STAN Waffle central. The food, not the writing

CAFÉ SOCIETY STAN CULLIMORE

The full waffle With ice-cream, or without? Fruit or bacon? And what do waffles have to do with cows? Or indeed, bees?

“The possibilities are almost endless; if Homeland’s waffle- loving Dar Adal was to meet Saul Berensen at Cowbee, they’d never get around to discussing matters of national security”

There is a time to laugh, and a time to cry. In my experience, the same is true with breakfasts. There is a time for Full English and a time for waffles; and this week’s coffee shop of choice is all about the latter.

Mmm. Sweet or savoury, fruity or not, this place has got the waffley lot. I’m talking about Cowbee, at the bottom of Park Street, opposite the corner of College Green.

The name is a mashup of cow and bee. Reason being that cows make milk and bees make honey, both wonderful things, and key ingredients in a lot of the stuff they sell. There. Simple. We were down that way after visiting Brandon Hill, which, by the way, turns out to be officially known as St Brandon’s Hill. Something I was not aware of before today. Interesting. Could be useful information in a pub quiz. I shall file that tidbit away. But I digress. Point is, we were there to take our two small and well behaved pooches out for a walk, though, in the interests of honesty, I should probably admit our dogs are more small than well behaved.

After missing breakfast and braving the mountainous paths that take you up hill, down dale and round Cabot Tower, we had built up a powerful hunger, so we made our way down to the crossing on Park Street and went into the café on the corner, taking our two small and indeterminedly behaved dogs with us. Luckily, there was no problem with either of them because the place is dog-friendly and they were both happy to have a quiet lie down under the table. The menu really is an object lesson in just how many different ways there are to eat waffles. With ice-cream, or without. With fruit or without. With bacon, or with bacon and maple syrup. In fact, the waffle possibilities are almost endless; if Homeland’s waffle-loving Dar Adal was to meet Saul Berensen here, they’d never get around to discussing matters of national security

That includes vegan options. If there are any vegans in your life, this would be a good place to take them, as there are vegan waffles and ices on offer that look gorgeous. However, my carnivorous companion and I both went for the bacon and maple syrup option, along with a handsome pair of coffees, all of which were a complete delight for the senses.

So if you are ever down by College Green, in the mood for a waffles or ice-cream, you know where to go. Keep an eye out for a couple of small and occasionally well behaved dogs. n

Former Housemartins guitarist Stan is now a journalist and travel writer www.stancullimore.com