An Edible Voyage

June 2021 Tap Social is my current favourite brewery, with the Time Better Spent IPA my tipple of choice, and Cell Count pale ale a close second.  Their ethos is to provide employment opportunities for those who have been through the criminal justice system, so you can sip on your beer in the knowledge that you're doing some good for society.  Having been to their brewery in Botley a couple of times - a great space to meet friends and sample a variety of different beers, with rotating food trucks providing the eats, I was excited to hear that they had taken over the The White House pub on Abingdon Road.  Serving innovative sharing plates in a convivial atmosphere, think moorish soda bread made with their own stout, and playful grilled peach with frozen feta and black olive, there's an enormous garden for when the sun is out, and no shortage of bike racks. Their own beer is on draft, as well as rotating guest beers.  I would more than happily spend a lazy afternoon si...

June 2021 A perfect flat white in Belfast's city centre, with the added bonus that it's made with beans roasted in the city by Root and Branch.  Whilst you're there, I challenge you not to be tempted by the elaborate doughnuts - rhubarb and custard meringue pie, biscoff, the seasonal special creme brulee... Find Oh Donuts and Coffee on Upper Arthur Street, close to the City Hall.  They also sell Root and Branch beans as well as some guest specials. Napoleon Coffee on Ormeau Avenue also do great coffee as well as unusual iced drinks - passionfruit and lime iced tea sounds like the ultimate refreshment, and a couple of sandwiches.  I can highly recommend the sticky sesame cauliflower and crunchy purple cabbage flat bread.

May 2021 My friend's parents have a flat in Salcombe so I've been lucky enough to spend several lovely weeks there over the years.  I've never found a place there that I really love - it almost feels like places know they will always be packed just from the sheer number of of visitors so they don't need to rely heavily on repeat business. On my most recent trip there, I investigated the then newly opened The Salcombe Yawl, and it did stand out from the crowd.  The friendly staff are chatty and there was a fun vibe - it being Covid times with contactless payments and social distancing, they'd designed an ingenius payment system involving a card machine stuck to a badminton racket which is poked out of the hatch. Whilst the milk in my flat white was sadly a bit Mr Whippyesque, I did like that they use Voyager Coffee beans, roasted just down the road in Buckfasleigh, and French hot chocolate.  Sandwich options are creative, mixing things up from the standard fillings a...

November 2020 Doughnuts seem to have suddenly become a thing.  I'm sure a few years ago they were restricted to the sugar sprinkled rings or jam oozing balls from supermarket bakery counters or fairs.  Now places are vying for the best - the more outrageous the flavour combination, or elaborate the decoration, the better it seems. Perk in Inverness is fully on board with this latest trends.  6 flavours each month, usually with a vegan offering, ranging from simple but perfectly executed cinnamon dusted rings, pillowy and warm from the fryer, to decadent Kinder inspired hazelnut ganache inside a doughnut that's topped with white chocolate, hazelnut crumble and a stick of Bueno.  There's usually at least one fruity offering, as well as something to satisfy even the most adventurous, like the Breakfast of Champions maple and bacon doughnut.   Coffee is from the Dear Green coffee roasters in Glasgow, and there is also a menu of crispy toasties with a variety of...

June 2020 What do you want in a doughnut?  Pillowy dough? A generous dusting of sugar to coat your lips?  A sweet, fruity and jammy, or creamy and custardy filling? There's a bakery start-up in Oxford that can deliver you all of these and more.  Patron.  With exciting fillings such a hazelnut praline, lemon curd, chocolate and tonka bean, and the cheery sounding chuckleberry jam, you will be spoilt for choice.  And if that wasn't enough decadence, they also make banana bread and gooey chocolate brownies.  Eco-friendly home delivery around Oxford by bike or collect from Jericho Coffee Traders Osney Mead or Tap Social's White House Horse Box outside The White House pub on Abingdon Road.