Nosh Up North...

Over the past month I have been introduced to restaurants in both Leeds and Manchester that have given even some of my London favourites a run for their money... So guess what? I'm going to share them with you...!

First up The Arts Cafe in Leeds. I was up visiting my gorgeous and favourite uni couple, Lauren and Mark, a few weeks ago and we decided to treat ourselves to a lazy Saturday brunch. Off we trotted to Call Lane to devour as much freshly squeezed orange juice, eggs and coffee as humanly possible. The interior of the restaurant is bright and minimalistic but with a quirky artistic twist ... adorning the space is local art which diners can purchase right off the wall beside them. I personally didn't quite get some of the pieces, but one actually got snapped up whilst we were there - a sketch of a pug angel! My favourite was a hungry bear who, fresh from his weekly shop in Morrison's, was laden down with shopping bags ... I told you - a little strange! But the restaurant is called the Arts Cafe so if art wasn't present it would be strange in itself... 

Anyway, moving swiftly onto food - my favourite subject! I opted for the warm chorizo and potato salad with dressed spinach and soft poached egg - 100% delish! 

The perfect spot to set you up for a Saturday shopping spree in the Victoria Quarters. 

The Arts Cafe

42 Call Lane, 

Leeds,

LS1 6DT

0113 243 8243

Next stop... Manchester for a bite at Australasia, a restaurant specialising in modern Australian cuisine combined with Pacific Rim flavours... what does that mean? Well we had sushi, if that makes things any clearer?! Confused by the cuisine description maybe, but there's no denying that this place is spot on in every other way... from its novelty mini Louvre pyramid entrance at street level...

...to its white, exposed brick and glossy underground interior...

...to the achingly cool menus...

...to the heart stoppingly good food! We opted for the 14 piece mixed sushi and sashimi selection and a bottle of sauvignon blanc...

And if all of that wasn't enough, Australasia also provides the prefect platform for people watching. A mixed bag of diners from casual couples enjoying a light lunch to family catch ups to girly glamorous brunch groups. The best however sat right next to us - two Liverpudlians on a date, she was wearing a tighter than tight white Lycra backless dress (may I add that it was 2pm in the afternoon...) coupled with 6 inch gold sparkly wedges and long platinum blonde hair which had been straightened to within an inch of its life. He was suited and booted in a 3-piece with enough gel in his hair to rival Ross from Friends! Sadly they sat down just as we were paying up or I would have been glued to them throughout their meal!

All in all a sure winner - a definite hot spot if you take a trip up North anytime soon.

Australasia 

1, The Avenue

Spinningfields

Manchester

M3 3AP
0161 831 0288

Posh Nosh Straight To Your Doorstep: Housebites

Hands up who likes to indulge in a cheeky takeaway from time to time? My hand is firmly up and waving around in a very keen fashion! 

I'm not sure about you but I never seem to learn when it comes to takeouts, each time I decide it's a good idea i'm left feeling uncomfortably full and slightly dirty! We're talking fattening Indian takeaways laden with coconut milk or oily grease ridden pizza. It's a good idea in theory but once consumed you don't feel so hot! Well I have a solution to this dilemma ... let me introduce you to Housebites, restaurant-worthy gourmet food from the comfort of your home! Despite it having been around for a while now, I only heard about the posh nosh takeaway service few months ago and have been hungry to try it ever since! Well last weekend, a girlfriend came round and we took the plunge and what a plunge it was! 

Let me explain the Housebites service in simple terms. Professional chefs living in London, Manchester, Bristol and Brighton place their personalised bespoke menus via the Housebites site. Every chef cooks and delivers within a certain radius (I think it's about 2-3 miles max). All customers have to do is sign up and enter their postcode. Bam! Up pop a list of chef options (complete with a sweet little profile on each) and menus for each to choose from. Once the order has been placed the chosen chef gets sent all the necessary details and gets cracking to deliver a delicious meal on time.

We opted for the delightful Parisian treat, Lena! Her Housebites profile says she draws inspiration from her French and Persian heritages and her menu puts a quirky spin on Middle Eastern classics. So far so good, plus I feel like I know the chef preparing my meal which added a whole new dimension to the normal takeaway experience. Lena's menu consisted of four mains, three sides and one dessert - small but perfectly formed. There's nothing worse than a menu as long as your arm, I would much rather have a few options to choose from - the sign of a good restaurant or chef in my opinion. 

So onto the food ... to start us off, we snapped up two portions of Lena's tangy tangerine hummus and pitta. Mini mouse and I then opted for the 'Persepolis Kofteh' for our main course - organic lamb and pistachio meatballs baked in a luscious pomegranate and honey glaze, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and fresh coriander served with aromatic, buttery saffron rice. Being a veggie, Ellie Mouse went for Middle-Eastern Style Risotto - creamy courgette and red pepper risotto with parmesan and feta cheese, flavoured with saffron, lemon and a touch of chilli, topped off with toasted almonds and pomegranate seeds. Once ordered, we were then prompted to select a delivery time ahead of paying up. The whole process was complete plain sailing and ridiculously affordable - just £35 for a gourmet takeaway ... amazing!

We then sat tight until our time slot arrived, which was between 9-9.30pm - bang on 9pm my mobile sprang into life and hey presto, grub was up! I scampered to the door and was met by a smiling face holding out a brown bag of goodness. It was like Christmas! I rushed into the kitchen and the girls followed. We ripped open the bag to find our dinner neatly stacked up waiting to be devoured. We started with the hummus which was out of this world, so flavoursome and full of texture and the pitta still piping hot, the beauty of your personal chef living just a stone's throw away! 

After gobbling that down we greedily dished up our mains which were meet with a series of OMG's ... seriously tasty stuff!

Ellie's risotto dish... 

Mice meatballs... 

All in all, a revolutionary find that has changed my takeaway outlook for life! I know what i'll be doing next weekend, the following weekend and the weekend after that. My parting words for you are simply ... Housebites rocks!