Author: jamesclay

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Sorry that’s not a flat white!

I was a little disappointed today.

We were visiting the VUE cinema at Cribbs Causeway, to see a film. I thought I would like a coffee, and I could see the Lavazza brand, so I asked if they could do me a flat white? They said yes.

However as I watched them make it I was not impressed.

They did the espresso coffee and then topped it off with hot water and finished with some cold milk.

Sorry that’s not a flat white!

I did reject it and they tried again., this time they managed with a little guidance from me, get it right.

I did actually quite enjoy the coffee, however if I hadn’t watched them make it I would have been very disappointed. The fact it was quite expensive at £3.49, would have made me even more disappointed if I didn’t get what I ordered and paid for.

I shouldn’t be too surprised, I am always a bit wary of cinema food and drink. It’s usually overpriced and often not very good.

Next time, have coffee before I get to the cinema.

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Gluten Free Spicy Crispy Chicken Strips

I made these spicy crispy chicken strips to accompany an asian inspired meal I was cooking.

Gluten Free Spicy Crispy Chicken Strips

I cut some chicken thighs into strips and then coated them in a homemade batter. The batter was made from gluten free self raising flour, mixed with a single egg and flavoured with salt and pepper, and Schwartz Japanese 7 Spice Yakitori Seasoning. The aim was to coat the chicken with the batter, ensure the batter is thick enough to coat the chicken, but not too thick so that there is a thick layer of batter on the chicken.

The chicken strips are then shallow fried in batches in hot oil. After draining on kitchen paper, I finished them off in the oven.

I served them with sweet chilli sauce.

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Nachos

Nachos

These are a regular dish at home and enjoyed by everyone in the family.

We use the kits from most supermarkets, which contain a bag of tortilla chips, and usually two sachets of salsa.. To this I usually add some grated cheese before heating in the oven for five or six minutes.

I serve them with guacamole and sour cream. Sometimes I will add the fajita mix to mine.

I do now check the ingredient list as, for example, the Asda kit contains gluten as it had Barley Malt Extract used in the salsa..

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Time for Steak Fajitas

I make versions of this dish quite often, but the method is pretty much the same. My main variation is on the kind of steak I use. I like using ribeye, but other cuts work just as well. For this version, I used a bavette cut of steak, I fried this in a frying pan and when I was happy with how it was cooked, I removed the steak from the pan and let it rest.

Whilst the steak is resting, in the same pan, I cook the onions and peppers. I usually add some fajita seasoning at this point. For one piece of steak I use one pepper and one onion. Though as I like different coloured peppers, I might use a third of three different kinds.

I do find when I am usually cooking a bavette cut that I undercook it, so after the steak had rested I sliced it and then finished off the steak in the pans with the onions and pepper.

The fajitas I serve with warm tortilla wraps, sour cream, guacamole and salsa. I also like to add some pea shoots into the mix as well and thinly sliced radishes.

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Frankie and Benny’s in Weston-super-Mare may close

Update 21st June 2021: The restaurant has closed and is being converted into a burger joint with a drive through.

Update 27th August 2020: Updated the article with a photograph and text relating to the removal of the external signage.

Well after blogging about the closure of Pizza Express in Weston-super-Mare, it is now rumoured, but not confirmed, that the branch of Frankie and Benny’s in Weston-super-Mare will not be reopening after closed for lockdown. 

The fact that when taking a photograph for this blog post, all the main signage had been removed, says to me, it will not be opening again.

It should be said that the company behind Frankie and Benny’s was in trouble before the pandemic closed restaurants and was looking at closing branches across the country. I wasn’t too surprised, they changed their menu and branding to more of an American style, and though they were Italian-American, I think they started to lose some of their appeal by losing the Italian aspects of their brand.

I don’t recall my last visit there, I know we had a Christmas breakfast there in 2017 and I had a birthday meal there in 2015, but I don’t think I have been there more recently than that.

Initially we stopped going there as their gluten free offering was quite poor, but they did change that a few years ago I believe, so we went a few times in 2017. I think another reason was that too often we were disappointed with the food and service. Also with Prezzo and Pizza Express opening in Dolphin Square there was more choice about where to go out to eat. Though, what with Pizza Express closing and now the probable closure of Frankie and Benny’s means now we have less choice.

So now waiting for confirmation of closure.

 

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The food could have been better

It has been a long time since I have eaten at Zizzi, but the last time I was there I enjoyed my pizza. So meeting up after work in Bristol we headed towards Zizzi to get something to eat.

It was more late afternoon than early evening do when we arrived there was quite a bit of space, when we left the place was full and there was a queue outside.

I don’t think I could quibble with the service, which was warm and friendly, however our food at Zizzi could have been so much better.

Checking the menu, I decided to start with the calamari before then having a Rustica Pinoli Pizza.

The calamari was nice, but they had run out of aioli and though I asked for some mayonnaise they came back with tomato ketchup (seriously) and a separate pepper sauce (which was nice), however neither of these really complemented the calamari in the way that the aioli would have.

We also had some gluten free garlic bread, which was nice and garlicy, however was slightly overdone. I was all ready to complain and ask for a replacement, but I was out voted!

My Rustica Pinoli Pizza had goat’s cheese, mozzarella, caramelised balsamic onions, baby slow roast tomatoes, pine nuts & riserva cheese.

I’ve had this before, and though I think it needed more pine nuts, it was rather nice. There is a nice mix of flavours, from the cheese to the caramelised balsamic onions which add to the pizza.

What was interesting was that the other Rustica Pinoli we had on the table was overcooked compared mine. I did offer to swap but this was turned down.

We did the Eat Out scheme so we got 50% off, which wasn’t a bad deal. However the lack of consistency of quality in the food, means I don’t know when I will be going back to Zizzi again.

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Venezuelan Coconut & Lime Sauce

This is a Venezuelan Coconut & Lime Sauce chicken dish I made recently.

I am a bit of a fan of the Santa Maria Latin American Kitchen range of sauces and spices. Though I like to make my own sauces, sometimes for speed and ease I use ready made sauces such as the Venezuelan Coconut & Lime Sauce. They are also useful when you don’t want to buy all the ingredients to make a sauce like this one, or only want to make a smaller portion as part of a wider range of dishes. I sometimes use the sauces for inspiration for cooking my own sauces.

The Venezuelan Coconut & Lime Sauce is a tasty sauce and is one of my favourites from the range.

Venezuelan Coconut & Lime Sauce

A creamy sauce made with coconut cream, lime juice & chillies. Venezuelan Coconut & Lime Sauce has its roots in the Zulian region, in the north of Venezuela by the Caribbean Sea, where coconut palms grow. This fresh, tangy, coconut cooking sauce brings you a real taste of the tropics.

I generally cook some chicken with onions and pepper before adding the sauce and heating it through., I added some chopped coriander and served the dish with rice.

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Homemade Gluten Free Pizza

I have made my own gluten free pizza dough, but I was intrigued when I found the Davina Steel Pizza Base Mix in my local branch of Waitrose. I had tried their Focaccia mix and we had enjoyed eating that.

The process of using the mix is rather interesting in that you stir the mix, with yeast and water, into a batter and then “cook” the bases in a dry frying pan. Basically you spread the batter into the frying pan, cook on the hob, before removing. You then add your tomato base, cheese and toppings, before finishing off in a hot oven.

I was really impressed with the end result, these looked and tasted like pizza. I personally think the bases are better than others we have bought, both mixes and ready made bases.

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Flat White at Chatterton’s

I went to the my office in Bristol, the first time since March that I’ve been in the office, actually been anywhere for work apart from my desk in the house.

I did think about catching the train, but in the end drove to Bristol, parked and walked the rest of the way to the office. It was nice and sunny so was rather pleasant. It was an easy drive into Bristol and there was minimal traffic. Very few people around as well, unlike when I have walked to the office before.

I stopped for coffee at Chatterton’s Café, it’s right next door to our office, almost too close when I was working in the office pre-lockdown, as I quite liked a walk before sitting down and doing some work as I enjoyed my coffee.

I was looking forward to sitting down and having a coffee, however it was takeaway only and they were serving through their kitchen window. Nice coffee though.

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Pizza Express in Weston-super-Mare to close

The Weston-super-Mare branch of Pizza Express is to close down, under three years since it opened. It is one of seventy-three restaurants that the chain is closing.

The chain, which at the moment has 454 outlets across the UK, said it had cut a deal to reduce rent costs. It blamed the loss of income doe to Covid-19 and that these restaurants were no longer sustainable.

Though other restaurants opened in July, it was noticeable that Pizza Express didn’t and even with the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme starting on the 1st August, I noticed that many Pizza Express branches weren’t opening until the 13th August or later, losing the opportunity to get some additional sales in with the scheme. It was noticeable in Weston that all the restaurants in Dolphin Square are still closed despite the scheme.

Pizza Express was the third restaurant to open in Dolphin Square in November 2017, after Luda the bingo cafe and Nando’s. We’ve already lost Luda and T-Bone, and not all the spaces have been filled anyhow. Obviously the pandemic isn’t helping with the situation, but Nandos and Prezzo are still closed despite the Eat Out scheme being in operation. Loco Mexicano appears to be moving to the seafront, will they have two branches open in Weston, that appears to be unlikely as they are literally just metres apart!

I do think the Dolphin Square development will struggle in the future and I am not sure there is anything the council can do about it as well. It looks like

As for that branch of Pizza Express in Weston, I think I may have eaten their just twice. Once for a quick lunch (with a special offer from Three) and once for a family meal.

Given the choice we usually opted for the Prezzo as it had more choices on the menu and not just pizza. Having said that we’ve eaten at a fair few Pizza Expres