Choc-A-Block at Colmore Food Festival

Has it really been a year since the last food festival? Time flies fast in the second city!

The Colmore Food Festival is one of the highlights of Wifey and I’s year. Bringing the cream of the Colmore BID‘s bars, restaurants and cafes in a showcase over two days.

You can read last years posts here and here.

This year the stage had moved to the side of the Town Hall, giving wider avenues to progress down and choose your particular solid or liquid treat, a very sensible move. In the centre, there was a garden with seating hosted by The Opus Family (more on them later).

Wifey and I visited 3 times over the weekend, Friday lunch, Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, but still didn’t get around to trying half of it!

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First stop was the marvellous Gary of Gingers Bar (located in Purnell’s Bistro). With a whisk of his magic fingers, 2 non-alcoholic cocktails were presented to us of G2O, a blend of Orange, Passion-fruit and Lime. This was a perfect refresher and helped with the brisk walk we both had from the other end of Colmore Row in the summer sun.

After slaking our thirst, we popped into the Opus Garden for a spot of lunch via Opus at Cornwall Street. Wifey and I both had an Opus classic: this was a Lincolnshire Leek and Haddock Fishcake, topped with a Poached Egg and butter sauce.

I’m not normally a leek fan but this was great with the haddock. The poached egg was perfect with a rich golden yolk.

Then, it was back to the office for a few more hours until the freedom of the weekend.

For our return, it was straight to Purnell’s Restaurant, always a firm favourite at the Food Festival. We were glad we got in when we did as they sold out pretty sharpish afterwards.

We went for the Pork Belly, accompanied by Pickled Pineapple, Black Pepper and Pork Crumble. We were impressed by crispy, crumbly, spicy pork belly accompanied  with the sweet sharp tang of pickled pineapple. I’m now sad to be waiting another year before seeing what they cook up next year!

Next stop was to an old favourite, The Jekyll & Hyde, serving a wide selection of gin based beverages. We went for a portion of Dr Jekyll’s Fruit Punch, it definitely packed one and was very moreish.

A few stalls away was Asha’s for a Lamb Saffron Biryani, this Lamb Biryani is cooked with three year mature basmati rice, green cardamom, saffron and cloves, served  with poppadoms, raita and gravy. As expected from one of Birmingham’s most renowned restaurants, very moreish and didn’t last long between Wifey and I.

Next, a break from the food, Seekasaurus was in attendance at the food festival with lots of coloured Dino’s lurking about the stalls and one midway up a lamppost. Wifey and Laura from Full to the Brum went for an explore whilst I popped back to Gingers Bar for another quick beverage.

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This was a Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri Slushie, deliciously sweet and boozy.

That about wraps it up for Friday evening.

After compèring the hour of radio that is The Geeky Brummie Show on BrumRadio.com,it was time for visit number 3 for lunch and maybe some more alcohol!

First stop of the day was Jake’s Coffee Box, it’s  great to see an independent as good as Jake’s get to showcase themselves like this, and it’s at the heart of what the Festival is designed to be.

We chose one of Jake’s Picnic boxes, the first being the Savoury Box, with 2 Mini Gourmet Sausage Rolls (Pork, Shropshire Blue & Caramelised Onion, Pork Leek & Sage), accompanied by a homemade Scotch Egg, Rocket Salad, Cherry tomatoes and Black Pudding Crumb. The sausage rolls were delicious especially the caramelised onion one, which Wifey was particularly fond of. The Scotch Egg was also  great with a smooth creamy yolk and a hard albumen.

We also saw the Sweet Box, this contained a Triple Chocolate Brownie, Strawberries, Raspberries and Clotted Cream.

Next stop was booze! And a return to the Opus Garden. We were on the flip-side this time and visiting Bar Opus.

I chose a Marmalade Frozen Kalippo, which was Chase Marmalade Vodka, Lemon Juice, Orange Juice and a touch of Rosemary. Wifey chose The Great Chase, which was Chase Vodka, Chase Elder-flower Liqueur, Lemon Juice and Soda.

After that bit of booze, we made ourselves comfy in the deckchairs and watched a cooking demo by Jojolapa and hosted by Phil Oldershaw.

After that, Wifey couldn’t resist getting a portion of Momo’s, which nice and doughy and packed full of delicate chicken. They were accompanied by spicy rich tomato sauce.

Finishing off with another pair of cocktails from Gingers Bar (of course), it was time to bid a fond farewell to The Food Festival for another year!

When:08/07/2016 – 09/07/2016

Where: Victoria Square, Birmingham City Centre

Who: Colmore Business DistrictPurnell’s Bistro / Ginger’s BarOpus @ Cornwall StreetJojolapaPurnell’sThe Jekyll & Hyde,  Jake’s Coffee Box & Bar Opus at One Snowhill

 

Beverage Botany – The New Cocktail Menu launches at The Botanist

You know, it was actually the Botanist that got me into blogging. Wifey won two VIP passes to the opening back in April 2015…

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It was fantastic to see a new venue open and that caused a buzz on Birmingham’s foodie scene, and I decided to add my bassy lungs to the mix.

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Since then, we’ve been back multiple times and I’ve been back for a few work lunches too, with the hanging kebabs always a firm favourite. Tonight wasn’t about food however, as The Botanist had invited me to investigate their refresh of the extensive cocktail menu, which was back to the classics and adding some inventive twists.

The menu is beautifully designed on heavyweight paper, something for the stationery geek in me! The drinks themselves (more than 45!) are comprehensive and covers mojitos, manhattans, slings, martinis , caipirinhas and daiquiris to name a few. It’s divided into sections covering, long, short, martini’s, classics and flutes to help guide your eye to the relevant section. There’s even a few beer and cocktail pairings: a mini cocktail topped up with beer served with the can, complete with tasting note, and served on a flight board.

Of special mention is the gin list- with gins locally sourced from each of The Botanist’s venues across the country. Birmingham being represented by the always excellent Langley’s Gin naturally.

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Aaron Smallman, our host for the evening, was to take us across a magical tour of 10 cocktails from the menu starting off with two of their new special creations:

The Thai Chilli Crush was a powerful little number made with fresh red chilli, micro Thai basil, apple and lemon juice with Tanqueray gin and green apple liqueur and served with a chilli in it. It was a great way to start off the evening as the chilli and lemon juice really zinged you up.

The other drink was a Blackberry and Rosemary Fizz: blackberries, rosemary, sugar syrup, lemon and apple juice shaken with Tanqueray gin and sloe gin, topped with soda. Very tasty and it disappeared quickly!

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The Lemon Balm ‘Tini, a new showing, was also a firm favourite around the table. This martini containing micro lemon balm is a fantastic herb, giving a strong fragrant lemon citrus note on the nose and gave a taste not unlike lemon sherbets…

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Also a solid fave was the Blackberry Mint Julep, made with muddled fresh blackberries, mint and sugar syrup, a dash of aromatic bitters, bourbon and blackcurrant liqueur. It was short and sweet with the bourbon coming through at the end of the palate.

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Talking of blackberries, we had a sample of one of their new mocktails Berry Good Times fresh blueberries, blackberries, mint and a touch of raspberry syrup. Shaken with apple and cranberry juice, it was a nice refresher.

For those who like their cocktail a little more classic, there was a Botanist vodka martini -Belvedere Vodka stirred with lemon balm, kaffir lime leaf and Lillet Blanc, served dry with the lime and lemon giving it a wonderful citrusy kick.

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The Apricot and Mint Daiquiri was certainly the most popular drink around the table. Apricot purée, mint, lime juice, vanilla sugar syrup with golden rum and apricot liqueur, the golden rum was a nice twist on the usual white or dark rum and it’s a very successful re-interpretation of such a classic drink.

My favourite drink was also another twist on a classic.

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Knowing my predilection for all things whisky, you won’t be surprised my favourite was a Honey & Sage Manhattan. Made with Wild Turkey Honey, sage, Lillet Rouge vermouth and a dash of lemon bitters, it was a fantastic little specimen with sweet and savoury notes and a underlying warmth from the Wild Turkey and vermouth.

It was a great fun evening, a good way to experience the new variety of cocktails on offer.

 

For those who have visited The Botanist previously and haven’t found a cocktail to your liking, I recommend paying another visit and seeing what’s on the new menu! For a limited time, you can also try this saucy little number:

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Made to commemorate one of Europe’s largest dance festivals, DanceXchange has worked with The Botanist’s experienced mixologists to create the celebratory cocktail, which will be available throughout the festival launching on 5 May. The dance-inspired cocktail is an exciting mix of Bombay gin, Aperol, and Elderflower cordial, topped off with a tangy orange zest garnish.  The winning name will be revealed shortly so keep your eyes peeled on the Botanist twitter feed!

Disclaimer: For this event, I was a guest of The Botanist who provided most of my drinks; this provides no bias to the post. This blog is my own personal opinion and strives to provide an independent view, promoting, enjoying and reviewing the range of exciting venues in and around Birmingham.

When: 20/04/2016

Where: Botanist Birmingham, Temple Street, Birmingham B2 5BG

Who:  Botanist BirminghamNew World Trading Company