Cheapskate . . . where to eat out for under £15
Telephone: 01603 613318.
Address: Pinocchio's, 11 St Benedict's, Norwich
A reader wrote in saying it was all very well going on about A-1 Italian restaurants in Rome,(actually in Weekend) but what about finding something nearer to home and not in London. Well, what about Pinocchio's? I won't pretend it's in the same class as the Ristorante Abuzzo, nor would it pretend to be so, but the pitch pine floor, beech chairs and general good cheer all have a nice bright glow to them, and the food likewise is disarmingly cheap (lunch; £5.50 for pizza or pasta and salad). Proper main courses are serious contenders (wild boar Callantara). Pizza bases are thin and crisp, toppings perky and vibrant. Pastas are precisely cooked and authentically sauced.
Quick bites . . . where to eat out in under 15 minutes
Telephone: 01603 667423.
Address: Adam and Eve, Bishopsgate, Norwich.
Golden oldie, as it were, and feels like it, what with settles, panels, tiles and a snug. Parts date back to 1249. No matter, the business within is a bit more up to date. They even welcome kids. Class Adnams, Greene King IPA and Theakston's OP on the pumps (plus guest beers), Addlestone's cider and proper wines. And the food? I thought you'd never ask. Everything from chunky soups (cheese and ale with pastry thatching) to weighty puds (spicy bread and butter) by way of substantial main/single dishes (sausage casserole). For quick biters, however, there are sandwiches, baps and French breads filled with all manner of goodies. Then it's off to the cathedral for a spot of spiritual uplift.
On the menu: Bedfordshire clanger
What's in a name?
What, indeed? Well, what then?
Oh, I see what you mean. Pork and apple. That's it?
Not quite. There's a suet crust, you see, all golden and glazed and shaped like an oblong box. And inside there's the meat, usually pork for the rich and bacon for the poor, at one end, with apple at the other. A kind of main course and pudding all in one?
That would seem to be about the size of it. In fact, clangers were once made of boiled suet, like a roly poly, with meat inside and fruit stuck into the pastry. Very convenient, but why clanger?
No one knows, but maybe because it clangs to the sides of your tummy. Very droll.
Cheats kitchen
Cheat's raspberry fool
455g raspberries
1 carton Ambrosia custard
1 284 ml pot whipping cream
juice half a lemon
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 Blast the raspberries, lemon juice and sugar in a blender or food processor.
2 Whip the cream until stiff.
3 Stir the raspberry goo into the custard, and then add the whipped cream.
4 Chill for 30 minutes to one hour.
Serves 4 or 6 (depending on how greedy they are).
Ms S Taylor, Cumbria
· If you have any hints for Cheat's kitchen, send them to The Guzzler, the Guardian, 119 Farringdon Road, London, EC1R 3ER
Food on the net
nextdaychampagne.co.uk
Does exactly what it says - delivers a bottle of bubbly to your door the next day, provided you order before 2pm. Choose from vintage or N-V (and read up on your choice on the site) and pen your own message to be printed on the label.
Pros: Speedy service and an ideal site for a present that gives the impression of having been planned more than 24 hours in advance. Very easy to use. Competitive prices.
Cons: Delivery could be anytime during the day, so you'll have to be at home, or pay a supplement for a specific "deliver by" time.
Delivery: next day, not surprisingly.
Charges: all included, unless you want a specific time; then up to £9 on top.
