Save Our Market!

* * P u b l i c M e e t i n g * *

SAVE OUR MARKET

Holy Trinity Church, Boar Lane
Monday 26th April from 5.30pm


Leeds Kirkgate Market is more than a magnificent landmark; it is a vital resource for the city and its people.

But after years of mismanagement and rising rents, more and more stalls are closing - the market’s future could be under threat.

We say ‘Enough is Enough’! This public meeting will launch Friends of Leeds Kirkgate Market, a group of customers, traders and citizens who will campaign to ensure the market's survival as a place we can all use and be proud of.

Speakers from Leeds Civic Trust, Market Traders Association and Friends of Queens Market (London).

For more information about the group and the event contact:
friendsofkirkgatemarket@gmail.com
or ring 07943114036
http://kirkgatemarket.wordpress.com/

Bagel Nash Breakfast

Just a quick post, but I spotted today that Bagel Nash are doing a breakfast bagel for £1 before 11am. You can have the warm bagel of your choice topped with cream cheese, jam, peanut butter or marmite.

It was a perfect little breakfast- I find bagels quite filling. The only thing that spoiled it was the fact that my mocha was not that great- I couldn't work out if it was the coffee or the chocolate element, it was really sweet but with a strange bitter tang. Maybe Ill get juice next time.

Original Bagel Nash post

Garden Room Cafe

As it was a nice sunny day today- albeit a little bit blustery, I decided after shopping on Street Lane to go for a walk in Roundhay park.

Recently opened at the edge of the park is the refurbished Mansion- now housing a restaurant/cafe and function space run by the catering company Dine.The building is lovely, with windows and terraces overlooking the park. As a student I worked as an agency waitress and often did jobs for Dine, it's a top notch company with a distinctive style and high standards. The Garden room had all the expected Dine features- elegant decor, smartly turned out staff and fairly safe classic dishes on the menu.

The choices include breakfasts, pastries, cakes, sandwiches and more substantial dishes. Its not cheap for lunch, sandwiches (with chips) start at £6 going up to nearly £10 for main dishes. The restaurant is open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings with a 3 course menu coming in at £26.

I only stopped for tea and cake, I took a seat outside on the immaculate terrace, in the sunshine overlooking the park grounds- I felt like I was lady of the manor.A pot of tea was £2 and the ginger and marmalade cake £3.10. The presentation was lovely, from the huge blob of clotted cream and berries to the 'proper' cutlery and posh tea pot. The cake was pretty good, with a nice kick of ginger, although I would have liked the marmalade glaze to be thicker- I couldn't really taste the oranges.So its not cheap, but you are paying in part for the poshness of it all. It does make you feel rather grand sat there watching the riff raff walking their dogs while you take tea on the terrace.

I might go back for the proper afternoon tea. That comes in at £10 which on balance is a fair whack cheaper than somewhere like Betty's, plus there is the added bonus of Tropical World being virtually next door (go on admit it- you love the meerkats too).

Garden Room Cafe

*Beautiful surroundings
*Classic dishes
*Pricey but worth it

Mansion Lane
Roundhay Park
Leeds

0345 450 45 45
Website

Haley and Clifford Delicatessen

I visited Haley and Clifford's today on a reader recommendation (Thanks Joanne).

Located in a parade of shops at the 'Flying Pizza' end of Street Lane, Haley and Cliffords is a mix of cafe, deli and take away.

Inside the shop there is delicious looking food on all 4 sides, a cheese and ham fridge to the front, olives and locally made cakes along one wall, a shelf full of gourmet cooking ingredients along the other wall and a counter at the back where there are salads, sandwiches and savoury pastries to buy- either to take out or for and additional charge to eat in.

Seating space is limited to a couple of big dining tables and some smaller tables outside.

I enjoyed sitting in the shop, as I got to watch the comings and goings of the staff and other customers and the people passing outside on Street Lane. Although the tables are right in the middle of the shop, you don't feel cramped or crowded as there is enough space for people to walk by on either side.I ordered a beef panini with mustard and balsamic onions. This came hot, in a dish with a good sized serving of salad. I also ordered a chorizo pastry that was made by Salts Deli.

The sandwich was pretty tasty although there was far too much mustard on it for my taste- I ended up having to scrape most of it off (well over 1tsp full which I think is quite a lot for a sandwich!) as it was overpowering the taste of the meat and making my nose sting!
The coffee was averagely nice and not a bad price at £1.90

After my lunch I pottered around the shop and picked up some things to take home with me. By the look of things, this deli doesn't make much of its own produce, rather it sources a collection of the best items from other local businesses. The makers of all the items were clearly labelled which I really appreciated.

The prices are what you would expect for this part of Leeds- high end. The sandwich was £4.95 after the £1.5o surcharge to eat in had been added, which I thought was a bit steep for what was a nice but not exceptional offering. The cakes, drinks and produce items were priced more reasonably.

I thought this was an interesting variation on a traditional cafe and although a tad pricey a good one stop shop for a quick coffee/lunch all your luxury cooking ingredient needs.

Haley and Clifford

*Salads and sandwiches to eat in/ take out
*Good variety of produce
*Expensive to eat in

43 Street Lane
Leeds
LS8 1AP
0113 2370334

Website

Primos Gourmet Hotdogs

Primos Gourmet Hotdogs opened today in the Corn Exchange- the first food outlet to open since the anchoring Anthony's venture.

I was glad to see that there was a large amount of seating in the central area 'outside' the shop as well as the inside seating, meaning that you can sit and enjoy a bit of continental style cafe culture with the benefit of having heating and a roof!

Primos has an obvious American inspiration, but its not a gaudy Stars and Stripes theme. The coffee tones and wood panelling gives it a more classy New England feel. There are also American import products such as bars of Hershes chocolate and cans of Mountain Dew available.

There are 9 varieties of sausage to choose from, all made in Scotland and containing at least 86% meat. The bread is delivered daily from a local bakery. You can choose one of the standard hotdogs or you can choose your own toppings.

I had the Hawaiian which is a beef frankfurter with mozzarella, pineapple and crispy bacon. Although the hot dogs are a premium price at £3.85, you get a lot of sausage and toppings for your money. It was as tasty as it looked and it was obvious from the taste and texture that the sausage had been made to a high standard. I really enjoyed my hot dog- my only criticism is that I would have liked everything to have been a little warmer and the cheese to be melted onto my sausage.To be fair on Primos, they had only been open a grand total of 92 minutes when I arrived and the staff seemed to have been slightly knocked off balance by the combination of first day teething problems and the unexpectedly brisk business so soon after opening.

In addition to the hotdogs they also have coffee and cakes, breakfasts, bagels and salads on the menu as well as smoothies and locally produced ice cream.

Its a novel idea and its been well executed so I really hope they do well.

Primos Gourmet Hotdogs

*Interesting, original idea
*Good quality sausages
*Fabulous surroundings

Unit 12
Corn Exchange
Call Lane
LS1 6DT

Website

Shakeaholic

Shakeaholic is a small chain of milkshake bars originating in the North East. Their latest branch opened in the Merrion Centre last year.

Like other milkshake bars of the type, the set up is simple, your choice of flavouring (including a wide range of sweets and chocolate bars) is blended with a load of ice cream and milk into a really really yummy, (but frighteningly calorific) milkshake.

I had the wispa gold special which was topped with chocolate flake and squirty cream, made all the sweeter with the 1/2 price voucher from Gopher Deals that is available until the end of the month.

The convenience of this place is that it is the only shop like this in the city centre. Its worth noting that they offer discounts for students and people employed by the NHS, emergency and armed services.


Shakeaholic

*Tasty milkshakes
*Great for a treat
*City centre location

18 Merrion Centre
Leeds
LS2 8NG
0113 242 6023

Website

Salvos

I went for a spot of free lunch today at Salvos with the PR manager for the restaurant. If you didn't already know, Salvos has got a lot of good press recently, after getting the title of 'best neighbourhood Italian' on Gordon Ramsay's F Word. I wanted to see if it lived up to all the hype.

We decided on the light lunch menu which is £9.95 for two courses. I chose the home made liver pate, which came served with some good chunks of toast and a lovely bitter Seville orange marmalade. The pate had a good flavour and an excellent light texture.

For the main course I had the penne boscaiola, which had a tomato sauce with olive, mushroom and salami. There was plenty of meaty bits and the pasta was perfectly 'al dente'.

Both the dishes were simple, but good because of the high standard of the ingredients used. The portions were decent making it a really good value filling lunch.
Towards the end of the meal we were joined by one of the owners John. He suggested we try a few things for pudding that weren't quite on the menu yet. I had a baked lemon ricotta- this is a piece of ricotta that has been infused with lemon and then baked to a cheesecake type texture.

I was really impressed with this, it was light and fresh with just enough sweetness to finish off a big pasta meal- I hope this does make it onto the permanent menu.

We also had some cheeses from the Salumeria (Italian deli) next door. All of the cheeses were good quality artisan cheeses. I was really impressed by John's passion for the food and where it is sourced from. He told me that the team make regular trips to Italy to meet with suppliers and to immerse the staff in Italian food culture.

It is easy to see why Salvos is a Leeds favourite, traditional, good quality food served simply in a relaxed environment.

Salvos
*Award winning local Italian
*Authentic quality food
*Good value lunch deal

115 & 109 Otley Road
Headingley
Leeds
LS6 3PX.
0113 275 5017

Website