An Edible Voyage

June 2021 Along the bustling Ormeau Road, amongst the gelaterias, restaurants and cafes, is an artisan bakery who hand make everything in house.  And it's definitely popular - I could see the queue before I could see the shop!  The great thing about this place though, is that they seem to bake throughout the day, so despite not getting there until early afternoon, there was still a plentiful array of sourdough bread and pillowy soft cinnamon buns.  Scones and bombolini seem to be a speciality with several flavours of each - think toffee popcorn, and rhubarb and rose, alongside the most flavoursome soft and chewy bagels.  The poppy seed one was so good I ate it straight from the bag, and Malaysian spice and roasted garlic sounded very intriguing. Find Bread and Banjo on Ormeau Road, then take your haul a few steps down the road to Ormeau Park and enjoy it in the dappled light of a shady tree. If you find yourself east of Ormeau Park, check out Lazy Claire Patisserie f...

March 2021 I've always been a big fan of bagels.  I even tried making my own bagels a couple of times - there's something very satisfying about watching them bob in a pan of boiling water.  But I recently discovered bagels on a whole other level.  With a soft and chewy centre, an almost caramelised crust and more flavour than I can understand how it's possible to get in to what is essentially just a ring of bread, I'm rapidly getting addicted to One Daily Bagel bagels.  I ate both the plain, and salt and pepper ones straight from the bag, no toppings, no toasting, they were that good.  There's also poppy seed, sesame seed, and cinnamon and raisin - it's fine to have a 2 course bagel meal with this as the 'dessert' right!? Hand crafted by the super friendly Esme, straight from the US, these really are perfect bagels.  Not only are they outrageously delicious, these small-batch authentic American bagels are a shiny object of beauty as well. Order direct by...