food, reviews and of course coffee
Usually at this time I would publish a blog post of the top ten posts of the previous twelve months. However WordPress have stopped doing free stats for blogs that show adverts. So I don’t have detailed stats about the top posts.
In 2024 I wrote 153 blog posts. In 2023 I wrote and published 187 blog posts. Less than in 2022 when I wrote 236 blog posts. In 2021 I wrote 107 blog posts, in 2020 it was 120. In 2019 it was 58 blog posts, 2018 just 36.
I bought this can of Cassoulet Toulousain when I was on holiday in France in the summer. Having had some legs from the roast duck left over from Christmas, I decided I would heat up the legs in the oven and heat the contents of the tin in a pan. As well as beans it also contained some sausage and duck meat.
The Cassoulet Toulousain was very tasty, but also very rich, almost too rich. It had been cuisiné à la graisse de canard, as in cooked in duck fat. I think I would have preferred to tone down the richness with some stock. I do like cassoulet, so it was interesting to try one of these cans from France. They are something you don’t see for sale in the UK, except in specialist French grocery shops or delicatessen.
One of the things I like about Too Good To Go is the opportunity to try out new places without spending a fortune. I was in Bristol and there was a bag for Anna Cake Couture for £4 for a £14 value. I got 24 macarons and a cake in my box.
This has a retail value of £57. Not bad for four pounds.
Yes the macarons are slightly less than perfect from a looks perspective, but taste fantastic. The cake was an end piece. However I was expecting that from the description. If you don’t like macarons then this isn’t the bag for you. Delicious patisserie. You can see why they have a rating of 4.9 out of 5.
One of the dishes I like at Christmas is a partially boned stuffed duck. I had my eye on the Aldi version, mainly down to the price, but also the other stuffed ducks I had seen were slow cooked (as in pre-cooked), whereas the Aldi version was fresh (as in raw).
Aldi have a dynamic pricing when it comes to some of their Christmas specials. When the duck first went on sale it was £24.99, within a few days it was down to £19.99. However, I waited until Christmas Eve, when it came down to £9.99. That was the right price for me.
Of course there is a risk that they will sell out before Christmas Eve, but I usually have my eye on a range of specials, so don’t worry too much if I can’t get the one I want.
It was very easy to cook and the final glaze made the dish. The duck was very tender and full of flavour. It was a lovely main course for the festive feast.
Staying over in London, I had planned to eat in the hotel I was staying at, however there was an issue with the included meal allowance. So I was then left with the decision to either eat at the hotel or choose an alternative. There wasn’t many choices close by, but I did like the idea of Greek, and nearby was an independent Greek place. I enjoyed my meal so much, on the next night I went again. There was smiles as I arrived, and I sat at my “usual” table. Certainly a sense of déjà vu, which we all smiled at. This time I was going to have something different.
This time I went with the halloumi followed by the pork gyros. The halloumi tasted really fresh, and was dressed with some olive oil. I really liked the dish.
I don’t think I have had gyros before so it was an interesting experience. They came with pita bread, tzatziki, and chips.
The pork was done really well, it was tasty and tender. I liked the addition of the red pepper.
The service was great, and I certainly would go again.
I had really enjoyed my last meal at Wahaca at Paddington, so had thought about going again at some point.
Arrived in London and went to Wahaca for lunch. They do a deal for one, which looked nice. Better than a sandwich. Initially I thought do I want to go there, as it was quite early, just approaching midday. But then I thought, what was the alternative? A sandwich from Pret? So headed on up the stairs. I was the first person in the restaurant. However, by the time my food arrived twenty minutes later, the place was packed.
What you got was:
I loved the way the food was presented on a wooden board.
The guacamole tasted nice and fresh, and it was nice to have the mixed tortilla chips as well. I really liked the smoky Sonoran hummus, not too smoky, but I liked the addition of the sunflower seeds. The Sonoran hummus is a Mexican hummus, made with roasted vegetables, chickpeas, guajillo and herbs, drizzled with chilli oil.
At the heart of the board was a sweet potato & feta taquito. There was a variety of textures and flavours in this taquito. It came with caramelised onion, salsas and chipotle mayo, and was served in a crisp blue corn tortilla. The crunch of the rolled taco and the smooth sweet potato made this a tasty treat.
I had gone for the buttermilk chicken taco and the beef gringa taco. You got one of each. The gringa taco was slow-cooked British grass-fed beef with grilled cheese and salsa fresca, in a soft corn tortilla. The beef was tender and full of flavour.
The buttermilk chicken taco was chicken crispy fried in WildFarmed flour with pink pickled onions and spiced mayo, in a soft flour tortilla.
It was a great meal, really tasty. Service was excellent as well.
Staying over in London, I had planned to eat in the hotel I was staying at, however there was an issue with the included meal allowance. So I was then left with the decision to either eat at the hotel or choose an alternative. There wasn’t many choices close by, but I did like the idea of Greek, and nearby was an independent Greek place, the Ithaki Greek Kitchen.
I walked over, and looked over the menu, one of the waiting staff came out and asked if I wanted to come inside and look at the menu, as it was warmer inside than out. I said yes, by then I had pretty much made my choice that I would eat there. There was an Italian place next door, but I did fancy Greek.
Having decided to eat, I was given a choice of where to sit. The welcome was warm and friendly. I went with the hummus followed by lamb chops. The hummus arrived and was accompanied by a large portion of warm flat bread.
The hummus was nice and fresh and the bread was warm, soft and doughy. Delicious.
The lamb chops soon followed. There were three chops on top of crispy chips.
The lamb chops were very tender, but the char in some places was a little bitter. The chips were twice cooked, but were seasoned. Personally I would have liked some salad with it. I washed down the meal with a bottle of Mythos, Greek beer.
The service was great, if anything a little over attentive.
One of my go to places for a light lunch, is Tortilla. I always go for the three tacos, usually with added guacamole.
I was at the Mall doing some shopping and decided to grab a bite to eat at Tortilla. I went for the chicken tacos.
What I like about the food, is it tastes very fresh, true the chicken has been around for a while, but combined with the fresh salad, salsa, and toppings, they are delicious. Can be a bit messy to eat, so I usually use a fork, but in theory you can eat them by hand. One time I will get a burrito from Tortilla and see how that is.
I knew I would be around at the collection time of 8pm so I ordered a Too Good To Go Magic Bag from Yo! Sushi at the Mall at Cribbs Causeway.
The app stated £15 of food for £5.
I got three items.
Pack of o-mega Salmon – 3 YO! roll, 4 salmon nigiri, 4 avocado maki
£8.95
Kaiso seaweed – marinated mixed seaweed, edamame & carrot in a su-miso dressing.
£4.25
Classic edamame
£3.25
Value of Bag
£16.45
So it certainly meets the terms of the deal. However on a previous visit I got almost three times as much sushi, and as they had over-estimated the number of bags, they actually made me some fresh sushi for the bag. So though this bag was a good deal, you can imagine I was a little disappointed as the bag did not meet my unrealistic expectations. Would I go again, probably.
I like the Rustica pizza from Zizzi. So when I saw the Zizzi Sticky Pig Rustica Pizza in the freezers at Waitrose I was intrigued and liked the sound of it.
However the experience was rather disappointing. I know I had quite high expectations, but even so, I think it could have been better. It was frozen, but I didn’t think that should make too much of a difference, maybe it did, maybe it didn’t. The overall experience was of a stale pizza, I like my pizza base to be fresh, soft and doughy. This felt like it was cooked, and then I recooked it, drying it out.
I nearly bought two different kinds of the pizza, but glad I didn’t.