TATE ST. IVES CAFE

The Reason Artists Flock Here...

Alfred Wallis Made His Home Here...

The View From Tate St Ives

William SCOTT Is In The House

Tate St Ives Tiles

Waiting Patiently... 

Patrick Heron Stained Glass Window

The Gallery Run

Higgledy Piggledy Slate Roof Skyline

The Cafe Look Out...

Artist's Beach Cottage Living...

Creating Cafe Culture...

Mint Tea Is Mint

Here They Come ! ...

Walking Home & Bobbing Boats...

#47  Four and Seven

A Painterly Brew

Favourite places are the ones you look forward to going back to. This is the start of a mini series on coastal St Ives. Bringing you the art, culture and fishing nets that provide such a lovely back drop to the eating holes. 

My favourite cafe views can be found at Tate St Ives. There is a natural light unlike any other and a spatial quality framed by roof top views across the soft sandy Porthmeor beach that calms the soul and sparks your creative imagination.

We had come to see the exhibition of one of our favourite British painters William Scott having spent the morning at Leach Pottery.

It is the perfect place for a Mint Tea, submergence of art and a stroll around the headland.  The Tate gallery at St Ives was opened in 1993, to provide a home for the abundant  paintings, textiles, etchings and ceramics created by the St Ives group of British artists who settled here.

Artists, Fishermen and Potters.

A truly magical combination, in a truly magical place. 

JOCKS IN THE PARK

The Menu on Glaswegian 1950's Patchwork Quilt

Jocks In The Park Menu

Refreshments of...

Savoury Selection... 

Sweet Selection...

Howzat !

'Park Life'
 Illustration By The Sunshine Baker

#46  Up To Tricks

A Pik Nik.

The first picnic of summer. 'Lang may yer lum reek'. 

This is the time of the year when you kick off your shoes, and meander down to your local park, to surf on a grass wave.  A time when school pencil cases are rummaged through for implements ( rubber-ball, ruler and protractor-bat ) for an impromptu cricket match and when your fun, special friends invite you along to a creative, homemade, Scottish feast within nature's outdoor arena.

It's the perfect time for Beer Shandy refreshments washed down with Colonsay Ale Crust Pie stuffed with Mull Cheddar and Onion, for Barley Broth Salads with Peat Smoked Salmon Frittata. A time for lying low on elbows and tasting Date and Walnut Sourdough Bread - from the Brixton Sunshine Bakery - topped with roasted carrot hummus. It's also the best time of year for keeping banter smooth and tucking into Vanilla Carrageen Puddings with Honey Stewed Rhubarb, Lemon Drizzle Cake and the champion friend of all Scot's picnics, the Tunnocks Teacake. 

Alas, sorry folks, the picnic food tasted so good and looked so colourful, the blogger tucked in and forgot to take photos. 

Next time I will be prepared. 

'Land of the shining river,

Land of my heart for ever,

Scotland the brave.'

QUALITY CHOP HOUSE

Step Right In...

The Beautiful Original Facade

As It Says On The Tin...

Peaking Through The Window...

I Am Hooked...

Water Vessels

Let There Be Light...

Setting Up Shop...

Swotting Up...

The Utilitarian Bench 

Laying Out The Tools...

A Thing Of Beauty...

Bitten Off More Than You Can Chew

Amuse Bouche - Radish Heaven

2011 Saint-Veran "Cote - Rotie"

Small Plates Of...
 Smoked Ox Heart, Cuttlefish, Goat's Curd

Monkfish, Preserved Lemon, Lardo

Silver Service...

Longhorn Beef, Burnt Onion, Broccoli, Celeriac

Lemon Jelly, Vanilla Mascarpone, Blood Orange, Cobnuts

A Cheesy Cheese Board

Fresh Mint Tea

Good bye... and see you again soon.

#45  Halfway House

Chop Chop.

Pitch perfect.

This is the term used when everything works, when there are no glitches, no malfunctions no complaints, just an air of relaxed perfection and divine flavours with a side of humility and grace.

An impromptu invitation to dine out turned into a rare, surprise treat at The Quality Chop House

This heroic little eatery has had - as we discovered from our well informed neighbour sharing our booth - an historic presence as a fine dining establishment since 1869, with various tutelage and owners. The original founder Rowland Plumbe conceiving a "utilitarian space for the masses that had a touch of glamour" none of which was more inappropriate than the last incumbent being a meatball chain.

Under a new team of enterprising and sensitive owners who are clearly in the know, well connected and adept at knowing exactly what they are doing and how to do it, there is an ambient charm that floats from plate to plate. The mismatched crockery is both clever and cute.

For dinner in this type of refined, utilitarian establishment, it feels entirely appropriate to be serving only one option, with a daily changing set menu, full of the finest seasonal British fayre costing £35 for 4 courses and accompanied by an additional surprise, the chef's welcome Amuse Bouche.

There is plenty to say about THE QUALITY CHOP HOUSE and sometimes the sum of the greatest words are the fewest.... 

Am delighted to announce The Quality Chop House is 'The Favourite Places To Eat Blog' Award winner for 2013 and it's still only June.

AT FRIENDS FOR TEA

The Charley Harper Board & Matching Jigsaw Puzzle

Slow Roasted Shoulder Of Lamb On The Bone,
Dry Rubbed in...
 Hot Smoked Paprika, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, 
Olive Oil & Cinnamon.
Cooked Over Onions, Garlic and Rosemary.

Cous Cous with Roasted Vegetables of ....
 Aubergine, Courgette, Cherry Tomatoes & Red Pepper.
Roasted Separately in.....
 Smoked Hot Paprika, Cumin, Coriander Seeds, 
Fennel Seeds & Black Mustard Seeds.
With added Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, 
Rough Chopped Sun-dried Tomatoes,
Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, Fresh Mint and Fresh Coriander.

Roasted Butternut Squash With Chopped Sun-dried Tomatoes,
Sesame Seeds, Coriander Seeds, Black Mustard Seeds

Guindillas, Pickled Hot Peppers, 
Greek Yoghurt with Honey, Sesame Seeds and Black Mustard Seeds,

Flat Breads with Olive Oil, Cumin, Caraway Seeds, 
Fennel Seeds, Sugar and Fresh Mint.
Harissa.

Miss B's Homemade Bakewell Tart & Almond Sprinkles,
Mendip Moments Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Ding Dong. The Carriage Awaits....

#44 Droopy Drawers

Handmade Fodder

Mr X is one of a kind, known in his native design industry as a leading connoisseur of aesthetic taste, his bow is not short of a few strings and as a keen runner and all round outdoor enthusiast, he still has time for one other string to add to his bow. 

He cooks and boy does he cook.

"Another string to your bow" was a saying derived from mediaeval times and probably metaphorical. If an archer had a spare string for their bow, they could still shoot an arrow even if their first string breaks. Apron strings in the traditional sense are generally a domestic female preserve, though increasingly domestic males are showing their professional chef male counterparts, we can be as busy in our own home kitchen as they are in their stainless steel enclaves.

Ably supported by Mrs X's own unique brand of hosting finery, Mr X shoots his culinary arrow straight to the heart of this food blogger. You could say it's Supreme cooking at it's finest.

After completing their regular, weekend, 10K morning run through Hampstead Heath, Mr & Mrs X idea of resting is preparing their lucky dinner guests an incredible creative feast. 

Mr X's philosophy is built on fresh, quality seasonal ingredients purchased from specialists and selected specifically for a lunch or dinner in mind.  Dignitaries for our dinner included... The Ginger Pig , Brindisa , La Fromagerie , Phoenicia Foodhall.

Food by Design is Food for Thought.

Being a well travelled and discerning connoisseur of fine food, Mr X's is generally inspired by influences that range from Scandinavian, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Greek, Modern British, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish cuisine.

For dinner we were served Slow Roasted Shoulder of Lamb on the bone... Dry rubbed in Hot Smoked Paprika, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Olive Oil and Cinnamon, cooked over Onions, Garlic and Rosemary. With a two fork symphony, it shredded off the bone beautifully.

This was accompanied with delicious communal smaller plates of ....


Cous Cous with roasted vegetables of Aubergine, Courgette, Cherry Tomatoes and Red Pepper. The vegetables are roasted separately in Smoked Hot Paprika, Cumin, Coriander Seeds, Fennel Seeds and Black Mustard Seeds. These are then added with Olive Oil, Lemon juice, rough chopped Sun-dried Tomatoes, fresh flat leaf Parsley, fresh Mint and fresh Coriander.

Roasted Butternut Squash with chopped Sun-dried Tomatoes, Sesame Seeds, Coriander Seeds, Black Mustard Seeds, Chopped Preserved Lemons and Soaked Sultanas. This we can announce, was a star tasting dish.

Hummus toped with Tahini, Sesame Seeds and Black Mustard Seeds.

Greek Salad, with Feta Cheese, Cucumber, Cherry Tomatoes, Black Marinated Olives, Coriander and Oregano.

Guindillas, Pickled Hot Peppers.

Greek Yoghurt with Honey, Sesame Seeds and Black Mustard Seeds.

Flat Breads with Olive Oil, Cumin, Caraway Seeds, Fennel Seeds, Sugar and Fresh Mint.

Harissa.

For pudding Miss B brought along her own star dish, Bakewell Tart with Flaked Almonds spinkled on top and served with Mendip Moments Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Crème Fraîche. 

Mr X has two younger Master X's although their ID is Big O and Little O.  They know a thing or two about boards.... more the skating kind than the chopping kind. 

If they take a leaf out of their Papai's book, as they surely will, they will not end up as hungry students when they fly the nest...  they will more likely end up as everyone's best friend.