come in the Tetra Recart™ pack. These are ready to use and once added to the pan, they just need heating through. The sausages I cooked in the oven, when they were done I sliced the sausages and added them to the lentils.

May 21, 2026May 20, 2026

Teriyaki Chicken Donburi

Though there are plenty of places to eat in York, I headed off to the Designer Outlet to charge my car. While I was there charging my car, so I headed into the outlet and went to Wagamama.

This time I went with the cheaper chicken donburi over the duck I would usually have. I did though add an extra, with a fried egg on top.

I do like the donburi dish, the combination of flavours and textures make for a tasty dish. The chicken was nice, tender and had a nice flavour. The egg was slightly overcooked, but added to the experience. I enjoyed this dish.

May 20, 2026May 19, 2026

Burrata and tomato salad

I really like this simple salad of fresh Italian burrata cheese with tomatoes.

I take a selection of tomatoes, I really like the Isle of Wight Heirloom Tomatoes that you can get in some supermarkets. These I slice thinly. I surround the drained burrata cheese. The salad is then dressed with salt, pepper, olive oil, and white wine vinegar.

Sometimes I use a balsamic glaze instead of the white wine vinegar. Another option is the addition of torn fresh basil leaves to the salad. I always tear up my basil leaves ever since seeing Jamie Oliver on a TV advertisement saying they should be torn and not cut. Still don’t know if that’s right, or that was just a Jamie Oliver thing… I am sure I have seen Gordon Ramsey chop up basil with a knife.

Burrata is an exquisite Italian fresh cheese with a unique texture. It starts with a pouch of fresh mozzarella, which is then filled with a rich, creamy mixture of stracciatella—shredded mozzarella curds and cream. The name “burrata” comes from the Italian word for “buttered,” which perfectly describes its luxurious consistency. When sliced open, the firm outer shell gives way to a soft, spilling interior. This creates a delightful contrast between the solid exterior and the milky, buttery filling.

Delicious.

May 19, 2026May 18, 2026

Yasai yaki soba once more, with a mushroom hirata bun

When I get to Wagamama, part of me says, try something new, another part of me says, I like the yasai yaki soba, which is mushrooms, soba noodles cooked with egg, peppers, beansprouts, onion, pickled ginger, crispy fried onions and sesame seeds.

I was at the Designer Outlet East Midlands charging my car and I had time for some lunch. There is a food court, but Wagamama are one of the few places with table service. I like yasai yaki soba and as well as been very tasty, is one of the cheaper items on the menu. This was lunch, not dinner, so wasn’t wanting to spend lots of money. I decided I would have this and some mushroom bao, another dish I regularly order – it helped that I had a free side from the soul club app.

Though I didn’t think the place was that busy, it took a while for my food to arrive. This was a nice plate of food. There are contrasting textures and flavours within the dish. I like the addition of the crispy onions and pickled ginger. I always think the dish could have more mushrooms, but I am resigned that this is a noodle dish with mushrooms, and not a mushroom dish with noodles.

Alongside the tasty yasai yaki soba I also had a side dish of mushroom hirata buns. I enjoyed these buns, the contrasting textures of the bao bun, the panko aubergine and the mushrooms.

Overall it was a really nice meal and I enjoyed it all.

May 18, 2026May 17, 2026

Grilled Nachos

A simple dish which takes tortilla chips, dressed with some tomato salsa and then dressed with cheese before hitting the oven to melt the cheese. It is then served with guacamole and sour cream.

May 17, 2026

Mexican Style Salad Bowl

This salad bowl was from Aldi and cost £1.39. As well as mixed leaves there was shredded carrot and beetroot. The salad comes with a (quite a) spicy sachet of mayonnaise. I mixed mine with some “normal” mayonnaise. I then dressed the salad with the accompanying mini tortilla chips. It was a quick and tasty salad.

May 16, 2026

Gatehouse Coffee at Walmgate Bar

On my recent short holiday to Yorkshire, my plans weren’t set in stone, I had planned to visit Fountains Abbey and the National Railway Museum, but anything else would be a bonus. On the day I left York I had planned to visit a couple of National Trust properties on the way back. However I woke up earlier than I expected. So, after getting washed and dressed and a quick breakfast I headed back into York with the idea of walking the walls.

I walked over to Walmgate Bar and then headed anticlockwise around the city. I noted that there was a cafe, Gatehouse Coffee, within Walmgate Bar, not sure how long that had been there, I don’t recall one been there when I was living in York in the 1980s. It was early, so was closed.

I then walked the city walls, which took just over an hour. Upon my arrival back at Walmgate Bar the Gatehouse Coffee was open, I thought about it, decided I would stop for a coffee.

It was quite busy, I placed my order for an espresso and waited. It took a while for my coffee, as there were quite a few orders been dealt with prior to mine.

I took a seat and enjoyed my coffee, there is outdoor seating in the gate and upstairs as well. As I drank my coffee, I could see that the “delay” was just because I happened to arrive at a busy time, other customers got their drinks in good time.

The coffee was excellent and I would have probably stayed for another if my car parking wasn’t about to run out.

If you are walking the walls of York then (depending on where you start) this is an ideal place for an end of walk drink, or a mid-walk stop.

Service was warm and friendly. I hope to make a return visit soon.

May 15, 2026

Rigatoni pasta with a beef bolognese sauce

This is my recipe for when I made a beef bolognese sauce which I served with some rigatoni pasta.

- - 500g minced beef, I try and get 5% or 10% fat mince, otherwise the end result can be a bit greasy and you try and remove the excess oil
  - Pancetta
  - Splash of olive oil
  - One red onion, diced
  - One red pepper, diced
  - Handful of mushrooms, chopped
  - Splash of balsamic vinegar
  - Knorr chicken stockpot
  - Dried Italian herbs
  - Tin of tomatoes
  - Tomato purée
  - Garlic purée

I usually use a big pan for cooking this dish. I heat the pan add the splash of olive oil and then cook off the pancetta. This adds flavour, saltiness and richness to the bolognese.

Then add the minced beef and brown off the mince until it is all done.

If, at this point, you have any excess fat in the pan then drain the cooked mince and discard the excess oil and fat.

Add the onion and pepper. You can add extra vegetables at this point, such as carrot if you want. After a few minutes add the mushrooms. Once the onion is soft and cooked, add the garlic puree. If you want to use freshly chopping garlic add it at the onion and pepper stage. Then add the tin of tomatoes, the herbs, the tomato purée and the balsamic vinegar.

Cook for at least 20 minutes on a low heat, though longer would ensure that the beef is tender.

Serve with a pasta of your choice. Add freshly grated Parmesan and freshly chopped parsley to taste.