Friday at Johnny Fontanes

On Friday evening we went to the soft launch of Johnny Fontanes, a new American-style diner in the Great George Street area of the city.  The official opening date hasn't been set yet as, rather sensibly, they want to iron out all the glitches before opening to the masses.

We were invited to try some of the food and drinks on offer.  The food is freshly made every morning and sticks to the American classics of burgers, pulled pork, chicken, wings and fries.  The drinks menu has a good range of American beers and bourbons and offers ciders, milkshakes and fresh lemonade.

The premise is a bit a-la-Nandos.  You order food and drinks at the bar and are given an electronic alert, which flashes when the food is ready.  You then collect it from the order point near the kitchen.  As long as this is explained clearly by the waiting staff on arrival, this should work in theory.

Given they are still in the trial stage, I expect things will change before the opening, but I hope they keep doing the burgers as they did last night because both Joe's and mine were very good.  I had the classic cheese burger with fries, which came in a tasty bun and the burger was obviously home made (in a good way), served with some salad.  Joe had the bacon double cheese with spiced fries, which as you would expect was similar to mine, but man-sized!  Being honest, the fries could do with a little work but that's one of the creases that will be ironed out before opening.  I also had a little preview of the chicken burger, courtesy of Rebecca (@reallygoodfood) and hope that when they open, they put the same salad in the chicken burger as in the beef. 

The drinks were a definite plus point - both beers were tasty and unusual.  I also love the branding which is hyper-50s style.  They are obviously very keen to make sure everything is running as well as possible on opening, and took on board the little issues that we raised.  Once open properly, we probably will give them another go and hope everyone else does the same.

bacon double cheese with spiced fries

That good branding

And our beers

Saturday - victory at the Hub and squid stuffed with black pudding

This weekend there was a momentous event in the calender - the Liverpool v Everton FA cup semi final at Wembley.  As you may have noticed, Joe is quite a dedicated Liverpool fan, and over the course of our relationship has suckered me in too.  I always maintain that we wouldn't be where we are today if I hadn't embraced football - it would have made for some fairly lonely weekends and a constant Saturday night battle for the TV (Match Of The Day always wins). 

So on Saturday we headed to the Hub in Chapel Allerton to have some drinks and watch the football, with a certain amount of trepidation because Liverpool haven't had their best season this year.  We were joined by Dave Bro, another Red, and Paul, a filthy Arsenal supporter who was very keen for Everton to win - fun all round. 

After a nail biting 94 minutes Liverpool were victorious, making their way to the FA cup final against either Chelsea or Tottenham with a 2-1 win over Everton.  We celebrated with some beers and a tasty bar lunch at The Hub of a Real Greek burger with curly fries for Joe and a Puppy Love Bratwurst hot dog for me, which were both awesome and a great accompaniment for the beers. 

We also stuck around for the Grand National, but the less said about that the better - out of six horses picked between us, only three finished, and only one of those was top four and I had bet on the nose!  Oh well, it was a lot of fun anyway.

The Real Greek burger, with lamb mince, coriander and tzatziki

The puppy love bratwurst - simple and effective

Andy Carroll - the new love of Joe's life

After all that, we retired home for an evening of the papers and some reality tv (don't tell anyone but Joe is a HUGE fan of The Voice) and some dinner.  I've been telling Joe for ages that I wanted to make stuffed squid, and finally got round to it this weekend.  Our dinner was baby squid stuffed with Macsween's black pudding, turkey and brown rice, accompanied by a squid, tomato and chargilled pepper stew. 

Stuffed squid

Squid, tomato and chargrilled pepper stew

Stuffed squid, stew and rice

Wednesday - Turkey Burgers and Corn on the Cob

I spend a significant amount of time trying to come up with food that will satisfy Joe's normal boy desires for dirty food (fried chicken, pizza, chips etc.) with my need for healthy food.  This week I slightly conned him by telling him he was getting burgers...and he was, its just they were made with turkey rather beef!  They were actually really tasty, flavoured with some chilli and a little bit of cheese, served on brown pitta with salad and corn on the cob.  Although, as you'll see, they were also enormous, so maybe not so healthy after all!

Corn on the cob

Turkey burgers on salad and pitta

The huge burger...

Wednesday at West Park Brasserie 7.5/10

Courtesy of a Groupon treat, on Wednesday Joe and I popped for dinner at the West Park Brasserie, just north of Headingley.  It was a spur of the moment choice and a well deserved treat for both of us.

I often feel quite spoiled living in north Leeds as there are such a number and range of restaurants, cafes and bars to spend your time in.  Quite feasibly, we need never go into the city centre for an evening out.  One of the thing I like most about the places in Roundhay, Chapel Allerton, Headingley etc.  is that the restaurants are more likely to be a bit quirky and give you proper variety, which in my view is somewhat lacking in the city centre.

West Park Brasserie continues these good feelings.  It's a small dining room space with simple, low key decor, and a relaxed vibe.  The food is gastro-pub-esque and worldwide inspired - think salt and pepper calamari, smoked salmon and prawn fishcakes or Thai beef salad with crispy noodles for starters, and gnocchi with summer vegetables and halloumi or Vietnamese style bream for mains.  There are a lot of styles to cover but it looks like there's something for everyone.

The groupon offer was for two burgers from the gourmet burger menu, although they did say that if we wanted something on the a la carte, we could just pay the difference, which was a good touch.  But we had come for burgers so burgers we had.  Joe opted for the kiwi burger, an Aberdeen Angus steak patty topped with beetroot, pineapple, cheese and a fried egg, which was a brilliant combination of flavours and textures.  I had the chicken and mozzarella burger with marinaded tomatoes and sweet chilli, which was also rather tasty, although my chicken was a touch on the pink side.  It wasn't something worth raising, but anything less done would have been a little dangerous!  Both burgers came with freshly made coleslaw and hand cut chips which were superb.

All in, it was a really nice evening and I'd definitely go back.  On a Wednesday evening they were busy, and from the looks of the food being ordered, these weren't just people seduced by the groupon factor.  Definitely one to give a try.

7.5/10 (points gone for pink chicken and they took an age to bring our olives which, admittedly, they went off menu for).

Those pesky olives

The kiwi burger

The chicken and mozzarella burger

Saturday Night at the Deer Park - 8/10

On Saturday night we took a stroll to the Deer Park on Street Lane in Roundhay.  Perhaps strolling was a slightly daft idea (my mother and I attempting to get through Roundhay Park in the dark, in heels, on a virtual ice rink, was quite funny but I don't think she enjoyed it all that much!) but it made the cosy wood fires and animal hide all the more appreciated.

Joe and I have eaten at the Deer Park on a few occasions and generally have a good time.  It is effectively a restaurant with pub styling.  The food is traditional with a twist, the wines are reasonable and they do a good line in cocktails.  It's also somewhere that I have happily spent a few hours on a Sunday enjoying the papers and a glass of wine.

Having indulged rather a lot with Indian treats on Friday, none of us were looking for a full three course dinner so we made the most of the sharing plates on offer.  We had the antipasti, which comes with dolcelatte, cured meats, marinaded vegetables and flat breads, and rustic breads with olives, roasted garlic, olive oil and balsamic.  The big star of the antipasti was the creamy and sharp dolcelatte (a bit of a nose bleeder), while the breads with roasted garlic were fresh and tasty. As is always the case, I felt a little short changed by the oil and balsamic - they never give enough for the amount of bread!

Antipasti with cured meats, marinaded vegetables and flat breads

Rustic breads with olives, roasted garlic, oil and balsamic

The menu has quite a broad spectrum of main courses, including pizzas, salad, pastas, fish and grills, so we were able to try things from across the board.  Joe opted for the carne pizza, with luganega sausage, chorizo, pepperoni, roast chicken, and swapped the chilli for rocket (he was running a half marathon the next morning so wasn't eating anything too challenging!).  My mum opted for linguini with prawns, chorizo, crab and chilli while my dad went for the fish pie.  Everyone else having chosen the items that I really wanted from the menu, I went for a naughty burger with chorizo and gherkins.  While nice, I had massive food envy which is always disappointing!  My mum said that the linguini was really good, and came with very generous seafood portions and a nice warming chilli.  The pizza was also very good with a thin and crispy base and nice quality ingredients, while the fish pie was a winter warming winner.

Fish pie

Carne pizza

Burger

Linguini with prawns, crab, chilli, chorizo and tomatoes

Because my burger wasn't naughty enough, my dad and I also chose churros for dessert!  I still haven't had proper Spanish churros, but Joe is a bit of an aficionado and agreed with my judgment that they were a little undercooked and doughy.  They did come with an excellent chocolate sauce though. We also had coffees, and both the flat white and the espresso were fairly poor (badly made, weak coffee).  It was a shame as the meal started so well, and just fell short at the final hurdle.

I would definitely recommend dining at the Deer Park.  The atmosphere is great, which is reflected in just how busy it always is both in the bar and the restaurant.  The savouries are always great, but they do need to work a little on the afters.

Churros

A Weekend Round-up

Jo has just had a stern word with me about not doing any blog posts over the weekend - after all we pitch ourselves as daily food bloggers! With her away on a hen do in sunny Blackpool, my plan was to do a whistle stop tour of the weekend all in one go - that's my story and I am sticking to it!....so here goes....

FRIDAY:
With Jo working in Manchester for the day, we didn't get to hook up until after 7pm at the Deer Park in Roundhay. She has been working very hard recently, so it was nice to have a relaxing couple of drinks before heading to Marlows Fish and Chip Restaurant to use a Living Social Voucher that I had recently bought. Although I can highly recommend their fish and chips, in retrospect it probably wasn't the most exciting place for a young couple to spend a Friday night....you live and learn!

Great fish and chips

SATURDAY:
Jo had been planning to go for a half an hour run in the morning...she definitely wasn't too keen though when she woke up! After trying to push her out of bed to go (for her own good), I decided that the only way to get her out was for me to go with her....which is what I did. It was actually very nice to get out together before she headed off for her hen do in Blackpool at 10.30 - she didn't take any photos and doesn't want to do any words for the blog, so if you see her make sure you ask her about it! - arf!

With Jo out of my hair, I put into action what I had been planning since I found out that Jo would be away....doing a little work, speaking to Grandad, making picked onions and burger and chips along with drinking White Russians and an after dinner Espresso Martini!....PARTY ON! So I got the wheels in motion with a trip to Haley and Clifford to get some lovely bread for the burgers and also pick up a couple of tickets for a foodie event they are holding in a couple of weeks. It is a brilliant deli that I will definitely be buying some treats from before Christmas. Next was a quick pit stop at the Deer Park with the Times followed by a walk to Tescos for all the ingredients I would need for the next 24 hours. I got home at 5pm and next few hours up to Match of the Day were spent eating, drinking and watching really shit tv...when I decided this would be the best way to spend a Saturday night I don't know!

Cocktail ingredients

Pickled Onion ingredients

Home made burger and oven baked chips

SUNDAY:
Today started well. I woke up at 8am, watched the last episode of Top Boy and they went out for a 10 mile run that I did in a reasonably good time....go me! On my return I set about my next two tasks which were putting the ham in the slow cooker with the apple juice for dinner of ham, mash and parsley sauce, and also to finish off the picked onions - two jobs well done....

Whilst pottering in the kitchen the news came on Talk Sport about the death of Gary Speed after he allegedly hung himself in the night - what the f**k!? - he was Football Focus on Saturday morning joking around with Lauro and Shearer. He was a young man with a wife and two kids, who was manager of a really improving Wales football team, with a great career behind him and potentially in front of him - he must have been going through some horrendous personal stuff to commit suicide, but I guess you never know what is going on behind closed doors...RIP Gary Speed.

It was great to have a tired but not too hung over Jo back this afternoon. We have caught up, read the Sunday Times and relaxed - all the good stuff!!.......and dinner was a triumph - certainly compared to the stew disaster!!...now its almost Monday - again!!! 

Tuesday - Restaurant Review: Cattle Grid - Leeds

Via the power of Twitter, we recently received a kind invite from Emma the CultureVulture to attend an evening of complementary food and drinks at Cattle Grid in Leeds.  We toddled along last night after work, not sure what the plan was, but happy to check out a new restaurant.

Cattle Grid is behind the Corn Exchange and opened in August this year.  It's one of a small chain owned by Steve Novak and Shaun Grey, and Leeds is their latest venture.  We had the pleasure of meeting Steve last night over a few drinks and he took the opportunity to explain the ethos behind the restaurant.

Cattle Grid, as may be clear from the name, is a steak restaurant, but with a difference.  They are looking to become the steak version of Pizza Express, serving good food at realistic prices.  Steve's message is up front with no bullshit.  This is not a restaurant focused on provenance and fine wines - they get the best meat they can at the best price, whether its from Scotland, Ireland, Yorkshire or Uruguay (incidentally all the steak currently comes from Yorkshire).  That is not to say they are not focusing on quality - the bread comes from Anthonys and they even nicked the Anthony's head chef, David Flett (who we also met last night and gave me a sneak peek of his recipe notes - lovely chap!)

The restaurant also serves burgers, salads and ribs, and the most expensive wine on the menu is about £25!  Currently they are also promoting a lunch deal where you can get a slow roast beef or hog roast sandwich and a can of pop for £6.00. 

Anyway, back to our evening....

Cattle Grid in Leeds

Cattle Grid's educational artwork - in case you weren't sure where steak comes from!

The starter portion of ribs.  They don't really go for the traditional starter-main-dessert formation here and don't have a list of starters, but this was a good size for sharing between 2.  We were advised that Cattle Grid's USP is its ribs which are cooked in a special bbq sauce.  I usually don't order ribs when I'm out because they can be so disappointing, but these were really good!  Definite recommendation.

Joe and I went for the same main (which was a poor idea for reviewing but we were both happy!) - medium rare rib eye with harissa sauce.  The rib eye was cooked as ordered and pretty tasty.  It also came with a mound of chips which were brilliant and a watercress salad.

A rack of ribs (we didn't have this as well - not that fat) but Joe would have this next time.

Our greek salad side, which was probably not necessary given how much you get with the steak, but nice all the same!

My dessert - waffle and ice cream.  The desserts were really the only slight let down of the meal and definitely play second fiddle to the main event, but who cares as Cattle Grid is about the meat!

David's recipe notes - what a legend!

The view from upstairs.  The restaurant is split level, and has the room to expand upstairs, where they are planning on opening a comedy venue soon.  Watch this space!  I really enjoyed my night at Cattle Grid.  The owners and the staff are obviously passionate and geared up to make it a success.  I'm not usually a steak fan (badly cooked steak is gutting) but I think I'd trust these guys to give me a good night.