Pub Crawls with Jezza

It's been a while... sorry about that... but let's not dwell on the issue as I have a new post for you all!

Inspired by a recent Exposed magazine post about dogs in Sheffield pubs, I decided it was time that I did a post on the subject too. 

Our Jez is a retired racing greyhound which means he didn't have a normal doggy upbringing and our house is the first house he's ever lived in. And he'd certainly never been on a pub crawl!

My husband and I decided to make it our mission to mould him into the perfect dog to take with us on a day out to the pub and we've pretty much succeeded. Once a quivering wreck in busy environments, Jez actually gets giddy whenever we tell him we're going to the pub... and that he's coming with us!

Over the last 18 months or so that we've had him, we've sussed out how to make him as comfortable as possible in the pub. He's a boney thing and he needs a bit of protection if he's going to be sitting on hard floors all day so we take an old yoga mat for him to lie on. This also helps to keep him calm - it's his bed and he knows to lie down on it when it comes out of the bag. We also take a load of treats, his food (in case we're out for longer than expected - which we generally are) and a water bowl (which we tend to fill up with iced water - he just loves crunching on ice cubes!).

City Centre

Initially we weren't sure that we'd ever be able to take him into town - it can get really busy and some of the pubs and bars seem unlikely places for dogs. But we've found some brilliant places and we regularly enjoy a pub crawl in town! These are the pubs and bars I can recommend to other dog owners...

The Great Gatsby
Yep, the busy party bar is dog friendly - I'd stick to the day time/mid-week evenings if I were you though!
The Rutland Arms
The carpet is always welcomed by Jezza's boney arse and chef Rico sometimes has dog treats, such as pigs' ears, on the menu.
Brewdog
The Sheffield Tap
The Three Tuns
More carpet.
Head of Steam
Devonshire Cat
Note that dogs are only allowed in the carpet free zones.
The Bath Hotel
The Red Deer

Kelham Island

I'm pretty sure there isn't a pub down Kelham Island that doesn't let dogs in, but these are our favourites.

Shakespeare's
Kelham Island Tavern
Gardener's Rest

Out of Town

The Broadfield
The Cremorne
Hop Hideout
That's right - not only can you drink in, but you can take your pooch in too!
Picture House Social
As long as your dog likes stairs (a lot of greyhounds don't) then you'll like PHS.
New Barrack Tavern
Wisewood Inn
Hallamshire House
The Closed Shop
Hillsborough Hotel

Recommendations from others

The Greystones
Norfolk Arms
Sheaf View
The Blake Hotel

Can anyone recommend any more? Just let me know in the comments. Cheers!!

Starmore Boss Tasting Sessions

Last night I went to a Starmore Boss sherry tasting night at The Rutland Arms. It was brilliant.

A couple of months back I went to a Starmore Boss whisky tasting night at The Bath Hotel. It was brilliant.

(And I dont even like whisky...)

The upshot is that the Starmore Boss tasting nights are brilliant (good value, informative and fun).

Follow them on twitter for more info and get yourself to the next one.  

Anchorage Bar and Kitchen, Sheffield

With all the doom and gloom about the state of independents in Sheffield (the sheer lack of them - especially in the city centre), I'm extraordinarily excited about West One's newest addition - Anchorage Bar and Kitchen.

Holding itself out as an East Coast kitchen (with a Jewish deli inspired menu for casual dining), Anchorage is like no other bar/restaurant in Sheffield. With fresh oysters, rack of pig and old bay buttermilk chicken on the main menu, Anchorage is ticking a few of my boxes. The added option to scoff meats and cheeses (in Friends of Ham style) from the Jewish deli menu is the icing on the cake as I've been desperate for somewhere to go for a good slab of cheese and a pint.

However, the drinks menu, for me, is the cherry on top of that rather delicious cake. The wine has been carefully selected and I think most, if not all, of my favourite grapes are on the list. They also have the highly regarded Kung Fu Girl Riesling - one that I've been wanting to try for AGES! There are some interesting beers too - some on tap - the rest in bottles and you can expect to find the usual suspects from America (Anchor, Brooklyn, Flying Dog, Founders and Goose Island), a few Belgian and Trappist beers (a style that I don't know too much about to be honest) along with a few unusual bottles from the likes of Nøgne ø and Kiuchi Brewery.

But it's probably the cocktail section of the drinks menu that really excites me and I'm in my element with the likes of the sazerac, Aperol spritz and Manhattan on there. However, the absolute highlight has got to be the dirty martini which is served with a side of Dolcelatte cheese!! 

Of course, all this is very well and good, but reading a couple of menus doesn't really give you the full feel of a place does it? But I've been in twice now - once on the press night and once to try out the deli menu - and I can only say good things (although service was a little slow on my second trip - something that's always the case with new restaurants and something that will sort itself out).

Firstly, the place is gorgeous. Clean, light and bright, Anchorage is a far cry from the dark Fitzwilliam & West/Bar 23 that previously occupied the unit. I won't bang on about the décor too much though - just check out the pic below...

Secondly, the pairing of dirty martini with Dolcelatte cheese is as amazing as it sounds, and looks.

And finally, the deli menu is fabulous. Bresaola, Fontina and olives set me back £9.50 and they came served with pickled gherkins, focaccia and squid ink bread. All in all it was pretty filling for what was supposed to just be a quick, if luxurious, snack!

I'm hoping to go back for more soon... I need to try the full menu and get my hands on that Kung Fu Girl Riesling. 

Langtons No 1 Gin

I'll get my apologies out of the way nice and early. Yes, it's been around a month since I last blogged, yes my last blogpost was a bit of a cop out and yes I have barely picked up any of my cookbooks in the last two months. All I can say is that I've had a LOT on my plate (ha) and the blog has ended up way down at the bottom of a long list of priorities. 

And I could bore you with the ins and outs, but it's all pretty dull, so I'll spare you... essentially I'm back and ready to get stuck back into Feast and Glory.

So, let me tell you about an event I went to recently. Organised by Craig Macdonald, Brand Ambassador for Langtons No 1 Gin, this lovely, informal event consisted of meeting up with a couple of other bloggers and some people from the local bar industry for a few (too many) gin and tonics. 

Craig was keen to let the gin do most of the talking and we started off by trying it neat. He'd also laid out all the individual botanicals used in Langtons, so we were able to have a smell and taste of each one to see if we could then find the flavour in the gin itself. 

We then moved onto gin and tonics (and a rather special chamomile cocktail*) whilst Craig talked us through the gin's history and the reasons why he thinks it's so special.

And, essentially, it mostly comes down to the water used. Sourced from an aquifer that sits under the mountain of Skiddaw, Keswick and Derwent Water, the water is up to a million years old and has been filtered through black slate that is 450 million years old.

All sounds pretty amazing, yes? Well, added to this magical water is a blend of eleven botanicals including ancient Lake District Oak Bark (which smells absolutely divine by the way). And, well, the end result is a smooth, yet flavoursome gin that is perfectly enjoyable on its own with a little ice, with a little tonic or in a cocktail.

Langtons No 1 Gin retails for around £30 which might seem a little pricey to some, but I think it's actually quite good value given the quality of the ingredients and the smoothness of the end product... I'll be buying some as soon as I've finished the last stuff I bought.

* made with 40ml Langtons, 20ml Homemade Camomile tea syrup, 15ml Fresh lemon juice, 2 drops orange bitters, egg white and topped with soda.