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Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 20 and Crunch

Firstly, it is insanely and intolerably hot today in Norwich (not that I complained of course), so James and I did really well in managing to visit another market stall in our quest to visit them all this year. This is a new outlet to the market, so we didn’t visit it when we did all of this food stall visiting in 2023. As it was so hot, apologies for the lack of photographs, but there’s a limit to my bravery. We have actually tried to come here before, but once it was closed and the other time every single item was marked as being out of stock, which seemed sub-optimal. There were a couple of items out of stock today, although you have to look closely to see the stickers.

I don’t normally buy drinks from the market, as James and I aren’t that decadent, but I desperately needed some refreshment so I acquired this whilst I waited for the food. The service at the stall was efficient and polite, not much engagement outside of the ordering process, but it felt welcoming. They accept cards and cash here, with the prices being towards the lower end for the market.

We found a bit of grass to sit on in the shade, which more suited me as I like being firmly in the cold, although James is quite middle class and was hoping for seating. He didn’t complain though, he had chicken. And, as James mentioned, this meal tasted like the chicken balls in Chinese takeaways, which to me and him is a very good thing indeed. I suppose there could have been just a few more fries, but I was happy with the number and they were freshly cooked. The chicken was served as a generous portion and the mayo and ketchup is supplied free of charge. Everything was at the appropriate hot temperature and I thought that there was an effort made with presentation bearing in mind it’s chicken and chips. I thought for £5 this was definitely comparable to other similar venues, with the can of drink being £1.50 which was also not unreasonable.

By sitting on the grass, James, ever the influencer, was able to carefully position his food so that it was beautifully photographed. He went for the spicy dirty fries, which I avoided as I didn’t fancy the cheese sauce, although it was really just grated cheese on top. The sauce was more tangy than spicy, but I was pleased with my rather more unadulterated affair.

For the value offered, we both thought that this was one of the better visits so far this year despite the solar adversity. The service was polite, there wasn’t much of a wait, it was keenly priced, the food had a depth of flavour and the portion size was reasonable. We’d likely both go back here, if we didn’t fancy Lucy’s chips, so what higher praise could we give it?

July 11, 2025
Lowestoft – Joseph Conrad (Two Julians)

First on our grand Two Julians tour of Lowestoft was Joseph Conrad, the JD Wetherspoon pub located opposite the railway station. It was a hot day in East Anglia, but being by the coast helped matters somewhat.

JD Wetherspoon makes an effort to explain the names of their pubs, so I will use their text:

“When Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowksi disembarked in Lowestoft, in June 1878, he could not speak a word of English. The Polish mariner then signed on as crew with the Skimmer of the Sea, a small coaster. Korzeniowksi had his first English lessons from the ship’s master and went on to become famous as Joseph Conrad, one of the leading writers of the 20th century. Much of Conrad’s highly acclaimed work was inspired by his long career at sea, including his novel Lord Jim – twice adapted as a film.

These licensed premises are named after the Polish mariner who disembarked in Lowestoft in 1878 and signed on as a crew member of a small coaster that sailed out of the port. He went on to become one of the leading writers of the 20th century, using the name Joseph Conrad. These premises are the former well-known Tuttles store, which was built in two stages. The original store opened in 1888. The larger extension was added in 1893. These premises were refurbished by J D Wetherspoon in July 2013.”

And here’s the first half of the Tuttles build, so the photo likely dates to around 1890. Tuttles was a hugely significant department store in Lowestoft, with a long history spanning well over a century, with this area still referred to as Tuttles Corner. The business began in the mid-19th century with Henry Tuttle, who started as a grocer and provision store at 66 High Street in 1843. The enterprise quickly grew, leading to moves and expansions to other premises in the town and by 1866, Henry Tuttle had diversified into drapery and millinery. The iconic Tuttles building at Station Square was acquired by Henry and his son Ebenezer Tuttle in 1886 and in 1888, Tuttle & Son officially opened their ‘Bon Marché’ department store to the public at this location. It rapidly expanded its offerings, adding a dressmaking department by 1890 and undergoing a major refit in 1897 to include departments such as haberdashery, laces, wool, hosiery and other assorted accessories. Ebenezer Tuttle himself was a prominent figure in Lowestoft, serving as a Town Councillor and later as Alderman, eventually becoming Mayor of Lowestoft from 1904 to 1906. In July 1964, a fire sadly destroyed an ornamental turret that graced the south-west corner of the building. In 1960, Tuttles was taken over by Debenhams Limited, but despite this, it continued to trade under the Tuttles name for a time before eventually closing its doors in 1981.

The building remained in partial usage, but it took JD Wetherspoon to come and complete a more substantial renovation. Above is the Google Streetview image from 2009 and the Weigh & Save that was in the premises for several years.

This is where the entrance to Weigh & Save was once located. The pub is sizeable, this is some of the downstairs, but the upstairs section is just as large. There are plenty of tables outside the front as well, but also plenty of seagulls so we weren’t tempted to move out into the danger zone.

Stairs to the upstairs toilets, which are as usual for the chain a little bit of a trek. The pub felt generally clean and tidy, with no annoying background music intruding into the general ambience.

Slightly out of date, but interesting to see the beers that were available to request.

The real ale selection wasn’t actually that exciting for the chain, their generic three real ales as well as the Exmoor Gold. The staff member at the bar was very new, but he was polite, engaging and was doing his best, but it was evident that the chain had rather dumped him into the deep end. I won’t complain about the beer selection at the chain, as they make a real effort to have some craft beers available in cans, so there’s always something of interest.

Julian testing the beer temperature and he said that it was spot on, especially in the extreme temperatures that we were facing. He has very high standards.

Here’s my well-kept half pint of Gold from Exmoor Ales, a pleasant beer with a toffee flavour to it, with a lightness and sweetness, as well as being refreshing given the aforementioned low temperature. The price was reasonable, this was just £1.99 for a pint.

Lots of AWPs, these likely make the pub a fair chunk of money and are tucked out of the way in this venue.

The on-line reviews for the pub are around average for the chain, I thought I’d have a little look through them to see if there was anything surprising and delighting.

“NO DOGS ALLOWED apparently . . . but there are signs EVERYWHERE apparently, said this irritable staff person – except there are ZERO signs on the side door – and nothing that jumped out on the front door! I was told to leave with my puppy (who was securely in a bag) by a bar-woman with as much charm as a house brick, and she would have 100% liked to have been even more unpleasant if I hadn’t been so generally affable about it. Low-rent customer service, you see, you can can always say things nicely, unless you don’t actually know how to; upbringing, education, manners . . . that sort of thing. You either have them, or you don’t. Can’t even sit outside with a dog apparently either, in the fresh air, on a nice day. So be aware, NO DOGS ALLOWED OUTSIDE either! Okay, so now that this puppy should be with us for at least a decade, probably longer, I guess the Joseph Conrad will be losing our custom for the next decade plus. Hey ho! Erm, does Wetherspoons even know that the UK is a nation of dog lovers? Has anyone told them? Should we, do you think?”

The comment about the team member’s upbringing tells me all I need to know here. Same old thing, the chain has made a policy not to allow dogs, but by all means comment on the team member’s education as that seems proportionate…. And, no, don’t tell them, they already know.

“Unfortunately due to the overzealous door staff and the alleged manager, laughing and enjoying yourselves is not permitted in this establishment.”

Good, people enjoying themselves can be too decadent.

“My disabled daughter was visiting Lowestoft recently. My daughter cannot walk without crutches and asked staff to help her get a mug of coffee to a table. They refused, citing football as the excuse, and claiming to be short staffed. This event occurred at 9 am on Saturday 17th August 2024. At that precise moment, the restaurant was not at all busy with very few customers at the tables and staff standing around chatting. I am appalled at the policy of Wetherspoons to refuse to help disabled customers”

If that’s true, that does seem to be entirely sub-optimal.

“If you are disabled and require assistance because you are on crutches and cannot carry a cup yourself do not go to this Wetherspoons. Today I was told that despite it being 8.55 in the morning they couldn’t help me with a cup from the coffee machine because it was football today. The restaurant was half empty and the TVs were not switched on and they flatly refused to help a person who walks with two crutches with a cup from the coffee machine. When I asked to speak to the manager, he eventually said they would help me “ This one time”. But I thought don’t put yourself out mate and I asked for a refund. Next time I will do it myself and this will result in me pouring coffee all over the floor which is clearly what they want. Obviously, they have plenty of time to clear up spillages, although I would’ve thought it would be quicker just to help as person than to be so rude and unhelpful as to refuse. But it’s okay I work for Lbc and BBC radio so this will be being broadcasted about In the next few weeks, if I don’t get a satisfactory response to my complaint from their Head Office”

Hmmmm. LBC and BBC Radio, but I can’t find details of either organisation broadcasting this story….

“Was in this afternoon with my dog outside and was told to leave as weatherspoons don’t allow dogs in there pubs. That is fine not all pubs do. BUT I was outside on public land owned by the council not weatherspoons. They might have a street licence that means the council give them permission to put tables and chairs out there but the land is still owned by the council”

I Googled this and it seems that a pavement licence does indeed give the venue the right to enforce its policies within the licensed area, as long as public access is maintained next to it. This has annoyed several people though, likely those hoping that they can get themselves an exemption to the dog policy.

“Wetherspoons dog policy is pathetic. I can understand not allowing dogs inside but to not allow dogs outside is ridiculous. Are people with dogs not supposed to eat? If this is not discrimination, I don’t know what is.”

I think I can come with some other definitions of what discrimination is. I suspect that there is always the option of taking your dog to a venue that does want them, there are no shortage of such places.

“why did this place refuse to let me drink MY dr pepper that I payed for. I brought the drink into the restaurant with under a quarter of It left and I got told by one of the staff members that I was NOT allowed to finish my drink as I hadn’t purchased it in the building despite having ordered a full 3 course meal. do better.”

It doesn’t seem unreasonable to ask people to buy drinks from the venue rather than bring them in from outside….

“Typical Weatherspoons. Clients need to get jobs instead of boozing from 8 in the morning”

Or someone could mind their own business.

“In Joseph Conrad upstairs ordered drinks £16.00 odd Rhys kindly went downstairs for 2 pints of Coors light to go with Bootle of wine.. come to order meal with free drinks another£20 was then told too busy to go downstairs for Coors will have to order from upstairs only Rhys wrong answer as a holiday person been coming here for well over 10 years will not be coming back from table 138”

Order on the app, problem solved.

“In wethersproofn in lowestoft no Southern comfort and only got got 4 bottle of vodka for Christmas eve that is very bad really upset about this.”

The reviewer sounds like that they were very brave dealing with such a crisis.

“On the 16th of December, i came for a what i expected was going to be a nice chilled dinner with my husband m, when a young boy not sure the age but i believed his name was to be alfie, said to me “how much f***ing food do you have left to come out” all because me and my husband had a long day and we was very hungry. We are both in our early 50’s so we was very appalled to be spoken down to by a young lad. I will not be tolerating this because i was not looking to come for a meal and be sworn at for being hungry. Like i am supplying your wages and don’t want to be spoke to again like this. I think he should be given a disciplinary for his actions because that is not how you treat members of the public”

I don’t know, maybe I’m a bit rustic, but Alfie does seem to be a character and pubs can do with more of that.

“Came in at 16:30, by 17:15 nobody as much as asked me if I wanted something to drink yet. Looked at me and ignored me. Hmm…
Will be the first negative review I will write on the travel blog about my experience in Lowe…EVER!”

I’m guessing that the customer didn’t notice that table service wasn’t happening….

Anyway, I’ve digressed once again by reading the reviews. I personally thought that the venue was well run, the real ale selection was reasonable although smaller than usual for the chain, the team members were polite, the surroundings were comfortable and the beer was well kept. A suitably positive start to the day in an historic and interesting building, with the usual value for money drinks.

July 11, 2025
Denton – St. Mary’s Church

St Mary’s parish church in Denton, Norfolk sits rather quietly off the beaten track and it doesn’t even front onto a public road, it requires a walk (or drive in Richard’s car) past the rectory and then up some steps. There has though been some disabled access added to the church which avoids those steps. Denton is a village on the Norfolk and Suffolk border, with the name meaning ‘village in the valley’ in old English. The original Denton was located around the church, but it shifted after the plague in 1665 and the heart of the village is now a little to the north.

The first sight of the church is really rather memorable because of one of the more quirky tower arrangements that I’ve seen in Norfolk.

There was likely a religious building here during the Saxon period, but the Normans constructed a round tower, although this was rebuilt in something like the thirteenth century.

Then in the sixteenth century, there was the sub-optimal situation that most of the church tower fell down. This wasn’t a time when the church was the most wealthy or loved, so it took some time to fix the arrangement. In 1714, the locals finally built a square brick tower against what remained of the collapsed tower, leaving what would have been a slightly untidy arrangement, but at least one which let them have a complete tower and bells to put in it.

The entirely rebuilt section of tower.

In 1843, not wanting to be outdone by previous generations, the Victorians decided that they wanted to raise the height of the tower by around ten feet and later in the nineteenth century, they decided to shove a clock on it as well. As the church puts it, “a square tower in a round hole”, with the Round Tower Churches Society including it in their list.

The bulk of the rest of the church’s structure dates to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. George Plunkett has a photo of the church from 1976. Recently, the lead roof has been replaced with something that is terne coated steel that looks like lead but is rather less useful to any thieves who might be passing.

And there’s a rather glorious ceiling that I think is nineteenth century.

The chancel dates to the late thirteenth century, albeit that was also faffed around with in the nineteenth century.

The Perpendicular north porch is from the fifteenth century and rather grand with a room above, accessed from within the church, which was in the Victorian period used as a schoolroom for the local children, but was likely used to store church treasures when it was constructed. There’s a niche at the front of the porch that would have housed a statue of the Virgin Mary, but that has long gone.

Inside the impressive porch with its roof bosses.

The church has a sizeable chest, there would be no moving that in a hurry.

This is rather outdone by the Denton Chest, located in the chancel, which has medieval painted panels on it which likely date from the early sixteenth century. It’s not entirely known where these are from, but they are likely from the church’s rood screen, or potentially the rood loft. The paintwork has faded somewhat, the photograph makes these panels look much brighter than they actually are.

The fourteenth century chancel was ‘improved’ by the Victorians, under the influence of the rector, William Bouverie, with the floor being lifted up. The Victorians made lots of changes around the nave as well and, as ever, I’m not entirely sure they’ve really improved matters as there’s some heritage that feels like it has been knocked out.

This East Window in the chancel is an interesting arrangement and it comprises pieces of stained glass that were collected by Archdeacon Postlethwaite and they were then arranged by Joshua Price between 1716 to 1719, using a financial legacy left by the Archdeacon. It’s an impressive sight now, lots of bits of glass treasure and a fair amount of heraldic glass, with the whole arrangement thought to be the first of its type in the country. There’s more about the stained glass in the church at https://norfolkstainedglass.org/Denton/Denton.pdf.

The design which was completed for the church by John Brown of Norwich in 1839.

This is one of the most impressive churches that I’ve visited so far in Norfolk, there’s plenty of history here, but it’s also nice to come to a church which is left permanently open and that’s something they’ve done for over a decade. It feels a welcoming place, there’s an effort that has been made to explain the building’s history and everything feels in good order. It also feels like a loved church and that has been essential as a lot of repair work has been needed in recent years to protect the interior and exterior.

July 8, 2025
200 Years Ago in Norwich : Sentences from the Court (including George Archer)

And in my series of random posts from newspapers of 200 years ago this week. This is the court report of the Norwich Mercury and the punishments issued.

“George Thurlow, convicted of stealing a quantity of lead from Rev. W. Manning, of Diss—2 years’ hard labour in the Castle. George Archer, convicted of receiving the same—14 years’ transportation. Wm. Bayes, convicted of fowl-stealing—2 years’ hard labour in the Castle. Robt. Dawes, an old offender—7 years’ transportation. Thomas Norgate, convicted of pig-stealing—18 calendar months’ hard labour in the Castle; and Robt. Pawley, convicted of receiving two of the same pigs—14 years’ transportation. Jonathan Forder, convicted of a violent assault on a child at Langley, pleaded guilty—to be imprisoned 6 calendar months. Chas. Dunham, convicted of stealing a quantity of butter from his master—2 years’ hard labour in the Castle.”

Note that the violent assault on a child received only six months in prison, whereas someone who received stolen lead was transported for fourteen years, although he stole it from a reverend which probably made matters worse in terms of his sentence.

With regards to George Archer who received this stolen lead, he was sent to New South Wales on the Sesostris, which had been launched in Hull in 1818. The ship set off on 23 November 1825 and arrived in Australia on 21 March 1826, but George had died en route on 11 December 1825.

July 4, 2025
200 Years Ago in Norwich : Ivy Hall (Formerly Hildebrands Hospital) For Sale

From the Norwich Mercury 200 years ago this week was an article about Ivy Hall being for sale. The article read:

“TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION,
BY WM. SPELMAN,

At the Greyhound Inn, Surry-street, Norwich, on Wednesday, the 20th day of July, 1825, at Four o’clock in the afternoon, in one Lot,

A Desirable ESTATE, called Ivy Hall; consisting of five dwelling-houses, fronting King-street, in the parish of St. Julian, Norwich, with gardens, privy, wash-house, and pump at the back thereof, in the several occupations of Messrs. Baldwin, Sainty, Haverstone, Mason, and Sheene.

The above Premises are Leasehold of the Dean and Chapter of Norwich for a term of 40 years, from the 7th day of June, 1825, renewable every 14 years, at the rent of 1s. per annum.

For particulars and conditions of sale apply to Mr. Alfred Barnard, solicitor, St. Andrew’s, or the Auctioneer, Duke’s Palace, Norwich.”

I hadn’t heard of this building, but after some checking it was previously the Hildebrands Hospital located on what is now Argyle Street, located just off King Street. The hospital had been founded in around 1200 and adjoined St. Edward Chapel, with the institution welcoming the poor, aged, travellers and pilgrims. It was passed to the Dean and Chapter of Norwich Cathedral after 1497 and as the advertisement above shows, they still owned it in 1825, although the church element was pulled down in 1547. There are, unfortunately, no traces of it remaining today, but it’s not a building that I had previously known about.

July 3, 2025
Wizz Air (Bratislava to London Luton)

I stayed at a hotel that was, as estate agents would say, “conveniently located” which was only five minutes from Bratislava Airport. This meant I could rise at the decadent hour of 06:00 and still breeze through security by 06:30 for a 09:25 flight. I could’ve slept longer, but I’m a creature of paranoia and prefer to hover near departure gates like a Victorian ghost just in case something happens to go wrong in the 250 metres between the hotel and airport.

The airport terminal.

All good, my flight looked on time.

This is the airside area with plenty of seating. The security process took just three minutes and the staff were helpful and upbeat.

My quick visit to the airport lounge which I wrote about separately.

The gate area was also suitably calm and the Wizz Air staff here were efficient, with the queueing process being made clear. The border control desk had no queue of note and the border guard didn’t sit and count my passport stamps, but he did ask for help finding the Bratislava stamp that the airport had put into the passport last week.

The aircraft was G-WUNA which I went in December last year from Poznan to Luton which happened to be its first anniversary (the aircraft, not Poznan).

Boarding the aircraft and I was pleased that the seating Gods had given me an aisle seat near the front. The flight was yet another one operated with care and precision by Wizz Air, the crew were friendly, the pilots made clear announcements and the aircraft was spotless. There were a couple in the middle and window seat who were quiet and calm, which meant that I didn’t have to be annoyed at anything.

Luton was colder than Bratislava and this pleased me. There was no wait to go through border control, so I was able to leave the terminal within fifteen minutes of landing. Another well spent £9 with the Wizz Air Multipass.

July 2, 2025
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 19 and A Taste of Punjab

James and I are eating at every food stall at Norwich Market again this year and this week we visited a Taste of Punjab, which Nathan and I visited in March 2023.

The stall and there were a few customers around when we arrived and it remained consistently busy. We were greeted by a friendly team member who smiled, made eye contact and was focused enough to take orders and remember what everyone had ordered when their food was cooked. Indeed, not only that, she was also cooking the food, a combination of things and level of multi-tasking that would have confused me.

The price increases here are the highest that I’ve seen so far, with nearly everything having increased by £2 or £2.50. Something like the Baby Dosa has increased from £4.50 to £6.50, which has taken this from being a keenly priced stall to one of the more expensive. Although now I’m sounding like I’m taking some sort of bold leap into “I remember when this was all fields” territory.

I’m not personally a fan of these as it makes anyone paying by card feel like they’re not supporting local businesses as much with signage worded like this. But, each to their own. To be helpful, I paid by cash, but noted that no other customer did. They can obviously put what they want, but a “cash preferred” sign would seem a little more welcoming than a suggestion that you don’t support local businesses by paying by card.

I had tarka dall when I visited before and thought it could have had a greater depth of flavour and I noted that next time I might have chicken biryani. Well, that moment came and that’s what I went for. They dished what James had ordered first and there wasn’t much information on mine, but it was served seven minutes later and I was surprised that a microwave was used with the rice. Anyway, the biryani was freshly made and it was decent. It was at the appropriate hot temperature, there was a generous amount of chicken, the rice had a firm texture, the chicken was tender and the lime was a useful citrus addition. The portion size was decent for the money, it was a filling meal and although the prices have risen, this is still not unreasonably priced.

Unlike my overhead food shot, James, ever the connoisseur, snapped a photo on a jaunty angle that he is best known for. Well, that, and seemingly knowing most of the middle class population of Norwich as we’re walking to lunch and he keeps getting recognised. James wasn’t unhappy with his lunchtime meal, but I don’t think that he was surprised and delighted with the food, it was served promptly, looked appetising and it was a large portion, but he thought it verged just a little on the bland side and lacked the depth of flavour he craved. He moaned about the price, but he did get a lot of chicken, but he’s right that this sort of cost is now pushing it towards being a treat rather than a routine lunch.

We decided to eat at the stall as they had a section of the counter that seemed appropriate to do so, although if it was busy we would have been in the way of the queue. They seemed to have some regular customers including a lady that took a lamb biryani away for her evening meal, so they seem to be doing well. I rather liked the whole arrangement and thought that the food had a depth of flavour and range of textures, with the portion size being sufficient. The prices are just a little punchy now, but they’re still reasonable and I’d come back here as there are still a number of dishes I’d like to try.

June 29, 2025
Wizz Air (London Luton to Bratislava)

My Wizz Air flight was the second of the day to leave London Luton, so I just arrived late the previous evening by train and then waited at Pret landside. The security area opens at 02:00 sort of time, which is really quite early for an international airport.

Not many other people were so keen to get through this early in the day. The security process was though well managed and the staff seemed upbeat, which can’t be easy at that time of the day.

At least it’s easy to get a seat at this time of day.

I’ve written about my visit to Big Smoke separately. As for the food, it was a little bland as that avocado was quite watery, but nonetheless it wasn’t unpleasant. It’s the first time I’ve been here for breakfast and the first time that I didn’t order beer, I instead went for a pineapple juice.

I then popped to Avalon for a chicken and avocado salad, along with a Fanta, that most typical of breakfast drinks. This is expensive, well it would be if I was paying for it, at £12 and it was rather dry but I think there was a healthy element to it.

And then an almond croissant and half a pint of Menabrea. It’s a generic lager, but it was free and although the croissant wasn’t very authentic, it was light and was a satisfactory snack. The service here is always warm and friendly, although I was dreading them making an error with the number of guests as Priority Pass might have found it suspicious if I had phoned up again.

And then a double espresso. My flight was called to board twenty minutes earlier than advertised, so I thought that I might as well wander over.

It’s all happening now at Gate 21.

The joys of the bus gate.

Boarding the aircraft, which is G-WUKT, an A321 which has been in service since April 2022.

The flight was uneventful yet again, although the seating Gods gave me a middle seat. However, the two neighbouring passengers weren’t annoying, so the flight went quickly enough (it’s a one hour fifty minute journey), not least as I was asleep for half of it. One advantage of an early morning flight is that everyone seems to be asleep as they’re so exhausted, and I suspect Wizz Air has a fair number of customers who haven’t had any sleep at all, so it’s an extra peaceful arrangement. The crew were quite bouncy and keen, the airline does recruit some really good people and the pilot announcements were all as expected.

And safely into Bratislava, where it was evidently too hot. There was a queue of twenty minutes for border control, but although she did look at my passport stamps I was saved having to wait whilst she counted as she just stamped the passport. All very easy, and another £8.99 well spent with Wizz Air for my first time to Slovakia.

June 26, 2025
Luton Airport – Efficient Priority Pass Service after Big Smoke Overcharge

The title of this post sounds rather tabloidy, but there we go, it’s 04:00 in the morning at Luton Airport and I’m going to take what excitement I can. One thing that I’ve discovered is that Big Smoke are one of the first outlets to open airside at the airport, being open at 03:00 which is earlier than their advertised time and an hour ahead of many other venues. That at least was handy.

The service was friendly, but the restaurant was in something of a state. The sauce bottles had a not inconsiderable amount of dried up bits of sauce on them and the menu was so sticky that it was hard to open. The surfaces had also not been cleaned the night before, nor had the floor, which felt an odd situation. But, it was early and I was content. I was using Priority Pass which gets me £18 to spend and I specifically mentioned, as I always do, that I had zero guests.

However, almost immediately I received an e-mail confirming that Priority Pass had helpfully charged me £18 for my guest, the one that I didn’t have. I queried this and the staff member insisted that was right and I should have been charged. It evidently wasn’t and I showed him he had typed two guests. After some faffing about he came back and told me to make a claim with my bank. This is a ridiculous way of doing it, that would be a chargeback for Priority Pass, as well as a heap of paperwork for them and the bank. So, I asked for someone else and the manager, who really didn’t seem that engaged either way, came over.

The manager repeated the poor advice and I queried what happened if Big Smoke said there were two people and not just one? They said that they couldn’t do anything, so I asked if they could just note on a receipt that there was just one guest. The manager didn’t show any interest and she didn’t do that, she just ignored the situation. Fortunately, I discovered that Priority Pass have a 24 hour call centre and so I phoned it, at 03:30 in the morning which I thought was rather decent. After some internal querying what to do, Priority Pass said that as I was still at the restaurant they were willing to refund the extra guest as it was a mistake.

No-one came over to check on this situation, so I meandered off. It’s hardly the issue of the century, but I’m not keen on managers shifting responsibility to other people and causing others a heap of work when they could have easily dealt with it. Moan over….

June 26, 2025
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 18 and City Taco

This is week 18 of James and I eating at every food stall at Norwich market and this is the former site of Cocina Mia which was honoured with third spot when we did this in 2023. It only closed a few weeks ago and there’s some hype about its replacement, City Taco. On this week’s ‘how many middle class people did we bump into that James knows?’ the tally was 5, including one actually at the food stand which I think is a first. At this rate, James will be hosting his own artisan networking brunch and LinkedIn masterclass by mid-July.

The menu is limited in size, but I think that’s very often a good thing. I’m not sure that there’s much here for vegetarians and I’m not sure if there are plans to expand the menu offering in the future, but everything looked tempting to me.

The service was excellent, engagement about the menu, general conversation and clear enthusiasm about the food. I think it’s really positive when there’s that excitement from the team members, it all bodes well. I did mention to James that it reminded me of the tacos that I’ve had in southern California, but reading on the stall’s social media, that’s understandable as the owner spent several years living there.

I couldn’t decide between them so I went for one carnitas taco and one beef taco, so a total of £6. James went for the same, but he’s often creatively inspired by me even if he doesn’t admit it. The pork one is on the left, the beef one on the right. The sauce in the pot is the consomme and the team member mentioned we could either use it as a dip or down it, which transpired to be a good suggestion as I tried it both ways. Both tacos had a depth of flavour to them, they were well presented and at the appropriate temperature. I enjoyed them both, but the delicate nature of the beef and dipped in the consomme was my favourite of the two.

James remembered to take a photo this time, which will save him having to draw the whole arrangement. He said something about enjoying them, being pleased about not spilling them down himself and also thinking they were a little small but still decent value. To avoid any bird attacks, we had our food whilst standing at the stall, as the neighbouring dining area shared by Toby’s Beers and formerly Cocina Mia now seems to be closed.

Although it’s a shame to have lost Cocina Mia, this seems a really quite decent replacement. The service was some of the best we’ve had yet and the food had a depth of taste and flavour. The pricing was reasonable as the food was surprisingly filling, with everything seemingly well managed. I look forwards to returning here and trying the burrito to get the full taste experience.

June 23, 2025