Back to Blighty!

Well, I'm back from a wonderful trip to England.

I spent a couple of days getting used to being home in Cambridgeshire, enjoyed a delicious pub lunch and Celidh.

Then I went to my hometown of Birmingham to catch up with old friends and enjoy a delicious curry at Sylhet. I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven when we were standing outside the pub and were trying to decide between 3 great curry houses all less than a minutes walk. I also had a great tapas meal with mum in a break on our visit to Warwick Castle. It was a jolly fun day out, although the wax figurines were a little disturbing!

Then it was down to London where I enjoyed more Tapas. The following day I made my way into town and enjoyed a nice bowl of soup at the intriguing Crypt restaurant, which was actually underneath Trafalgar Square. It made me chuckle a little that they offered a 'soup and pudding' lunch special, where pudding means dessert. MMMM.

Another day an egg and cress sandwich with a fantastic view of the Thames and St Paul's Cathedral. I met a friend in the borough market, enjoyed a pint at the Market Porter, followed by a wander through the city, then a glass of wine and a cheese plate at Vinoteca in Farringdon, then a stroll up to Angel and another brilliant curry at Masala Zone.

My final day was an all out blowout, I met a friend at the borough market (again!) and enjoyed a truly delicious Pain au Chocolat, then pub lunch at the Flask in Highgate and a really great Eritrean meal at Green Lanes where we only managed to eat half of what was given to us. Thankfully my friend Sean had a really big doggie bag to take home for the next day.

I was also really chuffed that I managed to check out borough market. It really is absolutely wonderful. It was another place that was just oozing history, having been there for over 200 years. I got to sample truly delicious cheeses, lovely brownies, tasty fudge and a truly wonderful Pain au Chocolat. I was very happy that it lived up to my expectations.

In my years in the US, it feels like the food there and here has improved in pockets. I really like the fact that the brits take their food seriously but arent too stuffy about it. This really came home to me when I listened to a broadcast of the food program on Radio 4 and they were discussing 'slow food'. The people in san francisco (much as I love them) were so far up their own arses that they couldnt have fun with their food anymore, isnt that what slow food is all about, dinner, conversation, fun and passion?!!

California Trip

Well, my family were very sweet and allowed me to indulge myself by trying out lots of amazing restaurants.

In return, I drove Mum and Grandma up to San Francisco via Santa Barbara, Morro Bay and Monterey. They loved every minute!

We started off with a night in Carpinteria and dinner at Zookers Cafe, which hit the spot.

Next day we did the drive up to Morro Bay and enjoyed a great old fashioned fish supper at Dorn's. It was a really big dinner though, too much for Grandma. We realized we'd have to share in future, that worked very well and helped our budget along too!

We enjoyed a wonderfully fresh Mexican meal at Chapala. It was completely empty, but I was so glad we took the advice of the chowhounders and NY times.

It was then time to drive up the coast through the Big Sur to Monterey. We had a wonderful lunch at the Big Sur Bakery. I enjoyed a delicious mushroom soup and mum and grandma had a toasted ham and cheese sandwich. Perfect for the drizzly weather we had come across.

We continued north to Pacific Grove and were lucky enough to find a wonderful little restaurant, the Red House Cafe. They had delicious food, were very accommodating, my only gripe was that I didnt try the delicious looking pecan squares.

The highlight of the following day was the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We were glad that we'd put our names down early for lunch as there was quite a wait, with good reason, look at that beautiful view!! The food was really great too. I was greedy with a big plate of fish and chips, grandma was adventurous with abalone, sorbet and salad, as was mum with some calamari.

The next day was new years eve. We booked passionfish in advance and were not disappointed. It was really nice to be able to walk there. The food was excellent and it was a wonderful evening. Grandma had been looking at the sturgeon at great length earlier in the aquarium and had decided it was quite similar to an aircraft with its little white dots. She then decided to eat some for dinner! Mum went with the short ribs which were wonderful, enough for lunch the next day. I loved the lobster ravioli with avocado tempura. If only all restaurants could be a little more discerning in choosing what to serve.

We started up the coast to San Francisco the next day. Not all the restaurants were open, but the hotel recommended Betelnut, which was excellent. The decor was beautiful, the waiters were dressed up really cute, and the food was very good. I was happy with some scallops and a papaya salad. Mum and grandma went for the lettuce leaves with chicken and some duck dish.

The following day was a big foodie day for us. We ate lunch at Cafe Cacao at the Scharffen Berger factory, enjoying a delicious panini and enormous plate of sweet potato fries between the three of us. We then had a tour, which was lots of fun, and free, then enjoyed a beautiful decadent brownie and earl grey tea.

Our evening meal was booked at Sens, it was a wonderful experience, great food, incredible view, lovely atmosphere. The downsides were that the place was really hard to find, and that the food seemed to be a bit over salted. The wonderful desserts from Shauna more than made up for it, the chocolate one in particular was just incredible, layer upon layer of wonderful flavors and textures. I still dream about it now. Mmmm.

The following night we went to Millennium. I haven't eaten meat in 16 years and it is a real pleasure to go somewhere where meat eaters and veggies alike can have a wonderful indulgent meal without feeling they are missing out. It was just as good as I remembered, delicious flavors, wonderful service, nice wine.

We got back on the road down south the next day, worst day possible to travel, sideways rain, high winds, but we made it as far as Paso Robles, which was good, as there are great restaurants and wineries. We ate at Villa Creek and it was fantastic. We had short ribs and a delicious butternut squash enchilada. Mmmm. I'd bought dessert earlier, some delicious cakes from Miette at the Ferry Building in San Francisco.