All That I'm Eating

Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.

Turl Street Kitchen Oxford and Quandoo

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This was a gifted meal.

I like heading to Oxford for a day out; it’s not too far away and there are plenty of good places to eat and drink. I don’t know it terribly well so always tend to head to the areas I know rather than spending the day seeking out somewhere new. I recently used Quandoo for the first time to find somewhere to eat in Oxford; there were so many places I hadn’t heard of it was a bit of a job to choose where to go! Turl Street Kitchen sounded like my kind of food so I booked it online and went the next day. read more

Joe Perks Oxford

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Joe Perks Oxford - All That I'm Eating (1 of 6)

This was a gifted meal.

I had heard about Joe Perks opening in Oxford back in October last year but it has taken me this long to get my act together and go and see what it’s all about. I ventured to Oxford to the Cowley Road side of the city to find Joe Perks (the place as opposed to the person, more about that later) to see if they really did offer the best hot dogs in Britain.

 

I like the location, the size, the look and the atmosphere of Joe Perks. I would describe the look at homely come industrial come minimal come friendly; in other words lots of exposed brick, a very inviting looking bar and mismatching furniture. Just how I like it. It was one of the most relaxing places I think I’ve ever eaten in; no one was rushing, no one was too busy and there was no pressure to hurry up or move on. Indeed, so relaxing was the experience that I ended up being there for four hours without even realising. All the drinks looked great as they had all the receptacles that I wish I had (glass tea and coffee cups, swish looking tea strainers, mini milk bottles and Kilner jars for the sugar) that I’m secretly pleased I don’t have so I don’t have to faff around with washing it all up. The idea is a simple one: hot dogs in four varieties (beef, pork, beef and pork and vegetarian), one or two specials, beer and cocktails.

I opted for the ‘Big Dog’ which is their signature sausage; seasoned with marjoram, garlic and black pepper then double smoked over German beech wood (£5.50). Crispy onions, gherkins and/or sauerkraut are (free) optional extras so I went for onions and gherkins. It would be rude not to. You can then choose between short or curly fries (£2); for future reference I am always curly fries. It was so good, not like any hot dog I’ve had before in that the sausage actually resembled a sausage and not a bready, stodgy frankfurter that I’ve had before. The bun was nice and soft so it was easy to pick the whole thing up and eat it. The flavour was as described with subtle garlic and marjoram; like a hot dog but better and really juicy. The crispy onions were good but they did have a habit of falling off the hot dog onto the table rather than into your mouth. The curly fries were as expected and came with a world of condiments and chilli sauces to have alongside so you could have them just as you like it.

The list of drinks I thought was good; not too long that you don’t know where to start but long enough to spark up some interest and try to decide what to have. I started with a lemon, mint and elderflower fizz which was refreshing and not too sweet. The tea and coffee looked pretty good too. Things moved progressively more alcohol containing from there; I tried a Yardbird American Pale Ale (I also had a sip of something called Noble >insert other word which I can’t remember here<) and then tried their tea cocktail (bourbon, peach schnapps, assam and lady grey) which was a delight. I thought the menu could have done with a few more craft beers on; they’ve got a great selection of local breweries to choose from round there. As it turns out Joe Perks (a mixologist) went missing some years ago and no one has found him as of yet. The bar was set up as a tribute to him. Overall I like the concept (hot dogs and drinks, no complications), the setting and the atmosphere; I would certainly like to go back.

The Living Room at Oxford

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The Living Room Oxford Menu
This was a gifted meal. I like the size and feel of The Living Room; the long bar, the different seating areas, the grand piano. It’s a nice place to relax. The idea behind the new menu is all about presentation; quirky, unexpected or grand displays of food. It’s not very often I get a menu where I just can’t choose what to have. I wanted to try everything; buttermilk chicken wings, pulled pork burger, Moroccan lamb sandwich, ricotta and potato gnocchi to name a few. I thought the menu was well laid out, easy to navigate and extremely tempting.

Whenever I go out for a meal I have two main concerns; the desire for fullness and food envy. I hate it when I’ve chosen one dish and whoever I’m dining with has got something that makes me jealous. It’s embarrassing enough dribbling at their meal and sneaking a few morsels off their plate without your eyes turning green. This rather unattractive situation normally arises if there’s a burger involved. Thank heavens then that The Living Room offer mini burgers as a sort of burger tapas (an idea I like very much) so this way I can get my burger quotient for the day but also allow myself to try some of the other items on the menu. read more

Dining in the Dark at The Living Room in Oxford

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All That I'm Eating - Dining in the Dark
This was a gifted meal. I was invited to a Dining in the Dark event at The Living Room in Oxford and I was very intrigued. The idea was to try some of the food from their menu, whilst blindfolded, and then to guess what it was you were eating! Three of us were there for the taste off; the lovely Jo from Comfort Bites, my other half (The Accidental Food Photographer) and myself. There was a trophy to win for the most organoleptically adept and so we donned our blindfolds for the first taste.

You can tell a lot by smell, I found, but the taste and texture were better indicators of what it was that you were eating. I thought it would be pretty easy and I was quite surprised at how hard it was to identify something like broccoli! The first thing was a butternut squash and dolcelatte tart; not something I would ever order but I really enjoyed it. Although I thought it was pear, walnut and blue cheese. Close I suppose.

There were two things that I tried that I was really surprised by: Moroccan lamb with giant couscous and the homemade vegetarian Glamorgan sausages. I would be unlikely to order either of these but after having tried them I was surprised how much I liked them.  read more

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