Espresso Library. A winters day tale.

Hello guys I hope your all well and you have sailed into February well!

The sun is out here in Cambridgeshire in England on a cold crisp winters day but the wind is far to strong for getting out riding so I thought I may as well tell you about one of my adventures I had recently on my bike out to Cambridge to visit a special place called Espresso Library.

Now originally I came hear about these guys due to my wife Kat who is also a blogger and YouTuber so feel free to go check her posts and videos out, who was told by a friend about this awesome cafe that sells some extraordinary coffee, has a relaxed atmosphere to chill in, and of course celebrated the great invention that is the bicycle. We headed down in the new year to check the place out but unfortunately it was closed for reasons unknown, but I still found myself with nose pressed against the cold window, staring into cycling and coffee heaven with a heavy heart at the prospect of not being able to sample the goods that very moment, but I vowed to be back!

So fast forward around a month later and I found myself on a day off from work, the sun was shining, the weather was ice cold and the wind was behaving, I thought today is the the day Christopher, get that ridiculous looking lycra on and get on your bike armed with your camera down to Cambridge to visit the cyclist heaven! So off I went!

It was really cold I wont lie but the sun made up for it and after around 26 miles I found myself arriving at Espresso library very much in need of warmth and comfortable seat, both were provided instantly. I somehow ended up with an entire couch to myself and as well as that, my bike was treated to some awesome looking bike holders attached to the main wall in the place, that also has a huge map of Cambridgeshire and favoured hills marked in bright orange by local MAMIL'S. Instantly I loved the place, it had all the right ingredients from ample space for bike storage indoors as believe it or not there are some naughty people out there who like to take things, especially bikes that do not belong to them, so having this security indoors was great to see. As well as the storage, it was nice that the flooring wasn't like an ice rink whilst wearing cleats in cycle shoes, I can imagine nothing worse than dropping your coffee and cake all over the place, heartbreaking, truly heartbreaking.

I headed over to the cashier to place an order for some lunch and went with the "famous frittata" as stated on the menu along with a espresso of course, would be rude not to in the library of them! The cashier that served me was so friendly and was asking me what it was like cycling outside and if I was having a good day which is nice when people actually interact with you and its not just another day at work for them. After a little chat with him, I headed back to my seat to start taking some pictures of the artwork and vintage cycles that are hanging up around the place but more on them later!

The food soon came over and yeah it looked worthy of the "famous" title. Now I wont lie, I would never really order Frittata but I am so glad I did. This one consisted of sweet potato, feta cheese, spinach, garlic, sun dried tomatoes and free range eggs with a side of green leaves and toasted seeds and the taste blew my cycling shoes off! Every mouthful was like a party in my mouth and everyone had just been told that they could have the following Monday of work so they could nurse the hangover. I had to stop myself from wolfing it down at 2.3 million MPH and to instead savour the taste, which I did, and more than likely to anyone who was watching me eat it, I might as well of been the nodding dog from the Churchill advert with the motion of my head acknowledging the tastiness of this dish. Anyway, frittata = Win. The espresso I had with it was a great coffee and not one that I have tasted before, very strangely it tasted like lemons but was so light and tasty,it really accompanied the food well so hats off on that one!

Once my food had been consumed, I set about looking at all the cycle specific artwork around the place and it really pays homage to the history of cycling from pictures of old team cars to jerseys, it feels like a special place to celebrate what to me is a real release from everyday pressures and worries and the owners have done an incredible job at creating such an atmosphere, not just for cyclists but for everyday people, to come and unwind, eat good food and drink good coffee. I got talking to one halve of the couple that started Espresso library, John Gull, and even from our brief chat, he loves what he does both from telling me about local routes to the south of Cambridge (I will go and try these out I promise), to all about the bikes that he has hanging up that have been very kindly donated by a local collector. The pictures do not do these bikes justice and there are some true vintage bikes up there to drool over, the pictures could of been so much better  but as it was getting to quite a busy period, I am not sure how happy people were with having a man dressed in lycra trying to squeeze around their table in a feeble attempt at photography!
I decided to grab one last coffee and a brownie for the trip home and John recommended the aeropress columbian bean to me after talking me through the depth of flavour and strength that comes in the package, it sounded just like what I needed for the trip home.

All ill say at this point is wow. Like really wow. The brownie tasted as good as it looked but I am dedicating the wow's above to the coffee. John thank you for what was the most tasty caffeine fix I have ever had. I took that first sip and if the food above made it feel like a party in my mouth, well this made it feel like a full moon party was happening and no one was planning on going home for a very long time. I could sit here trying to describe the taste to you guys but I would not do it justice at all. Just do yourselves a favour, get yourself down to Espresso Library and try it for yourself, you will not regret it. As far as the strength goes, ill put it this way, I flew home. Into a headwind and was still quicker and I believe that the only thing that has been registered as quicker was Donald Trump sprinting away from a human rights lesson.

Espresso Library you went above and beyond expectations with atmosphere, layout, service and products you deliver. I will be returning many times more, with both club rides and on days i'm just in Cambridge casually. I cannot fault you in any aspect and to top it off, you have that lovely big projector screen which not only hosts talks in the evenings on a variety of subjects, but also shows Le Tour and I am sure many other cycling events in the future.

 Ill see you there.

Really tapped into something here!

Hello everyone, hope your weekend was good and this Monday morning not getting you too down! Stay strong!

Anyway todays post is all about a place called Tap & Kitchen in the small market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire which is a restaurant that opened up just over a year ago. I have seen this place many times when visiting my favourite bike shop which you can read a little about in my previous post, and it has always looked like some where I wanted to go and eat at firstly due to the look of the place, and then as I knew that Nene Valley Brewery were the suppliers of the drinks at the location, which is also conveniently located next to Gorilla Firm Cycle shop! Its like all my favourite things here Beers, Bikes and Bistro in one location! Heaven! Anyway after my wife coming up with the idea we should go for my birthday the plan was set in motion and I got the table booked for a table on January the 16th!

We arrived at Tap & Kitchen and were greeted by very friendly, smart and professional staff who sat us at our table promptly and got our drinks ordered, at this point I noticed that there was a booth that looked like it would allow my guests to sit and talk to each other face to face rather than a long table, I asked the waiter if we could move who instantly set about trying to move us. This took around 5 minutes and I was really please and impressed they allowed us to do so.

Once we were sat down at our new booth location we started to eye up the menu which was full of such variety and scrumptious looking food! The menu appears to change due to all the ingredients being locally sourced which I really liked as I am a massive supporter of local business and I also feel that this allows return customers to not get bored with the same options. I did look at the website prior to attending, which my wife hates me doing, but this is how I knew the menu varies from time to time. After failing to choose anything straight away due to it all looking so good, we decided to to start tucking into our drinks. Now I have read about establishments that serve a multitude of ales giving you the opportunity to try ales on a platter but this was the first time I had seen it in person, at Tap & Kitchen they are called "NVB Taster Crates". Obviously I was excited about this as it allowed me to try quite a few brews at once, and yes I tried more than my fair share over the next 20 minutes ha ha!

Once the ale was flowing, it was then time to order the starters, I went with the "Char-grilled Avocado St Anselm", which came with prawns, lemon dressing, cocktail sauce and dressing and it was a really tasty starter, light tasty and full of flavour and a great warm up act for what was to follow later on. Everyone else finished their starters and there was not a single bite left which is a good start!

We then all started to chat away talking about life and soaking up the atmosphere of the venue and really enjoying the taste of more ales that continued to come out on the taster crates, naughty!

The waitress then came over to our table and said she would like to apologise for the wait for our main course and they would like to give us a free round of drinks? Now we all looked at each other confused because none of us thought it was was taking too long at all, now maybe this was because they like to have their customers served really quickly, or we were just that relaxed and having such a good time in the restaurant chatting away we didn't notice the time flying by? I like to think it was the latter as to be honest, it was one of the nicest and friendliest restaurants I have been to in some time and it was a busy afternoon so the chefs looked like they were working really hard, but still presenting some flawless looking dishes every time service was called. Either way, the customer service and thought for us was exemplary and I would like to say thank you quickly now for the rounds of drinks you provided, Cheers!

A few minutes later after our drinks arrived, our main courses arrived and all ill say is wow.

I ordered the Hanger Steak which was served with whipped goats curd, glazed carrots, coriander seeds & cress, chimichurri and roast potatoes, as well as this I ordered a side of macaroni cheese to share with a friend as since we are both big eaters. I think the only way I can describe this dish would be to say that it was full of so many flavours that make my mouth water while writing this, and its that kind of meal that just gives you a great big hug from the inside! It was so good that the everyone who ordered it instantly stopped talking and no one said a word apart from the occasional "ummmm" between mouthfuls and lots of head nodding to indicate that it was indeed as good as it how it looked, I ordered mine rare and it came exactly as requested. Im feeling so hungry right now thinking about it it again, it was that good. Needless to say, there was not a single bit left by anyone and even the guests that had a roast dinner were equally impressed.  Again Chefs, well bloody done!


Once the mains had been devoured, you could tell that it had hit the spot with everyone on a cold winters afternoon and we all sat there rather pleased with ourselves with our full bellies chatting away about how we would return again. The drinks continued to flow and then the waitress turned up once again with desert menus! Now normally after being so full, I would of said no but on this occasion, due to just how good the previous two course were, i was intrigued to see what was on offer, and instantly from reading the desert menu,

I though this was too good a chance to miss, so settled with a sticky toffee pudding sundae, got to watch that figure ha ha! Once again this was delicious and was not to sweet and strangely not to heavy going and it managed to last around 4.3 seconds ha ha! A great finishing piece to a great meal!

We sat talking in our booth full of food for a good hour after all the food and it was a lovely afternoon, people booked tables again for the coming months they were that impressed and I could also see text messages being sent out to friends to let them know that they would have to come to this gem of a restaurant in the near future.

I am pleased to say that the choice to come here with friends and family for my birthday was the right one, the atmosphere, staff, food and drink were all five star to me, and I cannot wait to return to see what else they have on offer in the future.

Tap & Kitchen thank you for having us all, you made us feel very welcome and you delivered a first class dining experience and your staff and chefs are a credit to you.

Merci.

Beers, Bikes & Bistro.

Curry Week!

Hello guys! Finally we got here to the next post! To say that it has been a tiny bit dramatic in recent weeks would be a mild understatement but hey, that is life!

Let me first say sorry for the wait but due to technical issues with my mac which just decided to stop working all of a sudden, the long awaited curry week post was delayed but it is finally here!


Anyway shall we crack on and let me tell you all about one of life's finer pleasures? Ok then lets roll out!

A few weeks ago I was give the chance to review some curries that were being produced by a British company called Look What We Found. Straight away they had my attention as being a massive foody, and curries being up there with some of the greatest foods out there, I felt I had to get on board with what these guys were offering. Basically after a heavy summer of far too much ale (there is such a thing), I have been on a bit of a health kick and trying to lose a few pounds so that my BMI was no longer pie. I had a look at what was on offer and was pleasantly surprised by what was being offered. Firstly let me say that I am a great supporter of local produce and also food sourced in the UK as I think that there are many hard working people out there that are often overlooked when it comes to business opportunities that are outsourced abroad (political rant over), so when I saw that all produce was sourced locally it was already ticking boxes for me. Secondly, the meals were looking very healthy and fitted right in with my current get fit or die trying mentality. Second box ticked. Thirdly was the convenience of the meals. I started curry week in a new job so knew that time was something I would be short off so the quicker I could get some food down me the better, I tend to get hangry very quickly, and again, ready in two minutes worked for me. Box 3 ticked.
So taking into account all of the above it looked like I was on for a winner with three delicious curries to try, Korma, Chicken Tikka and Red Thai.

I wanted each of the curries to have some thing different added to them from myself, whether that be replacing an ingredient with something else of my choice or simply a drink to go with it, I wanted to do it my way!


First up was the Korma.

At first taste I was pleasantly surprised as a Korma isn't something that I would ever really order when eating curry, but after this, my perceptions have changed massively about the dish.Yes it is not the hottest option on the menu and yes some curry snobs may look at you with disgust if you order one, but honestly, this was bloody delicious! I decided to add vegetables instead of rice for this meal due to my health kick, and yeah it really worked. With every mouthful it just got tastier and tastier, there were some really good creamy flavours coming through, and when it was all gone, well it left me wanting more! The chicken in the dish tasted lovely and you could tell this was good meat that wasn't pumped with water like most high street chicken these days.



Curry number one had passed with flying colours and had changed my perception from now on!


Secondly was the good old Anglo\Indian dish of Chicken Tikka, We all know it, we more than likely have all had one at some point, and it is a true English Classic.

To go with such an established recipe, I decided that none other than classic sides were good enough for this meal and selected some onion Bhaji's and Samosas to accompany the dish along with some wholegrain rice (cant forget that health kick).

Meal prepped after a long day at work, I sat down and got stuck in.

A chicken tikka is so well established within the UK that when you don't get it right, people know instantly, but on this occasion that was not the case. It tasted just how a Tikka should taste. Warm with a light yet pungent spice that you can really taste and once each mouthful is gone, all you want is more and especially when you are getting theses flavours at the same time as Bhaji and Samosa.
If you took this taste and this taste alone as the one to represent curries in the UK, you would of not of failed at finding a winner. The entire meal was lovely and really settled me in for a night of relaxing on the couch with a full stomach after a long day.
In a nutshell, the British classic has been well and truly represented with this meal.

Third up was the for what me personally is my favourite kind of curry. Thai Red.
I eat this dish a lot as I find that Thai curries for me personally are a favourite and one that will always be on my hit list if on a menu so the dish had a lotto live up to.

I was heading out on a friday night so obviously this needed to be eaten with none other than a decent beer and what else could I pick but a great Thai beer that is Singha. As well as the beer I grabbed some Uncle Bens rice as I just wanted the ease of it and I had just finished in the gym so worked for me!

I put the whole dish together in under 5 minutes and they say you leave the best for last, ad right they were.

The taste of this curry was unreal, I have eaten my fair share of Red Thai curries in my time and this was up there, and to know it had come from a bag, in the microwave, hats off guys, you have nailed this one in a big way. I cracked open the beer and tucked in, and pure and simply it was epic. Lovely spice to the dish that left your mouth watering in a good way, and if you had served me this in a restaurant, I would of been more than happy. Its a fragrant and saucy dish so make sure you have your rice or something else to soak it all up because you wont want to waste a drop I promise you. This was just what I needed before a night out with the lads and as the nights get colder and darker, this will give you a cheeky hug from the inside with its warmth and flavour.

The guys at Look What We Found have well and truly set the bar at a new level for food that is tasty, quick, convenient and above all healthy. They quite clearly are on too something here and have won me over as a new fan.


Curry week was a success and was deliciously appreciate by myself and I cant wait to try more!

Hope you enjoy guys!