Beautiful Bristol

On Friday I jumped on a (very packed) train and headed out of London west towards Bristol to visit cousin Lynsey. We spent Saturday exploring the city centre, having lunch at the Watershed, which is very like Manchester's Cornerhouse, and going on the hunt for the 80 Gromits that are in certain spots all over the city. So cute!! On Sunday we wandered into Clifton Village to have brunch at The Primrose Cafe and walk over the suspension bridge. It's such a gorgeous part of the city with fantastic townhouses and quiet little mews. What a lovely weekend!

Jamie's Diner

On Thursday, Dan and I had another culinary experience this time at Jamie Oliver's Diner on Shaftesbury Avenue. There's still a real trend from burgers and hot dogs in London but I must say that I prefer the latter. (I do miss our Saturday morning Chorlton sausage at Barbakan!) At Jamie's we both had porky dog with bacon and caramelised onions (and Dan had pulled pork too) which was delicious in a brioche bun with fries on the side served on a metal tray. For pud, we also both had chocolate milkshake which rounded off the meal very nicely. The diner had a really nice laid back atmosphere, a shame it's a complete contrast outside with the touristic madness of Leicester Square. Once you've pushed your way through the crowds it's well worth a visit.

Dog House

Last night there was an incredible programme on The Secret Life of Dogs. For a dog lover like me the moral of the story was that dogs are amazing, from their ability to guide the blind, to lowering blood pressure with a stroke and a cuddle and even having the capability of sniffing out cancer. Even if Puck hasn't shown any of these skills, he's still my favourite!

At work this website Architecture for Dogs was sent around. Well known architects have design play pieces for dogs of different shapes and sizes and anyone can download the blueprint and make it - what a great idea! From top: MVRDV, atelier bowwow and Toyo Ito. Like the pallet furniture of Studiomama, it's design for sharing. Maybe our plan for designing a chicken coop to take the same ethos...

Images from Architecture for Dogs

Cow and Chicken

Without knowing it, Dan took me to one of the most current eateries in London for my belated birthday treat, Tramshed. This evening it's at the top of TimeOut London's Most Popular list. Before we even got inside, I was enticed by the farmers market-like stall out the front and when we walked in the Damien Hirst cow and chicken commands your attention high up in this vast open hall. 

We went for the kilo steak to share (we love steak and also weren't keen on the idea of a cooked chicken with feet still attached hanging in front of us). At first the both of us were worried it was a case of eyes bigger than tum, but we ploughed through the delicious meat with side of onion rings, minted greens and fries. As for dessert, I had Credit Crunch ice cream which was honeycomb and hot chocolate sauce goodness - absolutely delicious!

Tramshed is definitely worth a visit, I like the novelty of a massive shareable steak and loved the ice cream! I wonder how the chicken tastes...?

A Dollop

A dollop. What a wonderful word! And a dollop of chutney, even better! I came across across Rubies in the Rubble in Stylist magazine this week and immediately knew I had to find out more. The chutneys are made from the left over, unwanted ingredients from our country's vast (and inefficient) food distribution network; the founder Jenny talks about it more here. The concept behind the jars is great and get's us thinking about where are food comes from and what happens to the produce that isn't bought. Now to buy a jar...