Circa 1924, Exeter: Restaurant Review

Circa 1924 is in Exeter and is directly behind Boots near John Lewis.

We went there on a Thursday evening and it was fabulous!  We parked right outside and had a non-alcoholic cocktail and a beer (Bath Gem) in the very comfortable bar.  The barman obviously knows his stuff.  My non-alcoholic cocktail was delicious and mango-flavoured - I think I necked it within a few minutes rather than sipped it daintily! The waiting staff were all very welcoming, friendly and cheerful.

We browsed the menu whilst drinking our aperitifs in the comfy bar area.

We were taken upstairs to eat the food.  Downstairs the bar area seemed 'new shabby' (if you know what I mean) whereas the upstairs was more inviting: dark and gleaming.  I did wonder why there was a single standard lamp at the far end of the room.

For starters, I had the crab bisque and my husband had the scallop ceviche.  Both were very good but my bisque was tasty, creamy and very good.  The ceviche was fresh tasting and tangy but my bisque was better!(You can see it in the distance in the photo below.)

There were a few other tables seated and enjoying their meals.  We found it the right level of busy-ness.  Not so quiet that you felt like a fool eating there; not so busy that the next table can eavesdrop on your conversation.

Moving on to the main courses, I had the Duck with Pak Choi and Macaroni Cheese (as it was such an unusual combination and I had never even heard of it) and my husband had the Rib-eye
Steak with Bearnaise sauce and triple cooked chips.  He thought the steak was cooked to perfection I was disappointed that the duck didn't have crispy skin - the skin was on the breast and was soggy.  I felt that the sauce was very sweet.  The macaroni cheese (served alongside in a separate dish) was amazing and I loved that.  You can get it as a side order too.

We did have desserts - my 'Lemon tart' was OK but I felt I could have made it myself.  My husband's Chilli Chocolate Torte with homemade Ice Cream - which he felt was very nice - the chilli wasn't overpowering and the tangy citrus sauce stopped it from being cloying. This photo shows the chocolate dessert.

I think this place would be good for a 'date', great for couples and a really good place for groups.   If you chose well (e.g. the crab bisque, the steak, the macaroni cheese) you were rewarded with fabulous food.  My husband also thought that the waitress who served our food was really good

Dartmouth Food Festival - Foodie Heaven

Dartmouth Food Festival was held over the 20th - 24th October. I helped out for a couple of hours, manning an information stall with the lovely Susie Bennett,
 

Susie runs an amazing B and B overlooking Dartmouth in Kingswear:
 
http://www.brightwaterhouse.co.uk/
 
She's a charming, funny person and, by the sound of it, her organic breakfasts are out of the world and her house has views 'to die for'.  This is a smart (and really good value) place to stay when visiting Dartmouth.  I look forward to staying there some time.
 
Our information stand was cunningly placed next to Devonshire Teas who obligingly provided a sample of their wares.  They've been operating since last June and have a huge Twitter presence so it was good to meet them in person.  The tea was refreshing, well-balanced with a good flavour and perked me up on a cold October morning on Dartmouth Embankment.  The tea isn't grown locally, but they've created a 'Devonshire' blend that is perfect to drink whilst in Devon with scones.
 

 
 
I pottered around tasting some fantastically fresh crab and then ended up tasting salt at one my favourite food producers, Cornish Sea Salt.  They've branched out into flavoured salts (Smoked, Chilli, Onion, Garlic and Pepper) - my favourite being the smoked one.  He's a jolly nice chap!
 

 
The Luscombe girls were having a good time and I enjoyed their Lime Crush - it had a good kick and not too sweet (as I think some of their drinks like their raspberry lemonade are).
 

 
There were loads of top notch food demos going on. 
 
I watched Miranda Gardiner, author of Teaching Dad to Cook Flapjack, making crabcakes and I tasted them at the end.  She seemed a bit nervous, but she needn't have been as her style and cooking are inspiring and natural and the finished product was yummy.  I picked up her book, it looked wonderful (she takes her own photos too), but I'm trying really hard to buy no more cookery books as I have enough to last me a lifetime.  
 

 
 
 Mitch Tonks, now a prominent Dartmouth restauranteur  (I remember him refusing to open some oysters for me in his Bath fish shop, this has coloured my opinion of him!) was promoting his book, the sound quality was pretty bad on the PA system, so I didn't linger but hurried over the road, round the corner, behind the church, to the unpreposessing Flavel Centre.  My one (major) criticism of the Dartmouth Food Festival was that if you're going to spread out over several venues, please advertise the fact and provide plenty of signage.  For me, all the best local food producers were in  here and there were barely any punters to be seen!
 

 
 
One of my highlights in The Flavel Centre was Lahloo Tea:
 
Kate is passionate about working with small tea producers and creating the perfect blend.  She's based in Bristol and her products are classy and tasty too.  She mentioned that they're gracing the shelves of some high end upmarket retailers and restaurants - I can see why.  Enjoyed chatting to Kate and bought a set of heart shaped tins containing tea, a Tea Tasting Kit for £7,  all for me me me.  Treat.  The two teas I've tried so far have been great.
 

 
 
 
These were the divine homemade custard creams she was selling:
 

 
 
Next door to Kate was the Totnes-based Bean and Pod - what an awesome display of handmade goodies.  These are chocolates with a difference (Choclette, take note!).  Raw cocoa used (I think I have this right) from a small cocoa farm, sweetened with dates (no refined sugar) and studded with beautiful flowers.  Loved chatting to Lu and think she's doing something really different.
 

 
 
A close-up of one of the beauts:
 

 
 
And from Red Earth Kitchen (based in Kingsbridge) I bought a thick slice of delectable quiche chocka with butternut squash, gorgonzola and sage.  Delicious flavour combination and a very satisfying, good value lunch
 

 
 
Dartmouth Food Festival was a free event and had a lovely atmosphere.  The Exeter one is bigger, better and you have to pay to get in.  This one suited Dartmouth and it was great to meet some new local food producers.
 
 

Teignmouth Seafood House: Finest Crab, Scallops, Lobster...

It’s worth seeking out the tiny shed that is the Seafood House (newly opened Summer 2010) for the freshest, tastiest seafood in South Devon.

The small stable door, crab tank and chairs and table are between the Newquay Inn and the Ship Inn near the Back Beach and harbour.

They freshly catch and pick the crab to order (we only had one tiny piece of shell in 500g crabmeat which is quite impressive) and together with Nigella’s Forever Summer, I made a damn tasty Crab Linguine: white and brown crabmeat,  a squidge of garlic, some sea salt, a chopped red chilli, some grated lemon zest and juice, plenty of Extra Virgin olive oil and some chopped watercress or rocket, plus a heap of pasta.

Fresh crabmeat is the essence of summer food in Devon.  There are some fishmongers that pasteurise their crabmeat so that it extends the shelf life.  The stuff they sell here is so fresh and sells out so quickly they don't need to!

Place your orders on 07919 566630, or risk turning up Weds – Sun 10-ish till 4-ish.

I shall be trying their hand-dived scallops (95p each) and lobster (£4.50 / pot) on Friday and will report back.

A Quick Cornish Crab Sandwich from Cadgwith, The Lizard, Cornwall

This is enough to make my mouth drool.  Freshly picked white crabmeat from the Crab Shop at Cadgwith Harbour, The Lizard, served on our own homemade bread with plenty of ground black pepper and a squeeze of lime juice.  Simple food that I could eat every day of the year.

Have just found out that a major new publicity drive for a fantastic South Devon product - CRAB - has just started - all the info is here:

http://www.peoplesrepublicofsouthdevon.co.uk/2010/06/02/get-crabby-about-south-devon-new-tourism-and-food-campaign/comment-page-1/#comment-142948