The Graphic Foodie

"Give your throat a vacation..Smoke a fresh cigarette!" "More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.” Wow! We now look back at these adverts from the 40s in wild disbelief, where medical professionals are actively promoting smoking as a health benefit. How utterly bonkers consumers must have been, hacking up their guts yet happily puffing away through it.

But this is how I like to think we will look back on the anti-bread era we seem to be stuck in. I overheard a group of teen lads in the supermarket banging on about avoiding the big G too; "Nah mate, can't eat that, I've had two slices of bread today."...What? You can't put a pair of socks on, yet you know your precise carbohydrate consumption for the day? What is this World?

Firmly avoiding any of that balderdash* is Sugardough, emporium of glorious gluten, mecca of the carb. The window displays are lined with luscious loaves, perfect pastries and the cabinets contain the cakes of dreams. From the central bustle of Brighton you are transported into what feels like a French patisserie; bentwood chairs, silverware, vintage bakeware line the walls and an Amelié-esque soundtrack plays in the background.

From their popular bakery in Hove, where the magic happens, the Market Street branch was a place to sit and enjoy their efforts. What I didn't realise is that they offer more than pastries and tea with a full menu of brunch, lunch and treats, plus brunch cocktails.

I cancelled my coffee when I saw the iced drinks, I love a golden mylk (I'm convinced by the claims, ironically) so opted for the *deep breath* iced coconut milk turmeric flat white. It was delicious and I enjoyed it despite Rosie rolling her eyes at me the entire time. What can I say, Brighton got to me...hard.

There are some lovely teas, proper hot chocolate with house made marshmallows, natural soft drinks or if you need something stronger, wines and a short cocktail list. The latter, being the weekend, I chased my golden mylk with. Balance innit? My mimosa, with freshly squeezed orange juice, was a welcome perk up. There's a Cherry Bakewell with kirsch, amaretto and prosecco or an espresso martini. All of which perfect brunch or cake partners.

The menu is served from 8am-5pm everyday starting with a pretty sounding confetti bircher, French toast, croques and of course pastries.

I chose the Turkish cilbir eggs, a dish of soft poached eggs, garlic yoghurt and an insane amount of beurre noisette, warmed with chilli. Exotic dippy eggs, if you like. To mop up the butter and yolks was sourdough toast filled with teeny chopped confit tomato and red onion. This was supposed to be served with brioche but was delicious none the less. Such a refreshingly different brunch choice and worth the order, although next time I'd love a bigger hit of spice.

If you're venturing into the lunch side of things there are some great sounding dishes, which are an interesting cultural mash up; smokey aubergine with greek skoldalia and Jerusalem classic a'ja bread fritters or roast cauliflower and chickpeas with pea humus sprinkled with Egyptian dukkah. I saw the posh ploughmans which looked a treat, but Rosie settled for a Burrata with spiced, roast butternut squash, fried sage, brown butter and sourdough toasts - simple, classic and a lovely thing to eat.

Even if you just order toast and marmalade, which is hand made here, it arrives in a beautiful cut glass bowl. So much nicer than the sugary shop bought kind, they've even made the staple basic breakfast a delicacy along with generous slices of the house sourdough bread which will have been freshly baked by baker-owner Kane McDowell.

Of course it would be crazy not to dive into the cake cabinet whilst here and it's like choosing between Ryan Gosling and Ryan Reynolds, for goodness sake. Each impeccably decorated, glossy and enticing, it's a hard task to decide.

After much agonising I opted for a classic lemon meringue tart, which had it all and the impressive, peaks were beautifully torched.

I completely underestimated Sugardough's food offering here. Everything is lovingly made, touches to both the food and interior made with a very keen eye that comes only with a family-run business. I struggle to think of anywhere in the city quite like it. Leave the carb bashing to Instagram and tuck in I say.

NEWS: There's also more to love about Sugardough. They have just been approved to deliver a new craft bakery apprenticeship from this September in partnership with Plumpton College.

“We’re genuinely excited about this apprenticeship and getting more people properly trained in the artisan end of the market,” says Sugardough’s Kane McDowell. “Apprentices will learn the art of baking from scratch, and largely by hand, which fits in perfectly with what Sugardough is about. There’s currently nothing like this scheme in the area, and fundamentally it’s really important for the sustainability of independent, traditional bakeries like Sugardough.”

Sugardough

18 Market Street, The Lanes

Also at: 5 Victoria Terrace, Hove

I dined as a guest of Sugardough. Words and thoughts, as always, my own.
*Yes, I know some are genuinely gluten intolerant, but come on, the dietary requirement has been glorified for the masses.

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crab brioche at Red Roaster Cafe Brighton

Commenting on the visual environment and design of a dining destination is not exactly uncommon on this blog, hard not to with my day profession. But I could write chapter and verse about the interior and branding at Red Roaster; the endless marble surfaces, the geometric tiling, hand painted wall art, gold metal features, coffee packaging...it's a design feast, and an Instagram account's best friend. (And we haven't even seen the outside space - with a proposed atrium/conservatory and kitchen garden.)

My dining experience is generally affected by all of these visual factors, which may seem superficial. But dining out is about the whole package otherwise I'd stay at home, cook something really nice and stare adoringly at the much larger shoe collection I'd be able to afford with all the money saved, believe me.

Interior design at Red Roaster Cafe Brighton

But anyway, it's not just about the surroundings. Having been in a few times and made a decent dent in the brunch menu, I think I've experienced what Red Roaster is about.

My first visit saw me a touch worse for wear after an evening on the tiles so the waiter, judging the bags underneath my eyes, kindly suggested the bacon dish to resurrect me.

Sat on top of a herb waffle was a pile of bacon jam; intense, sweet, savoury and well, just plain delicious. As if that wasn't enough, two rashers of streaky maple glazed bacon were there for company along with a fried egg. Batons of apple added a fresh, crisp element and it was really enjoyable. I did notice the black pudding was missing too late even though I was specifically asked if I wanted it (yes, girls eat black pudding too).

slow cooked pumpkin and tonka bean crumble at Red Roaster Brighton

Dining companions have ordered the delicate crab on shellfish brioche, beautifully garnished with pansies and a slow cooked pumpkin with tonka bean crumble and avocado mousse, which is a decent feed and something really different for a vegetarian option.

Salmon and calimari at Red Roaster Brighton

Salmon is a particular favourite for breakfast, it always feels a bit more elegant than your sausages and bacon. But here it has been elevated as you'd expect. Again on a waffle, only slightly over seasoned, is topped by ribbons of tea cured salmon. I was a little dubious about calamari for breakfast, but as a complete dish worked very well, finely cut and lightly coated and adding another texture. Surprisingly the best element was a citrus curd, which I'd hazard a guess at the en vogue yuzu, drizzled in the waffle cavities under the fish which lifted the whole dish. Delicious. They've made it extremely hard not to choose this on my next visit.

On the brunch menu you'll find a number of classics reworked; eggs on toast, full cooked breakfast, pancakes, all given a fine dining makeover. Only a bacon butty is the most instantly recognisable thing on the list - but I bet even this has a little tweak. The rest is just a refreshing change from the usual. I rarely venture out for breakfast, it doesn't particularly interest or excite me but Red Roaster have spun it on its head, offering breakfasts as you could never have imagined them. Ingredients such as shimeji mushrooms, aubergine caviar and pollen all make an appearance and there's a really nice breakfast board with a collection of items if you're indecisive too.

I've yet to try the lunch menu which is in a similar theme. Their take on the chicken kiev seems to be the one to try but again, the whole list reads well with roast scallop and truffle custard, poached stonebass and enoki noodles and steamed duck bao buns. There's a punk tiramisu, which will be mine one day soon, trust me. Prices for the whole menu hover around the £10 mark, which for the quality and detail, isn't bad at all.

So far there has been nothing to complain about food-wise and I hear consistently good things. Coffee, as you would expect from Red Roaster is always good, made on their cult Kees Van Der Westen machine (RR was one of the UK's first specialist coffee shops - they still roast their beans in Kemptown and remain one of the few organic certified roastery in the country). Service however has been a little hit and miss but in my book just as vital as the food and ambiance. Thankfully on my latest visits my experience was friendlier and far more efficient than before so hopefully the niggles are getting ironed out and this area will have the same polish as the rest of the experience.

I have also heard a few people comment that the portions are on the small side but they must have typical full English fry ups in mind for comparison. If that's what you want, then there are plenty of caffs in town that can cater to that. With a Michelin starred chef at the helm, you can't seriously expect to be fed trucker banquets - I have a decent appetite and they are perfectly fine for me. Also, the fact that these brunch dishes are more considered is particularly appealing.

By evening the mood changes and the place transforms to Pike and Pine, Matt Gillan's restaurant with a choice of taster menus and somewhere very much on my to-eat list.

Yes the old much-loved Red Roaster is unrecognisable in its new form and format, but day or night it offers Brighton diners something different and helps continue to elevate the quality and diversity of city's dining scene.

Red Roaster
St. James's St

Brighton

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I don't often review many cafes, or breakfasts, on the blog mainly because I don't tend to go out to eat breakfast (neither would you if you could eat Mr GF's pancakes) but I do go to plenty of cafes and definitely have my favourites. Even so a whole blog post on a chicken salad on toast or a piece of cake and a coffee is hardly riveting stuff.

But sometimes there's more to a place than you'd expect. As you walk in to V and H Cafe, a painted mural lists their main suppliers. It's a celebration of Sussex produce really and why not get everything locally if you can?

This is a real USP of this cafe. When food is as simple as breakfast, sandwiches and salads, quality of ingredient and attention to detail is what sets you apart.

As soon as my Eggs Florentine arrived I knew that these values were strong. Two perfectly poached eggs from Five Chimneys Farm in Hadlow Down (laid on the day of delivery) sat on my favourite chewy brown bread from Real Patisserie, with lightly cooked kale, mushrooms and frisee salad. And not too much Hollandaise sauce either. A gorgeous combination, much better than the typical spinach in the dish with the more robust kale. I wolfed the lot down.

My dining companion was the other man in my life, my five year old son, whose love of breakfast is making me more enthusiastic about it too. His face was a picture when his breakfast turned up, tailored from the standard menu and fit for a small prince! You see some really sad sausages in breakfast shots but this free range one from Westdene Butchers was fanastic, free from any fillers. The thickly cut rasher of bacon also came from them too. Soldiers cut from chewy brown and a generous helping of butter rich, golden scrambled eggs.

A nice touch was the homemade baked beans, made from a mix of butter, kidney and haricot given a slight kick of heat from chilli. So much nicer than tinned.

A lot of the menu can be adapted like this, the possibilities are endless but unlike some cafes who refuse to deviate from the menu, they are quite happy for you to customise - a particular bonus for those dining with little ones.

Coffee was great from Roasted in Henfield, as was the freshly squeezed juice made even more invigorating with ginger and turmeric.

We took some cakes home, made by Andrew Mikolajczyk from The Cake Time (previously head baker of Flourtown Bakery and cafe which was here before V and H Cafe took over). The slice of walnut and banana cake was really lovely. Traditional, honest and light, just as I like it. (I really have zero time for lurid, over the top cakes with piles of frosting and decoration.) The salted chocolate brownie though - this was the best textured brownie I've had. Not overly gooey but melting and crisp with a tinge of saltiness that makes it more grown up. I'd walk to Palmeira Square from Kemptown just for this.

The interior has been nicely done. It feels beachy without being themed, a lovely space to drop in any time (they also do salads and sandwiches for lunch too.)

Service is faultless, friendly and welcoming. I noticed a table of clearly well treated regulars that small businesses like this do well to retain.

I'm really glad I trekked over. This isn't my neck of the woods but if it were, I'd be in a lot, believe me. You can't fault the quality, service or attention to detail at all.

V and H Cafe

Holland Road

Hove

I dined as a guest of V and H Cafe. Words and thoughts, as always, my own.

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There's a huge drive to shun the big brand chain coffee shops and to support independent cafes, but what if we went one step further?

Right in front of the Brighton Pavilion sits Team Domenica, a social enterprise charity which helps young adults with learning disabilities find and retain employment. There are approximately 1.5 million people in the UK with learning disabilities and young adults within this group are faced with less than a 6% chance of finding employment after leaving education. Over 65% of people with learning disabilities want to work, yet there is no sustainable way for them to enter the workforce. And I'm so proud that there are a number of excellent businesses in Brighton that support vocational places to the candidates here.

Under the centre itself is a cafe where candidates are able to practice their catering and social skills by serving the public. And it's a really gorgeous space too, designed in keeping with the oriental style of the Pavilion it sits near, the cafe is light, bright and modern. They serve Small Batch coffee and offer simple, fresh cafe food like filled croissants, soup, toasted panini, sandwiches and homemade cakes -along with the classic chocolate cake were some quirkier options like the courgette and poppyseed cake.

This is a brilliant alternative to the cafes around the town centre, especially if you are visiting the museums. The coffee is excellent and served by the loveliest of people. Prices are kept low (sandwiches £3, cakes £1.50 and coffee around £2) and all profits go straight back into the charity to help them do their good work. You can also get takeaway so ideal if you are freezing at the bus stops outside!

I loved meeting the candidates that were staffing the cafe that day, hearing about the places they have been working and seeing the beneficial impact it has on their lives. It makes complete sense to support this charity just by choosing to pop in for coffee.

flower decoration at cafe domenica brighton

Cafe Domenica
62-63 Old Steine
Brighton

I'm also going to pay a visit to Dottie's Cafe in East Brighton Park soon. They have taken over the cricket club house cafe (it's not changed since I was a kid!) and is staffed by deaf people. They even encourage you to sign your order!

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Afternoon tea can be a very swish affair; the starched, white tablecloths, the silver spoons, delicate china and impeccable, glossy patisserie. Sigh, I'm a sucker for it...bye bye £100. Talk of Tea in Brighton however, is none of those things. Despite having the city's largest tea list with some incredibly refined options, it is very much an "everyday" venue (their words). And it suits Brighton to a, well, tee.

Located right in the centre of town just off Western Road, it's an intimate little space, decorated with little trinkets, mismatched lanterns, fluro orange walls and charming it is too. There's also a sweet little yard with hanging seats for when the sun shines.

The tea menu lists Temi Tea (A Royal Tea from the only tea garden in the former kingdom of Sikkim), Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls and some fine organic Darjeeling. They have a superb green tea choice and many flavoured teas, including some rather unorthodox blends, Limoncello or Witch Blend anyone?

I had the Milky Oolong which is unlike any other tea. Refreshing, sweet and fragrant with an unmistakable milky taste. I can't get enough of it.

Unlike the extensive tea menu, the food on offer is more simple. You can pop in for a sandwich or a slice of cake for just a few pounds or have the full afternoon tea with a choice of sandwiches, scones and a slice of cake.

Cake gets a big shout out. They are made in-house and are all gluten free, not that you'd know it. The enormous slices of chocolate & raspberry and carrot cake were both super light. I sometimes find gluten free options quite cloying and dense but these were anything but. And although they don't cater for vegans, you can call in advance and they will make something specially.

I would have liked the scones to have more height but they were pleasant and sandwiches simple but delicious enough. They could probably tweak it here and there—cut the crusts off and the like—but this is all very relaxed and everything feels about right. This is a pleasant afternoon tea that won't be breaking any banks (£10.95 for 1 person or £19.95 for 2 people).

Being so close to town it's a handy one to know about for a pit shop and quick bite or a lingering tea-fuelled lunch with the ladies. And with piles of games, magazines and books, it's the place to spend some time if you have it. They are so friendly here and welcomed my two crumb making kids but I think it's not the best place for a meet up with the children in tow if they are very young due to the size of the place, lack of highchairs etc. Look, before I had kids, I wouldn't have been keen to have my quiet afternoon tea hijacked by some squarking little ones. Even though I could take my 4 year old boy confidently to a fine dining restaurant for a 3 hour meal, well the 18 month old girl is cut from a different cloth!

Now more than ever with the increase of the chain restaurants and coffee shops in the city, we should really make the effort to celebrate and support our independent places, as after all, they are what makes Brighton Brighton.

talkoftea.co.uk
26 Spring St
Brighton BN1 3EF

I was invited to review Talk of Tea, words and thoughts, as ever, are my own.

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