h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If you order scampi in Spain, take care when you bite into them - they're often fried unpeeled. I wish someone had told me. Kerunch!

I didn't even know you could buy ready made frozen scampi

ahh... in the shell; bit like tempori batter seafood thinggies... damn not had them in ages too

Had dinner in the Boathouse in Saltaire tonight: bangers and mash. Massive Cumberland sausage with heavenly mash and onion gravy to die for. The Boathouse also has a lovely location, right alongside the river.

Had lunch out today, in the cafe in town, next to the church... Jacket potato and tuna mayo, with salad... always good and not overly expensive, which is a bonus... Very quiet again in town today... Not seen any tourists in town at all this year

I ate at the Shakespeare  in Birmingham http://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theshakespeareinnsummerrowbirmingham/
This  is a traditional pub that remains almost unchanged in the last 7 years despite a major revamp. I had cheese melt (onion marmalade, peppers and cheese) with chips and a glass of wine for £5. Admin staff were up from London settling in our new PA so it was a giggly girls lunch with much innuendo and shopping talk. To the 'delight' of my husband who had met me there expecting to dine a deux. 
He knows the PA, she used to work for his company before I poached her to work here. Then she left to have a baby but we've manage to tempt her back now her child has started school. We're very pleased. 

The Shakespeare used to be our "local" at work when our offices were in George Street. It's fab there, lovely warm atmosphere.

Now we're in Halesowen and if you're in the vicinity I would recommend the Waggon & Horses, which is what I think of as a "spit & sawdust" type of pub. Very cosy. The bar food is fabulous, worth the almost half hour wait for an immense sandwich or chilli. They're VERY generous with their sandwich fillings and have a tray of extras such as sliced onion, home made pickles, etc.

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/46/4609/Waggon_and_Horses/Halesowen

Deb

Oh, and since I'm here...

I had lunch with my mum today at a place called Masons in Great Wyrley (formerly The Freemasons Arms, I believe). We just dropped in as we were passing and it looked nice. It's really nicely done out inside and the service was friendly and efficient. We both had the Surf 'n' Turf, steak requested rare. When the food came it was well presented, the steak was rare, the chips were clearly home-made, the scampi was perfect, peas and side salad fine.

We paid just short of £19 for our meal and two half lager shandies but they did a two for £8 deal at lunch with a 5 meal selection we could have picked from instead of the a la carte. They also had a range of lighter meals like jacket spuds, omelettes and baguettes,

Altogether, a pleasant experience. I would definitely recommend, and it's on our list for a revisit.

Deb

Going to Viva Brazil in Glasgow tomorrow. Never tried Brazilian - any recommendations anyone?

Oh, and I last ate out last week on a boat trip in York at the Ship Inn. Being a carvery, it was quantity over quality but tasty enough. The Chinese tourists were agog at the platefuls on offer and were taking photos at every opportunity.

Just back from Viva Brazil, a churrascaria in Glasgow. Basically it's an all you can eat style where you load up your plate with veg and waiters come round with various meats on skewers which they carve in front of you.

The lunch menu isn't as varied as the evening menu but still interesting. Started off by getting the sides sorted out and these were a bit limited on the hot side of the servery but more varied on the cold, salad side. There was a *lot* of garlic in the side dishes and some of the cold cuts were particularly pungent.

Once the guys started coming round with the skewers of meat things took off. I started with some gorgeous slices of sirloin steak followed by some really nice gammon. The chilli chicken was a bit meh but the parmesan coated pork was quite flavourful. The chicken breast was wrapped in some seriously strong (and good) bacon but I found the lamb a bit pungent. The flank steak was frankly rotten, greasy and left a bad taste in the mouth.

The desserts were very rich and I couldn't eat all of mine cos I was stuffed.

Price for two - £50, but that included an eye-watering £14 for 4 glasses of coke.

Overall it was interesting, if a bit of a novelty act.

And I'll be farting garlic for a month.

Last night I ate at a pub called the Ash Tree in Rugeley: http://www.ashtreepub.co.uk/ It was ok but extremely busy. They've arranged the tables for maximum seating so you had to squeeze between chairs - it wasn't cramped, exactly, but heading that way.

They were quick enough with our drinks orders but then we waited 25 minutes to order our food. They have a lot of specials on a board which is slightly inconvenient, given the table layouts, but there really is a lot of choice.

I had a 12oz ribeye steak (I know, , but I love ribeye and I didn't really think about the size!). I asked for it rare but half of it was more blue. That's fine for me but some might have had to send it back. Although it was tender it seemed to have a lot of gristle and really, not much flavour. It came with the usual trimmings (chips, peas, tomato, onion rings) which were just as you'd expect, but the side of mushrooms was lovely - field rather than the ubiquitous button mushrooms.

Everyone else thoroughly enjoyed their meals - another 12oz ribeye, beer battered cod & chips, sirloin with eggs along with the other trimmings, and a gargantuan burger.

I had the lemon tart for pudding, as did two other of the party. The lemon was wonderfully sharp but the pastry was a bit soggy, which was a bit of a disappointment after the use of the word crispy in the description! The other two had apple pie & custard (very nice) and an ice cream and cream concoction (it's ok).

The prices aren't unreasonable, especially with the two for one offer, but I can't say what the bill came to as I wasn't paying.

I think on balance I wouldn't recommend it. There are better places in the area.

Deb

I ate at A E Harris in Birmingham. This was a continuation of our dating season and my husbands choice. When he said lets visit a disused factory with the best cocktail bar in Birmingham i wasn't sure what to expect. It's an unconverted disused factory and home to Stans Cafe theatre company. As part of the BE festival there was a night of experimental European theatre. They had set up trestle tables and a field kitchen to form a communal cafe. We had tomato, olive and broad bean risotto with homemade bread, salad and olives. They had built a bar in the corner serving brilliant (and cheap) cocktails. Sitting in the factory looking out over the roofs of Birmingham gave a real feel of industrial Birmingham. I also saw my first subtitled theatre.

I ate at Lahore in Balsal Heath as a continuation of our dating aeon (only 3 weeks remaining).

We always find eating in this area of Birmingham bit of a cultural journey. The restaurants can be divided into three types (white, segregated* and family). We have previously eaten in segregated restaurants but feel indecent sitting in a mixed group, as if I've come out to dine in my bikini. People have always been really friendly but I'd rather be ignored! The Lahore is a family restaurant (men, women and children together) it was noisy with music and loud chatter and was a fun place to be.

We Tarka  Dahl, spinach with fire, roti and mango lassi. It was really good and really cheap although their was no connection between the prices on the menu and what we were charged.

I ordered the spinach with fire because it was the only vegetarian thing on the menu I hadn't heard of. I was none the wiser after eating it! 

*men and women sit separately. 

Our local restaurant. Medium sirloin steak with pepper sauce, chips, peas, salad. Perfect.

Plus, near enough to home that staggering back was OK.

Mol

I ate at Après in Birmingham. http://www.apresbars.com/birmingham/ I've been eating here for about 7 years and I've never really liked it. It has red leather furniture and a cold sleek 80s feel. In the evening it's full of middle aged men in Business suites trying to pick up 18 year old girls. We eat here because it's close to work and cheap (providing you correctly negotiate the system of offers). I had a pizza with olives, capers, spinach and egg. It was large and thin crust and actually rather good. It was a jolly office outing to welcome our new PA. 

TGI Friday in Gateshead. We both plumped for the steaks, unsurprisingly enough. Both were ordered medium-rare but one arrived well-done Fairly good though and around £40 for two.

I must be getting old though 'cos the music was definitely on the too loud to be comfortable side.

I ate at the oyster catcher in Anglesey and I had a goats cheese mouse with pea shoots and a banana split. It was lovely but the fish based dishes of my companions looked much more interesting. The oyster catcher is a social enterprise who train youth offenders, as a result serving is the first job of many of the waiting staff and so the service was  slow and inept. Luckily the the surroundings are beautiful a large new glass building (made in Germany and imported) with large windows looking out on to a lake and the sand dunes. Elegant prison made furniture and artwork from the local prison provide plenty to look at. During the meal one of my aunts revealled she had slept with the husband of obe of the other aunts which always provides a certain frisson To family occasions. After the meal we walked over the dunes to a long sandy empty beach where we swam in the sea.
It was one of the nicest places I've eaten managing to provide food that was good and interesting without being pretentious.

Recently had dinner at the International Curry House in Bradford. I'm easy to please and hard to disappoint with curries and even I thought it was poor. My colleagues, who are more discerning, thought it was inedible.

That's the only curry house in England I know by name. I've heard it repeatedly mentioned alongside the phrase "Don't eat at the"

To which I'd add Nandos. Overpriced and over-rated. For a place that specialises in chicken, it was surprisingly dry and overcooked. The prego steak roll was a very cheap cut of some kind of meat, seemingly boiled in garlic until grey then garnished with a pineapple slice -

They gave me a loyalty card, don't know why. Rubbish food but at £30 for two, relatively cheap rubbish food.

The International is particularly bad given how many great curry houses are around it. The person who suggested it has been soundly punished.