Browns is definitly the new black

If you’re after a civilised joint to hang out in for the likes of afternoon tea, girl chat with cocktails or even a three-course dining treat, you’ll not go far wrong with Browns Bar & Brasserie.

Located on the esteemed Grey Street in Newcastle, our local Browns is a chic destination in the heart of the city’s epicurean scene, and especially handy for a post-retail therapy pit-stop.

Upon entry, past friendly suited and booted doormen, its opulent decor is reassuringly soothing, and comprises rich, dark woods complemented by plush leather seating, atmospheric lighting, and welcoming tables across a number of different levels and dining areas.

Let me tell you – for a slight snob like me, complete with a sensitive disposition, frankly I feel safe and at home.

And what’s even better, is there is space for a resident pianist. I mean, really, what more can you ask for than a tickle on the ivories while relaxing in good company?

So, enjoying a sparkling night out with friends we were treated to a corner table with a superb overview of the huge and busy central bar area, offering ample opportunity to indulge in a spot of people-watching from a safe distance.

The extensive and interesting menu is served up by very friendly staff. The dishes see some of the best seasonal ingredients used to create mouth-watering delights to please every taste.

There were a few of us, and we all enjoyed our fayre, which was washed down with bubbly Prosecco – a delightfully sparkly combination!

Check out Browns website and do pay a visit soon!

The wonderful thing about Tiger Bills, is that Tiger Bills is a wonderful thing

The newly opened Tiger Bills, or as I affectionately call it Tigger, up in Consett in County Durham was the perfect location for a chilled out lady-like bloggers’ tea party on a warm summer evening.

Settling into the cavernous restaurant, I realised Tigger is deceptively like a Tardis; SO much bigger and interesting on the inside than the outside.

The atmosphere was pleasantly buzzing with a mix of families and groups of friends enjoying mid-week festivities.

Seated on the plump cushioned seats, I took the opportunity to size up the menu and was delighted to indulge in a non-alcoholic honey-based cocktail, which was the perfect aperitif for the feast that awaited us.

And what a feast it was! Tigger specialises in authentic Thai and American food options – the perfect east meets west neighbourhood dining experience.

In fact, so keen Tigger is to ensure that their Thai food is authentic they recruit specialist Thai chefs and ensure they have local accommodation. What a wonderful way to ensure authenticity and boost the local economy.

Tigger’s menu offers a huge variety. From burgers, steaks and fajitas to curries, stir fries and noodle dishes there really is something for everyone.

To start we feasted on a huge selection that included the most amazing prawn toast I’ve come across in years (prawn toast really is excellent if done properly), spring rolls, and sweet potato fries – all of which were cooked to perfection and pleasantly presented.

It was difficult to contain the grazing pace as we indulged in these delicious nibbley treats – the perfect accompaniment to girly chat and putting the world to rights.

Almost replete I insisted on a petite-sized main portion of Pad Thai. However Tigger, being such a generous beast, served me my meal in a bowl as big as my head. Nevertheless it was an authentic dish and thankfully there is the option to take left-overs home in essential doggie bags.

Tigger really is a perfect venue for a fun evening for family and friends alike. The service is attentive and friendly, the food is presented beautifully and the venue is perfectly relaxed and atmospheric.

And if you’re lucky you may even meet the restaurant’s friendly mascot. Who, obviously, looks a bit like Tigger.

It’s worth a visit; after all Tigger is the only one!

Check out Tiger Bills on Facebook and Twitter or visit their website.

The Plough: a public service announcement

I feel that this perhaps isn’t so much a review as a public-service announcement.

The Plough, an exclusive boutique hotel and restaurant, offering a perfectly prepared dining experience in the most luxuriously relaxed surroundings is a not-to-be-missed experience.

Established for years, the Plough has been there all along nestling in the heart of the historic Northumbrian market town of Alnwick. Perhaps you’ve just forgotten about it or haven’t come across it yet; but it’s there patiently awaiting your arrival.

And what a lovely reception we received upon our arrival. Running late, as ever, I turned up for a Mother’s Day lunch with my parents and son a disgraceful 20 minutes late.

We were escorted by the Michael, the manager, and made comfortable in the upstairs dining area. With my tardiness guilt assuaging rapidly, we settled down in the contemporary upstairs dining area which is tastefully decorated and simply charming.

Large windows offer plenty of light, while fixed to the ceiling is chandelier style lights, and the walls are home to a gleaming display of wine bottles and ornate clocks.

The Mother’s Day menu offered a selection of local fish and meats from Northumberland’s farmlands. A great wine list and a good range of beers are also available.

To start with, I opted for oak smoked salmon with lemon and caper berries. I can eat capers by the spoonful straight out of the jar, so this was a seventh heaven delight for me, and the salmon was excellent quality.

My son and father both chose sautéed fresh chicken livers, smoked bacon with toasted running fox artisan bread. As a pescetarian this doesn’t float my boat, but I was assured it was delicious and both plates were certainly swiftly cleared.

The twice baked Doddingtons Admiral Collingwood cheese soufflé tempted my mum, and a delicious treat it was too.

My son can never resist lamb and was thrilled to find herb crusted loin of spring lamb with roasted garlic and rosemary jus available as a main. Beautifully presented, my boy was super happy with this culinary delight.

The rest of us selected grilled fillet of sea bass, warm salad of new potatoes, roasted fennel with a lobster butter sauce. The sea bass, the skin of which crisped to a crunchy delight, was set upon crushed new potatoes and a tasty lobster sauce.

This meal was one of the best I’ve had for a long time. My only trouble was finishing it as the portions are healthily generous.

Replete, we decided to share two desserts between the four of us and the homemade banoffee pie with vanilla pod Doddingtons ice cream and the homemade melt in the middle chocolate fondue with raspberry coulis made the grade.

Both deliciously sweet they were the perfect round-up to an enjoyable Mother’s Day feast.

For a family dining experience that you’ll all enjoy, a great night out with friends, or an intimate dinner for two, The Plough offers the perfect setting and boasts beautiful food that is locally sourced, homemade and reasonably priced. What more can you ask for?

Get there now!

Stay up-to-date with special offers and events with The Plough on Twitter and on Facebook.

Are you sensible with your food choices?

As a keen cook, this is an issue really close to my heart. But with rising food prices, it can be difficult to be economical and ethical with our food habits.How can we be smart when we’re doing the weekly food shop or cooking a meal and think about the environment at the same time?

Portion control

Portion control is a critical factor when cooking. It’s true that our eyes are frequently bigger than our bellies and it’s tempting to chuck in that extra cup of rice or handfuls of pasta to the pan for good measure; but stick to the scales instead.

Adopt a similar stance when shopping, go armed with a list and do it after eating; and when tempted by nibbles and treats at a party, adopt the ‘take what you want but eat what you take’ mantra.

Dining out

It’s easy to get careless when dining out, especially when nearing the end of a second glass of wine. But nothing troubles me more than seeing others order a few different dishes yet not finishing any of them, and not taking any of it home either.

This is, one of many reasons, why I prefer to cook myself. I’m certainly not suggesting that venturing to restaurants should be strictly prohibited, simply urging that sense must rule over greed.

Use-by dates

Speaking of sense, it is true that our uncertainty over how to store food has made us unnervingly slavish in sticking to use-by dates, rather than using our own judgment.

Hopefully the recently announced revised food labelling will help end this and make clear when food is safe to eat. Of course the rationale behind this move is based on the presumption that customers are, well, idiots but I won’t go into that debate now.

It is hard to say exactly how much food British supermarkets waste, as they are not required by law to reveal how much they throw away, but it’s estimated to be about 1.6 million tonnes per year.

But let’s not forget that food waste starts before it even arrives at the supermarket. Unless we have grown it ourselves or bought it locally, there is a high chance the food we purchase has endured an epic journey just to get in front of us.

A journey that may have involved ships, planes, wagons, and warehouses; and at each stage there’s a good chance that a proportion of the food will have been binned for a host of reasons. Let’s breathe a sigh of relief that it’s no longer illegal for shops to sell ‘ugly’ fruit; I’ll never fathom what was wrong with a curvy cucumber or a knobbly carrot in the first place.

It can’t be left unsaid the untold damage that this will be wreaking on our environment.

Such is the extent of the food waste if it were actually eaten it would be the equivalent of reducing the carbon emissions if one in every four cars were taken off UK roads.

So, apart from opting for a freegan lifestyle, what can we do to reduce this mountain of waste? The reality is that all of us have a responsible role to play. We have to make simple changes, like buying food based on a meal plan, in order to waste less. Conscious, and conscientious, purchasing will make the difference personally and consumer demand will always influence the corporations.

A good starting point is the Love Food Hate Waste campaign. It provides easy practical everyday things that we can do to reduce food waste, which will ultimately benefit our purses and the environment.