Grub Excursion #11 Otley

We spent the morning on Friday in Otley. Just before we jumped back on the X84 bus back to Leeds we popped into the Real Food Shop in Orchard Gate. Liam's work is based in Otley, he has had sandwiches from this shop on several occasions.

The shop is quite small and appears a bit dated inside. There is a display counter full of cakes and sweet items in front of you as you walk in and another to the side with ready prepared sandwiches.

Liam had a honey roasted chicken baguette, and I had roast pork, stuffing and apple sauce. Both of the sandwiches were great, simply done but with tasty fillings and nice fresh bread, you cant ask for more than that! This place is obviously popular with the locals, there was a constant stream of people in and out. Well worth trying if you ever find yourself in Otley.

The Real Food Shop

*Tasty sandwiches
*Reasonable prices
*Cakes and rotisserie chickens too!

Orchard Gate
Otley,
LS21 3NX
01943 462228

Geo. Middlemiss & Sons Otley

Liam found this butchers in the centre of Otley, a good old fashioned family business, which sells among other things a range of home made sausages. The shop is quite small, tucked down a cobbled street. The staff really know their stuff and are incredibly polite and helpful.

In the past we have had some of the chilli sausages, which were really HOT! Delicious but blow your head off hot, great for a BBQ with a beer I would think. A good breakfast option is their black pudding variety. This time we chose some of their champion award winning sausages.

You can tell a good quality sausage when you cook it, they didn't shrink at all with cooking, and there wasn't a pool of melted lard left in the grill pan like you get with cheaper bangers. The flavour was as it should be, meaty and sausagey and not over seasoned or greasy.

They are a few pence more than supermarket sausages, but they are so superior in quality, they actually work out better value in the long run. Great for classic teatime dishes or with the weather like it is, grilled on the BBQ.

These sausages were perfect on their own but I served them today with some Jack Daniels BBQ sauce which the JD people kindly sent me through the post, it said on the bottle that the sauces could be used as a dip or a table sauce, I found them a bit thin for this, but they would be great as a marinade or basting sauce. Yum.

Geo. Middlemiss and Sons

*Family business
*Top quality service
*Award winning sausages and pies

3 Market Street
Otley,
LS21 3AF
01943 462 611

Website

Casa Mia Pronto!

I stumbled across this place quite accidentally when taking a cut through Bridgewater Place yesterday.

Casa Mia Pronto is a mini takeaway version of the well known local chain. They do pizza by the slice, portions of salad and pasta, and most importantly a huge selection of beautiful cakes and pastries.

I had the double chocolate cheesecake, smooth and creamy and not too sweet. Perfect!

Casa Mia Pronto

*Beautiful Cakes
*Casa Mia quality to take home


Unit 4B
Bridgewater Place
Water Lane
Leeds
LS11 5BZ
0113 391 2544

Website On line ordering available.

Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem is a cool little rock/ alternative bar on Great George Street. Inside it is fairly basic, flag stone floors and wooden church pew type seats set into little booths. Its not posh and its not classy, the toilet doors don't lock properly and there is rarely any loo roll left in the dispensers.(The band playing are called Kinch www.myspace.com/kinchuk)

However if you can deal with that you will be rewarded with free entry, a chilled out atmosphere, open mic nights, great live bands and £2 for a double sailor jerrys and coke, even on a Saturday night. You cant argue with that. Cheers!
Carpe Diem

*Cheap and cheerful rock bar
*Great live music
*Friendly relaxed crowd

Great George St
Leeds
LS1 3ED.
0113 243 6264
Website

Grub Excursion #10 Dolphin Cafe, Towcester

I have been to this place now on two occasions, once with my Grandma a couple of weeks ago for coffee and cake and again this week for dinner with my Mum.

The cafe is on Towcester High Street, across from the Town Hall. The inside is a hotchpotch mix of wooden tables and chairs, scatter cushions and original art work.

The coffee Grandma and I had was lovely, and the choice of cakes was fantastic. They sell wonderful hand made cupcakes decorated with totally over the top glitter sprinkles and fondant flowers. I had a slice of tiffin, which was also really nice.


The cafe is also open on Thursday and Friday evenings for dinner. There is only a limited choice of 3 main courses and 2 puddings, with the selection changing weekly. The meals tend to be light fresh and healthy looking, always with a vege option. We had peppers stuffed with a salmon mix, covered in melted cheese and served with a huge fresh salad.

My sister joined us for pudding. She had the chocolate ice cream served with shards of smashed fox mints, and I had a white chocolate and whiskey semifreddo type dessert. It was sweet, smooth and creamy with a delicious boozy hit, served with fresh strawberries and strawberry coulis.

The cafe is licenced so you can have a glass of wine with your dinner too. The food was lovely and the cafe cosy and comfy. There is also a little garden at the back. My only criticism was that the service was very very relaxed. There was only 3 other tables of customers when we arrived but we had to wait nearly 10 minutes for our drinks. This is the only cafe of its type in a small market town so they have a bit of a captive audience, but this no excuse to let standards slip, they wouldn't get away with it in Leeds city centre.

The prices were fair, about £8 for the main courses £4 for the puddings, maybe a little more than I would want to pay in Leeds but Towcester is in Northants which is technically down t'south, and is a small place with not many other choices for a nice dinner out.

If they sharpened up on service, this place would be perfect.

The Dolphin Cafe

*Great for coffee and cake
*Fresh tasty suppers
*'Relaxed' service

175 Watling St West
Towcester,
NN12 6BX
01327 350808

Grub Excursion #9 Sheffield

I visited the Blue Room Brasserie with my family to celebrate my Mums birthday. My Aunty chose the restaurant, having enjoyed a meal there on a previous occasion.

From the outside the restaurant is unremarkable, occupying the basement level of an office building, there is a large free car park at the back which is convenient as the restaurant is slightly out of the city centre.

This subterranean restaurant has no widows, low lighting, low ceilings and contemporary luxurious décor. This paired with the funky dance music made it feel like I was walking into a cool nightclub not a family orientated eatery. Were greeted warmly by the staff and seated in the comfortable bar area, where we were presented with the menus and had our drinks order taken.

I was surprised to see that the menu consisted of one page of A4 with a selection of 9 starters, 7 mains and 5 puddings. There was one price... £15 for 3 courses. (The 2 course kids menu with a drink is just a fiver!). The selection of food could only be described as eclectic. Dishes ranged from traditional prawn cocktails and steaks to international offerings such as Greek salads and spring rolls with hoi sin sauce.

I must admit that I was a little worried at this point, a restaurant with pretensions of being a night club and a menu so broad, haphazard and low priced that surely it must all be out of a packet and microwaved. My fears instantly diminished when my Uncle asked the waitress if his order could be altered slightly from the menu description. She confidently said that this would not be a problem as all of the food was made from scratch. I started to get excited.

We finished our drinks and were shown to our table. Our starters were bought out a few minutes later. I had ordered the whitebait which came served with a sweet chili mayo. The batter was light and crisp, and the fish delicious. The flavour of the mayo was not very strong, but it would be a shame to over power the flavour of the fish.

The other starters we had were a cheese and onion tart, a Yorkshire fish cake with pea purée, and a spring roll. All looked delicious & beautifully presented.

For main course I had a chicken dish with pomodoro sauce and mozzarella cheese. This was served with chunky chips, onion rings and grilled tomato and mushroom. This was delicious and was again a good sized portion. The batter on the onion rings was superbly crisp. Aunty and Uncle had the Lamb which they said was tender, and looked lovely.
(I am afraid that the phone camera didn't cope particularly well with the low light levels).

The only criticism I had at this point was that for my vegetarian sister there was only one choice of main course, a cold Greek salad served with pita bread. However the staff seemed so amenable that I'm sure that if required one of the 4 vegetarian starters would have been adapted to make a more substantial main course. (The cheese and onion tart starter was huge, and would have been more than adequate if served with chips).

There was a slight error when red onion was left in the salad when my sister had asked it to be taken out. The waitress noticed this the minute she served the dish, confessed to the mistake and offered to take it back to the kitchen. My sister wasn't that bothered so kept her meal, but we were impressed with the honesty.

The puddings again were fantastic, I had a nice creme brulee, and the bread and butter pudding with butterscotch sauce was delicious.

We arrived early to a virtually empty restaurant, but watched with interest as the place filled with couples, large birthday parties and family groups. It proved my suspicion that this restaurant really is a crowd-pleaser with something for everyone. The dining room is large but we didn't feel crowded, even when the restaurant was full as the tables were generously spaced.

I really enjoyed my meal, and if the Blue Room was closer to home I think I would return on a reasonably regular basis. I think this restaurant is particularly suited to families and big groups. Nothing was a problem for the staff, the large party tables of 12/14 diners looked happy, and the busy service was handled in an efficient yet relaxed manner.

According to the statement on the bottom of the menu, given at least 24 hours notice the restaurant will happily accommodate any requests for special occasions, even cooking dishes not on the menu! Now that is service.

The Blue Room Brasserie

*Lovely food at an excellent price
*Warm yet efficient service
*Smart interior

798 Chesterfield Road
Woodseats
Sheffield
S8 0SF
0114 255 2004

Website

Grub Excursion #8 Hathersage

After a spot of walking in the Peak District, I went with my Mum, Aunty and Sister to the David Mellor Visitor Centre in Hathersage near Sheffield.

If you don't know, David Mellor was a well known British designer known mainly for his cutlery, but who also designed many other common objects such as traffic lights and post boxes.

The visitor centre is an interesting little place, consisting of a small cutlery factory, a cafe, shop and a small museum of items designed by Mellor. The combination of two of some of my favourite things... cake and kitchenware, clearly is going to be a winner.

The location is picturesque, underneath mature trees in a spot just outside the village. The buildings are interesting having won design awards and the museum is combined with the cafe so you can admire the exhibits whilst you enjoy a cup of tea and a slice of home made cake. Afterwards you can have a browse around the posh kitchenware and cutlery in the shop.

The home made cake was delicious, I had a walnut and lemon cake with a lovely tangy icing and the tea was made with their own blend of loose leaf tea. The prices were very reasonable considering the quality of the food.

If you are in the area this place is definitely worth a visit.

David Mellor Visitor Centre

*Lovely cake
*Beautiful surroundings
*Interesting and a little different

The Round Building
Hathersage
Sheffield
S32 1BA
01433 650220
Website

Ephesus Mangal

* THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED*

I have been intending to eat at this Turkish grill restaurant for a couple of months now. From the outside its location by the Dark Arches and its hasty and cheap looking conversion to restaurant from the old Bishopgate news shop make it look, well just a little bit iffy.

I would have thought nothing more about it, if it wasn't for the fact that every time I walked past I got the most amazing smell of grilled meats and spices, and could see that the placed was packed out with happy looking diners. What swung it for me was reading this review by Leigh at The Good Stuff, I had to go and try even if Liam still thought it looked a little too dodgy for his discerning taste.

I gathered together a crew of slightly more intrepid diners (Gev, Mr Gev and Paul) and booked a table.

The restaurant is tiny, only about 2 dozen seats, with a refrigerated cabinet where huge skewers of meat sit in their marinades and a free standing charcoal grill at one side.

We made our choices from the menu, and then we were given a saucer full of olives, a dish of spicy tomato relish and a basket full of Turkish style bread.

The starters included fried filo pasty parcels, some filled with meat and the others with feta cheese, some Taramasalata and a cold mix of grilled vegetables. All delicious and when combined with the bread and olives a meal in itself.

Then for the main meals, we had the special platter for 2, some spicy chicken and the lamb kofte. All served with rice and a huge amount of fresh salad.


We were really impressed with our meals, the meat was perfectly cooked with beautifully spiced flavours and generous sized portions.

We were pretty stuffed after all of this food, but I still thought I may have room for pudding. The waiter said they had cheesecake or 'this' and presented us with a large Pyrex dish containing an interesting looking sponge pudding. The waiter didn't really know the words in English to describe it, so I guess that's why he just showed us.

It was in fact a very syrupy coconut sponge, garnished with chocolate sauce and Neapolitan ice cream. The Neapolitan ice cream was a complete nostalgic blast from the past, but it was a shame that they felt it had to be added to the dish, as the cheap strawberry flavour spoiled the delicate flavours of the sponge.

This restaurant doesn't have a drinks licence but they allow you to 'Bring Your Own' which really helps to cut costs and resulted in the food bill for 4 of us being just £50.50. This place is a real gem, well more of a rough diamond but definitely an instant favourite.

Ephesus Mangal

*Fantastic food
*Cheap and BYOB
*Laid back holiday atmosphere

88 Bishopgate St
Leeds
LS1 4BB
0113 243 8567

Gev's Coffee Spot #3 The Bowery

Another review from our resident coffee critic Gev...

I have visited the Bowery a few time now and found it to be a really cosy place that is not just for students but for for everyone from the community, young and old, friends and families.

The interesting theme of the Bowery starts from the window display, they have an art gallery upstairs, which is slowly building up a good display of local art work, they also sell arts and crafts from local designers, so guys you can have a coffee and pick up your mums birthday present all at the same time!

This cafe makes the best coffee I have tasted so far in Leeds. It has a fragrant and aromatic taste, making it a real flavoursome coffee, it is everything you'd want from a coffee and gives that wonderful caffeine kick. However if you're adverse to the palpitations caused by strong coffee their decaf is fantastic. The coffees come in regular and large, the regular is the perfect size for your taste buds, they are possibly smaller than other places, but I think that is how it should be, all the others are fake American sizes, this is the real deal for serious coffee drinkers.

The Bowery is run by really friendly people, it has free WiFi and the background music is great, with anything from heart of Africa music to Van Morrison.

The menu is wonderful and simplistic. You can enjoy a tasty freshly made sandwich on your choice of bread or try some of their too tempting for your own good desserts!!

I love this place and can't stay away. It well worth a visit.

The Bowery

Coffee 5/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Staff 5/5
Value 5/5

Total 19/20

54 Otley Rd,
Headingley,
LS6 2AL
0113 2242284
Website

Peter Maturi

I know Peter Maturi isn't a restaurant, but it is food related, being my absolute favourite kitchenware shop in the whole of Leeds.

Its a modest sized store crammed to the rafters with every kind of kitchen gadget and gizmo you could think of. They have an extensive range of knives and a good choice of pans and electrical items as well as every day items such as casserole dishes and lemon squeezers. Upstairs there is a lovely homewear department that is well worth a look round as there are all sorts of stylish and unusual items for sale.

The staff are extremely knowledgeable and helpful, and have spent plenty of time advising me in the past when I have been umming and urring over various pans and utensils. When taking into account the high level of service and quality, I find that the prices are reasonably competitive.

Today there was an Italian themed event running, with Darren, a chef from The White Hart demonstrating the panini grills and ice cream makers. I had a lovely piece of panini made with home made pesto, and some delicious tiramisu ice cream.

If you enjoy cooking (or just like the look of a kitchen full of shiny gadgets) I recommend that you get yourself down to this shop and take a look around. It is also worth noting that they managed to mend my very expensive chefs knife for me after someone used it as a bottle opener at a house party. They got the bend out of the tip, sharpened it and I was only charged £3! There are not many places left that provide this level of good old fashioned service.

Peter Maturi
84-86 Vicar Lane
Leeds
LS1 7JH
Tel: 0113 2453887

Say cheese!

I had another meeting tonight with the girls from Culture Vulture and Phil from Globe Troffers. Tonight's purpose was to discus various top secret things and eat cheese. We met at Anthony's Piazza at the Corn Exchange and ordered a large cheese plate from the menu at £11.

We were presented with a large square plate, with a selection of 8 cheese, 3 wedges of bread and home made crackers, grapes, salad and chutney. We quizzed the poor waitress as to the name of every cheese, she did her best but had to run back to the kitchen to get us a list. As can be expected from Anthony's everything was fantastic, the only downside was that once cut into quarters each of the cheese portions looked rather mean.

After the meeting finished I headed off to find Liam who was watching football in the sports bar. £3.45 for a G&T, made with cheap ass gin, full fat tonic (no slimline) from a post mix machine, in a plastic glass with no lemon. I only stayed for one.

After my little snackette of cheese I needed something more substantial for tea. I was looking for somewhere new to eat and review, when I walked past Wokon by the train station. The smell was too much for me to resist so I went in and ordered the Kwai-T, made with flat noodles, big chunks of roast pork, shrimps, veg and dark soy sauce.

I was served by Wokons Aussie owner David who told me Kwai-T was the best item on the menu. I certainly enjoyed my meal, like I have said before, freshly cooked, excellent ingredients and the perfect balance of flavour, all for a fiver in a cool little box and enough in a serving to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. You really cant fault these guys. As the Aussies would say (according to Gev) On Ya Wokon!

Watch this space for cheese related developments.

Lunch at Viva Latino

You may have known this place as Viva Cuba, I noticed yesterday the name had been changed which according to the staff happened back in November! I must pay more attention!

The bar tender told us that the restaurant is still run by the same people but has had a bit of a face lift, there is no longer the lunch buffet available, but they now serve a bar menu which is advertised as 'real Spanish Tapas' that they import from Spain and prepare on site. I also noticed that the Cuban theme had been watered down with the flags of other South American countries pinned to the ceiling.

I visited with Emma and Michelle from Culture Vulture. Why don't you check out their brilliant website www.culturevulture.co.uk. It contains listings and reviews of all sorts of interesting cultural events and activities in the city, it is not at all snobby or stuffy like some arty things can be and they always have lots of great competitions.

We had a selection of the bar tapas, bread, manchego cheese, a lentil and chorizo stew, fried potatoes, and cheese filled peppers. The prices were cheaper than I remember and they bought out the food very quickly which was good because we were on a time limit.

Viva Latino
*Good value
*Authentic Spanish Tapas
*Good for a quick, light lunch

19 Queen Square,
Claypit Lane,
Leeds

Italian Market @ Leeds Market

I noticed yesterday that an Italian themed market has popped up on Leeds market by the bus station, here for just this weekend.

There is a range of food items for sale, some very interesting and authentic like Sicilian 'Arancini di Riso' which are fried balls of rice, filled with things such as mozzarella and meat . I have never seen these before so I will have to go back and try one. (It was pouring with rain and I had my hands full of shopping when I passed, I want to go back when I have more time!)

I also spotted some not very authentic Italian things such as baklava and a pick & mix selling fudge and coconut ice.

The market will be there all today and tomorrow, when it coincides with the farmers market. My only advice is don't by swayed by the fancy awning and the romance of the idea that this kind of market is completely authentic, take a look and judge for yourself.

'La dolce vita' Market
Leeds Market
April 30th-May 3rd.