Food For Thought: February 2018

Monday 26 February 2018

Quote of the Week - Week commencing Monday 26 February 2018

"The only thing I like better than talking about food is eating."

John Walters

Monday 19 February 2018

Quote of the Week - Week commencing Monday 19 February 2018

Because priorities are everything...

"Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch."

Orson Welles

Friday 16 February 2018

Pres

Bury New Road, Prestwich

Pres is a modern juice and smoothie bar serving up fresh produce made from the finest local ingredients. With appetites for clean eating and veganism increasing by the day, there are all sorts of health food shops and restaurants popping up all over the place, proving that eating healthily does not have to mean eating bland, boring foods. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

Pres has a large menu, catering for breakfast, brunch and lunch. There are healthy breakfasts, colourful salad bowls, freshly pressed juices and smoothie bowls, the majority of which are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

You know me well enough by now to know that I love indulging in really good food, so a health care never been high on my list of priorities. But, I firmly believe in the mantra ‘if you don’t try, you’ll never know’. Boy, am I glad I gave it a go.

Inside, it’s nothing special. No bigger than a shop unit, it’s a casual, quick-stop bar with minimal seating – just a couple of tables and a breakfast bar running the perimeter of the shop floor. As somebody who’s frequently out and about on their own, it struck me as the perfect kind of place to eat alone. There’s even a selection of books tucked away under the units.

The brunch options are served all day, so, even though it was lunchtime, I ordered the breakfast bruschetta; the healthiest version of a Full English that I’ve ever encountered. There were two slices of sourdough toast, smothered in smashed avocado and loaded up with turkey bacon, two fried eggs, sundried tomatoes and feta cheese.

Smashed avocado is the trendiest breakfast option of the time and, despite not being a fan of the fruit, I do really like it. Turkey bacon was also a first for me. Controversially, turkey is my favourite meat. Whilst it may not have been obvious to taste that these rashers were made from the traditional Christmas favourite, they were lean, crisp and less salty than proper bacon – a lovely texture.

Eggs, I love. Fried eggs, I’m generally not mad keen on. However, even these won me over, as they were cooked to perfection. They managed to avoid the plastic texture and were perfectly runny in the middle, oozing out over the bruschetta when cut into. The sundried plum tomatoes, with their delicious bitter, salty flavour, and the sprinkles of feta cheese, added depth and texture to the dish, making every mouthful deliciously satisfying.

Breakfast Bruschetta

One of my dining companions went for the Hippie Bowl, a giant salad made up of avocado, smoked salmon, asparagus, sliced beetroot, crispy kale, tomato and cucumber with added halloumi, drizzled in balsamic vinegar. It was a hearty and healthy salad which looked like it could satisfy even the largest of appetites.

Hippie Salad Bowl

My breakfast bruschetta was £7 and the hippie salad bowl was £8, so it’s reasonably priced and the portions justify the cost.

For those of us with a sweet tooth, there’s an intriguing selection of smoothie bowls, which are essentially what the name suggests: giant smoothies in a bowl. They’re served up like a bowl of porridge, topped with fruits, nuts and seeds. The peanut butter and chocolate one sounds especially appealing.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Smoothie Bowl

There’s also a selection of vegan cakes which change daily. I’ve seen plenty of photos of these knocking around on social media and they always look delicious. Sadly, on the Saturday I popped in, the cakes weren’t very inspiring, so I’m hoping to back and try them another time.

If healthy eating is your mission in 2018, then Pres is the place for you. It’s not the cosiest of places, but in terms of food, it’s certainly the cleanest and greenest.

Find them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/presjuice/

Monday 12 February 2018

Quote of the Week - Week commencing Monday 12 February 2018

"My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people."

Orson Welles

Sunday 11 February 2018

Afternoon Tea at One88

Bury New Road, Whitefield

I’ve previously spoken very favourably about local restaurant One88 Kitchen & Bar, in Whitefield. Recently, they have launched their own take on afternoon tea. I’ve dined at One88 in the evening on numerous occasions and I’ve also enjoyed a couple of their impressive towering sandwiches at lunchtime.

Given the exceptional quality of the food, and that afternoon tea is one of my very favourite pastimes, I knew I owed it to myself to give it a go.

Lent is looming, and for me that means abstaining from chocolate and cakes for the 40 day period, so this weekend seemed like the ideal opportunity for one final blow out.

If afternoon tea is also your thing, you will not be disappointed. This was one of the best I’ve ever had.

The Traditional Afternoon Tea, priced at £15 per person, is traditional in all but size. There’s a fine selection of sandwiches, cakes and scones, beautifully presented on two silver stands and a wooden slate. As the only people in the restaurant having afternoon tea on that afternoon, I could feel the beady eyes of the other customers checking out this impressive display. And I can hardly blame them, as I couldn’t stop staring at it myself.

There were two egg mayonnaise sandwiches and two chicken sandwiches, two quarters of a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel and a tortilla wrapped stuffed with cheese and onion.

Elsewhere, you can often tell that the sandwiches have been prepared in bulk in advance, as the bread is dry around the edges, but at One88 everything is freshly prepared on the day. The cheese and onion wrap was a real treat, quite possibly my favourite savoury item that I’ve ever eaten on an afternoon tea.

I was astounded not only by the size of the individual sandwiches, but the quantity of them. There were enough of them for it to be a lunch in itself. Whereas normally the sweet items outweigh the savoury on an afternoon tea, here there was an equal balance, which was refreshing.

The scones arrived freshly baked and warm to touch. These weren’t the little bite-sized nuggets which I’ve come to expect. There were two full-sized fruit scones – one sultana, one cherry – served with jam and clotted cream. And they were the perfect scones, slightly crunchy on the outside, light and fluffy within, and they pulled apart with ease.

For the third stage of this banquet of an afternoon tea, there were three generous cakes: slices of lemon drizzle and chocolate fudge cake and a chocolate and vanilla cupcake. The lemon drizzle was perfection - light, moist and zingy – and the chocolate fudge rich without being stodgy. The cupcakes were half vanilla sponge and half chocolate, topped with a chocolate and vanilla swirled frosting.

Normally at an afternoon tea, I’m the only one who manages to demolish the whole thing and is left with nothing to take home. For the first time, I took my cupcake away with me.

All of this, plus a pot of tea, for £15 per person, makes One88’s Traditional Afternoon Tea one of the best I’ve ever had in terms of value for money. It’s just as good, if not better, than anything you can expect to receive in the city centre. Chef and co-owner David Gale prides himself on offering value for money in all of his restaurant’s menus. In a personal touch, he asked us for our opinion on the recently-launched afternoon tea and told us that the selections of sandwiches and cakes change almost daily, so you’re unlikely to ever receive the same afternoon tea experience twice.

If sandwiches and cakes don’t do it for you, there’s a gentleman’s alternative which sounds equally as exciting – think pork pies, sausage rolls, fish and chips. I can’t wait to give it a go.

If you’ve got a special occasion that you’d like to celebrate in an extra special way, afternoon tea at One88 is the way to go. Pre-ordering is essential.

Website: http://one88whitefield.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/one88kitchenandbar/