Gourmet Scoffs, Bath
This post is long overdue. San Pellegrino Orange was my drink for the summer. I discovered it for the first time when visiting Scoffs a while back and I wanted to share the delights of this drink. Well, summer is officially over but I’m still going to say “you should try this drink”. I don’t know why its better than Sunkist but it just is. Without getting too carried away with myself, neither compare to the greatness of original San Pellegrino from a glass bottle.
For its size Bath has a well stocked supply of café’s and deli’s. This proved difficult when deciding where to head for a sandwich. Fortunately on this day I was guided by someone in the know who took me to Scoffs. Located near the river Avon opposite Parade Gardens the shop front looks like an inviting place. The kind that doesn’t need to use some flash banner to attract custom because its the locals that use this venue for their sandwich staple.
On this occasion and if I’m honest, whenever I see Pastrami on the menu board, a Reuben on brown was ordered. As the sun was out I thought it would be ideal to park on a bench in Parade Gardens and have lunch. Error, £1 entry for non-residents! Paying to get into a park? Say wha? This seems a bit of a joke. I think the council are milking the tourists a bit too dry with that. Anyway, the view from the park wall was good enough and the sandwich more than made up for my displeasure at the £1 entry. If your in Bath and hungry for a sandwich, head to Scoffs for some excellent sandwiches and a friendly vibe.
As it happened
I forgot about this picture. I was watching MasterChef a while back and someone knocked at the front door so I put the show on pause. Gregg Wallace’s face in full sugar rush peak!
It’s been a while since the last post and I can’t really give a good excuse as to why, but since then notable events have included the Giro D’italia, house parties, DFA79 and finishing a PhD.
One of the more memorable events on a recent trip to London to watch Death From Above 1979 included two parking tickets (£136) and being locked out of our accommodation. Two things that can really frustrate me are being so late as to almost miss a gig and paying out large sums of money for f%!k all! Talking of paying out large sums of money, on the journey to London we stopped at Leigh Delamere services. No surprises that M&S won hands down in the battle between WH Smith, Burger King and Costa.
Hand models include Jen Long and Dan Barnett
Fresh, Royal Arcade
Last year we took our first visit to Fresh in Royal Arcade. Impressed by what it had to offer we thought it deserved an updated write up, so much so we’ve been there twice in nearly the same number of weeks.
Tucked away in a tiny space just along from Wally’s Deli. Fresh is consistently very very good, with the owners having a real passion for what they do. They specialise in baguettes (no sandwiches!) and also have a range of paninis, salads, cakes and drinks. The chalk board is crammed with a wide variety of staple fillings as well as some very intriguing daily specials.
Lunchtimes will often mean a queue out the door and down the arcade but service is very good and you don’t have to wait long. Here’s a sample of what we’ve had from Fresh recently.
Salami, pastrami, caramalised onion, mustard, mayo and salad on brown baguette
Ham, chicken, dill pickles, gherkins, mustard on brown baguette
Friday special (28/01/2011): Asian pork balls panini with super special homemade chilli sauce!
We even got to sample the home made chilli sauce that comprised twelve ingredients whilst waiting for the paninis to toast:
The clubbers were pretty unanimous on the the fact that this was one of THE BEST fillings we have tasted. Fresh do it right, they are friendly, inventive and know what the customer wants. They are one of the best in Cardiff.
Follow Fresh on Twitter to keep up to date with the daily specials and whats going on:
Scores
Price: 3
Taste: 4
Look: 4
Service: 4
Originality: 4
Total: 19/20
USA Sandwich Adventure Part 2 – Cardiff, Washington, Charlottesville, New York
Bodo Bagels – Charlottesville, Virginia
After a brief freshen up at our temporary lodgings for the afternoon, we are recommended to try out Bodo Bagel’s by our friends who are living here. It’s a local chain and has quite a reputation. On the menu there is a big selection of ingredients and a wide variety of bagels to choose from. I opted for a poppy seed bagel with capicola and provolone.
I don’t normally go for bagels but I did enjoy this. The ingredients were tasty and the bagel was of a good quality, although the cheese left a bit to be desired. This was decent but I’m not sure if it deserves the reputation it seems to have. I’m sure there are many places in London and elsewhere that serve filled bagels that far surpass those at Bodo’s.
Market Street Market – Charlottesville, Virginia
It’s the day before our friend’s wedding, the reason for our trip to Charlottesville, and we decide to investigate the town centre with the intention of finding a top notch sandwich outlet. At the top of one side street we notice a market come deli. The menu in the window looked very appetising and we head to the back of the shop and place our orders – one corned beef on rye and one pastrami with Swiss cheese, accompanied by bottles of cream soda.
The pictures say it all, fresh, filling, top quality homemade ingredients and very good bread. The side of pickle is massive compared to the usual thin circles of gherkin were used to in the UK. Brilliant and a must if you happen to visit the area.
Tazza – Brooklyn, New York
An afternoons trip to walk around Brooklyn and we come across Tazza, a café come bar with a wide selection of Panini’s and cakes. I ordered a Brie and Apricot Ciabatta Panini coming in at $6.25. It was really good. A nice light afternoon snack and the taste of the brie lasted the rest of the afternoon, a good find.
Katz’s Deli – New York
Katz’s Deli has a place in Lonely Planet’s top 10 things to do in New York and naturally we thought it rude not to go. The guide says the servings are big enough to feed you for a week and true enough this statements wasn’t far wrong. A huge place and a rather unique way to order, on entering you are given what resembles a raffle ticket before you head over to one of many staff at the counter (A word of note, keep hold of your ticket. Your running total is written on the back and then this needs to be handed in at the counter when you leave. If you lose it, they will charge you over the top!). I ordered a Reuben and from within a steel slow cooker a huge brisket of beef is wrenched out. Little effort is needed to slice the beef, it simply crumbles away. I went for rye bread and the classic combination of sauerkraut, mayonnaise and Swiss cheese were duly added, together with a side of a whole gherkin. Further along the counter you can order pasta dishes desserts and beer, despite this I opt for a cream soda. Look at the pictures in awe, this was epic!
Yes, this does say $15.75 for a sandwich!
What an end to our sandwich exploration of the USA. A special mention must also be made to Café Habana (Enchiladas de Mole Poblano) and the amazing Great Jones Street Café (Jambalaya with corn bread) which both served some of the best food I’ve had. Check out their website here:
Sandwich consultants
After the recent feature on Waterloo Gardens Teahouse, we were contacted by the owners with regard to helping them update their menu. So, it’s simple, send us your thoughts on what you think the teahouse should offer. Sandwiches, Panini’s, soups, bagels…you get the drift. Feel free to include as much detail as possible, even down to the type/brand of spread to use, if that’s how passionate you are about your suggestion. Please leave your suggestions in the comments section or alternatively Email us.
As always, for your inspiration.
Sandwich Off #1: Results
The Sandwich Clubbers have the “sandwich off!” As historic events go, this is MASSIVE – the first ever Sandwich Club Sandwich-Off! Essentially “Come dine with me”, but with sandwiches, and none of the annoying idiots usually thrown in as TV fodder. It was decided to test the abilities of The Sandwich Club members by gathering on a Friday evening in Cardiff to see who could come up with the best sandwich. Six Clubbers were given a maximum spend of £10 and two days preparation to research and come up with a sandwich to be presented, scored and consumed by the fellow clubbers.
A few rules applied:
1. A £10 budget for ingredients, receipts to be retained as proof (this excluded butter which came supplied if required)
2. The ingredients had to be assembled on the night
3. Elements that could not be easily put together on the night could be pre-prepared, such as cooking meats
The sandwiches were then voted for on taste, presentation, ingredients and originality.
Here are the results from 6 to 1:
6. Pastrami, Apple Salami, Lettuce and Piccalilli (and a healthy spreading of English mustard) on wholemeal bread
5. Mascarpone, Banana and Chocolate on the inside. Grilled white bread on the outside
4. Smoked Salmon, avocado and chilli on rye
3. Chicken curry, lettuce, tomato and raita on granary baguette
2. Parma Ham, Fig and Goats cheese on Donker bread
1. Wensleydale & Cranberry, Pecan and Maple Syrup filled-grilled-Brioche
Congratulations to the winner and a big thank to the host and everyone who took part. There are already plans for “Sandwich Off #2” and from the high benchmark set by #1 we are very much looking forward to the next Sandwich Off.
The New York Deli, High Street Arcade
The city of Cardiff, home to the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Castle, the worlds most vile street on a Saturday night (St Mary’s) and “The New York Deli”. Ignore the third homage point, but if the council are to promote some of Cardiff’s finer points, the NY deli is most certainly one of them. Granted it has nothing to do with the heritage of Cardiff or Wales, but the fact that it’s here is good enough.
Like many of the world’s major cities that have China Towns and Little Italy’s, Cardiff has its very own mini New York in the confines of the Deli located in High Street Arcade. The days of the first shop are long gone but not forgotten. Jolt Cola, (which is now sadly banned in this country for its horrific levels of caffeine) some toasted rye bread and USA today, perched on a wooden bench staring across at Air Circus contemplating whether I should buy a yoyo or new skates is still fresh in my mind.
At the current shop, the counter is home to some of America’s finest ingredients for sandwich making. Pastrami, Salt Beef, Swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing, and gherkins with a feast of confectionary delights perched on the top of the counter. I always stare at the brownies but opt for the Carrot Cake.
This week the clubbers came in force, a four strong squad, each member ready for sandwich eating war, with talks of hoagies, grinders, clubs and cakes. This time, an order of 2 Reuben’s, a meatball grinder and a pastrami and Swiss cheese hoagie was made.
The Reuben at the New York Deli consists of Pastrami, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, gherkins and Thousand Island dressing. A huge sandwich is presented, with the colours alone scoring the sandwich highly, buts it’s the explosion of flavour that this sandwich delivers which gives it full marks. Meaty and fresh, a light sour taste is delivered by the gherkins that sit between the Thousand Island and coleslaw combination. This is a seriously good sandwich!
The meatball grinder, warmed in foil is a messy affair but the clubber remained silent throughout his consumption and finally stated “Amazing! But now I have to clean my face”. Be warned, meatball grinders come with plenty of sauce so extra napkins will be needed.
The hoagie is a food marathon. An enormous submarine roll is piled with food that requires you to pick out filling before being able to close it into any form of holding sandwich. Our tip is to get a fork, eat half the contents alone, then fold the roll with the remaining filling inside and eat! The pictures say it all.
Rating:
Price: 3 /4
Taste: 4/4
Look: 4 /4
Service: 3/4
Originality: 4/4
Score: 18/20
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