Many Meals Out - part 2 (Salvos, Azucar, Casa Mia)

So the reviews of all my meals out during a particularly gluttonous week continue here.

Meal 4- Salvo's, Headingley, Leeds

Salvo's Italian Restaurant really needs no introduction. Famous for winning Gordon Ramsay's F Word's Best Italian Restaurant last year, and incredibly popular throughout Leeds, it is one of my favourite places to eat in the city and going there for either a quick lunch in the Salumeria or an indulgent three course meal in the evening is always a treat (website).

Me and D had spent the afternoon pretending we were young student types again (gatecrashing Leeds Met's freshers fair- free leaflets, woop!, and drinking our way up the Otley Road- kind of like a reverse Otley run but without the fancy dress) and by 7pm we were STARVING. So decided on a trip to Salvos (I was craving pizza...result of the copious amounts of vodka drunk maybe?) and their pizzas are the best I've tasted in Leeds, possibly the best I've tasted EVER actually.

Being a Friday night, there was a waiting list for tables and the bar was pretty crowded, so the very friendly front of house man gave us a ticket and told us to come back in an hour. When we got back we were seated immediately, and given a little sampler of delicious focaccia which really got the tastebuds going and made me want to order everything from the menu.

However, I finally decided on the Penne Piccante N'duje, which is penne pasta in a tomato and fennel sauce with spicy Calabrian sausage, served with pecorino. It was fantastic- the pasta was perfectly al dente and the sauce was to die for- deliciously spicy and really full of flavour.



D went for mussels cooked with white wine, thyme and chilli and he loved them. I don't like mussels (the texture is just too slimy) but I tried a bit of the broth and it was light and fragrant- really tasty. We also shared some giant Sicilian olives with garlic bruschetta because as I said before, we were really really hungry! We'd wanted them to nibble on before our starters came, but they actually came at the same time which was a bit annoying- however as we weren't waiting very long for our starters, it wasn't a huge problem.





I obviously chose pizza for my main as I'd been craving it all afternoon- I went for the Pizza Norma- sun dried tomatoes, aubergine, rocket and parmesan. As always, Salvo's pizza did not disappoint at all- light crisp base, generous, well flavoured filling and not soggy in the middle! (like so many other pizzas are) An interesting thing to note is that on the bill, the pizza was listed as Pizza Norma Major- can anyone shed any light on this bizarre pizza name?!



D had a pasta dish, again from the specials menu- I can't remember exactly what it was called as the specials have changed now, but it was veal ravioli I think- and he was very impressed with it- it was really rich and full flavoured; and he couldn't finish it all despite our attack of drunken munchies! The puddings were tempting, but we were really stuffed by this point, so decided to roll home.



Had an absolutely lovely evening at Salvo's; as always the staff were efficient, friendly and knowledgeable, the atmosphere was buzzing and warm, and the food was top class. Salvo's have just been awarded an AA rosette- congratulations! It's definitely well deserved.

Meal 5- Azucar, Brewery Wharf, Leeds

Tapas is one of my absolute favourite types of food- I think because I'm so indecisive and want to try everything when I eat out. Tapas allows me to do that! Anyway, following the closures of both La Vina on Greek Street and that little Latino place up near the university (can't remember its name, but the tapas were lovely!) I need to find a new tapas place in the city centre (that isn't La Tasca- it's rubbish)

Azucar up at Brewery Wharf is a cool bar and tapas restaurant part owned by the legendary Howard Marks (website). The decor is funky and modern and there is an extensive cocktail menu, not to mention a wide selection of tapas.

It was fairly empty when we went (5.30ish on a cold Sunday evening) but started to fill up by the time we left and there was a 3 for 2 on tapas offer on- it runs until 7 on weekdays and all day Sunday. We ordered a wide range of dishes- pickled anchovy fillets, smoked fish cakes, lamb kebabs, their speciality "drunken chicken in apple sauce," patatas bravas (fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce), halloumi and vegetable kebabs and tomato bread.



All the dishes were delicious- none of the pre-prepared, reheated, flavourless stuff that you get at certain other tapas chains. Highlights were the pickled anchovies, mainly for the presentation, and the drunken chicken- tender, melt in the mouth chunks of chicken in a really tasty apple and cider sauce. Everything was full of flavour and not too heavy or greasy, and you could tell the ingredients were of pretty decent quality.





We got a bit screwed over on the three for two deal though as we were stupid and ordered a scoop of banoffee ice cream to share for dessert- so the only things that came off the bill were a £1.50 ice cream and the bread! Not quite the value for money deal we'd expected. Nonetheless, the food was worth every penny and I'd really like to go back and try some of the other dishes- I'll just be careful what I choose next time! Oh and it's 2 for 1 on Tuesday evenings- so even more of an excuse to check it out.

Meal 3- Casa Mia Coffee Shop, Chapel Allerton, Leeds

Casa Mia is a small Leeds based chain of Italian restaurants, and the Coffee Shop in Chapel Allerton is my favourite out of the three (four if you count the takeaway in Bridgewater Place) because of its friendly, relaxed, family-orientated atmosphere (website).

D and I decided to pop there for a quick lunch one weekday and as we have a loyalty card it was 2 for 1 on pizza (you can get one from the website for free, and there are some really good money saving offers) There is a huge selection of pizzas to choose from, as well as a range of pasta dishes, panini, antipasti/salady things, and main courses, like salmon, chicken milanese, chicken cacciatore (stew) etc.

I wasn't overly hungry, so decided to go for a light pizza- the "Raffaele's Special;" ham, ricotta, parmesan and basil. I don't know who Raffaele is but he's a genius; the base was lovely and crisp, the topping was flavoursome and light and despite thinking I wasn't that hungry, I demolished the lot.



D went for the Porcini pizza- which was a little different, as instead of using tomato sauce for the base, it uses wild mushroom puree and is topped with more mushrooms, tomato, mozzarella, parmesa, basil and olive oil. It was much richer than my pizza, but so full of deep mushroom flavour and wonderfully creamy with cheese. Only one small criticism- because the base was loaded so generously with oozing cheesy mushroomy topping, the middle of the pizza had gone slightly soggy. If you're a big fan of mushrooms, then this is definitely the pizza for you!




The best thing about Casa Mia is without a doubt the desserts. They are displayed in a glass cabinet, tempting you throughout your meal, and I defy anyone to be able to leave without sampling one! (Or maybe you have better willpower than me....) The staff go with you to the counter and describe what all the desserts are- I ordered a chocolate and pear tart, and D went for the tiramisu. Weirdly, I opted for a scoop of banana ice cream to accompany my tart- I know the flavours don't really go together, but I really love banana ice cream.

The tart was amazing. The rich, dry chocolate filling- yes I know rich and dry aren't really two adjectives that go together, but somehow it worked- was luscious, and the pastry was perfectly crumbly. I could have eaten it twice. Or three times. And no, the banana ice cream didn't really go, but I ate it separately- two desserts! The pear in the tart was dried, which I wasnt expecting, I think it would have been nicer with fresh pear. But that's a minor grumble considering I wolfed down the entire slice in about 2 seconds and considered getting another one.



D's tiramisu was also wonderful- what would you expect from an authentic Italian restaurant though?! The mascarpone was rich and creamy and the sponge was neither too soggy, nor too dry. Apologies for the picture- it wasn't served like that, D dug in before I'd had the chance to get my camera out.



OK so a quick lunch turned into a long, lazy feast...and we left feeling very satisfied with swollen bellies and a need to sleep it off. I love the Casa Mia Coffee Shop- the service can be a little slow, but it just adds to the ambience of creating a real Italian feel, encouraging people to take their time over the food, not just cram down a quick sandwich or Greggs sausage roll like so many British workers do in their lunchbreak,and truly enjoy both the food and experience.

Many Meals Out- part 1 (Siam House, Alley Cafe, The Wardrobe)

Hi readers

Have been mad busy over the last week or so with a new community project I'm working on with Oblong Leeds - watch this space for more news about it. So I have unfortunately fallen behind with the blog and got a ton of things I need to write about...going to whack them all into a couple of extra long posts if that's ok. (Wlll give you all a nice long distraction from whatever work you should be doing right now- I should be cleaning the kitchen, heh.)

So here we go- Davaikoshka's Mini Reviews of Many Meals Out:

Meal 1- Siam House, York

Siam House is a small Thai restaurant hidden up a staircase on York's Goodramgate.(website) We've eaten here before and were very impressed with the service and food, so decided to have dinner there after a day at York's food festival.

For starter, we shared Golden Bags (minced chicken wrapped in pastry and fried) and Sweetcorn Fried Toast (like Prawn Toasts, but with sweetcorn). Both starters were wonderfully spiced and not at all greasy, and came with wonderful dips and a very pretty salad!




Main courses were a red curry with beef for D, and a stir fried pork dish with holy basil for me- both pretty unadventurous dishes, but nonetheless delicious. The mains were served with steamed rice.




Siam House do a very good value early bird special, which runs all night on Mondays and before 7pm Tues-Sat. We took advantage of this offer which meant a two course meal with steamed rice only cost £10.95 each, bargain for such good quality, authentic Thai food.

Obviously such a cheap meal meant I had to take advantage of the cocktails- this one with lychee liqueur and vodka was particularly delicious (and potent!)



Meal 2- Alley Cafe, Nottingham

Another day, another food festival, another meal out, and another 1lb gained :)

Me and D both went to uni in Nottingham, so when we found out there was a food festival on there (featuring the lovely (and fit!) Gino D'Acampo) we decided to go relive the old days and check out the best of Nottinghamshire produce. (A future blog post about food festivals is on its way, and includes a pic of me with Gino- excitement!!)

Anyway, Nottingham has a pretty decent independent restaurant scene, and after a day of sampling various unhealthy treats, I decided I wanted to go to Alley Cafe, which is a small vegetarian/vegan cafe down an alley (hence the name!) just off Nottingham's Market Square (website) I used to have a massive crush on a vegan boy, and in an attempt to woo him, I took him to this cafe several times, and was pleasantly surprised with how delicious vegan food could be. The cafe also has an almost European feel, with lots of art exhibitions and live music/DJs; we were there for acoustic night.

All the items on the menu are vegetarian and many are vegan- most veggie dishes can also be changed to make them vegan. The menu ranges from full english breakfast (including veggie sausages, and something called "Baconesque"!),to burgers, soups, sandwiches, snacks, puddings and pizzas.

D and I shared an antipasti platter to start- olives, tomatoes, artichokes, peppers and crostini. It was delicious, really full of flavour, and I didnt miss the parma ham!



For main course D had Black Bean and Mole Burritos, which were really tasty- tortilla wraps stuffed with flavoursome beans, topped with cheese, cocoa and nuts and served with salsa, sour cream and salad. Generous portion size as well!



I chose the "Tempting Tempeh Burger", despite not knowing exactly what tempeh was! The spicy tomato marinade and potato wedges on the side were what convinced me to brave the tempeh (which is apparently some kind of soy bean patty) and I'm really glad I did- despite being a burger and chips, it felt really wholesome and healthy; the tempeh was full of flavour and the potato wedges seemed to be baked instead of fried and were perfect- crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle.



I'd definitely recommend this cafe to vegetarians/vegans, and would even persuade the most hardcore of meat eaters to check it out- the food may be both healthy (to some, that equals boring!) and lacking in meat, but it definitely isn't lacking in flavour- and the general ambience of the place is fantastic. Can we have a branch in Leeds please?!

Meal 3- The Wardrobe, Leeds

Despite living in Leeds for over two years, and hearing many wonderful things about the Wardrobe (website) I'd never actually checked it out. I decided to pop in for lunch a couple of weeks ago, as for once, me and D were on the east side of the city and very hungry (having just walked all the way from our house up in Oakwood to town- I was on an exercise kick haha)

I was surprised to see that half of the Wardrobe was an actual restaurant- I'd always assumed it was more cafe bar like. However, this wasnt a problem- I like waitress service, and our waitress was really friendly, explaining the menu, recommending particular dishes, and not minding when I asked for a "massive glass of tap water please, I've just walked here from MILES away!" (I like to exaggerate. Makes things sound more impressive!)

Anyway, the lunch menu is kind of modern British/French and has a lot of choice, from sandwiches to pasties, to salads and omelettes, and full on "proper meals"- for example, fish and chips and chicken casserole. I chose the celeriac, butternut squash and potato pasty. It came served on a wooden board (I love things like this, it makes things feel more rustic!) and was accompanied by a root vegetable slaw and a roast tomato and garlic salad. The pasty was wonderful- flaky, light, buttery pastry baked around a really tasty filling of perfectly cooked vegetables- the whole thing tasted of autumn and warmed me up inside. The tomato salad was amazing- roasted red and yellow tomatoes in garlicky oil. The slaw needed a bit more dressing I think, as the overall flavour was of cabbage, but nonetheless, the three components worked very well together and it was a really delicious, and interesting, meal.



D ordered the smoked haddock omelette, but unfortunately the kitchen was out of smoked haddock. The waitress offered normal haddock as an alternative, but D decided to go with the duck salad instead. This was a confit duck leg, on grapefruit, mandarin and pea shoots, with a ginger oil dressing. The duck was beautifully moist, although a little too salty on its own- however the saltiness worked perfectly with the mandarin and grapefruit- D thought it was a really good twist on the traditional duck a l'orange. The ginger oil was lovely- I'm a sucker for flavoured oils, and it really complimented the flavours of the salad.



All in all, the meal at the Wardrobe was very impressive, and I would definitely return. The highlight of the trip was a possible sighting of Evening Standard critic and Masterchef regular Charles Campion at the table near to ours- it looked just like him, but we were too aware of being caught out staring as the restaurant was fairly empty at the time! Maybe any Wardrobe staff/friends of Mr Campion could comment here to confirm if it was indeed him- if it was, then how exciting! (I love anything to do with Masterchef haha)

Part 2 of Davaikoshka's Many Restaurant Reviews coming up soon :) Salvos! Azucar! Casa Mia Coffee Shop! Plus a post on various food festivals and an update on the various escapades of my little beast of a kitten. And a review of the shiny new Waitrose. Phew. Bet you can't wait!

Oakwood Farmers' Market

I love farmers' markets. I love wandering around the stalls, taking in the sights and smells of delicious food, chatting to the stallholders and buying lots of delicious goodies to take home. I am also a firm believer in buying local, and supporting small, independent businesses, which is at the very core of farmers' markets' values.

Oakwood Farmers Market is held on the third Saturday of every month at the Oakwood Clock (at the top of Roundhay Road- if you don't know where it is, you get the 12/13/13a bus from town and get off just before Roundhay Park) Their website is here- you can find information about stall holders as well as news and updates. I was pleased to see that they have achieved FARMA accreditation, which means they "have a well run market offering customers fresh, wholesome food direct from the local producers, who have, on average travelled just 20 miles to be at our market." This not only shows their commitment to providing customers with good quality, fresh food but also guarantees a fair deal for producers, supporting the local economy and reducing food miles.

I am lucky enough to live less than 5 minutes walk from Oakwood Market, so every time the third Saturday of the month comes round, I roll out of bed, have breakfast in front of Saturday Kitchen, get dressed, and wander up the road- fortunately it was sunny last time I went in September; I am ashamed to say that I once gave the market a miss because it was raining slightly. I don't like rain one bit. Yes, I'm a wimp.

The market is always pleasantly busy, and it has a real community feel, with people of all ages wandering around looking at the stalls. The market is operated by local community organisation REAP (Roundhay Environmental Action Project- website here) and their stall was giving away free plants to encourage people to start growing their own- we went away with two strawberry plants with instructions on how to look after them/grow them. I would LOVE to have a nice crop of strawbs next summer, and they'll be so much tastier if I know I (well, more likely to be D if I'm honest...my hatred of rain extends to a hatred of most things outdoors, including gardening!) grew them myself. Inspired by the "grow your own" idea, we also bought a rosemary plant and a chilli plant from another stall. I just used two of the chillies in my dinner (mushroom fricassee on potato cakes- thank you Waitrose magazine!) and they were deliciously spicy.

There really is a wonderful variety of stalls at the market, ranging from delicatessens, to bakeries, to butchers, to greengrocers- there's even a little coffee shop! The previous time we visited, we bought a delicious loaf of homemade bread, some rhubarb and an interesting variety of squash- this time, I wanted something I could eat straight away, so I bought a cupcake from Cutting Cake Patisserie (website) and a chorizo parcel from Salts Deli (website- their shop is based in Leeds City Centre and another branch is opening soon in the Light) D got a slice of raspberry and almond tart, also from Salts.

The sky was, at this point, starting to look a bit grey, and D had to get off to Manchester to go and watch sodding Man United (I love him, but god, this is one of his worst faults!) so I took my purchases home for an early lunch.

I was so excited about the chorizo parcel from Salts. I love chorizo, and I love pastry-and here were the two together! Amazing. And I was not disappointed. The pastry was wonderfully crisp and light, and slightly orange-tinted with chorizo juices. The filling- chorizo, roasted pepper and caramelised onion- was just the right mix of spicy, smoky and sweet. I just wished I'd bought two! I ate it cold, but I think it would be delicious heated up and served with a salad and some patatas bravas (well it is a Spanish style deli after all!)




Now, D's raspberry and almond tart...I instructed him to take a picture before eating it (he took it to Manchester with him), but there was a little accident upon transportation and it ended up all mushed up in the box. He did still take a picture, but it would not be good publicity for Salts if I posted it here as it really was quite destroyed! He assures me however that it was utterly delicious- creamy custard and tart raspberries encased in perfect pastry.

For "pudding" I had a lemon and poppy seed cupcake from Cutting Cake Patisserie based in Meanwood. Cutting Cake does not only make cupcakes, but also does wedding/celebration cakes to order as well as handmade chocolates- which were also available to buy at the market, with a selection of other cakes.



I love lemon and poppy seed together. I love cupcakes. So I was pretty excited about trying this one as well! It looked beautiful, a swirl of buttercream on top with a sprinkling of poppy seeds. I was almost reluctant to bite into it for fear of ruining its good looks, but regrettably (:P) it had to be done! The sponge was light and quite dry, flavoured with lemon. It was really tasty, although I think it would have been nicer if it had poppy seeds in it as well, but that's a small quibble. The dryness of the sponge may not have been great on its own, but when paired with the luscious buttercream on top, it was perfect. I'm not even a massive fan of buttercream- I usually scrape most of it off, but the sponge definitely needed it and the combination of the two together was wonderful. Well done Cutting Cake- you converted me to buttercream, and whilst Sunshine Bakery still holds the crown of the Best Cupcake in Leeds for me, you're a close second and you can at least hold the accolade of making the only cupcake I've ever eaten all the buttercream off!

Oakwood Farmers' Market is on this Saturday- hope to see some of you there!

EDIT: Oops, got my dates all muddled up. The next market is on Sat 16th October :)

Akbar's, Eastgate, Leeds

First of all, apologies for starting possibly the best blog in the history of blogs and then leaving you, my loyal readers, hanging on for the next post. I'd like to say it's because I've been manically busy doing all kinds of things, but in reality, I'm just horribly lazy. Although I did spend a full week out and about, eating out, going to various cultural and foodie events as the boyfriend (who has informed me he would like to be known as "D" on this blog) had a week off work. So I have a lot of things to write about.

I'll start with a good old fashioned restaurant review. A couple of weeks ago, feeling full of the Friday feeling, we decided to go out for a curry. Despite living in Leeds for two years now, good curry restaurants are not something we know a lot about (feel free to recommend any!) so we decided to try Akbar's- a chain of curry restaurants with two right here in Leeds. Website here A friend (who knows his curry) had said that the Akbar's restaurant based on the Leeds Road in Bradford had the best curry he'd ever eaten, so we decided to go to the one on Eastgate in Leeds (no reason for choosing this one over the Greek St one, apart from that it's closer to our bus stop!)

Anyway, as it was Friday night, I phoned up to book a table and was told that there was no need if it was just a table for two. Entering the restaurant, D (ever the optimist) was like "er, are you sure we didn't have to book, it's rammed!" It was incredibly busy but we were shown to the bar area and told it would only be a 10-15 minute wait. The bar is up a level from the main restaurant and you can look down on everyone eating, which, if you are nosy and love people watching like me, makes the wait not seem as bad. Anyway, it was only about 5 minutes wait in the end, so I had to stop my er...spying on other tables and go and sit down.

The restaurant was comfortingly busy (I always feel a bit uneasy eating in empty restaurants!) and there was a great, fun atmosphere in there- lots of big groups of men out for the traditional Friday night curry and pints, and a reassuringly large number of Indian people- if Indians choose to eat there, the food must be authentic.

The menu was nothing groundbreaking- all the traditional dishes that you'd expect to see were on there- chicken tikka masala, rogan josh, baltis etc, and D and I opted for mains off the "Chef's Specialities" section, just to try something different. For starters we ordered the keema samosas- lamb, onion and sweetcorn in pastry, and the vegetarian poori- mushroom and potato on crispy fried bread. I'd been desperate to try a poori since watching the finals of Masterchef where one of the finalists had to cook 50 of them for an Indian breakfast, so was excited to see them on the menu here.



The samosas were delicious; crisp on the outside,not at all greasy, like some samosas can be, and filled with a delicately spiced lamb mince. The sweetcorn looked suspiciously green and pea like- I think they might have put the wrong vegetable on the menu, but I thought lamb and sweetcorn was a slightly odd combination anyway, so the unexpected switch to peas was welcomed by both of us!



The vegetable poori was incredible. The spicy mushroom and potato mixture on top was so tasty, I could have eaten a whole bowl of it for my main as well and probably asked for another lot to take home. D was equally as impressed, and as we were sharing starters, looked quite cross when I grabbed the last mouthful. Both starters came with a generous side salad, although the inclusion of olives was a bit odd- olives and curry spices are not a fantastic match!

For main course, I ordered the Karahi fish and potato- chunks of white fish cooked with potato and peppers in a spicy tomato sauce. It was really nice and light, and didn't have that offputting layer of grease on top that you often get with takeaway curries. The fish was soft and beautifully cooked, as were all the vegetables- my only complaint were the massive chunks of raw chili pepper in there- if you're going to add chilli, either cut in into smaller bits or cook it in the sauce for a bit- they were a little intense!



D had the same chilli issue with his curry, a Lamb Handi- chunks of lamb cooked in a dry sauce of chillies, spices, lemon and coriander. The lamb was meltingly tender, served in a rich, thick sauce- D described it as having a "dull" flavour- this does not mean boring by the way, if you've ever had a curry similar, you'll know what he means! Despite it being quite rich, he polished the lot off, which is a testament to its deliciousness- unlike me, D doesn't feel the need to finish every mouthful of a meal unless he really really likes it. (Not sure how he has such good self control... I'm the opposite, never take me to an all you can eat buffet!!)



To accompany our curries, we ordered a portion of pilau rice, and a naan bread to share. There was tons of rice- we were convinced we'd actually been given two portions, but we were only charged for one, so if you're going to Akbar's, it's probably best to share! The naan breads were equally as huge, and they came on one of those naan bread "spears"- you know, the ones that Gordon Ramsay absolutely hated on Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. I quite liked the "spear" though, it stopped the naan getting soggy on a plate, and it was easy to tear bits off. (Sorry Gordon!) The naan was amazing- light and crispy and not at all stodgy.




The bill for two only came to £36- two starters, two mains, two sides, a glass of wine and a beer. Excellent value for such a tasty meal- I'm not sure how authentically Indian Akbar's is, but all the food was a lot nicer than your average takeaway, and now I really want to travel to the one in Bradford to see if it is, in fact, the best curry in Yorkshire.

(Only one complaint- the dodgy lighting in the restaurant has made my photos come out all blurry and of quite poor quality, apologies for that!)