Time for a coffee

September 16, 2014

Fancy a salad

There are many places to grab lunch in Oxford, I have walked past the Art Café quite a few times as it is quite close to where I work.

The Art Café in Boon Square in Oxford, as well as being a café also does a takeaway service. I’ve not yet eaten upstairs, but have had the odd sandwich from them too. They have a nice selection, with a range of breads, interesting fillings and they are quite tasty too.

This time I chose the Chicken Pesto Salad, which includes chicken breast, mixed salad leaves, green pesto, mozzarella and pinenuts.

It did look very nice. It comprised a bed of a variety of crisp lettuce leaves, quartered tomatoes, slices of cucumber, some slices of chicken and mozzarella. On top was, what I thought was a small amount of pesto, enough for the chicken, but not really enough for the salad, and a scattering of pinenuts.

Probably the best way to describe the salad was okay. It wasn’t disappointing, neither though was it good. It was a good sized portion for the price, however I think the main issues was that the salad, as in the lettuce and tomatoes looked good, but lacked flavour. If there was more of a dressing, this might have made up for the blandness of the salad.

Overall I much prefer the sandwiches and baguettes they sell at the Art Café and I am not sure if I will get a salad again.

September 8, 2014

The Cortado

Back in 2009 I was in New Zealand for a conference and was introduced to the Flat White.

According to Wikipedia:

Originating from Australia and New Zealand, a Flat White is a coffee beverage prepared by pouring steamed milk from the bottom of steaming pitcher over a single shot or double shot of espresso. As with many other espresso-based drinks the Flat White is interpreted in a number of ways. In Australia it is commonly served as a single shot of espresso, whereas in New Zealand it is more commonly served using a double shot.

Back in 2010 I started to notice that many coffee places, including the major chains were now selling the Flat White. I said back then

I have had it a few times now in the UK, from Costas and Starbucks and though nice, it’s not quite the same as a Flat White from New Zealand.

Having been a while since I was in New Zealand I have lost track of the true flat white experience.

Meeting up with Thom from New Zealand at a recent conference he confirmed that the Costa version of the Flat White was lacking, it was too big and wasn’t strong enough. When he tried to order a “proper” flat white, smaller cup, another shot, the barista couldn’t quite understand what he wanted, but did recommend the Cortado.

The Cortado originates from Spanish speaking countries and the word cortado is the past participle of the Spanish verb cortar (to cut).

The Costa version of the Cortado is not quite what a classic Cortado should be, but as a result is more like a Flat White from New Zealand.

Not sure if putting the drink in a glass adds anything, I would much prefer a cup, but despite that I did enjoy the coffee and would certainly order it again.

August 31, 2014January 27, 2024

You need more staff…

I like great service, actually I almost expect great service. Generally most people do not go out to a restaurant to eat, they go for the whole experience. The welcome, the opening drink, the perusal of the menu, the choosing, the ordering, the anticipation, the actual eating, the reflection and leaving the table, knowing you don’t need to do the washing up. It’s the atmosphere, the furniture, the music, or no music, the ambience. A good restaurant will try and ensure that the whole experience is just right, and good customer service, is critical for a positive dining experience.

Down in London for a short break, we went to Pizza Express in Kingston, in the Rotunda. Though they said the air-conditioning was broken, it wasn’t that hot, so it didn’t appear that was going to be an issue.

Looking over the menu I decided upon the Toscana Romana Pizza, which is described as having a bigger, thinner, crispier pizza, topped with crumbled chilli & fennel sausage, mozzarella and tomato finished with baby mozzarella, Gran Moravia cheese, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil.

Though on my pizza I got slices of sausage rather than crumbled sausage and I think the pizza works better for it. The Toscana Pizza was delicious and I really enjoyed it.

My wife went with the Leggera Superfood Salad, this is made with baby spinach and seasonal mixed leaves, roasted butternut squash, beetroot, light baby mozzarella, avocado, pine kernels, cucumber, lentils and fresh basil, finished with balsamic syrup.

She really enjoyed it, she though was disappointed that it had no seafood in it! Always read the menu carefully.

Unfortunately, a lack of staff meant for me that the dining experience, specifically the service, was not as good as the pizza. We had to wait long amounts of time between getting the menu, placing our food order, ordering additional drinks and getting the bill. One of the results of the lengthy service delays was in the end we decided not to have pudding.

I don’t mind slow service sometimes, it’s nice to take your time and not be rushed, however, I do find there is a difference between slow and indifferent, which appeared to be the issue here. Too often we were ignored even though we had indicated or even said we wanted some attention. I got the feeling that this was down to a lack of staff, who were probably too rushed and forgot about the key elements of good customer service.

The food was great, just a pity about the service.

August 30, 2014January 20, 2024

Sasi’s Thai

Within the Oxford Covered Market are many places to grab lunch, either to eat there, or to take back to the office.

One place I like for lunch is Sasi’s Thai in the Oxford covered market. They serve a variety of Thai dishes, as well as salads, cakes and coffee.

They have a counter, the food is cooked in an upstairs kitchen, and a range of tables, chairs and soft chairs. It can get busy, so you can’t always get a seat. It’s quite a nice and busy environment, with a pleasant ambience. If it is too busy you can always do take away.

My usual choice is either a single selection from their range of dishes or two served with rice.

This time I chose the chicken with cashew nuts and the crispy pork with basil.

The chicken dish was fresh and tasty with good flavours and I always enjoy the crunch of the cashew nuts. The crispy pork consists of deep fried pork belly combined with Thai basil, peppers, onions and chilli. Tasty combination of flavours and textures long with a nice bit with the chilli.

If I was to make one criticism I do think that sometimes their portions are a little on the small side, but that is just a minor point. The day I took the photograph above, the dish was a good size.

Their range of dishes include green and red curries, egg and cinnamon soup, pad thai I have also had some quite nice fish dishes too.

I’ve not yet tried the salad or even the coffee, but the food is great and well worth checking out.

August 29, 2014

A lunchtime Calzone

Taking lunch at Bella Italia in South Kensington the other week, I decided that I would go down the Calzone route.

Bella Italia in South Kensington is a short walk from the Science Museum, which we had just visited. The lunch menus inside the museum cafés looked interesting, but my children’s choices were quite limited. Can be quite a challenge for eating out, when your youngest is adamant she is going to eat nothing unless it was pizza!

If you have visited a Bella Italia in most parts of the country, you probably have gone in quite a large spacious restaurant, the one in South Kensington is very small in comparison over two floors, probably only a third of the covers you would find another Bella Italia. This one did though look much more inviting and cosy than others I have been in.

We were seated upstairs and decided to partake the lunch menu, at £7.95 for one course, this was two pounds more than the same menu, for example in Bristol. This London weighting probably pays for the higher rental costs and high staff costs, though less value for money was a result.

Looking over the menu, I decided upon the Calzone Diavola. This is described in the menu as “The perfect portion for lunchtime with N’duja sausage and pepperoni, chicken breast, cherry bell peppers, green chillies, red onion and mozzarella on a spicy arrabbiata base, served with mixed salad and arrabbiata dip.”

I was quite surprised when it arrived the find the edges were crimped like a pasty.

The pizza “base” was well cooked, crisp on the outside and soft inside. The filling was spicy and tasty, but I did feel it wasn’t that generous. Now I am not sure if that was because this was the “lunch menu” version or if this was the size it was. The salad was nice, but I don’t think I did get the arrabbiata dip!

So what about the service, well they were obviously under staffed, the waiters were trying their best, but the whole service from start to finish took a really long time, this wasn’t going to be a quick meal. They also slightly messed up our order, though that was quickly rectified.

Overall I enjoyed the Calzone, and even at £7.95, thought it was good value for money, alas it was a pity that the place was so under staffed and as a result the service suffered.

August 28, 2014

That’s outrageous!

Taking the family to lunch at Bottelino’s in Weston super Mare.

Having had pizza a fair few times recently, I decided to go with pasta and chose the Orecchiette al Pollo. This is orecchiette pasta with chicken, mushroom, garlic, chilli in a cream sauce.

This was a really nice dish, the pasta was perfectly cooked, the sauce was tasty, and had a nice hidden bite with the chilli. There was for me, just the right amounts of chicken and mushrooms. The amounts of the garlic and chilli in the dish were just right.

The pizza’s the children had were really nice, not huge, but big enough for growing appetites, nice amount of cheese and ham, as well as a great pizza base.

So why is the blog post called “That’s outrageous!” then?

The children’s menu is good value at £4.95 for a main course, a drink and ice cream. Though the children’s drinks were quite small, teacup sized, so we ordered refills. When the bill came I was shocked to find that we were charged £2.25 for each drink. Checking the menu, this is the same price as the adult apple juice, and I suspect that if I had ordered an apple juice it wouldn’t have come in a small coloured beaker. Sorry, this is outrageous pricing, and has really put me off going again.

August 22, 2014

Not such a long queue today

 Within the Oxford Covered Market are many places to grab lunch, either to eat there, or to take back to the office.

The Alpha Bar is one of the most popular establishments, so much so, that the long queues usually put me off from buying lunch from there. Another problem with their popularity is that they often run out of their popular dishes. As a result I don’t go there as often as I probably would like to.

Today the queue was short, so I managed to grab a nice salad. There is plenty of choice, and you can choose small or large. Take a main, such as chicken, feta, tofu or as I chose, grilled halloumi. You then choose a couple of sides, I went with the orzo and pesto, with the cous cous. There are a range of toppings, including pesto, hummus or as I chose, some olives. The halloumi was freshly grilled, which was good, the rest of the salad was tasty and fresh and I thought good value at £3.95.

In addition there are a range of hot choices, such as Tuscan Beef served with potatoes or rice.

As well as food, there are a range of drinks available, and surprising for me I’ve not tried the coffee.

The Alpha Bar does have a few tables outside, but this is generally a place to buy lunch to take away. It does some great food and it is really good value for money. The only real downside for me, is that it is that good, that there are often long queues, so I am often forced to miss them out.

Image via Howard Stanbury on Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

August 20, 2014

Chicken in a Barbecue Sauce

This recipe can be used to grill chicken on the barbecue, or as I did, finish off in a hot oven.

For me, the key to tender moist barbecued chicken is to avoid leaving it on the grill for too long, otherwise it will dry out. However this leaves the risk that the chicken is not properly cooked and could cause food poisoning. My solution is to poach or steam the chicken first, and then finish off on the barbecue, under a hot grill, or in a really hot oven. The end result is crispy tasty skin, and moist tender chicken.

Taken some chicken thighs, I much prefer chicken thigh, there is more flavour. Place them in a pan of boiling water, and bring back to the simmer. Poach for 10-15 minutes, remove from the pan and leave on a warm plate for a minutes. This is mainly to let them dry, you can speed up this process using some kitchen towel. I usually drizzle some olive oil on the chicken before placing it on the barbecue, under the grill, or placed into a hot oven.

For the chicken in the photograph I made my own barbecue sauce, basted the chicken in it along with onion and sliced peppers and placed it under the grill.

The sauce was a quick one, made from a mix of tomato ketchup, tomato puree, golden syrup, balsamic vinegar, cajun spices and flakes of chilli. Another sauce I use now and again is the Reggae Reggae Jerk Sauce.

Overall I have been using this method for a while now and have had good results.

August 14, 2014

Chewy Flapjack

This is quick and easy recipe that results in delicious, moist, sticky chewy flapjacks.

150g unsalted butter
75g brown sugar
75g golden syrup
200g of oats

In a pan melt the butter, sugar and syrup together. I find the easiest way to measure the golden syrup is to put the pan on the scales, zero the scales and then add the syrup.

Once the sugar, butter and syrup are bubbling take it off the heat and stir in the oats.

Place into a greased tin (or lined using baking parchment) and bake in a 180ºC oven until the edges are browned.

Slice whilst still warm.

You can add fruit, if you like; add to the sugar, butter and syrup mixture when it is bubbling and cook for a few minutes.

If you like chocolate chips in your flapjacks, I find that they melt, so I freeze mine for a few hours, that way they hold their shape in the warm oat mixture.

July 23, 2014May 18, 2020

Coffee at Caffé Veneto

Having had some good coffee at the Portivo Lounge in Gloucester I have for a while been meaning to try out the Pinto Lounge in Banbury. Having some time for lunch, I took a walk down to the centre of Banbury to have a look at the Pinto Lounge and see if it was a good place to have something to eat. Having had a look over the menu, I wasn’t that inspired, not that there was an issue with the menu, just that there didn’t seem to be anything that really took me. Maybe another time…

Having a quick wander around the area, I found the Caffé Veneto, this is an independent coffee shop with an continental feel to it, that only opened in April 2014.

Caffé Veneto

Entering the place you immediately feel that this is a comfortable environment for drinking coffee. There is the bar, but unless you are taking away, then sit at a table and your order will be taken and presented at your table. This is quite an Italian thing, whenever I was in Italy I would often order coffee whilst sitting in a café and was waited upon. The concept of ordering from a barista and then waiting for your coffee, is much more an American way of ordering coffee. The decor is not very traditional Italian, but has wooden floors, round tables and chairs and a range of coffee sacks attached to the walls. It’s a calming environment, and sitting down you feel relaxed and comfortable. Service was friendly and efficient and you were made to feel very welcome.

Sat at the table I looked over the menu, there isn’t a huge amount of choice, a range of sandwiches, panini, lasagne and salad.

I quite liked the idea of a salad, so I went with the chicken caesar salad, along with an espresso.

Espresso

I enjoyed the espresso, but I am not really a fan of drinking out of, what is basically, a shot glass. Glass conducts heat really well, so it’s not easy to lift and drink a hot coffee. Despite that it was a really good coffee, and the little biscotti was a nice touch.

The salad was good, nice plate of cos lettuce, chicken and olives. The dressing was tasty, just the right amount, not too much and not too little either.

Chicken Caesar Salad

Overall I was pleased with the food, the service and the ambience. I think they should reflect on their menu and possibly add more options for lunch, but I may be missing the point, it is first and foremost a place for coffee, rather than a place for lunch.