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.

Naturally, being a Routemaster, the restaurant is entered through the traditional open entrance at the back of the bus.  The downstairs deck has been transformed into the kitchen; you feel the heat and smell the food as you pass by.  The bus gently sways as customers and staff go up and down the stairs, reminding you every now and then that you’re in an unusual venue.

Looking into the kitchen, it doesn’t really feel like your looking inside a bus.  However when you climb upstairs, and see the tables, you remember immediately that you are!  The upstairs has only a few tables.  At night, the limited number of tables together with candle light creates a very intimate atmosphere.  Being above the kitchen, it is a little warm but you can wind down the original bus windows to let in some air.

.

If you’re a regular at vegan restaurants, you may not be surprised by the selection on offer.  If you’re not, then it may be of interest try some dishes which you may just assume would normally be non-vegetarian or non-vegan, but which in fact are not.  The menu comprises a mixture of dishes, mainly comprising European and Asian influence dishes.  Starters include a delicious mezze platters, and the very tasty Gyoza (wontons filled with peppers, mushrooms & seasonal veg).   It was interesting to learn that all the Rootmaster’s vegetables are sourced from a LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) Marque assured supplier.  This means the veg is produced in an environmentally responsible way.

The menu seems to change frequently, but often includes the Tofu Tower (Flame grilled and marinated local tofu with crispy fried wontons & coconut vegetable curry sauce).  If (like many veggies and non-veggies alike) you’ve been put off by bad tofu experiences, this stuff is worth giving a second chance.  The fresh organic tofu is made by a local company (Clean Bean) based near the Rootmaster, on Brick Lane and is delivered by bicycle to the bus.

The idea of Vegan desserts may seem difficult to produce at first though – starved of chocolate, cream and butter.  However, the Rootmaster’s choice includes some pretty good fondant, cheesecake and ice creams.  The dark chocolate option is always good and the vegan ice cream is very good.

Drinks wise, there is a choice of soft drinks drinks, beers and wines.  Many of the drinks are widely available elsewhere and are inherently vegan friendly.  The choice is not limited by the vegan requirement.  The wine prices are range from £4.50/glass or £13.50/bottle upwards.  Soft drinks, beer and cider are reasonably priced too.

Ely’s Yard is suprising busy at night, with several bars.  This gives the square a vibrant atmosphere, even on a rainy evening.   The bus itself has no toilets, but there is an arrangement with the Big Chill bar opposite for Rootmaster diners to use their facilities.

With starters ranging from £4-£6 per person, mains from £9-£15 and desserts £5-£6, the Rootmaster is comparable in price to many London restaurants.  If you’re vegan or veggie then is a great place to go as you’ll have not only a fun venue but the choice of the whole menu.  If you’re a meat eater, you may enjoy the setting but find yourself wishing for a meat option.  If you’re willing to sacrifice the meat and go vegan once in a while, you’ll almost certainly have a great time at the Rootmaster.

The vegan menu may not be foor everyone, but in truth, is no where near as restrictive as non-vegans may fear.  Many diners were returning customers, and a mixture of vegans, veggies and meat eaters.   It’s a fun place to eat, with a great novel setting, enthusiastic staff and an intersting menu.

Belgian beer, chocolate, waffles and frites are marketed in Britain as traditional, high quality Belgian products.  For tourists, these products are also strongly pushed as souvenirs around the centre of Brussels.  It was disappointing to see so many of the same products on sale in Belgium as in Britain.  Notably, many of the same chocolates and beer brands crowd the shelves in expensive shops.  However, by looking a little deeper,  it is possible to find more exciting produce, at a nicer price too.

Beer

Many of the shops and bars have recognisable brands such as Chimay, Leffe, Hoegarden and Duval on sale – the same as in the UK.  There are however, a staggering array of other types of beer, including Amber ales (pale), the lighter Blonde beers, slightly sour or fruity Lambic beers, white wheat beer or one of many more.

Trappist Beers are manufactured by Monks and have some of the oldest and most traditional brewing methods.   Abbey beers are produced by breweries where the original Trappist monastery no longer exists, no longer brews or are just sometimes commercial attempts to imitate Trappist beers.  Although numbers have fallen, Belgium still boasts hundreds of small, independent breweries.
La Morte Subite (Sudden Death) is both a bar and a brewery, where the fourth generation of the family serve up a wonderful array of beers (nearly 30 to choose from) in the fabulous 1920′s style bar which has been home to the bar since 1928.

Alternatively, if in Bruges, why not try the Brugse Zot (Bruges Fool) brewed at De Halve Maan (The Half Moon) – Bruges last remaining family brewery.  Enjoy a tour of the brewery, grab some lunch or just sample the beer.  Periodically steaming piles of mashed hops/barley/wheat are ejected down a wooden chute and into a barrow.  The aroma reminds you that the place is a working brewery, if somewhat touristy.  The beer is a wonderful, light, crisp refreshing beer, ideal in the sunshine after pounding the inexhaustibly picturesque streets of Bruges.

Frites

It was surprising to learn that the Belgians take frites very very seriously.  None of this French Fries nonsense.  As with the waffles, mobile serveries and street hatches serve up low cost frites left right and centre.  Popular with locals and tourists alike, there always seems to be a queue.  Frites are cooked once then, re-fried before being served to you.  This adds extra crispness and a deep golden colour.  A theatrical process of tossing the frites high in the air is observed, portion by portion, to adequately mix in the salt.  Hence the queues as each portion is cooked up to order and served with ketchup and mayonnaise in a truly continental fashion.

Waffles & Chocolate

Waffles do seem to be present everywhere in Belgium.  The smell of hot waffles off the irons from street side serving hatches fills the air of many a street.  Dangerously delicious, the light, crispy waffles are uniformly good; most probably because of the huge volume produced meaning yours is almost always as fresh as can be.

There are an alarming array of chocolate shops dotted around the centre of Brussels and Bruges, making chocolate fresh on-site, all very expensive and seemingly reluctant to give out samples.  A box of 10-12 sophisticated little chocs could cost anything from €12-15 upwards in these shops, although the choice and more importantly, aroma is wonderful.  There didn’t seem to be anything particularly Belgian about the type (truffles, mousses, praline etc) or flavours (coffee, fruit, nuts etc) but they all boasted high cocoa content Belgian chocolate.  Perhaps the growth in ‘high end’ chocolates in the UK over the last few years means the novelty of the fine Belgian chocs is not what it once was.

Restaurants

Having somewhat patronisingly heard Belgian food described as Peasant food, there appeared be precious little of it around in Central Brussels at least.  Unsuprisingly, most restaurants around La Grande Place and the Lower City are very touristy, selling Mussel & Frites at very high prices (~€20 and somewhat disappointing).

For something a little more sedate, Place Saint Cathering, in the old docks area, offers a more relaxed environment.  Again the restaurants are on the pricey side of reasonable and generally not particarly inspring.
A good choice would be  L’Achepot in the Place Saint Catherine.  It offers reasonable value, aparrently more traditional food, including a good variety of fish and offal.  They have several Belgian beers to choose from and a nice terrace, slightly away from the busier main square.  Very informal and full of locals, the Rabbit fricasse was served up with all the offal and some good crusty bread.  The black pudding, servied with apple and mashed potato is a tempting dish for the less adventourous who want to have a traditional dish.

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.

The Good Food Store

Located on Broad Street (the main street) this shop had a delicious selection of free range meat, including sausages and bacon for our campsite breakfast, duck eggs (30p each), cheeses, fruit/veg and bread, cakes and savouries baked in store daily.

The Old Watch House

There were some lovely shops to pick up provisions whilst in Lyme Regis.  The Old Watch House fish monger is a beautiful little wet fish shop, selling local fish, the majority of which comes from Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.  A really nice touch, in addition to free ice packs to keep you purchase cold, was indicating which fish were “sustainable” on the price  blackboard.    

There was no smell of fish as you approached and went into the shop, indicating the produce was very fresh.  The fish monger said the only way to more fresh is to catch it yourself.  There were plenty of crabs crawling around on the sand at the bottom of The Cobb (the old harbour wall) but we opted for a dressed Lyme Regis crab at £4.95. 

The Lyme Bay Sandwich Company

This little shop, at the end of the seafront served a delightful array of fresh sandwiches, old fashioned lemonade, gingerbeer, posh crisps and best of all, pies and pasties.  The pies and pasties are all made by Chunk of Devon.  They looked delicious and I was please to find the meat was all free range. 

A small newspaper cutting on the wall showed that the pasties were in fact award winning having recently won the best pasty award at the Melton Mobray pie competition!  The lady behind the counter in the shop said they were very pleased that a pasty made in Devon had beaten off all of its Cornish competitors!  Reading further, it was great to see that the pasty comapny is to be features in a Channel 4 television series starring Sir Gerry Robinson named Gerry’s Big Descision which will air on Channel 4 on Thursday 9nd July 2009 at 2100. 

In the series, Gerry (one of Britain’s most sucessful business men) intervenes in failing businesses before deciding whether to invest and revive them.  I don’t want to spoil the show, but the recent success of these pasties suggests he’s worked his magic well on this occasion!  The steak pasty was undoubtedly a great pasty and indeed, five minutes later I was back in the shop buying my second pasty.  It seems that the Lyme Regis Seagulls are partial to these award winning pasties too, as one swooped down over my shoulder and carried my first pasty off just two or three bites into it!  Be warned!

Town Mill Cheese Monger

Housed in an old water mill in the centre of Lyme, lies the Town Mill Cheese Monger.  The cheese monger and his wife told us that 2 months ago, this building was disused and falling into disrepair.  The water mill has been converted to generate electricity, but it also still drives the mill stones to mill flour in the adjacent building. 

The selection of cheeses was great, with the majority being local.  We were able to sample which ever ones we wanted and opted for a Cornish Yarg (Cow’s milk,  infused and wrapped with wild garlic leaves), delicious Montgommery Cheddar and some Quickes Smoked Cheddar.  All three cheeses were local british cheeses. 

We also bought delicious biscuits – Miller’s Stones.  These were a lovely buttery digestive style biscuit, but less coarse.  To go with the cheese, we bought a fig fruit puree “English fruits for cheese” by the Fine Cheese Co.  The owners were wonderfully friendly and we wish them success with their new cheese shop.  We think it will fit in well to the food culture present in Lyme.

River Cottage local produce store and canteen (Axminster)

I’m not sure whether Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage started a trend towards independent, ethical, local food in Dorset, or whether Hugh chose Dorset because if had just such a tradition.  However, no trip to Dorset is complete without at least thinking about River Cottage.  We got the number 31 bus from Lyme to Axminster and popped in for a cup of tea.  The front of the shop has local produce, fresh fruit/veg and a lovely array of savouries.  We opted for trout quiche and a chunky pork pie to take away.  A rather delicious Eccles cake was simply crying out to be purchased as well – which although along way from it’s ancestral home in Salford, was probably the richest, crumbliest most delicious Eccles cake I’ve ever had.

The canteen at the back served drinks, light snacks and also main meals in the evening.  You can see into the kitchens and I recognised the chef off the TV shows.  There’s a lovely garden at the back.  We could see small deliveries of fresh ingredients arriving all the time, including some great looking fruit, veg and herbs. 

Beer

Those who know me or have read some of my blogs are aware that I’ve got a few breweries of which I am a big fan.  These are Cains of Liverpool (try the Dr Duncan’s or Thomas Rigby’s pubs in Liverpool), Bath Ales (try the Hare on the Hill in Bristol), Okell’s (Isle of Man) and La Morte Subite (Family brewery in Brussels, bar of the same name). 

Now in Dorset, I’ve discovered pretenders to challenge my choice of favourite beer.  The Otter Brewery (Based in Devon) do a great selection of beers and ales.  Widely available in the southwest, they are varied and popular.  However, never have I seen such enthusiasm from bar staff as I did for Palmers of Bridport, officially my new favourite brewery.  Each time I ordered, a favourable comment about the beer was passed by the waitor, bar tender or another patron!  Evidently very popular, I first opted for a delicious Indian Pale Ale.  Extremely quaffable in the sunshine.  I also tried the Copper Ale and the Palmer’s 200.  My favourite was easily the 200.  This special brew was created to mark the 200th anniversary of Palmers brewing in Bridport.  For every pint sold, 5p is donated to the Dorset Air Ambulance (with over £10,000 donated last year).  Evidently I am not alone in my preference for the 200, as the 200th anniversary of Palmers Brewery was in 1994!  This popular brew has been in production for over 15 years ever since!  Palmers is available in many of the local pubs and by the bottle in Threshers on Broad Street in Lyme.  They also make Ginger Beer and Whisky. 

Restaurants

Fish and Chips – Now we ate out on three of the four nights we stayed.  On the first night we had some great fish and chips at By They Bay which overlooks the beach.  The fish and chips were the best we’ve had in a long time.  The batter was very light and crips, with a hint of nutmeg to make it a bit different.  Served with proper cut chips, crushed minted peas and tartar sauce.

Italian – The second time we went out, we were caught out.  It was Monday and we found to our cost that nearly everything closes on a Sunday in Lyme Regis.  The one place we found was Antonio’s Trattoria, an intimate, lively, traditional Italian.  The menu was limited to classic italian fayre, including various pasta, pizzas and steaks etc.  Antonio was obviously very popular with his Patrons and knew his regulars by name.  We were watching the pennies as we only had a little cash with us and he doesn’t take cards.  When he realised this, Antonio told us not to worry, to order what we want and if we were short, to drop the money through the letter box in the next few days.  We both opted for a very tasty tagliatelli made with local Lime Regis crab.  The food is all cooked by Anotio’s wife and his daughter was waiting on tables.  We also shared a garlic bread and tirimasu, with a glass of house red and a beer.  The bill came to £34.  We thought this was a little on the pricey side, but as the place was packed with regulars, we we obviously in the minority.  Would recommend this place for the friendy traditional feel and especially if you want to eat out on a Monday.  Located just opposite the Tourist Information centre.

Bar Food – We left it late to eat on our final night and were turned away from a couple of places at 2030 on the grounds it was too late.  Many places stopped serving food at 2100, but wouldn’t seat people from earlier.  There are several bars serving food along the front, including one offereing a delicious (if not retro) ploughmans with local cheese and chutnel.  We had a great free-range steak from Wiltshire in another.  It was cooked brilliantly and served with a fresh wild mushroom sauce, onion rings, chips and salad.  We hadn’t been expecting much and were consequently really pleased.  Service was a bit lacking however.  I felt this was down to the comination of young staff and the manager serving drinks behind the bar and being unaware of the restaurant goings on. 

However, what made our night at this place was the rather Fawlty Tower-esque escapade where as we tried to pay, the distracted staff started chasing a rather fat hamster around the bar and restaurant.  After catching the reluctant rodent in a pint glass, it was returned to the owner who apparently lived in the flat upstairs.  We can confirm that it was a hamster but that there were no hotel inspectors, spanish waitors or sickly cats in the building(!)

What drew me to the recipe, was how differently it’s made to other curries I’ve made in the past. I’ve made other curries consisting of a base ‘gravy’, but generally the meat tends to be browned and/or marinated first. In this, you just add it to the sauce uncooked and cook very slowly. I’ve never encountered the spinach puree either.

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 4 oz Ghee (I made an alternative by clarifying butter and adding Bay Leaves)
• 2 medium Onions, chopped
• 1/2 ” Ginger, peeled
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 400 g Chopped Tomatoes
• 1 lb Diced Lamb (leg or shoulder)
• 2 tsp Paprika
• 2 tsp Tumeric
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 2 tsp Chillli Powder
• 6 oz Fresh Spinach
• Fresh Green Chillies (up to you)
• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala

Method

Cook the Chopped Onions with the Ghee/Butter for about 20 minutes, until well cooked, but not burnt.

When their cooked, blend the Ginger, Garlic and Onions into a smooth paste. Add the Chopped Tomatoes and blend again. Add a touch of water if necessary. You should have a mixture slightly thicker than Tomato soup.

Return to the pan and add the Diced Lamb, add some salt. Leave to simmer for 30 minutes.

Wash the Fresh Spinach. Add 3/4 of it to a pan to wilt, the water from washing the Spinach should be enough to cook it. It always amazes me how it shrinks to nothing.

Blend the cooked Spinach into a puree.

After the 30 minutes, the colour of the curry will have changed a lot. Less tomato soup, more curry. Add the Paprika, Tumeric, Cumin and Chilli Powder and cook for another 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it and add water if needed.

If you have Fresh Chillies, make a puree from them with a dash of water. I didn’t have any so I soaked a chopped dried one. After 20 minutes add the Spinach Puree, Chilli Puree (to taste), remaining Fresh Spinach, Garam Masala and Salt and Pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Mr Stein suggested serving with Basmati Rice cooked with Cinnamon and Cardamom. I opted for Naans this time round.

Verdict

The Karachi Restaurant and Mr Stein are definitely on to a winner here. The slow cooking makes it so rich, yet without over-doing the meat. Unfortunately, since Jenny was away and she’s trying to be veggie, I had to eat it all myself.

If you do fancy a spot of sea fishing, the best place to get information and book a trip is the Swansea Angling Centre, at Swansea Marina.  In there, you can get cards/leaflets for all the local fishing boat/charter trips.  Sightseeing & mackerel trips for about £25, 8hr Sea Bass fishing on a charter boat for £35 or mackerel trips for £15. 

Weather and other commitments meant that rather than go sea fishing, we opted to search for shell fish close to the cottage where we were staying.  The beach we were staying near was littered with razor clam shells.  We had read in the River Cottage Fish book that razor clams were tasty and delicious (and of course, free).   To “hunt” a razor clam, you search out their little burrow hole and sprinkle salt down it at low tide.  The clam tastes the salt, thinks the tide is coming in and pops their siphon up out of the sand, where upon you grab hold.  Pull too hard and it breaks off (but the clam grows a new one).  Then as the clam tries to dig, it will release its grip in the sand and you can slowly draw it out of the sand.  You can’t out dig razor clams as you can with other shell fish, because they dig downwards faster than you can.  That’s the theory, but lets just say I didn’t master the art of razor clamming.  

Having miserably failed at razor clammng, we switched our attention to a somewhat less mobile shellfish, Mussels.  At the Worms Head, at the south end of Rhosilli Bay, there were several million mussels to choose from.  The Worms Head is cut off from the mainland at high tide, so you must be careful to time your visit and not get cut off.  We okay-ed it with the coastguard station on the headland and ventured down onto the rocks.

The River Cottage Fish book is a tremendously useful book.  It has become my fish bible, with information about preparing, filleting, and cooking the fish, together with descriptions of the fish’s lifestyle and habitat.  My favourite part is that it discusses sustainable sources for the fish and indicates how sustainable different varieties are.  The book said Mussels spend their whole life living where they first land as tiny baby mussels.  That’s why some live on rocks which get exposed by the tide while others remain permanently submerged.  They spawn between May and August, so collecting is discouraged during this period.  That said, they are quite sustainable by comparison to other fish such as Haddock and Cod.  Make sure to collect more mature mussels, greater than 50mm in length.

As the photo shows, the ground was covered entirely with the shells of shellfish which had been eaten by birds.We filled a pot with enough mussels for a starter and headed back to the cottage. 

When driving around the Gower, we were taken aback by an intense smell of garlic in the air.  It came from wild garlic leaves growing by the side of the road.  Too good an opportunity to miss.  We stopped and collected some to go with our Mussels.

Mussels with Wild Garlic Leaves and Home Brewed Bitter

Soak the mussels overnight in sea water to allow them to purge out any sand or grit.  I didn’t have sea water, so just added a kilo of salt to the basin.  A tip is to add porridge oats as they irritate the mussels and make them filter out grit/sand faster.  You then wash the mussels, gently scraping off any barnacles or material stuck to the outside.  You slide a knife along the joint to remove the “beard” – fine silk like hairs with which the mussel anchored to the rock.

In butter, I softened some sliced onion and wild garlic leaves, collected from a hedgerow nearby.  Keep the heat low to avoid colouring the onion. 

Then I added a good slug of Matt’s Home Brew London Beer and a splash of vinegar (we only had rice vinegar, which we used).  When the mix started to steam, threw in the mussels.

You need to steam for 6-8 minutes, before serving up the mussels, shaking occasionally.  Because the mussels release any grit remaining inside them, you need to strain the liquor before serving it. 

I served up the mussels, discarding any which hadn’t opened, and garnished with the white wild garlic flowers.

I’ve never tasted such tender, sweet mussels.  The beer liquor was light and intense.  The wild garlic surprisingly pungent.  All in all it was a great success.  It was very satisfying to collect wild food.  You can’t get more fresh Mussels any other way.  There was almost no sand/grit in the Mussels, I think down to the lack of sediment at the Worm’s Head.

 Delicious.

Sundried Tomato, Spinach & Feta Filo Pastry Pie

——

Vegetable Mousakka with Greek Salad, accompanied with Black Olive & Rosemary Flatbread.

——

Orange Passover Cake with Orange Cheesecake Topping

The night went really well and when the guests arrived, we were able to sit and drink the vino while the oven did all the work!

Sundried Tomato, Spinach & Feta Filo Pastry Pie

I picked up this recipe from BBC Good Food online.  It was very easy – just mixing feta, sundried tomatoes and spinach with whisked egg.  You then line a tin with pastry, add the filling and fold over the top.  Those of you who have read my previous blogs about pies will realise that my version (see photo) does not qualify as a pie as it does not have a complete lid.  I made the mistake of overlapping the filo pastry too much so it would not close completely.  However the guests commented about how pretty it looked, so all was not lost.  This pie is served cold, so can be baked in advance and chilled.

Vegetable Mousakka with Greek Salad, accompanied with Black Olive & Rosemary Flatbread.

The vegetable Moussaka recipe came from a Greek cook book – the Olive and the Caper which to be honest, is not a very good book.  I find the recipes a little bland and the text a little wordy.  The book is by an American not a Greek and all the ingredients are listed in cups and farenheit.  A translation is below.

• 2 medium aubergines
• Olive Oil
• 1kg white potato, peeled and cut into 1/2cm thick slices
• 150g fresh breadcrumbs
• 2 large tomatoes
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 600g grated kefalotyri cheese (we used Pecorino as we couldn’t get this cheese)
• 100g butter
• 100g plain flour
• Generous pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

If you’re cooking this straight away, preheat the oven to 180°C.  Cut the aubergine lengthways into 1/2cm slices.  Fry the aubergine in a pan until golden – take care not to overload the pan; do this in several batches.  Continue adding oil with each batch, as the aubergine soaks up so much of it!  Repeat the frying process with potato slices.   To free up that all important vino time, you could prepare the white sauce (see below) whilst frying the aubergine and potato.

Prepare the “besamel sauce” by melting the butter until foaming.  Add the flour, whisking briskly as you do so, until you get a smooth paste, or as the French would say, a rue.  Continue whisking for 2 mins until the mix turns golden.  Whisk in the milk and season with salt (if you add pepper, the black flecks can spoil the look of the sauce).  Cook over a medium heat for 12-15 mins.  Whisk in the nutmeg.

Grease an oven dish and sprinkle the breadcrumbs into the bottom.  Arrange half the potato in a layer and place a few tomato slices ontop.  Add a layer of aubergines.  Repeat the sequence. Nearly there.  Whisk the egg yolks and cumin into the sauce and pour over the vegetables.  Sprinkle grated cheese over the top.  Bake in the oven for 1 hour.  Allow 15 to 20mins to rest before serving.

We prepared this early on, to allow us to bake just before we needed it.  To be honest, I was a little disappointed.  I felt that although it looked quite authentic, it was a little plain and could have benefitted from some other flavours.  It would perhaps been  better with one really thick layer of aubergine s and tomato, and one of potato.  I might try mashing the potatoes next time.

We served this up with a greek salad (Kos lettuce, white salad onion, feta, olives, cucumber, red pepper, dressed with olive oil and oregano).  Yum.

 Black Olive & Rosemary Flatbread

This was a flatbread by nature, but with no yeast was a little dense.  The idea was that the bicarbonate of soda and “acidic” olives would react to lighten the bread.  I don’t really feel this worked.  However, it was golden, fragrant and delicious -everyone enjoyed it.  The smell of fresh baked bread was great.

I wanted something a good deal lighter than this bread turned out.  I would welcome any suggestions/alternative recipes to achieve this. 

Orange Passover Cake with Orange Cheesecake Topping

The astute amongst you will have spotted that my Greek Feast includes a rather Jewish sounding dessert.  Apparently Orthodox Greeks always celebrate Easter after passover has occurred, because Jesus is supposed to have celebrated Passover before the events of Easter.  Given that we cooked and ate this cake before Easter, I suppose we can get away with it!

We opted to bake this cake, which we had made before, as it is straight forward and it would seem, reliable.   It is one of Rick Stein’s Food Heroes Recipes and uses ground almonds not flour.

• 2 oranges
• 6 eggs (medium)
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Icing Sugar for dusting

For the Citrus Cheesecake Cream topping

• 200g cream cheese (e.g. Philadelphia)
• 50g caster sugar
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 small orange
• juice of 1 lemon
• 300ml double cream

To make the cake is quite straight forward.  Boil the oranges for 3 hours. Make sure they are covered with water and use a lid.  After 3 hours drain the oranges and allow to cool.  Remove the flesh and blitz in a food processor to make a smooth puree.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together until thick and moussey beore folding in the ground almonds, the orange puree and baking powder.  Pour into a lined and greased tin and bake at 180°C for 55 to 60 minutes until cooked. Leave to cool.

To make the topping, beat the cream cheese with the sugar, lemon zest, orange zest and lemon juice.  Whisk the cream into soft peaks and gently fold in.

This recipe makes a lovely light and moist cake.  It’s straightforward and quick.  although I didn’t get a pic of the finished cake, you can see one here.

The meal was a great success – the plan of preparing in advance so we could have time with the guests worked brilliantly.  A good time was had by all.

As we were already being decadent we decided to go the whole hog and have a full 3 course meal.  Here is the menu:

Homemade Onion Bread Rolls

—–

Smoked Donnington Trout with Herb Blinis and Chive Crème Fraiche

—–

Lamb and Apricot Casserole with Lamb from Home Farm Bredons Norton
Dauphinoise Potato
French Beans in Red Onion
Glazed Chantenay Carrots

—–

Caramelised Lemon Tart with Raspberry Sorbet and Raspberry Coulis

—–

Homemade Chocolates

Everything came neatly packaged with clear instructions for heating and serving up. Despite being quite a complex meal it was really easy and fun to serve up.

For the starter we arranged the blinis on plates…

Added the smoked trout which we drizzled with lemon oil…

And finally topped it off with chive creme fraiche and parsley. Despite being a simple, and quite traditional starter, this was absolutely delicious and a cut above any similar dishes I’ve had in the past.

The main was even simpler. Our appetites had been whetted now and I’m afraid it wasn’t restaurant quality presentation – the potatoes, carrots, beans and casserole were just heaped onto our plates.

James tries to use local ingredients wherever possible, and this lamb was from the nearby Home Farm at Overbury. All the dishes were really tasty, but I felt the rich potatoes and carrots were slightly over the top for my taste. However, the casserole was gorgeous, with the lamb just melting in your mouth.

The quantities of food were very generous and there was enough casserole left for another 2-3 meals. After a big main course, my parents wondered about splitting the desserts and just having half a lemon tart each.

Matt and I quickly squashed that idea though as the tarts looked so good.

There were little cases to serve the raspberry sorbet in, with spares in case we messed up, or anyone was feeling greedy!

I love making lemon tart (and eating it!) as it is surprisingly simple but looks very fancy. I don’t think mine will taste the same now though, and I might need to invest in a blow torch so I can get the top nicely caramelised. The best thing about the dessert though was the sorbet, which was fantastic. I never tend to eat sorbet as it doesn’t seem like value for money in a dessert to me, but it was the perfect way to finish the meal – light but very intense raspberry flavours.

At about £25 a head for a 3 course meal, this was very good value for the amount and quality of food provided, and a nice alternative to eating out or getting takeaway.

James also has a great blog where he posts some of his latests experiments and inventions.

At first I have to admit to being fairly skeptical of the angle the show would take because of the impression the majority of americans give as their outlook to foreign cultures. I half expected it to be a ‘look at those freaks‘ style and highlighting anything slightly more adventurous than steak or pizza. I was wrong in the first case. The host, Andrew Zimmern seems to have a real passion for travel and food and believes the best way to get to know a culture is to taste it – something I certainly agree with. I was very wrong with what they’d class as bizarre too. I like the principle of meat thrift and I tend to try some unusual foods, most of the things he shows are way beyond me though.

So far I’ve only watched the first few episodes of the first season. He’s travelled across Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. In Japan he tried Frog Sashimi (with Beating Heart), Lizard Sake (with Lizard in the glass) and Turtle. In Thailand he tried Birds Nest Soup, Frog on a Stick and Bat. Don’t be put off though, he does also try some other less outrageous things like Kobe Beef, Durian and Yam with Cheese-Flavour Ice Cream.

I’m not aware of it being shown in the UK, but you can see some clips on YouTube. Here are some short videos they have from Season 3: