Author: Ryan Parish

Review: Cocobab, Selly Oak

aroundbrum, brum bites, brummiegourmand, restaurants, Streetfood

It’s a brave decision to open a new food place in the middle of all this.

Slap bang in the middle of the weird hybrid Stirchley / Selly Oak / Selly Park area of Brum is Raddlebarn Road, host to the Country Girl, Paprika, the Dolphin Chippy and now Cocobab taking over the premises known as Tarafdars.

And I’m so glad it’s here. There’s not many Korean restaurants or takeaways in Birmingham, they’re mainly in the City Centre, huddling next to Chinatown with two others on the main student strip of Bristol Road.

The name, Cocobab, is a merger of Coco for chicken and Bab for rice, which is just the start of their menu.

I’m a big fan of Korean cuisine and when I saw that there was a new place just up the road from our new home, I’ve been chomping at the bit for their opening.

The menu is solid, with a numbering system for those whose Korean (like mine) isn’t pronounceable. You can order online or via their App (iOS and Android depending on your flavour of mobile).

Cocobab

We wanted to try a variety of dishes so we ordered:

  • Hameul Pajeon – Prawn, Squid and Mussel Korean Style Pancake with Spring Onion
  • Japchae (Popcorn Chicken) – Korean Style Glass Noodles in a sweet Garlic Soy Sauce with Vegetables and topped with Popcorn Chicken
  • Korean Kimchi Burger and Chips – 8oz Korean Style Beef Burger seasoned with Garlic and Soy Sauce topped with Lettuce, Cheese, Onion, Tomato, Fried Kimchi and Gochujang Mayo.
  • Side Dish Set (5 pieces – served cold)
    • Fried Seaweed Stem
    • Fried Fishcake with Soy Sauce
    • Egg Roll with Vegetable
    • Fried Tofu with Soy Sauce
    • Kimchi
Hameul Pajeon

Hameul Pajeon

The Hameul Pajeon was served in a pizza box with a nice little vinaigrette (?) dipping sauce. The omelette was fluffy and packed with spring onion throughout, which added a nice counterbalance to the seafood. The mussels were the main flavour but the prawn came through on the back end. There was no chewiness to the seafood and it came together as a really nice summer dish.

Japchae (Popcorn Chicken)

Japchae

Wifey had the Japchae Glass noodles topped with Popcorn Chicken. Oh crispy little morsels of joy! Those popcorn chicken bites were a world away from those soggy balls of depression that come in limp cardboard from the Colonel. These were delicious crispy on the outside, moist inside and delightful.

The glass noodles gave a really nice difference from your standard Ramen or Udon. Sweet and packed with soy with crunchy veg, Wifey described it as perfect comfort food.

Kimchi Burger

Kimchi Burger

If you’ve ever watched How I Met Your Mother there’s a specific episode where Marshall goes on an epic hunt across New York to find his perfect burger. He can’t remember the name of the place but he knows when he finds it.

I can understand now. This burger was heavenly: beef, bacon, cheese, kimchi, onion, lettuce, tomato and gochujang mayo. It just works so well, a full symphony of flavour. The burger is the star centrepiece, tender, big, fat juicy. It’s all you could ever want in a burger. I was sorely tempted to order another. It’s definitely going on my regular list. Hats off Cocobab, I can see why it’s in the specials section.

The only downside were the fries, which were competent, but paled in comparison to the burger. A touch of zing like a sprinkle of gochugaru seasoning would really perk them up.

Sides

Sides

The Fried Seaweed Stem was similar in texture to the glass noodle with a little more crunch. The frying had tempered what can usually be such a strong overpowering taste, such as Nori, but this was much milder. The Egg Roll was very light but still with a solid crunch from the veg. The Fishcake was spicy and might be a tad strong for some tastes, a little tempering with the garlic soy would go well. The Fried Tofu was the star of the sides – well cooked fluffy inside with a crispy outside. The Kimchi is fantastic and so it should be. A great kimchi is a beautiful thing and it’s at the heart of Korean cuisine.

For a place open less than a week, we were very impressed and will be returning soon. It’s a fantastic new gem to have so close by and it’ll be a regular addition to our choices of takeaway. If you are in their delivery area or fancy popping by to collect Cocobab is a solid recommendation from me. You’d be Loco En El Coco to miss it, Bab.

When: 21/07/2020

Where: Cocobab, 23 Raddlebarn Road, Birmingham, B29 6HH

Socials: Facebook, Instagram

Commuter Chow: @Pizza, Grand Central

aroundbrum, brum bites, Brum Bloggers, brummiegourmand, restaurants, Uncategorized

Sooo…

…It’s been awhile. Sorry about that.

For me, life kinda got in the way including an ongoing house move and a change of job, but hopefully that will all be resolved shortly. Anyway onto business!

atpizza

AtPizza (or @Pizza) might be seen as a curious blog post to return on. Especially as the rest of foodie Twitter in Birmingham is going on about either Rudy’s or Franco Manca, both located on Bennetts Hill. Probably staring at each other with steely gazes, waving their pizza peels from respective windows. But I thought I’d turn my gaze to the other new pizzeria in Birmingham which opened in 2019.

@Pizza has taken a different methodology to either of the above. It’s what I’d like to call “brisk food”. Not fast food per se but neither meant to be a dining experience that lasts above an hour. It’s in commuter and shopper land for a start. Designed for a reasonably fast paced meal without having your food thrown in a paper bag by a surly teen, thrust upon you with the grace of your passport in a post Brexit EU.

It’s also rectangular, which brought horrible flashbacks of working make table, crafting Pizza Hut’s The Quad very many moons ago (old enough that it was advertised during Pop Idol!).

atpizza internal

The food offerings in Grand Central have had a swap-around over the past 12 months, with Slim Chickens trying to make chicken strips seem novel, Herman ze German displaying his Phallic glory for all to see, and Pig and Apple happy to serve a Yorkie to those travellers from the North flying through New St below. Even Tapas Revolution seems a venerable eatery amongst the group. @Pizza is nestled against “cheeky” chain chicken slingers Nando’s one side, purveyors of all things yellow and carb loaded Holy Moly Macaroni the other.

Founded in Edinburgh in 2017, this is @pizza’s second location. The concept is simple: you grab yourself a menu and a table at either one of the side booths, a table or along the bench running parallel to the prep area. You pick your choice of pizza (7 options or you can Create Your Own (they boast over 64,000 combinations). You head up to the prep counter, pick your meal and it’s made in front of you, and then side shuffle the few paces further down to the till to choose beverages and pay. For those not of a rectangular dough fixation, there’s salad as an option too.

Beverages come in choices of either hard (craft beer, cider or wine) or soft with water, juice or their own craft soda’s being the options. Desserts are 3 ‘dessert pizzas’ or ice cream sundaes.

  • Drinks
  • Desserts
  • Menu
  • Topping Options

Grazing through the menu, I picked the ‘Eat Meat Repeat’ (Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Cheddar, Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Wiltshire Ham, Spicy Beef, Gran Moravia Cheese, Oregano) but swapped the tomato base for BBQ because who wouldn’t?

Wifey selected the ‘Mean Greens’ (Pesto, Mixed Leaves, Baby Spinach, Rocket, Basil, Tomberry®Tomatoes, Red Onion, Red Bell Pepper, Mozzarella Pearls, Caesar Dressing). This one confused me for a second as they basted the dough with the pesto sauce, then slapped it in the oven. I enquired, slightly panicked, about the toppings. Apparently they’re added post cooking (which takes about 90 seconds) to keep them nice and fresh.

Beverages were sorted with two of their craft sodas which are serve yourself and in six flavours. I selected Mango & Blood Orange, whilst Wifey had Sicilian Lemonade.

I was surprised by how well cooked it was after such a short trip on their conveyor oven. The custom BBQ base added a nice tang to the meaty feast in front of me. A mass of umami with a touch of spicy heat from the beef to complement.

Wifey’s bread was more akin to a good garlic bread than a traditional pizza, a more than generous collection of vegetation under Caesar dressing had been assembled on top. All was fresh and crisp, and the Tomberry® tomatoes and mozzarella pearls added little pops of flavour throughout.

However, one thing spoilt my enjoyment of pinching Wifey’s food. That is the lurking presence of rocket. It’s a nasty leaf, more spiteful and bitter than Rupert Murdoch’s entire press portfolio. It’s related to broccoli and kale, I’d happily chuck all three in the bin for their crimes against my palate. The ubiquitous use of said ‘dandelion leaf equivalent’ in salads across the UK has reached peak annoyance and to be honest. I wish it would go back to lurking unloved in a yellow stickered bag on a supermarket shelf. It adds nothing to a salad and actually takes flavour away from other veg in a salad like the horrible vegetable urchin it is.

After a forensic extraction from my stolen slice, it was a very nice and refreshing salad with an oomph of flavour from the pesto. Like a refined Philadelphia cheese advert.

Tidying away and getting ready to leave, the duty manager offered us some takeout cups (recyclable and made from plants BTW) to avail ourselves of the soda dispenser for our journey to the train. I had a mix of flavours, whilst Wifey had herself an iced tea. We both left content and happy with our selections. We won’t hesitate to return soon next time we’re in Grand Central.

If you’re in the mood for pizza after a shopping session at Bullring or Grand Central, or just fancy a quick bite with comfy seating, you’d not put a foot wrong crossing their threshold.

For those who want a quick lunch or dinner on the way home, they do takeout and app ordering too! Lovely.

NB. Dinner was paid for via means of a LivingSocial voucher bought by Wifey and a tip from me. They were not informed I was writing about the venue for my blog.

When: 10/08/2019

Where: @Pizza, Unit 33, Grand Central, Stephenson Place, B2 4BF, 

Socials: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Review: Hideaway at The Hive

aroundbrum, brum bites, caffeine

I’ve been meaning to go to ‘The Hive’ for a while now

Wifey and I have been enjoying a break from regular life for Chinese New Year. After a stroll along Birmingham’s canal network, we were getting peckish. I decided it was high time for a coffee there.

The only small problem was I couldn’t remember exactly where it was. The JQ, as it’s colloquially known, has a bit of a warren effect to it. Roads seem to merge into others and there’s little nooks and crannies everywhere, each with their own particular character.

After about half an hour of meandering, we found it. It’s on Vittoria Street by the way, just up from the Ramgarhia Sikh Temple. The frontage of the building has recently been restored; the Argent College, which owns The Hive, looks marvellous since its face lift.

About The Hive

For a cafe and bakery that’s been open 18 months, they’ve had their coffee praised by the Sunday Times, and reviewed by The Express & Star. I’ve not seen not much about it online or in the online ‘food-o-sphere’. It’s received great, but very few, reviews on everyone’s favourite moan-fest destination TripAdvisor  so I really can’t work out why I’ve not heard more about it?

The inside has been kept simple, with painted walls and art by Fem Sorcell along with a selection of arts and crafts made by the students of Argent College.

It was also tranquil. Having no music in a cafe made a lovely change and gave the place a peaceful and undisturbed feel. It drowned out the hubbub of daily life going on outside. A place to unwind, or to focus, depending on mood. Whilst we were there, one corner was taken up by a creative class whilst another table were having a business meeting.

Sustainability and Ethos

The kitchen is on full display, as are its social and ethical qualities. Their food is made using ingredients from their roof top garden, cutting down on the food miles. Their food scraps head in the opposite direct down to the basement to a wormery, making compost to return back up to the roof. Staffing is supplied by the students, who take on cooking and prepping and customer service.

All in all, very warming and good to know that this is a cafe built on an ethos of caring and giving back. It’s also been host to multiple crafting events and there’s plans for a multiple heritage displays from my research.

The menu is not vegan, or vegetarian, but does cater for all. Wifey and I are making a conscious effort to reduce our meat consumption down, having a few meat free days during the week. It’s nice to see more venues offering more than just soup or a nut roast for our plant-based friends.

Food & Service

And dear reader, I know what you’re thinking: this all sounds very lovely but is the grub any good? To test that, Wifey and I decided to share a portion of the homemade hummus with accompanying coffees. I had a latte, Wifey a Flat White.

Service was quick and pleasant. We helped ourselves to the free water on offer whilst we had our short wait for our choices to be prepared. What was served was an artfully arranged plate and our two beverages (each accompanied by a biscotti).

The hummus was delicious, everything tasted as fresh as you’d expect. The hummus was almost buttery smooth with a faint hint of spice. The olives plump and with no trace of bitterness. A quinoa and date salad with mixed leaf added a nice balance to the overall mix. There was plenty for the two of us to share as a light snack.

My only slight disappointment was the homemade oregano bread sticks. The flavour was balanced, the oregano was subtle, but they were just too soft. I wasn’t expecting them to be like the bread sticks of my childhood, served with a blue cheese sauce. A minute or two under the grill would have made a world of difference here, adding a touch of crunch and variety to a very smooth dish. It would have lifted what was, overall, a very good plate of food to a great one.

Drink

My latte, was great: smooth, little bitterness and disappeared at a rapid clip, the foam was velvety. The biscotti was on a completely different end of the mohs scale of baked goods. My incisors had a difficult job with piercing through the biscuit, even after a dunk or two, but it was worth persevering with. Wifey’s flat white was also greatly appreciated. The only negative was there was more foam than she expected for a flat white, and was encroaching on latte territory.

Is it worth a buzz?

All in all, ours was a pleasant visit. The food was good, the coffee lovely and the ambience was peaceful. I can imagine this being a place where I’d be happy to while away many hours, with a coffee and a good book.

Opening weekdays only from 7:30am, a breakfast service between 8am and 10am, with a lunch service between 12pm and 2pm. Their doors shut at 3:30pm so it’s definitely a daytime venue, more than likely to match Argent College’s running hours.

If you’re in the JQ one morning or an early afternoon in need of nourishment, I’d heartily recommend a visit. We’ll be back soon for a croissant or two ourselves.

When: 06/02/2019

Where: the Hive Cafe & Bakery – 45 Vittoria Street, B1 3PE

Socials: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Colmore Food Festival 2018

aroundbrum, Brum Bloggers, brummiegourmand, caffeine, cocktails, multi, pop-up, Streetfood

Full Disclosure: On Wednesday 20th June I attended the launch event for colmore food festival at purecraft bar & Kitchen – Food & Drink was complimentary (I Bought a round anyway). However, this doesn’t affect the below…

 

It seemed fitting to return properly with this post. The Colmore Food Festival is one of the highlights of viv and I’s year on the birmingham food scene.

Bringing the cream of the Colmore BID‘s bars, restaurants and cafes in a showcase over a Friday (For workers) and Saturday (For relaxers).

— (If you want to skip my ramblings and get on with the food bit, skip past this and head to Day 1) —

Colmore Row & Colmore BID

As usual, Viv and I attended both days. We both work in the Colmore BID (same company no less). It’s a short walk from one end of Colmore Row to the other. It’s a shame that the Row has lost some of its previous grandeur over the decades. The ugly lump of Snow Hill Station always saddens me a little. It’s a hump of brown bricks with little to no character, the opposite to its sister station Moor Street. Happily, a little further along, the restoration of The Grand Hotel to its former glory is in the final stages. A few more steps along, passing the pit which was Madin’s NatWest tower, we reach Victoria Square.

I doubt there is any place in Birmingham that goes through so many re-inventions over the year as Victoria Square. Sandwiched between the Town Hall and the Council House, it’s an intrinsic part of Birmingham with The Floozie (potted into her former jacuzzi), the statue of Queen Victoria and those odd lions.  I dearly miss Iron Man, currently replaced for ogling by a hereto undiscovered cobbled road revealed as part of the Metro works. Ever changing Victoria Square was the centrepiece of the Commonwealth Games handover and there’s always something going on albeit a protest, a stage, a graduation or even a food festival (yes, I’ll finally get onto it now!).

Colmore Food Festival

So onto Colmore Food Festival; I’ve already written about it in the previous 4 years as well as attending prior to starting the blog but I’ll cover the history a little if you’ve not read those.

Colmore BID, who run the food festival, is one of the city’s numerous BID’s (11 and counting). Their purpose (via a small levy on businesses in their area) is to run projects, services and initiatives in their defined area to improve and promote their district. Working in the BID has given me a chance to see the numerous improvements they have conducted over their last 10 years. They include Church Street Square, a shared space housing a bee hotel, and numerous street team members caring for and keeping the district safe.

Colmore BID’s flagship event is The Colmore Food Festival,  a 2 day event celebrating the diverse range of cuisine available from simple pub grub to Michelin starred dishes. All dishes are capped at £4 (drinks vary) and it’s held on Fridays and Saturday.

Day 1

For Viv and I, Day 1 was a lunchtime only visit as we had a busy evening. We still did our best to fit in as much as possible and started off with a couple of Festival newbies, Adams and Wayland’s Yard.

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We opted for both dishes from Adam’s (we usually share). The dishes were a Crab Satay with coriander and ginger, and a Mango, Thai Green Curry & Coconut concoction. The Crab Satay, was a small, but well formed dish. It was fragrant with crab catching the breeze and was a delight, although I’d have been happy with twice the amount. Alas a £4 price point does have its restrictions.

The Mango, Thai Green Curry & Coconut was a suprise; with those ingredients I was expecting more of a savoury dish. This was more of a rice pudding style dessert. The mango was refreshing, the coconut gave an added depth to the flavour, however, the Thai Green Curry was a tad on the mild side. I was expecting a punch of lemongrass, a slice of lime and the spice of chilli and ginger. This seemed lost in the sweetness of the coconut and mango. A shame as all other elements had come together with a finesse expected of Adams.

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Our next stop was Wayland’s Yard, a new favourite of mine on the Birmingham food scene, taking over an old printing shop on Bull Street. It’s the second shop to open with the first store open in Worcester. Hopefully more on the way soon! We had an Eggy Crumpet (their house special) and an Iced Tea to salve ourselves in the heat.

The Eggy Crumpet was delicious when I found it! A small hedge had appeared in the box burying the crumpet but that was soon dispatched with. The only other negative for presentation was that it had been served in a box with knife and fork to slice. The box was quite deep and hard to hold and cut whilst walking around. Happily, the plastic knife supplied was on the sharp side so I made swift work using careful angles to maintain cutting power. Under the hedgerow, an abundance of Chilli Jam was present adding heat to the dish. Eggy crumpets are a favourite treat of Viv and I and it’s a dish I make often. This one was a solid dish too and I look forward to having it again.

The Iced Tea came sealed with a wedge of lime. It was much appreciated in the heat and disappeared quickly between us.

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The final stop for Day 1 was to grab some treats for the afternoon back in the office from Hindleys Bakery. We picked up four small treats split between the two of us. I chose the Chocolate Brownie & Apple & Almond Cake, whereas Viv selected a Viennese Whirl & Pineapple Cream.

My Chocolate Brownie was rich but crumbly rather than soft; to be expected in the heat. The Apple & Almond Cake had retained its wetness and was a delicious little morsel. I didn’t get many more notes other than that both were finished off with gusto.

Viv reported that the Viennese Whirl and Pineapple Cream were yummy, although she had forgotten how sugary sweet the pineapple cream was!

It was also great to have a quick catch up with some of the other bloggers in attendance (Bite Your Brum, Hey it’s Fay, and City Fever) also enjoying the food on offer.

Day 2

We arrived for Day 2 a little later into the Saturday. The World Cup Semi-Final between England and Croatia was on in the afternoon and as neither of us are great sport fans, we’d assumed the crowds would lessen a little as those more enamoured with the game filtered off to various venues around the city.

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First stop was to the other Michelin Starred attendee, Purnell’s. Their main was a Daube of Pork served in a rich jus, with caramelised apple puree, crispy shallots and watercress. The daube of pork fell apart at the touch of the fork and was well seasoned. The crispy shallots reminded me a little of Rice Krispies but added texture to the dish. For dessert it was Mr Purnell’s Soft Scoop Cone. A waffle cone filled with both strawberry cream and violet ice cream, sprinkled with hundreds and thousands. On first lick, I was taken back to the Parma Violets of my youth. The rich violet ice cream was the perfect anecdote to the stifling heat of the mid afternoon sun.

Drinkwise, Viv went for a Thyme for Pimms Cocktail from Gingers Bar at Purnell’s Bistro whilst I popped over to Purecraft Bar for a half of one of my all time favourite beers, Longhorn IPA. We then caught up with a few of our blogger friends (Caramel Latte Kiss and Brumderland) whilst watching some of the cooking demos and live music, including a colourful rendition of Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing In The Name Of’.

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We were lucky enough to bag a table under the covered seating area, a rare treat at the Food Festival. We were joined by Warwick & Jo, and the aforementioned Caramel Latte Kiss and Brumderland.

Whilst Viv settled down, I went to grab our next dish from Jailbird which has taken over from Nosh & Quaff . We had the Wings with Leeks and Spinach Risotto. The wings were a very generous portion, with three wings on a bed of grilled leeks. The chicken was well cooked, juicy and tender and well worth the £4 spend. Viv tackled the majority of the Spinach Risotto, but what I ate was delicious, with salty crumbly feta cutting through the richness of the spinach.

I grabbed another half of beer, this time a Blue Moon from the Square Peg. Viv went for a Chase Grapefruit Gin & Tonic from Primitivo, which was sharp yet refreshing.

Our final dish of the day was really saving the best until last, from Opus, Pan Fried Fillet of Hake with Fennel Pasta Salad. The Hake was cooked beautifully and flaked with a brush from the fork. The sweet, perfumy flavour to the fennel pasta made a great combination on a summer’s day. Hats off to Ben Ternent and the team; it was a triumphant flourish to the weekend’s fun.

We learnt afterwards that Opus has donated 50p for every dish sold at the Colmore Food Festival to SIFA Fireside. If you’ve not heard of SIFA, they provide food, clothing and shower facilities for Birmingham’s vulnerably housed and homeless adults. It’s a fantastic charity and they need all the donations and help they can get (especially, currently, underpants). If you are interested in helping or donating, find their link below:

https://www.sifafireside.co.uk/

It’s great to see movement towards sustainability also, with recycling on point and a significant lack of plastic straws all around. The only thing I’d like to see in 2019  would be wooden rather than plastic cutlery. As a popular supermarket used to say ‘Every Little Helps!’

All in all, it was another fantastic year, and I hope Colmore BID heads into chapter 3 of it’s life in March, and I cant wait until the 2019 Colmore Food Festival.

All dishes and drink were paid for by myself and Viv.

You can read previous years’ posts here, here, here and here.

When:  Friday 6 and Saturday 7 July 2018

Where: Victoria Square, Birmingham City Centre

So… …I’m Back…

brummiegourmand

Hello All! It’s been a while…

To paraphrase a hoary old Mark Twain mis-quotation. The reports of my blog’s death are greatly exaggerated.

Apologies it’s been so long. It was meant to be a winter break, which turned into a winter, spring & summer break. I thought I’d give a brief explanation of why before I get back into the regular posts.

Why?

First off, I felt my posts were getting a bit samey and repetitive, and that’s not fun. Not fun for you to read or for me to write. The original intention of the blog was to champion local independent food in Birmingham and further afield but I felt I had lost my way. I wrote a lot more frequent, but shorter posts. It’s a disservice to both myself and you for me to write when it’s not working, so I thought a break would clear my head, allow me to breathe a little and try and recapture that creative spark.

Secondly, Geeky Brummie has taken up more time than I thought it would need. It’s grown from a weekly radio show, to add a podcast, a website and a YouTube channel. It’s been fantastic to watch it grow and the team, and thank you to all who, watch, read or listen to anything we do. As we all work or study full time, you can imagine to keep the consistency of quality we strive for, it needs attention. I had to make a hard choice on what to dedicate my available time to. I felt Geeky Brummie required more time but now things are moving along a little smoother, I can give some time back to blogging.

Thirdly, my amazing and supporting wife, Viv, and I are moving. After several years in the beating heart of Birmingham City Centre, we’re to move out a little to the suburbs. Viv and I are still in the middle of getting things sorted and haven’t found a place yet. So as a warning, posts may be sporadic for the short term!

Fourthly, in my absence, there’s been a lot of dispute and toxicity, on which I decline to comment on. I’ve kept myself mostly out of it and, to be quite frank, I want nothing to do with it all. I thought it better for me to wait until it had blown over before popping my head back over the parapet.

So what’s the plan going forward?

The plan is for less frequent but longer form blog posts. For now, expect probably one or two a month, the focus being on independent food and drink. I might throw in some culture too.

Where I receive an invitation or a ‘free’ meal as some describe, this will always be flagged as an ‘Experience’ in the title. It would be unkind for me to pretend this would not be different to a regular visit, or hide it in microscopic text. Therefore, this gives you the choice to read it or not. I’ll leave that up to you.

So I’m happy and raring to go again! Quite happily, there’s been a raft of new eateries in Birmingham for me to sink my teeth into! I hope you’ll join me again for the ride, and enjoy a newer look to Brummie Gourmand.

Anyway, my first ‘proper’ post back will be one of my favourite events of the year. Colmore Food Festival, so keep an eye out for that.

Otherwise, for now, I’ll leave you with a taster image from one of the days…

Inferno – Preview Day at Buffalo & Rye with Brumderland

aroundbrum, brum bites, brummiegourmand

You may remember I was invited to attend a special bloggers event at Bodega Birmingham, part of the Bitters ‘n’ Twisted group hosted by Brumderland. They now have a new sibling right next door called Buffalo & Rye which offers a taste of Americana in the City Centre – perfect if you want to get away from the overload of German tat one street away during this festive period.

 

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Continue reading “Inferno – Preview Day at Buffalo & Rye with Brumderland” →

Breakfast Banquet – Birmingham Breakfast Club at Simpsons Restaurant

aroundbrum, birmingham breakfast club, brum bites, brummiegourmand, Michelin

It’s not often Wifey and I go somewhere a little different. With one of the most prestigious pedigrees in Birmingham, and Britain, this time was going to be a rather special breakfast…

DSCF2929

Founded in Kenilworth by Chef owner Andreas Antona, then relocating to Edgbaston, holders of a Michelin Star since 2000, Simpsons is not normally known as a breakfast destination.

However, Simon S of Birmingham Breakfast Club (reviewers of breakfast locations far and wide around Brum) arranged two special seatings .Wifey and I naturally jumped at the chance for a visit and it was a great chance to look around the recently refurbished restaurant.

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For those not up to date on happenings at Simpsons, former Head Chef Matt Cheal left after 16 years on and off,and two years as head chef under Chef Director Luke Tipping, to establish Cheals of Henley.

Recently, Nathan Eades has taken over Head Chef duties after a successful run at his own, Epi @ The Courtyard in Bromsgrove, and pop ups at The Kitchen Garden (Kings Heath) and The Pickled Piglet (City Centre).

To go with the change in the kitchen, Simpsons has had a makeover too, with a full refurbishment giving the place a lighter, ‘Bauhaus’, Japanese, Scandinavian, mix of light and airy style:

After removing our coats, we were ushered to take out places in the beautiful dining room:

 

But before I ate, Simon had arranged a very rare treat for fellow bloggers and I – a look behind the curtain and watch these food maestros in the kitchen:

It was a privilege to see how much effort the team were putting into our breakfast, especially considering they were still conducting normal service in between fitting us in.

After that, it was back to the table for a spot of tea, toast and juice for Wifey and I and time to look over our three (!) course breakfast menu:

 

The bread, a crusty crunchy sourdough, was very generous and served with a delicious pale and soft butter. The juices were all amazing quality (as expected) and tea was served in beautiful clear glass pots.

Our first course was a twist on the classic breakfast dish of Kedgeree, smoked haddock risotto accompanied with capers, parsley and quails egg:

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I usually hate capers; the bitter, salty, sour medicinal taste usually sends me running.

But this kedgeree was something else. Well presented chunky flakes of smoked haddock, glossy quails eggs and wet but perfectly done rice meant I was in heaven. Wifey was apprehensive as rice for breakfast reminded her of childhood memories of Congee but she fell in love with this also, heaping praise on the delicate smokiness of the fish.

The ‘main’ was another twisted dish, a Full English featuring crispy duck egg, chorizo & coco bean, confit tomatoes, walnut puree and smoked bacon emulsion.

This miniature masterwork came with an egg hidden in a birds nest, waiting to be opened like a treasure chest. Silence descended on the table whilst we dove in and you could hear nothing but the scraping of knives and groans of delight!

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The egg was exceptional and surpassed the quails egg from the previous course, a hard challenge to beat. The bacon emulsion providing a tang, a nice earthiness and zing supplied by the chorizo and coco bean. The twist on brown sauce was amazing too.

Our final dish on the breakfast tour was Granola, with toasted almonds, English apples and yoghurt:

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I wasn’t expecting a foamed yoghurt but this was delightfully pleasant. It was  a refreshing end to the meal with a balanced apple compote peppered with hidden huge blueberries.

After our big repast, Wifey and I patted our contented bellies and with goodbyes done, started the day with a sense of contentment. Wifey will definitely be back for another meal soon.

The Birmingham Breakfast Club held a second event last Saturday (28th November) which had a different (but likely no less superb). Luckily, for you readers, Vicky from Brumderland attended and you can read her experience soon!

When: 31/10/2015

Where: Simpsons Restaurant, 20 Highfield Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 3DU

Who: Birmingham Breakfast Club, Simpsons Restaurant

 

 

 

Brum Bites – One Life One City @ The Rotunda

aroundbrum, brum bites, brummiegourmand, nonfood, one life one city

You may not believe it but I occasionally do non foodie things around Birmingham, as well as stuffing my face!

As part of BYPY 2015 winner, Katie Kershaw‘s One Life One City Project, a few weeks back on a Friday lunchtime, I had the chance to take a break from the day job and do something a little different.

Continue reading “Brum Bites – One Life One City @ The Rotunda” →

Great Galloping Glasses of Grain – Glenfiddich Evening with Birmingham Whisky Club

aroundbrum, Birmingham Whisky Club, brummiegourmand, nonfood

On a Tuesday evening a few weeks back, I was invited by Birmingham Whisky Club to try a few wee drams of Glenfiddich as part of an blogging / networking event in the cosy little cubby of Bar du Vin.

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Continue reading “Great Galloping Glasses of Grain – Glenfiddich Evening with Birmingham Whisky Club” →

Deliveroo Round 3! – Rub Smokehouse

aroundbrum, brummiegourmand

It’s Friday again and just before we were away for a weekend, it was time for more of Birmingham restaurants to our home.

As you may have read previously (cough, cough), Deliveroo supply a delivery service for a wide range of some of the best eateries in Brum: what I’d like to term a ‘restaurant concierge service’ providing ordering, payment and delivery services for some of Birmingham’s biggest independents with a few chains too.

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This time, our choice was Rub Smokehouse, a Southern US BBQ style restaurant who’ve expanded from their original restaurant in Nottingham to Regency Wharf off Broad Street earlier this year.

We’ve heard the reputation of Rub for supplying large portions, so Wifey and I went for a main each and a side to share.

Like the last few times, ordering with Deliveroo is simple. Select your food and order time, the website keeps a running total whilst you tot up your total and adds a reasonable £2.50 for Deliveroo. There’s even space for a driver’s tip too if you’re feeling generous.

For starters, we went with the classic of Nachos to share, accompanied with sour cream, guacamole, pulled BBQ pork, Monterey Jack, salsa, cheese.

For mains, I fancied something a little different from a burger or ribs and chose a Reuben sandwich. Consisting of low & slow cooked beef brisket in special Jack Daniels BBQ gravy with Monterey Jack cheese, pickles and slaw on sourdough, to which I added extra bacon and American cheese.

Wifey went a little lighter with a Cobb Salad, which was pulled BBQ free range chicken, smoked bacon, egg, sweet pepper, tomato, avocado and blue cheese.

The order went in at 19:44pm and an ETA given of 20:30pm. In actual fact, the food arrived at 20:29pm so top marks on time prediction. A short mobile call from the driver and I was ready to meet him as he pulled up downstairs. When I arrived, I found our Deliveroo driver had come via pushbike! A quite smart and eco friendly for delivery.

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Back upstairs, even though we were prewarned, Wifey and I weren’t expecting the size of the portions!

There was an issue, however, with my Reuben as the box was cardboard the gravy had breached the side and caused a bit of a mess:

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I mentioned this on Twitter and got a quick response from the team, stating they’ll be looking into the packaging to prevent the same happening in the future.

The contents, however, we still mainly intact:

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The brisket was well braised in the gravy and topped off with fries and slaw; the sourdough did seem to be missing, though.

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Wifey’s cobb salad, equally as massive, was really nice with the sweetness of the pulled chicken offset with the pungent strength of the blue cheese. Wifey couldn’t handle the blue cheese so instead I pinched it and combined it with my Reuben (which was great, by the way).

We finished off with the starter, the nachos:

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Oozing with guacamole , sour cream and salsa, the nachos had got a little bit soggy by the time we had got there but still tasted amazing.

Next time when we’re in the mood for a BIG appetite, we’ll have to make our way down to try the restaurant!

When: 15/10/2015

Where: BG HQ, Birmingham

Who: Deliveroo, Rub Smokehouse