With Burn's night rapidly approaching, now would be a good time for the monthly whisky post. Burns was a tremendous lover of whisky and wrote about it frequently in his poetry. Despite this, during his lifetime, he did his bit to stifle the industry by becoming an excise man... an individual responsible for the collection of taxes.
Given Scotland's Bard has devoted many words to whisky (as have many other great Scottish authors subsequently) you can imagine that it's easy to wax lyrical and in flowery prose on the subject. Insightful details of grassy high-notes with a sweet after taste trip of the tongue teasingly. Even without resorting to cliche, it is easy to clock up the word-count.
Which is why I've decided to set myself a small challenge over the coming months. Rather than write paragraphs and paragraphs on the subject, I have decided to condense my notes on particular whiskies to 140 characters or a tweet. For those of you who haven't found me on twitter, I can be found @JeevesFad and I will be using the hashtag #TT (those in the know can have a chuckle at that one).
My first attempt was about Edradour:
Edradour 10 y.o. Smooth, sweet, silky and rich. Smallest legal distillery. White chocolate on the after-taste. My favourite whisky #TT
Enjoy.
Sliante
TFB
Saturday 25 January 2014
Wednesday 22 January 2014
Snacking
Since my mid-teens I have not really been a fan of snacking. It's not that I have anything against it, I just never really had the desire. When I was a student this had the distinct advantage of saving me quite a bit if cash. It also contributed to me maintaining my scrawny teenage physique for longer than I had any right to expect.
One big advantage I had in the snack stakes was that I didn't have a sweet tooth. As such i could walk past a vending machine without having my head turned and sugary drinks had no appeal. Try abstaining from sugar. Soon any cravings will stop and your trousers will fit again.
Now I have written the above in the past tense. Sadly this was intentional. Things have shifted somewhat in the last year or so. I can pinpoint the exact event that caused it... moving out of London. In a stroke I stopped walking as much as I did and became aware of how many calories can be burned by being late and running to the bus stop. Worse, I moved in with a confirmed chocoholic. Before this I never had snacks in the house. Why would I? I didn't like them. Suddenly I found myself surrounded by seductively packaged sweets. Of course while they were there I ate them either out of boredom or because it becomes rude to refuse continual kind offers to share. These two facts combined to have a devastating impact on the belt line.
Normally rhis wouldn't bother me too much beyond the irritation of having to buy new clothes. However recently said chocoholic agreed to be my wife. So far so good except I have the privilege of being Scottish and want to get maried in my kilt. The kilt I have had since I was 17. The kilt which is now struggling to fit!
Cue a strict (ish) diet. Obviously the easiest way to cut down calories and hence weight is to stop snacking. I shouldn't miss it that much right? Sadly wrong. Somehow the idea that I can't have something even though it was something I didn't really like in the first place has made it tremendously appealing. In short I have started craving snacks. Refusing them has become a tremendous act of will power.
So with 8 months to go; wish me luck!
TFB
Sunday 19 January 2014
Restaurant Review: Byron Burger
I'm not the greatest fan of chain restaurants (despite my positive reviews of some in my post date food). Generally the thought of turning out exactly the same dishes time after time, day after day in venues across the country is a bit boring in soulless. I also don't like the idea of swelling the coffers of a corporate giant when there are lots of small, passionate chefs and restaurateurs out there struggling to get by.
So with all this in mind it may come as a bit of a surprise to hear that a couple of weeks ago I paid a visit to the latest chain to be making it's mark in the UK; Byron Burger. An American-style burger bar specialising in... you guessed it. Burgers!
It won't lie; my reason for visiting was entirely due to peer pressure. Friends banged on about it so incessantly that eventually I capitulated and decided to give it ago. As well as a latent spirit of exploration, I thought it would be fun to get some innovative ideas for things to do with burgers.
Our first impressions were good. Excellent even. We were greeted by the waitress in a warm, friendly way that so many places aspire to yet so many aspire to. I also really liked the decoration. If I were the pretentious, flouncy type I would describe it as "shabby chic" however I'm not so I will opt for decaying elegance.Lots of exposed brickwork and nothing too polished.
The menu was refreshingly simple and straight forward with only a few signature dishes available. This stopped an endless internal and external debate over what to have and gave enticing prospect of quality. It wasn't just the food menu I was impressed by. The beer menu was excellent too. Not only did it have an impressive selection of local beers, there was a good range of American craft beers.
Starters were limited. There was a choice between nachos with salsa or olives. See what I mean? But we didn't come for starters. Refreshingly, both the nachos and the accompanying salsa and guacamole were hand made rather than scooped out of a packet. They also arrived with reasonable speed.
My main course was the rather festively named triple cheesmas burger which, surprisingly was a burger smothered in three types of cheese. It was delicious. The Scottish beef (added plus points) was cooked to a beautiful medium rare and melted deliciously in the mouth. The bun had a lovely consistency and the chips were not only deliciously crunchy but perfectly seasoned. I also really liked the courgette chips I pinched from my then girlfriend (see previous post) which were cooked in a light and crispy batter - well we wouldn't want it being too healthy would we. Unfortunately, the giant pile of burger and bun, while visually appealing, was almost impossible to eat to utterly impossible to consume with any degree of grace of elegance. Not somewhere to go on a first date!
This was relative small fry though. Timings proved the biggest disappointment. The starters arrived towards the end of the acceptable time limit for starters. All very well but slightly concerning given the restaurant was virtually empty. Worse still, the main courses arrived within only minutes of our starter. Having the two in front of us simultaneously was distinctly off putting and meant that we didn't really have the opportunity to enjoy the starter. Not only was it a bit galling to be paying for something that we didn't really enjoy, I hate seeing food wasted.
So overall, I like the feel of the restaurant. The food is excellent and well thought out. Not only that, the burgers manage to be interesting without being naff. As well as all this, the staff are excellent. It's just a shame that the two courses turned up in such quick succession. I think next time I have one, I might be trying it as a takeaway.
TFB
So with all this in mind it may come as a bit of a surprise to hear that a couple of weeks ago I paid a visit to the latest chain to be making it's mark in the UK; Byron Burger. An American-style burger bar specialising in... you guessed it. Burgers!
It won't lie; my reason for visiting was entirely due to peer pressure. Friends banged on about it so incessantly that eventually I capitulated and decided to give it ago. As well as a latent spirit of exploration, I thought it would be fun to get some innovative ideas for things to do with burgers.
Our first impressions were good. Excellent even. We were greeted by the waitress in a warm, friendly way that so many places aspire to yet so many aspire to. I also really liked the decoration. If I were the pretentious, flouncy type I would describe it as "shabby chic" however I'm not so I will opt for decaying elegance.Lots of exposed brickwork and nothing too polished.
The menu was refreshingly simple and straight forward with only a few signature dishes available. This stopped an endless internal and external debate over what to have and gave enticing prospect of quality. It wasn't just the food menu I was impressed by. The beer menu was excellent too. Not only did it have an impressive selection of local beers, there was a good range of American craft beers.
Starters were limited. There was a choice between nachos with salsa or olives. See what I mean? But we didn't come for starters. Refreshingly, both the nachos and the accompanying salsa and guacamole were hand made rather than scooped out of a packet. They also arrived with reasonable speed.
My main course was the rather festively named triple cheesmas burger which, surprisingly was a burger smothered in three types of cheese. It was delicious. The Scottish beef (added plus points) was cooked to a beautiful medium rare and melted deliciously in the mouth. The bun had a lovely consistency and the chips were not only deliciously crunchy but perfectly seasoned. I also really liked the courgette chips I pinched from my then girlfriend (see previous post) which were cooked in a light and crispy batter - well we wouldn't want it being too healthy would we. Unfortunately, the giant pile of burger and bun, while visually appealing, was almost impossible to eat to utterly impossible to consume with any degree of grace of elegance. Not somewhere to go on a first date!
This was relative small fry though. Timings proved the biggest disappointment. The starters arrived towards the end of the acceptable time limit for starters. All very well but slightly concerning given the restaurant was virtually empty. Worse still, the main courses arrived within only minutes of our starter. Having the two in front of us simultaneously was distinctly off putting and meant that we didn't really have the opportunity to enjoy the starter. Not only was it a bit galling to be paying for something that we didn't really enjoy, I hate seeing food wasted.
So overall, I like the feel of the restaurant. The food is excellent and well thought out. Not only that, the burgers manage to be interesting without being naff. As well as all this, the staff are excellent. It's just a shame that the two courses turned up in such quick succession. I think next time I have one, I might be trying it as a takeaway.
TFB
Saturday 11 January 2014
A Return
Good Evening All. A very Happy New Year to everyone reading. I hope you all had a wonderful (and indulgent) Christmas and New Year.
I am sorry for the lack of posting lately. I would pretend to be benevolent and say I didn't clutter up your Christmas with further recipes for turkey and stuffing but the reasons are slightly more complex.
Firstly, Christmas is always a hectic time. Although I didn't do much of the catering over the festive period, I was still rushing about a lot.
Secondly, I have had the good fortune of becoming engaged! When I proposed, I was well appraised of the fact that weddings required a lot of planning... however I didn't quite realise HOW much was a lot. So as you can imagine, much of my spare time has been taken up by planning. (If you're interested, my fiancée is writing a detailed blog on the preparations so far).
Now obviously a fairly major part of any wedding is the meal (those in the know will insist on calling it a breakfast but, as it probably won't involve bacon, I won't be jumping on that band wagon) and a fair few drinks. Naturally your friendly food blogger will be turning his eye and opinion to these matters and of course I intend to chronicle them here. Fortunately, my fiancée has an almost equally keen eye for detail when it comes to all things edible and I must admit that most of the suggestions that have been truly revolutionary have come from her.
For the time being let me leave you with a concept I find deeply comforting in so many ways: wedding whisky.
Not long before we got engaged Cat bought me a bottle of Cardhu 12 year old (a rather nice Speyside). Being a sentimental sort, I like opening bottles of malt to mark occasions rather than just for the sake of it. Duly I decided that the Cardhu would be opened to celebrate the engagement. So far so good. Better still, Cat that suggested that (in order to take the edge off of all of the planning) I have a dram every time that planning is engaged in to try and foster some positive Pavlovian associations. It has worked rather well. Planning has become thoroughly enjoyable pass time. So much so I try and engage in it at every possible opportunity. Funny that!
TFB
I am sorry for the lack of posting lately. I would pretend to be benevolent and say I didn't clutter up your Christmas with further recipes for turkey and stuffing but the reasons are slightly more complex.
Firstly, Christmas is always a hectic time. Although I didn't do much of the catering over the festive period, I was still rushing about a lot.
Secondly, I have had the good fortune of becoming engaged! When I proposed, I was well appraised of the fact that weddings required a lot of planning... however I didn't quite realise HOW much was a lot. So as you can imagine, much of my spare time has been taken up by planning. (If you're interested, my fiancée is writing a detailed blog on the preparations so far).
Now obviously a fairly major part of any wedding is the meal (those in the know will insist on calling it a breakfast but, as it probably won't involve bacon, I won't be jumping on that band wagon) and a fair few drinks. Naturally your friendly food blogger will be turning his eye and opinion to these matters and of course I intend to chronicle them here. Fortunately, my fiancée has an almost equally keen eye for detail when it comes to all things edible and I must admit that most of the suggestions that have been truly revolutionary have come from her.
For the time being let me leave you with a concept I find deeply comforting in so many ways: wedding whisky.
Not long before we got engaged Cat bought me a bottle of Cardhu 12 year old (a rather nice Speyside). Being a sentimental sort, I like opening bottles of malt to mark occasions rather than just for the sake of it. Duly I decided that the Cardhu would be opened to celebrate the engagement. So far so good. Better still, Cat that suggested that (in order to take the edge off of all of the planning) I have a dram every time that planning is engaged in to try and foster some positive Pavlovian associations. It has worked rather well. Planning has become thoroughly enjoyable pass time. So much so I try and engage in it at every possible opportunity. Funny that!
TFB
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