VERDE & COMPANY LTD - SPITAFIELDS CAFÉ

ON the weekend I took a trip back to London to see a wonderful friend. It was only a fleeting visit so all I managed to see was Hoxton in the dark and a beautiful little café on Brushfield St near Spitafields Market called VERDE & COMPANY LTD.

mmm. Chocolate.

Bizarrely this café looks much larger on the outside than it is on the inside, but it is all the more cosy for it! When you enter you're faced with walls of homemade jam, Italian sauces and pasta, a large selection of pastries and boxes of Belgian Pierre Marcolini chocolates. 

Here's the impressive jam jar wall

And here's the Italian wall.

Thank goodness the bag I had with me was small otherwise I may have bought the lot.

On the menu is a host of breakfasts [go for the Verde breakfast] and lunchtime pick-me-ups including the delicious-sounding Breasola with sun-blush tomatoes, fresh tomato & leaves £5.95 and a selection of freshly-made quiches £3.50. I opted for the stomach-lining [Friday and Saturday drinks..] Goats cheese with grilled aubergine Sandwich on brown bread £4.65 which was big enough for someone who'd woken up after breakfast-time with a hunger and tasty enough for even the harshest critic. Sadly I didn't take a photo of the sandwich, but someone else has taken a photo of the chocolates:

Source Good Food Shops

One thing that also struck me was how passionate, friendly and helpful the gentleman who appeared to be the waiter was. So next time you're early for a train or you fancy something to eat before a bout of Summer-related afternoon drinking down Brick Lane, pay a visit to VERDE & COMPANY LTD and - basically- enjoy.

THE LOST & FOUND, BENNETTS HILL: NEW MENU

YESTERDAY saw us venturing to The Lost & Found [a Grade II listed building on Bennetts Hill] to accept an invitation to try their new menu:

Hiya The Lost & Found!

We turned up, starved out of our minds, ready for whatever they had to throw at us, after we ordered some cocktails [of course] from Matt who was incredibly helpful, very friendly and knew a lot about the menu.

Starved, sippin' on a cocktail

Both the Apple & Pear Cobbler  (L) and the Ms. H.G. Watson (R) were deliciously fruity,

incredibly more-ish and half price thanks to Happy Hour!

We've had dinner here before, but the first difference we noticed was that the menu seemed much more grown up and much less pub-like. Had Hettie given it elocution lessons? It seemed that way, but the reality is that the new Head Chef has a brilliant vision, something that is evident from merely looking at the new menu.

Hiya new menu!

BUT ON WITH THE SHOW. We wanted to get a good feel for what the new food was about so tried to stick to ordering completely different dishes. First was:

         a] Crispy Fried Goat's Cheese with beetroot and horseradish remoulade, beetroot purée and onion ash:

Prettier than Miranda Kerr on a good day

Not only did it look beautiful, each component had a very distinct flavour, with the remoulade being particularly punchy, a great sharp contrast to the gooey/crispy cheese.

          b] Surf & Turf / Slow Cooked pork cheek, black pudding, king scallop, cauliflower purée and apple:

This is the 'metrosexual' of dishes; very manly, but very elegant all at the same time

Everything in this dish was cooked perfectly and the flavours were well-balanced. Definitely go for this starter if you've a big appetite and like bold flavours. Obviously this had to be washed down with another few cocktails:

Probably the most gentlemanly cocktail I've ever met, the Birmingham Cup mixes Gin, Corriander,and top hats,

amongst other things

The Raspberry Lemonade with its abundance of fruit and alcohol is so popular they have it on [sort of] tap

Now back to our stomachs and the main event. The main courses offer a great range of red meat, white meat, fish and vegetarian options but, unable to try everything on the menu for fear we'd combust, we opted for:

          a] Lemon & Fennel Poached Salmon with chargrilled asparagus, chorizo oil, poached egg and

             chorizo crumble:

It almost looked too good to eat, so I ate it

The flavour of the chorizo crumble with the salmon was heavenly; it's a combination I've never had before but it really works, adding a smokeyness to the salmon that doesn't overpower it. I think it may also have convinced me that you don't have to eat egg at breakfast only.

          b] 6 Hour Braised Beef Shin with red wine jus, celeriac mash, crispy leek and ox cheek faggot

It's like the best tasting eyeball I've ever seen

The hours of cooking this beef really shone through in its tenderness and it almost melted in the mouth, but the "pretty bloody tasty"  faggot was the real surprise in this dish, full of flavour and really complementing well the celeriac mash.

And as if we had space for anything else, we went on to order two desserts out of sheer greed and intrigue.

          a] Peanut Butter Parfait with peanut brittle and dark chocolate millefeuille:

PeanutMANIA

The parfait was like a really light, cool, solid peanut-ty mousse, refreshing and indulgent all at the same time with the crunchy brittle and smooth millefeuille as lovely extra treats if you're sharing, so you can each tuck into something different at the same time. Amazing.

          b]Melting Chocolate Pot Pudding with salted caramel and home made tonka bean ice cream

We drew the heart to show the dessert how amazing we thought it looked, and because we're basically big children

If I had to choose a favourite dish of the evening it would have to be this. Imagine being addicted to something so much that you lose the ability to talk in its presence; that's what happened. The melty chocolate. Oh my gosh. The salted caramel sauce. OH MY GOSH. We couldn't put our spoons down until after the entire board had been cleared and all [and I mean all] the salted caramel had been scraped off strategically. Also, tonka bean ice cream has such an unusual and [again] addictive flavour that you're going to be disappointed you can't just go out and buy it from the corner shop.

The Botanical Garden area is where we were seated and basically looks like you've stepped into

an upside-down Victorian courtyard. Very cool.

As you can tell from the menu [top], the prices are very reasonable for the quality and standard of food that is now being served. The Lost & Found is no longer a place to go for a drink and a nibble [don't be rude]; it is now a place to go back to solely for the food. On par with those of the surrounding established restaurants, the new menu is a testament to the passion and hard work of its creator and is clearly the start of big things. I'll be back soon to try the burger which has GUINNESS in it? Yes please.

STANLEY

p.s 

                        sshhh...they've got a little secret

         

OBLIGATORY PLPP [POST LENT PIZZA POST]

WITH the end of the Easter break came the end of Lent, and for me that meant only one thing:

PIZZAPIZZAPIZZAPIZZA

In an act of what I can only describe as pure insania [thenks Peeda Ondray] I decided to give up pizza for Lent. "How much pizza does this girl eat?" I hear you cry. 'A LOT' I answer with an unashamed tone. And where do I get my delicious doughy delights from? Well, the pizza you see above is from Joe's Pizza Company [I'm not sure where their actual Birmingham website has gone to so I took this last night. Obv had to have a slice first] and is always, without fail, delicious, hot and on time [sounds like the perfect partner?!]. Want to know something even better? It's BUY ONE GET ONE FREE on all LARGE and X LARGE PIZZAS ALL THE TIME, and with an x large (15") at £15.99...well, you know where I'm going with this..

Thanks WiffleGif

No need to thank me, just revel in the beauty that is Joe's pizzas and do the right thing next time you can't be bothered to cook. Also, lets try and get them on Twitter because they're missing out on all the love.

P.S. Mine's a veggie hot, extra jalapenos; what's yours?

STANLEY

EASTER SUNDAY ie FOOD

YESTERDAY was Easter Sunday, which for all the Greeks out there involves a BBQ [whatever the weather], enough food to feed the entire street and lots of colours:

My egg-tapping efforts lasted one round...and there were 22 of us...

And whilst yesterday wasn't particularly warm, or dry, or wind-free, we still managed our BBQ complete with chicken marinated in ginger, chilli and cider, pork souvlakia, macaronia tou fournou and BBQd veggies sprinkled with paprika amongst a whole host of other dishes:

I've just managed to crowdsource a photo of souvlakia and...

CAKE.

This is probably the worst photo I could have taken and shows absolutely no food, but it's the only one I did take so...

A highlight of the day had to be being given a box of STANLEY CHOCOLATES by a lovely lady who reads my blog; how wonderful:

MR STANLEY Easter Bunny Bar, you were made for me.

So somehow Easter is over again and our stomachs have a whole year to recover; Yiayia we missed your singing this year but one of your grandchildren tried to make up for it:

Loukia & Evi this is for you!

Enjoy the rest of your Easter weekend everyone and please, eat chocolate responsibly.

love

STANLEY

BIRMINGHAM SPRING MARKET etc

THIS weekend saw me finding two new things in Birmingham [no, one of them isn't the sunshine]:

ONE] The Birmingham Spring Market: This wonderful event was held at The Bond on Fazeley Street in Digbeth,
         a place that is slowly looking more and more like somewhere that stole a bit of Hackney's soul and
         gave it some elocution lessons.

Hiya bull of Bull-Ring fame

           Situated opposite one part of our vast canal system, the market featured many independent food stalls
          including Fire and Slice Pizza and their super duper pizza oven. Sadly I have given up pizza for lent
          [causing myself immense pain in the process] and had to take my friend's word for it, but frankly the

          doughy delights looked delicious:

I stole this from their Facebook page because my friend's pizza lasted about a minute

                Another of their food stalls was the wonderful Deli at Edgbaston which served a healthy, completely

            fulfilling and very colourful selection of salad that left me feeling pretty zen considering the wind had
            just started to send a rather inconvenient chill down our jackets:

mmm. health.

                Visual highlight of the day had to be the Routemaster Bus Bar which took me back to the days of
              catching the good old 38 through Angel in the sunshine, except more alcoholic:

Boozing on public transport without the consequences? Smashing!

                  And whilst you might be able to tell that I am slightly obsessed with food, the indoor stalls also
             appealed to the homemaker in me; something that caught my eye were the mason jar lamps by
             JamJar Lights. Find yourself some low wattage lightbulbs and these handmade lamps could be

             a centrepiece to andy room as well as a visual aid. Pretty and practical? Yes! Affordable? Yes yes.

Also stolen from their website as I was too busy thinking where to put my [future] lamp

                I couldn't escape food for too long though as I accidentlaly-on-purpose bumped into the

                Fat Man Chilli stall which sold my second favourite thing in life; chillis + food:

Here's my delicious Fat Man Chilli sauce! This is the second hottest one they had

which is made with Scotch Bonnets and Rum. The hottest is made with

Tequila. I hate Tequila, otherwise...

                 I could go on for hours talking about all the wonderful stalls that the market showcased but I simply
                 wouldn't have time to do basic, human tasks like wash and eat. Instead take my word from it, have
                 a look on the Spring Market Twitter account for all the businesses that took part and support your

                 local independent!

TWO] Phones in some parts of Birmingham [where we ordered this table cloth from] go 'ZIIIIR ZIIIIR', not
          'Riiing Riiing'. Interesting.

love

STANLEY

INDEPENDENT BIRMINGHAM: WE HEAR YA

AS promised, here is another 'new thing' happening in Birmingham:

THE IB CARD:
Not something you use to take books out at the library, this little plastic gem allows you to be subject to wonderful discounts for an entire year at your favourite independent businesses in Birmingham. 

Here's me with mine which I pre-ordered for £10, OBVIOUSLY.

The Independent Birmingham website [rather helpfully] hosts two things, as well as being quite smart:

                  a] a directory of Independent retailers/restaurants/bars in the city, complete with pictures and blurb,
                      and
                  b] a comprehensive list of all the independents taking part in this initiative which, at the moment is
                      25 strong and counting

Ranging from cafés to bars, restaurants to shops, the IB Card really does have it all. The reason I like it so much is the fact that, amongst other things, it highlights just how many Independents we now have in Birmingham and urges us all to support them [I used to moan that we were lacking a LOT]. Sick of enduring the grimey walls of a ridiculously-priced Starbucks? Had enough of wearing the same clothes as pretty much everyone on your bus? Really want some fresh, great value dinner to wash down with an endless list of craft beer? Then the IB Card is for you! On the list is Birmingham's oldest Inn: The Old Crown, 

Photo courtesy of Ell Brown

The talent-supporting Cherry Reds [I recently played this venue as part of the wonderful Alto Launch], 

Shameless plug plug plugging

Birmingham's little piece of South America: Bodega

Photo courtesy of designmynight.com

and our musical pride and joy Swordfish Records [the day I found out you could buy tickets to a gig I was playing was a great, great day]

Photo courtesy of Grapevine Birmingham

...to name but a few of the brilliant places throwing offers at us left, right and centre. The reality of the matter used to be that independents in Birmingham were almost hidden by the 'safety' and popularity of chains and, as a result, rarely made an impact on our community. That is until now. [yay] Independent businesses are supporting each other and coming together with the help of Independent Birmingham to create a louder voice and share their unique-y goodness with all of us.

The card can be purchased for a mere £15 HERE and entitles you to a year of discounts and free things, the offers for which are updated on the same page [if you scroll down a bit you'll see]. So go on, SUPPORT YOUR INDEPENDENTS.

love
STANLEY        

BACK AND BRUMMIE

IT'S been a while since my last post which was probably when I was living in London; since then a lot has happened - good and bad things - but now I finally feel comfortable enough to take to the page again and let you know my views on what's been happening during my time in BIRMINGHAM [glad to be back babez] this year:

ONE] Take Me Out has finished for another year: I'm not even sure how this passed me by to be honest, but in
         some stroke of cruel order of nature Take Me Out has been and gone [much like the fame of whoever last

         won The Voice].

I'm not even sure what's going on here but I love it. Thanks Grace Dent

           I didn't think i'd be able to get through this Take Me Out-empty time without constant re-runs on ITV

           Player, but miraculously 'Kirsty', a Brummie contestant on the last series of the programme, ensured me

           that I was not alone and that we'd get through this together with a cryptic 'favourite':

That's her favouriting one of my work Tweets - standard

           

            I'm not entirely sure when the programme is due to air again, but I can say that whenever it is I'll be

            ready for it: hopefully in the audience, probably eating pizza.

TWO] Vintage markets in Birmingham are not full of tat: About five years ago I went to a vintage market in the
          custard factory. One room filled with tables and tables of vintage jewellery, fur coats and dresses from

          the eighties. Yesterday I went to the B2B Antiques and Vintage Bazaar which is essentially the same

          event, only this time the Custard Factory appears to have tripled in size and the stalls aren't aimed solely

          at eighteen year old girls. Our first stop was [of course?!] McTunneys Sweet Shop where we seemed to

          get 'a bag of everything' plus an Irn Bru lollipop:

A wonderful looking bag

Sugary, fruity sweet pips. YEAH

          

          We then wandered round until we spotted a stall with badges, jewellery and two BEAUTIFUL RESCUE

          DOGS, one of which had been saved from a home where young boys used him as a football; as a

          result he almost constantly shakes due to damage to a nerve in his brain. I wanted to take them both

          home but they weren't for sale sadface:

Apparently the Great Dane looks after the little brain-damaged dog.

TOO CUTE.

         After we managed to separate ourselves from this stall [and believe me, it took a while], we turned around
         and in front of us was an original 1970s [working] guitar on sale for an already silly price that we managed
         to haggle down a further £10:

I'm using larger font to show how amazing this purchase was. AMAZING.

          So as you can see, the Vintage Market in Digbeth can give you doggies, sweets, guitars, a LOT 

          of furniture and real-life armour. Sound up your street? Keep checking the Custard Factory website for

          for a full list of what's on.

THREE] Birmingham has changed MASSIVELY: A self explanatory sentence really, but during the year and nine

             months that i'd been living in London, it's as though someone injected Birmingham with a dose of truth

             serum, listened to the results and actually did something about it. One of the main issues I used to

             have with city was that there was a limited amount of things to do of a night out. Our routine was mainly

             dinner at one of two restaurants, pre-drinks at the vic and out at the Rainbow. Now it's more like, 'How

             do we choose where to go?!' and 'Let's try somewhere new'. So for every post i'm going to try and do a

             'Here's-something-new-i've-found-in-Birmingham-which-is-probably-only-just-new-to-me-as-i've-been-

             away' section, starting with this new[ish] restaurant I found:

                   Fleet Street Kitchen: Situated pretty much opposite Mechu (length ways, where Blu Bar used to

                   be) is Fleet Street Kitchen, a refreshingly new restaurant/underground bar showcasing fresh food

                   with great service, complete with low-hanging lighting, chalk boards and splatterings of reclaimed

                   wood style benches:

     Obviously it's not all about decor [it helps], but the food is also very good. We ordered calamari,

                  burger sliders, salmon, belly pork, veggies and chips, all of which were full of flavour and cooked 

                  well. It's kind of an Italian-British bistro amalgamation that seems to work very well. The wine

                  selection is pretty reasonably priced too an caters for all budgets. It is very refreshing to come to a

                  place that looks great, doesn't just serve either Michelin star food or microwaved burgers and has a

                  hidden-away space that hosts bands every Friday [you can also hire this space]. If this is the start
                  of a new wave of affordable restaurants in Birmingham i feel prettyyyy prettyyyy good

               

Enjoy your Sunday, kids

STANLEY