Time for a coffee

March 3, 2012

Cheese and Red Onion Scone

So there I was in John Lewis and decided to get a coffee from the Espresso Bar in the basement in their Bristol branch. Feeling a little peckish I had a look at what was on offer and went for their “special” scone, a cheese and red onion scone.

I do quite like a savoury scone, when I visit the restaurant at Cadbury Garden Centre I quite like their cheese scones. If it isn’t cheese than I might go with a sweet one with sultanas, which means I must also have butter, jam and clotted cream. When it comes to sweet scones, for me they much have fruit, and be served with butter, strawberry jam and clotted cream. Of course the other key thing is that the scone must be fresh. Nothing worse than eating a scone that was baked days ago… Most places seem to sell not-fresh scones, that more than likely they buy in bulk ready made. Whereas there are a few places that do bake and sell scones that taste fresh. You can easily tell the difference.

This scone from John Lewis was rather nice, not too heavy, fresh and full of flavour. Certainly if it is on sale again I will probably get one again.

February 19, 2012

Very nice indeed…

I have a kind of love hate relationship with Café Rouge. I really like the concept behind Café Rouge and like the menu, but then I am let down either by poor service or over seasoning.

However on my latest visit with the family, we had excellent service, great food and it was all, very nice indeed…

It was, how it should be, how I expect it to be, and what I want when I go out and pay for lunch.

My son, avoiding the children’s menu, he went for the Tartine Marocaine, an open sandwich of sautéed spicy Merguez sausages & caramelised onions with houmous and crisp chicory on grilled sourdough bread served with a minted crème fraîche.

I am a great fan of Merguez sausages and these, though slightly overdone for me, were very nice, and my son really enjoyed the dish. I was quite surprised how much he enjoyed the onions, the crisp chicory (which is quite bitter) and the salad. He wasn’t that impressed with the minted crème fraîche, but once he worked out that it helped cool the spiciness of the Merguez sausage he understood how it fitted into the dish. I have had this dish myself before and enjoyed it back then.

My wife went with the Salade de Chèvre, grilled goat’s cheese croutons on a bed of marinated red peppers, black olives and herb salad with a light vinaigrette.

She let me try the salad and I liked the freshness of the salad leaves with the marinated red peppers and black olives. The goat’s cheese had a subtle flavour, but was nice.

I went with the Tartine au Maquereau, an open sandwich of pan-fried mackerel fillets, baby plum tomatoes, horseradish mayonnaise and rocket on grilled sourdough bread.

I really enjoyed this dish, the mackerel was cooked really well and the tomatoes, rocket and horseradish mayonnaise complemented the fish. The dish was full of flavour and was delicious.

My two younger ones had meals from the children’s menu, they enjoyed their food, but the fries came with salt on them… personally I think they should come without salt, especially on the children’s dishes.

So what about the service? Despite the fact it was a busy Sunday, we got a table as soon as we walked in, and the waitress was friendly and efficient. The food came within a reasonable time frame and we weren’t rushed or anything. As a result it was a very relaxing and enjoyable meal out.

Very nice indeed…

February 18, 2012

Lunch at La Tasca

I do like tapas, but haven’t eaten at La Tasca for a while. It’s a great place to go in a group, but unlike a few other places I could mention, it’s not a place I often go to when eating on my own or needing a quick place for lunch. However needing a quick lunch, I did notice walking by that La Tasca had a lunch deal on, two tapas dishes and bread (or salad) as an accompaniment for £5.95, that to me seemed quite reasonable. I had considered going to Jamie’s Italian which was close by, but they don’t appear to do a lunch menu and the main menu was a little expensive for a quick lunch.

For my two dishes I went with Calamares Andaluza, crispy squid, served with a roasted garlic & paprika mayonnaise and Paella Valenciana, a paella with chicken breast and mixed seafood. Alongside I went with the bread, the Pan de Barra, freshly baked white baguette, olive bloomer and caramelised onion bread, served with an extra-virgin olive oil & balsamic vinegar dip.

Not sure how freshly baked the bread was, but though it may have been freshly baked at some point it didn’t feel that freshly baked to me. Probably because I have been spoilt by going to the Royal Well Tavern where the bread is so fresh that it is still warm when it arrives at the table! However it was nice to have three different kinds of bread and my favourite out of the three was the olive bloomer.

The calamares and paella arrived together. The calamares was nicely cooked, crisp batter and tender in the middle. The mayonnaise complemented the squid well. I enjoyed the calamares and was certainly one of the better dishes of squid I have had from La Tasca, so was impressed.

On previous visits to La Tasca, when I have had paella, usually as part of a special offer, tapas for a tenner, it wasn’t that special. I thought it was a bit of a risk taking the paella, but I thought why not. I was quite pleased though, it was very pleasant and certainly much better than previous paella I have had at La Tasca.

Overall, good service, nice food and value for money, just what I wanted for lunch.

February 17, 2012June 3, 2023

Hart’s Barn

I was recommended to visit the Tearoom at Hart’s Barn in Gloucestershire so when I was passing it recently around lunchtime, I thought, why not, let’s go in for lunch.

We pride ourselves on offering excellent quality and service within the beautiful and tranquil setting of the Forest. We are the premier venue in the Forest for enjoying traditional afternoon and cream teas.

We also have a lunch specials board which changes several times a week, featuring light snacks such as an asparagus & fresh cheese tart, to more substantial meals like stews & pies served with British seasonal vegetables whenever possible. All food is made fresh daily on the premises, with our menu being built around the availability of food & drink locally. We list our local suppliers in our menu, so you can see where the food & drink you’re enjoying comes from.

The main menu consists of typical tearoom fare, but they do have a board with daily specials and it from that I decided to make my choice.

My first choice wasn’t available as they had run out of baguettes, so went with the steak and ale pie.

As I waited I drank the coffee I ordered, and wasn’t that impressed, even though they had a proper coffee machine, my Americano wasn’t that good. Ah well, it’s a tearoom I should have had a pot of tea, must remember that.

My meal arrived in a reasonable time, the pie was in a pie dish topped with puff pastry, it was complemented with a portion of mashed potato, a jug of gravy and a decent additional portion of vegetables.

The vegetables were nicely cooked, still some crunch, and the potato was also very nice. I liked the puff pastry and though the pie filling was not as hot as I think it should have been, it was very tender and full of flavour.

Overall I was pleased with the meal and enjoyed it. The service was friendly and efficient.

February 16, 2012

Flat White

Ever since visiting New Zealand I have had a fondness for the Flat White. It can be challenging to find a decent Flat White in the UK, despite the widespread adoption by coffee chains of the Flat White; unless the barista knows what they are doing, you may think you are getting a flat white, but you get a disappointing cappuccino instead.

I was pleased the other day to order a Flat White in my local Costa and I got a really good Flat White, perfect.

The coffee was good, the milk was steamed to the right creamy consistency and even the pattern on the top was sharp and remained as I drank the coffee.

Hopefully the next time I get a Flat White just as good.

February 15, 2012

Cappelletti

I quite enjoy stuffed pasta, this fresh cappelletti from Sainsburys is rather nice and is one of my favourites.

I served it with some pancetta and courgettes that I had cooked off in a pan, and then stirred into the pasta with some crème fraîche and grated parmesan.

The pasta I cooked in boiling water for a couple of minutes. It’s important not to overcook the pasta otherwise you’ll find it all mushy, and fresh pasta literally needs very little cooking time.

Serve immediately.

February 14, 2012

Trofie Pasta

It’s surprising how many different pasta shapes there are and how different they can “taste”. Some shapes work better with thick sauces, others with thinner style sauces.

Trofie pasta is quite a weird style for pasta, but I do enjoy eating it, and find it goes well with pesto.

This was a fresh Trofie pasta, a Pizza Express brand that only takes a few minutes to cook. I have bought dried Trofie before, but have been pleased with the Pizza Express fresh Trofie pasta.

I used a jar of pesto and added some toasted pine nuts. To toast pine nuts I use a heavy frying pan, add NO oil and heat on the hob. I then add the pine nuts until they are toasted, not too brown and be careful you don’t burn them.

I find pine nuts quite expensive, usually paying £2.50 for a small bag, but I really do like them in pasta with pesto. They also work well in salads.

Overall a quick and easy, but very tasty pasta dish.

February 12, 2012

Another one of those bargains…

So there I was in the Sainsburys when I noticed another one of those bargains.

99p each or three for £3.

Now this offer was on all the Sharwoods oriental range and virtually everything else was above £1, most in the £1.40 range.

The reason I think this is an issue is not if you buy one of the 99p items and two more, as you would “save” money, it’s when you buy four or five items and include the 99p item.

For example

Imagine buying three other items at £1.42 and the curry paste for 99p. The 99p item would be included within the three for £3 so you would be charged £4.42. If you bought the curry paste separately then you would then only be charged a total of £3.99.

If you bought three other items at £1.42 and then two lots of curry paste for 99p. The two lots of curry paste would be included within the three for £3, so you would be charged £5.84. If you bought the curry paste separately then you only be charged £4.98.

There is then a false incentive to buy six item, which will cost you £6.

So do I what did, buy just one item for £1.42 that you went into buy and that will save you a lot more money in the longer term. Special offers are really only special to the supermarket, they only save you money if you were going to buy the items anyhow. Buying them because they are on special doesn’t save you money, it costs you money!

February 5, 2012

Bishops Tipple

The Bishop’s Tipple has been a legend amongst ale drinkers ever since it was originally brewed to commemorate George Reindorp’s appointment as Bishop of Salisbury.

When I opened the fridge and saw this bottle of beer, my initial thoughts were, that looks nice, but looks a little heavy. I was expecting a dark strong beer that would take time to savour and enjoy.

I was however pleasantly surprised to find that this was a really nice ale with a golden hue and that was both refreshing and light to the palate. I really enjoyed it and hope to find another bottle in the fridge soon.

January 22, 2012

Blueberry Pancakes

We often have blueberries in the house, but eating them raw I have never been that impressed, much prefer blackberries, raspberries and strawberries.

I make pancakes for breakfast on a regular basis, both the traditional flat ones and the American style small ones. This time I decided that I would have a go at making some blueberry pancakes and see if this would change my mind about blueberries.

I took my usual pancake mix, in a bowl add:

A cup of self-raising flour
½ tsp of baking powder
½ tsp of vanilla extract
1 egg
A cup of milk
1 tbsp of caster sugar

This I whisked into a batter. I then added a handful of blueberries (50g).

Using my non-stick pancake frying pan, which as is getting older, I brushed it with some sunflower oil, after heating it up on the hob. I then poured in a spoonful of pancake mixture. You don’t want it too hot, otherwise the inside of the slightly thicker pancakes won’t be cooked.

I left the pancakes to cook until air bubbles started to appear on the top, then turn them over.

I obviously didn’t use enough blueberries as not all the pancakes by the time I cooked the batter had blueberries in them, this in the end wasn’t so bad as the little people in the house didn’t want blueberries in their pancakes.

I served mine with some maple syrup and if you wanted to you could have added some uncooked blueberries too.

I was really pleased with the results, really tasty and I will certainly be cooking them again. I may even now have a go at cooking blueberry muffins.