Bit out of our stomping ground but as Paul’s Dad lives in Tynemouth, we made the trip North for a good old fashioned Sunday Roast at Barca.
Barca Art Bar & Restaurant is slap bang amongst the action in the middle of Front Street with a cosy, quirky bar downstairs and a more spacious and even quirkier dining room upstairs. With an obvious nod to the Art part of the name, the walls are lined with pieces from local artists both for display and sale.
Way back in the summer, we went to Kielder for the midnight stargazing session. Trying to find somewhere remotely close to the Observatory to eat was harder than we thought. Then we found the The Anglers Arms.
Packed full of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, these soft fluffy Spiced Pear & Toffee cupcakes are perfect with a mid afternoon cuppa!
The recipe is very easy breezy so you can tweak it to suit your needs.
With the spiced pear puree, the inside of the cakes do retain a very moist centre but don’t worry, they are cooked!
Don’t mock my icing skills, after having 5, yes 5 Jane Asher icing bags burst on me in a row, I just gave up and went rustic!
A couple of weeks ago, the kind folks at Brewer Fayre invited us along to check out their newly revamped Dunelm Ridge restaurant.
Thanks to the kids soft play area, it is somewhere very local that I have visited regularly with my friend and her children. Paul and I were keen to see what changes have been made as it is a mere 5 minutes across the fields from home to here.
Just off the main road in to Durham (A167) and next to the Arnison Centre retail park, it is a great place to stop for a post shopping pint or pub lunch. The added beer garden is a great bonus, even at this time of the year!
One thing that has always bothered me until very recently was the North East dining scene. Yes we do independent and awesome and we do it VERY well, but for the longest of time, hip and trendy ‘London’ based brands and chains wouldn’t set foot up North. This has changed and it has changed for the better now that Byron Burger has landed.
Byron has landed on Grey Street in a prime location right next to the Monument and most importantly – the giant screen showing the Rugby World Cup!