FOOD

CO-EDITOR AARON BEAVIS

Review

BY AARON BEAVIS

Isaacs on the Quay

At time of writing, bars and pubs with large beer gardens / outside areas have been allowed to re-open and that includes Isaacs On The Quay which is effectively one very large beer garden. The location is very impactful even if you’re simply walking past like I have countless times before. However, stepping inside reveals that it’s even better than it looks. OUTSIDE The courtyard is extremely spacious and holds many tables and that’s not including the multiple balconies and tables out front that I hope to experience on future visits. For those interested in sports, there are 4 large screens suspended in the middle of the main area so that most seats have a great view and their lighting system, which includes countless strings of fairy lights and flame lights at the entrance, creates a beautiful atmosphere once the sun sets. It’s also wheelchair accessible which includes their toilets and those also happen to be very well kept for any germaphobes reading. DINING EXPERIENCE I can not attest to how the dining experience has changed at this bar in the last year but there has clearly been a lot of effort put into making it safe and easy. At the door, you’re greeted by a staff member who helps you check in either using the NHS app or a browser and they’re very calm about it which is great if you’re not very savvy with anything that involves a screen. I can not confirm or deny if I’m referring to myself. Additionally, masks must be worn when you leave your table and, like most food places at the moment, have a new online ordering system which only accepts card although you can use a card machine if you don’t want to pay online. As they

aren’t a chain, they have their own independent website which you will also be directed to by the staff member at the door and it runs incredibly smoothly. It does time out if you’re on the menu for too long without ordering but once you go back onto the menu, anything previously in your basket will still be there so it’s just a minor inconvenience as opposed to a glaring problem. MENU As I had not eaten very much that day, I decided to use the opportunity to try a few different things from their menu. Initially, me and my companion ordered some fries as a starter and they were very nice. They still had the skin on them, which I learned from my friend can be a real deal-breaker for some, so be warned those who aren’t a fan of that. What these simple potato pieces made clear though was the incredibly fast and friendly service. They arrived within a couple minutes and meals we ordered later were estimated to arrive in 10 minutes but actually ended up on our table in half that time even though business had picked up by that point. As a vegetarian, I still get dread opening a menu. I have nightmares of ‘veggie burger’ appearing with no other description and making my night out a game of chance. I was very happy to see that every category of food had a vegan option so I had a lot of choice plus they all had descriptions. I ended up going with the Mexican Halloumi Burger. I love halloumi and it’s very popular in the UK however I was excited to see what the Mexican twist would be. The burger comprised of a large halloumi patty, Mexican salsa, and nachos. The tortilla chips turned out to be really great in a burger and the mix of saltiness and spice tasted delicious. The burger came with more fries and a salad which had a dressing I wasn’t that fond of however that can be easily removed with the ‘Notes’ feature on their ordering system where you can ask for your food to be tweaked to suit your tastes and allergies. Finally, I tried a Vegan Cheese & Chorizo w/ Onion Chutney Panini which I would definitely recommend for a lunchtime order and they come with tortilla chips as opposed to fries and salad once again. I wasn’t bothered about the fries’ absence as I had eaten more than enough at this point. OVERALL, I HAD A GREAT EXPERIENCE. THE FOOD DID INITIALLY SEEM QUITE EXPENSIVE HOWEVER I THINK THE QUALITY OF THE FOOD, AMAZING LOCATION AND CUSTOMER SERVICE ALL WARRANT THE PRICE TAG. IF I HAD TO REVIEW IT IN 10 WORDS: IT IS SO GOOD, I FORGOT TO TAKE ANY PICTURES.

UNDERATED INGREDIENTS

BY AARON BEAVIS

Turning up the heat in the kitchen can be difficult. Sometimes the little twisty thing on the radiator gets stuck and you have to do that thing where you use a tea towel so it doesn’t hurt your hand trying to twist it for several minutes. It can also be hard to make cooking interesting. How do you strike the balance between utilizing what you know you can make well with trying something new whilst also not wanting to risk making something you don’t like and resorting to takeaway? My best advice is to try adding a new ingredient or two to a dish you feel comfortable with already. The next problem that arises is picking an ingredient. I endeavour to suggest a few that you may not have considered.

BEETROOT Now, beetroot is not a particularly strong flavour and you can add it to a dish in a pretty significant quantity without changing the flavour profile much. The reason it’s on the list is because it allowed me to make a purple pasta dish and even if it doesn’t taste that different, it’s hard to not be impressed when you’re eating purple pasta. The dish was effectively pasta in a rich spicy tomato sauce and the beetroot really didn’t change the taste that much but if you want a brand-new aesthetic without risking the flavour,

beetroot is a great option. JACKFRUIT This is an extremely interesting and versatile foodstuff. It’s becoming more and more popular in the UK as a meat substitute but it has always been a great culinary asset in Asia. For anyone who is looking for something other than fake meat or more popular alternatives like halloumi, jackfruit is a must-try. With the right seasoning,

it can taste almost scarily similar to pulled pork so it’s great as the star of the show or as an accoutrement on something like a burger. It can be tricky to get right when using it in cooking for the first time as I learned when I tried a jackfruit curry which turned out to be more similar to a rubber substitute however, with practice, it can be a wonderful discovery.

GRAPES Let’s change things up and think about sweeter delicacies. Grapes are not generally underrated, the Greeks lounging on their chaise longues knew what they were doing but I discovered they can also be amazing when baked. My significant other once made these little pastries (amuse-bouche if you will) with various different toppings and fillings but the most impressive by far were the ones that he had part cooked, topped with grapes (some white, some red) and then cooked in the oven a little bit more. They had this amazing sweetness and were actually very refreshing – I would definitely recommend implementing grapes in Summer bakes.

MIXED PEPPERS Red peppers are wonderful. I eat them on pizzas. I eat them in fajitas. I eat them in salads. Sadly, their yellow and green brethren don’t get as much of the spotlight which they fully deserve. Mixed peppers have it all. They brighten up a dish for both the tastebuds and the eyes and give meals a great freshness whether they be in a stir fry or a burrito. They’re probably not as underrated as the other candidates on this list but I think the use of all of them in tandem with each other is not as common as one might think.

CINNAMON Okay, we all know cinnamon. It’s a Christmas favourite and cinnamon rolls are popular enough to warrant entire restaurant chains based around them, at least in the US. What people might not know about it is that it is excellent as a subtle ingredient. I love it when cinnamon is the centrepiece but something I do with anything I bake is just add a little bit of cinnamon to give it some warmth and it’s a subtle difference. Sometimes you don’t want to reinvent the wheel and adding a bit of cinnamon is more like just painting the wheel a snazzy new colour. Obviously, there are way more ingredients that you could try. Another tip I have is to go into a shop and try and find a fruit, vegetable, spice etc. you’ve never heard of before and buy it. They won’t all be winners but you might find something like a banana blossom, which is a flower that is used as a substitute for fish. I swear I’m not making that up, there’s one sitting in my cupboard that I’m going to try and batter any day now. In cooking, no matter how big the step is, a step is a step and that’s the best mentality you can have in the kitchen.