Yummy Yume

I don’t know what it is about sushi, but I cannot foresee a situation where I would ever give it a miss. I love it. A lot. In theory, raw fish, plain rice and vegetables smeared in a sinus-clearing, tangy, green paste sounds hideous. Oh how wrong a theory can be. My love of sushi means that I’ve often gone for the quick and easy fix at ‘Yo! Sushi’, where frankly you end up paying extortionate prices for sub-standard and average tasting dishes. Admittedly on occasion I’ve even lowered myself to the Sainsburys' sushi snack box meal just to get that hit. I know, I know, I’m the worst kind of junkie. For want of anywhere decent nearby I cheapened myself and gave in to these sushi fiends.

However, the oppressive reign of bad sushi is over! A Japanese guardian angel has come to my rescue and ensured that I never have to eat inferior sushi again. ‘Yume’ (apparently pronounced you-may) is a brand spanking new Japanese cafe/restaurant nestled quietly among the bars and shops of Cotham Hill, which also just so happens to be roughly 3 minutes walk from my house. Huzzah!

With my sushi cravings going into overdrive I hastened down to Cotham Hill with my fellow foodie and partner in crime, Elly, to check out this new hotspot.

Inside the decor is cute and fresh with clean lines, a warm colour palette and the occasional painted cherry blossom tiptoeing across the walls. Yume retains a sense of Japanese tradition, with folding paper screens and wicker lamps, without being too garish. This little place is all about the food.

They don’t as of yet have an alcohol license, but the staff are very friendly and are more than happy for you to bring your own. Elly and I cracked into a bottle of rosé while we browsed the menu. This took awhile. The range of hot and cold food was amazing and all the dishes looked fantastic. Being the greedy girls we are, and considering that we are both severe sufferers of food envy, we decided to get a hot dish, a sushi dish and a side to share. We eventually opted for the beef teriyaki with garlic sauce, the ‘rainbow roll’ (crab & avocado topped with a rainbow of fish) and a side of chicken gyoza (dumplings) and thank that Japanese guardian angel we did!

The rainbow roll dish came with 8 hefty pieces of sushi, each eye-rollingly delicious. Pouring ourselves generous bowls of soy sauce we merrily dunked away. As all proper sushi deserves it also came with a liberal mound of wasabi (this thrilled my obsession with all forms of spice and luckily for me Elly isn’t a wasabi fan, so I adorned my sushi with it to my hearts content) and, of course, ginger. A mouthful of heaven, every time.

The beef teriyaki was equally as delicious, particularly the garlicky-teriyaki sauce which melted into the sticky rice and made it almost as yummy as the beef itself. Considering chopsticks and rice are not the easiest combo to master, we impressively managed to lick the bowl clean. This dish also came with a side of crispy seaweed and a warming mini-bowl of Miso soup to wash down all that delicious fish, meat and rice. The chicken dumplings were both succulent and crispy, and were accompanied by a tasty chile and soy sauce. We were left perfectly full, those pesky cravings thoroughly satisfied.

Now onto another major plus. Sushi is notoriously expensive (meaning my bank account and sushi addiction are in a perpetual and bitter stand off), however at Yume this cuisine is very cheap. 8 giant ‘rainbow rolls’ cost £9, whilst the huge bowl of teriyaki cost a mere £6, and the gyoza £3. The whole menu is excellently priced (6 pieces of fish maki will only set you back £3). Between 2 our meal came to £9 each and we left with our tastebuds tingling, credit cards singing and expectations thoroughly exceeded.

No more cheap fixes- my sushi habit is now a mere stroll away. I’ve officially died and gone to sushi heaven.

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Stray Dogs

The other day I received a text that made me very happy. My cousin Beth, who is on her year abroad in France (clever little lady), was making a fleeting appearance in Bristol the very next day and asked whether I would like to grab some lunch. Our family is one of the foodiest fams I know, so the combination of the two in my favourite city was an exciting prospect indeed. Not only did it give me the opportunity to catch up on all her exotic French exploits, but also an excuse to eat in one of Bristol’s many amazing lunch spots. My fast-dwindling student loan has denied me the luxury of eating out of late, however this gave me the perfect excuse. Stray Dogs is somewhere I have been meaning to visit for awhile so I grabbed the chance with two greedy hands and headed on down to Stokes Croft. 

Stray Dogs’ residence of choice is The Bank, which incidentally transforms into a buzzing plethora of musical activity at night. The high ceilings and quirky interior give it the unusual vibe of grandiose and down to earth. The staff are friendly and chilled, and I got the feeling that you could walk in any time of the day and order whatever you wanted without regard to whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner. They specialize in two American classics: the hot dog and the waffle. However, these are hot dogs and waffles with a difference. The ‘haute’ dogs, as they call them, are mouthwateringly varied and piled high with goodies, ranging from the ‘Chilli Cheese Dog’ (beef sausage, chilli, melted cheese and hot sauce) to the ‘Pizza Dog’ (sausage, mozzarella, slow roasted tomato sauce, charred bell peppers, pepperoni and oregano). Drool. 

I was drawn to literally all of them, but my love of spice overwhelmed me and I opted for the ‘Mexican Dog’, a paprika sausage topped with the most ridiculously dreamy combination of  guacamole, sour cream, smokey tomato salsa, melted cheese and nachos. Need I say more. 

As they say, a picture speaks a thousand words, so here are a few snaps just to prove my point. 

(sorry they're slightly blurry- I was almost literally shaking with excitement at the thought of eating such a glorious specimen)

We were slightly greedy and decided to have a side of ‘4 cheese fries’, which we mopped up with lashings of ketchup and mayo and were simply heavenly. We were full to pop by the end so couldn’t bring ourselves to try their other speciality, which was fairly upsetting as they looked divine. Waffles piled high with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch, peanut butter and strawberry jam, or if you were feeling nostalgic, even Angel Delight. At least this gives me another utterly justified excuse to go back. 

The service was, admittedly, slightly sluggish. However the dog more than made up for it, plus Beth and I had much to catch up on anyway so I can overlook this. 

Stray Dogs have recently incorporated another iconic American dish into their menu: the burger. You can rest assured that I will also be giving these a try in the near future. You can find their full menu on their website, here.

As an added bonus, prices are very good, the dogs ranging from £3.95-£6.50 and the waffles from £2.50-£3.50. Tasty and kind to a lowly student’s budget. This place is a must.

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Billie Holiday

One gloomy, dull and uninspiring Monday morning back in November, I rediscovered the gem that is Billie Holiday and haven’t been able to stop listening since. Many of us are familiar with ‘I’m a Fool to Want You’, due to its revival in last year’s chic advert for the famous perfume Chanel No. 5, featuring the beautiful Audrey Tautou and her hunk of a co-star frolicking around Istanbul looking impossibly attractive in a sepia filter.

Although a gorgeous advert, Billie’s silky tones have a lot more to offer than just endorsing a perfume. Her slow, soulful voice has melancholic undertones which saunter alongside the gentle, bluesy notes of the piano, clarinet and saxophone. This creates a doleful yet warm vibe, making you just want to cuddle up with a cuppa and watch the rain drizzle down the window.

Although often having dark and depressing lyrics (Billie’s life experienced it’s fair share of turmoil) there is something inherently comforting about her caramel smooth voice drifting through the crackling texture of 30s and 40s gramophone recordings. I’m a bit of a sucker for anything old Hollywood, the roaring twenties and old school jazz, blues and swing- Sinatra will always happily transport me to the glittering lights and smoky bars of mid-century America- so Billie has firmly secured her place as my ‘new-old-favourite’.

So when you are having one of those mornings- British weather doing it’s usual dreary thing, a lack of inspiration in the air and the sleep struggling to clear from your eyes- don’t fight it. Boil the kettle, grab a book, snuggle down and allow Billie to sing away your troubles.

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