eggbaconchipsandbeans

great welsh cafes

Hannah at the Welsh Tourist Board kindly emailed to say that there's a series of programmes on this week about Great Welsh cafes. Sadly, only on HTV Wales. There's some great history on the website though.

slight hiatus

Apologies there's not been a lot going on here recently. I was training for a 10K and trying to lose some weight so I've not been pounding down the chips of late. However, normal service will be resumed soon. And in the meantime, there's a bunch of new stuff over at agoodplaceforacupofteaandathink.com.

Cafe Preservation Society

I bought the London Caffs book yesterday (fantastic - great photos and commentary, good mixture of 'cafe eras'). And it prompted me to look through Classic Cafes again. (Equally brilliant - lovely shots, fascinating points of view). Both make my own efforts look pretty feeble.

But that's not important now.

These books set me thinking that maybe we could all do more than simply document the decline of these places. Maybe we should try and take all this enthusiasm and knowledge and channel it into something like a Cafe Preservation Society.

It's role could be to keep an eye on the great cafes in danger, lobby planning authorities etc. and/or if all else fails; ensure that the atmosphere of the place is recorded and maybe some of the fixtures and fittings preserved for posterity.

Maybe it's something that English Heritage or the National Trust or the 20th Century Society are already doing, but they must have other fish in the air or balls to fry and sometimes you can't do better than get a few like-minded lunatics together to get something done. (You sometimes get the impression that Adrian Maddox is joined in lonely battle on these issues, maybe more of us could offer some help)

I'm going to write to the great cafe luminaries, see what they think, but I'm quite enthused by this idea. I'd love to get something going. What do you all think? Any volunteers? Who's in? Someone want to build a website? etc. etc.

If nothing else we could have some regular outings to cafes, and preserve them through our custom.

Or am I mad? Or is someone already doing this and I should pay more attention to the world around me?

Comments please.

Salt Box Cafe, Hatton, A511, Derbyshire

The Salt Box is a great transport cafe. Which proudly boasts of real chips. Real, delicious chips. And thick, pink bacon. And incredibly hot tea.

There's nothing quaint or retro about it. It's a bit like someone's conservatory, but it's a fantasticly efficient place for serving large quantities of delicious fried food.

Love those booths and menus.

I bought this brilliant little booklet there, produced by a locally based trucker. Now all I need is another sabbatical and I can visit them all.

PJs Transport Cafe, Draycott-In-The-Clay, Staffs

PJs is a fantastic working cafe just off the A50, on the road to Lichfield. It's not fancy or formicad or a design classic or anything. It's not going to have anyone raving about global latte conspiracies in the Sunday papers. But it's still a triumph of British cafe culture. Cheap, decent food, Utility surroundings. Somewhere for a working person to rest and watch Sky before getting back into the cab.

Huge, pale, piping hot chips. An egg with a fascinating alien seed pob vibe. Lovely dark bacon hinting at back-street Eddy Grundy style trading. A brilliant fry-up.

When will English Heritage start lobbying to preserve fluorescent signs?

(a note on the comments below. I originally had this place listed as near Sudbury. Which it is. But Sudbury's in Derbyshire wheras I don't think PJs is. So I've now listed it as near Draycott In The Clay which, as well as having a brilliant name, is more certainly in Staffs)

UPDATE: PJs is apparently under new management, so these pictures are probably way out of date. I've not been back but people tell me it's fantastic.

Dolphin Restaurant, Great Dark Street, Aberystwyth

This is an interesting fry-up. This is mostly a chip shop so it's not their core activity. But chip shop chips make a really interesting difference. And you can somehow tell they don't fry a lot, there's not that greasy aura to the place.

Imagine how exciting and welcoming this neon must be on a wet winters night.

Fantastic, generous booths.

Simple condiment cluster.

I love these two-sided metal shelf/cabinet things. Like a works canteen or a New York deli in a Doris Day film.

Grindleford Station Cafe, Grindleford, Derbyshire

A fantastic place in the middle of great Peak District walking country, the former Grindleford Station has become a haven for hikers and bikers - the twin bastions of the Peak District economy. With a common interest in large plates of fried food and specially designed waterproof clothing.

Great little chips, small, so there's greater proportion of surface area and therefore more friedness. Big, thick bacon and a pale egg. Sauce comes from huge communal/industrial dispensers.

They also sell magazines and maps. And everywhere is covered with handwritten signs dealing with some issue or another. Toilets, kids, coach parties, where to take your pots when you're done. The kind of non-friendly friendliness that works around here. Friendliness that depends upon a clear understanding of the rules.

Astral Cafe, Horseferry Road, SW1

This is an intriguing place. I wonder why it's called the 'astral cafe'? There are no obvious signs of tarot readings or other dimensional travel going on. Mostly just breakfasts and lunches. And there aren't a huge number of glorious design details apart from the sign outside.

The grub though is marvelous. Crunchy chips and the beans threatening to spil over the edge which always makes you feel like you've had extra portions. Dark meaty bacon all curled up and poised. And the egg has a strange volcano look to it, like the yoke might erupt if you're not careful. Very nice.

A classic condiment cluster.

Simple, clean, lovely.

Obertelli's Eating House, Leadenhall Market, EC3

Obertelli's was suggested to me by someone - I think it was Pete Ashton. (I'll need to check my email to make sure and I can't get into it right now.) But whoever it was, many thanks, this was a slap-up feed. A nice bit of quality bacon and a golden egg. Big pile of nice beans. Only disappointments are the chips, which are a little fry-like. Not a bad thing per se, but you know.

And the biggest bottle of Lee and Perrins I've seen in my life.

There's less room for eating downstairs, just stools or the tables outside. But upstairs is a land that time forgot. Lots of white tiles and blokes focused on eating. A good, dedicated atmosphere.

The Leadenhall Market is an interesting area. A bit of quaintness loitering in the high-tech city. It's so clean and Disney-like that it sometimes look less authentic than it is. They've shot some Harry Potter here, and I can imagine a bunch of other movies. Just around the corner is the Regis Snack Bar which also looks worth a visit.

GONE - Metropolitan, Edgware Road, W2

UPDATE: Now closed.

The Metropolitan is a classic cafe favourite. And rightly so. Faded 50s/60s atmos, bohemian credibility and magnificent chips. Brown, crunchy and austere like you might get in a Soviet chippy. Great, reduced, beans, all the juice boiled away to make a lovely beany paste. The egg all pale and interesting and the bacon stringy but nice. A curate's eggbaconchipsandbeans.

The first thing you notice is the green. There's green everywhere. The second thing you notice is the smoke. They really smoke hard in here. There was only three people in this morning but the smoke was so thick it slowed you down.

I really like this place. I can tell I'll be here again. There's all this history underneath the green paint.