Grub Excursion #25 Whitby: Humble Pie 'n' Mash

Recommended by @katie_buffalo the Humble Pie shop in Whitby is a cute little 40's themed cafe where the menu consists almost exclusively of home made pies.

Its all pretty simple stuff, all dishes are £4.99 including mash, peas and gravy and the meals come served on old fashioned tin plates.

I had the corned beef and potato pie. Like the menu stated, there was more meat than potato and was really delicious. The website says that they get the flour for the pastry milled to their own specifications and the meat is sourced from a local butchers. The mash was really smooth and buttery, the gravy however tasted as if it had been made from granules (but actually I didn't mind this- it was sort of nostalgic).

All this was served with a mug of tea. Because of the simple menu the service was all pretty quick. The only problem, like anywhere in Whitby this time of year, it was crazy busy, but we did find some space to sit upstairs away from the hustle and bustle of the main area downstairs.

We enjoyed this meal even though it was a warm August day. I could imagine this place really coming into its own on a cold dark rainy winters day as this is really good comfort food.

Humble Pie 'n' Mash
*Traditional home made pies
*Good value
*Cute but busy restaurant

163 Church Street,
Whitby,
North Yorkshire
YO22 4AS

Website

LS6 Cafe

Located on Hyde Park cafe, this is a large and rather cool cafe previously known as Clock Cafe. There are a few tables on the pavement if you want to breath in the exhaust from the number 1 as it sits waiting for the traffic lights to change, otherwise you can sit inside and enjoy the retro decor of 70's wall paper and collections of clocks and mirrors on the walls.

I went with Emma who has been there a few times. She had been served at the table in the past. On this occasion we took the menus and showed ourselves to the table. Once we had decided on our meal we had to go back to the till to find a member of staff to order.

There seemed to be a bit of a tense atmosphere and staff were muttering dashing in and out of the back rooms so I wonder if they had had a bit of an emergency that they were frantically trying to sort. Regardless, the lady at the counter put on a brave smile and politely took the orders.

Drinks were followed swiftly by the food. Portions were huge for the price. I ordered a smoothie which came in a pint glass and my Eggs Benedict (made with salmon at my request) came with two runny poached eggs, lots of salmon and plenty of home made hollandaise sauce.

Emma's salad had plenty of bacon and two huge pieces of pesto bread on the side.

The bill was just under £10 each.

Looking at the menu there was a good range of breakfasts (served until 4pm) and some interesting looking salads and sandwiches including a fair few veggie options.

The lack of service was a bit disappointing but Em reassured me that this was not the norm. Otherwise we had a great meal. A cool little cafe, quiet at the moment due to the absence of the students- take advantage while you can.

*Huge portions
*Funky surroundings
*Fair prices

16A Headingley Lane
Hyde Park
LS6 2AS Leeds
0113 294 5464

Facebook Page

Wasabi Tappanyaki

Located in the Dark Arches, this restaurant has to be benefiting from the regeneration of Granary Wharf. I have avoided Wasabi in the past as I have perceived it as being quite expensive in relation to other oriental restaurants in the city. On this occasion we took advantage of the lunch set menu which costs a rather more reasonable £10-£15 for 3 courses depending on what dish you choose.

Tappanyaki is Japanese style food, were your meal is cooked by a chef in front of you at a hotplate set into the table. Tappanyaki always combines an entertainment element with the cooking - we saw alcohol being set alight on the grill and eggs being juggled along with other acts of showboating. This is great for large group meals and children love it. We went as a group of 5 which included a 10 year old who had never been to such a restaurant before.

We picked our meals at the bar before being shown to the table. A bowl of miso soup was provided by way of a starter which we sipped on as the chef began his routine of flame and food throwing. We then watched as the chef made egg fried rice, cooked the meat that we had chosen and then finished with a vegetable stir fry which we were given as a side order.

I had sea bass option for around £10. Other choices included teriyaki chicken, steak and lamb fillet.

The meal was rounded of with a bowl of rather good chocolate ice cream.

Although tasty, in essence this was only quite a basic stir fry, with any great deal of variation being restricted by the style of cooking at the table- tappanyaki is more about the entertainment and total experience rather than exceptional food.

Including the two glasses of coke that I had, my share of the bill totalled £15, not bad for lunch especially with the inclusion of the novelty entertainment element. A great idea for a birthday party for teenagers or a family summer holiday treat- I would recommend going with a group or in the evening when it is busy to make the best of the atmosphere and the show.

Wasabi Tappanyaki
*Japanese food with a difference
*Good value lunch menu
*Novel and entertaining

Granary Wharf
Leeds
LS1 4BR
0113 245 1856

Website

Viva Pizzeria

This is another place that I have been meaning to go to for ages and I don't know why I haven't been before. It looks from the outside to be a little cozy family restaurant and on the inside we found that is exactly what it is.

The decor is a little bit old fashioned but has an authentic charm to it. Sorry if if the descriptions of the food in this post are a bit loose, but I never take notes when I dine and usually refer back to a restaurants menu online for details and prices - Viva doesn't have a website. (So OK, we had come from North Bar so I might have been a bit tiddly and I had only had 3 1/2 hours sleep after a night shift the day before and that is also why I can't really remember a lot of the details).

We shared a starter of calamari which was what I would call 'continental style' i.e. all the little tentacles still attached. It was a simple dish but it was spot on, crisp batter, soft squid, nice garlicky dipping sauce.

For the main course I had a chicken Calazone pizza- this is a pizza folded up like a Cornish pasty and stuffed with cheese, meat and veg. Again pretty simple but done exceptionally well, with  a big pool of tomato sauce on the side.

The triumph was Liam's 'surf n turf' type meal, huge prawns and a big piece of steak, all cooked perfectly, it was a few quid more than the other dishes from what I remember but we thought at the time worth every penny as it was delicious.

There was a traditional list of puddings. I had the affogato- a scoop of ice cream 'drowned' in espresso and amaretto, Liam went for the vanilla ice cream - nothing ground breaking but all really nice.

The bill with two large glasses of wine was £54. Not the cheapest, but we did have three good courses and everything including the service was spot on so more than worth the price. (They did have a very reasonable looking early bird menu that would be worth checking out too).

*Traditional family style Italian restaurant
*Delicious food
*Great service and atmosphere

9-11 Bridge End,
Leeds,
LS1 7HG
01132 420185

New York Fish and Chips

I have noticed that in recent weeks the sister venture to Little Oven on New York street has changed from deli to chippy.


Little oven is great, not the peak of gastronomic excellence, but decent and cheap- perfect for a late night snack on the way home from town.


I can't say that I was overly confident about the chippy- and I was right. The prices are really cheap £3.80 for a decent sized portion of fish and chips. The fish was alright- quite firm and obviously not haddock or cod (which I actually don't mind as I would rather have something more sustainable like pollack or coley anyway). The batter was nice too.


The let down came with the chips. They were really dry and flavourless. It wasn't that busy when I went and I think they had been sat around too long. They were pretty much inedible which was a shame. Maybe on a busier night they would have been fine and this would have been a good value meal, but it wasn't even worth the bargain price on this occasion. 

NY Chippy
*Very cheap prices
*Reasonable portions for the price
*Poor quality food

48 New York Street,
Leeds,
LS2 7DY

Cafe 164

This is the younger sibling to the established Bakery 164 sandwich shop opposite the university on Woodhouse Lane.

Located in Munro house near the bus station, this looks like the start of some very exciting happenings for the building.

The cafe is in very early days- it only opened last Monday so they are still finding their feet. Sandwiches are prepared at the Woodhouse lane shop with their own bread baked in house with the usual imaginative fillings.

This does mean that you have to choose from what is there as they are not making things to order and the menu is limited to sandwiches and salads with coffee or a canned/ bottled drink.

They had nearly sold out when I went (they had been doubling stock every day) so I had a limited choice. I went for a sandwich of hummous, olives, jalapino and salad. Apart from being a little on the hot side, it was really enjoyable and the bread was amazing.

There was no plate and the coffee was in a paper cup. I personally prefer a proper cup if sitting in but as I have said before, its early days so this might come about later.

The surroundings are really cool and arty and there was a range of hand made Tshirts up on the wall available to buy. This is a really nice addition to the independent Leeds cafe scene.

*UPDATED 15/08/2011* Today was the official launch of the cafe. They now have proper cups and plates.

Cafe 164
*Cool cafe
*Great tasting sandwiches
*Still finding its feet

Munro House

Duke St,
Leeds,
LS9 8AG

Sunday Lunch in a Bag

Taken directly from the Source Leeds Website, because its a fantastic idea and I couldn't explain it any better...

Ever wondered how many spuds you need for 4 people, what a pound / kilo of carrots looks like, what kind of beef joint to order?

Now The Source makes it simple with the Sunday Lunch in a Bag.

1. Simply download and print the PDF – take it down to Leeds Kirkgate Market (with a sturdy bag) and look for the participating traders – you’ll see the ‘Sunday Lunch in a Bag’ signs.

2. Show the PDF to a veg trader, tell them how many people you are feeding and they’ll give you the right amount of spuds and veg  – they’ll also give you a 10% discount!

3. Pop along to one of the participating butchers and ask for beef, lamb, chicken or pork, tell them how many people you are cooking for, and they’ll give you a superb roasting joint – and another 10% discount!

You get a great deal on seasonal food with no need to worry about how to order…

Tasty! Easy! Great value!

Click here now!   Sunday Lunch in a Bag

Afternoon Tea at Bettys Ilkley

After a morning of visiting a vintage fair and the lovely homeware shops in Ilkley Emma and I dropped into Betty's for afternoon tea.

Its a classic and you get everything you expect to find... from the queue to be seated (only 5 mins on this occasion) to the super polite staff in their old fashioned blouses.

We had the full afternoon tea at £16.50 with choice of sandwiches, scone with cream and jam and mini cake selection.

Silver tea pot, lovely leaf tea, little strainer, tiered cake plate, grannies dressed up to the nines, Betty's is the bench mark for this kind of thing.

Service was a bit slow and its so busy that you feel like you are on a bit of  a conveyor belt but the staff didn't make us feel rushed and all in all it was a very nice experience.

Betty's Tea Room

*Traditional cream tea
*Lovely presentation
*Pricey but nice

32 The Grove
Ilkley,
LS29 9EE

01943 608 029

Website

Sunday Lunch at Midnight Bell

We took advantage of the weekend sunshine and sat in the Bell's lovely large patio area to have our lunch. There is a reasonably large menu available on a Sunday but we went straight for the roasts.

I had beef at £10.95 which came with all the trimmings. Loads of meat still a bit pink and a mild horseradish cream sauce to accompany it.

The summer veg was cooked nicely so that they still retained their flavour and texture and the potatoes were nice and crispy. Faultless.

The lavender scented creme brulee was served with some stewed berries and a short bread biscuit. A perfect combination of flavours and textures.

Not the cheapest but really enjoyable and only a few quid more than a Sunday carvery- worth it in my opinion.

Service was friendly but a but over zealous with three members of staff visiting the table in 5 minutes to check if everything was ok... this drives me mad as it can be quite disruptive to the meal and is so easily solved with a bit of organisation. This was the only irk in an otherwise fantastic meal.

The Midnight Bell
*Lovely pub garden
*Proper roast with all the trimmings
*Good ale selection

101 Water Lane
Holbeck
LS11 5QN

0113 2445044

Website

The Yorkshire Sausage

On Monday (AKA Yorkhsire Day) Lishman’s butchers of Ilkley announced their winning formula for the Yorkshire sausage

As previously reported on Culture Vulture, David Lishman has been touring around the county with 6 possible contenders of his own invention. In the end, over 3000 members of the public at food festivals, sporting events and the Yorkshire show tried and then voted for their favourite recipe.

TV chef Rosemary Shrager was there to announce the winner as variety A, described as a simple all rounder seasoned with  salt, pepper, mace, ground coriander, nutmeg and parsley

David will share this recipe with other butchers with the idea that the Yorkshire sausage will become as common place on the dining table as the Lincolnshire and Cumberland varieties.

If you want to try the Yorkshire sausage for yourself they will be available to buy from the Lishman's shop in Ilkley and from Morrisons in Keighley, Bradford Victoria, Enterprise 5 Bradford, Guiseley, Yeadon, Heckmondwike, Huddersfield Waterloo, Kirkstall and Morley.or why don’t you ask your local butcher to get the recipe and make a batch?

Lishman's of Ilkley Website