A summer round-up

I've been too lazy/busy (delete as appropriate) over this summer to blog about everything liked I used to. This is probably a good thing in many respects, fewer boring posts about nothing much of interest being the outcome, although it does mean that I've tended to focus only on the positive, lacking the enthusiasm to write about the mediocre or downright bad experiences.

To redress the balance a bit, here's a round up of some recent eating and drinking. Some of it good, most of it not very. A theme if there is one: why put something on the menu if you don't know what it is or can't be bothered making it properly.

Stay tuned for the next thrilling instalment, in which I dine at Noma, go on a pintxo crawl around the backstreets of assorted small Basque towns, cook barbecue in Kentucky, hang out in Dalston's latest dens of vice/burgers, and buy a sausage roll from Gregg's in Stockport on the way home. Only some of this is true.

Baked, Derby

A bakery with café in Derby city centre. The bread is certainly worth another look....

..but the coffee was just ok. The flat white wasn't a flat white.

Soup, half a sandwich and slaw for about six quid. Half a sandwich isn't an unreasonable idea, but it seems a bit stingy to stick to it rigidly when it's cut from a very small loaf. a lovely nutty wholemeal loaf by the way, but nothing to write home about otherwise.

6/10

http://www.baked-derby.com/


The Swan, West Malling, Kent

Hi friends from work, this one's for you! The Swan was the dinner venue for our team meeting at the end of June. As with the previous dinner back in April we chose from the early bird set menu, but unlike on that occasion it was evident throughout that we'd gone for the budget option.

An asparagus starter was notable only for having hardly any asparagus in it. Three spears or thereabouts. Of the mains neither cooked to grey burgers nor a dry pork dish impressed much.

And Eton Mess for pudding was fine but had blueberries in it. Why put the only non-native berry in a dish that's supposed to show off the best of the English summer?

On a more positive note they have Curious Brew lager on draft, which is a wonderful beer. Beautifully clean, crisp and balanced. A glance at the website suggests the people in charge of the Swan and the people brewing Curious are one and the same; their core business being the Chapel Down Winery that arguably produces Britain's finest wines.

Maybe we were just unlucky at the Swan, the undoubted booze pedigree of the business might suggest they know a thing or two about food as well.

5/10

http://www.loveswan.co.uk/westmalling/bar/index.html


Smythson's Deli, Nottingham

A load of old rubbish.

The espresso in the coffee was good, potent yet smooth. Shame the milk was a mess. And it wasn't a flat white either (it was supposed to be, I'm not laying into a latte for not being a flat white).

A poor excuse for a sandwich. One word sums it up: meagre. I can't be arsed elaborating.

3/10

https://www.facebook.com/smythsons


Queen's Park Gelateria and Café, Chesterfield

This place is run by Frederick's, the dominant force in the ice cream world around these parts. Their vans are all over the place, which is no bad thing as their ice cream is good stuff.

They run the park caff in Chesterfield, which is also no bad thing. Instead of the tea and cakes set up you might expect in a park it's more of a pizza and ice cream and beer arrangement.

Pizza and ice cream and beer in the park? Don't mind if I do. A shared ham, pepperoni and mushroom (good chewy crust, surprisingly good pepperoni) and a double scoop pistachio sugar cone makes a very fine lunch. Pizzas 6-7 quid, ice creams 2-3.

7/10

http://www.fredericksicecreams.co.uk/page/queens-park-cafe-and-gelataria/


Harvest Moon Espresso Bar, Chester

A coffee that meets its description! About bloody time.

The flat white here was properly made and properly proportioned, so I'll excuse them serving it in a glass (maybe they've been to Manchester, they do that there).

I'm not really sure what to say about the food though. I can't work out what they were thinking. A not really a Reuben sandwich was still quite nice in spite of not really being a Reuben. The bread was top notch and it was as stacked as you could reasonably expect for the modest price tag.

Why smearing the inside of very good bread with cheap sunflower spread seemed like a good plan is beyond me, and why serving it with stale tortilla chips and a completely undressed salad of lollo rosso, bits of cucumber and carrot and some damp cous cous seemed like a good plan is even further beyond me.

6/10

https://www.facebook.com/HarvestMoonEspressoBar

Cool River Cafe, Matlock

A recent opening in Matlock, could this be the local coffee shop of my dreams?

In a word, no. A moist, walnut-packed wodge of carrot cake with a pleasingly cheesy icing was spot on, but the coffee was crap, the advertised flat white turning out to be an oversized bucket of weak latte. 

They're still finding their feet so I'll give this one another try. The savouries looked on a par with the cakes, but the coffee needs some serious work.

6/10 (8 for the cake, 4 for the coffee)

http://coolrivercafe.co.uk/

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

Tea Hive, Chorlton, Manchester

On a brief visit to Chorlton last week I ended up having lunch at Tea Hive completely by chance. I was planning on picking up a few bits from Barbakan deli and it just caught my eye as I'd almost walked past, the white on black signage meaning I almost mistook it for the Marble Beer House a couple of doors down.

I'm glad I took the time to investigate further, as lunch there was very good. A flat white was well made if a little too large for my tastes. I've definitely come to the conclusion that the smaller 6oz cup size is the best, anything larger (this was an 8oz I think) and it verges into latte territory where the milkiness starts to drown out the character of the coffee. Bonus points for the novel artwork though!

My sandwich took an age to arrive, but the tardiness was acknowledged and handled well. An apology and a free drink to tide me over were offered before I'd had the chance to chase up the order.

When it did arrive, the Cheshire smokehouse hot smoked salmon with lemon mayo and rocket on granary bread was well worth the wait. Generous quantities of rich, firm fleshed, moderately smoked fish was balanced perfectly by the acidic dressing and peppery rocket.

A really fine sarnie, with one additional plus point: good butter. It's surprising how many otherwise quality sandwich shops and cafes think it's fine to use cheap sunflower spread. Don't do it. Butter or nothing at all please.

The side salad was also a proper salad, with multiple components and a balanced dressing, and as a result the £4.95 price tag for the sandwich seemed fair. The flat white was £2.35 so all in all not a cheap lunch, but a very good one, served in pleasant surroundings by nice people.


8/10

53 Manchester Road
Chorlton
Manchester
M21 9PW

http://www.teahive.co.uk

Peli Deli, Matlock, Derbyshire

I might, whisper it, be leaving the North. Last time I did that I moved to south east London. Nothing quite so drastic is on the cards this time but it's highly likely I shall end up residing in that strange netherworld known as the MIDLANDS.

Not ideal for a blog named Northern Food, especially when I've already had to ditch the M62 bit, my preferred transpennine route being the Woodhead pass these days. I shall probably get away with it though, Chesterfield is hardly in Kent now is it?

The upshot of all this upheaval is that I'll be blogging from Derbyshire with increasing frequency, and what better place to start than Matlock. An exploratory trip to the region ended up with us stopping for lunch there, with Peli Deli looking like the best of a limited supply of cafés (it was a Sunday afternoon, and much of the town was closed).

It turned out ok, but I wouldn't rush back. A flat white was more like a latte with a pattern on top, too big and milky and lacking that beautiful velvety texture you get from a good example.

A salt beef sandwich brought generous slices of high quality, tender meat in fresh, nutty bread. All good but let down by the use of some sort of spread rather than butter, and a bright but completely undressed side salad. 

It's not cheap here, but I suppose Matlock is one of the pricier parts of Derbyshire. £4.25 for the salt beef sarnie, £2.40 for the coffee, and over a fiver for A's cheese and ham panini.


6/10


1 Jubilee Buildings
Crown Square
Matlock
Derbyshire
DE4 3AT

http://www.pelideli.com/ 

Marmadukes Café Deli, Sheffield

A Twitter recommendation brought me to Marmadukes in search of good coffee. They use a Monmouth espresso blend and that quality really shines through. My flat white was a beauty, smooth with a bold, fruity flavour. Excellent stuff.

Other than the coffee there are good looking cakes, sandwiches, savouries and salads to be had, and the café is an attractive place to sit for a while, either inside or at one of a few tables outside on Norfolk Row, a pleasant pedestrianised side street. Blankets are provided to keep out the chill, a nice touch.

I ate on this visit too, quiche lorraine and salad. The quiche was perfectly fine but the salad was no more than a garnish. If you're charging £1.50 extra for salad, then a spoonful of some of the proper salads behind the counter might be a more appropriate choice than a very small handful of limp leaves, even if they are properly dressed.

The added leaves brought the cost of the food up to six quid, which I wouldn't take issue with at all if it was a proper plate of savoury with salads, but it wasn't that. The coffee was marvellous though, so maybe stick to that and give the cakes a try.

7/10 (a combination of 9 for the coffee and 5 for the meal)

Edit: see comments - Tim the cafe owner says the lack of a proper salad was their mistake, I should have been offered one from the counter. I'll pay another visit sometime soon, defo for coffee and maybe for food too.
22a Norfolk Row
Sheffield
S1 2PA

https://www.facebook.com/marmadukescafedeli

Bragazzi's, Abbeydale Road, Sheffield

I discovered Bragazzi's completely by accident while checking out what Abbeydale Road had to offer. The original plan was a dosa lunch at either Dhanistha's or East and West, but both were deserted and I wasn't in the mood for completely solitary dining. The south Indian fix will have to wait for another day.

It turned out to be a very happy accident, Bragazzi's is an Italian deli and café of unusually high quality. A small cappuccino was easily the equal of anything I've had in the recent influx of independent coffee shops, beautifully made with a complex, roasted flavour.

A mortadella, mozzarella, pesto, olive and tomato sandwich was also marvellous. I did wonder whether having it toasted was going to be a mistake, I always instinctively say yes when offered but toasting a good sandwich can be a bad idea when it ends up overdone; - the bread dessicated and the filling too hot to taste. 

I needn't have worried, this was just gently pressed so the cheese had melted. Layers of paper thin sliced meat with mild, milky, stringy cheese, salty olives and bright, herbal pesto. The best sandwich I've had in ages.

The café would be a great place to while away a few hours with the papers, or you can takeaway. Prices are more than reasonable for the quality, the coffee was £1.80 and the sandwich £3.60. Highly recommended.

9/10

220-226 Abbeydale Road
Sheffield
S7 1FL

http://www.bragazzis.co.uk

Café 164, Leeds

Café 164 is the new-ish city centre outpost of Bakery 164 who've been trading on Woodhouse Lane opposite the Parkinson Steps since 1994. I don't remember them from my Uni days when I spent a lot of time in the vicinity, perhaps they were too upmarket for my budget back then, or maybe I was still seduced by deep-fried filth at Flames just down the road.

Either way Bakery 164 have apparently built a reputation on good quality breads and sandwiches, so I was looking forward to giving the city centre outlet a try. You'll find it in Munro House, just across from the bus station and down from the little cultural quarter around the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

My flat white (£2) was very good, not exactly pretty but it tasted fine. A good strong, rich blend, slightly bitter but balanced.

Sadly the sandwich, falafel and hummous (£3) wasn't so great. The falafel were fresh tasting and moist, not dry and mealy like they can be, and the bread was high quality, but there wasn't much salad and no more than a thin scraping of hummous. The whole thing was just a bit bland and heavy going, needing something to give it a lift. A more generous hand with the hummous and salad and a good squeeze of lemon juice would have done the job.

Although I wasn't impressed by the sandwich the coffee was good and there were some fine looking cakes. Prices are also reasonable as the sandwiches are very big. The café itself is a pleasant room and it's adjacent to a commercial art gallery that I'm sure is worth a look. It's also in an area that doesn't seem to get the footfall it deserves, feeling a little cut-off from the city centre by the main road that necessitates a two-leg crossing. I'll return to give the cakes a try and to check out the gallery.

6/10

Unit 2 Munro House
Leeds
LS9 8AG

http://www.cafe164.com/