The Mexican Pilgrim, Leeds

The street food revolution has reached critical mass.

What's that you're thinking? Here comes another Trinity Kitchen puff piece. Nope. The street food revolution has reached critical mass and cannot be stopped because there is now a Mexican street food van with a permanent pitch on Cross Green Industrial Estate. CROSS GREEN INDUSTRIAL ESTATE.

Those of you who have never ventured into the dark underbelly of Leeds may not have heard of this place, but I promise it really is in Leeds. It's actually quite close to the city centre, and is where you'll find all manner of old school industries, essential utilities and such-like. Proper industry, cast products and tarmac and sewage and stuff.

It's also where I've had an office base on and off for over a decade, and where the most exciting ever development food-wise was the arrival of the Wilson's pie van a couple of years back. It's the kind of place where mucky fat sandwich vans are the order of the day, and anything else, other than the pies, is pretty unlikely.

So the people who've suddenly appeared on the scene selling Mexican tortas, are either mad or very clever, or perhaps a bit of both. Whatever they are it's a bold move, not only are they selling Mexican food, but that Mexican food does not include burritos. No burritos! Can you imagine? I thought they were compulsory.

I'm not averse to a burrito once in a while, but I'm baffled by their ubiquity. Their boundless popularity seems out of step with the reality, which in many cases amounts to a great big damp stodgy wrap the size of your head stuffed mostly with Uncle Ben's savoury rice. And why do I have to pay extra for a smear of mashed avocado you bastards?

Anyhow, these boys are selling Mexican tortas, which are a sandwich on a bolillo (oval shaped) roll, filled with all of the same stuff as a burrito, except for all of that rice. This actually works pretty well, a more open textured bread does a better job of soaking up the juices than the flat stuff, and it's a much more manageable proposition without the surfeit of stodge.

Spicy beef with the works (refried beans, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, jalapenos, FREE guacamole) really went down a treat. The whole sort of melded into that tangy, spicy, messy mix you get with this sort of thing. Not subtle but very satisfying, although I think a crustier roll would be an improvement.

£3.50 for the beef torta. They also do a chicken version, and that's it except for the sensible addition of a standard breakfast butty menu served until 11. Mad or clever, I salute the Mexican Pilgrim. If you're ever in the vicinity of Cross Green pay them a visit.


7/10

Lay-by on Cross Green Approach
Cross Green Industrial Estate
Leeds
LS9

Twitter: @mexicanpilgrim

p.s. I will be paying a visit to Trinity Kitchen soon enough, after which I'll almost certainly be writing my own puff piece. The monthly rotation plans for the street food vans are a genuinely exciting new departure for a shopping centre, so well done to the corporate types for giving it a go. And the first round of vendors look ace.

Crafthouse, Leeds

The first thing I felt on arriving at Crafthouse was a slight pang of guilt. There are a good number of local, independent restaurants in Leeds at which I've been wanting to eat for years, and here I was rocking up at the sparkling new outpost of a thirty strong London based restaurant group.

The second thing I couldn't help but feel was a little bit impressed. They really have got the best location in town up there on top of the new Trinity development, and it's maximised to full effect as you rise up in the glass fronted lift and views of a compact, surprisingly complete looking urban skyline appear.

So it was with mixed feelings that I approached the meal. Good quality places to eat are always welcome, but would I have rather been somewhere else, maybe somewhere with a long standing commitment to the Leeds dining scene (although I should point out that the Head Chef here is from Yorkshire, even if the backing isn't)?

Things started on a positive note with some lovely mini loaves of warm, nutty wholemeal and too much butter. Then salad to start; chicory and Yorkshire blue, watercress, poached pear, roasted walnut. An assemblage of decent ingredients, though I'll stick my neck out and say that Yorkshire blue isn't my favourite cheese. I'm sure I should be praising the use of local products, but it's not got the depth of a good Stilton.

The best bit of my meal came next, a beautifully cooked sea bream fillet with uniformly crisp skin that split from the flesh like a delicate fish scratching. Generously proportioned too for a pre-theatre menu offering. Cauliflower puree, leek (or leak according to the menu) fondue and light shellfish sauce didn't really offer much in support other than being vaguely beige and creamy.

The set menu puddings were fancier in plating than starters and mains, caramelised white chocolate mousse and cherry sorbet looked and reportedly tasted fantastic. Iced lemon curd, blackberries, meringue and crispy pastry didn't quite work for me though, the intensely sharp and cold lemon rather drowning out the taste of the blackberries. Good pastry though, like what you'd find at the base of a well made vanilla slice.

I finished, as I'd started, with mixed feelings about Crafthouse. It's a very professional operation as you'd expect, service was good and there are obviously some talented people in the kitchen (that fish really was spot on, and the bread was great too), but I didn't love all of the food and the atmosphere, despite the views, feels a little corporate and calculated. I'd return, but not before making the effort to visit some of those other places on my list.

Almost forgot to mention prices (it was a work meal so I wasn't paying); the pre-theatre set menu is £22.50 for three courses, a la carte around £30-35. Wine? Not bad actually, plenty by the carafe at under twenty quid.


7/10

Level 5 Trinity Leeds
70 Boar Lane
Leeds
LS1 6HW

http://www.crafthouse-restaurant.com/

Pinche Pinche, Chapel Allerton, Leeds

Pinche Pinche is probably your best bet for Mexican food in Leeds. I didn't love everything we ate but the good stuff was really very good, and it was all a significant cut above your average Tex-Mex chain fodder. If it was one of my local restaurants I could definitely see myself stopping in from time to time for a few tacos and a beer.

We started with an impressive mountain of guacamole and some pork nachos. Both of these went down a treat, the fresh, bright guacamole being particularly fine, a world away from the luminous processed green paste versions. I want to describe it as zingy, but I hate that word.

Of the good stuff the meaty things were the highlight. The aforementioned nachos were piled with shards of tasty pork (tasty - another rubbish word. Sorry.) and I could have eaten a dozen of the excellent lamb or pork tacos.

The lamb was slow braised to moist shreds with a gentle, fruity chilli heat, the pork the opposite; small pieces in a garlicky adobo marinade, quickly flash-fried until just done. The result was beautifully tender meat, not easy to do with lean cuts of pork.

I was less enamoured with the flautas from the specials board. I can't remember exactly but I'm sure they were supposed to involve pork scratchings, but just seemed like slightly greasy deep-fried guacamole filled tubes. Others liked them though so what do I know.

Getting the negatives out of the way all at once the fish tacos were also a bit dull. Tasteless fish on a bland and not at all spicy as advertised coleslaw.

Finishing off on a positive note a portion of fries were properly fried, and the refried beans were great. All comforting and savoury and mushy in a very satisfying way.

Service was friendly. Very friendly. Exceedingly happy verging on scary. I shan't complain though, that's just my British cynicism at play, which makes me automatically consider American style service to be false, deranged or both. The fact is everyone was lovely, and they brought us the food we ordered in a reasonable amount of time, and cleared up after us. What more do you want?

We paid £20 each for a good spread of food and a couple of drinks apiece. A good quality local restaurant that's well worth a visit. You probably need to book at weekends as it's small and clearly very popular.

7/10

116a Harrogate Road
Chapel Allerton
Leeds
LS7 4NY

http://pinchepinche.com/

Red's True Barbecue, Leeds

Up until now I've not been hugely impressed with any of the on-trend meaty, American style, filthy food type of places. Be it burgers or barbecue (it's usually one or the other, or a combination of both) everywhere I've eaten that loosely fits this template has been decent enough, but I've always left with the impression they're paying lip service to the style. Menus that talk the talk but food that doesn't really match the billing, a pale imitation of what you'd hope to find in the States.

On the evidence of last weekend's meal, Red's is a little different. Everything about the smoked brisket sandwich and the sides suggested care had been taken to do things properly. I'm no barbecue expert but the meat made me smile very much. Slabs of dense, fibrous meat with a sticky, blackened crust, redolent of long slow cooking and imbued with a smokiness that permeated through each slice.

What really sealed the deal was the bread, a quality hoagy roll with chew and heft to the crust, sturdy enough to support the meat throughout. I think the bread supplier was listed as secret on the menu, at a guess I'd say it's from Dumouchel.

Sides were also good, the pick of the bunch being an excellent macaroni cheese; - all unctuous cheesy goo and rib sticking carb. Seriously addictive when it's freezing cold outside and you're hungover. The deep fried pickles also rate a mention because deep fried pickles are the future. Only the fries were on the average side.

A word on the sauces before I finish. I'm a barbecue sauce hater. Barbecue sauce usually equals teeth itching sweetness and artificial smoke flavour, so all credit to Red's for making me think again. None of the sauces fit this mould, and all of them had some merit. The pick for me was the vinegary Carolina one, like a sharper, slightly sweeter and milder Caribbean hot pepper sauce and a great foil for the brisket.

Red's is deservedly popular, so you can expect to wait both for a table and for your food after you get seated. Be warned that London-style 'no reservations queue for your supper' style dining has arrived in Leeds. It's not something I'm a fan of, but good luck to any restaurant that can drum up the popularity and buzz to make it work, as Red's is obviously doing right now.

You could off course just do what we did, wander past at noon whilst hunting for breakfast,
head inside on a whim (brisket, macaroni cheese and deep fried pickles are perfectly acceptable breakfast foods are they not?) and grab a prime booth spot straight away.

Prices seem perfectly fair for the very good food (brisket sarnie with two sides is £8.95), service is friendly and the booze offer looks very tempting.  Recommended.

8/10

Cloth Hall Street
Leeds
LS1 2HD

Sandwich Quest

Bacon Sandwich Quest is proving a hard act to follow. I probably ought to leave well alone, write a few reviews and the odd recipe, keep the blog plain, simple and challenge free. But I just can't help myself.

An uncommonly tedious obsession with lists combined with a healthy appetite and a job that sees me ranging all over the North (and the Midlands nowadays, recently swapped with Scotland) is all pointing in one direction:

Bacon Sandwich Quest.

I eat a lot of sandwiches. I already rate them mentally against an assortment of sandwich criteria. I eat them all over the place. Let's do this.

Before we begin I should acknowledge that this is a wholly unoriginal idea. Others do it better, and have been doing so for ages. Better written, better sandwiches, far better photography. There's the Serious Eats sandwich a day strand, there's Burger specialist Burgerac, there's the Londonist's (possibly defunct) Sandwichist, there's the inspired Scanwiches and probably finest of all, given that its author, Helen, has just written an entire book about sandwiches, is the London Review of Sandwiches.

I'm not sure anyone is really chronicling the finest sandwiches of northern England (and maybe the Midlands if they get lucky) though, so that's what I'd like to do. If I'm wrong about this, and someone already is working on this thankless task for the good of humanity, then do let me know.

I'd like to know where to find the finest sarnies the North has to offer. I'm casting the net far and wide, with the barest minimum of restrictions. The rules are simple: is it a filling between or somehow within any variety of bread? Yes? Then it's a sandwich.

From the humble triangle pack, through the sourdough deli-made special to the wrap to the burger to the inevitable bacon butty, all are fair game for sandwich quest.

Without any further ado let's get the ball rolling. Here are a few sandwiches I've eaten recently: a photo, a quick description, and a score out of fifty comprising a rating for the bread, the core filling, the accompanying fillings, any sauces or condiments, value, service and something I've decided to call the S-Factor.

Sometimes, for reasons difficult to define, a sandwich is far greater than the sum of its parts. The bacon sandwich often displays this phenomenon. Budget sliced white, cheapo bacon and Daddies are not a winning formula taken in isolation, put them together and the magic happens. This is the S-Factor.

The sangers I write about might appear only here on Sandwich Quest, but you might see them popping up in other posts too if they're part of a whole meal that's worth writing about.

It's going to be an open ended quest, with round-ups appearing from time to time. I'm not promising to write them monthly, as I lost the will to live doing that for Bacon Sandwich Quest.

Bring on the butties....

Chicken pesto on granary, Philpott's, Leeds

I'd never been to Philpott's before. I was under the mistaken impression that it might be good. It's not. Bread of the 'pappy crap disguised to look like proper bread' variety. See Asda speciality bread if you don't know what I mean. Manky, shredded chicken in an inexplicable shade of orange. Limp mixed leaves. Bleurgh. £2.95.

Bread 4/10
Core filling 3/10
Secondary filling 2/5
Sauces/condiments 2/5
Value 2/5
Service 2/5
S-Factor 3/10

Total 18/50


Fishfinger butty, The Midnight Bell, Leeds

As with all of the Leeds brewery offerings, reliable but unspectacular. Decent slices of bloomer hide fingers hewn from an ogre, thick and gnarled, putting Captain Birdseye to shame. The batter is crisp, the fish moist, the tartare sauce a little bland. £5.95, including chips.

Bread 6/10
Core filling 7/10
Secondary filling 3/5
Sauces/condiments 3/5
Value 3/5
Service 3/5
S-Factor 6/10

Total 31/50


Smoked beef brisket hoagy, Red's True BBQ, Leeds

An early contender, and a place that deserves a post of its own (which it will be getting, tomorrow with any luck). Thickly sliced meat with an intense smokey flavour permeating right through each wedge, sweet onions and pickles in abundance. All in a roll of unexpected quality, somehow both dense and light, and chewy like a sub roll ought to be. House made BBQ sauces on the side are also a revelation in that they taste of something other than sugar. Excellent. £8.95 including two sides.

Bread 8/10
Core filling 8/10
Secondary filling 4/5
Sauces/condiments 4/5
Value 4/5
Service 4/5
S-Factor 9/10

Total 41/50

Create, Wakefield

If there's one restaurant in Leeds that I really regret failing to dine it while I had the chance, it's Create. At this point I could launch into a lengthy and fawning report on the Create organisation, explaining the great work that they do and why you should all give them your support, but given that I didn't bother giving them mine up until now, I won't. It would be patronising and I'd probably be preaching to the converted anyway.

On the off chance you didn't already know, Create are a social enterprise, widely lauded for their work with vulnerable people, sort of like Jamie Oliver's Fifteen without the super-celeb backing. Their Leeds restaurant recently closed for a refurbishment and restructure, from which I hope they return as soon as possible. News of the closure did seem a little ominous though, with talk of 'today's harsh economy' and 'tough commercial realities'.

The honest and truthful reason I hope they're back soon, any guilty feelings aside, is that the food sounded bloody wonderful. Praised by bloggers and critics alike, I don't think I read anything negative about the place, and the menus always read beautifully. You know the kind where deciding becomes a chore as it all sounds so damn good?

From the most recent menu, still online at the moment, how about 'Salt cod fritters, sweet pickled onion salad, radish, sourdough' to start, followed by 'Char-grilled skirt steak, wild mushroom gratin, chips, watercress'. And for pudding: 'Sticky toffee pudding, parkin crumble, caramel sauce and milk sorbet'. If that doesn't get you salivating there's something wrong with you.

So the Leeds restaurant may be on hiatus, but Create have also opened a new cafe in Wakefield One, the new building housing a range of council services including the city's museum and central library. First thing to mention: well done to Wakefield Council for giving the concession to Create, and not going for the obvious choice of either a) Costa, or b) one of the anonymous but equally crap giant catering co's.

I stopped in there for coffee and a snack last week, and was pleased to discover it lived up to the high expectations I had for the brand. The coffee, a flat white, wasn't particularly well made, coming from one of those funny auto-espresso machines, but still tasted pretty good as they're using quality beans from local roasters Grumpy Mule.

To eat, an Eccles cake. It might not look much, but what do you expect from currant stuffed pastry? Reassuringly mis-shapen, and a buttery delight to eat, I think it's safe to assume that they're making the food from scratch so I'm keen to return and try the lunchtime offerings.

The guy who served me was also lovely and friendly, and prices are very fair (cheaper than both the big chains and the more upmarket independents).

To sum up, let's hope Create can continue to succeed, and here's to the re-opening of the Leeds restaurant. I for one won't be missing out next time around.

8/10

Wakefield One
Burton Street
Wakefield
WF1 2DD

http://www.foodbycreate.co.uk/restaurant

Curry Leaf, Leeds

When I first spotted Curry Leaf a few weeks ago my interest was piqued immediately. South Indian and Sri Lankan food isn't something that's had much representation in Leeds so this opening is long overdue.

My own experience of this cuisine is largely from basic canteen style places like the Chennai Dosa chain. There are loads of them in London (but very few in the north), all of which stick to a familiar template. Think aggressively spiced, intensely flavoured dishes big on lentils, vegetables, fish, and where meat is concerned, mutton, all served up at rock bottom prices on tin trays.

I wasn't sure whether Curry Leaf would fit the canteen mould or would be aiming a little more upmarket. It's certainly the latter, place mats, proper crockery and a booze license are all the evidence you need. Correspondingly prices aren't rock bottom but are keen enough.

Before we get onto the food I ought to point out that the service was a bit haphazard, some of the waiting staff giving the impression of never having worked in a restaurant before (the guy who sort of lobbed cutlery at us from a distance, as if he didn't fancy getting too close being the best example). I spotted other tables complaining about the length of their waits, and while we weren't exactly served quickly it wasn't that bad.

Both starters were a cut above the cheaper canteen alternatives. Vadai, a sort of lentil doughnut, were freshly fried which they really need to be, as the reheated ones tend to take on the texture of golf balls.

Mutton cutlets were ace, big fat greaseless crumbed balls of tender mutton and soft potato spiced with curry leaves and cloves. I could put away a dozen of these. The only downside to both starters were the little pots of sauce, both of which were nice but not very saucy. There was a fiery sweet onion chutney and a fresher version with chickpeas and coriander, nice as I said but the deep fried goodies were crying out for something more dunkable (standard yoghurt and chilli sauces or a little bowl of sambar would do the job admirably).

Sticking with the mutton, because we don't eat enough mutton and it's lovely, we ordered a mutton kottu which arrived next. A kottu, or kottu roti, is essentially a big stir-fry of meat, bread, spice and veggies. This one arrived with a little bonus dish of mutton curry, as well as the kottu itself being packed with the stuff. The flavour profile was similar to the cutlets, earthy curry leaves and mustard seeds, a hit of chilli heat and the strong taste of the meat (extra lamby lamb!) coming to the fore. It's not subtle but it's very good.

Taking a break from the meat, I did say that vegetables feature strongly in this cuisine didn't I, we also had an aubergine and paneer curry and a bowl of coriander rice. I'm aware that paneer is cheese and therefore not a vegetable by the way, but we'd had a few pints by this point so it seemed like a wise choice. We weren't disappointed, the curry itself had a sweet-sour tomato base that was a good foil to the mild cheese and soft, almost bland aubergine.

We only learned at the end of the meal that they'd been open less than a week, the signage have been up ages in advance, so it's probably fair to put the service issues down to teething problems. They were certainly eager to please, one of the chefs coming over to ask how we found the kottu and hoping it wasn't too spicy. We assured her we'd enjoyed it and would be back. If anything the spice levels were a little too cautious, I'd like to see them ramp it up a bit as I think a good whack of chilli is a fair reflection of the type of food, but I guess others may disagree. The bill came to about £36 including a couple of pints of lager.

All in all a very welcome addition to the Leeds dining scene. I think they've got a few things to iron out but this one could turn out to be a real winner.

7/10

Curry Leaf
2 Eastgate
Leeds
LS2 7JL

Café Moor, Leeds Kirkgate Market

Last time I wrote about the market I was a bit negative about the current state of affairs regarding the redevelopment saga, so it's time to redress the balance and talk about the good things that are happening.

Credit where it's due, the management team (or whoever is responsible for getting stalls let to new businesses) are doing a good job on the food and drink front. The range of places to eat in the market has improved immeasurably over the last year or two, and progress on this front shows no sign of abating.

To add to May's Recipes, Maxi's Rotisserie, the rotating occupiers at the Source, the Turkish stall and the Caribbean one we now have Café Moor, perhaps the most high profile of the recent openings. As an aside, can anyone recommend any of the traditional market caffs, some of them must be good and they deserve attention too?

Café Moor have taken the big stall right inside one of the main Vicar Lane entrances, in the pretty part of the market, and have made an effort to make the place look the part, draping the stall with carpets and putting on an attractive display of hummous, salads and such-like.

Shawarma and falafel are the name of the game, wraps of either are just three quid including salads and sauces. The falafel wrap I had was faultless, as good as any I had in the Middle East the other year. Frying the little balls of goodness to order is the key, the result being fresh, light and nutty as opposed to the leaden, mealy golf balls you end up with when they've sat around all day.

Chilli sauce and hummous were also exemplary, clearly home-made rather than bought in, and the salad extends to at least seven or eight different items including some quality pickles. Good, stretchy wrap bread too.

The guys running the place are friendly, the food is lovely and the price is right. Give it a try.


9/10

1904 Hall
Kirkgate Market
Leeds
LS2 7HY

Review of the year 2012

Here we are at the start of another year. The last two have passed with frightening speed so it's time for my second annual end of year list-o-rama. Or the Northern Food Awards 2012 if you will.

I'm not going to call it that though, as it's a very important sounding title, as if there were judges and voters and such like, whereas in practice it's an entirely subjective round-up of the best things one person has eaten over the course of a year.

Still, there's a lot to like on this list. As with last year many of my winners are small independent businesses doing great things, and they deserve your support. Go forth, eating and drinking, into 2013.

I've kept the categories broadly the same as for 2011, give or take a couple of minor tweaks and additions. The only real difference is that I just don't have the time to write about them in such great detail this year.


The winners (and loser)

Best meal of the year: Wedgwood, Edinburgh

I dined in more upmarket restaurants in 2012 than the year before, some of which were almost in the fayn dayning category! Most of these were good, but none really that great apart from a meal at Wedgwood back in June.

Wonderful hospitality, excellent cooking and probably the single best thing I consumed in 2012, that raspberry and elderflower palate cleanser.


Coffee shop of the year: Tamper Coffee, Sheffield

Sheffield's best coffee shop, run by a lovely chap from New Zealand, proved to be a great introduction to the city. Carefully made, bold tasting coffee, lovely sandwiches and cakes, and delicious pies.

My rediscovery of the world of coffee continued apace throughout the year (in tandem with my new found tolerance for caffeine) so honourable mentions also go to Pink Lane Coffee in Newcastle, North Tea Power in Manchester, Mrs Atha's and of course last year's winner Laynes Espresso in Leeds.


Lunch spot of the year: Café Mozaic, Ashton-under-Lyne

A veritable orgy of kebabs and salads and tagines can be yours for under a fiver at Ashton-under-Lyne's marvellous Cafe Mozaic. Just look at it! Crucially the quality is also very high, making ploughing through the lot a delight and not a chore.

Also in the running were the Whitworth Gallery Cafe in Manchester for their fine soups and salads, Sesame in Leeds for dreamy fishfinger sarnies and Bragazzi's in Sheffield for first rate Italian deli sandwiches.

Best Fish and chips eaten in 2012: Murgatroyd's, Yeadon, Leeds

There's no wonder Harry Ramsden's went bust with Murgatroyd's round the corner. It has everything you could want in a fish and chip shop. Which means fat fillets of haddock in crisp, light batter, chips with creamy insides, crunchy outers and just a hint of grease, and a side of sloppy peas or curry sauce. All for not much money, washed down with a can of pop, sat at a picnic table in the dark, ravenous after a game of football. Splendid.

The best of the rest included seaside chippy visits to Sullivan's in Hornsea and Ernie Beckett's in Cleethorpes.

Indian meal of the year: Akbar's, Leeds

A difficult one this. The thing is, I didn't eat any truly fantastic Indian food in 2012, certainly nothing to match up to the best from last year. All the really interesting Indian restaurants in the North remain firmly stuck on my 'to do' list, so the prize goes to Akbar's. 

The food is nothing spectacular, but always satisfying, reliable and tasty. They also deserve a round of applause for coping admirably, service never missing a beat, despite having an enormous restaurant full of drunks every Friday night (yes Greek Street, I'm looking at you). Oh, and I don't care what anyone says, I still like the naan trees.

Chinese meal of the year: Silk Road, Camberwell, London

No contest. The best Chinese meal I ate in 2012 by a country mile. Silk Road how I love thee. You can read my review to get an idea of the food they serve, but only a visit will do it justice. Go to Camberwell.

Lamb skewers. Salivating.

Home style cabbage. Salivating more.

Other Asian meal of the year: Thai Aroy Dee, Leeds

The only repeat winner from last time around. What can I say? As with Silk Road, Thai Aroy Dee was best in class by a country mile and it just wouldn't have been fair to look elsewhere.

Honourable mentions also go to Saengarun Thai in Leeds, Little Hanoi in Sheffield and to I Am Pho in Manchester for their banh mi.

Breakfast of the year: The Breakfast Club, London

Another tricky category this. Up until last week the full English at Booth's was coming out on top. It was certainly accomplished, but didn't seem worthy of 'best of the year' status. I've obviously foregone a few proper breakfasts in favour of bacon sandwiches.

And then up popped the Breakfast Club, handily located just around the corner from our budget hotel, with a rather confusing offer of a shit bacon sandwich and an absolutely bloody lush plate of French toast with roasted apples, cinnamon and syrup. So good we had it twice in two days if truth be told.

Pub meal of the year: Town Hall Tavern, Leeds and Wig and Pen, Sheffield

The Town Hall Tavern is definitely a pub, the Wig and Pen? I'm not so sure. Either way it's a dead heat between these two. 

The THT served up very competent pub grub of a style and substance you'd expect to pay a lot more money for (including the splendiferous pig cheek scotch egg), whereas the Wig was a tad more upmarket, definitely more in restaurant territory with highly accomplished food that represented great value.

European meal of the year: Franco Manca, Stratford, London

Last year this was my Spanish only category. In recognition of the fact that I didn't eat as many Spanish meals out in 2012 (despite actually going to Spain), and did eat the odd French and Italian meal, I've expanded the category.

All of Europe may have been under consideration, but pizza still won. Pizza as good as any you're ever likely to eat, now available in a shopping centre. Please tell me they're opening at Trinity Leeds. Pretty please. Or even Meadowhell.

Also deserving of a mention: takeaway from Italian Express in Sheffield, tapas at Lunya in Liverpool, and Art's Cafe in Leeds.

Pub (or bar) of the year: North Bar, Leeds 

This was the most difficult category to pick. I didn't spend a great deal of time in the pub in 2012, and have yet to really fall in love with a Sheffield boozer since I moved here in the summer (I'm sure some potential favourites are out there, further exploration is necessary). 

Over in Leeds there were old stalwarts and new openings that failed to set my world on fire, a reminder that running a great pub or bar is no mean feat, so to do so consistently for over 15 years is an achievement in itself. Well done to North Bar, always reliably good, and somewhere I did at least visit regularly in the first few months of 2012 (as well as on and off for fourteen of its fifteen years, having first darkened the door back in '98).

Holiday meal of the year: Crab in Cornwall

From ferocious, struggling beast of the deep to my plate in an under an hour. It had to be the fresh spider crab we ate in Cornwall back in June.

The sweet, succulent flesh was a revelation, unadorned save for a few lettuce leaves and some buttered bread.

Daily feasts on the terrace in Spain also took some beating. Did I ever mention that I really like ham? Now I'm thinking of all things pig, pork scratching and lard butties in Brno weren't half bad either.

Worst meal of the year: Cote, Ealing, London 

I'm always envious of the London-dweller when it comes to food. The seemingly unending procession of exciting new eating opportunities never ceases to amaze, and it's no surprise that some of my 'best of the year' prizes always head South. 

Having said that London also boasts an even greater number of chain restaurants where the staff really do not give the slightest toss. Breakfast at Cote in Ealing was a case in point. 

Also atrocious in 2012 were Frankie and Benny's in Rochester and Trafalgar Fisheries in Sheffield.

Best thing I've cooked this year: I finally cooked the perfect steak.

..or at least as close to perfect as I'm going to get. In brief, here is how to do it: buy quality and thick, dry age in fridge, salt early, very hot pan, flip often, watch temperature, butter at the end, long rest. 

I was also pretty chuffed with the lamb and aubergine curry I cooked in September, but other than that it was a fairly poor year for my culinary skills. Must try harder in 2013.

May's Recipes, Leeds Kirkgate Market

I'd love to bring you a festive post about all the wonderful things I'll be preparing to feast on this Christmas, but unlike last year I won't be preparing a thing. Not even another pork pie.

Instead, I'm going to write about a Thai and Chinese food stall that's recently opened on Leeds market. Not exactly Christmassy, but it's good and they deserve a mention before time flies by and I forget.

You'll find May's Recipes right at the bottom corner of the (almost certainly) doomed part of the market, just inside the door opposite the multi-storey car park entrance.

I ordered a pad ka-prao; chicken stir-fried with holy basil and chillies. What arrived was a far better rendition than many restaurants serve, firstly as it actually contained plenty of basil for that all important hit of warm aniseed flavour, and secondly as it was absolutely enormous.

I'm not sure including about fifteen different vegetables in the mix is traditional, but it made for a very nutritious lunch, my 5-a-day must have been sorted in one hit. And finally what of the jar in the background of the photo? Prik nam pla, the classic Thai condiment of chillies in fish sauce, there is no better seasoning for rice, so mine received a liberal dose.

£5 for the stir-fry with rice. Another market opening serving good food at a great price, run by friendly people. Give it a try.

Merry Christmas everyone.

7/10

1976 Hall
Leeds Kirkgate Market
Leeds
LS2 7HY

Leeds Kirkgate Market: another update

Exactly ten months have flown by since I last wrote about Leeds market. A lot can happen in ten months right?

In the case of the ongoing saga of market redevelopment, plenty has happened on the noise and conjecture and waffle and repeat consultations front, but little to nothing has happened on the ground.

Back in February this year there was an informal consultation opportunity off the back of the first consultant's report commissioned in late 2011. This then led to the engagement of some new consultant's to carry out a more detailed feasibility study and a more formal public consultation. This proper consultation exercise ran from April through to July. I didn't partake in it, having thought that the informal invitation to comment, just two months previously, might have been the relevant forum for my thoughts.

It's not clear what happened to the comments from the pseudo-consultation in February, but the feedback from the April to July consultation has been used to create the question set for another consultation that's currently underway. I can't work out when this consultation started, as the link to it is on a post confusingly dated 8th May 2012, despite the fact it then goes on to discuss the consultation that took place from April to July this year. What is clear is that this consultation closes on 14th December, so if you haven't responded yet you've got six days left to do so.

Are you still with me? Straightforward this isn't it?

So what of the consultation that you've got six days left to respond to? You can find it here.

It's quick and easy to complete. First there is a list of twelve different things that you have to rate as high, medium or low priority. Some of them are no-brainers, like 'fixing the basics'. Low priority for me, let's do the cool stuff and watch the rest fall down! Others are trickier to assess, like 'creating a heart'. In theory I think this is a high priority, but the devil will be in the detail.

The elephant in the room, as ever, is 'reducing the size'. In the booklet that accompanies the consultation, each of the twelve things to be done is presented with some text that starts 'You said...' followed by some fairly unequivocal commentary suggesting that the majority of responses to the last consultation were on the same wavelength.

Except for 'reducing the size', which states 'You said…. Some people wanted the market to be smaller, and some did not'. Err, so who was in the majority then? Friends of Leeds Kirkgate Market have obtained the consultation responses, and have discovered that only 70 people, out of the 3000 or so who responded, said that the market should be made smaller.

So the fact that this aspect has made it onto the list of twelve options, apparently all informed by the previous consultation, is dishonest to say the least. If anything about the size was going to be on there, it should have said 'changing the size', and not reducing it.

The next, and possibly most important part of the survey is on the management of the market. Interestingly no options are presented here. You are just asked whether you have a preference on how the market is managed, then if you say yes there's a free text field where you have 2000 characters to explain how you'd like it to be managed.

Again, I believe this is disingenuous, as the responses are far more likely to be disparate and incoherent as no clearly defined options are presented, and it takes a hell of a lot more effort to think up your own sensible ideas and type them up than it does to consider some options and tick a box.

For what it's worth I re-iterated my view that some form of mutual or social enterprise could be an innovative and novel management model, and that with the backing and support of the Council it could be a great success, and that this notion that the only possible way to secure investment is for the private sector to take control is essentially bollocks, as the private sector just borrows the money against future returns, which is something the Council or a Council backed organisation could do as well, and probably at cheaper rates, and that there are even established mechanisms for public sector organisations to do just that (like the Public Works Loan Board for example).

I'd be absolutely astounded if anything like I've just described ever happens, but you never know. At this stage it's essentially as you were. After this consultation closes the Council Executive Board should be making some decisions in early 2013. What those decisions will cover, how well they'll be informed by the results of the latest consultation and whether we'll get to see any real action remains to be seen.

In the meantime, there are still some good things to be found in the market, and even the occasional new opening, so keep shopping there. I don't do so very often these days, having moved to Sheffield whose splendid but architecturally unfashionable Castle Market is already doomed, but I still try to pop into Kirkgate whenever I'm in town.

Caribbean Food Stall, Kirkgate Market, Leeds

I'm not sure what the name of this place is, or whether it even has a name, but it's a relative newcomer on Butchers Row selling hot Caribbean food. I think they might have started out with a weekly slot at the Source, so it's good to see them progress to being a fully fledged business trading on the market.

You can takeaway or eat in at the handful of tables they have inside and out on the row. Chicken meals are all four quid and curry goat is a fiver. The goat was good stuff, stewed slowly on the bone to melting tenderness. The sauce holding it was deceptive, seeming a bit boring at first but building with fruity scotch bonnet heat.

Rice and peas were the coconutty real deal and soaked things up nicely. Side salad was limp and undressed, but salad isn't really the point of this meal.

A wider range of cooked and ready to eat food stalls is one of the things I think the market really needs, so I hope they manage to make a success of this. Sadly if it didn't last I'd hardly be surprised. For the moment, along with Maxi's Rotisserie there are two good places for lunch filling the gaps on Butchers Row. Use them or lose them.


7/10

Butchers Row
Leeds Kirkgate Market
Leeds
LS2 7HY

Mrs Atha's, Leeds

After a brief hiatus over the last few months Katie at Leeds Grub is back. This is great news as she's always quick to spot anywhere new and interesting on the Leeds food and drink scene. Very helpful if, like me, your finger is nowhere near the pulse.

You'll find Mrs Atha's exactly as described in Katie's review, it really is a very nice space. It's obvious that lots of time and effort (and money too I would imagine) have gone into the fit out;- I could imagine whiling away a good few hours in there, especially during the dark days ahead.

A beautifully made flat white was smooth and strong with quite a pronounced but balanced bitterness. Excellent stuff, I could drink one hell of a lot of these.

This was a breakfast visit, so of course a bacon sarnie was in order. This wasn't so great, the two very thin rashers being a bit meagre in the presence of thickly sliced granary bread. Unusual choice of bread for a bacon sandwich too, though I quite liked it.

The staff were also very friendly and eager to please, and prices are about par for the course for a good quality coffee shop (£2.30 for a flat white I think). I'd highly recommend this place despite the slightly underwhelming sandwich, it's really all about the coffee and that was fantastic. They have some good looking cakes too.

8/10


18 Central Road
Leeds
LS1 6DE

The Pizza Pod, Leeds

Another street food contender in Leeds, the Pizza Pod keeps it simple and the results are good. They've got a proper wood burning oven fixed atop a mobile trailer, and serve just three different pizzas plus a daily special.

The regular three are margherita, al funghi or pepperoni and each costs just £3.50. The special on Friday was pecorino, rocket and truffle oil for £4.

The al funghi was generously topped, with a decent balance between cheese, tomato and mushrooms. There was a nicely charred crust and a bit of chew to the base, not the best I've ever had but far better than those you sometimes get that are overly thin and end up with the texture of crackers. Garlic and chilli oils are available by way of condiments.

You can find them on Albion Street on weekday lunchtimes. Well worth a visit as an alternative to a sandwich.

7/10

http://www.thepizzapod.co.uk/

Murgatroyd's, Yeadon, Leeds

I now know why Harry Ramsden's went bust. It's a cut throat business fish and chips, especially in the highly competitive 'chip shops with restaurants and plenty of parking situated on busy road junctions in small towns north-west of Leeds' market. Ramsden's, no longer top of their game, didn't stand a chance against the upstart down the road in Yeadon.

I visited Murgatroyd's completely by accident, plans for a Bradford kebab en route from Halifax to an airport pick-up being scuppered by Ramadan. The roti house owners and chapli kebab purveyors having closed their doors to partake in iftar, the first post-sundown meal of the day. I'll know better next time.

Still, what a satisfying accident. The finest fish and chips I've eaten in a long time, the flash affected photo really doesn't do it justice. A broad, fat size twelve slipper of haddock was dreamy, flakey flesh resplendent in light, crisp batter.

And what chips. I'm always banging on about the ideal chippy chip and how it should combine crunchy edges with hints of greasiness and a creamy interior. Not autumn leaf dry and rustly like frites, not mealy like the godforsaken pub chunky chip. These were almost the ideal chippy chip. Not quite perfect but damn close to it.

On this occasion I chose curry sauce as a lubricant, so I can't comment on the wonder of the peas or otherwise. The curry was good though, and not too salty as is sometimes the case.

Just over six quid with a can of pop if I recall correctly, and best eaten outside in the dark at the picnic tables provided. Lovely stuff. Who needs Harry Ramsden's?

9/10

Harrogate Road
Yeadon
Leeds
LS19 7BN

http://www.murgatroyds.co.uk

Thai Aroy Dee, Leeds (revisited)

Since I first discovered Thai Aroy Dee last November I must have eaten there seven or eight times. It's never been anything less than brilliant, and a recent visit was possibly the best yet. The salads, stir fries and one plate meals are so good I've yet to even try one of their curries.

Some of the better dishes were previously only listed on the Thai language menu, but happily the whole lot has now been translated. Order anything from the sections of the menu titled 'Special' anything and you'll not go far wrong.

Here's a photo post of some of the fantastic dishes I've eaten there in recent months. My original reviews can be found here and here.

Pad Prik Kraduk Moo - Pork ribs stir fried in red curry paste with Thai basil, lime leaves, chillies and fresh green peppercorns. This isn't on the menu but call and order it in advance and they'll prepare it for you. Thanks to Jools for this one!

Seafood Yum Wun Sen - glass noodle salad with mixed seafood, lemon juice, chillies, shallots, coriander.

Som Tam and Gai Yang - pounded papaya salad with grilled chicken. Beware this is spicy!

Yen Ta Fo - seafood stock soup with fish balls, noodles and tofu. Strange but delicious.

Khao Kluk Ga Pi - Shrimp paste fried rice with all the trimmings (which include caramelised pork, mango, peanuts, shallots, chilli, chopped bean and crispy shrimp). This is vying with Pad Prik Kraduk Moo for my overall favourite.

Gung Chae Nam Pla - raw prawn salad. Basically just prawns doused in fish sauce and lime juice, then covered in chillies and garlic. Surprisingly delicious. Seems to have disappeared from the recent menu though...

Kai Dao - crispy fried eggs. Not on the menu. Ask for them, then mash them up in plain steamed rice. Bloody brilliant. Crispy, yolky loveliness.

Tod Gratiem Prit Thai - Garlic and pepper stir-fried chicken

This is consistently a 9/10 place. Please go.

www.thaiaroydeeleeds.com