Bibis Italianissimo - Leeds

 

 Bibis was a restaurant that people Dan worked with had recommended. Needless to say, we ate there the first month we were in Leeds and I am just now writing it up. I, personally would not recommend this place, unless you sat in the bar and ordered apps and drinks. The pizza was good as were the Prawns Diavola, but the meal it self was bad and overpriced. The Pollo Parmigiana that I ordered was down right disgusting and pretty much inedible. The eggplant was slimy and the chicken was a little on the strange side, I never could figure out how they cooked it. Dan had the Tortellini Carne and it was just okay. The service was slow and inattentive, I suppose that's why they automatically add the gratuity. That in itself is reason enough not too eat there. They do serve Peroni Gran Reserva, which is a plus and a wonderful beer, but not enough to get me back. The meal came to 66 pounds, which is 90 American, that's way to expensive for bad Italian!

 

Piccolino - Liverpool

This past weekend, Dan and I went to Liverpool. We made reservations at Piccolino for dinner, they are part of the Individual Restaurant Group. One of our favorite Leeds' restaurants is The Restaurant which is also in that group. The space was nice, open and very well appointed, if not a little noisy. The music was very loud, which in turn leads to louder conversation from the diners. The service was very slow and we sat the table for over 10 minutes before a male server came to us and told us someone would get our drink order shortly.
Finally a woman showed up and took our orders. Dan had a large glass of Shiraz for 6.75 pounds and I had a large Montepulciano for 7.25, both were good. Dan started with the Caprese Salad (7.50) and I had the Barbabietola Salad (7.95).  Both salads were very good and the horseradish dressing on mine was perfect with the beets on the salad.
Long pause before main dishes arrive.

For dinner Dan had the Lasagna al Forno (10.50) and was a little disappointed with it. It was swimming in béchamel and did not have much substance, he much prefers the lasagna at Jamie's Italian. I ordered the Pollo ai Fungi (15.95), a wonderful plate of roasted, sliced chicken and mushrooms with delicate and fluffy gnocchi in a garlic cream sauce. I also ordered a side of the Broccoletti (3.95) a plate of tender young broccoli with red chillis and garlic butter, which we both enjoyed.
For dessert I ordered the Torta di Limone (6.25), a lemon polenta cake with carmelized oranges and vanilla mascarpone. It was very tasty and the mascarpone was wonderful. Dan ordered a dish of ice cream (5.50), which comes with three scoops that are house made. Dan asked if he could have three different flavors and they said yes. He had the vanilla, Vin Santo and roast almond. The ice creams were good, but were pretty much a soup by the time they arrived at the table, so you could not distinguish which ice cream was which. I also ordered a glass of Moscato (4.95) that was very nice.
Overall the food was good, the service when it appeared was good, but painfully slow.
They are located at 14a Cook St Liverpool L2 9QU  0151-236-2555.

Jamie's Italian - Edinburgh

On our first day in Edinburgh, the weather started to turn nasty in the afternoon with huge wind gusts and rain. It was the kind of weather where you saw the trash bins and sidewalks littered with the remains of broken umbrellas. We were already in the "new town", which faces the "old town". New town was built between 1765 and 1850 and many of the original buildings still stand. Our hotel was a bit of a walk from there so we decided to find Jamie's Italian while there. I had made a 7:45 PM booking and we thought we should see where it was before making the trip back up the hill in the weather. We decided it was not that far of a walk and we could always grab a taxi if the weather remained bad. After cleaning up in our room and taking a short rest we were ready to brave the weather and head back to Jamie's. Once outside, the weather had changed, the sky was clear and the moon was almost full. It was a beautiful evening for a stroll.
We arrived at the restaurant at the appointed time and had to wait for about 15 minutes for our table. The place was packed and the staff was hopping. The bar here is larger than the one in Leeds and we scored a table without stools. Dan tried to order beers at the bar, but they were very busy and he gave up knowing we would get buzzed as soon as he ordered. We were finally seated and were happy with our table. The restaurant is much larger than Leeds, with three levels of dining in an open space.
Our waitress took our beer orders, Messinas (3.95 pounds) for both of us and our starters. Dan ordered a meat plank (£6.85) that had fennel salami, pistachio mortadella, prosciutto & schiacciata picante, buffalo mozzarella with chilli & mint, pecorino & amazing chilli jam, green chillies, best green olives, Gaeta & caper berries and a salad of  shaved carrots, beets, lemon and mint. I ordered the Tuscan Bean and Capezzana Olive Oil Bruschetta (3.75 pounds) which was braised beans & creamy mozzarella on grilled sourdough, drizzled with stunning Capezzana Special Reserve 2013 olive oil. We also ordered the  Italian Bread Selection (3.75pounds) with homemade rosemary focaccia, sourdough, crispy "music bread", ciabatta & tortano with olive oil & balsamic . All were amazingly good.

 For dinner Dan ordered the Tagliatelle Bolognese (9.95) a ragu of British beef and pork, with herds, Chianti, Parmesan and crunchy breadcrumbs. He also ordered a glass of the House red for 6.95 pounds and I ordered another Messina. The sauce was incredible with the house made pasta. I ordered the best meal though. The Turkey Milanese (12.25) was one of the best things I have ever eaten! A large fried  turkey cutlet stuffed with prosciutto and fontal cheese, topped with a fried free-range egg and a generous amount of shaved truffle! The flavors were so perfect together, the lemony crunchy turkey and black truffles dipped in the egg yolk was out of this world. I also ordered a side of the yummiest Braised cabbage (3.45) with crispy pancetta and Parmesan crust.
At this point we were stuffed and I remembered I had not shown the waitress my Gold Jamie's Card. With the card she brought us a couple of tasters and some chocolates for Christmas. I even got 10 pounds off the meal for using it the first time. It was a perfect meal, with great food and good service!
They are located at The Assembly Rooms 54 George St. Edinburgh, EH2 2LR  911-9131-49
 

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Tomato Sauce with Mushrooms and Pork & Leek Sausage

On Sunday, I asked Dan what he wanted for dinner on Monday night and he said pasta. I figured this would be an easy dish to prepare, because all of the ingredients could be found at one store, right? Wrong. Just like most other meals I prepare, I end up going to multiple stores to find all of the ingredients. This time my search was for a proper Italian sausage. I started at Kirkgate and could find none. Sainsbary's no. Tesco no. So I headed all the way up to Morrison's. This was my first trip there and I was very excited because this was a large grocery store. They actually have a frozen food section!! They had practically every kind of sausage that I could hope for , but no Italian! Come on, they had prosciutto, chorizo, hot dogs, brats and Polish, but no Italian. I ended up buying a pork and leek sausage that was okay. Next time I will just buy some pork mince (ground) and season it appropriately. My other problem was that I only have one large sauce pan, so I ended up having to make the sauce and pour it into a baking dish. I then placed that in the oven to keep warm until I cooked the pasta.

 

 

 

Tomato Sauce w/ Mushrooms and Pork & Leek Sausage

 

Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a large sauce pan. Add 1 small onion chopped, about 1/2 cup and 170 grams sliced mushrooms. Saute for 10 minutes until soft. Add 4 cloves garlic, minced and cook for 1 minute. Add 1 tsp. Italian seasonings a few grinds of black pepper and salt.

 

Add 200 grams of crumbled sausages (3 removed of casings) and cook through.

 

Add 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning, I bay leaf, 1 (430g) jar of Passata Tomato Sauce with basil, 1 (220g) Can of chopped Italian tomatoes with juice, 1/4 cup red wine and 2 tsp. sugar.

 

Add 1/4 cup water to the tomato jar and give it a good shake to get out all of the tomato goodness and add to sauce pan.

 

Bring to boil, reduce and simmer, stirring often for 1 hour. Adjust seasonings, remove bay leaf and serve over favorite pasta.

San Carlo - Leeds

 



 On Friday the 18th of October we set out to dine at the Adelphi across the street. The place was so crowded that the people were spilling out the front door. We checked up stairs, but this was not going to happen. We decided to walk up to San Carlo, about 15 minutes from the apartment. Here we were in luck, they did have a table. We were seated and this wonderful little bowl of olives was waiting for us. Fortunately for me, Dan cannot stand olives, so I was able to eat them all. They seemed to be marinated in a garlic, herb, olive oil, red chili mixture. Simple, but delicious. I had already eaten 2 of them before I took the picture. The menu here is quite extensive, pretty much what you would see in Italy. The staff all seemed to be Italian also.

 We decided to share a bottle of Chianti (26 pounds .50). It was a good choice and perfect with our meal. We started out with these amazing BBQ Spare ribs (7 pounds .80) that were so rich and meaty and quite good. The gravy that served with these was unbelievably good. We used utensils to eat ours, but did notice others eating them with their hands. That was why they provided a bowl of water when they served them.

 

We both had ordered the Insalata San Carlo ( 4 pounds .75). We did not know what to expect, but we were served these beautiful and large salads of pomodorino tomatoes and fresh mozzarella balls served over shredded lettuce with an incredible basil dressing. The bread around the bowls was paper thin and crispy. This was delicious and we really could have stopped eating at this point.

Pastas were up next. I ordered a wonderful Zitoni Toscanini (11 pounds .75), long tubular pasta topped with a rich tomato and sausage sauce that was so very good. Dan ordered the Gnocchi Sorrentino (10 pounds .95) His was okay, just a little eon the plain side. Of course we couldn't eat all of the pasta and asked for take away boxes. The staff seemed a little put off by this and felt that we did not like the food . We simply wanted room for dessert, but the request was met with some resistance. We did get our boxes and then we left them after all of that trouble!

For dessert we ordered profiteroles (5 pounds .10) and they were very good. A great way to end a meal! The food here was a little pricey, but it seems that everything here is a little pricey. Next time we would order less food and make sure that we ate it all!

 

Tel: +44 (0)113 246 1500

Email: leeds@sancarlo.co.uk

 

6-7 South Parade, Leeds LS1 5QX   

Jamie's Italian - Leeds

This past Monday, on one of my exploring Leeds expeditions, I looked across the street and saw a sign that read Jamie's Italian. Of course I ran across the street to see if it was actually what I thought it was and to my surprise it was. A Jamie Oliver restaurant!! Jamie Oliver has been one of my favorite chefs for years, from the early Naked Chef series to his wonderful Jamie at Home. When I met Dan at the train station that night I promptly walked him up the street to see the place. We would eat there the following evening.
When you first walk in, there is a little shop with some of Jamie's items on sale. You walk up a short flight of steps to the get your table. We were seated immediately and the place was pretty busy. The interior is a blend of modern and rustic with a small bar and a large kitchen open to the dining room. We had a very good waitress named Nejra, who had a great personality. The food came out slowly , but it was all worth it. We started with a special appetizer (4 pounds .50), a 3 cheese fried gnocchi with an arrabbiatta dipping sauce that was served on a plank. Great presentation for a great starter! The gnocchi were crispy on the outside and pillowy on the inside. We followed that up with the simple green salad (3 pounds .25) that came with a nice yogurt dressing on the side that was really good topped off with a squeeze of fresh lemon.

 

For dinner I had the pumpkin tortellini (10 pounds .25), which had to be one of the best meals I have ever eaten! The flavors of this dish worked so well together, fried sage leaves, pumpkin, red chilies, amaretto cookie crumbles and butter! Dan had the equally amazing lasagna ( 10 pounds .75), which featured an amazing Bolognese sauce and pumpkin. We ordered lemon meringue pie for dessert ( 4 pounds .95). It was served with a pistachio brittle and candied grapefruit peel. The pie was perfect, a great way to end the meal.
We both started our meals with beer, Dan opted for the Liberta, which is Jamie's brew and it was good. I ordered the Messina, an Italian beer that I had never heard of and I liked it as well. We both ordered the house wine with our meals, Dan the red, me the white. They were both good as well. We will be back, often.

 

They are located at 35 Park Row LS1 5JL 0113-3225-400 www.jamiesitalian.com . Also check out Jamie's nice website www.jamieoliver.com .

Ciao Bella - Leeds

Even in a new city, with lots of new choices, the age old question "what do you want for dinner?" is followed up by "I don't know, what do you want?".  After looking on the Internet and checking reviews against the distance to walk, we decided on Ciao Bella, an Italian place a short walking distance from our apartment. Not a bad choice! We arrived at 7:15 and we're surprised to find out that we were still in time for the early bird special, which ends at 7:30! Awesome! It seems to be the norm in the local Italian restaurants. So, for 11 pounds 95, you get a large choice from a three course menu ,or you can choose 1 or 2 items for less. We went for the 3 course and they were full courses, no skimping here.

The owner came to the table to take orders, it seems that he did this for everyone. When I asked what the soup special was, he had to repeat himself twice and we neither one ever understood what he said. Needless to say, I did not order the soup. Dan ordered the Caprese salad, that had lots of fresh mozzarella and tomatoes in a basil dressing. The tomatoes weren't the best ,since they are out of season, but still good. I had the bruschetta, one was a tomato topping the other roasted peppers and both were very good. We both ordered pizzas, Dan mushroom and ham, me salami. Both were good, thin and crispy covered in a light sauce and cheese topping.

Both of us had pint glasses of Peroni, which were served in pint sized Peroni glasses and ice cold! Needless to say, the walk home was a little unstable. When Dan asked the owner what the dessert special was he answered "foodge cake". Again he said this twice, Dan ordered it anyway and was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful fudge cake that came to the table. I ordered the Italian ice creams, which consisted of a scoop of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry covered in a strawberry sauce. Overall it was a good experience. The waitresses that actually serviced the tables were a little nonexistent and had to be called over for everything. We will go back though. They are located at 20 Dock Street Leeds LS10 1JF 0113-246-9444 www.ciaobellarestaurant.co.uk