Regular readers of the blog would know I’ve visited tasteandliquor‘s Food Feast-ival at The Coffin Works previously (read about it here). Whilst the last glimmers of summer were licking around, I thought it was well worth time for a revisit.

Unfortunately,Wifey wasn’t feeling great on Friday so instead I thought i’d introduce my friend a streetfood virgin, Glen (a freelance web developer), to the variety of treats available. I heard a rumour about Cubano’s (a fave of mine since watching the streetfood movie Chef) being available so it was the perfect opportunity!

However, first stop off (post beverages) was to something a little different. The Southern Oven offering southern US-style cuisine.

Po’Boys were the order of the day: a Louisiana-style sub sandwich with French bread. I opted for Shrimp and Glen opted for Roast Beef.

Mine came with a generous portion of lightly fried shrimp, with the batter giving enough crispness to counter the soft bread. The remoulade tasted like a cross between salad cream and aioli and I warmed to it quickly. Glen’s beef came in his opinion “perfectly cooked amazing beef”, the undercurrent of cajun spice and mustard running through the sandwich nicely.

With that, it was onto Cubano’s from the brand new Press de Cuba, who’ve been up and running since the end of July:

The gluten free option had gone by the time we arrived but for me, all I was interested in was the Mojo Pork Cubano.  I decided to split one with Glen as we had just finished the Po’boys.

Whilst we were waiting for the plancha to do it’s work, the staff were busy chatting away to the crowd. The smell was heavenly as the smell of pork, cheese pickle and mustard drifted over. Within a couple of minutes, a taste of Havana was handed over.

It was everything a man could wish for in a sandwich. Buttery, crispy, cheesy, hammy goodness. It was so good Glen went and doubled down on another for himself, whilst I went for a beverage.

New for this time around was a vintage punch bar with a varied selection of drinks to try. I went for something a little different than the usual beer and had a spiced rum.

It gave an impressive kick; the mint sugar and nutmeg gave a nice kick to the nostrils as you drank. The only thing it probably could have done with was a bit of ginger to bring the rum out to its full glory. I will certainly go back for another try next time I’m down to Fleet Street.

Drinks sorted, it was back on my culinary adventure. This time it was for wings from Scratch Cooking…

I went for a mixed batch of wings evenly split with BBQ and salt & pepper.

The BBQ wings were a nice fruity bbq followed with a spicy after kick. The salt & pepper were as you would expect, salty and peppery, Both were nice and hot, well seasoned and tasty, Between Glen and I, they didn’t last long, and if I wasn’t so stuffed I think I’d have gone back for another portion,

We had left a little room for a sweet treat though, and it was back to Southern Oven for some pecan brownies.

The pecans really gave an extra crunch to the moist brownie, a nice sweet praline on the top gave it extra sweetness and the raspberry coulis gave an added tartness.

With that, Glen and I waved goodbye for the evening and went on a mini pub tour before heading home.

The Next Day..

Suffering a little from a small hangover the next day. I convinced Wifey hair of the dog and more street food was in order wo we popped along to Harborne for my second dose of taste and liquor at The School Yard Market.

Based in a converted school (unsurprisingly), Taste and Liquor have been a regular for the past month or so and will be there each Saturday for the remainder of the summer.  Unfortunately when we first arrived a few issues had meant a delayed start but we went for a shop whilst things were prepared.

The Saturday market is a slightly different flavour to Friday nights with clothing stalls added into the mix.

Wifey had a rifle through whilst we waited for food to be prepared,

The stalls were two of the attendees from the previous evening. Scratch Cooking and Paella Paella, which was great as I didn’t get chance to try the paella the previous evening.

First off was another round of wings and I picked same selection as previously. Wifey enjoyed the BBQ until the heat came through then swapped to the salt and pepper which she liked.

The paella was still cooking so whilst we waited with a few drinks.

A couple of strawberry cocktails, with rum and vodka helped with the heat as the sun came out.  The cocktail was cooling and not overly sweet.

It was time for the paella. which had bubbled away in the background and gave off a great aroma.

Paella to me is a bit of a double edged sword. When it’s good it’s amazing, when it’s bad it’s atrocious. I’m happy to report that this was good. Juicy fat prawns, steamed mussels, tasty squid rings and perfectly cooked rice.

A perfect end then to two days of great street food.

Disclaimer: For these events, all food was paid for but a couple of drinks were complimentary. This blog is my own personal opinion and strives to provide an independent view, promoting, enjoying and reviewing the range of exciting food and venues in and around Birmingham.

When: 07/08/2015 – 08/08/2015

Where: The Coffin Works, Fleet Street, Birmingham and The School Yard, High Street Harborne

Who: tasteandliquor, The Southern Oven, Press de Cuba, Scratch Cooking & Paella Paella.