City Girl Goes Country: A Weekend in Devon

Topsham tranquillity

One of the things I love about having a diverse mix of friends scattered across the country is the joy of darting off in different directions to visit them and get a taste of their daily life. This particularly grey weekend I decided to pop down to Devon to visit my wonderful University friends SH and KG for a weekend of good food and lots of laughs.

I'm widely known amongst my friends for my inherent bewilderment of the country. It's not that I don't love and appreciate the rolling hills, peace and tranquillity and tiny villages where everybody knows your name. I'm just not really kitted out to belong in these places. Visiting country towns feels like I've invaded some foreign land, ramblers strolling past with their walking sticks and backpacks and vast array of sturdy walking shoes and gilets somehow managing to look appropriate and stylish all at the same time.

To every body's constant amusement the best sensible outfit I can construct is my fancy Melbourne wool blazer that cost me a month's rent, a pair of holy leggings and my bright white trainers that have a token scattering of mud from the one time I wore them. After years of lying to myself and others that I love the great outdoors, conjuring up a forced expectant smile at the prospect of another camping trip, I have finally embraced my city roots feeling safe in the comfort that I can order food at 2am, always get a cab by a mere wave of the arm and spend my Friday night's perched in a cocktail bar dressed up in my finest.

That being said I was excited for my weekend ahead to embrace my dormant country side and hopefully eat lots of beautiful local food. Saturday morning SH tentatively laid some ideas on the table, did I want to ramble along a river, go and have some lunch or visit the Devon County Show. To her and my surprise, I opted for the county show.

A Day Out at Devon County Show
http://www.devoncountyshow.co.uk/

As soon as we had paid our entrance fee I realised that the County Show was a big deal in these parts, the place was packed with healthy rosy cheeked children, dogs and roaming farmyard animals sporting prize winning ribbons. Completely inappropriately dressed as usual I hobbled around clutching my vintage bag tripping over hundreds of dog owners and patches of non-descript mud. Scouring the show for something that would take my fancy aside from alpacas and stalls informing me how to disinfect my farm it finally hit me. The food tent.

The tent, as expected was superb, Devon seems to really be making headway with some beautiful local produce. I sank a gorgeous organic coffee made from some local beans, tried the local Pebblebed fizz (http://www.pebblebed.co.uk/), drank some free ale, had the sweetest and butteriest cupcake with thick coffee infused frosting and finished it all off with a delicious Tom's Pie (http://www.toms-pies.co.uk/) with it's perfect pastry crust and creamy chicken filling.

Another exciting foodie part of our day was a pleasurable half an hour in the Dart's Farm tent, a local food mecca where I had previously enjoyed a delicious Sunday roast with beautiful lamb and a selection of freshly picked seasonal veg including the best red cabbage I have ever eaten (http://www.dartsfarm.co.uk/). This time Dart's Farm slightly eccentric owner and head chef from a local Topsham restaurant were rustling up a series of free treats including farm fresh strawberries and hand made hot fudge with vanilla pod infused creamy ice cream. The local sexy rugby team were causing a bit of a stir haphazardly hacking up a Dover Sole and roasting some vegetables.

Sexy rugby cooking

After my day on the farm, resting my sore feet my country friends decided to give me a break and send me to Exeter for a taste of the city.

Exeter: The Big City

Exeter, I'm reliably informed, is the equivalent of a metropolis down south and I must say that I've fallen a little bit in love with it. The medieval streets were unusual and interesting, the central cathedral was beautiful and every step I took I felt like I was living back in some distant historical time, wandering around in my bodice trying to find the butchers. In amongst the history, Exeter has a vibrant centre and some interesting independent bars playing live music by candlelight and serving delicious looking pizza platters (http://oldfirehouseexeter.co.uk/).

We decided to go and grab some dinner and miraculously snagged a table at basement wine bar and restaurant Rendezvous.

Dinner at Rendezvous 10
38-40 Southernhay East, Exeter EX1 1PE
http://www.winebar10.co.uk/

Moreish Pinot Gris

Rendezvous is a beautiful little wine cellar bar hidden down some non-descript stairs in a fancy bit of Exeter. As soon as we wandered into the warm room full of candles and excited chatter I knew that I was in for a treat. Everything on the menu looked great and I was instantly torn between lamb or steak. Having eaten a lot of steak recently I opted for the lamb rump, medium rare with a stack of dauphinoise. Inappropriately for my main we ordered a beautiful bottle of French Pinot Gris which was light, fruity and delicious and happily swigged while we indulged on some salted nuts.

SH had some local grey mullet and a beautiful looking swirl of mash while KG opted for the pea risotto that looked light and cheesy. I really loved my main although it almost defeated me with it's richness and size. After many giggles and feeling full to the rafters we wandered off into the night to drink more wine, miss trains and crash a wedding or two.

After a lovely tranquil Sunday in Topsham as my train ambled away I suddenly in a flash had a glimpse of how my country life could be, a stables, maybe some flowery apron and AGA cooking up some organic vegetables from my patch. Maybe I'd wear pearls and wellies and write a book about how living in the city had defeated me and how I decided that deafening silence and a border collie suddenly made sense.

Ordering another Starbucks and tucking into the Guardian Guide with it's infinite listings of gallery openings, plays, new restaurants and city fashion I realised in a moment that it would never be for me. But that's ok, how wonderful it is to embrace all aspects of life without prejudice and with an open mind.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get home to clean this mud off my suede boots. Why does my new dress smell of horse?

Taxi!

Smokeless Cigarettes, Guinness and a Bar Called Leggs: Debauchery in Dublin

Howth, Ireland

After the thrills of Easter were over I had booked in a much overdue trip to Ireland to visit my old colleague and whirlwind of fantastic infectious energy LM. Joining the party was lovely London-based foodie CD making for an exciting weekend ahead.

I booked to fly with Ryan Air, always the cheap option and always a gamble of wrestling with fellow passengers to get a decent seat and tutting loudly British style when somebody pushes in the never ending boarding queue.

The last flight of the day was full of the usual fun characters that I just love to observe. The elderly mother and daughter who could easily earn a place on television starring in their own comedy sketch. Her determined mother dressed up in her smartest red coat reminding me of that Eddie Izzard sketch of the queen mother who just keeps going. I loved overhearing the obligatory mother and daughter bickering that was still alive after all these years and having a secret satisfied smile that the old dear was right all along about what gate it was.

The lady sitting across from me was a weary middle-aged teacher using this brief opportunity of semi-peace and quiet to finally mark endless essays scrawled in pencil. I smiled as she jotted down 'I loved your comedic use of narrative style' wondering who the student was and feeling a little longing in my stomach to be 12 and writing creatively again.

About halfway through our very brief flight once the arguing behind me and the screaming baby had finally quietened the cabin crew passed through the aisles offering an endless array of highly inappropriate items: 'smokeless cigarettes? anybody? smokeless cigarettes?'. What the hell are smokeless cigarettes? I asked myself. After this baffling event was over a different member of the cabin crew wandered past. Scratch cards? Anybody want to win up to 1,000 euros on a scratch card? Vodka? Does anybody want a bottle of vodka? Ok so they didn't do the vodka thing but wow, was I turning into a prude or was this highly unusual flight etiquette? Perhaps there is some legal loophole that only exists over the stretch of ocean between Britain and Ireland where flights of passengers have 40 minutes of endless debauchery drinking vodka and throwing around scratch cards and all having sex with one another before passing out quietly to smoke their smokeless cigarettes.

By the time I had finished this daydream it was time to land. Little did I know that this debauchery would mark my time in Ireland.

A night out in Leggs

Appletini anybody?

Our first night was hallmarked by three things: cocktails, shots and a bar called Leggs. We arrived in the heart of the city at 10pm and went straight to a bar playing loud hits such as 'beautiful people'. Quickly realising that we all had a lot of catching up to do and some numbing against this crime against music, the Jagermeisters came out. What follows is a little hazy blur of dancing, wandering into convenience stores that sell delicious smelling chunks of lasagna, loudly singing Take That and getting in a cab to find the famous Leggs. I don't remember much about our Leggs experience suffice to say it was like partying in some body's basement surrounded by hundreds of sweaty people. I recall three key events: being handed a Smirnoff Ice with the first sip of it's insipid sugaryness taking me back to my youth, observing C trying to steal kebabs from baffling trays of roaming food that nobody was allowed to touch and getting far too excited when Bonnie Tyler came on.

The next day was spent with the mother of all hangovers making me pleased to have nearly grown out of the heady fun of partying most nights. We retired to the Village Cafe (http://villagecafe.ie/) in Rathmines for friendly staff, a lot of Irish sausages, two coffees and tons of chatting before wandering into town to explore the city.

We ducked into the park by St Stephens Green, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, couples idled past, the sun was shining and our heads were starting to clear slightly. With a new lease of life LM decided to take us to Temple Bar for 'hair of the dog' Irish style.

We arrived at The Temple Bar (http://www.thetemplebarpub.com/) and enjoyed some obligatory Guinness and live music. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Waltzing Matilda making me smile about my distant heartland.
  

Temple Bar Joy


Relaxed dining at Jo'Burger
137 Lower Rathmines Road, Rathmines Dublin
http://joburger.ie/

It was time to decide on dinner and we made the decision to head back to Rathmines and go grab a burger. We idled into Jo'Burger and managed to get a table for 3, it was packed and had a great atmosphere, the menus were printed on annuals, long stem candles were shoved into wine bottles (so simple but I love it), attractive waiters bounded past and a DJ was softly playing soul. It was wonderful. I ordered the smoked applewood cheddar burger with 100% Irish beef and whole chunks of crunchy apple. We washed it down with some delicious beakers of wine, a pile of onion rings and some chips with jalapeno mayo. It was just what the doctor ordered (or not).

One hell of a burger

Deciding now we were in our late twenties/early 30s we couldn't handle another night of Leggs we decided to grab a quiet drink somewhere and found the perfect venue. A bar called Toast. It was a great place, we quietly enjoyed a G&T, loads of chatting and some people watching. The hairy DJ seemed to be my musical soul mate intuitively playing my ultimate play list: Tears for Fears, New Order, Depeche Mode interlaced with a little Prodigy, Haddaway and Joy Division. Remarking that 'if he plays Blue Monday I'm going to ask him to marry me' it was time to wander home to lament about wonderful Dublin and have a respectable Sunday.

Hangovers at Howth

On our final day LM drove us to the seaside town of Howth to go and get some local food and fresh air. The place was beautiful and full of organic market stalls offering local seafood and hot sizzling meats. Grabbing a sausage bap and wandering down the pier I noted how beautiful the Irish hills were in the light reminding me a little of Wales and how much I miss living next to the sea.CD was grabbing her flight home so we said goodbye and planned our last meal.

Dinner at Locks Brasserie
Number One, Windsor Terrace Portobello, Dublin
http://www.locksbrasserie.com/index.php

L had been recommended Locks as having some beautiful French food and a relaxed atmosphere, at about 8pm we luckily snagged a quiet table for two looking over the canal. We opted for a beautiful bottle of French white to start and was presented with some house made bread and butter scattered with sea salt. Remarking that I would come here just to have wine and bread we chose our starter and main. For starter we both chose the mussel broth with perfect cubes of soft tomato, fresh parsley and lobster croutons excellently presented in a beaker.

Chicken and chorizo

For main I chose the pan fried chicken with chorizo cubes and cream, smears of pea puree and a potato fondant stack. Deciding that it wasn't quite rich enough I ordered a side of my favourite champ mash dripping in butter. The food was incredible, the staff were amazing and the atmosphere was truly lovely. We decided to impulsively share a dessert choosing the banana parfait with chocolate dirt (Heston style), peanut butter crunch ice cream and dots of caramel. I'd come back to Dublin for this dish alone. And the wonderful company of course.

Banana Parfait

It was time to wander home and conclude my little break to Dublin, I was impressed by their food, warm hospitality and most of all that Irish spirit. Farewell for now you beautiful city, I will be back. Now if you'll excuse me I have a flight to catch.

Packet of smokeless cigarettes please.
  

Rathmines Architecture



A Birthday in Orange

A wonderful part of my Australian holiday was a birthday trip to see the beautiful VC in her new temporary home. A mere 3 hours drive away, Orange is blessed with a plethora of gorgeous wineries, cafes and one very fancy French restaurant. In the spirit of birthdays and being all together again we decided to indulge in them all.

TES, SS and I left Sunny Sydney with a bag full of Bourke Street Bakery goodies and an ipod full of classic tunes (let's all meet up in the year 2000!) and set off for our first destination, Mayfield Vineyard.

Mayfield Vineyard
Icely Road, Orange NSW 2800
http://www.mayfieldvineyard.com/

We trundled into Orange at dusk to our welcoming cottage the House of Pears. The cottage was stunningly beautiful and completely white set on the backdrop of endless vines and some very friendly geese. One of the many reasons I love my friends is that they always know how to put on the most delicious bounties of food. This night was no exception.

We collated our various foodie efforts, Sonoma bread bought previously from Sydney, a selection of local cheeses from Orange. Salted butter, perfectly fresh salmon and huge bitey Sicilian olives from the local deli washed down with a lot of champagne and culminating in some obligatory tipsy Magnetic Zeros dancing. A wonderful evening.

Phillip Shaw Vineyard
45 Caldwell Lane, Orange NSW
http://www.philipshaw.com.au/about.htm

Not a bad view

Our morning began at Byng Street Cafe for some top notch coffee and baked treats as we lined our stomachs for the wine tasting ahead. High on the agenda was a trip to Phillip Shaw Winery, known far and wide in these parts as one of the best vineyards in town.

What I love about wine tasting, apart from the free wine, is chatting to the makers and finding out loads of detail that you wouldn't normally get from simply ordering a bottle in a restaurant. We chatted to the owners about the psychedelic bottle design, the perfect cheese accompaniment and other local vineyards that were worth a visit.

The decor of Phillip Shaw is incredible, set in their huge kitchen with a sleepy dog lazing around we felt as though we had been invited over a friends house for an afternoon drinking session. To mark V's birthday the wine maker himself came out with a tray of homemade hot pasties and a big dollop of tomato sauce. Mmmm tasted just like home.

Lolli Redini
48 Sale Street, Orange NSW 2800
http://www.lolliredini.com.au/

With a little wobble in our step we retired back to the cottage to greet V's surprise guests and open a few special bottles of wine that we had purchased on our tour. It was now time to get ready for the pinnacle of our visit. A trip to Lolli Redini.

One of the many things I love about Australia is their multiple hatted restaurants that also happen to be pretty affordable. At $80 for their set menu this still to me represents a special treat but not one that will set you back your life savings when you compare UK places of comparable quality in London. Lolli Redini was renowned for being the best restaurant in town and also French, my favourite. I was extremely excited.

We were all seated on a lovely long table and began selecting our three courses. I just could not stay away from the house signature goats cheese souffle set off with a delicate celeriac and apple salad. Without hyperbole this was one of the most amazing mouthfuls of food I have ever had.

I would sell my soul for this souffle

For second course I selected the veal which was served medium rare with a beautiful pile of sauteed mushrooms and cabbage. How they got the mushrooms so tasty I will never know but I suspect a lot of butter was involved. My Italian friend MC indulged my suggestion to share a big scoopful of truffle mash which was like sex on a spoon (forgive my vulgarity).

Far from being taboo these days eating good quality and well sourced veal is actually encouraged, good old Jamie Oliver often suggests veal as an alternative option. Thanks to humane farming practises in good places I can sleep well at night knowing that my animal was not unfairly treated. For the vegetarians among us, my friend ordered squash with shards of salty Parmesan and a sprinkle of pine nuts. It looked and tasted delicious.

Delicious veggie option

In a rare twist my dessert was not that favourable, I selected figs three ways which included a fig mousse, fig ice cream and fresh fig with honey and toffee. It was a little rich and creamy and didn't offer enough textural difference. We chatted to the chef about it and he told us about the inclusion of truffle oil into the mousse which is not to every body's taste. I spotted my friend SS's passion fruit souffle and had food envy. We decided to drink local opting only for wine from the local vineyards. We started with a bottle of Phillip Shaw's fizz that we had sampled earlier and some beautiful mellow Merlot and crisp Chardonnay.

Souffle envy

It was the perfect end to a perfect birthday. As the sun set and I had to undo my belt 3 notches I felt warm and fuzzy and overwhelmingly lucky to be in such a beautiful location, eating such incredible food with such amazing kind people.

With a lump in my throat saying goodbye for now to a wonderful friend it was time to leave. Goodbye Orange, it was lovely to meet you.