New Kid on The Block: The Stable

"When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie. That's amore."

... And yes Dean Martin, it really is amore with Cheltenham's latest food joint. Serving both pizzas and pies, this place is already a hit with me. Then adding in a healthy supply of cider, well that just sweetens the deal. Cheltenham, say hello to The Stable.

Having taken over the old D'fly/Ange Noir building on Clarence Street, and undergone extensive refurbishment, The Stable opened their doors just a month ago - prime time in the run up to Christmas. It's a big space, one which previous occupants have struggled to fill, but that doesn't seem to be the case here; locals have been constantly flocking to the restaurant to get their proper pizza fix, and I'm guessing it's because decent pizza is something that we've been missing in the town for quite a while.

Now I know The Stable is a chain - and we all know how I feel about chains - but this one is different. With just 13 locations, solely in the South West, there's a lovely story to how the business has got to where it is today. Long story short (you can read it all on their website if you wish), founders Richard and Nikki Cooper bought a hotel in Dorset that had an outbuilding/former stable at the back. Deciding to do something with it, to share with the locals, they started with the obvious; Dorset = Real Cider. Richard’s brother Andy, who also happened to be a chef, got in on the action and the trio began experimenting with creating some extraordinary sourdough pizzas. The concept was born; fine food and crafted cider set within an alluring atmosphere.

What I really like is that despite the growth, ingredients are still sourced locally to each venue (Gloucestershire bacon, Severn and Wye smoked salmon and cheese from nearby dairies feature on Cheltenham's menu). Inventive names and a truly local approach, as they say, "keeps The Stable grounded with its community and continues to win the hearts of its customers." I'd have to agree.

The Chap and I went along to the launch night, where we tried every pizza available - probably equating to at least 2 pizzas each - and sampled a hell of a lot of cider too. I definitely regretted telling the barman that my favourite kind was "the dangerous side of dry"... Ouch! To get a less hazy experience, we promised that we'd go back before the New Year, and sure enough we did.

It was utterly miserable weather, but we battled the wind and rain to get there, only to find that everyone else clearly had the same idea, and we struggled to find a table! You find a spot, order and pay at the bar, then wait for your food to come... Simple. And even though it was heaving, it really didn't take very long.

Having drank our weight in cider on our last visit, The Chap chickened out and tried one of the local ales, whilst I had a pint of Gwatkin's Silly Ewe (from just over the border in Herefordshire). There are over 100 ciders to choose from - sweet, dry, sparkling, you name it - though if you really can't decide, you can opt for a special tasting board; 5 different ciders, each 1/3 pint, for £7.50.

Foodwise, we ordered two pizzas to share between us, though we probably should have got one of the pies to get the full Stable experience (The Lamb Bam Boogie with lamb, rosemary, garlic potato and honey sounds delicious).

The Blue Forest (£10.50) was one of our faves at the opening, so we had to go for that again; herb roasted potato, Fowlers Forest blue cheese, roasted Spanish onions, English spinach, our fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella. Our other choice was The Blazing Saddle (£13.00); slow roasted pulled beef, Gloucestershire smoked bacon, caramelised onions, roasted red pepper and mozzarella. Topped with sour cream and jalapeños, it was flippin' fabulous.

Thin and crispy, The Stable's pizzas aren't too stodgy, leaving you feeling overstuffed, and with generous toppings, you're not left with any naked boring crusts - yay! It's a pizza dream.

Good food at a good price (and even better on Tuesdays, where you can get a pizza, side salad and a pint for a tenner)... Welcome to Cheltenham The Stable, I can tell we're going to be great friends.

Seeing Out 2015 Pt. 2

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 
Before we get too far into January, it's time to finish off telling you the tail end of 2015 (see my previous post here).

Avoiding the Christmas panic, The Chap and I took some time out for ourselves and spent a few well earned weekends doing the things we love most. 

Firstly, Brunch... Instead of heading out to a café, myself and another blogger buddy, Roseann from Honeybourne Line (check her out), arranged a brunch date at hers. Obviously, The Chap and her other half Kinglsey, of Kingsley Leather (check him out too), were in on it as well. 

We all first met at last year's Diamond Rush, boozily sipping Champers in Beard's after finding our gems, little did we know that we had so much in common! A few diamond winner dinners later, and here we are; a food blogger's brunch (accompanied by two hungry food loving fellows), and having each made a sweet and a savoury option, we had loads to go round. 

Roseann and Kingsley whipped up Jamie O's Pancetta Hash with Eggs & Apple Salad along with what's essentially a deliciously sweet yorkshire pudding - Dutch Baby with Fresh Berries. The Chap and I turned up with our make-ahead-transportable-goods, Ruby Tandoh's Broccoli, Gorgonzola & Walnut Quiche and the best readers' recipe from the OFM Awards 2015, Masala Chai Banana Bread with Coconut, Cream Cheese & Cardamom Icing. Washed down with tea, coffee, buck's fizz and prosecco, we somehow grazed our way through 4 whole hours! Job well done I'd say, and we'll definitely have to do it again.

Tivoli Wines Christmas Wine Fair is our annual indicator that it is in fact coming up to Christmas. Every year we lower the tone in The Bacon Theatre, stumbling around, trying as much as is humanly possible. Thankfully, The Chap's brother and sister in law joined us this year, so we weren't drunkenly chatting and embarrassing ourselves alone - haha! As always, it was a cracking night. Pop it in your diary now - the last Friday of November.

As a Christmas present to ourselves, we booked a trip to London to eat, drink and be merry in the places we love best. We stayed at the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green, which I'd wholeheartedly recommend to anyone; it's stunning. There's a snazzy restaurant within the building - The Typing Room - and a shit-hot cocktail bar, Peg + Patriot. The Piccadilly Circus with daikon infused Nikka Whisky, fermented rice, purple shiso, Belsazar White Vermouth, sesame oil and dried seawater is incredible. 

Street Feast's #HawkerHouse has become a bit of a winter tradition between us, so we managed to get a visit in just before it finished it's residency at Canada Water. Whisky roulette, Smokestak ribs, Kamm & Sons cocktails, wine, and so much food made for a pretty special night. 

Oysters are a must on any Scott and Lucie adventure, and in two days we managed to have them twice! The brand new Noble Rot Bar & Restaurant was the top of our 'to do list', and having some seriously good wine paired with half a dozen oysters as soon as we arrived in the big smoke set the tone for the weekend pretty well. The other oysters came from Decatur at Druid Street Market; chargrilled Maldon rock oysters with butter, cajun spices and hot sauce. These totally sorted out our hangovers, and not having tried cooked oysters before, we're now desperate to give them a go at home!

Other eats in the Druid Street/Maltby Street area included the mega Reuben at Monty's Deli. We've tried various times to try the salt beef sarnies after seeing them on Tom Kerridge's TV programme yonks ago, and with a full on arch, rather than just a stall, we finally got our chops around one. It was everything we wanted it to be, I'm only sad that I had to share.

40 Maltby Street is a no reservations natural wine bar that serves up some wonderful food alongside some quirky wines. Avoiding the crappy weather, The Chap, my bestie and I pulled up a pew and spent a few hours sipping vino and munching on fried pheasant.

As you might have guessed from previous posts (and the start of this entry), brunch is a sure fire hit with me. I torture myself by perving on all the London Food Instagrammers on a daily basis, but it's so useful in gauging where's best to go when we're in town. Nine times out of ten it's bang on, but unfortunately we got struck with that 1/10 this time. Kopapa's Turkish Eggs are Instagram famous, but I felt the taste wasn't quite as good as the hype; the chilli butter could have been spicier, and paying a tenner for the privilege seemed a little steep. The Chap's experience was the clincher though, his pot of tea arrived cold and his Chorizo Hash came with two non-runny fried eggs. I so wanted it to be good, but I fear it's a case of Social Media making things look better than they are (see Jay Rayner's Observer article on this). 

The Grape Escape's December wine tasting was a Christmas special; 4 rounds - fizz, whites, reds and sweets - with 3 wines for each... Dreamy. Though it was even more significant for me, as I offered my services and rustled up some food to accompany each round! Coming back (hungover) from London on Sunday afternoon, I cooked a hoofin' turkey, and didn't stop in the kitchen until the tasting started on Monday night (note the last photo above). The menu was:

Fizz: Parmesan biscuits. Pork, apple, apricot & thyme sausage rolls. Stilton & walnut balls.
Whites: Smoked salmon blinis, Prawn cocktail lettuce cups.
Reds: Devils on horseback. Turkey, cranberry and stuffing sandwiches.
Sweets: Mince pies. Chocolate puddles. Clementine cake.

Had I not gone to London and had the whole weekend to prep, I'm sure it would have been a much easier task, but I'm still pretty chuffed with how it all turned out. And a thank you present in the form of Broc Cellars Carbenet Franc Fizz made the last minute stress all worth it.

Finally, after months of people prying, I asked my two favourite ladies to be my bridesmaids. Having not seen one of them since my birthday, we organised a day trip to Birmingham to celebrate, and what better celebration than Afternoon Tea?! The Edgbaston, which is a bit of a trek out of the centre, was recommended to me, and as soon as we got there and saw the black and gold Art Deco decor, I knew we were in for a treat.

We started with a cocktail (because their cocktail list is mega), and I had the Smoke & Mirrors, which arrived in a glass dome filled with smoke; Glenfarclas, Smoked PX Sherry, Cherry Liqueur and Chocolate Bitters. Yes.

Our afternoon tea started with an amuse bouche cloaked in dry ice; carrot cake crumble, carrot purée and spiced brandy ice cream. Being December, everything had a festive twist, and we even had a turkey and cranberry sandwich in our selection. The warm scones - one fruit, one plain - were crisp on the outside, sweet and fluffy on the inside, and piled high with jam and clotted cream, I was in heaven.

The patisserie/petit fours were the highlight though; green apple meringue Christmas trees. mini mince pies, passion fruit and coconut macaron snowmen, berry meringue mushrooms and a rum and chestnut tart (which was my favourite).

It's £25 per person for The Edgbaston's Afternoon Tea, or £33 to include a glass of Champagne. Money well spent.

So that's 2015 done and dusted. Here's to a more exciting year ahead!