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.

WOTVM's food adventures in London - Part 3

This is the final, and briefest, instalment of our food adventures in London.  Normal service will be resumed soon with some reviews of the finest Norwich has to offer plus some tasty recipes, our bathroom should be in place by the end of the week and we're hoping to be able to then get back to blogging more regularly.

So, day three in London began a little later; as our train was due to leave at 4.30pm we decided on an eating strategy of a hearty brunch followed by an early afternoon snack to tide us over until we got back to the fine city.  When we stay in London, we often stay in Angel as there are loads of excellent food and drink places nearby, one of which is the Islington branch of The Breakfast Club.  However, every time we've stayed our efforts to eat at The Breakfast Club have been thwarted by it being absolutely rammed, with queues out the door and round the corner.  Thankfully, there are several branches across London (plus one in Brighton) and one of them just happened to be a stone's throw from our hotel.

The Spitalfields branch is larger than the more bijou Angel café and this meant that we were able to get a table straight away.  It was busy, but arriving at around 11.30 - after the main breakfast crowd but before lunch has got going - meant that we wouldn't have to wait for our food.  The menu is a combination of traditional British and American/Mexican inspired dishes.  Think anything from a full English to pancake stacks to breakfast burritos and much more in between.  There's a good mix of original dishes and old favourites, something to please everyone.

On the day we visited the hotplate had broken and so the menu choices were more limited, however that wasn't a problem for us as the dishes that took our fancy were still available anyway.  WOTVM went for the breakfast burrito - loaded with chorizo, scrambled egg, peppers and cheese with guacamole, sour cream and salsa on the side - whilst Mr Vegan Man opted for avocado and poached egg on toast, with the added zip of lemon juice, chillies, basil and some crunchy pumpkin seeds to boot.  To drink we ordered a freshly squeezed orange juice and a Slow Boy, which was a concoction of orange, carrot, apple and ginger.

The drinks arrived quickly and were followed shortly afterwards by the food, which looked great.  WOTVM's burrito was really good; the scrambled eggs were light and fluffy, the chorizo was punchy with flavour but not overpowering, the guacamole and salsa went really well too.  Mr Vegan Man does make the best breakfast burrito in the world so The Breakfast Club had stiff competition, but this came pretty close in terms of flavour. Her only criticism was that there was a bit too much sour cream, a touch less and it would have been spot on.

Mr Vegan Man's avocado and poached egg on toast was top notch.  The toast was good and crunchy, the poached egg had a lovely runny yolk, the avocado was creamy and complimented perfectly by a bit of chilli kick and the fresh pop of lemon and basil.  The seeds added some nice texture too.  All in all a very good brunch and at prices that are reasonable too.  Service was friendly and we'd definitely come back again.

With a few hours to kill we decided to go for a stroll along the South Bank, starting off at London Bridge.  We walked up to the Tate Modern to see if there was anything we fancied seeing but after a quick browse around the free galleries the only thing we were interested in - an exhibition by Georgia O'Keefe - was prohibitively expensive, so we instead decided to head back along the river to Borough Market.

We love Borough Market, it has such a great variety of food stalls, with most of the world represented somewhere or other.  We've had great street food from there previously, including take away flutes of prosecco and pink fizz, but on this early afternoon we had a hankering for some gelato and so we ended up in Gelateria 3Bis.  The place looked authentic, with the gelato kept covered (we learnt in Italy that all authentic gelaterias keep the gelato covered, the more 'touristy' places pile it high and make it look flashy) and with a small but interesting selection of flavours.  Mr Vegan Man went for dark chocolate and coconut - going for the effect of a Bounty - whilst WOTVM chose peanut and banana flavours.  Unbeknownst to WOTVM, the banana variety was actually a sorbet rather than a gelato, however the banana flavour was really strong.  WOTVM was a little disappointed as she loves gelato and isn't a huge sorbet fan but she could appreciate the quality and ate it all.

The peanut flavour was excellent, really good nutty flavour and a nice smooth gelato.  Mr Vegan Man's gelato was similarly really well made, beautifully creamy and with a good, rich flavour.  We both plumped for the free chocolate sauce in the bottom of our cups, which is a really nice touch and something that we also experienced in a gelateria we visited in Rome.  The sauce tastes like melted Nutella, which really can't be a bad thing.  We'd happily visit again, but WOTVM would make sure she ordered two scoops of gelato next time.

On our way back to the bus stop, we decided to stop for a quick drink at the Wheatsheaf right by the market.  It was a cracking little pub, with a brilliant outdoor area where we sat and enjoyed a pint.  Prices were a bit steep, but it is right by the market and it does serve really good local craft beer.

We made our way back to the hotel to collect our bags - via a quick vintage dress purchase on the corner of Brick Lane - and then we were on our way back to Norwich.  We had a great stay and ate lots of tasty food and we'll be looking forward to our next trip to the capital.