abingdon on thames | A Crafty Chai

Tag: abingdon on thames

12
Nov
2013

#BEDN ~ My Hometown

I’ve lived in quite a few places over the years. Abingdon-on-Thames, to give it it’s full name, or The Don, as I like to call it, is where I’ve lived the longest since leaving home for university many moons ago. We bought our house in Abingdon nearly four years ago, mainly because we couldn’t afford to buy anything in Oxford. Abingdon is close enough to pop into Oxford without having to pay above & beyond for a roof over your head. Plus, Abingdon is a pretty great place to live. There’s lots of greenery, great shops & cafes and it’s in a lovely part of Oxfordshire. Here are a few snaps of the town I like to call home.

There used to be an abbey in Abingdon, which is one of the oldest towns in England. The abbey ruins are my favourite part of the town. I like to imagine people wandering around, all that time ago and how different everything must have been then. Plus, I love old stuff, which is good, because Abingdon has it in spades!

The tall building in the background is the town hall. Whenever there is a major royal occasion, like a wedding or a jubilee, buns are thrown from the top. Nope, I’m not kidding. I know because I’ve been to two bun throwings and not caught one, but have been hit by a few. It is an epic event. Such a hilarious and random thing. If you’re ever nearby when a royal occasion is taking place, do pop by to catch a bun. Don’t worry if it’s raining, that just makes it more hilarious!

The only thing Abingdon is lacking is the sea. If it had that, then I’d never want to move. Something tells me that Abingdon isn’t going to be my hometown forever though. Wonder where we’ll move to next!

12
Jul
2012

Lunch at the Kings Head and Bell

categories: Food & Drink, Reviews

I hate cooking. Any opportunity to eat out, I will grab it with both hands! So my OH & I felt that we should go and try out some of the lunch items on the menu at the Kings Head & Bell in Abingdon, especially as they’ve got a few different veggie ones on there.

I opted for the grilled veggie stack & a side of fries. I chose this because it’s a bit different, pretty healthy and it meant I could have fries on the side! I really enjoyed it. The goat’s cheese that came as part of the stack was really nice & really added to the flavour. The fries were good & I couldn’t finish it all because it was really filling.

My OH opted for the scampi. It came with thick cut chips & mushy peas. He really enjoyed it. The scampi was nice & crispy on the outside and it had a good crunch. He also thought that the thick chips were some of the best he’d had – Quite the compliment!

The only criticism we could find was that when we asked for ketchup, we got a tiny little portion in a paper cup, the kind that you get from McDonald’s. I don’t like it when restaurants do this. Don’t ration my ketchup! My napkin was also wet from when it had wrapped the cutlery. But this is me being ultra picky! The food was great & I’ll definitely be going back and I can’t wait!

20
May
2012

Sunday Lunch at The Old Anchor

categories: Food & Drink

If you follow my Twitter or Instagram feed then you’ll know that I love my food. At the moment, with the weather being what it is, Sundays often leave me wanting good old roast dinners. Herein lies the rub. What do veggies have for roast dinners? I think this is why a lot of pubs don’t bother with this, as it’s a bit of a minefield. All I’m looking for is roast spuds & gravy made without animal fat, veggies & something else in place of meat. I’m not adverse to a nut roast, which was the offer of the day at The Old Anchor pub in Abingdon-on-Thames. The menu also stated that the gravy & potatoes would be vegetarian too. Fantastic!

Everything was cooked perfectly. The veg was just right, although my OH wanted a few more roast potatoes (he was only given two). The service, as always, was great & the place has a fab feel. I love going there.

What staggered me was the fact I was given a veggie burger. It was a nice veggie burger, and it somehow worked with everything else, but it was a veggie burger. Not a nut roast. And no one told me. When we ordered, no one said there was no nut roast. While we waited, no one said they were out of nut roast but would a burger be ok. When they brought the food, no one said there was no nut roast. They just served me a veggie burger, with the roast trimmings & not a word about it.

Now, all the sunday lunches are £9.95 for one course. I’ve written about this before. I don’t think that veggie food should be charged at the same price as meat. There is no way a nut roast lunch costs as much as a pork lunch. If it does, then the pork can’t be good quality. This wasn’t the case. My OH thought the pork was delicious & loved the black pudding that came with it. Compare that with a veggie burger. Not exactly the same.

I really like The Old Anchor. It has a lovely feel & has great views of the river. The food was tasty, the service was good. I just wished someone had explained the mystery of the absent nut roast!

UPDATE: The manager of the Old Anchor got in touch with my via twitter & has sent me a voucher to use the next time I eat there, which will be very soon!

ANOTHER UPDATE: We ate Sunday lunch at the Old Anchor again a few weeks ago, on Father’s Day, to enjoy the voucher. I have to say it was THE best veggie roast I’ve ever had. The veg were plentiful & delicious, the nut roast was awesome and all the trimmings…Perfect. I will always recommend this place for roast dinners from now on as even my meat-eating OH was impressed. Can’t wait to go again!