So… …I’m Back…

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…

Review: #WifeyWrites – A lot of CocknBull in Stourbridge

You know it’s big news when Stourbridge gets its first dirty burger eatery.

I grew up in Stourbridge, my parents owned Mayson Chinese Restaurant for the best part of 25 years so I was raised in the catering & service industry. I started working at the restaurant when I was 16, like my older brothers before me, and it taught us all a lot about the industry.

Back then, the nearest Stourbridge had to quality burgers was McDonalds. Today, the High Street is full of chain coffee places, Pizza Express, Wetherspoons and the odd independent eatery smattered between.

Which brings us onto the Cock’n’Bull. This is their first eatery, with the  second due to be in Glasgow. When I found out they were opening in Stourbridge only a few months ago, I thought I would check out the place.  My parents still live near Stourbridge and as I was having a catch up with my college friend Sarah, it gave me the perfect excuse!

We turned up early evening Friday and it was already packed. We hadn’t booked ahead but were told there would be a short wait and if we wanted to get a drink at the bar, they would let us know when a table was available. No sooner had we ordered our drinks and perused the menu, printed on butcher paper, a table was available.

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There’s a good choice of sharers and mains, it was almost too much.  The foodie in me just wanted to order a bit of everything but knowing how it was likely to turnout out (i.e. significant left over food!), we went for burgers with a couple of sides to share.

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My choice was the Cheese & Bacon Filthy Burger, which consisted of 2 free range Herefordshire Beef patties with Monterey Jack cheese and streaky bacon housed in a brioche bun. The burger was cooked perfect for me, with the saltiness of the bacon counterbalancing the sweetness of the brioche. I don’t often finish burgers but I managed to wolf this down well, which is a good sign that I really liked it!

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Sarah went for the Cockadoodle burger, free range buttermilk chicken coated & seasoned in their own recipe crumb with mayo and lettuce. Classic & simple, the coating was crispy, light and slightly salty.  She found the brioche bun quite filling, much preferring the chicken itself.

We skipped the fries, something I don’t normally do,  and went for sides of onion rings and Asian slaw.  The onion rings were done in tempura & black sesame seed batter, which was light if slightly greasy.  The Asian slaw was quite heavy on the red onion but tasty nonetheless.

For me, this is good news for Stourbridge, to get a new and different experience.  I found the staff friendly and attentive.  The next visit will most probably be with Ryan, as he’s already had a mooch at the menu and wants to try all of it.

 

When: 24/11/2017

Where:  Cock’n’Bull, 109 High Street, Stourbridge DY8 1EE

Who: Cock’n’Bull