Sidwell Fish and Chips loses its recommendation

Had the worst tasting chips from this once nice Chippy.   The oil is dirty and the chips were cold when I had them, if I had been assertive then I would have gone back and really complained but I had just got off the train from London and felt that I would just go somewhere else instead.  This however, is not isolated, the last few times I have been there they have been either cold, dirty or cold and dirty.
They might change their oil at least??

Dinosaur Cafe (4.8)

I have not really found anywhere that is as accepting and flexible as the Dinosaur Cafe.  For vegetarians this is an ideal daytime retreat, with a stunning amount of choice and reasonably priced too.
I find writing about cafes very difficult as by definition they are cheap and easy to eat in, you are not paying the earth for a smaller amount of food and one is normally there for a shorter amount of time.
So as I try to really get my teeth in to what I want to say about the Dinosaur Cafe, I realise that I have most probably found the best place so far that a vegetarian can dine in Exeter, minus Herbies which is in a different league generally.
Placed in a prominent position looking across the Clock Tower roundabout opposite Batter Place next to an Indian restaurant (one that was featured in a Monty Python sketch when itwas a tearoom) it looks like it has competition from the Pub across the road, Sandwich Royale and the Blue Fish just down Queen Street.  For vegetarians the choice stops at the Dinosaur as there is little competition for a quick lunch/brunch or vegetable based snack. 
The Turkish theme represents the owners heritage well, with an array of traditional Turkish snacks, desserts and meals that will enlighten your cultural lobe more then any italian espresso.  Laid out in dishes on the counter are some spectacular looking selections of Meza (is that right?) with a book shelf stacked with juicey titles provided by Joel Segal books of Topsham.  The service is really bright and friendly, and when one sits down and waits for food its not hard to look around and see the different sorts of people that come here, and its not just vegetarian food snobs like me.
Menu wise, there are two sides to it.  There is the ‘bacon, fried eggs and chips’ side and the ’salads and snacks side’ all are reasonably priced with the salads at about £6.00.  The vegetarian selections do contain the usual chickpeas and lentils, but how many places really serve proper good vegetarian food without a hefty price tag to boot?
I had a take away item, a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich for £2.40 which was hot and satisfying.  Yes you can get a larger soft white sub made across the road for 10p extra but its not hot and the experience is totally different.  There is also a vast amount of choice too which for vegetarians is a rare and worthwhile experience.
I have visted the Dinosaur Cafe many times in the past, and everytime there is a friendly atmosphere and a sense of welcoming which generally comes from family run establishments so I am giving this a generous and well deserved rating.

Foodeaze is back… (see March 2008 for current review)

Word of mouth is a wonderful thing, and today I was told that foodeaze is back. The website is advertising for vacancies, and it all looks pretty promising. But what can they learn from their first experience?

1. Customer direction
Remember when I visited a few months back? We were walking around with no real notion of where we had to go, or could go, and what signs we did see were confusing and unclear. They need to make things easier for people who are not familiar with the slightly unfamiliar set up that we had presented to us before, possibly less lime green too.

2. Price
The prices need to be competitive and the owners need to realise that they have big competition from the Princesshay developments up the road. Exeter is still a rural town with rural tastes, despite the influx of affluence from other parts of the country and this needs to be reflected in the price and the menu.

3.Menu
The chefs of Foodeaze should not be afraid to have good traditional ‘grub’ on the menu such as chips and mash and things with gravy. The flavours and the variations that one can get from traditional sorts of foods should be celebrated, there should be less panini’s and more filling comfortable grub.

That is my two pence worth on that. Don’t call me unsophisticated, but after having some of the best meals from places with simple and down to earth menu’s, it has to be said that Foodeaze must not confuse us too much with an already befuddling concept. They must ‘eaze’ the people of Exeter in to Foodeaze, and with many people remembering the huge spread in the Echo after it closed, almost blaming the population of Exeter for not embracing them, the owners need to keep the momentum up.

A review to follow shortly.

Batter Place (3.5)

I sat here and plotted about how to write a bad review for this chip shop, about six months ago I had eaten most probably the worse chips that I had ever come in to contact with, and I was fuming. But eating my own hat has become common place as I have discovered.
The Batter Place in Queen Street is not up there in the big league of chip shops in Exeter. But the one thing you can be guaranteed of is a nice portion and at a good price. I have started getting chips from there more often now, and you can always be certain that they will be hot. Not crisp, just hot. The quality is inconsistent but there is always a friendly smile behind the counter, which is a rarity in our 24/7 modern life.

Changed and promotion

Well I thought it was about time for a change, the banner is clean and fresh and the layout is nicer looking too.  Still no domain name yet as I am still trying to justify that bit.  If anyone thinks this is a good cause then please buy it on behalf of the blog and you will be credited!

Sausage, Onion and Tomato Pie (or is it?)

I got this recipe from a leaflet that Viva sent me when I first joined.  I have to say that Viva have rather let themselves down with the noodle recipes on the back of this leaflet as it was bland and totally uninteresting to eat, if not a bit nasty.  But I did make up a nice batch of this lovely sausage pie, or is it really? eh? Veggie sausages are often great replacements for their meaty siblings and in this case I used Quorn sausages as they were more likedly to keep their shape and texture then other lesser brands that woud turn in to a powdery mush.

You will need:

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil/Olive Oil
450g veggie saugages (althouhg I used two packs of 250g Quorn Sausages)
3 medium onions chopped finely
2 sticks of celery chopped finley
225g Mushrooms sliced
6 Tomatos roughly chopped
1 tsp dried/fresh basil
1/4 tsp chilli powder
50g frozen peas
Salt and black pepper
675g Mashed Potatos

1. Fry the veggie sausages in the oil until cooked, chop up in to bitesize pieces and save for later.

2. Fry onion and celery for 3 – 4 minutes (might need a little more oil)

3. Add mushrooms and fry for a further 3 – 4 minutes

4. Add tomatos and stir well

5. Add the basil, chilli power (if using), and salt and pepper to taste. 

Here I had to add some pasta sauce to really bring out the tomato flavour as it started to taste watery and bland.  This is the great thing about this sort of recipe, you can customize it to include whatever you want!

6. Cover mixture and simmer on low heat for 10 – 15 minutes

7.  Add frozen peas and sausages and mix well before pouring in to a large deep oven proof dish.

8. Cover mixuter with mashed potatos and place under the grill until the potato starts going crispy and brown then serve immediatly.  If you prepare it in advance then you can reheat it in an oven at 190 celsius for about half an hour until potato has browned.

Let me know how you get on, as it really is a great meal.  This serve 4 people and two with large appetites.

Blue Fish Restaurant, Queen St. (4.0 as a group)

I bet you never thought I would be writing about a fish restaurant in here? Ah well, now lets break some barriers, start a new trend and talk about fish places in a blog about vegetarian eating.
I was really pleasantly suprised to find that this place does a nice vegetarian selection along with the plethora of fishy dishes (sorry I had to get that in somewhere!).  The Blue Fish, previously an italian eating place, is one of the nicer sides of Exeter dining that I stronly recommend to anyone, veggy or fishy.  The menu is varied, with meals starting at just over a fiver and going up to more lofty amounts.  It feels classy with a stone floor and marble tables with a permanent forest of good quality glassware out and tables ready with cutlery and fabric napkins.  The decor is simple and clean, and there is no nasty fish smells coming from the kitchen.

Lets start with being totally honest.  It is expensive for what you get.  Although not quite a la carte the set menu that we had was nearly there.  The portions are smaller then, say, Herbies or the Dinosaur Cafe just over the road.  But the taste is fantastic.  I had Aubergine Stack which had the same sort of texture of a pasta crumble with lots of crispy bits with a nice cheese sauce, preceeded by a Tomato and Tarragon soup. 

The soup was not smooth, it had tomato in it and it really did taste like soup with a splash of tarragon on top.  Although the combination was slightly irreverent (tomato and basil? peas and carrots?) it was a change to the norm which although strange to begin with grew on me.

Service quick and polite, with coffees and dessert afterwards as an option.