Reviews | A Crafty Chai

03
Apr
2011

Chocolate Festival

Like most women I love chocolate. So when I saw from Oxford City Guide that there would be a full on chocolate festival in Oxford I was pretty excited.

It was pretty small, to say the least. Plus I’d just had loads of coffee & pancakes for breakfast at Atomic Burger so my tummy wasn’t exactly prepared for loads of chocolate goodies. There were independent traders selling their lovely chocolatey wares. It smelt delicious. I decided on purchasing two things. A chocolate fudge cupcake from Miss Poppy Cakes and a small bag of chocolate covered pretzels from The Big Yum – Heaven!

I’ve managed to try both this afternoon. If nothing else, I’m dedicated to my love of chocolate & my blog! To be honest, the cupcake was quite dry. I can understand this if they were made on Friday, which they probably were. The icing however was delicious & more of a ganache. Loved it.

The Big Yum chocolate covered pretzels are delicious. A totally lush mixture of savoury & sweet. My favourite. I will definitely be ordering some more lovelies from their website in the not too distant future as the small bag I purchased will only last me about another 8 minutes. Oops!

I really hope that Oxford continues to host things like the chocolate festival & that word spreads. It was a shame that more local choclatiers weren’t present, as I know from Twitter that there are quite a few local bakers etc who use chocolate regularly who would have held their own in this festival. Either way I’ll be going back next year to sample some more choco goodies.

29
Mar
2011

Oxfork

categories: Food & Drink, Reviews

I am a huge supporter of the local food movement & I love eating out. So when my OH asked if I wanted to go to Oxfork I readily agreed. What is Oxfork I hear you ask? It is a pop-up restaurant using local suppliers organised by two (amazing) chefs and this particular night was a vegetarian meal. I wasn’t disappointed!

Even though there was broccoli on the menu, I wasn’t going to be put off at all. There were stalls with locally made, up-cycled & vintage goods and great entertainment (although I wasn’t thrilled by the dog poem, which told the story of killing a dog – not veggie appropriate!) We were greeted with a lovely glass of fizz & some local bread and dips. The whole meal was lovely & the service was outstanding. I hope they do another veggie night as I would definitely go back. An excellent & eclectic evening.

22
Mar
2011

Atomic Burger

categories: Food & Drink, Reviews

While I may have been too busy to be crafty this week, I have managed to enjoy a lovely dinner at Oxford’s finest burger joint, Atomic Burger. My OH & I were introducing our friends to it as they’d never been. They were not disappointed. It is by far THE best burger place around. The reason? They have an amazing menu. They have great service and a quality atmosphere. The decor is so cool and always gives you plenty to look at. Every time I go I see something new.

The food. Well it’s great – even for vegetarians like me. I always have a Forrest Gump Veggie burger, with jalapenos & BBQ sauce with plain fries. This time I also had a vanilla milkshake. The meals are so filling. We went on a Friday and had to book. It’s always really busy then which shows how great it is. There’s plenty of choice for everyone & alternatives if you don’t fancy a burger too.

If you haven’t experienced the wonder that is Atomic Burger yet then don’t hesitate another moment. Get yourself there. You won’t be disappointed.

20
Feb
2011

Veggie Tapas

categories: Food & Drink, Reviews

Even though I love eating I do not enjoy cooking. Even though I love spending money I do not enjoy working. If I can combine these two loves then I am a very happy girl! So imagine my joy when, in a bid to help support the wonderful world of Jericho in Oxford (another of my great loves), my OH suggested we go for some tapas at Al-Andalus. Excellent, I cried. I love this place.

If you are in Oxford and you want tapas, this is the place to go. Accept no imitations. The veggie food is wonderful & I always have the Patatas Bravas & the Fritos de Queso de Cabra a la Miel (deep fried goats cheese with honey). These two as a combo are making my mouth water as I type this. Lush.

I thought I’d try something different this time & also ordered the Brochetas de la Huerta. This is basically aubergine, cherry toms & courgette on a skewer. It totally works. Simple, effective. My final order was Espinacas a la Catalana, which is spinach & pine nuts in a garlic & tomato sauce. This worked well with all my other dishes. It filled me up quite nicely while leaving enough room for some pudding – Crema Catalana. This is a Catalan version of the Creme Brulee, which is my ‘go-to’ pudding. I will always have this if it is on offer!

All of this was washed down with a few glasses of the very delicious Otoñal Tinto Rioja wine. A fab evening, only let down by the very loud music that was played during the Sevillina dancer’s routine. I’m sure that kind of thing is great for the tourists (of which there were plenty) but I just want to eat my food & chat with my pals. Ta muchly.

Category: Reviews