Breakfast at The Plasterer's Arms

The Plasterer's Arms is probably our favourite pub in Norwich, which is quite something as Norwich has an array of fantastic pubs.  The Plasterer's is a proper pub with a modern edge, epitomised by a stunning selection of gins as well as some great real ales and craft beers.  Plus they have lots of cool stuff like Sunday afternoon blues music and a bar billiards table.  And then there is the small matter of Voodoo Daddy's and their bonkers selection of artisan pizzas.

Given our much-publicised love for breakfast/brunch and our love for The Plasterer's, imagine our delight when we saw a post on Facebook informing us that on weekends, breakfast is now served at The Plasterer's from 10am.  Absolutely ideal.

So, we ventured to our local (almost, it's more like the fourth closest pub) on a Sunday morning to try out their breakfast offerings.  The menu is small but includes some American cereals, a nice touch that will please the local hipsters.  It also includes staples like bacon sarnies and some avocado on toast options too, along with a staggering choice of Bloody Marys.

WOTVM decided on smashed avocado and cashew cream on sourdough toast with crispy bacon, whilst Mr Vegan Man went for masala beans on sourdough toast.  We didn't plump for a Bloody Mary on this occasion, instead opting for a coffee for the gentleman and a pint of Coke for the lady (WOTVM doesn't drink hot drinks so this is how she gets her morning caffeine fix).  We paid at the bar and two breakfasts with drinks for £13 was a cracking start.

The food arrived promptly on chintzy plates that were fitting for the quirky setting.  Mr Vegan Man's masala beans were absolutely delicious, made with a tonne of cardamom and with a decent whack of background heat to boot.  The sourdough toast was crunchy with a great tang.  All in all a real treat.

WOTVM's sourdough was, well, pretty much the same as Mr Vegan Man's.  Her toppings, though, were quite different.  The avocado was creamy with a good texture and she loved the cashew cream.  The bacon was really crispy, just how she likes it, and the flavours and textures went together well.

There were a couple of minor gripes; firstly, the cutlery could have been a bit cleaner, there were a one or two food stains on the knife so we gave it a wipe with our napkins.  Secondly, the avocado had gone a bit grey - a little squeeze of lemon juice would have not only added a nice zing and freshness to the dish but would also have helped the avocado to keep its vibrant green colour.  Small details but important nonetheless.

Overall though, we really enjoyed our breakfast and it'll be interesting to see how well-established breakfast at The Plasterer's becomes.  We will certainly be back, it's just down the road from us, is very reasonably-priced, and the food was tasty.  Definitely well worth a try.

Smashed avocado with roasted tomatoes and poached egg

This is a great breakfast or brunch dish to whip up on a weekend, or even a week day morning if you find yourself with a bit of time to spare.  It only takes 20 minutes or so to make and is a real treat; smashed avocado with various toppings is an increasingly popular dish on many breakfast/brunch menus and we like it particularly with tomatoes and poached egg.

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C and whilst it reaches temperature, half six small tomatoes.  We've been using some Sainsbury's Taste the Difference ones that are really sweet and juicy - well worth the few extra pence.  Place the tomato halves on a baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil then sprinkle a little dried oregano, dried basil, salt and black pepper over the top.  Place in the hot oven for 15 minutes.

Whilst the tomatoes are cooking, take a ripe (very ripe is best) avocado and scoop out the flesh into a bowl.  Add the juice of half a lemon, or a lime if you don't have a lemon, along with half a teaspoon of chilli flakes and a pinch of salt and black pepper.  Use a fork to smash the avocado up leaving a few small chunks and mix well.

Bring a pan of water up to the boil and add a good pinch of salt and half a tablespoon of malt vinegar to the water.  When it is at a gentle boil, crack in two eggs and poach for 3-4 minutes until they are set but the yolks are still soft.  In the meantime, toast two slices of bread - fresh sourdough is our favourite but go with whatever you like best.

Spread some butter on the toast, smear over the avocado mixture and top with the poached egg and roasted tomatoes.  A really delicious breakfast that is simple to make and relatively healthy.  We hope you enjoy!

Brunch at Frank's Bar

When we got back from our wonderful holiday to Croatia, WOTVM had the bright idea of going out for brunch the following morning to try and combat our holiday blues.  We strolled into the city on a gloomy Friday morning and after passing a packed Number 33, which had been on our list of possibilities, we narrowed our choice down to Frank's Bar or Pandora's Kitchen.  As we'd been to Pandora's Kitchen recently, we decided to give Frank's a go.

Frank's Bar (picture courtesy of their website) has a special place in our hearts as it was where we went on our first date.  It was a quiet Wednesday night and we managed to wile away four of five hours in the blink of an eye, although we did also knock back quite a few gin and tonics and rum and gingers.  We like to go back to Frank's pretty regularly although usually only for drinks; Frank's has built up a tasty-looking menu and really developed its food options over the years but aside from some bread and hummus, we've not previously sampled their foody wares.

The breakfast/brunch menu has some interesting options and after ordering drinks - coffee, orange juice and herbal tea - and spending several minutes agonising over our choices we realised that we'd both narrowed it down to the same two dishes.  We decided that sharing was the way forward and so ordered avocado, cherry tomatoes and poached eggs on sourdough toast and sabih, a traditional Israeli dish of aubergine, boiled egg and a tahini dressing served on a toasted pitta with a mango pickle.

Our brunch arrived quickly and looked amazing, with a nice little dressed salad garnish on the side of both dishes.  After taking a quick snap, we set about ruining the aesthetics of our dishes by carving them in two and swapping them about.  We tucked in hungrily - it was around 11.30 and we hadn't eaten since the night before - and we were very happy with our choices.

The sabih was very flavoursome, it had a background sweetness from the mango pickle which complimented the rich sesame flavour of the tahini and the deep, smoky taste of aubergine.  The pitta bread was slightly crispy on the outside and was an excellent vehicle for the Middle Eastern flavours on top of it.  The boiled egg worked well with the other elements of the dish and added some hearty chunks of protein.

The avocado on toast was very nice indeed.  The avocado itself was perfectly ripe and the poached egg was cooked to perfection, with the yolk oozing out over the rest of the dish.  The sourdough toast had a good tangy crust and absorbed the juices from the tomatoes, avocado and egg nicely.  Our only small complaint is that we could have done with a few more tomatoes, the ones we had were sweet and juicy but we only had one or two each and could have done with a couple more.  The dressed salad with both of the dishes was a nice accompaniment.

Our bill, including drinks, was just over £20 which we felt was reasonable.  The portion sizes were just right (other than the missing toms) and we felt nicely full but not stuffed at the end of our brunch. 

We'll definitely give the food offerings at Frank's another go when we inevitably make another visit.  The service here is always friendly and today was no exception; we love the table service that comes as standard at Frank's, such a simple but great concept for a bar/café.  It's a great little place and quite rightly a Norwich institution, if you've never been before you should definitely go.  The décor is shabby shic and suitably hip and cool, it's the kind of place you can just as easily come for a coffee as a beer, a slice of cake as some tasty mezze plates.  You can visit their website here and you can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Any questions or comments please comment below or send us an email.