Bulk Bargains!

      This blog post appears to be contrary to my last which extolled the virtues of daily shopping.  Today I will sing the praises of bulk buying and the joys of home delivery!  I have mentioned in the past my love of bargain hunting and in corrolation with this I do not like to waste money or food.  Food waste is a very real and current problem and is something that we should not take lightly. It does not sit well with me that perfectly good food should hit the bin whilst we live in a society where many rely on food banks. 

"Scotland throws away 630,00 tonnes of food and drink our homes every year and most of this could have been eaten.  This waste costs us over £1 billion a year, or £470 for the average household."  http://scotland.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

I live alone and between University, burlesque, my irregular work schedule and of course - hectic social life (!!), I cannot guarentee that I will open the fridge from one day to the next, let alone use up the contents. Excepting of course the beer... that seems to disappear far too often!  I have found that bulk cooking is the solution to this problem.

A small pile of meat!

      This weekend I ordered a massive shop from Asda, spending over £150 on meat, pasta, canned food and of course some more beer!  I do this a few times a year to ensure that I always have a full freezer so when I need to eat quickly I know it is not processed, it is nutritious and cheap.  I know this is the best way to feed myself, and I believe that a lot of families could save money and minimise waste by adopting similar principles.  Buy one get one free offers are appealing but regularly lead to waste, especially on perishables, there is, after all, a limit on the amount of one food type that can be consumed!  Dedicating one day to cooking eliminates this problem, allowing you to use everything up and space your consumption out over a longer period.  Bulk cooking also reduces power bills, using the oven for lots of items at once is naturally more economical than making a stew every night during the winter.  Freezers also consume less energy when they are filled to capacity.  Moreover, as I have mentioned I do not have a car so it is a real treat to have someone else carry my heavy shopping, not only home, but up the four flights of stairs!

This pile just grew and grew...

Three different types of mince, sausages, chicken thighs, chorizo, stewing beef, beans, pasta and piles of vegetables!  I cooked up such a storm on Sunday, that I definitely have enough food, divided into individual portions, to see me through the whole winter. (Also I am handing out an open invitation should the apocalypse come! Even by my standards, I may have over done it this time!) Bolognese, meatballs, lasagne, chili-con-carne, shepherds pie, sausage casserole, chicken and chorizo stew, beef stew, goulash, soup...   

Brunoise baby!

      Something I get a kick out of is chopping vegetables: I find it therapeutic! Most dishes begin with the holy trinity: celery, onion and carrot and therefore cooking en masse provides me with an opportunity for an epic chopping session! It also stops bunches of celery going limp in my fridge and carrots wrinkling in the cupboard.  Using all the fresh ingredients in one go also stops me having to pop into the shop for a carrot or a pepper - as after all who actually manages to enter a supermarket and just spend £1?  It always inevitably ends up at the £10 mark even on a restrained day!  More money saved.  

      Last minute entertaining becomes a pleasure - no time spent in the kitchen and you can present your guest with a delicious homemade meal! Do not get me wrong, on days when I have nothing to do, I will still spend all day cooking for myself or a lucky friend.  I do not find it a chore to cook everyday, but like so many, I simply do not have the time. Bulk cooking has given me access to speedy, healthy (in comparison to processed foods with hidden sugars etc) and of course fabulous food!  It cuts down on waste - dramatically!  It even allows me to get rid of all the packaging at the same time in one recycling trip! And over all saves me money!  No need for that take away when the freezer is full!


      ...Unless you wake up on your birthday in need of unhealthy goodness delivered to your door!  A while ago an old colleague of mine opened up a home-delivery burger place called Brooklyn Diner and Deli. With the help of the people at Just Eat, within the hour a juicy burger was delivered to my bed (well almost - I still had to go to the door #firstworldproblems).  I chose the biggest burger from the menu and was very happy with what I unwrapped.  The burgers were juicy and tasty, the bacon was a substantial bacon steak with none of the annoying fat that sticks and drags it all out in one go. The cheese was melted to perfection and the bun was substantial enough to encase it all for most of the eating.  The only criticism would be the onion ring, which during transit had lost its crispy batter to the steam of its friends.  I would recommend this place and hope that the plans for the sit in aspect of this restaurant comes into fruition soon, so that the added pleasure of a crisp onion ring can be the crowning glory on this burger.  I am not sure, however, that a crispy onion ring would have provided enough inducement to get me out of my bed!   

Missing Mojito

Cars have had a very dramatic effect on the way in which people shop.  Focus has moved away from the high-street; popping into the butcher, baker and greengrocer are activities of a bye-gone era.  Supermarkets are king.  Having your own car allows families to travel to ever increasing supermarkets, to do weekly, ever increasing shops (to fuel ever increasing waste lines).  This is a very obvious statement for many, but the normality of this existence has always passed me by.  My parents did not get a car until I was 12 or so, and I have never learned to drive.

Taj, one of the few things I miss from Brighton!

As a young student in Brighton, I shopped in various places.  I worked beside a fruit and veg stall and quickly realised this was a more economical way for me to buy, not only cheaper, but I was able to control quantities in a way that the supermarket 'pre-pack' does not allow.  I moved all over Brighton and Hove in the 10 years I lived there, my shopping habits changing for the sake of convenience; the Open Market  or Taj replacing the stall near work.  I often got my meat from the butcher, the blood red always appealing to me more that supermarket gray.  Now, do not confuse me for a 'shop local' militant - I am a through and through bargain hunter.  I have always used three or four supermarkets, searching out offers and deals, but also sourcing the best quality of high-end products.  I love a frivolous shop in Waitrose!  Who has the time for this though?  Just get it all over with once a week.  However, necessity borne out of carrying limitations has always made me shop daily and locally, therefore allowing me to visit lots of different shops. 

I love being a canny shopper - I pride myself on it - it should be on my CV!  Shopping also never becomes routine - inspiration is fed by new layouts and products.  Lately this tradition of shopping around has gone mobile.  As the proud owner of a scooter, I have been getting out and about more than I have ever been able to, experiencing new parts of Edinburgh and the surrounding areas.  The great thing about the scooter is that again my carrying abilities are limited, so I have not fallen into the trap of the hypermarket!  I have come across lots of different shops, that not only would I not have know were there had I not rode past them, I would not have been able to access them so easily. 

My food adventures so far have taken me to Falko in Gullane.  It was a beautiful summer Sunday, the ride along the coastal route was spectacular and the pit stop here for a German sausage was really special.  A few pastries were all that would fit under the seat, but a perfect souvenir nonetheless!  The Polish Cottage, along Seafield Road has become a quicker holiday: the sun may have been shining in Gullane, but I spend my time abroad looking at food.  Some people may visit the beach and have ice-cream for that holiday feeling - for me it is a foreign shop!  (I'm pale, I burn... Ok, I'm odd, moving on...)  I have a passion for Polish food and was happy to be able to source a more diverse product range and at a cheaper price than available in Tesco.  Smoked pork belly has become a fridge staple - it has so many uses and as it is smoked it lasts a long time!  Also I have a love for Almette cream cheese, which I first discovered in the Czech Republic whilst on holiday in a supermarket!!

I look better on mine!

This Sunday, grasping to the last days of summer, I wanted to visit the market in Stockbridge - but my Aprilia Mojito is in the garage.  How can I cruise along to Stockbridge pretending to be a cooler, prettier and certainly, more female, Jamie Oliver without my scooter?

Mmmmm!

I could have walked I guess, but somehow the ride has become an important part of my shopping ritual. I am stranded! On the other hand - this shopping trip would not have fit into the savvy shopper criteria; I have probably saved enough money to pay for the repairs to the bike. Except the freedom to drink, so often restricted, led me to the nearest cocktail bar. It would be lovely, neat and contrived, dear reader if I then had a rum mojito, but hey, everyone knows I am a sazerac girl! Cheers!

Company

“We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink, for dining alone is leading the life of a lion or wolf”Epicurus

In my last and indeed previous blogs, I have mentioned the importance or at least the significance of the people who were to share my experience.  It is true that company can transform mediocre food into a great meal - as long as the wine is flowing and the conversation is stimulating.  The word company is derived from 'companio', someone you share bread with, the roots are the Latin words cum, "with", and panis "bread".  It seems that having someone to share food with is an intrinsic part of our eating experience.  I believe, however, that this is only one way of looking at food.

A militant vegetarian for example will greatly detract from your enjoyment of eating a rare steak; no doubt their disapproving glances will instil a level of guilt as you spread bone marrow onto bread and mop up the blood and juices...  Let's also bear in mind the conversation that happened before the steak even hit the pan...

            "White wine will go better with my salad."

            "Yes, but I would like a full bodied red to match my steak" (which costs about three

            times as much as the grass you are about to consume)

            "Let's compromise, how about rose?"

            "Let's never speak again".

Eating with and in front of  someone takes a degree of trust.  Long gone are the days when we fear poisoning by our host, first asking our poor servant to try it; but let's consider the first date scenario!  I am sure I am not alone when I say that I do not like eating in front of strangers, especially those that I am attracted to.  Many things have to be considered, obviously the spinach in the teeth situation, but further more - can you eat that spaghetti without re-accessorising your outfit with tomato sauce polka dots?

Even your best companion can pilfer the pleasure to be gained from some food moments.  I am currently sitting by my balconette, soaking up the last of the early morning sunshine in early September; enjoying an espresso, a glass of sparkling water and an almond croissant.  I am savouring every fold of the delicate pastry, every flake of almond that falls into my lap.  My lips are covered in icing sugar, my fingers are sticky and all is bliss.  Should my nearest and dearest be here, this would be a very different moment.  My concentration would be divided, apparently it is not polite to ignore people for pastry (even if you paid £2 for it).  The conversation would be entertaining and there would be the chance of them getting me a second espresso but I would be feeling a different level of contentment.  Since Monday afternoon when I booked my darling scooter in for a service up at Abbeyhill, I have planned on popping into Manna House on Easter Road for an almond croissant to bring home and enjoy with espresso.  A simple pleasure, a pure pleasure, but most of all a planned pleasure to be enjoyed with myself.

My solo eating is not always so contrived, or indeed indulgent.  What you choose to eat when there is no one else around is an important part of what makes us individuals, it exposes a bit of your true character.  Are you a lazy eater?  A picker?  Do you go for healthy food?  Or is a take away the way forward?  None of these take a higher position than the other, and often it depends on our moods and what the day has entailed.  I would like to consider our 'dirtier' food habits - what gives you pleasure that you would never admit? - and certainly not blog about!  My name is Nicola, I am a foodie (for all that phrase means) and I sometimes eat corned beef from a can with Smash.  This dish reminds me of being a child and camping with my father; it reminds me I grew up in the 80's (and that I should be having Angel Delight for pudding!); it reminds me of the working class background I grew up in; it helps me to rediscover myself and my home.  It is a dish full of pride.  It is a dish that would require more justifying than a plate of pasta, and therefore best kept just for me.  I come from a mixed background without a food tradition to cling onto (I don't think Matzo counts as a tradition on its own), this is all I have.  Let us not hide our solo eating - celebrate the special moment you are having.  A true expression of yourself, your family and even your heritage through your individual food choices.

Sometimes to dine alone seems pointless, but sometimes it is the simplest pleasure.  Sometimes I do not want the share my bread - sometimes I want to bite the end of a baguette and lead the life of a lion or a wolf!

Jaded

"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans" or more often than not, when you are on Facebook.  Incidentally, it has been just over four years since I returned to Edinburgh and began this blog, and over three years since I last wrote.  That is around 1093 meals consumed without comment.  (Let's face it I am too busy to eat more than one meal a day!)  Thankfully my situation, although altered since I last wrote, has not relegated me to the realms of beans on toast.  A fair percentage of those 1093 dinner times were spent in lovely restaurants; lets also through in a few liquid lunches and medicinal breakfasts consumed in cozy cafes.  The food I have had has been mainly of high quality, peppered with a few poor meals which have now become little more than anecdotes.  Life, however, has got in the way of my culinary chronicling!

Edinburgh simply stopped being new.  The Auld Reekie became a familiar smell, like a Grandmother, still with the occasional surprise but essentially comforting and homely.  I quickly found the places that I liked when I moved back and have frequented them ever since!  This is great as  I am rarely disappointed, however, it is not so interesting for blog topics and inspiration!  One must experience something out of the mundane to inspire the pen, simply: Edinburgh had made me jaded.

However, something has obviously piqued my interest to get my ink flowing again.  Last night I was very lucky to be invited out for dinner with a group of friends.  These guys are serious about their food: to be taken to a tried and tested Chinese restaurant therefore, was met with a degree of expectation.  (Wow, she has been on the down low for the last few years - she is blogging about sweet and sour chicken...)  This particular restaurant, Jade Garden, (Cannon Street) has the much fabled 'other' menu i.e. an actual Chinese menu, featuring Chinese food for Chinese people.  Ladies and Gentleman I ate pig trotters!  As per a prearrangement, they had bought in lobster for us, our numbers unfortunately diminutive, left us the arduous task of consuming three between four.  Never before have I felt like a Queen in what is essentially a greasy spoon setting!  The lobsters were prepared in a deliciously subtle ginger sauce.  I am not a fan of ginger, it is in fact one of the few things on my hate list; but I have to concede the heat of the ginger against the sweet and succulent lobster meat had me cursing the entire Chinese nation (yes, all 1,343,239,924 of them) and their culture for not having bread to mop up the juices.

I have to admit that I am a big bread and juices type of girl.  Frequently we get together and enjoy slow cooked meat, (rabbit, ribs - at one point there was a whole piglet...) simply roasted with garlic, chili and rosemary.  Once the boys have licked the bones clean, I get my dipping on and I am as happy as a pig in... well, a roasting tin!  However, this evening I got in with the bones.  While we were waiting for one of our party to arrive, we ordered some salt and chili ribs to nibble on.  They were flavorful nuggets of meat with an addictive crumb that was able to be tidied up with some prawn crackers.  In fact this dish was so good, we ordered more for 'dessert'!

We all work in the Italian food and drink milieu and are therefore, are accustomed to calamari.  The platter of squid that we were presented with, again with salt and chili, was cooked to perfection.  It was soft and succulent, fried to the exact second...  Talking of soft and succulent, the dish of lamb in cumin was also divine.  This struck me as an interesting combination as I more commonly associate cumin with Mexican and Indian cuisines.  If I see this on a Chinese menu in the future I will definitely order it again.  The pigs trotters on the other hand (or other foot i guess!)...  They have been scored off the food 'bucket' list (to avoid KFC connotations perhaps another word has to be found for foods to eat before one dies!) and the sauce they were served in provided a nice dressing for the ubiquitous rice.  I am going to assume that these were just not to our taste rather than being prepared badly, we found then too gelatinous and let's face it after feasting on lobster I doubt we were going to find much pleasure in chewing on a pigs foot!

Jade Garden will now become one of my staples - never to be written of again.  The food, wine and company all complimented each other to create a fantastic dining experience.  My appetite for food has changed; I have been reading more about food history and culture, so to have this adventure appealed to this new side of me.  I hope to write more about food in the future within this context and I am about to start a course relating to this at Edinburgh University.  Future blogs will be inspired by food experiences but not so heavily based on reviews - after all taste is so arbitrary and Trip Advisor can fill in the details!

Time for Tea

I could make excuse after excuse for the 6 month gap in my blog; writers block, self-imposed bribery or a life of mediocrity. In truth I am lazy and sometimes life gets in the way of writing about it! I have, however, been enthused by the need to right a wrong.

Coffee shops have reigned for well over a decade, almost turning the tea drinking Brits into coffee connoisseurs. I, like most, developed a taste for grande, skinny, half-caf, wet cappuccino with extra foam and cinnamon* and learnt what seems to be a whole new language with a different dialect for every brand. I used to do the teenager tut and whiny "Mum" when she would ask for a 'tea', not a Chai Latte, but Tetley. As always, it turns out that Mother knows best; perhaps not on the Tetley front, but with her hard and fast loyalty to the traditional brew. Tea Houses have continued to exist on the fringes throughout the coffee dynasty, I know this, as I used to go to Eastbourne regularly. Visited by some as a kitsch act of rebellious cool, traditional tea shops usually guaranteed of a hot drink that would not empty your purse/overdraft. Since my return to Edinburgh, I have seen a new breed of the Ye Olde Tea Shoppe sweeping the city. The kitsch market is very much played to and places like Eteaket and Loopy Lorna's have been rewarded with their hoards of trendy twenty-something's and yummy-mummies. Tea shops have also worked out if you liberate the tea from the bag you can charge more! Best extend that overdraft before tea time... Oh and you will need to learn a new language -'tea' just won't cut it any more (you will even have to refine your green and herbal ideas...)

On the site of the old Morningside institution, 'Sherry's', Loopy Lorna's opened up. It is shocking pink and fabulously decorated; tea served in pots with cups and saucers and homemade cakes; it looked amazing and I hated it on sight. Now I could justify this hate with a bunch of crap about how it is sad that something real had to be replaced with a parody to survive, almost like reality is not good enough, we all must go to virtual - but it boils down to jealousy. Through my glowing green eyes, all I could see was something that I would like to own and my business brain was telling that it could never happen now as my niche had been nicked! I live on the other side of Edinburgh so have not had to purposely avoid it, it has just conveniently happened, until yesterday.

I have visited Eteaket on Frederick Street many times, with different people and we have always enjoyed it. When a friend, Nargis, suggested that we meet at Loopy Lorna's, I reluctantly agreed. If I could get passed my jealousy, perhaps this would be another gem. The service was friendly, if a little over keen, at first I was a little disappointed by the selection of teas, I have obviously been ruined by Eteaket, but at least it made my choice easier so that by the third or fourth visit by the waitress I was able to order. Over the last few days I have been craving a proper piece of caramel shortcake, thick biscuit with nice set, but not to hard caramel just right to stand up to the snap of the chocolate from the first bite.... (drool on keyboard), so I ordered a piece. Nargis ordered a cupcake, which looked pretty, but on the Primark side of the designer cake scale. I had been open with Nargis about my predisposition to dislike Lorna's, so I was relieved when she started the criticism. Ok, it may have been in response to my comment about the bloom on the chocolate - but come on I worked in a chocolate shop for 11 years, I'm gonna call a spade a spade! Bloomed chocolate and a stale cupcake - both signs that the 'Loopy' may refer to their storage and shelf life policies. For a total cost of £4.90 for the cakes I would expect a higher level of freshness and of course them to be hand delivered by angels.

Digression: Tea Shops provide an interesting social anthropological microcosm; in the present and historically. Always the domain of the woman, the tea shop provided a respectable meeting place before it was acceptable to go to a gastro pub and quaff a bottle or so of Pinot. Today it seems that women are now choosing tea over wine, probably a good thing in our booze binge society. Something else that I have noticed about the tea shop is that people are talking, sometimes even cross-generational conversation! This is certainly a phenomenon unique to tea. Coffee shops are the land of the semi-dead with their vampiric need for their fix. Eyes are on the floor; broadsheet; latest igadget; conversation is at a minimum and generally between tired mums feeding little precious a 'babycino'' or the busy business types who have no time in their important schedule to wait for a cup of tea to brew. Lorna's actually offer a free refill of hot water on your tea leaves so you can linger (and no doubt so they can justify their prices!) Tea shops are also offering lots of different people the chance to enjoy a relaxing afternoon tea - something that traditionally would be for the more posh clientele - now enjoyed by students! This is a British food institution that I am happy is having a renaissance, it is an important part of our food heritage. My concern is, however, that the food is not always the main focus.

After years of lengthy and complicated coffee ordering, it has now become a case of offering the consumer choice, choice and more choice, resulting in the tea shop becoming more focused on the tea. I am aware of how ridiculous this statement sounds, it's a tea shop, of course it is all about the tea... Historically tea, was of course, tea and did not necessitate an extensive menu describing the high and low notes of flavour, therefore the quality of the scone in different establishments was of the highest importance. From a cream tea, to high tea and afternoon tea - there has always been a bit of something on the plate beside the saucer. In fact, in many parts of the UK the definition of 'tea' has transcended the refreshing drink and has became all about the food. We must also consider that in days gone by, many had the ability and time to bake - the goods in the tea shops were going to be expected to live up to a certain standard. In todays fast pace of life for many the word 'fresh' refers to the fact that it was put in a paper bag in front of you as apposed to in plastic on the shelf. There are a lot of people who do know what nice home baking should be like; it may not always look perfect but the taste is unbeatable, why does it appear that Loopy Lorna's is getting away with sub-standards?! This place is revered and yes it is pretty and pink (I do however judge them on their 'step-to-far-not-kitsch-now-tacky' tea-cozies) but it appears to me to be all fur coat and no knickers (or all monkey tea-cozy and no bone china). What I am trying to say is that my caramel shortcake was horrid. I know that my previous description probably sounds like I had unreasonably high expectations, but I would have settled for nice. The base was soft, crumbly - sorry powdery, and tasted like raw flour making it actually inedible. The caramel was not proper caramel, it was shortcut caramel, a boiled can of condensed milk - which you can get away with if the rest of the cake balances it. As for the chocolate - they have used real chocolate as apposed to cooking chocolate or chocolate flavoured coating, which is a good thing, but if you are doing this you must sell the cakes within at most 2 days so that the fat crystals do not bloom and turn the chocolate white. (I must explain that this in itself is a purely cosmetic blip and would not effect the flavor.) Why have the concern enough for taste/ingredients to go to the extra expense of using real chocolate, if you don’t have the respect enough for the finished product to reach the customer at its best. But in fairness - at £2.95 a pop, no wonder it is still sitting there days later! I have eaten at Eteaket and have always enjoyed the food, the portions are generous for the price, my friend Adam was shocked to get two big scones with his cream tea! The sandwiches and cakes are served on dainty vintage china - but are far from dainty in themselves - my skyscraper slice of carrot cake was hanging off the edge! When it is tea time there are no prizes for guessing where you will find me!

*Note for self-respect:  a tall drip will see me through the day, just do not try to pass an Americano off as a filter it is NOT the same thing!

Chain Eater

Did you know you can go to Yo! Sushi and not eat fish?  I always knew there were beef and chicken dishes, but I guess I just overlooked them.  B has suggested that we go to Yo! a few times, but I wasn't convinced that he would enjoy it or even begin to be full!  On my birthday, I gave in and let him take me for lunch.  Anyone who knows me will know that I am not a massive fan of birthdays, so I was loving the irony of the 'Blue Monday' offer in Yo!  Apart from summing up my mood, it also meant that we could eat more as all plates were all only £2.20.  Although I didn't get my eel, (expensive tastes as always Nicola!) I was pleasantly surprised by the selection available.  There is no way that I will be able to recount what I ate - it was all tastey and fishy except my Tamago (sweet omelette) and my edamame beans. 

I have always been a fan of sushi, but there are not many bars in Edinburgh.  Yo! has moved from it's original location on Rose Street to the top of Harvey Nichols.  Obviously when it first arrived in Edinburgh, people were put off by the lack of batter and deep frying of fish (maybe if they had tried the tempura...?) as it was shut for a few years, but it seems to have settled into its new home.  B really enjoyed it, and has made it clear that he would like to go back, but I have a feeling this will be limited to Mondays, as to fill up on sushi is an expensive task!  It is nice to know that I have somewhere different where I can go to get my fishy fix. 

Normally I am someone who avoids chain restaurants, I do not like homogeneous spaces and food.  I like variety and surprises and personal touches, be them good or bad, they add to the experience.  I am slightly hypocritical though, I like Yo! Sushi - I have been to a few other sushi bars and I like them too, but I find Yo! accessible - and sushi is not a cuisine that I want to be surprised by - I am not yet at the fugu stage!  While in Brighton we would regularly eat at the Slug and Lettuce on a Monday, this had nothing to do with pleasure, it was convenient and half price.  I am now thinking hard if there are any other chinks in my chain restaurant armour... I don't think that there are, mainly because there are a lot of chain restaurants that I have never given a shot due to my uppityness!  Coincidentally - I really went about rectifying this on my birthday; next stop Hard Rock Cafe.

My regular readers will remember that on B's birthday, I chose to take him to a French restaurant, well it was his turn to decide.  My cousin Julie and her family were up for the weekend so we had to find somewhere child friendly (refering probably more to B and Her husband Paul than the actual kids...)  My aunt and uncle also came along to join in the fun!  I have walked past the Hard Rock on George Street many times - and never once felt the need to go in, but in the name of trying something different I was looking forward to seeing what it was like.  Afterall there are people who like it so much they regularly seek them out across the world and wear the t-shirts to prove it!

Considering there were 8 of us, in need of a high chair and turning up at 5.30pm, without a booking, we were seated very quickly.  Our waiter was friendly/brain washed and delivered us a lot of information very quickly.  He could have pulled it off as genuine, if he had not have asked my aunt if she wanted chips with her potato skins.  (Now, this could have just been symptomatic of the clientelle, but I am going to go with shameless corporate upselling!)  We had all eaten fairly big lunches so no one in the party was particularly hungry, which was a good thing down to the amount of time it took to plough through the HUGE menu.  We were recommended the ribs by the waiter, but I don't think Paul needed to wait for the suggestion, as from what I gather he is a fan.  This meant that when he did not finish them and lick his plate clean we knew he was either ill, or there was something wrong with them.  Now hats of to him, when asked if everything was ok, he said no.  It is something that I promised myself that I would begin to do, but, thankfully have not needed to yet.  The waiter apologised and they were removed from the bill.  Julie had a steak sandwich and as mentioned Judy had potato skins (without the chips!), both of which lived up to their descriptions.  My uncle Norrie had a pulled pork sandwich which was returned to the kitchen for being luke warm and then left untouched due to its inability to live upto it's 'tender and juicy' description.  (By this time I am feeling for the waiter: "Was everything alright sir?...)  The manager actually came over to the table and had a conversation with him about the cooking process - I did not hear what was being said as I was trying on a shower cap with my cousins little girl - don't ask!  The outcome was that the pulled pork sandwich was removed from the bill also.  I would like to tell you the total 'saving' but the online menus do not have prices.  I had a chicken haystack salad, which I enjoyed.  It takes a lot of talent to mess up a salad.  The 'haystack' element came in the form of long strips of tortilla chips, built up into a haystack shape over the salad.  A shameless gimick that probably added a few pounds to the price!  B had a burger, and he really, really liked it.  B will happily return for another burger, but unless I am in the mood to join him, I think that this is one chain restaurant that I will be giving a miss in the future.  One more point about the Hard Rock Cafe; when you order a cheesecake, it comes in a glass.

Tapa

My mother taught me well: "hunt out the bargains Nicola!"  Over the years, I have become a master of the red/yellow sticker hunting (depending on supermarket) and I am not ashamed to rummage through the reduced shelves.  However, when B came across a website with massive savings on all sorts of things - my brain kicked in with "too good to be true!"  But £17 for 6 tapas and a bottle of wine between 2 was a gamble we were willing to take.  All we had to do was print out a voucher and mention it when we booked.  Simple!  I recommend you check out this website (http://www.groupon.co.uk/) if you haven't already, just choose your city...

So, Tapa it was then!  I love tapas (true Spanish tapas that is, not just small dishes!) but I have been put off by La Tasca and other chain restaurants.  I feel that these do not offer good value for money and I have to say that I have never really enjoyed myself there.  We were already on to a winner with Tapa when it came to the value part thanks to groupon, but we were both pleasantly surprised by the portion sizes.  In fact - tapas my ass - these were very close to meals in their own right!  ("...well not quite" says B.)  I know that the idea behind the vouchers would be to get new customers into the restaurant and hope that they will return, but part of me always assumes that there would be a catch i.e. cheaper dishes or smaller portions.  However, from the moment we walked in we had excellent service and were treated like 'real' customers!

The menu is clearly divided into meat, fish and vegetable sections which makes it easy for you to ensure that you are going to end up with a nice mix of dishes.  I think that is always wise to order a stew with chickpeas as part of my tapa so that there is a bit of sustenance.  Patatas Bravas is a favourite too, but there is always a fight for this one, B is not so keen on chickpeas...  Being the bargain hunter that I am, I made sure that we got our moneys worth and we ordered the most expensive dish at £7.50, a selection of air cured meat and Spanish cheese.  This was not as large a portion as the others, which means quality over quantity - and a relief as we were getting full by this point!  The staff were very good at clearing us space on the table as we ploughed through and at no point seemed to be hovering.  As I have previously mentioned, I am not a dessert kind of gal, but, and there appears to always be a 'but', (adding no doubt to my butt) - I managed to squeeze one in.  It is more of a can't resist if something grabs me, and the almond sponge most certainly did.  This of course had to be accompanied with an espresso, so B decided to match me in the dessert and hot drink stakes.  He opted for the cinamon "enriched" rice pudding and a white hot chocolate.  If you are a hot chocolate fan I think that you should make haste to Tapa, eat a meal and then sit back and enjoy 'the best white hot chocolate' that B has ever had!  It was made by melting real white chocolate into hot milk and then garnished with - wait for it - a flump!  Hats off to who ever  came up with that idea!  But hey, I don't touch the stuff, I just sat watching, with envy, at B playing.  I had my delicious sponge to console me.  I was sooo full, but it was sooo good that I just had to finish it all, oh and B enjoyed his rice pudding, but I think that it fell to the way side due to the hot chocolate.

We had paid upfront for the voucher, but obviously we had to settle up for the desserts and the hot drinks.  a fact that appeared to be more obvious to us than to the staff.  Up until the end of the meal, Tapa was 'up there' in restaurant experiences, not only since I began this blog, but in recent memory.  I have to say, that nothing went wrong, and it was not bad as such - but the chore of trying to get the attention of the staff when you want to pay is certainly a pet hate of mine.  I owe you money - it is not really my responsibility to chase you to give it to you, if you don't want it...  It is nice to be able to sit and digest your meal and not feel rushed but in this situation we were getting more and more full by the minute, and by the time about 30 of those minutes had gone by, I went to the bar to ask for our bill.

After we waddled home, we (I) went straight on to the website to work out the really cost of our bill.  We got around £44 worth, including wine, but excluding the dessert etc.  A bargin in deed.  The real testament to this restaurant is that we would happily return and pay full price (and I think only order 5 dishes between 2).  Also I think next time B would forgo his dessert and proceed directly to flump dipping!