Although the Lunchometer is a decent evaluation of the average Mobile Pie eating habits, it’s missing some places I really rate and doesn’t go into a great deal of detail so I’ve put together a list of my favourite lunchtime eating places here.

I’m always keen to hear about new places, so if you have any suggestions post me a comment or join me on Rummble, a website to find out new places with that ‘if you like this, you might like that’ approach. I’ve just started playing with it, but it looks interesting, you can see my Rummble Profile here.

Top 10 Lunches In Bristol

1. Parsnipship

Although I’m very much a carnivore, I value meat and see it more of a treat rather than an everyday eating. The problem is there is a limited selection of good veggie options, especially the kind that feels like a ‘proper’ meal. I recently found The Parsnipship at the Wednesday Farmer’s Market and was bowled over by Collette + Cheryl’s produce.

The Parsnipship runs as a sort of creative co-operative, around the South West making unique vegetarian and vegan dishes like their Glamorgan Crumble – somewhere between a veggie burger and a cake made from grated leeks, carrots and mature cheddar with Breadcrumbs. Another favourite dish of mine is the Indian Summer Pudding, a pie made with butternut squash, chickpeas and coconut in a mild fragrant curry sauce with a tumeric and cumin seed pastry. One or two of their items with some salad (bought separately) makes for an awesome veggie lunch.

Unfortunately they’re only around Bristol on Wednesdays for the Farmers Market and Sunday at the Slow Food Market and the Tobacco Factory. One word of advice – if you want something for lunch, get there early for something warm, they also sell lots to take home and heat up.

Map: On the corner of Broad Street and Corn Street

2. The Bristol Sausage Shop

In my mind, some of the most comforting and satisfying British dishes include sausages. There is a huge difference between British bangers and foreign sausages, but thats a whole other post. Most supermarket ones just don’t compare to what you’d get at a place like this. When it comes to variety, I haven’t been to too many places that compare with the Bristol Sausage Shop.

The range of cooked sausages is always on rotation, so it’s always a nice surprise, with two or three available daily – there are many more you can buy and take home to cook. For lunch you have two options – a sausage baguette or a sausage and mash, with optional extras like gravy, onions and black pudding. If you’re greedy like me, there isn’t much around for better value than the mash option – including a choice of three sausages for £3.80.

Map: Glass Arcade, St. Nicholas Market, Off Corn Street

3. The Market Place

The Market Place has become a big favourite with the Mobile Pie crew, at the moment it’s quieter than somewhere with that quality of food should be, but still with a nice atmosphere. The quality of food is something I’d be excited about having for a classy meal out. I love the variety of meat on offer as well which sits nicely with my trying to eat ‘nose-to-tail’ ideal, but without going to the extremes that Heston or HFW might. The veggie options are also really good according to Alice.

Typical dishes include cheek + black pudding wellington with faggot and mash, Jacob’s ladder (the meat and bone above the rib I think) with an onion sauce and bubble + squeak or Fennel tart with artichoke and bull’s blood salad (a type of salad leaf).

At the moment they are doing a cheap lunch deal with main meals for ~ £5, which I’d imagine should be a lot more. I’d love to go and try three courses sometime but I’m not sure that fits into my lunch hour. They also have a huge selection of various Whiskys which I definitely intend to make my way through.

Map: St Nicholas Street, between busy Corn Street and Baldwin Street

4. Folk House

I love the Folk House, I only wish I could go visit more often (it’s slightly too much of a walk). Not only do they have a brilliant cafe, but they also run courses on anything from Comics to Spanish or Qi Gong as well as putting on some great events – gigs, exhibitions or markets. It’s a co-operative run for the benefit of the community. What could be better than building a community vibe, learning new skills and eating tasty, nutritious food. I wish there were more places like this around the country. Maybe that was overly sentimental, but check it out.

The cafe is like a bohemian community centre. It’s a big favourite with Jenny and Alice too. The food ticks all the boxes for me – exciting, healthy, unpretenious, colourful, filling, good value and most importantly delicious. It’s probably not for everyone, but to me its a real ‘food hero’ and is very similar to the stuff we cook at home. They also do a good selection of tea and juices.

Map: Hidden down an alleyway off Park Street

5. Magic Roll

I’m assuming that the Magic Roll’s reputation has spread, now that they’ve got a chain of stores across Bristol. I started visiting them when they first opened up on The Triangle. So what is a magic roll? Take one flatbread (Lebanese/Syrian style), stuff with exotic fillings – anything from falafels, lamb patties, haloumi cheese, avocado, butternut squash, alfalfa sprouts – wrap and put in a griddle toaster. You end up with something close to a proper San Diegan burrito.

I guess to try and explain to someone new to Magic Roll, it’s a bit like Subway – but with proper ingredients and a genuine atmosphere. You make you choice of roughly what roll you’d like, customise it with any other ingredients and sauces, toast and away you go.

Back in the day they experimented with Pide (Turkish Pizza) in the evenings, it never really took off but they were delicious – a definite gap in the market.

Map: The Triangle, Off Victoria Street or Fishponds

6. Zazu’s Kitchen

Alice was supposed to have written a review of our visit almost a year ago. Since then they’ve closed, changed owners and re-opened. I’ve not yet had a chance to visit since they re-opened, because they’re up in Stokes Croft but next time I’m in Bristol for a weekend or have a long lunch break I’ll certainly be heading up there.

Walking into Zazu’s is like stepping into someones country kitchen. The kitchen is open in the centre of the cafe, with seating all around. There is a selection of salads, quiches, and hot food. When I visited I had a Mezze which was served on a long wooden board and included houmous, celery+chickpea Soup, langoustine, stuffed vine leaves, chorizo and bread. Jenny had a Breakfast Quiche which included things you’d find in a British fry-up – sausage, mushroom and baked beans whilst Alice opted for a veggie salad with quinoa.

Map: On the corner of Jamaica Street and Cheltenham Road, Stokes Croft

7. Blue Juice

When I lived towards the Downs, my walk down into University was often punctuated by a visit to Blue Juice. Stepping into the place is almost like being transported to a different country, the decor and the staff show exactly what they’re about – fresh, friendly, chilled out, and vibrant. As the name indicates, they specialise in juice and smoothies. I haven’t been to that many juice bars that compare with this place – the range and freshness of ingredients sets it apart.

Down to food – mainly wraps, salads and paninis. Some good veggie options too. I’m a big fan of their breakfast burrito or quesadillas.

Map: Cotham Hill, just off Whiteladies Road

8. Portuguese Taste

This is one that’s often missed by visitors to St Nicholas Market, I’ve only started going there over the past few months despite being a visitor to SNM for several years – I’ve heard many people say the same. Forget about anything you might have against Portuguese cuisine as a result of South African chain Nandos, this is the real deal. Proper Portuguese food is rich, full flavoured and wholesome.

During the winter my favourite lunch option has been their Feijoada – a beans and pork stew served with rice. I also really loved their lamb liver and potato stew. Their real star dish though is their leite-creme (custard tart), which is saying something from someone who’s not a big dessert fan.

Map: Glass Arcade, St. Nicholas Market, Off Corn Street

9. Pieminister

I don’t think this needs any introduction, Pieminister have become an iconic Bristol brand. So what’s so special? Awesome fillings, awesome pastry – good honest food. Jenny and I are such big fans, we had them for our wedding served with some fancy veg. Flavours include Heidi Pie – sweet potato, goats cheese and spinach and Matador – beef steak, chorizo, olives and sherry. Their reputation is such that you can now find them in Harrods. The Queen even had them for one of her Christmas parties. Despite the hype, their ‘home’ remains modest – settled in Stokes Croft, food served on enamel plates, at reasonable prices.

Map: Stokes Croft or Glass Arcade, St. Nicholas Market

10. Boston Tea Party

Another leading light of the West Country, Boston has eight cafes in the area, three of which are in Bristol, that are primarily known for their fantastic tea and coffee. Their teas are how tea should be served – loose leaf in a teapot, with range of the ‘usual’ Darjeeling, Earl Grey and Roiboos and some more exciting types like Lapsang Souchong (my favourite tea) or Keemun. Coffee is all fairly traded and roasted locally, and is a step above your Nero or Starbucks.

The food at Boston is equal to the standard of the drinks. Most ingredients are locally sourced and free range, with some good veggie options. For lunch they do a range of quality sandwiches and paninis to eat in and take away or a good selection of cooked meals including the great west country burger, mezze platter, harissa-marinated chicken and delicious salads. The place on Park Street (the only one I’ve really eaten at) is brilliantly bustling at lunchtime, which just adds to the atmosphere. The downside is you can expect to wait a little for cooked dishes, but they’re worth waiting for.

Map: Top of Park Street, Clifton and Whiteladies (near the old cinema)

Other notable lunches in Bristol:

Sourdough Cafe (formerly Bakery Agnes)

Only narrowly missing out on a top 10, mainly because I’m biased towards full dishes over sandwich options. Arnaud and Emmeline make their own artisan bread which you can buy whole or made into a tasty selection of sandwiches. Their sandwiches are divine – goats cheese and honey and streaky bacon spring to mind – good value and tend to be stuffed full. They also sell some gorgeous cakes in some of the biggest portions I’ve seen. Their excellent tea and coffee is also worth sampling. Located in St Nick’s.

Trethowan’s Diary Shop

More commonly known as the Cheese Shop in St Nick’s, they do however on Wednesdays make tasty cheese based food. A couple of months ago I tried out their raclette – melted cheese on potatoes, picked onions and gherkins. They also do toasted sandwiches.

Falafel King

Another Bristol legend located by fountains serving quick, tasty veggie wraps. They are part of the same group as the Abu Noor bakery that provides Wild Oats and Chandos Deli with some of their breads. Popular with students and late night clubbers.

Day + Night

I get the feeling having passed this place a few times recently at lunchtime, that they might have stopped opening at lunch. Day + Night is a nightclub/bar, as such it is barely noticeable during the day. They did however serve the best calzone I’ve had, prices were really cheap too.

Boots

Before you shoot this down, I know you might not think Boots really fits in with our ‘blog ethos’, however I think it’s important that big food retailers become more responsible with their food. Boots deserve a thumbs up for stocking Fresh!’s naturally organic sandwiches, with their £3.50 meal deal it’s a definite winner.

Bab Mansour

A Moroccan souk nestled in St. Nicholas Market, favourites include Moroccan Lamb and Falafel.

Watershed

Well renowned arthouse cinema also a safe option for good quality food, with a range of styles and a good selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Spice Up Your Life

Good option if you fancy curry for lunch. Vegetarian option is good value – veggie curry, dahl, rice and poppadom for £3.50.

Caribbean Wrap

In the Glass Arcade at St. Nicholas Market, good Jamaican food especially their Goat Curry.

Hope + Anchor

Just down from The Triangle, possibly the best pub food in Bristol, usually tricky to find a table.

Chandos Deli

Ubiquitous delicatessen around the South West. Tasty sandwiches and salads.

Zak’s

Another one at St. Nicholas Market. They sell Boerewors (South African sausage), unfortunately sans Mrs Bulls.

I had never really visited Normandy so in the months leading up to our visit Jenny filled me in on some of the local cuisine (including an infamous sausage which popped open with lots of stringy pieces!). To make the most of the visit Jenny decided to lapse from being vegetarian – to be fair she would otherwise have mostly been eating cheese and bread.

We were based in the beautiful seaside town of Cabourg, which although touristy was far from tacky and full of primarily French tourists. Despite being less than 30mins from Caen’s ferry port, we encountered very few English speakers so Jenny’s GCSE French certainly came in handy! For one of the first times, we had an apartment with cooking facilities (very good ones at that). We found it made a huge difference – it’s nice to have a simpler (less rich) meal sometimes and saves money too.

Walking around Cabourg the difference between the French and English approach to food was clear. Literally a couple of streets away was the wonderful bustling Avenue de la Mer, half a kilometre of mainly cafes, restaurants and food shops. In between that and where we were staying was a decent food market too. Along the promenade were still more places to eat. It was clear we weren’t going to go hungry.

Most of our breakfasts consisted of fruit, fresh bread, juice and coffee (Jenny even curtailed her Tea addiction). Bread is clearly something the French take very seriously, living up to the stereotype of carrying huge sticks of bread around with them. Just on Avenue de la Mer there were about 4 Boulangeries / Pâtisseries all within a 2-3 minute walk of each other. They all seem to work in harmony, closing at different times, but there is always at least one open. To contrast with England – Banbury, a town famous for it’s Banbury Cakes and with a population of 40,000, has not one single independent bakery! We tried a good selection of breads as well as the obligatory Croissants, Pain au Chocolat and Pain au Raisin. The fruit was also great – we mainly stuck to Greengages (Reine-Claude), Plums (Prunes) and Apricots (Abricots).

Another pervasive food type were Galettes (or more properly, Breton galettes). These are buckwheat pancakes, usually filled with savoury ingredients. They taste significantly different to crêpes, and unlike them are apparently only cooked on one side. The most traditional versions are known as Galette Complète and feature Emmental, Ham and Egg, which Jenny tended to stick to.

In the nearby town of Dives sur Mer we visited La Galichoun, a laid back local restaurant specialising in galettes. They had a great menu deal - €10.50 for starter, main, dessert and choice of local cider or wine (notice the cidre served in a ceramic jug and cups). They even had one pre-cinema deal where you get your ticket for the independent cinema opposite as part of the offer. The galettes really were tasty – of course I had to try the Galette with andouille de Vire, emmental, camenbert, crème. Andouille de Vire is a very old version of Andouille (note the difference for Andouillette), a sausage made from seasoned pigs intestines. From what I could taste under the cheese and cream it was like nice cured ham.

The best dish we had on our trip (even according to Jenny) was found at L’Insolite in Bayeux - Galette Cotentin - Black Pudding (Boudin Noir) with Apples, Apple Puree and Calvados. Black pudding and apple is one of my favourite combinations but this really surpassed any similar dishes I’ve tried. The pudding was not quite as dry as British versions (it was more red than black).

I still don’t quite understand the distinction between French names for sausages la saucisse and le saucisson but they all seem to taste good to me. My favourite shop in Cabourg was Le Fils du Pôvre charcuterie on Avenue de la Mer.

Although only a tiny shop, it was crammed with a whole array of meat products (sausages, hams, terrines, pâtés, confits), cheeses, alcohols, vinegars and other jars containing things like cassoulet and pickled tripe.

A memorable restaurant we visited was Au P’tit Normand in Cambremer. It had a very local feel to it and some delicious sounding and looking regional dishes. It was the kind of place where our Britishness really stood out. Jenny opted for the Entrecôte sauce crémée au Camembert and I went for Soupe de Poisson followed by Tripes à la mode de Caen. Jenny’s steak was huge but she loved it. My fish soup was lovely – really rich without being overly fishy – and reminded me a little of Mum’s Crab Curry. I had never had Tripe before, so I thought since this place looks so good, this is the place to give it a go. Sadly, I have to confess to not being won over – the smell was pretty intense (even with my poor sense of smell). The stew itself was good, and I quite liked some of the smaller pieces of meat which were like slow cooked melt-in-the-mouth meat, unfortunately I just couldn’t deal with the texture of the big chunks of stomach. Many recipes I’ve seen for it indicate it’s made from the cow’s four stomach compartments, a calf’s foot, cidre/cavaldos and vegetables. I can’t say I noticed any calf’s foot, but that could well have been the bits I liked.

I’d love to hear from some tripe fans out there how you recommend eating it? I can’t actually think of anyone I know who likes the stuff. I would however give it another go.

Stay tuned for Food Adventures in Normandy part 2.

There were several stalls selling fruit and veg, butchers stalls, local craft and cheese. 

We particularly liked the cheeses from the Blaenafon Cheddar Company.  Pwll Ddu (Black pool) cheddar is flavoured with mustard, leeks and The Reverend James Welsh ale which gives a mouth watering savoury bite.  The traditional mature Pwll Mawr farmhouse cheddar is also available in an oak smoked variety.

We tried some beautifully smooth and creamy goats cheese from Cothi Valley Goats.

A really exciting stall was the Welsh Special Treats company stall.  Selling chutneys and preserves made on the Gower.  We opted for the Pear and Nut chutney, to go with our Blaenafon cheeses.  The spicy chutney was also great.

This was a truly local produce market, with friendly local producers and very friendly prices.  We were really glad we went.  In our opinion, this was much better than the more famous Swansea indoor market.  We did manage to buy beautiful pale blue duck eggs and fresh cockles in Swansea, but it lacked the charm and intimacy of the Pennard Market.

Neal’s Yard Dairy has a shop in Covent Garden (Not Far From Neal Street and the Neal’s Yard Remedy shop).   Borough Market seems like a more natural location for me, right in food central.   The remedies may be better known, but for me, the cheese shop is where it’s at.  A focus on natural wholesomeness and tradition  seem to permeate throughout Neal’s Yard ventures.

When you go into the shop, there is a man who directs you to a “cheese monger” who will serve you with cheese of your choice. If it is busy and there is a queue, fear not! The man gives you cheese to eat while you wait!

The whole shop is just filled with cheese.  Truckles sit on shelves and shelves tempting your fancy.  There is also a selection of pickles, chutneys and posh bread for you to purchase!  Unfortunately, the shop doesn’t sell smoked cheese – they say it contaminates the other cheese. 

I can’t go to Borough Market without popping into this shop, even if it is only to enjoy the smell!  It is a true spectacle and the shop is always full.  You can learn lots about Cheese and they have no problem with you trying before you buy – indeed, they encourage it and the Mongers do seem to enjoy the odd bit of cheese themselves!

On this occasion, I bought “Strathdon Blue” (a cool creamy cow’s milk blue cheese), “Tunworth” (a soft, strong, brie-like cheese) and Wallace and Grommit’s favourite – Wensleydale (this one was nice and firm, not crumbly).  I also sampled several other cheeses, including goat and sheep milk. The “Colston Bassett” was great – Stilton like and sharp….hmmm….cheese.  I don’t think the prices here are high by comparison to vacuum packed supermarket and brand named, mass produced cheese.  In fact, I’d say that in comparison to “not just taste the finest difference select” type supermarket ”posh” cheeses, they win hands down.

Oh, an finally the very best thing about the cheese in this shop – the cheese is all British.  Given that there is so much cheese heritage in Britain, it seems a shame that a sense of continental cheese superiority persists.  Neal’s Yard is not the only shop selling traditional British cheeses.  They all help elevate British cheese to the podium place it deserves.  Nothing wrong with a bit of cheese protectionism I say!

Having eaten our fill at the Festival Hall slow food market and procured the necessaries to grow your own garlic, we set off to one of London’s food highlight’s, Borough Market.  According to the wikipedia entry, the first reference to  Borough Market was in 1276.  The market is believed to date from Roman times and has been on the present site near London Bridge Station for 250 years. Our aim was to buy ingredients for a Christmas dinner.  We opted to to hit the meat stalls first to see what game they had.  We opted for a beautiful pheasant – dressed and stuffed with plumb and ginger and ready for the oven.  There were all sorts of game on offer, the turkeys and geese were literally flying off the shelves!  There are several meat and game stalls to choose from, with a great selection of produce and prices.  Our stuffed and dressed Pheasant cost £6 and was sourced from Buckinghamshire.  I felt this was great value considering that two free range chicken breasts would cost a similar amount in a supermarket.

Because it was Christmas time, there was a great selection of  mulled wine, mulled cider and other festive treats on offer.  The Salvation Army brass band were playing at the centre of the market, adding to the festive ambience.  As you’d expect, the market had all kinds of good, from far and wide on offer.  However, the best prices and nicest stuff was, in my opinion, the local, in season fruit and veg.  One of the things I like to do at the market (as well as sampling everything I can) is to look for stuff you’ve never seen before.  Some of these wierd looking mushrooms looked fabulous and most of them, I’d never heard of before…except for one…   …the night before going to the market, we saw the ‘Black Trompette’ on a BBC TV’s QI quiz show. Also know, in English as the ‘Trumpet of Death’ it was illustrating how the fearsome looking mushrooms can be safe to eat, while the more plain looking ones can be poisonous.  The fragrance of the mushrooms was intense and made me wish I knew enough to go mushroom foraging!

We picked up the necessary veg for our Christmas meal, including sprouts of which there were plenty.  It would seem that that prices at Borough Market vary daily at the same stall, with Saturday being the most expensive and busiest day.  I have it on good authority that these ‘sprout trees’ which were going for £2.50 per stick on Saturday, were only £1 per stick the day before.  It is therefore well worth remembering that it is a market and there’s always an opportunity to try and haggle.

I stopped by my favourite stall, which sells real ale and beer from small and local brewers from all over the UK.  I was saddened to hear from the beer porter that he had no beer from Cains of Liverpool as they were struggling financially and may have to stop brewing – it would be a tragedy if a wonderful brewery with fabulous beer and pubs were to disappear.     We completed our market trip with the purchase of some fabulous traditionally smoked kippers (£1 per pair) which made an excellent breakfast with some fresh bread from the market.  With everything we needed for the Christmas dinner, we moved on to the final stop of the South London Food Trip – Neal’s Yard Cheese shop which is blogged separately.

Earlier in the year, I decided that I would grow my own garlic. My research was not thorough and involved Google’s “I’m feeling lucky” button which took me to Garlic Central Website. I had read online that it a Pagan tradition to plant garlic on the shortest day of the year.  So come the 2008 winter solstice, I was determined to plant my garlic.  I learned that it was a bad idea to plant shop bought garlic, which can be sprayed with chemicals to prevent the bulbs from sprouting shoots whilst still on the shop shelves.  The best stuff to plant was stuff bought direct from the grower. This was exactly what I was looking for; garlic direct from the grower with which to start my garlic empire.

The French garlic man said that he sold three types of garlic, two of which were grown on his cousin’s farm in Brittany and the third from a farm further south.  I asked if it was sprayed with chemicals and was told, “non, whissout the chemical…how do you say…organo”.  I said that I wanted to plant the garlic and he immediately said that the pink and the red would grow, but that the white would not be good to plant.  Since it was a market and I thought the asking price of £1 per bulb was a bit steep, I haggled a bit and pleasingly got a large pink bulb and a large red bulb for 50p.

I planted the individual cloves about 10cm apart, 2cm deep in grow bag compost left over from my tomatoes earlier in the year.  If all goes to plan, the bulbs will grow along with other spring flowers.  Apparently, the garlic is ready for harvest when the leaves turn brown and start to wither.  You then pull the bulbs up, hang to dry for a week or two (somewhere cool and dry) and then brush off the soil.  One clove grows into one bulb, so I’m on for 50 bulbs of galic next year. That’s the theory, if there’s anything to harvest, I’ll post an update next year and be searching out some garlic recipes. I have heard of one already, apparently it’s a taste sensation…garlic bread…at least that’s what Peter Kay says anyhow!

I’ve heard of the Slow Food Movement before, and had a rough idea of what they were about - promoting traditional foods, biodiversity, quality, taste and sustainability.  This market was supporting Crisis Christmas.

There was a great selection of hot and cold food stalls – the aromas were great and the queues for hot pork rolls was immense but well worth it.  The Portuguese pork was marinated in honey and rosemary, spit roasted and served in a focaccia bun.  The crackling was not for the feint of heart!

We tried some great cheese, made by various local producers, wonderful pickles, chutneys, mustard and horseraddish which made you wince!  There was a chap selling mistletoe and apples – he had whole branches of mistletoe which was flying off his stall at Christmas time!

My Favourite producer was Patchwork Pate – a pate producer from North Wales.  We bought a truely splendid handmade duck liver pate, with apricot and brandy.  It was rich and smooth with a lovely sweet gamey flavour.

This was a great food market.  None of the fluffy stuff you often get a farmer’s markets – biodiesel, cushions and South American cheeseballs (all of which are fine in their own right, but out of place at a farmer’s market!).  Nothing but natural products, from independent sources.  I will definitely be looking out for more Slow Food events.