Graze Inn, Sheffield

Having visited Graze many times before and loved it last Friday was the day I put my reviewing head on and gave it a good once over and this is how my two companions and I rated it.

First Impressions

Upon arrival we were shown to a table that none of us were very happy with. Despite the ample amounts of natural lighting through the large people watching windows we didn't fancy eating in full view of the world, so asked to be seated elsewhere which seemed to be a bit of a problem for our waiter. He grunted and sat us elsewhere but said we needed to be out in just over an hour. Fast food or what.

The Food
None of us opted for a starter, from previous experience we knew that the mains came big enough to satisfy without that 'I'm stuffed and cannot move' feeling.

The menu is a mish-mash of lots of classic dishes with a modern twist averaging at around £11 per main. It also hosts a rotisserie chicken section which from previous experience beats a certain popular Portuguese chicken chain hands down.

Crispy duck flatbread

I went for something new on the main menu 'crispy Gressingham duck with Chinese flavours' flatbread, the Graze's take on a pizza. When it arrived it was pretty overwhelming. It seemed to dominate our whole table, leaving little room for cutting movements or drinks for my companions or myself. The flavours were really well balanced and I was nicely surprised by the amount of duck that was on the flat. Especially for the £10 price tag.

Both of my companions chose dishes from the pasta and risotto section of the menu and weren't disappointed.

Fettuccine

'Fettuccine with creamy ham hock, peas, grain mustard, parsley and Parmesan' this was really rich and full of flavour and was again a steal at £9. However for me it did resemble something that could easily be made at home as a quick weekday dinner. Not exactly a show stopper.

Chorizo and red pepper risotto

Companion two also opted for something which was new to the menu 'Chorizo and red pepper risotto with Manchego cheese'. This came beautifully presented and tasted equally as beautiful. There was however little Chorizo in the dish and was a little cold when it was served.

Lasting Impressions
The décor at the restaurant is lovely and has nice furniture (I would recommend a booth table). Although the staff were a little cold to start with they soon warmed up and made us feel at home, just before they shooed us out. 

The food on this occasion was nothing to shout about but it is somewhere I would definitely recommend from previous experience. Just make sure you book.

Graze Inn
315-319 Ecclesall Road
Sheffield, S11 8NX
Telephone: 0114 267 6666
Website: http://www.grazeinn.co.uk

Doncaster Market

I am a firm believer that every real foodie should take an hour out of their week to go and visit their local market. They can be a treasure trove for good quality ingredients as well as a way to meet like-minded people.

The Doncaster food market is short 30 minute train ride for me from Sheffield, so I thought I would make a day of it and see what it has to offer.

The market is vast inside a large old building and is full to the brim with a large variety of stalls. From fish, to meat to sweets, I can almost guarantee that anything you want to buy from there- no matter how peculiar can be found hidden on one of the stalls at Doncaster.

I have always found that at any market stall holders at markets are always helpful and give the best advice on how to prepare and cook your purchases.  The stall holders at Doncaster were particularly helpful and had learnt their knowledge through a long standing family tradition of butchery or fishmongers which is something I love having come from a butchery background myself. This type of product knowledge is something that you don’t tend to get from the spotty, bewildered teenager in your local supermarket when you ask how to braise your ox tail to get the best stock from it.

Many stall holders are also more than willing to do individual portions of meat and fish which is great for when you just want to try something to see if you like it. Or if like me you fight for freezer space the last thing you want to be doing is bringing home a whole salmon (although I would love to see my housemates faces if I did).

Another great thing about shopping at any market is that you know exactly where the food is coming from. Many of the stall holders at Doncaster market told me that they source their produce from within a 50-mile radius of the market site. Which I’m sure many of you will agree after the horsemeat scandal is something to ease the mind that little bit more.

All of the produce at the market was of great quality and seemed to be at much lower prices than the supermarket which is always a plus. Many of the vegetables had good offers and at the market you can always try your best at haggling down the prices (something that definitely wouldn’t go down too well in Tesco!).

Overall the market experience at Doncaster was good.  It was nice to head out of Sheffield and explore a different market to my usual one, The Moor and I would definitely recommend it. The market itself is just a short five minute walk from the train station and easily accessible by car.

If any readers know a good food market in Yorkshire or Kent then please let me know via twitter, @Kelly_Kooks or comment below.

Atomic Burger, Bristol

Atomic Burger was an experience I will never forget in a hurry. Walking into the small tightly packed restaurant you are soon slapped in the face with memorabilia, from Superhero posters and Ghostbusters to Star Wars storm troopers you really feel like a kid in a sweetshop (or a big nerd in a burger restaurant).

First Impressions
I visited on a Sunday evening and safe to say the place was dead, there were two other diners in there and they were already on their desserts so soon my dining hell was about to be experienced, eating in a restaurant with just me, my companion and the staff...

The concept of Atomic Burger is simple. Select a burger from the comic book style menu, decide if you want beef, chicken or veggie and then ponder over the side dishes.

The Food
The menu itself is in keeping with the theme of American heroes with burgers such as the 'Dead Elvis- Swiss cheese, American cheese, bacon and onions', 'Daisy Duke- crispy bacon, American cheese and smokey BBQ sauce' and the greatly named 'Forrest Gump- plain and simple burger standing proud'. For non-burger fans they also have a selection of hot dogs.

I went for the 'Messy Jessie' a beef burger with goats cheese, rocket and red onion marmalade with a side of sweet potato fries (£8.95). My companion (who has a very hearty appetite) opted for a 'Dolly Parton' a double stacked beef burger with American cheese and 'Trailer Park fries', chips topped with cheddar sauce, pulled pork and crispy onions (£12.90).

When the food arrived we were both overwhelmed with the size of the sides let alone the huge burgers that were put in front of us. 

My burger was packed with rocket and red onion marmalade which was lightly spiced and delicious. The goats cheese however had very little flavour despite being a great big slab of it which was a little disappointing as I am a huge goats cheese fan. The burger was obviously made of good quality beef and was well seasoned but was very very moist which resulted in a soggy-bun situation (something big burger fans will be all too familiar with). The sweet potato fries were as expected, nothing to shout about but nothing to complain about either.

My companion loved his burger and said again that his was nice and moist (his bun also disintegrated mid meal). The bacon was lovely and crisp and there was 'just the right amount of cheese' for his liking. He was however underwhelmed by his side, when served the cheese sauce was already lukewarm and there was hardly any pulled pork to be seen.

We both failed to finish our colossus sized meals, however this may have been because we sampled some of the milkshakes on offer which were almost a meal in themselves.

Lasting Impressions

Despite being alone in the restaurant for almost the whole duration of the meal I felt neglected by the staff. We were not offered refills on our drinks and we had to leave our seats and walk almost into the kitchen to ask for the bill.

It is a great place to visit if you are a nerd at heart and just want to stare at the memorabilia (as my companion did throughout the whole meal) or if you are a big burger fan with a hearty appetite. Overall I feel the idea of Atomic Burger is great, the theme, menu and prices look great but it comes at a cost in terms of service.

 

Atomic Burger
189 Gloucester Road
Bristol, BS7 8BG
Telephone: 01179 428600
Website: http://atomicburger.co.uk/