Category Archives: Pop up’s

REVIEW: BLUE RABBIT & CO POP UP IN KINGS HEATH AND FLETCHERS BAR

Posted in Bars and Pubs, Cafés and Restaurants, Independent, Kings Heath, Pop up's, vegetarian, Veggie foodie by

20140817-102207.jpg

20140817-102228.jpg

There are a number of fantastic foodie places in Kings Heath in the South Birmingham area, from cafe’s, delis, coffee shops, restaurants and pubs.
Blue Rabbit & Co is one of the most recent to pop up, in fact it is a pop up for the remainder of the year at least.

Blue Rabbit based in the Kitchen Garden Cafe, a lovely oasis of calm on York Road near the Hare and Hounds pub.

In the daytime it has a garden centre, food deli, and cafe in a garden type terrace with outdoor tables. The Kitchen Garden Cafe always have good vegetarian options.

At night time three evenings (thursday, Friday and Saturday 6-9.30pm) a week it becomes the Blue Rabbit & Co pop up restaurant, a bistro, an independent serving home cooked food at reasonable prices.

Blue Rabbit offer a small, but regularly changing menu which includes a vegetarian option for a starter and main course.

For the price 2 courses are £15 and 3 courses are £18 it is exceedingly good value for fresh and seasonal ingredients well served, flavoured and presented.

20140817-104456.jpg

20140817-104515.jpg

20140817-104542.jpg

Chef Dominic Simmonds has worked at a number of Birmingham’s top restaurants and is now cooking his own food.

Ruth and I visited on a Saturday night. The Kitchen Garden Cafe is a lovely venue. Wandering up a narrow path off busy York Road through plants, flowers and into the courtyard, it had a certain mystique about it. On entering we were greeted warmly, but found an almost empty restaurant apart from one other couple. We were advised that as Brum Yum Yum street food market KingshEATh was on earlier in the day they had decided to not go out in the evening as well. Shame.

The Kitchen Garden Cafe looked lovely, flickering candles and with its wooden tables, wide windows, and quirky air the pop up felt right there. Looking out on the courtyard was lovely and felt romantic.

Not deterred as we had come for the food we ordered two glasses of wine and ordered our food.

We were brought some delicious homemade bread to eat before our starter.

20140817-105544.jpg

For a starter we both ordered the Grilled peach, ricotta, balsamic vinegar. We felt that the flavours were fresh, the peaches and the ricotta working well together, to make a lovely summery salad, that felt light and full of flavour. It was a lovely vegetarian starter.

20140817-110151.jpg

20140817-110222.jpg

For a main course I ordered the
Goats cheese ravioli, broad beans, courgettes. The dish was lovely. The quality of the ingredients shone through, the goats cheese ravioli, hand made, with a delicate flavour that with the summery broad beans and courgettes made a stunning fine dining like dish. A real delight.

We also ordered a side dish of roasted Butternut Squash which was full of flavour and bite and went well with the pasta or eaten on its own.

20140817-110839.jpg

20140817-110857.jpg

For desert Ruth ordered the selection of sorbets, she felt that they were delicious, with the cherry flavoured one to be recommended especially. She felt that the flavours were original and summery.

I ordered the divine sounding chocolate tort with vanilla cream. It was full of deep chocolate flavour, the pastry was well made, the right thickness and as a desert it was fabulous, a lovely tort.

20140817-111309.jpg

20140817-111328.jpg

20140817-111355.jpg

The Blue Rabbit & Co is a welcome addition to the Kings Heath dining scene. It offers something different to the tapas, curry and pubs/bars already thriving. The ingredients used in the dishes are well sourced and are seasonal. The vegetarian dishes well made, thoughtful and full of seasonal flavour.

The Blue Rabbit edge more towards fine dining or a good quality bistro than cafe and that is shown with the changing weekly menu. Keeping it fresh and challenging.

As a restaurant I loved it. It is good value, and the quality on offer is worthy of paying more. The veggie options are fresh and keenly observed. Fully recommended.

See the website for menus.

Hopefully the Blue Rabbit & Co will go on to achieve great things when its pop up stint ends and is well worth visiting whilst it remains in Kings Heath.

20140817-112159.jpg

20140817-112217.jpg

20140817-112244.jpg

Before and after our meal at Blue Rabbit & co we visited Fletchers Bar next door to the Kitchen Garden Cafe.

We enjoyed two cocktails at Fletchers before our meal a Dry Manhattan, and a Margarita, both well made and good value, plus two glasses of Malbec after our meal.

The bar is quirky, friendly, informal and the cocktails and real ale are excellent.

I have eaten at Fletchers and can recommend the food which is more sophisticated than the traditional pub food offerings with some good vegetarian options and changing specials.

Fletchers is owned by the Kitchen Garden Cafe.

Fletchers is part of the Independent Birmingham card with a discount on food.

20140817-112906.jpg

20140817-112929.jpg

20140817-112943.jpg

Blue Rabbit & co
Kitchen Garden
17 York Road
Kings Heath
Birmingham
B14 7SA

0121 443 4725

@DominicSimmonds
http://www.bluerabbitandco.com
Facebook: Blue Rabbit & co
07580551218
Info@bluerabbitandco.com

http://www.kitchengardencafe.co.uk

wwwfletchersbarandeatery.co.uk

Disclaimer: We paid for our own dinner. My review is a true and honest assessment.

Thanks for reading.

If anyone has any thoughts or comments on places to eat in Kings Heath and Moseley that are good for veggies and vegans let me know?

Has anyone else been to Blue Rabbit, what did you think?

20140817-114229.jpg

20140817-114256.jpg

20140821-114959.jpg

POP UP DOSA TAKE-OVER @THE HARE AND HOUNDS KINGS HEATH

Posted in Bars and Pubs, Cafés and Restaurants, Independent, Kings Heath, Pop up's by

I’ve been looking forward to the Pop Up Dosa pop up take over at The Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath for a number of weeks. Pop up Dosa are vegetarian, and make the most delicious dosas, and the Hare and Hounds is a fabulous pub, one of the best and always a favourite for live music and real ale.

The Hare and Hounds is in ‘foodie Mecca’ Kings Heath, in South Birmingham near Moseley. As I’ve mentioned in my previous #Tastymorsel blog post it has been holding a summer food season of pop ups to launch its new back dining room cum bar, which is a very cool and comfortable space for casual dining.

Up to now they’ve held two pop ups, Pika Pika and Clark and Lee, with one left to go next week-Fingy’s takeover.

20140808-091549.jpg

20140808-091604.jpg

20140808-091618.jpg

20140808-091652.jpg

20140808-091725.jpg

Last night it was the turn of veggie Pop Up Dosa to serve their freshly made Dosa from Kerala to the Kings Heath public.

Pop up Dosa are based in Kings Heath and make vegetarian Dosa’s from home, at markets, at cafe’s and at street food markets such as Brum Yum Yum in Kings Heath. They also do a regular monthly pop up at The Ort Cafe in Balsall Heath/Moseley in southBirmingham. See their website or twitter for next dates.

Dosa pronounced ‘Dhoe-sha’ is a nutritious sourdough crepe made from fermented rice and lentil batter. Dosa dates back to the 6th century AD and is believed to have originated in Udipi in Karnataka, India.

It’s a staple street food dish in Southern Indian states and known for its simple goodness.

You eat Dosa’s with your finger tips and dip it into the sambar ( a vegetable stew in a lentil broth) and chutneys and pop it into your mouth. You can use cutlery though:)

20140808-092858.jpg

20140808-092926.jpg

20140808-092945.jpg

As Ruth and I were in the Hare and Hounds we felt we had to start in the main bar. A lovely room, with comfy sofas and mixed tables. It’s very ornate, and has a great character about it that you would expect from a building dating 1907.

Ruth ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and me a pint of Purity Gold. The Hare and Hounds have a good selection of real ales, cocktails and wine and promote the brewery Purity well.

So onto the food:)

The price of the food £12.50 in advance included three courses.

Each single course was served at the same time, so every diner was eating the same dish.

The 1st course was a delicious Kerala street food morsel called Parrippu Vada with slices of banana.

The flavours of ginger and the crunch of the savoury deep fried lentil were superb, and taken together with the banana the correct way to be eaten.

20140808-094134.jpg

20140808-094247.jpg

The 2nd course was the dosa served with the Sambar, mint sublime and the gunpowder smoke.

The Sambar was tangy, filled with delicious vegetables, like a broth with the lentils adding another wholesome texture to the stew.

The mint like a raita, with the gentle harmonious flavours of coriander and lime chutney.

The Gun powder smoke: a chutney of ground roasted lentils, smoky spices, and with a drizzling of hot coconut oil over. Superb, and taken with the vegetable filled Dosa a lovely concoction of flavour.

I enjoyed a pint of Purity UBU with my dosa.

Pop up Dosa’s dosas are lavish and enjoyable. Superb,

20140808-094936.jpg

The third course (dessert) was called Aluva. A little known and much loved dessert from Kerala. It was fragrant, sweet and dense, with the flavours of the coconut milk, cashew nuts, nutmeg, cardamom giving it an almost liquorice type flavour and consistency. It was certainly a grower though, I was not sure at first but by the end the knots of subtle flavours won me over. Something very different to what I’ve eaten before 🙂

Chef Hasseen George, served a superb pop up.

The Pop up Dosa cafe is to be recommended. The flavours were good and the food addictive.

I felt the pop up at the Hare and Hounds was superb.

The takeover idea is a lovely idea that gives street food and new foodie concepts a forum. The atmosphere was good, chatty and enhanced the evening.

Keep an eye open for where Pop up Dosa are planning to serve their delicious food.

I can certainly recommend a night or lunch In their company.

Pop up Dosa
07402 806 439
http://www.popupdosa.blogspot.co.uk
@popupdosa

Hare and Hounds
106 high street
Kings Heath
Birmingham
B14 7JZ

@hareandhounds
http://www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

20140808-100805.jpg

20140808-100841.jpg

20140808-100853.jpg

20140808-100948.jpg

20140808-101000.jpg

The final summer food season pop up at The Hare and Hounds is to be held on Thursday 14th August at 7.30. Pre booked tickets only via the Hare and Hounds website.

This is Fingy’s food night with Alan ‘Fingy’ Thomson Peruvian and Latin food.

£15 for three courses, veggie options available. See Hare and Hounds website for menu under events.

Disclaimer: the opinions expressed are my own and honest. We paid for our own food and drinks.

Feel free to comment on my blog post with any thoughts re the post.

If anyone has any suggestions as to where I should visit that is good for veggies, and vegans please let me know either here or via twitter @andydhare

Full contact details on vegiefoodie.com

Thanks for reading:)

20140808-114957.jpg

20140808-115029.jpg

20140808-115057.jpg

The Ethical Chef and The Green Gathering Festival 2014

Posted in Events, Festivals, Food Festivals, Pop up's, Supper Clubs, Wales by

I encountered The Ethical Chef only a few weeks via Twitter and then through his superb website http://www.ethicalchef.co.uk

The Ethical Chef was created in 2010 by Deri Reed. A chef specialising in vegetarian cuisine and one extremely passionate about food, health and the environment.

Born in Carmarthen near Cardiff, Deri Specialises in organic veggie cuisine, he is the ‘chef du jour’ and creates ingenious Welsh recipes from the ingredients on his doorstep in Cardiff. He was trained at Veggie restaurant Cafe Paradiso in Cork, Ireland, and offers a Supper Club for £17.50 for three courses which is available at select venues throughout the year in Cardiff and at Festivals and featured at Cradiff’s street food festival and Abergavenny food festival.

He can also be booked for weddings, events, food festivals and can be seen at Cardiff’s riverside market Sundays 10-2pm.

The Ethical Chef use compostable and biogradable packaging and plant starch cutlery which minimalises our impact on the environment. Deri sees the reduction of food waste as imperitive to a balanced environment and vegetarianism is key to this.

For his recipes and supper clubs he uses seasonal, organic and local where possible ingredients to create sumptious vegetarian and vegan food.

The Ethical Chef appeared at Glastonbury 2014 and created dishes such as foraged fruit in an elderflower syrup on yogurt and museli and an organic smoked chilli on a bed of herbed bulgar wheat, Glastonbury chedder and Yeo Valley yogurt with fresh corriander.

These dishes won The Ethical Chef the peoples choice Green Traders of Glastonbury 2014 award, a major achievement via Twitter.

They will be there again next year to cook up a storm.

RECIPES

The best part of The Ethical Chef website in my opinion is the directory of recipes that make up the Vegetarian ethos of Dewi Reed.

These recipes are available on http://www.ethicalchef.co.uk/recipes or many of them are available on You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheEthicalchef

Some of my favourites are

1. Vegan Carrot Cake recipe: http://www.ethicalchef.co.uk/recipe/carrotcake-vegan

2. Vegan Courgette Cake: http://www.ethicalchef.co.uk/tagged/vegan courgette cake

3. Butter Bean Cassolet: http://www.ethicalchef.co.uk/recipe/embassy-cafe-butter-bean-cassolet

4. Glastonbury Chilli: http://www.ethicalchef.co.uk/recipe/glastonbury-chilli

There are many others on the website and online.

THE GREEN GATHERING FESTIVAL 2014

The Ethical Chef will be appearing at the forthcoming
Green Gathering Festival from the 31st July-3rd August 2014 in Chepstow, Monmouthshire. Wales.

http://www.greengathering.org.uk

The Green Gathering are a charity that promotes education for sustainability powered by wind-sun-people.

It’s a small festival focusing around all the things that The Ethical Chef stand for. They will be feeding all the hungry people with a supper club throughout the festival. It’s an award winning family friendly festival

For ticketing information and pricing see the website http://www.greengathering.org.uk

For the line up and what’s on see also the website or see twitter for the latest news.

The supper club will be vegetarian and vegan three courses for £17.50.

They will also be serving up CoalTown coffee roasters fair trade organic single origin coffee.

http://www.coaltowncoffee.co.uk

http://www.ethicalchef.co.uk/about/why-were-ethical
http://www.ethicalchef.uk/blog
http://www.ethicalchef.co.uk/about

The work of the Ethical Chef is in my opinion to be applauded in our society today. The ethos and attitude, to all things green and to vegetarianism and veganism is singled out in the lovely recipes and awards that Dewi and his team have received.

It would be great to see one of The Ethical Chef’s supperclubs come to The Midlands and maybe Birmingham, well hopefully one day that will happen:)

For further details of the work of The Ethical Chef see the website http://www.ethicalchef.co.uk or twitter @TheEthicalChef

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheEthicalChef

http://www.TheEthicalChef.co.uk/recipes
http://www.facebook.com/public/Ethicalchef

http://www.greengathering.org.uk
@greengathering

20140722-142409.jpg

20140722-142428.jpg

20140722-142444.jpg

20140722-142500.jpg

20140722-142516.jpg

20140722-142535.jpg

20140722-142552.jpg

20140722-142605.jpg

20140722-142619.jpg

20140722-142634.jpg</a

20140725-184311.jpg

Tasty Morsels: New Pop Up’s.

Posted in Catering, Events, Pop up's by

There are a few pop up’s on top of the ones at Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath doing the rounds at the moment. The one’s I like the look of are the ones that give different types of food a chance.

Over the next few weeks sees two such pop up’s.

1. 63 Islands Caribbean are a new caterer cooking dishes influenced by the Spanish, French, Dutch and Indian settlers to the Caribbean. They have a pop up at Cherry Reds on John Bright Street in the city centre near the Alex Theatre and Turtle Bay serving their food on the 28th July from 6.30pm. They do have a veggie and vegan options.

There is:

1 starter a Spicy Pumpkin Soup
1 main a dish called Channa (spiced chick peas) served with coconut, infused rice and peas or flatbread (roti).

Plus a few side orders including plaintain and spicy pickled coleslaw and flatbread (roti) which are all vegan as are the chickpeas.

Contact 0121 643 5716 for details and reservations.
@63_Islands for menus.
@Ilovecherryreds

2. Pika Pika (whom I’ve mentioned as being at The Hare and Hounds Kings Heath foodie nights on the 24th July see previous post) are a Japanese Catering group who specialise in serving Oriental Fusion Cuisine.

Pika Pika have another pop up evening on Wednesday 30th July 2014 at The Ort Cafe in Balsall Heath/Moseley area. They will be providing an authentic Japanese pop up dinner experience which again includes veggie and vegan options on the menu. This takes place on the 30th July from 6-9pm.

Reservations are recommended email josie@ortcafe.co.uk or call 07845 083 322.

wwww.ortcafe.co.uk/pika-pika-pop-up
@wearepikapika
http://www.wearepikapika.tumblr.com

If I have more information at any point on menus for Pika Pika I will update the post.

Pika Pika will also be testing their culinary skills at a pop up at Cherry Reds in Kings Heath on 11th August 2014. I will keep an eye and post the menu in due course.

Finally, Cherry Reds again (busy people :)) have a pop up kitchen in their John Bright Street cafe on the last Monday of the month. This will be a different street food vendor every month. Watch this space for updates and check on their website http://www.cherryreds.com for details.

Plus, every Wednesday Cherry Reds in John Bright Street are offering a bottle of house wine with every purchase from the menu. Sounds a bargain. 🙂

20140721-142237.jpg

20140721-142252.jpg

Tasty Morsels: bite size foodie happenings

Posted in Bars and Pubs, Events, Independent, Pop up's, Pubs, Tasty Morsels by

Kings Heath in South Birmingham, is currently a hot bed of foodie delights. There are a number of exciting tasty morsels happening as we speak:)

1. Hare and Hounds pub Five Week restaurant project. With a different pop up project every week taking over their recently refurbished upstairs bar area and kitchen.

Week 1 Thursday 17th July 2014 sees City centre rustic Mexican street food pioneers Habaneros take centre stage offering 3 courses for £17.50. Begins at 7.30pm.

Please note this event was cancelled. There are full refunds available.

Week 2: Japanese caterers Pika Pika pop up on Thursday 24th July to provide 3 courses of authentic Japanese food including a veggie set menu for £15.

Week3: Esteeemed pop up due Clarke and Lee of CANeat fame take over the bar with their twist on Asian soul food. See Clarke and Lee in the Heath plus cocktails from the Hare and Hounds on the 31st July at 6.45pm. Price £22.50.

Please note that this pop up isn’t suitable for veggies and vegans:(

Week 4: veggie Pop up Dosa offer their fab dosas (like crepes) from the southern Indian region of Kerala. Starts at 7.30pm for 3 courses costing £12, bargain. 🙂 on the 7th August. Dosa’s can be made vegan by request.

5: August 14th: Fingys Take Over. Alan ‘Fingy’ Thomson brings an evening of Peruvian and Latin food of the highest order. Three courses for £15.

Tickets available for all on website.

Hare and Hounds is on York Road on the corner of the High Street.

See http://www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk/events-listings for details and reservations/bookings/tickets.

2. The Blue Rabbit & Co are operating out of The Kitchen Garden Cafe on York Road every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night offering 2 courses for £15 and 3 courses for £18.

Led by chef Dominic Simmonds @Dominicsimmonds, they offer high quality simple food at reasonabl prices for the quality of the sourcing and ingredients. a great independent bistro idea:) There are good veggie options. Contact 0121 443 4725 for reservations.

3. Taco Tuesday’s continue at Cherry Reds in Kings Heath on the last Tuesday of the month. Cherry Reds is in Kings Heath on York Road near The Kitchen Garden Cafe. Veggie options are always on the menu, dates to come 29th July and 26th August. Beautiful soft shell taco’s and killer Margaritas will be on offer. http://www.cherryreds.com for details.

4. Blue Ginger at 72 Poplar Road Kings Heath, serve authentic Singaporian and Malaysian Foood, Its the sister restaurant of my recently reviewed Blue Piano bar and restaurant in Edgbastion. Every Monday night they hold a vegan night, serving vegan dishes. On the menu I’ve counted 5 starters, 7 Mains, 6 sides, and 2 deserts. See webiste http://www.bluegingerrestaurant.co.uk for menu. Contact 0121 444 0999 for reservations.

If you order before 6.30pm Monday-friday you get 20% off the food bill.

Hoping myself to get to some of those at some point.

If anyone knows of any items that maybe considered ‘Tasty morsels’ in your area, and are food and drink related please get in touch or leave a comment on my blog under this post.

Until the next ‘Tasty morsel’. 🙂

20140716-144329.jpg

20140716-144341.jpg

20140716-144356.jpg

20140716-144408.jpg

Brum Yum Yum’s Friday #lunchtime in the City

Posted in Cafés and Restaurants, Independent, Pop up's, Street Food by

Street food is taking off in Birmingham. Leading the way are Brum Yum Yum who already run a very successful day in Kings Heath in the south of Birmingham. #kingshEATh.

I’m a big fan of #streetfood the diversity and spontaneity of the vendors, the smells of the food and the atmosphere.

As a veggie the Kings Heath street food market has proved to be a feast of food. Wood fired pizza, loaded burritos, Thai noodles, exotic salads, hot churros. The choice is huge.

Every Friday until the 1st August # lunchmarket at the square is taking place in Birmingham City Centre.

One vendor that is @the square in Birmingham City Centre Bull Street is the vegan grind house by vegan vox who will be selling their vegan hand made burgers and vegan gourmet hotdogs.

The choice for veggies is very good, and if the sun is out it should prove to be a fun way to spend a lunch break.

Brum Yum Yum have also lined up a #beermarket and live music to add to the party atmosphere.

There will also be comfy seating, covered areas if it is raining and hot drinks, fresh coffee and a guaranteed good atmosphere.

Street food is a about innovative dishes, freshly cooked by independent chefs right in front of you. Lunch times on a Friday will never be the same.

Welcome to the Friday #lunchmarket.

http://www.brumyumyum.co.uk

@brumyumyum

@thesquare

#brumyumyum
#streetfood
#beermarket
#lunchmarket

See the website for traders.

Loki Wine Merchant and Tasting House 2nd Birthday

Posted in Bakery, Bars and Pubs, Pop up's, Soul Food Kitchen by

On the 14th June, Loki Wine Merchant and Tasting House held its 2nd Birthday party in the Great Western Arcade in Birmingham City Centre.

Loki is the most awarded wine merchant in Birmingham and is currently Decanter UK wine merchant of the year outside of London. A great achievement! 🙂

See my previous recent article on Loki wine.

The Great Western Arcade where Loki are based is a beautiful arcade and on an evening when all the shoppers have gone home for the day it is even more picturesque and special. The arcade carried a different atmosphere that captured the Loki spirit of innovation and independence perfectly.

20140616-123829.jpg

20140616-123906.jpg

On arrival Ruth and I were greeted with a glass of bubbly, which helped to soak up the relaxed party atmosphere perfectly whilst we waited in another Que for our food.

I was really looking forward to the food. The food at the party was from esteemed pop up duo Clarke and Lee, (Peel and Stone) who have held food events (Soul Food Kitchen) at The Church in the Jewellery Quarter. Their food is a mixture of oriental and English fusion. On offer was a delicious veggie option and a meat option.

My veggie option was lovely. It was a mushroom dim sum type dish served in a steamed bun. It was delicious, with a tantalising soy sauce and gentle spice flavour. The only shame was that there was not more on offer. It was served in a delightful cardboard box which was very sweet.

20140616-124833.jpg

20140616-124912.jpg

Afterwards we ventured inside the shop and tasting room and ordered two glasses of Loki wines superbly crisp and sparkly Prosecco (see previous review of Bistro 1847) which we love. This we took upstairs to the relaxed bar seating area, which was busy and lovely.

Throughout the atmosphere was superb, and lively with the cordial sound of people enjoying themselves with healthy chatter. We had a wonderful couple of hours.

Loki Wine is a superb gem in Birmingham City Centre, unique and happening. A real independent star in the Great Western Arcade.

Happy 2nd Birthday here’s to many more! 🙂

20140616-125804.jpg

We also brought some superb bread from Peel and Stone in the Jewellery Quarter which was been sold at Loki’s party. See earlier blog article.

20140616-125949.jpg

Loki Wine Merchant and Tasting House
36 Great Western Arcade
Great Charles Street
Queens way
Birmingham
B2 5HU

0121 212 9440

http://www.lokiwine.co.uk
@lokiwine

@peelandstone
http://www.peelandstone.co.uk

@Clarkeandlee
clarkandleegmail.com