OUT AND ABOUT | BBC GOOD FOOD SHOW SPRING 2014

Last Sunday I ventured over to the BBC Good Food Show Spring 2014 in Harrogate. Making its debut to the Yorkshire town, I was sent through a press pass as a Yorkshire-based food blogger to see what was on offer.

Arriving at the venue, the Harrogate International Centre, with foodie friend Diane, we got there at about 2pm - peak time! It was very busy indeed and a lot of feet treading/barging was going on (I had bruised feet to show!).

Working our way through each stall, there were a range of independent, artisan food and drink producers from all over the country. We soon noticed a major theme going on with every other stall devoted to either alcohol, cheese and chutney (all three great loves of mine!).

As we were just there browsing and because of the huge amount of producers on offer this post is more a selection of pictures to show you of what was on offer to sample and to buy. 

OUT AND ABOUT | PIZZA AT TAPPED BREWING CO. LEEDS

Always on the look out for a bargain eat that is fresh and of good quality, the other night I could not help but be intrigued by the buy one get one free offer on pizza at Tapped Leeds. Out with a friend for a post-work drink it was a temptation we couldn't resist and won us hook, line and sinker.

Whilst Tapped might be better known as the relatively new American-style bar to Leeds serving an extensive selection of craft beers,cask ales and bottles from all over the shop... they also happen to have a corner of their bar designated to a pizza station.

In comes Big Dan's Pizzas! Hand made on site, they use imported Italian ingredients and even use beer brewed on site to add to their pizza dough.

Pizzas come in three sizes at 7", 12" and 18". When I was there the BOGOF offer was only available with the 7" pizzas so with a friend (yes it's Diane!) we thought we'd buddy up. The cheapest 7" pizza is £3.50 and the most expensive was £4.50. We went for 'The Truffle Shuffle' and 'The Hammy One'. The most expensive pizza was used for the BOGOF offer so it came to grand total of £2.25 each.

With lots of competition on the Leeds pizza scene as of late there were high expectations. Two of my favourites of small pizza/slice offerings are Kitschen, which sell mini pizza's at £3 a pop and Dough Boys, with their most expensive slice at around £2.80 (that's if you're not counting the extremely generous half price slice offer they've got going on).

The pizza arrived at the table, it took a good 15 minutes to arrive but we could see it being made by 'Big Dan' in the corner. How can you grumble when a pizza is made from scratch before your eyes?

Splitting both pizza's in half, I first started on the The Truffle Shuffle. The pizza, small and wee as a 7", was loaded with cheese and toppings. Perhaps too many toppings for this little'n as it made the base quite soggy and difficult to take a singular bite from... a singular bite that is without having the whole piece of pizza slop off very attractively on your chin (A very serious fear of mine due to a pizza cheese burn on my chin from my younger years!). The pizza was hot, but luckily not burn-worthy so my chin and I were alright there!

The toppings were a delight and a nice surprise. Good quality and well matched flavours with the buffalo mozzarella white truffle salami, grilled fennel and capers. It had a great bittersweet taste to it and all the flavours came through sharply. I am however a little bit fussy when it came to the cheese, with the cheese being rather clumpy and heavy, making it overall too much for the small pizza.

On to The Hammy One. This was topped with buffalo mozzarella (again, too clumpy and too much for me!), Italian gran cotto ham, mushrooms and garlic. I'm sure this pizza would have tasted a lot better if I hadn't still had the taste of the previous pizza still lingering in my mouth. As with the last pizza, the base on this one was also rather soggy and sloppy from the toppings. The flavours were there, but unfortunately they were no match compared to The Truffle Shuffle.

Overall, for the bargain offer that was available for FRESHLY made pizza one can't complain. I would be interested to try their pizza in a larger size to see if the base held up better. I definitely recommend trying The Truffle Shuffle if you like a good interesting pizza and to hit up their 2-4-1 offer (available every Monday and Tuesday) if you are down that end of town.

Tapped Leeds is obviously not a restaurant and it does not specialise in pizza, however 'Big Dan's Pizza' and their little pizza station in the corner are doing a great job of offering some good in-bar grub which is made to order and uses fresh, quality ingredients.

Have you tried pizza from Tapped Leeds? Or do you have a favourite pizza haunt in Leeds?

OUT AND ABOUT | THE FLYING DUCK

When visiting Ilkley last week to review La Casita (see my post here), fellow blogger Diane and I (yes we come as a pair!) were an hour early so we thought we'd have a little wander and find a nice watering hole for a pre-dinner drink.

Not having to walk far (although to note we did walk further than the nearest pub which was the local Wetherspoons) we stumbled across this charming little pub on the side of the main road called The Flying Duck.

A Wharfedale Brewery pub, this is the real deal, a proper Yorkshire Dales retreat in an idyllic small town setting. With a stone flagged floor, wooden beamed ceilings and a grand fireplace this is somewhere you can see cosying up to in the Winter months.

 It was quite quiet when we walked in and the bar staff were very polite and patient whilst I worked my way up and down the blackboard looking at the ales on offer. Their range was impressive and varied and everything seemed extremely reasonable in price and was a welcome change from some of the drinks prices in Leeds right now!

I had a few tasters to see what I fancied but I settled for a pint of the Wharfedale Blonde (3.9% ABV) at £2.85. A blonde zesty ale that had a bit of zing but also a pleasing bitter finish to it. It was nice and light but also refreshing so I knew it wasn't going to spoil m'tea!

What's even better is that my beer had been brewed just in the barn situated at the back of the pub. With Wharfedale Brewery having their own brewing facilities on sight. There is a raised decking area outside which joins the pub to the brewery and you can peer in through the huge windows to have a look inside (they also do tours which you can book on to for £10).

Upstairs are also two joined rooms and also another bar. There's plenty of seating and well-worn chesterfields. The whole place just has such a lovely charm and character to it.

I didn't get a chance to have a look at the food on offer but I would very much like to return to give it a try on another occasion. If you are in Ilkley I would recommend popping into this lovely unpretentious pub to see its charm for yourself!

OUT AND ABOUT | LA CASITA

Invited a few months back to attend the launch of La Casita, a new independent Spanish tapas bar in Ilkley. I had to reject due to another event I had planned for that evening but also due to the media crazed invite that I received to the launch itself... Harry Potter actors, and the whole shebang. No thank you.

The chef proprietor is Simon Miller, a chef from numerous highly acclaimed establishments including The Fleece in Otley, Piazza by Anthony in Leeds and Ilkley's Michelin-starred restaurant The Box Tree which is just round the corner. 

Invited to come back to sample the menu with a complimentary two tapas dishes and two glasses of wine, I had booked to go early next month. However, unexpectedly I ended up jumping on the back of a drop out invite with my friend Diane, also a food blogger (her blog is here) who had booked to go last Wednesday.

Entering the quaint little arcade, we walked up the stairs on to a mezzanine level to see some seating outside and the door to the restaurant. We were greeted at the bar and led to a table inside a room that looked like it could have once been an art gallery in its former life. However now this room was quite dingy, low lighting and with musky red walls to match.

Greeted by the drinks menu, we decided to share a bottle of white wine. I am usually a red kind of girl, but when a good bottle of white is chosen I can be swayed. Diane chose the New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc priced at £21.

The tapas menu consisted of five main sections with aperitivos, vegetariano, carne, pescados and a charcuterie selection. A mixture of traditional tapas dishes were there but also some modern takes on the classics.

Recommended to have five tapas dishes between the two of us, we opted for four. Diane chose the Tortillas de Patatas (Spanish tortilla with garlic aioli £5.00) and the Albóndigas al Estilo Español (meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce £6.00). Seeing there were two standard dishes gone for I went to try a few new ones and picked the Carrillada en Cocción Lenta (ox cheeks slow cooked in red wine £6.80) and the Bacalao Laminado (flaked cod with spiced lentils £7.00).

We ordered our four dishes and the waitress asked if we wanted a few more dishes and why we didn't want to try their special of the day which was John Dory with a fennel salad. We stuck to our four dishes and then the wait set in.

Gazing around the restaurant there were parties of all ages and sizes, however it was not busy as such. After about 20 minutes of waiting the hangry pangs set in and we were both wondering where our food was. After 30 minutes the dishes arrived and we were pleasantly relieved.

First to grace our tables were the Albóndigas al Estilo Español and the Carrillada en Cocción Lenta. The dishes were brimming and full and very generous for tapas portions.

There were four meatballs in total topped with a fresh tomato sauce on top. The meatballs were firm and had a good consistency, however we struggled to find the smokiness that you would usually expect from them. The spice in the tomato sauce was also absent but this was still a very nice dish to eat.

Next up was the dish I had been most looking forward to and boy did it not disappoint! Melt in the mouth chunks of slow cooked ox cheeks in a delicious red wine reduction. These were cooked very well and the flavour was very warming and rich. This was the star of the tapas show!

Along came the Bacalao Laminado, which was served almost as a salad with a portion of what I think was a mixture of puy and green spiced lentils, topped with flaked cod, tomatoes and salad leaves. The lentils were very good and were not overcooked. The flaked cod lacked the "salt cod" flavour we were after. Asking the waiter if it was salt cod he had to go and check with the chef but then came back to tell us that it was. This was a very nice dish but I feel it was mainly due to the wow factor of the lentils.

And finally, last but not least we have the Tortilla de Patatas. A wedge of Spanish omelette with potato inside served with garlic aioli and a salad garnish. The tortilla itself was quite stodgy and not as fluffy or light as I have tasted in other tapas restaurants. The garlic aioli to match it was quite pungent but in a good way with a flavour that was not too overpowering but complimented the the light centrepiece.

Not feeling the need for dessert, we had a look at the menu on offer to find one stand out dish... avialable in seven different variations! Parfait was the dessert of choice and priced at £2 a slice. We were both slightly confused by this and puzzled as to why such a restrictive dessert menu.

This was a nice treat to have tapas and also to visit Ilkley, however the prices compared to other tapas favourites in Leeds (like Ambiente and El Bareto) are softer on the wallet and excel in some places were La Casita failed to match.

The service was quite slow and the staff not knowing the ingredients to dishes and being overly interested in wanting us to order more food and drinks which for me is quite off putting.

Our meal for a bottle of wine and four tapas dishes came to £42, however with the complimentary 2 glasses of wine and two tapas dishes this came to £21.

Disclaimer: This meal was 50% complimentary, however all the views within this review are my own honest opinions.

OUT AND ABOUT | THE YORKSHIRE MEATBALL COMPANY

The Yorkshire Meatball Company, fronted by David and Gareth Atkinson, father and son, has been an idea in progress for a good two years. Now the dream has become reality with the pair opening up the UK's first ever meatball restaurant.

Claiming to be a 'speciality' meatball bar, these guys are all about the BALLS... be that in starter, main or dessert form! All their balls are hand-rolled and use only the freshest and tastiest locally sourced Yorkshire produce.

I visited Harrogate on the weekend after being invite to check out a new independent restaurant which opened earlier this month.

Arriving with my friend, we were warmly welcomed and sat down at a table reserved for us, complete with a chalkboard with my name on which was a nice surprise!

Upon entering I was impressed with the decor. A nice wooden and rustic feel that didn't seem to try-hard but had quaint little features and highlights like cheesegrater's for lampshades and  a large black chalkboard wall detailing where all their produce was sourced from as well as the drinks menu.

We were seated and talked through the menu which was laid out on our table on a large A3 sheet of manilla paper - kind of like a diner style set up which I really liked.

The main focus of the menu is to choose the Ball, Bed and Blanket Combo... which means you choose your 'Ball' option, with 6 variations available, including beef and pork, chicken, fish and falafel options. You then choose a 'Bed' option, again 6 variations including linguine, mash potato, roasted vegetables and salad. Then you choose your 'Blanket' option with 6 different sauces to choose from including gravy, home made ketchup and mushroom pesto. 

If you choose this combo you have three size options available, with

Small Balls (two) for £7

Standard Balls (three) for £8

Big Balls (four) for £9

...you can also get a Yorkshire Pudding for free on the side - a nice little added extra!

I went for the Ball, Bed and Blanket Combo with Birdie Balls, Salad Leaf and Gravy and of course the obligatory Yorkshire Pudding. My friend went for the 'Naked Balls' option with Fish Balls on a salad bed of watercress with avocado, raspberries and lime. We also ordered a 'Taster' of the Hot Balls 

with  Yorkshire Terrier Blanket as a starter and shared a side of roasted vegetables.

I wanted to check out their local beer selection and was extremely impressed to see two options for every type of ale all sorced from local breweries and mico-breweries in Yorkshire. I went for a bottle of the Yorkshire IPA from Wharfebank Brewery which was a good meal accompaniment.

Our 'Taster' came, cute and wee and was basically a meatball slider served on a lightly toasted brioche bun. This was really lovely and gave us a chance to sample the beef and pork meatballs too. They were light and fluffy with a spicy tomato ketchup/relish to match.

In come the mains! Slightly confused as several dishes were brought to the table, I was expecting my 'Ball, Bed and Blanket' combo to come all in the same dish. Despite this, my Birdie Balls were served in a mini cast iron skillet on top of a lovely thick onion gravy.

Accompanying this was a plate of salad leaves, a plate filled with our side of roasted vegetables and a lusciously big and crispy yorkshire pudding.

My friends Fish Balls arrived which were made with fresh haddock, smoked chorizo and parsley.

We set down to our meals, both impressed by the food before us. The portions were large but the quality wasn't skimped. Sampling a Birdie and a Fish ball, both were very tasty, light and fluffy, but also filling and flavoursome. My gravy was nice and fresh with a good consistency and was lovely with the roasted vegetables and yorkshire pudding.

We couldn't leave without trying a dessert, and with three desserts on offer we couldn't decide on which one to go for. Gareth kindly said he'd give us a selection of all three desserts as a portion. We had Brownie Balls and Cheesecake Balls but my favourite by far were the Profiter Balls which oozed with a delicious lemon curd and were drizzled with caramel.

Overall a really lovely dining experience and meal at the Yorkshire Meatball Company. I also had the pleasure of having a chat with David and Gareth about their business and you can see that a lot of love has gone into its creation.

A must-visit if you are in Harrogate and want a meatball experience in all manners of forms! It is highly reasonable and offers good quality food and portion sizes. I look forward to my next visit.