A Summer of Food

It would take a long time to review in detail all the great food I have eaten over this 7 week summer holiday, therefore I have decided to pick out some of the highlights of my glutinous summer! Andersons Bar and Grill- Birmingham

I visited this restaurant at the start of summer with some friends from work. I had Chicken liver pâté  with fig chutney, sage and onion bread, and a garlic aioli to start. The pâté was coarse and creamy and went really well with some of the aioli. They were a bit stingy with the chutney which was also lovely.  For main I had the rump steak with a peppercorn sauce. The steak was served with buttery seasonal vegetables and chips. I prefer my steak to be blue and I was really surprised that it was cooked exactly how I like it as most restaurants serve my steak overcooked!  For dessert I had a Key Lime Pie with Chocolate and a Lime Air. This was the stand out dish for me as it not only looked great it tasted excellent. It was sweet and very tart, the lime air and chewy meringue pieces added different textures, it was very refreshing.  I would definitely visit Andersons again as I felt the quality of food, service and the overall ambiance of the restaurant was excellent.
Croatia

Top left:Cheese and Ham Toastie Top middle: Seafood Platter Top right: Custard Doughnut!
Bottom left: Anchovy pizza Bottom right: Black Cuttlefish Risotto

Laura and I spent 10 days in Croatia this summer. We spent 5 nights in Cavtat and 5 days near the sea port Omis. We found that Croatia did not really have its own cuisine, but instead each region takes ideas from neighboring countries. There was definitely a very strong Italian/Mediterranean influence. The seafood in Croatia was my personal favorite as it was very fresh and simple. The fish was rarely flavoured with much more than salt, pepper and lemon, but nevertheless tasted excellent. The variety of pizzas on offer was also excellent. The Black Cuttlefish Risotto was a specialty in Cavtat and was delicious, cuttlefish is not something I have eaten before but it was very similar to squid although not as rubbery. I would definitely recommend Cavtat as a place both to eat and stay and more pictures from our trip can be seen by following my instagram link. If anyone does visit Cavtat the restaurant I would recommend is Buffet Atlas. We only found this restaurant on our last night which was unfortunate as I would have eaten there every night if I had known. The food was excellent. Big bowls of  pasta coated with a variety of flavorsome sauces. Service was excellent and also very cheap, well worth a visit.

Digbeth Dining Club

Top left- Banoffe Pie Waffle (Bournville Waffle Company) Top right- Crispy Chicken (Buddha Belly)
Bottom left- Pani Puri (The English Indian) Bottom right- Original Burger (Original Patty Men)

Laura and I have visited DDC several times and the food is always excellent and priced between £5-7 which I think is pretty good for this gorgeous street food. I am going to pick out my personal favorites! Firstly Buddha Belly's crispy chicken is out of this world. You really do get a taste of excellent Thai cooking. The noodles are spicy, aromatic and salty and complimented really well with the fresh coriander and onion chutney. The chicken itself is as advertised and crispy but succulent and juicy inside the batter. This is a favorite with many people that visit DDC. 

My second choice is The English Indian's Pani Puri and at £3.50 for 5 it would be criminal for you not to try it! Small wafer thin crispy cases filled with coriander, chickpea, chilli and an exquisite sauce which really packs a punch! I went for seconds about 10 minutes after eating my first 5.

A worthy mention has to go to the Original Patty Men as I was skeptical about paying £7.50 for a burger after queuing for 50  minutes, but it was probably the best burger I have ever eaten, another stall that must be sampled!

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