A classic Heineken advert from 1979.
Well that was a really nice pizza
On a recent visit to Cabot Circus we looked at where to eat, slightly constrained as were using some Tesco vouchers. We were restricted to Bella Italia, Cafe Rouge or Strada.
Strada was out of the running as it was up in Clifton Village. After our last experience at Bella Italia in Cabot, we made the decision to go to Cafe Rouge. However a quick look over the menu, meant though fine for most of us, there wasn’t anything that appealed to the two youngest members of our party. They were dead set on having pizza and spaghetti bolognese. No new tastes for them today, so a little downhearted we went to Bella Italia.
On our last visit to this branch, writing about it I said
Overall it wasn’t a bad experience, but on reflection I don’t think we will go again to that branch, I do expect that we will probably go to the Cribbs branch though.
We did venture to the Cribbs branch after that meal and had a much better experience. I suspect that did influence how we felt about going to the Cabot Circus branch.
It was just after noon on a Saturday and the place was already buzzing. Nando’s next door was already full! As we ate our meal the place to busier and fuller, even the outside tables were full (despite it been quite cold and windy, even for May). I noticed as we left too how busy everywhere was.
What I have noticed more and more is how few places seem to be able to cope with five people. Plenty of tables for twos and fours, but very little for five. I think in the future we will probably need to be more planned and book tables in advance otherwise I think we could be disappointed, especially as how busy it eventually came.
Though the place was buzzing, it wasn’t that busy, but it took ages for the menus to appear, in the end I actually needed to ask for them. We took our time and when asked what drinks we wanted we were ready to order the food.
So what of the meal?
Well I was pleased to see that they had a special chalked on their blackboard and I went with that. This was Pizza Argosta that was topped with lobster, saffron, harrisa, red peppers, courgettes, parsley and rosemary. I also thought very reasonably priced at £8.95.
This was a thin crust pizza (as they usually are at Bella Italia) that was well cooked and very well presented.
There was a good potion of toppings and you didn’t feel anything was missing (well apart from the rosemary). The lobster tasted of lobster, the saffron was certainly apparent, both in taste and colour. I liked the thinly sliced courgette which was just cooked and was delicious. Overall a really nice different pizza and very tasty.
My wife went with the Formaggio di Capra. This was a salad made with melting goat’s cheese and red pepper tapenade on giant ciabatta croutons. Along with baby spinach, rocket, green beans, caramelised onions, roasted red peppers, olives and fresh basil in a rosemary balsamic dressing.
She initially thought it was a little on the large side, but she enjoyed it and polished it off. I thought it was really good value for £8.95.
My son at his last visit to Bella Italia had gone with the Gamberoni at £9.95, that is described on the menu as eight succulent king prawns sautéed with spaghetti, garlic and chilli in a spicy pomodoro sauce. He decided to go down the route again and ordered it.
I did think it was better presented the last time he had it. My son really enjoyed the dish again though, and finished it all off.
As for the pizza for the youngest, well that was in my opinion on the small side, but was enjoyed. I think if your child is older then eight or nine they would find that pizza too small. My youngest is four so was just right for lunch.
The spaghetti bolognese was also enjoyed by my middle one especially as he got a nice generous portion of parmesan on top.
I don’t usually eat puddings, but sometimes it’s nice to share and we went with the Godfather. According to the online menu, this contains nutty fudge brownies, vanilla and chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce, fresh cream, chocolate popping candy, dark chocolate sprinkles and a wafer curl. According to the menu we actually read in the restaurant it said honeycomb ice cream. We did get vanilla, but no chocolate popping candy. At this point the staff were very busy and it was only a minor thing, so couldn’t be bothered to make a fuss. I am not even sure I like the popping candy, so probably a better dish for it.
The only challenge was to pay the bill, and I was left standing for ages before I could pay the bill. That was disappointing.
Overall the food was very good and enjoyed by all, really well presented and cooked. Service was adequate, yes they were busy and apart from some minor glitches, was okay. However nothing to write home about, we have had much better service at other places. Would we go again? Yes I think we would.
Classic Heineken Advert from 1978
A classic Heineken advert from 1978.
Cooking Chicken over Charcoal
We don’t seem to get much nice weather these days, seems to be ever rarer when it’s a bank holiday. So it was a pleasant surprise to not only have a dry sunny day and on bank holiday monday.
So while the roads clogged up with traffic we decided to light the barbecue.
We went with some simple burgers and sausages, but I also really liked barbecued chicken.
I took some wings, legs and thighs and made a marinade of garlic, parsley, white wine, vinegar and olive oil. The chicken was left to marinade for an hour or so.
The wings I cooked over charcoal with mesquite wood chips, whilst the rest of the chicken was cooked more slowly over plain charcoal.
The wings cooked reasonably quickly and were delicious, they had lovely crispy skin, but were still tender and moist.
The legs and thighs, which were cooked for longer, despite not having the mesquite had a deep smokey flavour.
I served the chicken with a range of salads.
Classic Heineken Advert – Concorde
A classic Heineken advert from 1976. It appeared at the same time that Concorde entered service with British Airways (and Air France).
Heineken. Refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach.
Doughnut Bargain
I was pleasantly surprised to see that Jam Doughnuts were on special at a Sainsbury Local.
They were 33p each or two for £1.20…
Bargain!
Frenetic Coffee
I have written before on this blog about how much I enjoy drinking coffee at Caffe Nero. There are a few reasons for this, for example, the coffee is nice and consistent. I have found that when you buy an Americano in Birmingham it is a similar almost identical experience to an Americano in London.
However recently I realised that there was another reason why if given the choice I will choose Caffe Nero over any other major coffee chain.
I was pleased to find out that Caffe Nero had opened a branch in Weston-super-Mare, we had only just got a Costa on the High Street and it was nice to have a choice, especially after my favourite local independent coffee shop had closed and had been converted into a kebab shop!
Recently I was in Weston for a while, as one of my children attended a party on the pier and needed to kill some time. So I thought to myself, aha, grab a coffee at Caffe Nero, use their free wifi and get some stuff done.
I walked on over to Caffe Nero and joined the queue, well there was one person in front of me, so hardly a queue. As I waited, I looked over the cakes and biscuits, convincing myself that, yes they did look very nice, but no you didn’t need any of them. I was then served and the staff acted as though they had drunk eight espresso coffees. They were acting “busy”, jumping around each other, almost running, which when you consider the average size of a coffee counter takes some doing. They were shouting at each other about what to do and what my order was… a short Americano with cold skimmed milk on the side.
My first reaction was they were acting like this as there must be a huge queue behind me, one that must have crept up as I waited. I turned around and saw, that, there was no one. I was the only person at the counter, but here was three staff frenetically, frantically, hyperactively making me my coffee, shouting out as they did, as though they needed to do it really quickly as there was a huge number to make and to reduce the waiting time… checked again, no there was only me.
As I sat down at a table, got the laptop out and started to drink my coffee, I started to reflect. One of the reasons I realised why I really liked Caffe Nero was because of the calm ambience and atmosphere. As I drank my coffee the staff behind the counter continued to be hyperactive, shouting at each other orders, even though they were standing next to each other. It was noisy and distracting.
Yes I can see how such “behaviour” may be necessary in a fast moving establishment, such as at a railway station, where people want to grab a quick coffee and run to catch their train. However this was a high street coffee shop, a place where people want to catch their breath from the hustle and bustle of shopping, a moment of calmness and tranquillity as they drink their coffee and eat their sandwich or cake.
Well as I sat there in Caffe Nero in Weston-super-Mare that wasn’t what was happening. The frenetic, frantic and loud staff ruined the ambience and made the place feel like a fast food burger joint on a Friday night. Slight disclaimer, I don’t recall (if ever) I have been in a fast food burger joint on a Friday night so this comparison might be slightly unfair. As far as I know on a Friday night these burger joints might be calm tranquil places with violins playing. So just to rephrase, “and made the place feel like what I imagine a fast food burger joint on a Friday night feels like!”
As I tried to enjoy the coffee and relax, I found the frenetic activity and loud voices of the staff to be totally distracting and annoying. As a result I left early and certainly did not buy a second cup of coffee.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the coffee, but I don’t go to places like Caffe Nero just for the coffee, it’s also the ambience the atmosphere. This branch had great coffee, the decor and furniture was nice, what let the place down were the hyerpactive staff. Training needs to be so much more than just about how to make coffee.
A simple rice salad
The other day I cooked some rice to accompany the pork dish I was cooking and wouldn’t you know it I had cooked way too much rice! Or maybe people weren’t as hungry that day as they have been other days.
So what to do with the left over cooked rice? Well make a rice salad of course.
I looked through the fridge and found some cucumber and a tomato, these I diced and added to the salad along with a good dollop of mayonnaise. I had missed the leftover sweetcorn otherwise I would have added that too.
Stir, chill and eat later.
Another rice salad recipe.
Grilled Chicken
Grilling chicken pieces is probably one of my favourite ways of cooking chicken and it’s interesting how different it tastes to say roasting or pan frying.
For my most recent dish of grilled chicken, I took a selection of chicken thighs. Personally I find that the leg meat of a chicken as a lot more flavour and the bone helps keep the meat moist and tender. The problem with grilling breast meat is that it can dry out and become tough.
I took the thighs and in a mixing bowl to make a marinade, I added olive oil, garlic, chopped parsley, black pepper and some white wine vinegar. I mixed the meat until they were well coated in the mixture.
The chicken pieces were then placed skin side down on the grill and grilled for about ten minutes. They were then turned and cooked for a further ten minutes or until the skin has gone crispy.
You need to be careful to not undercook or overcook the chicken, so you do need to watch it.
I would also say after turning the chicken to brush them with the remains of the marinade.
The end result is beautifully moist, succulent chicken, with tasty crispy skin and wonderful flavours.
I served mine with a simple risotto and steamed vegetables., but it would also work well with a selection of salads.
Bella Bella
My last experience with Bella Italia was rather a disappointment, so with a little trepidation we went there for dinner, though this time it was a much better experience.
When we had arrived the place was quite empty, well it was after 4pm and you wouldn’t expect it to be that busy. What I didn’t realise when we left just before 6pm the place was buzzing and pretty much full. It certainly didn’t feel like that sitting down, I suspect the main reason is that this branch of Bella Italia is very much zoned into different areas, with clever use of walls and bannisters (or railings) though the place is quite big, you actually feel you are in a much smaller cosier venue. Compare this with the Bella Italia at Cabot Circus which is smaller, but feels much bigger and more open, and as a result less cosy.
There was a different menu to the time we last went and I would say that I was certainly less inspired. It felt a little more bland and corporate than previous visits, but that doesn’t mean it is, it just felt that way.
As a last minute choice I went with a starter and chose, despite my plan to be choosing different things, I went with the calamari at £5.95. Lightly breaded and deep fried tender squid, with lemon and caper mayonnaise. The squid was tender, but I have had much nicer squid at Bella Italia. It was apparent they had changed the recipe (well probably supplier). The last time I had the squid it included the tentacles as well as pieces of squid, and they were covered in a parmesan batter. This time they were rings and were breaded rather than battered. The only criticism I would make back then was that sometimes they overcooked the squid, this time though with the new recipe they didn’t.
So what about the main courses?
My son decided to go with the Gamberoni at £9.95, that is described on the menu as eight succulent king prawns sautéed with spaghetti, garlic and chilli in a spicy pomodoro sauce. As with a previous experience the waiting staff did ask if he wanted the chilli to which he replied yes. I find it amusing that they say eight prawns, obviously a combination of marketing the dish, and making sure that people don’t complain about the number of prawns! My son really enjoyed the dish and finished it all off.
After a lot of thought I went with the Formaggio Double Burger at £12.95, described in the menu as a double Americano with melted mozzarella, parmesan and gorgonzola cheese. It was served in a soft ciabatta bun with fries and smoked tomato and onion relish.
Firstly if they are chips, they are not fries! Fries are thin and skinny and the chips are chunky. These were chunky! The best way to describe them was as okay, they weren’t awful, but they were certainly not the best chips I had. Reflecting on this I think the problem was they were quite tasteless.
The burger though on the other hand was delicious. I was very impressed with the flavour and the texture. It was just how I like it. When I compare this one, the last time I had a burger at the Holiday Inn Express. When I ordered it, I was a little concerned that the three cheeses would overpower the dish, but that wasn’t the case, they complemented the burgers really well.
My wife went with the Portobello Mushroom Burger, which was a portobello mushroom, with goat’s cheese, roasted red pepper and onion, baby gem leaves, tomato and mayonnaise, served in a soft ciabatta bun. What I found funny was that she thought this was just the topping on a regular burger, she didn’t realise that the mushroom was the burger. Despite that “mistake” she really enjoyed it, she said it was delicious and the really liked the goat’s cheese.
My two younger children went with the pizza and spaghetti bolognese and both of them really enjoyed their food and ate a lot of it.
As for service, well I would say that the place got it just right. We had really good service throughout the meal.