Crafty Chooks

Posted on July 15, 2015December 15, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

On Saturday I tried to go to Crafty Chooks for the third time. First time was just after it opened as my friend worked there, but we just had drinks outside on a sunny bank holiday. Secondly, we were hungry and wanted chicken, but it turns out 8pm on a Friday is a busy time and we couldn’t get a table. Finally though. Saturday. We made it. After a long afternoon of chilling in the sunshine and ridiculous amount of Brighton seafront wind, we wanted some nom and as part of my long on going argument with Dan to prove that Hove is just as fun and cool as Kemptown we headed here.

Crafty Chooks does – you guessed it – rotisserie chicken and craft beers. Placed down on Second Avenue in the shell of the Tin Drum (and directly across the road from my friends former flat), I have the advantage that it’s super close to my house. We booked a table this time and got seated in the bar next to a rather noisy table of drinkers (we were offered a table in the restaurant once a table had finished, but by that point we had our drinks and were too lazy to move) in the window so we could rudely stare at every person that walked past/in the door. The restaurant end is cosily decorated with soft lighting and wood panels, the bar end feels more open and conveniently has the word ‘bar’ in big red letters.

The drinks menu features five beers on tap, 10 craft bottles and another 12 ciders and beers. Plus sprits, cocktails and soft drinks (side note: there are only three gins). Not too shabby. One Sol and Old Mout later, we are tucking into one chicken burger (skinny fries substituted for chunky chips) and one steak burger (skinny fries substituted for sweet potato wedges).

The burgers were a good size (aka it just about fit in my mouth without having to cut it up) in a nice round brioche bun. The wedges and chips were big and plentiful, I think I ate an entire sweet potato. Slight crisp to the outside and a soft squishy middle, my wedges were perfect. With sweet potato fries being in abundance on menus across the city, it was nice to see a slight variance on this and the wedges were winning because they were basically mash in a nice shell. My steak burger was nicely cooked, I did ask for it pink in the middle which didn’t happen but there we go. Served with emmental cheese, onion marmalade and dill pickle, the burger was juicy and soft. The addition of chilli sauce and sour cream helped a lot – but honestly chilli sauce and sour cream make everything better.

"How was the chicken burger?" — “How was the chicken burger?”

Terrible burger review aside, Dan was also unconvinced by the giant chips because “they’re too soft in the middle and not crispy enough on the outside. I don’t like big chips”. This coming from the boy that deliberately ordered the thick cut chips instead of the French fries. I snaffled the last one and they are indeed very soft in the middle – but I think that’s a good thing. Just me?

By this time it was 9pm on a Saturday, and like the cool kids we are, we headed home because our afternoon of sunshine was too much for us and we were tired. With the bill coming to around £30 (would have been less except we both substituted our fries) for a burger, chips and drink, I think it’s pretty good value. Not the best burger I’ve ever eaten, but also certainly not the worst. If you’re looking for an afternoon to evening place, I think this is a winner. The outside patio is good in the sunshine, and features heaters for when it gets colder. They also have a fairly extensive sandwich and salad board, along with the option to have half/a whole chicken so I think there is something for everyone.

If you fancy checking them out, you can find out more on their website, Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t forget you can follow me on Twitter for daily ramblings about my life and on Instagram for various blurry photos that are mostly of food and books and Brighton.

Chilgrove Gin – a review

Posted on June 12, 2015December 15, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

So last week I got my latest delivery from the Craft Gin Club. This month’s package was a bottle of Chilgrove Gin with added Fentimans Ginger Beer and a whole load of recipe cards. Chilgrove Gin comes from Chilgrove (funnily enough) outside of Chichester so for me it is a good local gin (37 miles according to Google Maps). Founders Christopher and Celia did some research and discovered an old school recipe (16th Century old) which used a grape based spirit for the gin rather than the more traditional vodka base. After lots of experimentation focusing on getting a great base spirit enhanced by botanicals, they came up with their award winning mix. The key botanicals include coriander root, two types of orange, key lime and mint.

My Chilgrove Gin delivery with Fentimans Ginger Beer

The bottle comes with a foil wrapped lid (much easier than a wax!) with a cork and a bloody satisfying pop (my favourite part of opening any bottle). Even from briefly opening it the smell hits me. It smells like a perfect summer evening – a rare thing in England. You firstly get the smell of the juniper and you can pick up the coriander (I noticed this before I read the list of botanicals, I think my palate is FINALLY growing sophisticated enough to notice these things!) As a warning it’s quite a heavy bottle so take care when pouring – not that I nearly dropped it or anything… I mixed it with a measure of water – it releases quite a strong smell (bottled at 44% so not surprised) yet it is fresh and fruity – I imagine this is mix of the orange, lime and grape. There’s a slightly bitter taste at the back of the throat, smooth on the tongue but without the fruity or zesty taste that I have come to expect from gin. As I write and continue to drink, and now knowing there is some mint hidden in there, it makes sense. Fresh and clean and a good strong spirit.

Making up my G&T with a Tesco low calorie tonic (pre-holiday detox and all that), I take a mouthful and my tastebuds are instantly confused by the unusual taste. It doesn’t taste a lot like gin and I feel this is because of the grape base rather than the botanicals used. It seems less harsh, not quite as fresh as Blackwater No5 for example, but it certainly has a different taste. I added as lemon wedge (all I had in the fridge) and it could almost trick me into thinking I was drinking wine. A cold, fruity white wine. Very easy to drink (dangerous when drinking it on a rather hot evening as I was!). It is very different, but not in the way Tarquin’s is, this just doesn’t really taste like gin. Very strange but lovely. A few mouthfuls in and I can see this becoming a firm favourite in my collection.

At this point in my tasting I took a break to make dinner and mull over the flavours. The more I drink the more I notice the gin tastes coming through, but it really does taste like a white wine. I can imagine why this wouldn’t appeal to some gin drinkers who like their gin a bit punchier, but since its launch in June 2014 it has won a silver medal at the 2015 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, a silver medal at the 2015 World Spirits Awards and a bronze at the 2015 International Spirits Challenge. Not to be sniffed at. The delivery came with a range of cocktail recipes including their takes on a Tom Collins, Pink Gin, Martini and a Gin Fizz. The one I’m most excited about is the Bright ‘n’ Breezy – gin, lime, angostura bitters and ginger beer. Sadly my lack of angostura bitters means I can’t try this right now, but I am planning a special blog on exciting gin cocktails so keep your eyes peeled.

Chilgrove is available online and in selected shops (Brightoners – head to Butlers Wine Cellar) with Master of Malt selling a 70cl bottle for £29. I would happily pay that for this gin, if anything I expected it to be more expensive. Whilst I’m not certain it will become my go to gin for my after work G&T, I think it’s subtle flavours will work brilliantly in cocktails and paired with different flavours. I’m looking forward to trying it again because by the end of my second drink I was still discovering different notes and tastes. I think for the price, it’s worth ordering to give it a go if you want to change things up and try something new.

You can find out more about the Craft Gin Club on Twitter and Facebook, as are Chilgrove here and here.

Don’t forget, I’m also on Twitter with daily ramblings about Brighton life and gin and food and for photos to accompany these, check me out on Instagram.

Martin Miller’s Gin – a review

Posted on June 1, 2015December 15, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

Martin Miller’s Gin is probably the most ‘mainstream’ gin that I have reviewed so far. By mainstream, I mean it is available in shops and bars, but it isn’t quite at the Gordon’s/Bombay Sapphire level.

Launched in 1999, the London Dry Gin made itself unique by blending the spirit with Icelandic water. Whilst it follows the traditional flavours and dryness, but is distilled twice – once with the juniper and ‘earthier’ botanicals which are later blended with the citrus elements – in this case “bitter orange peel from Seville, lemon and lime peel“. Bottled at 40%, this gin is what I would call mid-market – more expensive than a Gordon’s but not the pricey £30+ level of the ‘premium’ gins.

The bottle features a screw top, a sign of a mass produced gin. When opened it has a soft smell to it, not too harsh or dry, with the citrus notes coming through but not over powering. As per my usual method, I mixed the gin with equal amounts of water which released the smell of juniper, although not as intense as some of the other gins I have had. Soft on the tongue, the juniper comes through at the back and a slight bitterness on the front of the tongue hinting at the anise botanical. It tastes quite pure (if that makes sense) – they say it is blended with 100% pure Icelandic water “the properties of which give Martin Miller’s Gin it’s creamy soft palate”. I agree. Creamy isn’t a word I would usually use in this situation but it makes sense once you taste it. It rolls easily over the tongue, with flavour but not over powering.

G&T time. I found a bottle of Fevertree lurking in my kitchen (bonus) so made up a simple G&T (although I didn’t pay attention when I poured it leaving it around 50/50 gin to tonic. Not to everyone’s taste but I reckon that’s about right). As the weather is warming up ever so slightly I’m finding I like more ice in my drink; nothing says summer like a very cold G&T (preferably on the beach about 50 feet from my front door). It has a certain tang to it (this might be the gin or the amount of gin, not entirely certain). It reminds me of Blackwater no 5. in that whilst it certainly has character it isn’t overwhelming with flavour. Add a lime wedge and it comes alive. The extra citrus brings out the subtler flavours. It remains slightly bitter at the back of the throat and the dryness of the tonic enhances that (that taste is one of my favourite things about a G&T – ironically this is what I used to hate before I became a ginaholic). The taste lingers in your mouth. Probably not for those who aren’t a fan of a dry gin (you know who you are). Definitely one for those that like that.

At this point, I usually leave my review, but I’d read before that Martin Miller’s works well with strawberries and black pepper. 50ml gin. Ice. Sliced strawberries. Tonic. Black pepper. It’s lovely. The strawberries give a fruity twist against the dry tonic and the black pepper adds a lovely sense of bitterness. I’d recommend making one of these, plus you can’t go wrong with boozy fruit.

I got my bottle in Waitrose (I was feeling fancy and I treated myself) for £26 and they are currently offering 20% off all gin making it just £20.60 (so head down to get a proper fancy gin and make the most of it).

Don’t forget you can follow me on Twitter for daily ramblings and on Instagram for various blurry photos due to my iPhone’s old age.

The Great Escape 2015 – Day 3…

Posted on May 17, 2015December 15, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

Day three. The final day. My broken sleep-deprived body is screaming for me to stop but I force myself out of bed and head down to Green Door Store for the Canadian BBQ (this is the second year I’ve found myself here, always go check it out as there’s good music and free food). First up was 36? who “create ‘part pop, part art-rock, part psych-jazz'”. They were certainly different. I actually enjoyed the music, but was slightly put off by two things. Firstly, just before the set started the drummer took his jeans off so played the set in t-shirt and boxer shorts. Secondly, the singer makes for a wonderful front man with some epic dance moves. Sadly the dance moves turned into strange thrusting motions against his keyboard and guitar, and were accompanied by a wide eyed, verging on psychotic, stare into and around the crowd. I moved slightly to hide behind the people in front of me. After 36? I nearly left, but stuck it out for Young Benjamins. Best decision I’ve ever made. They were excellent. A four piece band from Saskatoon who combine pop, rock and folk influences to make brilliant music. Plus, they all smiled and laughed their way through the set which I love. The Great Escape tends to attract a very hipster crowd/bands who think enjoying themselves isn’t cool so stand, stony faced doing a subtle head nod, so it makes me happy to see people breaking this tradition. Sadly there are no photos of either of these bands due to my fear in the first act, and sheer enjoyment of the second.

I had 15 minutes to get from Green Door Store to Komedia to see Lawson. ‘That’s easy’ you say? Not on a Saturday in Brighton when the sun is out, it’s mid Festival, Fringe Festival and Great Escape and you’re navigating the North Laines full of tourists and antique stalls. But I made it. As I stepped in, the lights dimmed and screaming girls surrounded me. What I didn’t realise at this point is that they had sold extra tickets for this gig, so I spent the whole set wondering how a load of under age girls with no wristbands had been able to get in. They also have a bigger following than I realised. I knew one or two songs, but the audience were singing along to every word, screaming out their love for members of the band and having a proper party. They were good fun, lots of catchy pop tunes and being surrounded by a crowd that were so enthusiastic for every single word and note got me really caught up in the atmosphere. I turned a bit fan-girlish. It’s catching.

As we enter the final stretch and rock up to the Paganini Ballroom for Sonar Soul, we are excited for the evening ahead of us. Sadly, one song in, we decide we don’t like Sonar Soul so head to Patterns to be super early for Lonely the Brave. As we sit waiting on their unfinished terrace (the place is like a building site) watching the sun set on our final day of festivalling, we get a text from The Great Escape saying the downstairs room is at capacity. No problem, we go in the main room, tell the bouncer we’re going to the toilet, go downstairs and in the back door. Sneaky sneaky. Lonely the Brave were a good shout for the last night. Loud, danceable, fun. Although we spend the whole set wondering why the singer hides at the back of the stage with no light on him. Apart from singing, he doesn’t say anything. Talking is left to the guitarist who stands front and centre, in the spotlight. We leave pumped up and ready for the epic queue for the Maccabees.

We get distracted en route by the photo booth in the Spiegeltent. Anyone in Brighton should go. £2 a go. It’s a hoot.

I don’t know what happened to my face here.

Then we get to Corn Exchange. Even a few riotous games of Heads Up in the queue can’t distract us from the fact we stood in the cold for an hour and a half and only got let in half way through the set. But the Maccabees were worth it. We had spent the whole queue talking about Latchmere and its wave machine. Two minutes after walking in, they chat about playing new stuff, but also rediscovering old songs and they burst into LATCHMERE’S GOT A WAAAAAAAVE MACHINEEEE. It’s like they waited for us. What with it being the final night, the audience are excited and drunk, making the most of the last night. The atmosphere is electric, everyone is dancing and singing along. As they hit the last note, glitter explodes over the crowd. We leave happy, all bad memories of queuing pushed out of our minds as we walk home. Tiredness kicks in and I slept for nearly 9 hours.

Happy 10th Birthday Great Escape. We still love you. Thank you for the weekend.

Great Escape in numbers:

Bands seen: 22
Pints consumed: Too many to remember
Venues visited: 9
Average hours of sleep per night: 6

The Great Escape 2015 – Day 2…

Posted on May 15, 2015December 15, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

I survived day one. Hurrah. Day two started with the builders outside my window singing and clattering around at 8am, so I started my planning early.

Heading out at 1pm I return to my favourite place in May, the Spiegeltent, for the Northern Irish showcase – specifically Ciaran Lavery. Lovely ginger man in a brand new suit. My kinda man. He was the second act of the festival to rock the harmonica/guitar combo. Different vibe to Fraser A Gorman though. The audience is calm – this is probably due to a mix of hangovers, early afternoon gig and the beautiful calming tone of Mr Lavery’s voice. My sleep deprived body instinctively wants to curl up in a ball and fall asleep listening to his voice. Halfway through the second song, he interrupts himself to dedicate his set to anyone that walks in half way through thinking they were coming to an epic afternoon rave, but now had to stay out of politeness, before continuing with his set. Great voice and cracking sense of humour. Top marks.

Now for a real adventure: finding the Paganini Ballroom. Tucked in round the side of the Old Ship Hotel on the sea front and real different to everywhere else I’ve been. Balconies, chandeliers (classy, not Shoosh-esque monstrosities) and Regency carpets and wallpapers. Then Groenland burst onto stage. There is a lot of them on a tiny stage, so I was worried that the dancing might tip one off but they partied on like it wasn’t 3pm. They were brilliant. I enjoy anyone with a ukelele, violin, cello and melodica. Particularly the melodica. They quickly warmed the crowd up for a boogie and catchy clapping – sadly the girl behind me had no idea how to clap in time…

It’s evening. I’m outside Patterns again in what can only be described as a mahoosive queue. It turns out that it is because the venue isn’t open yet, so we move pretty quickly. Heading inside, the first thing I notice is the signs pointing towards the toilets – a relief after getting lost yesterday. A group of boys with wonderfully hipster hair appear on stage, everyone cheers, they start performing and people start looking confused. After the first song they thank everyone for coming out and introduce themselves as Osca. Now everyone looks very confused and starts pulling out their programmes. This is NOT Andy Shauf. As people start drifting out, the rest of us are rewarded with an uplifting and rousing set. When I get outside in the daylight, I see they were meant to be on after Mr Shauf. What happened to him?

I ponder this as I cross over to coalition (one of the only seafront clubs with the same name as my uni days) just in time for Beach Baby. A “London based four piece whose crisp, U.S-inspired take on apathetic alternative pop”. Coalition is rammed (I’ve never witnessed it empty) so I’m stood behind a post so no photos. Very uptempo and danceable. Not sure I would call them apathetic.

Aurora. Her show is definitely not suitable for epileptics. I know she’s only 18 but looks avoid 12. Big wide eyes, gesticulating hand motions. Her band create wonderful noise encompassing everyone in the venue. Rapturous applause from the crowd. “You make me blush and sweat”. Sadly this is another act ruined by drunk bar chattering. Running With The Wolves bought on huge applause, apart from the man next to me who seemed to refuse to clap the ENTIRE show. Judging from the crowd and twitter, she entralled every member of the crowd and made us all fall a bit in love with her.

I head to the Corn Exchange for my second queue of the night (again because the venue hasn’t opened) and basically run inside to see Rag n Bone Man. He does not disappoint. Three songs in he sings Lay My Body Down and I nearly started crying and then had to hold it together for the rest of the show. Deep, soulful voice. Lovely beard. To anyone wondering if they should go see him, yes. Yes is the answer.

He was followed by Sunflower Bean and DMA’s. I have to admit, I didn’t pay the closest attention here because I a) had found some friends and b) I had consumed 6 pints by this point. Apparently Sunflower Bean mixes Black Sabbath’s dark rock with psychedelia. DMA’s sound a lot like Oasis. A lot.

Then came Django Django. The reason I waited in Corn Exchange for two hours. The venue was at capacity. The crowd was pumped. They put on a great show as always. We had a boogie. We started to sweat. It was now nearly 1am and my sleep deprived body needed a rest.

Day at two has basically destroyed me. One day left!

The Great Escape 2015 – Day 1…

Posted on May 14, 2015December 15, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

Its that time of year again. Time to put a wristband on, grab a programme and spend three days queuing running around Brighton trying to catch as many of the 450+ gigs as possible. This year is The Great Escape‘s 10th birthday, and my seventh consecutive year. Year one was a failure, I had a day ticket and didn’t understand the queuing so saw a total of two bands. Year two we only did evenings due to uni deadlines. Year three I worked at the wristband exchange, told Fyfe Dangerfield’s wife I loved him more than she did and fan girdled obsessively over the Guillemots. Years 4, 5 and 6 we successfully partied and so I’m excited for what this year will bring.

The wristband exchanged has stayed at its new Spiegeltent home and this year features an inside exchange area (perfect for today’s weather!) leading into the Spiegeltent area. Felt like a proper festival and was worried I hadn’t bought my sleeping bag. Grabbing a programme I ran back through the rain to the downstairs of Komedia for the end of the Australian Showcase. I arrived in time for Fraser A Gorman, a lad with a mighty head of hair (not that dissimilar to my fathers hair in the 70s) hailing from Melbourne. Considering it was 3pm on the first day, the room was packed and from the cheers arising from the crowd as song names were mentioned, he clearly has a following here in the UK. He kickstarted the set with “Better take your washing off the line because it’s raining” – very apt for the rain sodden city outside. Featuring catchy riffs, harmonicas and brand new tambourines, his set was good fun and got me in the mood for the weekend. Uplifting and highly bop-able.

Deciding against going back out into the rain I stayed inside for Holy Holy, which the programme describes as “huge, full band builds and crescendos, mixing distorted duelling guitars with warm, close harmonies and wild percussive rhythms.” Certainly a mouthful. As the room filled up around me and the buzz started to build, I started to think I had picked a winner. Hearing them for the first time reminded me of when I first saw Prides. Slightly blown away by the noise, and intrigued as to how much sound could come from so few people. They did indeed have full band builds and crescendos. They also had a bassist so tall I thought he would hit his head, and a guitarist that looked like Jesse Bradford in Bring It On but with Jon Snow’s hair (GoT Jon Snow, not channel 4 news Jon Snow).

So it’s now 11:30pm and I have survived my first day. After a trip home for food and Strongbow (don’t judge me) I journeyed across to Kemptown to Patterns. Which used to be Audio and now features glitterballs as its 80s name would suggest. But the bouncer fist bumped me on the way in so I’m a fan. Between that and paying £4.20 for a cider I got lost en route to the toilets and made many friends all equally as lost. Basically Patterns, sort your signage out. Patterns doesn’t help its 80s disco name with its decor. Neon blue and green on the walls, with pink fluorescent lights and mic cables. Here I saw Jagaara, a three piece sister act with some strong eyebrow game. Half an hour of dreamy electronic pop later, I headed upstairs and caught the end of Cold Fronts who were singing Sinatra’s ‘ I love you baby’ which was both brilliant as the singer wound his way through the crowd and on to the bar, and horrible because I had Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You flashbacks (RIP Patrick Verona). Plus I wanted to wash all of their hair.

After the ‘rock’ fest I was treated to the acoustic delights of Tenterhook. Sadly, he was ruined by the chatter going on by the bar which drowned out his singing, but he was wonderful. And wearing double denim, because, when in Brighton. He channelled his inner Ed Sheeran as he hit the high notes, and was the only act I saw tonight that didn’t make a joke about the horrible weather.

After my trip to Patterns, I went to Shoosh, That is a sentence I never thought I would say. It is as hideous as I expected. White chandeliers. Seriously. They then charged £4.50 for a bottle of Rekorderlig and she threw half of it away because it wouldn’t fit in the plastic glass. Luckily Astronomyy kicked off their set with “Nothin on my mind“. 30 minutes of catchy electro pop later, they (along with Jagaara) proved you don’t need a bassist to be great. Plus they sampled some Destiny’s Child “Say my name” which I NEVER object to.

10pm. Heading to Brighton Spiegletent. One of my favourite things about the Festival. I grabbed myself a £6 cocktail from the van (gin, elderflower, cucumber, soda and lemon – very sugary, very alcoholic) and headed into the tent for Fismoll. Two guitars and a cello. Half the crowd gathered on the floor. It’s a touch time slot. The majority of people at this time are tanked up and ready to party so for a band to hold their own at this time is an achievement. Quiet. Calming. Soothing.

Got me perfectly ready to come home and sleep (by sleep, I mean write this). So I didn’t make it to Jack Garratt, but he is playing tomorrow so all is not lost.

Don’t forget I’m on Twitter for random updates of who I’ve seen.

Blackwater No. 5 Gin – a review

Posted on March 4, 2015December 15, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

A few weeks ago I made a wonderful life choice that my bank account doesn’t quite agree with. I signed up to Craft Gin Club, getting a premium, craft gin delivered to my door monthly (well, I get it every 3 months because I can’t quite afford the £40 fee every month). I was very excited when they tweeted a photo of a van packed full of boxes, and even more so when I received my edition of Ginned! which said more about the gin I was about to get to taste.

As some background, Blackwater Distillery is based in Ireland, on the banks of the Blackwater River (unsurprisingly). Their gin (Blackwater No. 5) is new, the first commercial batch came off the still on February 9th, and is the first craft gin to come out of Ireland.

Let’s start with the bottle. What a beautiful bottle it is. The picture you see through the bottle depicts the 90 degree turn that the river makes. The design is simple yet so effective. I currently up cycle my nicer (empty) alcohol bottles by filling them with fairy lights, but that’s not going to happen to this one. Once this is finished and I’ve finished sobbing about my loss, this will sit as it is, the stunning label standing as decoration on its own.

Now I’ve finished nerding over the label, let’s move on to the gin. And oh what a gin it is.

So I returned to my pretentious tasting method as first demonstrated in my review of Brighton Gin. I added equal amounts of gin and water to a cup to release the aromas. The first thing I can smell is the juniper and citrus notes. It smells very clean – and most importantly for my untrained nose, no nasty sharp alcohol smells (something I haven’t missed since my student days of Asda value vodka. Even the thought of that brings back bad memories). The first sip is very smooth. Just the simple taste of juniper and citrus. They claim that they have liquorice botanicals in it, which I can’t taste but I’m fine with that as I’m not a liquorice fan, but there is a satisfying tang at the back of the mouth.

After a few sips I felt I should make a G&T to really test it/not just drink straight gin all evening. I had run out of Fevertree tonic so plumped for the solid Schweppes and a lime wedge for good measure. It made one of the best gin and tonics I’ve ever had. The coriander tastes come through more clearly when mixed with the tonic. It’s clean, smooth and simple. Exactly what a G&T needs to be. I love the citrus taste (I usually make gin and bitter lemon at home because I’m an old lady). Very drinkable. Worryingly drinkable as I can see an evening disappearing into that bottle with no problem at all.

The gin is currently listed on the Blackwater Distillery website but it isn’t available to order so I can’t encourage you to buy it quite yet, but when this comes out, get one. I think this gin will suit all palettes – except possibly those people who enjoy the strong alcohol flavour of a drink. But for those that want a lovely, uncomplicated drink to sip on in an evening, this is it.

If this is the standard that I will be getting with every delivery, then I would love for someone to fund the monthly subscription for me (and buy me a drinks trolley as our kitchen is overflowing…)

Remember, you can follow me on Twitter and see more of my terrible photos on Instagram.

The Salt Room

Posted on February 23, 2015May 15, 2015 by jennyinbrighton

I’m going to start by apologising. I actually went to The Salt Room a week ago. Then I was lazy and it was my housemates birthday and I was lazy again. But here we go.

So because said housemate (thanks Jenny Bernarde!) does some of The Salt Room’s marketing, we got invited to the soft launch on Wednesday (ahead of the main opening on the Friday. I felt well fancy) where we got 50% off food which was even more exciting. I’ve been following The Salt Room on Twitter since they announced it, then they released the menu the day before we went so I was very much looking forward to going.

From the outside the building looks slick and upmarket – a long terrace across the front of the Hilton which opens in the summer and is heated in the winter gives views over ~~the main road~~ the seafront with the Palace Pier to the left, the West pier to the right. We walk in to find the standard exposed brick that now features in every pub and restaurant combined with fresh white walls and great lighting (until it gets a bit later when the light drops and we have a few issues reading the menu).

We were seated at our table next to the window (lovely views in the summer I’m sure, night time in February – slightly less so) and started pouring over the drinks menu. A long list of wine, cocktails and a special gin and Tonica menu with no Bombay Sapphire in sight (hurrah!). I settled for the Garden Fizz – beefeater gin, sage, dried citrus, lemon and bitters. These are my favourite things (admittedly sage isn’t usually in my cocktails but gin and lemon are made for each other) so I was very happy. The gin and tonic of the birthday girl came in a balloon glass which, according to our waitress, holds a pint of liquid. I’m currently finding some for my flat.

Now the food:

Starters – one lobster and shellfish cocktail, one salt baked and smoked beetroot with goat curd, cocoa nibs and blood orange. I can only vouch for the beetroot, but it’s safe to say my saying “everything is better smoked” remains true for beetroot. The only thing I would have changed would be to have a slightly smaller piece of beetroot – mine was quite large and after a while you realise you are just eating a whole beetroot. Lovely as it was, perhaps just slightly smaller in the future.

Mains – one steak (ordered well done but arrived beautifully pink in the middle), one shrimp and crab burger and one spiced monkfish (mine).

The monkfish was meaty and soft – my complaint here was that it appeared to be a big medallion of flesh, only to dive in and find the big tailbone running through the middle (and sadly I felt it was too nice a place to pick the bone up and suck the flesh off). That aside, it was lovely. Pickled cauliflower and ginger were wonderful and went well with the subtly spiced monkfish.

Having stolen a piece of crab burger, I want to go back purely to eat more of that. Small shrimps combined with crab meat made for an interesting burger – a mix of textures from the meaty shrimp and the flaky crab work well with the bun and flavoured mayo. The fries that accompanied the burger and the steak were salty and crispy and perfect – and it’s nice to not see sweet potato fries on a menu for once!

As our dishes were whisked away we started lusting over the pudding that had been delivered to the table next to us. Made to share, the Taste of the Pier platter features candy floss, mini 99’s, donuts, marshmallows, chocolate pebbles and honeycomb. Unfortunately our full bellies didn’t allow us to order one but next time I’ll forgo the starter to give it a good go!

Whilst the food was wonderful, there were a few little problems. Whilst they were super quick taking our order, we waited over 15 minutes for our drinks, 25 minutes for our after dinner drinks which never arrived so we asked for the bill, which took another 10 minutes to arrive. The lobster and shellfish cocktail had bits of shell throughout which was tricky to see through the sauce leaving my companion to pick bits out of his mouth (super attractive). I presume these are all teething issues that will be worked out when they’ve been open a bit longer. The 50% off food helped to make me not mind about the waiting, and I would certainly go back again.

I want to go back to try all of the gins. And all of the cocktails. And should probably give the wine list a good go. Then it’s on to the steak, the crab and prawn burger, the fire roasted crab claws, the raw beef, the cured salmon, the turbot, the taste of the pier…

Basically all of the food and drink. In my belly. Preferably with someone else picking up the bill.

You can perv on The Salt Room’s menus on their website www.saltroom-restaurant.co.uk and they’re on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

If you enjoy my rambling I’m on Twitter and my blurry pictures are on Instagram.

H.en – a review

Posted on January 26, 2015December 15, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

Thanks to working with Laura Evans, I find out about new restaurants because she gets invited to openings and to review them (check out Places I Eat). When she mentioned H.en – a nicer Nandos – I gave it a google. Never, I repeat NEVER, google ‘hen Brighton’. All that comes up are photos and articles showcasing the worst of Brighton (take note potential hen parties: you are not welcome here. We [I] hate you). But I persevered and found their menu online and forced the boy to join me for dinner there on Friday evening. We arrived about 8.30pm and we rounded customer numbers up to 10. I was expecting it to be busier, but this always happens when we go out before pay day. The restaurant is decorated as most new restaurants in Brighton are – unfinished walls and tables, a less is more kinda thing.

So we took a table in the corner and one of the staff bought over their menus. The options are a quarter or half a chicken with two sides, or (as we went for) a chicken burger (plus a veggie burger option). We both went for sweet potato fries with our burgers (the other options: corn on the cob, salad or halloumi) because we, like the majority of Brighton, are pretty obsessed with sweet potato fries.

The burgers arrived and we were very excited. Sauces were delivered in three little bottles – the Herbie, the Miles and the Duke. Sadly, the teeny tiny nozzles get a bit blocked, and my childish impatience led to one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever done. As I squeezed the bottle to try to get some sauce out, the lid popped off and sauce hit my plate with such force that it rebounded over the table, my fries, my face, my hair and my clothes. Obviously as this point I yelled quite loudly and Dan laughed at me. A lot. Luckily we had sat at the table nearest the toilet so I ran out and hid in the toilet to wipe my face and hair clean and slunk back in to eat my dinner.

The photo of my plate is after I had cleaned up the table. Face not shown.

Sauce was literally everywhere. But anyway. The food. The burger was huge. It was basically half a fried chicken in a bun. A big pot of fries to go with it. I really enjoyed my meal (post sauce explosion) but I had two issues (other than the sauce bath). Firstly, bits of the chicken burger were quite dry which I can only assume is because parts of it were so thick (but I had lots of sauce in my plate so I managed with that easily enough) and secondly the fries were more like stumps. The fries themselves were probably some of the best sweet potato fries I’ve eaten in Brighton, but the average length of each chip was about 1cm.

But moving on to the good bits. The fried chicken was nice and crispy and not soggy and greasy. The sauces were delicious (what was left of them anyway). The Herbie was light and citrusy, the Miles had a nice tomato warmth to it and the Duke had a nice chili kick that I LOVE in a sauce. All worked brilliantly with the burger, and I imagine a grilled chicken portion would be delicious dunked in all three of these. The bottles were an issue, and as we left we heard another table suggesting they put them in pots instead so you can actually get them onto your plate. H.en say on their website that they are the first “local and happy (high welfare) chicken shop”. I wasn’t able to work out from the taste whether my chicken was free-range but there was certainly a lot of meat. And it made me happy so I’d like to think the chicken was happy as well.

I am definitely planning on going back to H.en. But next time, I’m going to unscrew the lids from the sauce bottles.

To save yourself the horrors of drunk women stumbling around Brighton, you can check out H.en’s website here: www.henrestaurant.com/ and they are on Twitter here.

If you like my ramblings then I too am on Twitter and for more food and gin photos, check out my Instagram

Makara, Hove – review

Posted on December 17, 2014May 15, 2015 by jennyinbrighton

I don’t want to start this post with a lie so I’m going to be open and say it: I’ve had a few glasses of wine. I also forgot that I am now a ‘blogger’ so I have one photo of my food, and it’s not the food-porn Instgrammed photo you’re all hoping for. But more of that later.

So today was our work dinner. After trying and failing to get into Curry Leaf Cafe, we settled on Makara on Church Road, Hove. I walk past this place twice a day to get to and from work and every day I think “oh, that looks nice”. And that is about as far as it went.

When it got suggested in the office I did as we all do, instantly googled it and read the menu every ten minutes throughout the day trying to decide what sounded best. After a cheeky glass of wine at Blind Busker, we trekked the 10 feet across the road and entered the restaurant. The first thing that hits you is a wall of heat. Then the smell. Oh my that smell. The smell of meat and spice and everything nice. We got seated at our table at the back and ordered some wine (white) and water for the table. The water arrived in the fashionable Kilner bottles that are super trendy and everywhere yet I still want desperately for my flat. Along with the water came some hummus and hot, greasy flatbread that was beautiful on an empty stomach and a glass of wine (I realise greasy sounds like a negative review but I actually mean this in the best way, it was delicious!)

We decided that the best idea for seven people would be to get two of the cold mezze to share plus hot starters. We (I) specifically requested the vine leaves to be included in the cold mezze (6 of the cold starters) but apart from that we left it to them. We got a selection of artichoke (which sadly got nommed before it got passed down to my end of the table), vine leaves, hummus, cacik (yogurt and cucumber), kisir (bulgur with onion and tomato) and more. The vine leaves were minty and fresh as hoped, and the bread went beautifully with the various forms of hummus/yogurt dip. Looking back now as I write this, I should have asked exactly what we were eating. Alas, it is too late. For hot starters we had falafel balls (crispy on the outside and yummy in the middle and served with more hummus), grilled halloumi (which is basically the food of the gods and so can never be wrong or bad with its squeaky goodness) and prawns with garlic and chili (which had a very good spicy kick to them, which when paired with one of the yogurt dressings was a delight).

Our waitress was really nice and attentive despite it being rammed with Christmas parties and couples and groups of friends, our water was always topped up and she was quick at delivering and clearing all of our plates.

About a minute after our starters were cleared, the mains arrived. Never in my life has a main appeared so quickly. As one plate was removed another was placed in front of me. And another basket of bread arrived. This is me at my happiest. After a lot of discussion I settled on Iskander (grilled minced lamb with yogurt and tomato sauce on pita bread cubes with rice and salad) only to be told that they no longer serve that. Instead of throwing a strop I went for my second choice of Ali Nazik (sautéed lamb with smoky aubergine purée with yogurt and garlic, with rice and salad on the side).

The salad was cold and fresh and was a welcome change after the richer sauces, the rice was nice and dry and worked brilliantly at soaking up my auberginey-yogurty sauce (which was also lovely and smokey and was a good combination of spicy and creamy). My one disappointment was my lamb. Whilst it was flavoured beautifully with various spices, I seemed to get the fattiest bits of lamb. It was helpfully already cut up into small pieces, but the lamb itself was quite tough and chewy. Which was a shame as it tasted great, but gnawing on bits of fat isn’t my thing.

No one else seemed disappointed with their meal. Indeed someone else had the same dish as me and had no complaints so I am hoping that I just sadly got the short straw with the bits I was served. I was surrounded by lamb kofte, tavuk sis (chicken breast with pepper and garlic – one complaint here. Again beautifully flavoured but was a bit dry. A spoonful of my sauce helped) and lamb chop-esque meals.

Complaints aside, I managed to scoff my whole meal so I can’t have hated it that much. And here comes the one photo that I took.

Whilst I wasn’t 100% happy with my main meal, I enjoyed every other second of my meal and would happily go back again to try out the rest of their menu. The only reason I made a fairly quick decision about my main meal was because I had stared at the menu for most of the day. Particularly with the starters, I believe my remark was “I will happily eat every item on this menu. In fact, if you can bring me one of everything that will be great”. This is my first experience of eating Turkish food in a restaurant and it certainly won’t be my last.

I realise this is a fairly shoddy review, but I’m learning. Next time I will hold off filling my mouth just long enough to take a photo. And I will pay attention to what I am eating.

You can read Makara’s menu here and you can follow them on Twitter here.

For more of my daily witterings you can follow me on Twitter and for some slightly better photos of food and gin, I am also on Instagram.

Jenny in Brighton

I'm Jenny and I live in Brighton

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