Howdeez American Diner

Next stop for my foodie adventures was on Foleshill Road, Coventry. It wasn’t the longest of journeys, a 20 minute walk, but I knew any activity I got beforehand would help for what I had in store.

Like the Zorbas restaurant I visited last month I had seen Howdeez on many trips through Coventry, but always seemed to have an excuse for not stopping. This time no excuses were lined up as I marched straight to the American Diner and ordered a Howdeez burger bap/roll/sandwich/cob. Of course I chose an option that meant fries were an automatic selection too.

When I was making my order I was already having thoughts of dessert with a waffle top of my hit list, but wanted to make sure I had space, as it was only meant to be a light bite for lunch.

It’s not quite striking the right work/life balance, but I got the laptop on and was able to access the internet via their wireless connection. A big positive for any restaurant/café!

When the burger arrived I was not disappointed. It was not extravagant in terms of salad & sauce, but then again this is how I prefer a burger. You want to taste the food, with sauces sometimes a little overpowering, so this was perfect.

With thoughts returning to browsing the internet as I finished my last few fries, my thoughts also returned to wanting a waffle. So much for a light lunch, but hey ho. What shall I have? I know how well the Maple Sauce goes with a crêpe so had to go for Maple sauce as my sauce of choice.

This is where my comment on the food finishes as I was then told that the Maple Sauce had run out. No problem I will go for the toffee sauce. Finishing on a disappointing note having paid for a waffle I was then told a couple of minutes later that there was no mixture to make one. L I want a waffle. In all fairness the 20 minute walk only happened to be 15 minutes as I walked back, so I probably didn't really need it.

Has anyone else been here? I would be really interested on your thoughts. I think I will have to try one of their malteser milkshakes on another occasion. Have you tried one?

Christmas Shopping...The Plan!

Christmas is on it’s a way and for all the joy it brings, the shopping experience is something I could do without. Well I thought of a way to make shopping for gifts a little more bearable and help me avoid the chaotic and stressful last minute scenes and the lazy temptation of buying 3 for the price of 2 deals in Boots. I have decided to make up food hampers as presents and to help me do this I will be buying from independent businesses.

Like any good shopper and this is where I have failed before you need a plan of action. So my plan is to search the Leicester Winter Food Festival (https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Love-Crepes/184424361603615 see our facebook page for more details) this Sunday 17^th November and then to follow this up by a trip to Coventry Cathedral Frost Fair (http://www.ilovecrepes.co.uk/events_50_3.html visit our website for details) on Saturday 7^th December. A 20 day break in-between should about give me enough time to recover from this experience!

To add to the magic of these two great events they coincide with the Leicester Christmas lights switch on and Christmas Carols being sung in the Coventry Cathedral. What better way to get you in the festive spirit.

Whilst I am sure I am not the only one with this idea, why not try it yourself? Better still if you have any ideas of what I can include please let me know? It’s a great alternative to socks and chocolate and helps the local economy, by keeping money within the local area. Better still come and say hello and have a hot apple & cinnamon crepe to warm you up on the way.

I will send out a post of what I bought next week if all goes to plan, but don’t tell my sisters!

21/11/13 Update: Well after those famous words the plan didn't quite get off to a good start, but I am not going to give up. Having a busy than expected event in Leicester, which was good news for all traders led to ourselves working whilst most traders were packing away.

Its all down to Coventry Christmas Fair on the 7th December and a new event on a schedule the Warwick Rocks Evening Market on the 6th December.

Zorbaz Restaurant

Recently I introduced you to the prospect of me taking my foodie adventures away from the plain sailing world of crepes to other local places to eat. This led to a visit to a Greek Restaurant (www.zorbaz.co.uk) on Radford Road.  

12 years since starting my love affair with Coventry, I had a spell couched surfing* as I tried to not leave the life of a student behind. Not quite as exotic sounding as traveller’s journey's around sunnier climes like Australia, but this couch surfing lark took me out of the perilous city ring road and to Radford.

I'll get to the point, Zorbaz restaurant was a restaurant we passed on a journey over to the Student Union and back.  Not quite on my bucket list, it was always somewhere that I felt I would like to go if I had a regular income. Trust me I do have bigger dreams, but my plan of going to eat locally meant I visited and most importantly ate at Zorbas restaurant.

What do you do when you are not an expert in Greek cuisine? Go for the mezze; a range of small options that allow you to try a larger variety of foods rather than the traditional 3 course meal.

My love of humus meant it was an automatic choice from the mezze options and I played it safe again with feta cheese and salad. Keftadakia, a Greek take on meat balls that was simple, but deliciously coated with a tomato sauce. Saganaki was Amanda’s unhealthy choice of deep fried Greek cheese. If Amanda was allowed to give into temptation then that was my excuse to go for Loukanika, which is a Greek type of sausage similar in nature to the Spanish chorizo with a light peppery spice to it.

Other treats were the stuffed vine leaves. Vine leaves that are wrapped around rice and melt in your mouth. Out of all the foods we had these are the ones I would recommend the most.

There is a downside to the Mezze, if you want to call it a downside, is that you are full by the time it comes to the desserts.

So my 3 tips:

1. Go to Zorbas.

2. Choose the Mezze. You can’t fail!

3. Do not eat for 12 hours prior to your meal.

 

* I think I better clarify couch surfing. Not a Wikipedia definition, but it meant that I was able to continue the University lifestyle a year after I had finished my degree by staying around my friends and sleeping on their sofa.  

Foodie Adventures

The recent #CovTweetUp (see my penultimate post) highlighted to me the sheer number of businesses in the local area. This was not demonstrated better by being staged at international standard facilities of the Ricoh Stadium and being organised by a number of marketing and social media experts all based in the local area.  

A lover of food and as a caterer meeting Ajay of Lebanese restaurant (http://www.aqua-food-mood.co.uk) also highlighted one of an array of foods available on our doorstep. This made me think of the various restaurants in Coventry. I could quickly roll off restaurants serving food from around the world: American, Chinese, Moroccan alongside many pubs and restaurants serving more traditional British dishes, but how many had I actually been to?

Being inspired by #CovTweetUp I've been encouraged to try out more local restaurants and sidestep the local chippy once in a while...however, delicious they are.   A mission that could make me as famous as Mary Portas… if only anyone read this. I am going to go to one new restaurant, pub, cafe or deli from Coventry once a week. WAIT!!! Scrap that! Once a month. I don’t get much pocket money you know.

A man of many talents, being a food critic is not one of them, but I'm going to report back on some of my foodie adventures. At this point I will add that I am not going to highlight any poor ones, just sidestep them when I next think about eating out.

My next post will be on a Greek restaurant I visited.

ILC Update

“Not enough time in the day”. What an overused saying, so it’s not going to hurt if I say it this once as I have sadly neglected this blog the past month.

So, a catch up from our last few weeks as we get up-to-date and as a warning I may name-drop once or twice. Apologies in advance. J

This last month has seen us travel around the UK with our record number of weddings from the glamorous Corinthia Hotel in London to a small village in Thruxton, Hampshire; A fabulous setting within rolling countryside where a lovely couple got married. On this day I even discovered that someone actually reads these posts. Thank you Tessa and congratulations once again.

As well as these two weddings we have been up to Yorkshire, had a couple of trips to Fawsley Hall and more. Plus in-between all these weddings we were at the Stratford Upon Avon Food Festival and here is the ultimate name drop. No not David Beckham but Paul Hollywood aka The Silver Fox! Not that I was fortunate enough to see him, but apparently he is shorter than expected as Amanda passed him and nervously mumbled hello earlier in the day. For what only lasted 2 seconds, she managed to talk about ALL afternoon!

The year is not even close to passing and we are now having to turn our attention to the next year, with promo’s and some exciting times ahead planned for I Love Crepes (Watch this space). Thankfully we can energise ourselves with an endless supply of crepes. This job sure has its perks, though since we started I have had to up the miles I run to keep in shape.

I would now just like to take the time to thank you for reading my posts and your support of I Love Crepes.

#CovTweetUp

Sacrifice is too strong a word, but after 2 years we have had to put on hold our social life, but I think I may have pushed it a little too far this time by treating Amanda for her Birthday by taking her to a Coventry networking event #CovTweetup. Forever and a day this is going to be used to win arguments… not that she needs help, we both agreed the event was a great way to boost our profile within the city.

When you think of Coventry, affluence does not first spring to mind, but I have a soft spot for this city due to family links, going to the University (you could not tell by my grammar!), my wife being from here and where I live and have set up my business.

I believe Coventry has a lot to offer productively and financially too. Believing though and having any tangible rewards are two different things, but maybe #CovTweetup was the first step into tapping into potential. This is in comparison to the last two years, which has seen us choose a lot of local suppliers wherever possible, but has just seen us work in Coventry on only a handful of occasions.

 

Having, like I expect many others, hoped that someone would take the baton and lead from the front I heard about #CovTweetUp only a few weeks ago. It was only 2 weeks later did I realised it clashed with Amanda’s Birthday! Set up by Sally Mahers of the Intelligent VA Company championing this great cause.

From afar I have been made aware of #WarwickTweetUp campaigns that bring local businesses together and empower them via the use of social media, like my worst nightmare, Twitter. Could this happen on a larger scale in Coventry? Could they help social media incompetents like me? ….

 

Now after a few days to digest #CovTweetUp’s evening event, words that spring to mind about the event include inspiration, support and optimism.

The best thing about #CovTweetUp is it’s nice to know there are like-minded people trying to get on with their business and trying to make a living from it. Those that know its more than cooking a crepe on a griddle and are aware of the work done in the background, but at the same point enjoy what they do so are happy to put that time and effort into it.

So am I a social media pro now? Well not quite, but the experts including Todd from a Digital Marketing company behind the local #WarwickTweetUp have guided me onto the right path in how to use the likes of Twitter more effectively. Followers have immediately increased and that can only be a good thing for our brand presence, whilst I’m confident my SEO (Theres one acronym to look for!) will increase if I put their words of advice to good use.

It’s impossible to conclude the importance of my attendance and summarise what #CovTweetup is about as it will hopefully be something that I as a local businessman can take from, but also give something back in return and something that will snowball. For this is why I am going to post bi-monthly updates on my blog about CovTweetup for the foreseeable future.

As a CovTweetup member/supporter I would be really interested in fellow local businessmen/ businesswomen on their thoughts. How to take it forward? How we can help each other out etc. This will also show me that some people are listening to my ramblings. J

Reflection

Our busiest summer yet, I have sadly neglected this blog. I have not run out of ideas yet, though admittedly I am coming close with any hint of journalistic talent being just that…a hint!

Mid peak season it has come to my mind how lucky we are to not only share in couples special day as they marry or other celebrations we get to see fantastic locations around the UK. This is not to gloat, a sense of realisation for oneself, but also to highlight these jems to my handful of readers.

Just this last week after snaking along many country lanes we have found ourselves in an old stately home wrapped within miles of rolling countryside and has seen us nestled beside the beautiful River Thames away from the hustle and bustle of its more infamous setting of Westminster. To top this amazing few days we return to the wonderful Castle Howard famous for Brideshead Revisted.

Out of all journeys so far, one still stands out and it’s not my wedding venue so keep that to yourself! Fort Belan. Vacating a position that overlooks a potential access point to the Liverpool port action was taken to tighten up coastal defences from the threats of America and France in the 18^th Century.

Thankfully for our visit the cannons did not need to be loaded and we could take in the surroundings before we set up work. Situated on the opening of the Menai Strait overlooking Caernarfon surroundings include the open seas, Snowdonia Park and a long sandy beach. With its charm and positioning and the ability to exclusively book the venue for your own wedding you would be amazed to find that this is a venue that can help meet a modest budget.

Everyone has their own favourites and therefore I would be pleased for people to share their favourite venues, particular those that did not cause you to re-mortgage the house.

http://www.fortbelan.co.uk/index.php?id=52  Fort Belan Link

http://www.castlehoward.co.uk/Display.aspx?iid=853 Castle Howard Link