Devonshire Arms, Pilsley, Derbyshire

It can get very confusing round these parts if someone suggests dining at the Devonshire Arms. On the night we completed the sale of my house in Wakefield I wanted to celebrate with dinner at this Devonshire, it being game season and this being a speciality of theirs, but sadly they were full. So we tried to call this Devonshire instead, I'd enjoyed a meal there before so it seemed like a good alternative, but they weren't answering the phone. Maybe we got the wrong number and tried to call this Devonshire, or maybe this one. Who knows?

All was not lost, as we ended up at this Devonshire instead. Panic over. The Devonshire Arms in Pilsley is the pubbier sister to the Devonshire Arms in Beeley, just a few miles across the Chatsworth estate. Both are run by the mini-empire controlled by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire themselves (which in case you were wondering also includes Yorkshire's Devonshire Arms at Bolton Abbey, and the Devonshire Fell at nearby Burnsall. Must have had a crisis of confidence with that last one. What's wrong with Arms all of a sudden?).

You can tell when you're in a proper Devonshire with aristocratic proprietors, as within five minutes or so of arriving you're bound to see the Duke and Duchess posing on some piece of literature or other, looking all patrician yet welcoming, like a sort of friendlier local royal family. I imagine this is what the Queen's descendants will be doing a century hence, when we've finally gone Republican and you can't travel 50 yards in Berkshire or Norfolk without stumbling upon another Windsor Arms.

I digress. Whatever your views on the future of the monarchy (for some reason the debate never seems to run to whether or not they'd make a killing in the hospitality business) and the aristocracy the Devonshires generally oversee a pretty good quality operation.

The Pilsley outpost was a case in point. Solid, very accomplished pub grub, not at the gastro end of the spectrum, but very much in the traditional sense.

I considered leaving the photos off this post, as everything looks weirdly rubbish, more wacky warehouse two-for-one in appearance than the enjoyable, well cooked meal it actually was. We shared a bowl of garlic mushrooms to start. A big bowl of sauteed mushrooms swimming in loads of creamy, garlicky goodness. The work of five minutes by a ten year old (theoretically, I'm not suggesting they're exploiting children) in the kitchen, but if it ain't broke.... Just one minor quibble though, the bread could have been fresher.

For reasons I can't quite fathom I ordered the mixed grill. I can't recall ever having done this before, ever (maybe in a Wetherspoon's about fifteen years ago?). I love meat but have limits, and the mixed grill always seems the preserve of men with a death wish. I can remember watching a particularly portly fellow working his way through a humongous one in a pub in Lancashire once, increasingly clammy and red-faced, washing it down with pints of bitter. I'm convinced he didn't make it through the night, dead within hours to a massive coronary on the can, Elvis style.

Anyway that's the mental picture I associate with the mixed grill, so you can imagine my surprise when I accidentally ordered the bugger. You know what? I'm glad I did. Every piece of meat was cooked just right, with a nice bit of char on the outside and deep blush pink, where warranted, on the inside. There was a sausage, a well hung beefsteak, a lamb chop, and gammon and pork steaks. Only the latter, the boring one of the bunch, defeated me.

Chips and salad were proper, in that the chips had crunch (don't trust the pasty appearance on the pic) and were their own, and that the salad was lots of stuff mixed up together with a lively mustard dressing. A completely unnecessary side order of onion rings (it was A's fault, she's pregnant. Don't blame me) were the kind that you could happily eat all evening.

Not wanting to push my luck with that death wish, we retreated, thoroughly satisfied, without pudding. It hadn't been Plan A, but the Pilsley Devonshire came up with the goods. Prices are probably on the high side for normal pub food, but fine when you consider the quality. I'd rather pay £12-16 for an enjoyable plateful than the £8-12 dross that so many of the places round here offer. Orders are taken at the bar, so there wasn't really much in the way of service to speak of. They fetched the food and cleared the tables.

Would I go again? Yes, definitely. Another mixed grill? Probably not.

8/10

On the Chatsworth Estate
Pilsley
Derbyshire
DE45 1UL

http://www.devonshirepilsley.co.uk/

The Crispin Inn, Ashover, Derbyshire

Pubs serving food usually fall into one of two categories these days, loosely speaking I'd call these 'crappy chain' and 'gastrofied'. There's some overlap, the crappy gastrofied chain being a particularly prominent mix of the two, but as a general rule I think it holds up.

Crappy chains, as the name implies, are usually chain pubs run by massive pubcos or similar groups. The menus will be laminated, the steaks overcooked and the chips that special variety of bulk buy chips that only exist in such establishments. Prices will vary depending on the branding applied and the aspirations of the neighbourhood, but will probably have sod all to do with the quality of the food. Whitbread are particularly adept at this, I'm convinced you can eat the same old shite in differently branded outlets of their's for wildly varying prices.

Carveries are also a speciality of the genre. Don't even get me started on your average carvery. Overcooked meat with overcooked vegetables with stale Yorkshire puddings doused in rubbish gravy all in grotesquely oversized fart-inducing portions. Great.

The gastrofied pub may also be a chain, just one with delusions of grandeur. If it is a chain it won't be obvious because the chains like to pretend their higher end offerings aren't chains at all. Irrespective of whether it's a chain or wholly independent here there will be common themes too.

Prices will be higher, main courses must never be less than a tenner. There will be much talk of seasonal ingredients on the daily printed menus, chips will always be cooked more than once and steaks will be aged for 21, 28 or if they're really showing off, 35 days (this brings no guarantee that they will actually be any good). Don't get me wrong, I normally gravitate towards this category over the crappy chain, but sometimes a more basic approach is called for.

There is a third, but increasingly rare category of food pub. Which brings me to the Crispin in Ashover, a local pub serving food cooked on the premises, that's neither aspirational and pretentious nor straight off the back of the nearest cook-chill truck.

I had black pudding sausages and mash which arrived strewn across a two foot wide plate in endearingly cack-handed fashion. Good quality sausages, decent gravy and great clods of mash like you'd cooked it yourself in a hurry made for a thoroughly satisfying plate of food.

Other dishes demonstrated a deft hand with the stodge, dumplings were declared very light and the chips were ace. Lovely and brown and crying out for stuffing in a buttery butty.

There was no need for pudding but I couldn't resist the school dinnery delights of jam and coconut sponge with custard. The same kitchen skills were on display as with the dumplings, it's not easy making a sponge pudding seem light and airy but this really was. Half a day's calories devoured in moments I would think. A sticky toffee pudding with pear and walnuts was also really very good.

Service was no nonsense. Order at the bar, someone fetches your food. We paid just over fifty quid for four main meals, two puddings and a round of drinks. Why can't there be more pubs in the third category?

7/10

The Crispin Inn
Ashover
Chesterfield
S45 0AB

Whitelock's, Leeds

It's getting a lot of attention at the moment is Whitelock's, and rightly so. I'll spare you the blather about it being a Leeds institution, the grand history of the place and so forth, plenty of others have and will do that better than me.

On a personal note I don't have any great memories of the place having been in there just a handful of times in the fifteen years since I first darkened the door of a Leeds pub. I do like a good pub though, and I like to see a pub with a hinterland thriving, so I was keen to pay a visit as soon as I heard the guys from London's Mason and Taylor had taken over.

On the face of it nothing much has changed. It looks the same, and pleasingly has retained a very mixed clientele. There were all sorts in there at teatime a week last Saturday, and there was a happy buzz about the place.

The aim is clearly evolution, not revolution. There's a new menu and an extended beer range, but much more in a traditional pub vein rather than the full on modern beer bar approach.

We drank pints of something local and pale, I can't remember what but it was well kept and quaffable. There was also an impressive rhubarb beer (Saison?) from Ilkley Brewery.

To eat, a burger was a bit of a monster, the highlight being a thick, juicy patty cooked to medium with properly melted cheese in a good quality bun.

I wasn't such a fan of everything else on the plank though, the fat chips being undercooked in parts, the salad limp and the onion rings a little greasy. I did like the blobs of slaw or remoulade or whatever the hell it was though. I shan't bang about the fact it all arrived on a plank, other than to say it irritated me as usual.

The burger was good value at under a tenner for a very substantial meal, and I enjoyed it even if the accompaniments needed some work. Whitelock's is very much a pub of course, and drinking remains centre stage. I'd say they've got the place back on track towards being a great drinker's pub where it's worth staying for dinner too. I'll definitely be returning to see how things progress.

7/10

Turks Head Yard
Leeds
LS1 6HB

http://www.whitelocksleeds.com/

The Castlebar, Ealing, London

I'm writing this for one reason, and one reason only: a damn fine burger.

The Castlebar isn't the most attractive of pubs. It was the night that Poland played Russia and the outdoor drinking area was noisy, windswept and more than a little bleak. TV commentary vied with Eastern European chanting and the Uxbridge Road traffic for aural supremacy. Loud was an understatement, conversation nigh on impossible.

Table service, friendly and efficient once someone's attention had finally been caught, was a bonus, but the beer selection was uninspired. I wasn't in the best of moods. RP persuaded me that the food was worth ordering. I remained unconvinced.

Sturdy cutlery and starched white napery arrived after we'd ordered, incongruous placed on the bench seating with the backdrop of football bedlam. A sign of the quality to come.

The burger was excellent. A thick, exceedingly juicy patty, served medium, with a defined beefy flavour. The supporting bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo were spot on too, though I'd have ditched the few rocket leaves that had also found their way in there. The bun held up to the challenge, in spite of the succulence, and the fries were plentiful.

The burger cost around a tenner, and was well worth it. On a warm night, with a football match of interest, I'd have loved the place I'm sure.

8/10 for the burger
5/10 for the pub

The Castlebar
84 Uxbridge Road
West Ealing
London W13


http://www.facebook.com/TheCastleBarEaling

Good things to eat and drink [Volume 8]: a beer special

I'm finally taking the plunge and writing about beer. In over a year of blogging I've yet to write a post dedicated entirely to my favourite drink. Nothing else I consume so enthusiastically has been overlooked in this way (see posts passim about sandwiches, curry, pies, fish and chips, fry-ups and Sichuan food).

The truth is, I've been scared off by the beer bloggers. Until this time last year I was unaware of their existence, but slowly this merry band of enthusiasts began to seep into my consciousness. There are a lot of beer bloggers, many of whom are extremely knowledgeable, write very well, describe taste and aroma beautifully, and are utterly obsessed (some might say too obsessed) with beer.

Many of them are also based here on my home turf, in West Yorkshire. You'll find some of my favourites popping up on the sidebar on this blog, under the heading 'Some food and drink blogs'. Please do have a read, there's loads of entertaining and informative material out there.

This breadth of beery knowledge and dedication to the cause is something I'm never likely to match, so I thought I'd leave writing about beer to the experts. Or at least I did, until now. I've changed my mind, simply because I like beer too much not to write something about it. If my knowledge is lacking then so what, there are many others whose food expertise is far greater than mine too, and that's never stopped me.

I thought I'd compile a list of my favourite British breweries and my favourite beers from each one. Some of these I'm only recently acquainted with and some have been serving me well for years. The list is written more or less in chronological order from old favourite to recent discovery, so it's essentially a brief history of my beer drinking habits.

Hopefully there might be some you've never tried before.

Timothy Taylor

One word: Landlord. Timothy Taylor Landlord is a true classic as far as I'm concerned. Well kept pints of Landlord have kept me refreshed for over a dozen years now, and I still love it. It's a very smooth, quite sweet, moderately hoppy pale-ish ale. Best served in a Dales pub at the conclusion of a hike, or on a pub crawl round Keighley. Or maybe Skipton if you're feeling slightly less adventurous.

I've always found the rest of the Timothy Taylor range to be reliably good too. Nothing spectacular, just solid tasty ales for regular drinking. I'm particularly partial to a pint of Golden Best.

Where to find them: Widely available, they have dozens of their own pubs mostly in West and North Yorkshire. The Town Hall Tavern is a good choice in Leeds. Landlord in particular is found in many other pubs too.

Badger Ales

I've got Morrison's to thank for this one. It's probably ten or twelve years since they began stocking decent quality beer, constantly on offer at what was then any four bottles for a fiver. Many's the camping trip I've had that's been lubricated by Golden Champion and Golden Glory, my favourites from the Badger offering. Both are pale, fruity (one peachy, one quite strongly flavoured with elderflower), quite sweet beers. I can't drink either without immediately thinking of the British summer.

Where to find them: Morrison's. Loads of pubs, all of which are down South. There's one below Charing Cross station in London.

Meantime Brewing Company

I lived in South-east London for three years, and Meantime were a godsend. My drinking locale was Greenwich, an area with many splendid historic pubs, not many of which served particularly splendid beer. The Greenwich Union was a notable exception, the Meantime brewery tap serving their full range, of which my particular favourites are the Helles beer and the London stout.

The Helles beer is a lovely crisp, dry German style lager; another perfect Summer afternoon drink. The stout is the polar opposite; dark, malty and complex. A beer to drink on a Winter's night. Happily I don't need to go to London for a fix, because the stout and their also very good IPA are available in Sainsbury's.

Where to find them: Sainsbury's. The Greenwich Union in Greenwich. Beer Ritz in Headingley might have some.

Fuller's

As with Timothy Taylor, Fullers are on my list because of one specific beer. That beer is London Pride. In London pubs, where no other good draft beer is available, you can almost guarantee there'll be a pint of Pride on offer. It's ubiquity is justified, because it's a lovely beer. Very balanced, noticeably malty and roasted tasting, but with hoppy bitterness too. It rarely lets you down, and if you drink in London, often comes to the rescue.

Fullers make a lot of other beers that are apparently very good, but I'm not familiar enough with any of them to comment. If you see them, try them.

Where to find them: Loads of pubs, mostly down South. Widely available in supermarkets.

Marble Brewery

The best beery discovery of my year in Manchester. The Marble Arch pub, about which I've already written, is a thing of wonder. The beer doesn't let the side down. They're all good in bottles, but the best place to drink them, without a shadow of a doubt, is in the Marble Arch itself.

My favourites are Dobber, an IPA, and Marble Ginger. The Ginger is absolutely delicious served on cask, the aeration brought about by the dispense seeming to give the beer a fullness of flavour that's somehow missing in the bottle. So rich, warming and err, gingery.

Where to find them: Three pubs in Manchester, the original, the Marble Arch, is the best. Guest appearances in other pubs. I'm sure I've seen some in Latitude Wine in Leeds.

The Kernel Brewery

Finally, the more recent discoveries, breweries about which I'd maybe never have known were it not for the beer bloggers. Thanks beer bloggers! The Kernel Brewery make bottle conditioned beers in very small batches, with a focus on individual hop varieties.

I'm not going to name specific favourites, mainly because I can't remember which ones I've tried. What I can remember is that every one I've tried has been lovely. They seem to be very skilled at this bottle conditioning business, producing beers that are beautifully gassy. I don't mean gassy like cooking lager (Carling or whatever), I mean gassy in that they don't go flat, that like a good sparkling wine they release a steady stream of fine, delect bubbles. That makes for a lovely mouth feel, which in combination with lots of fresh, hoppy flavours, makes for a fantastic drinking experience.

Where to find them: Plenty of places in London, especially around Borough Market. Beer Ritz in Leeds.

Ilkley Brewery

One of the best in the expanding firmament of West Yorkshire breweries. Every Ilkley brewery beer that I've tried I've enjoyed very much. I'd like to give a special mention to Ilkley Best, a classic Yorkshire bitter of some distinction.

I often overlook what you might term mid-range beers. Brown booze, bitter, 4% session beer, whatever you want to call it. In the rush to sample the latest exciting new India pale ale, stout or porter, the pleasure in a moderately alcoholic pint of bitter can sometimes be forgotten. I shouldn't do this, as I've already mentioned I'm a big fan of Landlord. Well I bought a bottle of Ilkley Best the other day, and absolutely loved it. I'm not going to elaborate further, just go buy some.

Where to find them: Now available in Morrison's. Beer Ritz in Leeds. Lots of pubs in the lower Wharfedale area.

Magic Rock Brewery

Huddersfield's Magic Rock, the newest Brewery on this list, only started production in 2011. They've not messed around, producing a whole sequence of stunning beers in short order. As a general rule they brew American influenced, very hoppy, often quite strong beers.

The ones I've enjoyed the most are High Wire, a US style pale ale, nicely bitter and packed with tropical fruit flavours, and Magic 8 Ball, some kind of bonkers black IPA type thing that I'm not even going to try and describe suffice to say it was a delight to drink.

Where to find them: Various pubs around West Yorkshire, Port Street Beer House in Manchester. Beer Ritz in Leeds. Mr Foley's in Leeds.

Mr Foley's Cask Ale House, Leeds (revisited)

FREEBIE ALERT

I wasn't going to blog about this, but then I thought that seemed a little unfair. I wrote about the handful of other free meals (declared as free of course) I was offered last year, so why not this one?

Tyler, the Chef at Mr Foley's, kindly invited me down to sample his fish and chips. He's been trying out different batter recipes and wanted an enthusiast to offer an opinion. So here it is.

Very good indeed. Crisp light batter, well browned on the exterior but encasing a nicely cooked piece of fish. Not the finest piece of haddock ever but the pub is restricted to certain suppliers by group management, so they can't just go down the market and choose what they like.

The chips, which are triple cooked, are fantastic. A good crunch giving way to lovely fluffy, creamy innards. They're extremely more-ish which is good as portions are generous. A lot of effort goes into triple cooked chips (slice, parboil, drain, cool, fry, drain, cool, fry again, all over the space of some hours) and I'd be surprised if you'll find them anywhere else in Leeds at this price point (this meal costs £7.50).

Also on the plate were garden peas and home-made tartare sauce. The sauce was spot on, delivering a good hit of acidity which is what you need to cut through the fattiness of the batter and chips. I often find home-made tartare sauces to be too creamy with not enough of the vinegary stuff, not so with this.

All in all this is really good pub food, priced reasonably, with all the key components made with care on the premises. You don't get that very often.

A Leeds Pub Crawl

Leeds isn't as obviously blessed with great pubs as Manchester, but there are plenty of them out there if you know where to look. With a little bit of time and effort you can fashion a very good pub crawl.

Here's the route a friend and I took last night, taking in Holbeck and the lower end of the city centre:

The Adelphi
The Grove
The Cross Keys
The Midnight Bell
(The Hop)
The Scarbrough Hotel
Leeds Brewery Tap

We started out with some superior bar snacks (pictured) and a decent IPA in the Adelphi. Chorizo, sweet potato chips, and humous. All very good, and priced fairly at £10 for the three plates. Onwards to The Grove, there's a bit of a walk involved here but walking's good for you so stop complaining. I'd recommend a shortcut through the Asda car park.

The Grove is a slightly down at heel pub, with a traditional multi-roomed interior and a wide selection of beer on cask. Recommended beer snacks: Seabrooks crisps and pepperamis. Mine's a fire stick please. The Grove also has this armchair, which I love:

Next up, a Holbeck double whammy: The Cross Keys and the Midnight Bell. Both fairly upmarket, both in interesting old but modernised buildings, and both with large terraces, perfect for a sunny August evening. If you happen to chance upon such a thing that is, if it's cold and rainy like last night I'd suggest staying indoors where it's cosy and warm. We enjoyed table service at the Cross Keys, very continental and perfect for the lazier gent. They also had some Stinking Bishop and various other cheeses on offer, a return visit for a cheese and beer evening may be on the cards.

In theory The Hop would have been next, but we didn't actually bother as the music was very loud and we're old men who want to sit in a quiet corner supping mild, complaining and playing dominoes and that. I like The Hop in Wakefield more anyway.

Through the dark arches and thence to the Scarbrough. Does anyone know why it's spelled incorrectly? One of three Nicholson's pubs in Leeds (the other two being the Victoria and the Palace), it's a bit dark and dingy, but satisfying in a proper pubby sort of way. There's usually a reasonably varied selection of beer on too.

Finally it's up the steps to the Brewery Tap, our second Leeds Brewery pub of the day. Handily positioned for the last train home. Or some noodles from Wokon. Or a dirty kebab from Hot Stuff. We did none of these things, getting a lift home and no takeaway. Strangely the thought of doner meat is making me hungry right now, even though it's one in the afternoon and I'm not drunk. I'm off to get some lunch...

New Mason's Arms, Oulton, Leeds

Last Sunday brought an impromptu pub crawl round Oulton and Rothwell. One of my closest friends has lived in Rothwell for 8 years and this was the first time we've ever explored it's pubs. Long overdue but other than for a quick pub lunch I can't say we'll be rushing back to any of them.

The New Mason's does traditional pub grub, very much along the same lines as the Three Horseshoes round the corner. Grilled meats and chips aplenty are the order of the day. I opted for the steak pie, primarily because the menu description confirmed it as being made with shortcrust pastry. I have an aversion to the all too common ceramic-bowl-of-stew-with-a-puff-pastry-lid type of pie served by many pubs. It's not a proper pie and puff pastry is the wrong type of pastry for a steak pie. Stop it.

Shit pie, good chips

Unfortunately what turned up was a ceramic-bowl-of-stew-with-a-shortcrust-pastry-lid. Not very good shortcrust pastry either. Limp, insipid and undercooked, I'm not sure a few extra minutes in the oven would have really improved it much though as it was very dense. On the plus side the stewy filling was good, packed with shreds of flavoursome slow-cooked meat. The chips were great too, home-made and fried well.

Chips and beer, commonly found in Yorkshire pubs

Everyone else around the table declared their meals (a Barnsley chop and a nice piece of gammon amongst other things) a success, so I think I was a bit unlucky. No excuse for such poor pastry though. A pint of black sheep was well kept and prices are reasonable, the pie was around £8.

Thanks to Rach for suggesting this place to me, I'd certainly go back for a pub lunch. Sandwich, chips and a pint springs to mind. Just don't order the pie.

5/10 (poor pie, other things may rate higher)

26 Aberford Road
Oulton
Leeds
LS26 8JR

Northern Food on tour: Newquay, Cornwall

Here's a round-up of what I ate in Newquay over the last few days. Nothing spectacular but a few good places that might be worth a visit if you're in the area. 

Pendeen Hotel

First up an honourable mention for the Pendeen Hotel. I stayed here for the first couple of nights before switching to the Premier Inn when my mates arrived for the weekend. The Pendeen is a traditional British seaside hotel with the look of somewhere last refurbished in the late 70's. I feel a bit sorry for places like this, as they tend to get tarred with the Fawlty Towers brush, sometimes a bit unfairly.

The rooms are basic and a bit tatty, but more importantly clean. The welcome is warm, the breakfast perfectly serviceable and the view out over Porth bay gorgeous. £25 per night for a single en-suite room including the full English (or Cornish as they have it). 6/10 for the brekkie.

7 Alexandra Road
Porth
Newquay
TR7 3ND

http://www.pendeenhotel.co.uk/

Merrymoor Inn, Mawgan Porth

A Thursday morning hike up the coastal path brought me to Mawgan Porth, a beautiful little village and bay about six miles up the coast from Newquay. The Merrymoor Inn was advertising fresh Cornish crab sandwiches (£6.95), a perfect plan for lunch by the sea.

With a pint of local ale from St Austell brewery this was a lovely al fresco lunch. The sandwich was well stuffed with sweet, fresh crabmeat although the bread wasn't very fresh. The salad was undressed and not really up to much.

I think it was more the weather, timing and location that made it so enjoyable, and the food going out to other tables looked poor. Worth it for a pint and a crab sarnie on a sunny day, probably wouldn't bother otherwise.

7/10

Merrymoor Inn
Mawgan Porth
nr. Newquay
TR8 4BA


http://www.merrymoorinn.com/


Café Coast

Situated looking out over another stunning beach (Porth in Newquay rather than Mawgan Porth up the coast), this places gets a mention for the wonderful view, and for serving up a nice brew and a slice of very buttery shortbread. £2.20 for the pair.

8/10

Beach Road
Porth
Newquay
TR7 3LN

Fistral Chef

Friday lunch after another coastal hike, this time finishing up on famed surfers paradise, Fistral beach. Fistral is also a bit of a looker, although by no means the most spectacular beach in the area. I chanced upon Fistral Chef on one of the main roads that head to the beach from the town centre.

A very berry smoothie (£2.90) was pleasant enough, nothing remarkable.

A cheeseburger was bloody great. A whopping great big freshly made beef patty with a nice charred crust (well done, would have preferred medium but it was still succulent), plasticky cheese slices, grilled onions, lettuce, rocket, tomato, mayo. Spot on with the fillings with the exception of the rocket which wasn't really necessary. The bun was good too, managing to hold up to the multitude of fillings without falling to bits.

£5.95 for the burger. Not cheap but huge and good quality. Fries not needed.

8/10

2 Beacon Road
Newquay
TR7 1HH


Indian Dining Club

On Friday night, the obligatory curry. The Indian Dining Club was a recommendation from a policeman, or maybe it was a bouncer, I can't quite remember. It's a large restaurant in the modern glammed up Indian restaurant style, and they had no problem accommodating about thirteen of us at short notice. Somethings were good (naan, okra), the rest adequate. It will do the job, especially after a few beers.

RP looks on pensively as poppadums sweep into view. Will there be lime pickle? he ponders. Or perhaps tamarind chutney.

In truth I can't remember what pickles there were. Perhaps RP will know. I'm not phoning him to check.  Unmemorable obviously.

Something else unmemorable with lamb in it. Again I can't quite remember what. Pleasant enough scooped in the naan which was very good.

An okra side dish was a cut above the norm. Dry fried and retaining bite, not in the least slimy.

High on spice (and lager), LM is fortified for the evenings festivities and raring to go.

A quick note on the festivities while I'm on the subject. Newquay is a fantastic place for a British seaside holiday, blessed as it is with some of the finest coastline in the land. Do not go in expectation of classy nightlife though. There are many hostelries, many of which are enormous, sell only low quality mass market booze, smell vaguely of vomit, play the most tedious of cheesy chart dance music, and are rammed full of mullered teenagers in fancy dress. Perhaps there are some nicer establishments hidden in the back streets, if there are we didn't find them. You have been warned.

6/10

8-9 Station Parade
Newquay
TR7 2NG

http://www.indiandiningclub.co.uk/

And almost finally.... what of cornish pasties? Had a couple, they were ok. Far better than Greggs anyway.

And finally... if you've never been to Cornwall, go. It's great.

A year in Manchester

After an all too brief year I have just left Manchester and moved back to Leeds (well, Wakefield actually but most of my eating and drinking will be done in Leeds). I enjoyed my time in Manchester so thought I'd sum up my favourite things with a list. I like lists and this is the first opportunity I've had to write one on my fledgling blog.

I could have veered completely off topic here, and created a Manchester Top Ten of all the things I love about the place. But this is a food and drink blog, so you don't want to hear me banging on about industrial architecture or trams or cycle paths or whatever. Instead I've included some nice photos of sunny Manchester. Here are five food and drink things I love about Manchester:

1.  Pubs
There are absolutely loads of fantastic pubs in central Manchester (and Salford). The key things I look for in a pub are a good selection of beer and a convivial atmosphere. Add interesting buildings/interiors and good food into the mix and you're really on to a winner. In vaguely pub crawl related order here is my lucky 13: The Marble Arch; The Angel; Bar Fringe; Crown and Kettle; The Castle Hotel; Port Street Beer House; The Britons Protection; Peveril of the Peak; Knott Bar; The Lass O'Gowrie; The New Oxford; The Kings Arms; The Mark Addy.

2. Chinese restaurants
In my opinion Manchester has the best and most varied selection of Chinese restaurants in the UK outside London. I have barely started working my way through all of them, but I have eaten very well at the following: Red Chilli, Middle Kingdom (both Szechuan); Hunan (Hunanese); BBQ Handmade Noodles King (hand made noodles!).

 
3. Curry cafés
The curry cafés of Manchester appear to be a unique phenomenon. I've certainly never come across anything similar in this country (although strangely I do recall them having the same sort of thing in Australia, but with really rubbish curry). The premise is simple. The curries are pre-cooked and kept warm at the counter. You get to pick any three curries on rice for a fixed price, which is always under a fiver. The quality can be a bit hit and miss, the decor is invariably scruffy, but you are guaranteed to get a decent feed for a low price. Sometimes they really surprise you with a corker of a dish too, one of them does a lovely keema with whole hard boiled eggs in it. Great stuff.

There are loads of the places scattered around the Northern Quarter and various other parts of the city. I'm not going to bother listing them all here. Instead I shall refer you to the comprehensive and excellent Flavours of Manchester blog.

4. Traditional caffs
Manchester seems to be well stocked with places to get a good fry-up or some other home cooked and ridiculously cheap meal. Perhaps the same applies to most towns and cities in the UK, but I just seem to have noticed it more over the last year or so. In the city centre I like The Koffee Pot and Abergeldie Cafe.  In the suburbs my favourite spot is in the grotty precinct in Prestwich. Can't remember the name of it (not sure it has one), but they do a competent and comforting corned beef hash followed by crumble & custard for about £3.50.

 
5. Markets
This might seem a strange one, particularly for Manchester itself. Central Manchester hasn't even got a proper market, either indoor or outdoor. What impresses me is the way the council has made the most of its meagre resources. The only permanent central market of any size is the Arndale Market, which is essentially a small, spare corner of the shopping centre. About half of the space has been given over to traditional market stalls, and the other half turned into a thriving food hall. There are a good selection of stalls, including an ale bar and the excellent Pancho's Burritos. Glass of ale and a spicy, porky burrito for lunch. Don't mind if I do. In addition to this is a rapidly expanding number of street markets that are spreading all over the suburbs as well as the city centre.

A special mention is also due to some of the markets in other Greater Manchester towns. Bury and Ashton-under-Lyne have particularly good examples. If you'd heard rumours that the good folk of Bury like to eat entire black puddings, on their own, with a dab of relish, mustard or ketchup, they are true. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it, it's actually rather delicious.