Popped over to Prague for the Weekend

I was lucky enough recently to pop off to Prague for a birthday weekend. I expected the city to be very Gothic and a bit like something out of a cross between Harry Potter and Van Helsing. I wasn't wrong about the Van Helsing bit anyway.

Prague is like a little magical kingdom hidden away in the middle of Europe. Often known as 'Vampire World' its cobbled streets and huge cathedral it really is a little haven, offering old and wonderful treats. I knew that the Czechs are big on their beer but nothing could have prepared me for how much I drank and how much I actually liked it! I practically lived off of Kozel a dark beer which is a bit like Guinness but with bubbles and Staropramen (a light beer). Being the indecisive human that I am I found that my favorite beer was a mix of both dark and light beer known as Granat which gave me the best of both worlds.

Kozel

We didn't get on a single piece of public transport the whole time we were in Prague, which meant there was a lot of walking - 12 miles a day to be exact- and to compensate a lot of eating. Because of the cold carbs are a daily staple in the city and trying to avoid them is near enough impossible. But after the first taste of a dumpling I realised that I had nothing to fear the dumplings were not only delicious but also not as stodgy as I had anticipated.

There are so many places to eat in Prague we were completed spoiled for choice, most lunches though were spent having potatoes and cabbage with various sausages from the markets. Paired with a pint of course. One afternoon however we decided to have an treat and went to Cafe Savoy, with its beautifully decorated high ceilings, grand chandeliers and huge cakes it is the perfect spot. It is renowned for its breakfast, but sadly we couldn't book for that and so had to go for lunch instead - still amazing. If you are lucky enough to go to the Case Savoy remember to book! You can do that here even though we didn't book we managed to get a table with a twenty minute wait. We sat at the back by a window with a view of the whole cafe,  I chose to have the sausage and lentil sup which was absolutely to die for! Dan had the baked ham brioche bread with Gruyere cheese and poached egg, which was so filling and so tasty he was very impressed. The coffee is amazing not to strong and so smooth!! Something that I picked up on my time in Prague is that they don't make their coffees strong unless you ask them too, which I was very happy about as I'm quite new to the coffee scene.

Staropramen

Prior to the Cafe we went to the Staropramen brewery despite it being slightly odd and not what either of us expected but with a free beer there's little to complain about.

Our best meal however has to be at U Kroka, a little of out the city it's the perfect little place for a quiet dinner. Once again I'd recommend booking especially if it is the weekend as it can get super busy. U Kroka bookings. We shared a range of sausage to start from various regions, some smokey and some spicy.

I had beef goulash and dumplings which was possibly the nicest thing i have ever eaten in my little life! (apologies for the poor picture). The restaurant itself was once a school canteen and before that was a pub that was closed down by the Soviet Union, it also tells the history of Prague with Princess's and Price's who fought for the city.

One thing that we were lucky taught before we went to Prague was never to order individual starters as the mains are so rich and often heavy you'll be left far too full and uncomfortable to enjoy the rest of your evening.

If you do have the time to go to Prague I would totally recommend it, it is a beautiful city and perfect for a weekend away- four-five days are just the right amount to see and do everything that is available.

A Sunday Lunch in the Country

Sunday Roasts are the fundamental part of every weekend. Whether they're consumed at home or in a Country Pub off the M25 they make the world a better place.

This Sunday we all popped off to The Stile Bridge just outside of Maidstone. The pub has been listed as one of the best CAMRA pubs in 2014, so expectations were high. To make things even better, the pub itself is independent, which is quite refreshing as just about every street is now littered with Wetherspoons.

Initial thoughts upon arrival were great. It was a truly traditional country pub in every sense; beer mats on the walls, different size pint glasses hanging from the ceiling and, the most exciting feature (other than the alcohol), an open roaring fire. The smell from the fire was fantastic, filling the room with that beautiful, wintery, smoky smell. Traditional pub quirks carried on throughout the restaurant, with big oak beams and bunting hanging over our heads. We had stumbled upon a great pub.

The Stile Bridge had an amazing selection of beers and gins; I opted for a pint of Whitstable Bay blonde lager, which was one of the CAMRA lagers on offer. It was great, really light with a fruity twist, and a nice change to the usual lager that I go for.

Crab Salad 

On to the food then.. after all, it's what we were there for. The Stile has an extensive but enticing menu, including a great range of specials, ranging from a duck and plum salad to artichoke soup. All 13 of us opted for the specials; I went for the crab salad, which was refreshing and light with its mayonnaise base and red onions. It was a perfect way to start the meal.

Duck and Plum Salad 

Despite the slow service our mains arrived. I had the roast beef with yorkshire pudding and seasonal vegetables. To be perfectly honest the roast wasn't the best I have ever had, the veg was a little tight as we only had two small bowls to go around 13 people. The beef was perfectly cooked but the yorkshire pudding was very heavy and not the usual fluffy goodness you would expect. Extra gravy was supplied though, which is always good as I can never get enough.

Chocolate Brownie 

Despite being full, there was room for dessert. Sticky toffee pudding, which is one of my all time favourites, was on the menu. I rejoiced, thinking this would redeem the average roast! But there was bad news. The dreaded nut. Oh how I hate it when places put nuts in their stickty toffee pudding. There was nothing else I fancied, so I sat there sulking for a bit. That got even worse, as everyone else had dessert and I ended up with food envy looking at the cheese boards, treacle tarts and brownies. They all looked amazing!

All in all the Stile Bridge was a lovely pub, and the staff were helpful and smiley. But the service was slow and the roast just didn't give me the warm fuzzy feeling that I usual get. After all, a roast is a special dish which just makes you feel amazing on a cold, wintery Sunday.

I would go back again however, just to try some more of the beers. The burgers also looked delicious and have been recommended.

Italy and the Thames

Once again I have fallen off the blogging band wagon, but I have been storing up some serious treats. Even though this is slightly outdated, Cantina del Ponte is amazing whenever you decide to go.

Situated just behind Tower Bridge the views are just as good as the food, despite how quiet the restaurant was when we arrived there was still an atmosphere, where staff were all friendly and attentive.

If you do go to Cantina for a special occasion ensure that you let them know before hand and you'll get your hands on some freebies! We had two glasses of Processco and the birthday boy had his huge Tiramisu for free too - after all the waiters came and sang "Happy Birthday"! Which was a nice surprise for him.

But most importantly THE FOOD! Cantina has never let me down on this front and this time was no different, to start I had Formaggio di capra, caponata e confettura al perperonchino (or goat cheese in filo pastry, caponata and chili jam). Light and bursting with flavour it was the perfect dish to kick of my meal.

Formaggio di capra, caponata e
confettura al perperonchino 

I often opt for the veggie option for starters as sometimes I find an all meat meal a bit too rich and then I have no room for dessert which of course is practically blasphemy!

Similarly the other starter was all a veggie option Bruschetta Alla Cantina (selection of bruschetta: tomato, olive paste) which was not only delicious but absolutely huge so if you're not too hungry I would defiantly recommend sharing.

Sometimes I find that if a restaurant is quiet then the break between courses is either too long (because they've forgotten about you) or too quick because there's no one else to serve. But the timings at Catina were pretty perfect, I never left rushed once.

Gnocchtti sardi con pesto e gamberi 

For mains of course I had pasta, I always find it bizarre when someone orders anything other than pasta at an Italian restaurant when you know it's going to be so good! Gnocchtti sardi con pesto e gamberi was the dish the finally decided on (gnocchetti sardi with basil pesto and tiger prawns) which sounds simple and like there wouldn't be much going on, on the plate but there certainly was! The pesto was homemade and nutty, the cherry tomatoes made for a juicy companion. I'm a big fan of tiger prawns so even if the plate had been full of them I still would have wanted more, nevertheless the prawns were full of flavour and juicy.

The Pappardelle al ragu' di coniglio (pappardelle, white rabbit ragu) was equally as good, it was nice to have a different type of pasta as the pappardelle is a fat, flat pasta almost like gaint spaghetti, with the tender and rice rabbit ragu it was the perfect combination.

 Pappardelle al ragu' di coniglio 

Dessert is my favourite part of the meal! But often I am left with sorbet or ice cream as sometimes many dessert menus are nut filled, which can be a bit of a bummer. But on this occasion I was fancying something fruity and light. So I opted for a classic favourite of mine - pannacotta con salsa ai fruitti di bosco - pannacotta with mixed berries- which after all the amazing food I had already eaten was a good choice as I didn't want to be too full and ruin the whole experience. The pannacotta was light and creamy and the berries tart.

pannacotta con salsa ai fruitti di bosco

As it was his birthday the second dessert was a favourite of his Tiramisu which was a huge portion, not only did the staff sing but the dessert was decorated with writing and a candle too which was a nice surprise! The Tiramisu went down a treat even if there was a slight struggle at the end due to the portion size!

Tiramisu 

Cantina del ponte is the perfect place to go whether it is for a special occasion or not the staff are always welcoming and the food is always excellent. If the sun is shining I would recommend sitting outside as the view is amazing and watching the boats drift up and down the Thames is always a nice pass time. To get an outside table during the summer it is always a good idea to book similarly for the weekend as it can get pretty busy.

Southbanks Street Food

When living in London you can never get bored, there is always something going on somewhere. Whether it's a festival, market or show there is never a dull moment in London. And this weekend was no different.

Southbank is one of the many places, itoffers something everyday of the week,  Sunday happened to be a Love Festival and a street food market. Despite the original weather report, Sunday ended up being very hot and very sunny. 

White Sangria 

After spending a good twenty minutes walking around trying to make a decision on which stall I should approach, considering there was a fair amount of choice, from Indian, Lebanese, Korean, French and British. 

Firstly I had to quench my thirst, with a nice glass of white Sangria a nice change from the usual red, which as I'm not much of a red wine drinker never really appealed to me. 

Nice Sangria Lady

I decided on a Moroccan spiced lamb and chickpea tagine whole-grain flat bread, filled to the brim it was possible one of the best food choices I have ever made, the spiced lamb was seasoned perfectly and matched the chickpea tagine. With a slathering of mint yogurt and a hand full of tomato and chili salad it was a combo made from heaven. 

Spiced Lamb

There was a slight downside to this master piece. The flat bread was too small and so when i got half way through the wrap it exploded.... This is one of the faults to street food, in practise it should very urban and cool but in reality it just ends up in a big explosion of Moroccan spiced lamb mess. 

The Wrap

I did find a perfect spot to eat my flat bread, over looking the entire market and watching everyone else having a similar street food explosion going on. 

Southbank 

All in all though, Southbank is the perfect place for lunch or if you're simply stuck for things to do on a sunny weekend.

Annie's Burger Shack.

Living in London it's hard to find a good new place to eat that isn't branded as 'trendy' or an all American diner with a twist. Yawn. London is saturated with burgers everywhere you go. There's Meat Liquor (I am still desperate to try) and Shake Shack (hasn't had fab reviews), as well as dozens of others. It's the new 'in' thing but I'm actually already bored of it.

However, this isn't the case in Nottingham. Nottingham doesn't have anywhere new and burgerfabulous. But anyone who lives in Nottingham knows the wonders of Annie's Burger Shack. From its humble beginnings at the Navigation pub (just like Meat Liquor started at a pub) last year, it has now got its very own home in the Lace Market.

Everything about Annie's is amazing; the atmosphere, the beers and the burgers are so good it's hard to explain! Everything is fresh, and what's better is it hasn't got the traditional American Diner feel to it, no red leather booths or black and white floors  it’s very... wooden. It has been referred to as the  New England in the Old England.

The bar has a huge selection of beers, most of which I am ashamed to say I didn't know what they were. We had a little wait for our table as we came a bit early, so I had a pint of Bitburger – a German lager. I actually really like having different beers instead of the standard.

We booked our table as, since it has reopened, it has literally been mission impossible to get a table by walking in, and if it’s for more than two people, make sure you book well in advance. (A sneaky tip: if you go in and look lovingly at the staff during the day they, tend to squeeze you in somewhere.

There have been a lot of complaints about the waiting time at Annie's - it is about half an hour until you get your food. BUT, even though Annie's Burger Shack is a typical 'burger joint,' it is by no means a fast food restaurant. Everything is made fresh to order - even the burgers - and so even though there is a bit of a wait it is definitely worth it.

The burgers... well there are 30 different types and you can literally have anything on them from a roast dinner to a pizza with a number of sides. But I do recommend the curly fries! On my previous visit, I had the Fajita burger which was amazing.

Surf and Turf 

This time I opted for the 'Surf and Turf' which didn't disappoint. The burger was cooked to perfection and it came with several king pawns, onion rings and thousand island sauce. You might thinkit would be easy for the pawns to be over taken by the beef burger, but in fact, it was all perfectly placed.

Jamie Blackmore was the other burger at the table, which comes topped with eight hour slow cooked BBQ'd pulled pork, melted red Leicester cheese and salsa.  This was welcomed with equal happiness. 

Jamie Blackmore 

I must say, I was starving by the time the burger came and do think I ate it within record time, which meant that I was bursting by the time I'd finished!

My favourite thing about Annie's is that it doesn't bore me like all the others. Yes the burgers we both had were very 'American' but others they have on the menu aren’t like the roast dinner burger so there is something for everyone.

What I'm really looking forward to is seeing what they do for their v day menu... What stops can they pull out for this?!

I really need to go back, and to be honest, I’m secretly planning on working my way through the entire menu! (Minus a few like the 'Elvis Presley' which is slathered in Peanut Butter – death in a burger)

My advice - definitely book yourself a table!

http://www.anniesburgershack.com/

The Living Room Nottingham.

Once again my lack in blogging has a lot to do with how empty my purse is and how busy my third year life has become! I no longer have time to eat out and enjoy all the wonders of the world. But have no fear in six months time I will be a graduate, with more time on my hands than I would like!

So because its been a while since we ventured out for a date night, me and my man friend decided to take a little trip out and with 50% off food until the end of January at the Living Room where else would we go?!

This wasn't my first time to the Living Room in Nottingham (there are loads of them all over the UK) but there is something about it that I really love, it has a really good vibe to it. There is a massive down stairs bar with very friendly bar staff. On my first trip to the Living Room there was even a piano player which is always a nice treat and the bar is both a good pre drink and post drink area when you're too full to contemplate getting in a cab just yet.

Because of the amazing offer that was available the restaurant was super busy so our table wasn't quite ready when we got there - a perfect excuse for a quick glass of wine!

Once our table was ready a very friendly waiter came and took our orders, we had mini spicy chorizo in cider and olives - the chorizo literally exploded flavour on to my tongue!

After a very tough decision making process, I ordered cured salmon with rye bread and wasabi creme fraiche not my usual choice but I had a huge craving for salmon and it wasn't a bad choice at all! It came on a slate slab and by putting balsamic vinegar on to the lemon wedge it was a really good combo! It was actually really nice to have a cold/fresh starter as I normally opt for really rich things and then by the end I'm super full! However because of the rye bread being a bit dry it would have been nice to have more of the cream fraiche.

We had to go for separate wines, as I am yet to discover the delights of red wine much to the delight of many, I went for the house white which I was expected to be really sour like house whites often are. Restaurants have now developed this idea that house wines are the cheapest when in actual fact they are supposed to be the best as they represent the house - clever little fact there for you all. Next time you ask for it ask the waiter if it's the best!

I had already made my decision for mains before I'd even left the house... this is what happens when I don't get to eat out often! I went for Gressingham Duck with pickled pear, buttered kale, duck fat chips and red wine sauce. The chip were amaaazing super crispy on the outside but fluffy on the inside.

However, I had massive food envy when it came to my duck although it looked perfectly cooked on the inside, it was tough and majorly lacking the usual rich flavour that I find duck naturally has and it needed more red wine sauce to make it stand out, without these there was no flavour, and I was actually really disappointed.

My food envy was towards the lamb across the table. Roasted Rump of Lamb, with basil, olive and tomato braised lamb shoulder and creamed broad beans. The lamb was tender and rich and delish! We bought a side of creamy mash potato to share and it lived up to expectations - but it is hard to get mash wrong!

I have been being super good recently, not eating chocolate and sweet etc and going to the gym loads along with all the other januray gymers, however I couldn't resist something sweet to finish off my meal. We went for the Grande Dessert which had a selection of all the desserts but in miniature. It had ice cream, sticky toffee pudding, Eton Mess and a slab of chocolate goodness!

The Living Room is currently taking bookings for valentines day, and the Nottingham Living Room is getting a face lift at the end of Febuary so make sure you get yourself down there before then! Apparently it's going for a more Burger effect, which I really hope it isn't burgers are literally taking over Britain at the moment!              

http://www.thelivingroom.co.uk/

Gaucho Leeds.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love steak. But there's nothing worse than a bad steak, which can ruin everything in life. This steak however made everything in life amazing.


This weekend I was taken to Leeds for a surprise little trip. It is very sad to say but I'm one of those Londoners that didn't realise there was anything other than London until I came to University, so much so I didn't even believe I had an accent until I met a few Northeners. But Leeds lived up to all it's expectations. Not only was it my first trip to Leeds but also my first time  sleeping in a four poster bed (I'm a very lucky girl! - definitely not spoilt at all)

After being told that I had to "dress nicely" I was a bit concerned that I would be over dressed - this certainly wasn't the case. My little black dress and heels was the perfect decision; ladies don’t fear that you'll be over dressed, unless of course you go in your biggest ball gown.
Gaucho proved to be a hidden little treasure. After walking straight past it, we finally found it. Walking down into the depths of the basement, we were greeted by a very happy hostess, who lead us toward the candle lit bar which was the perfect excuse for a cocktail! I had a Gran Alvear - Gin, pineapple and sparkling wine. With the deadly cocktail trait of not being able to taste the alcohol, it proved to be very refreshing.

Gran Alvear

We were shown to our table right by the kitchen (so we could see all the action), by a very lovely waitress, who told us our waiter would be a long shortly. We ordered the sausage platter to share, which came with chorizo, chorizo picante (made with picante peppers)  black pudding (morcilla) and grilled red peppers.

Sausage Patter 

While waiting, we were given a little basket of bread, including, flat bread, a rustic brown and a cheesy crusty roll, accompanied with butter and chilli oil dip. The flat bread and crusty rolls were still warm and they all went perfectly with the chilli oil.

Bread Basket

Our waiter brought a wooden board will all the steaks available, including rump, sirloin, ribeye and fillet. All the meat at Gauchos is Argentinian, and that is something that the style of the restaurant tries to recreate.

He explained to us the various ways that they season and cook them, some have been marinated in parsley and garlic for 48 hours, others have been infused with chilli and of course they are all available cooked to how you like it. For me, steak has to be  medium rare, and I think well done steaks are just upsetting.

We both went for medium rare 300g sirloins with peppercorn sauce. Double fried chips and a mixed salad come along with the steak, but we also ordered spinach, sauteed with garlic, olive oil and lemon and sauteed oyster mushrooms with shallots and garlic as well. Everything was perfectly cooked; however the mushrooms were a little tasteless and needed something to give it a little wake up call.

Of course red wine goes perfectly with steak, however I haven't yet found the love for it just yet, so our waiter recommended me a rose, explaining that the fuller bodied the wine is the better it goes with the steak. He recommended the perfect match and so my steak and wine went very happily into my tummy.

If you ever end up taking a trip to Leeds Gaucho would definitely be a place I would recommend, the food and staff are both helpful and keen, without being over the top. It makes a very good night out, but be sure to book, we saw a very sad looking couple get sent away for not booking a table!
http://www.gauchorestaurants.co.uk/