Miller and Carter, Steak House, Hereford (various locations)

I love a good steak so when the friends we were visiting in Hereford last weekend asked if we wanted to go to Zizzi’s or a steak house, well sorry Zizzi’s, but the words “steak house” fell out of my mouth quicker than a drunken falling off a bar stool.

The Thorny Cow cocktail 

me and Kate enjoying our cocktails 

Miller and Carter is a steak house in the city centre. Looking at their website, there seems to be a few across the country, like in Harrow, Manchester and Poole. With their hand cut, 30 day ages British steaks, I was pretty excited for this.

The one in Hereford was pretty big, with an upstairs where we sat. The place is smart and sophisticated but not in such a way that it is pretentious or you feel too under-dressed in your jeans and tieless shirt!

for the love of steak!!!

The Boy went for the bread selection to start

Having filled my belly with a fair few ciders that day, I wasn’t ready for a starter, but the steak meals already came with their own starter of the classic lettuce wedge and blue cheese dressing (other sauces are available though) so it occurred to me that it would be rude to refuse it!

Beef Wellington

cooked to perfection

Three of use opted for the delicious beef wellington with sweet potato fries (although I was tempted by the mash with this) and their homemade ‘onion loaf’ and of course a delicious sauce. I went with my usual, peppercorn sauce, but if that doesn’t tickle your pickle then I would recommend the beef dripping sauce. Trust me, it tastes better than it sounds!

"The Tetley" bar and kitchen: Leeds

At the weekend, I took a trip up North to Leeds for a few days with the girls. We hadn’t planned much for the weekend, so it was filled mostly with catching up, watching re-runs of The Valleys and a lot of eating!

Sunday morning we woke up thinking that we had to do something “cultural” with our time in Leeds and Steph suggested Tropical World. I was initially sold, mainly by the meerkats (I love a meerkat) and the butterfly house (Charlie and Nat hate flying things, so the idea of them enclosed in with a load of flying insects sparked the mischievous inside me). However we realised it involved the effort of getting a bus so we gave up on cultural. So our next best ideas was to do something that we do best….eat.

Where to eat was an easy decision – let’s go somewhere close to home. And Steph came up trumps with our luncheon venue which was a stone’s throw from her flat. Perfect.

picture from The Tetley

So even though less than 12 hours beforehand we were scoffing some dirty pizza in a kebab house, we headed to The Tetley.

It took my tired self a while to understand that this wasn’t Tetley tea but Tetley as in the ale, and even longer to understand that this wasn’t just a restaurant. The light bulb moment was when they offered a pint of Tetleys and I thought that a pint of tea was a mental idea! Then it clicked.

What’s “The Tetley”?

The Tetley is ‘a centre for contemporary art and learning’, housed within the 1930’s Tetley Brewery HQ. The building contains art, culture, meeting rooms and galleries (which unfortunately were being refurbished so we didn’t get our cultural again), all within a relaxed and open space.

Steph chilling and pretending to be intellectual 

Whitstable Oysters at the "Crab and Winkle"

Oysters. They are the marmite of the sea. A delicacy that doubles as an aphrodisiac or a disgusting edible live creature?

I had my first real oyster experience last night. I have been staying a few days with my parents in Whitstable and as Whitstable is famous for its Oysters I thought “why not give them a shot”.

We had a table booked at the “Crab and Winkle” restaurant on the Whitstable harbour with my dad’s friend Simon who highly recommended the place, including the oysters. But they did some other excellent seafood too, so don't think you'll just be served these critters!