Station eats... The exploding bakery

Photo taken from the webpage of The Exploding Bakery - I was too excited by the food to take any pictures myself I'm afraid.

Looking for lunch at a train station? WH Smith, M&S if you're lucky - both fit the bill, but not really worth writing home about. But just outside Exeter Central, there's something much more interesting to be found - 'The Exploding Bakery'. They mainly bake fab traybakes for wholesale, but they also have a  little cafe and take-away corner for us regular punters. When I was there they had a lovely potato tortilla (much more flavoursome than many I've tried), a spiced chickpea soup, monmouth coffee and a selection of cakes (particularly notable was a really moist carrot & orange cake, as well as a raspberry & white chocolate bakewell). The interior is also worth a mention with great rough-wood worktops and a sort of un-frilly bachelor pad chic - I don't know if that's a real term, but it seemed to sum it up for me. The wholesale bakery 'production zone' sits unashamedly next to the cafe area (a good sign I think!) so you can watch the traybakes being sliced and sprinkled as you deliberate over the tempting options. The staff all seem genuinely passionate about what they do as well - I ended up comparing flapjack technique as I placed my order - something I am yet to experience in any chain coffee-house!

I bought a slice of tortilla, spiced chickpea soup and a slice of carrot cake (to share all 3 with my mum) and we paid £7.50 in total. There is also a very small car park in front of the station (and right next to the bakery) where you can pay 50p for 15mins (or 80p for 30mins) - perfect if you just want to dive in to grab lunch en route to someplace else!

Click here to see my website.

Three courses at Borough Market

Whenever I go to London with a fellow foodie, my first question is always "have you ever been to Borough Market?" If the answer is "no", all plans are aborted and we just have to go there immediately. On this occasion we decided to share everything so that we could try as much as possible within our budget and we came away with full tummies having spent less than £7.50 each. I'd go on a thursday or friday if you can as it's less busy so you get more chance to chat to the traders - I could wander round learning for hours! You'll find lots of fabulous bits and bobs to take home... new exciting ingredients, interesting breads, incredible brownies (I could go on...), but if you fancy eating as you go, the following three are my tried and tested favourites. Although I must point out... it was a tough competition and I expect I'll be writing again soon with more to add to my list!

Starter:

Seared Scallops in the shell with crispy bacon and a bean sprout and cabbage stir fry

£4.50 at Shell Seekers

Fresh, meaty in texture and truly decadent!

Main:

Confit duck roll with rocket and mustard

£5 - Le Marché du Quartier

A bit of a Meg Ryan moment from 'When Harry Met Sally' - need I say more?...

Pudding:

Goat's Milk Ice Cream: Apple pie + Blackforest Gateau

£5 (about that I think) at Greedy Goat

Incredible flavour combinations and a surprising lack of the feared 'goaty' taste

The caramelised cinnamon apple pieces were truly divine!

Click here to see my website.

New York (2)

From the compulsory New York breakfast of pancakes I was off to find 'the road less travelled'... so I headed off 5th avenue and ventured out to Brooklyn, DUMBO to be specific (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). To create some room for my next foodie stop I decided to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge (although I used the Subway from York Street to get back) and yes, the views were stunning! I can say without hesitation that I fell in love with DUMBO, it had such character and personality (but NOT in a scary way I might add!)... streets of converted warehouses and beautiful red-brick buildings filled with art galleries, artisan shops and, of course, cafes! Just by chance we came across One Girl Cookies and I was sold straight away... it was the type of place I dreamed of running but, with that being currently impossible, I decided to settle with eating there instead. Great high ceilings, fab wall art and huge windows looking out towards the water - I was in heaven. The staff were all really friendly and the food was incredible. I had a pumpkin whoopie pie and an iced latte, although, if I hadn't already eaten so many pancakes, I could have emptied their stocks! The DUMBO cafe is actually the second venture for Dawn and Dave, whose original cafe is in Cobble Hill and their story makes for part of the magic. They have a fantastic book out 'One Girl Cookies' which contains all the fabulous recipes and their story, as well as plenty of gorgeous pictures (amazon seems to sell it at the best price).


Click here to see my website.

New York!

I'll confess straight away that I'm not posting from New York... although I'm picturing myself on a little rooftop terrace looking over the Brooklyn Bridge, in reality, I'm sat at my desk in a slightly sunny spot of England looking at the rooftops - not from them!

For some reason, New York came to mind this morning... following a trip with school in February. You may think that there would be little time for food sampling on a school trip but, as food obsessed as I am, I made the time. So, to curb my nostalgic moping, I thought I'd share with you some of my foodie highlights.

1. Food snobs look away now... breakfast in a mini supermarket...

First impressions: Bad... Reality: Amazing. Cafe au Bon Gout (between 29th and 30th Street on 5th Avenue) appears to be a mini supermarket, complete with fruit loops and lucky charms. But, if you venture past these you find the most unbelievable breakfast spread of fresh fruit, crisp streaky bacon, perfect scrambled eggs and the best pancakes I've ever eaten. It's a big buffet but they'll cook to order if you ask. It's nothing fancy and served in foil/plastic boxes but if you take off your food snob hat and just enjoy, I'd guarantee you'll love it.

My tips:

• Breakfast is charged by weight (they weigh your boxes) so it's a great place for berry lovers as you can get a mountain of raspberries for next to nothing
• Sunday is the best day to go as they greatly increase the variety
• Don't forget to ask for maple syrup at the counter
• Don't let your eyes take over your stomach, I pushed myself a little too far by piling in the third thick pancake;
• grab a seat in the front window to watch the New Yorkers go by. 

What did I eat? A box of 2 pancakes (I'd learnt from the day before) with scrambled eggs, streaky bacon and lots of maple syrup, washed down with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a pot of fruit... this came to about $12... but this was more than enough (probably too much) so I'd recommend 1 pancake with a small spoon of scrambled eggs, a couple of rashers of streaky bacon and a glass of orange juice for about $6.

... more New York foodie musings coming soon!


Click here to see my website.