Page 44 - Phonebox Magazine August 2011

Homebaked bread at a pub near you NOW
It's just a much more civilized way of doing your shopping don’t you think. Stop off at the pub on your way home from work, sup a pint of ale while musing over the bread basket piled full of gorgeously smelling, oddly shaped, delicious looking bread cooked fresh that morning just for you.
Amazing Grains is a tiny bakery, baking twice a week (Wednesday and Friday) in Emberton. They cook up a fantastic range of mouth-watering bread including: focaccia, stuffed full of rosemary and cherry tomatoes; a secret recipe marmite bread; sourdough; potato and rosemary cob; brioche; fougasse; and classic crusty white to name just a few.
A PASSION FOR DOUGH
No artificial additives, long cool fermentations, and a passion for quality flour and good ingredients, have resulted in quite a cult following for these breads. They look beautiful, and the fantastic fresh smell makes them impossible to resist. Certainly once you have tasted it, you’ll be glad you gave into temptation. More pretentious reviewers might call the breads ‘artisan’ - we just call them damn good!
WHERE CAN YOU GET IT?
Amazing Grains will cook to order, needing at least 24 hours notice, but more quirkily, and to get back to the point of the article, you can get their bread from the Twilight Basket on Fridays: from 6pm at the Bell and Bear, Emberton and from 7pm at the Robin Hood, Clifton Reynes. It disappears faster than that pint of ale, so you need to be quick.
THE BEST OUTSIDE SPAIN
You can also experience Amazing Grains expertise at Tapas y Pintxos, Olney’s newest restaurant. Wanting to offer authenticity and quality to their customers, they chose Amazing Grains to supply their Pan Moreno. The literal translation is brown bread but the actual product is a very dense dough which produces quite a heavy but very tasty bread. They serve it before the tapas with allí oli (garlic mayonnaise) and also use it as the toasted base for 'Bruschetta Mallorquína' when it is topped with Sobresada sausagé, onion and melted cheese. Mark Wilkinson the chef at Tapas y Pintxos states ‘it is the best I’ve tasted outside Spain itself!’
www.amazing-grains.com Telephone: 0771 415 3267
TWO COURSES FOR £3 - YES REALLY!
WHERE: The Wine Bar behind Robinsons Restaurant in Newport Pagnell
DECOR: Shabby chic, just. Wooden floor boards, tiny tables, a few leather sofas. The fabulous, huge, graffiti style artwork on the walls rescue the space from feeling unloved turning it instead into something eccentric.
ATMOSPHERE: Upstairs, it's buzzing. We've visited twice and it's been busy, with most tables taken and lots of chatter. It's a small room with odd acoustics. But it somehow really works.
FOOD: It uses the same kitchen as Robinson's, and serves up wholesome, basic, pub grub. Burger, beef bourguignon, liver and onions etc. We started with some superlative nachos piled high with salsa, cheese, spicy chicken and jalapeños. We were hungry and the plate was empty within seconds. My main was a burger. I like my burger pink in the middle and this was a bit dry with not much taste. (The burger at the Red Lion, Bozeat last month was far superior). However NB's liver and onions served with mash was spot on, and my beef bourguignon from my last visit was gorgeous.
VALUE: On Thursday night they do a special with soup for 85p and a pasta dish for £2.10 (That's a two course meal for under £3). We saw a number of spaghetti bolognese dishes being delivered and they looked and smelled delicious. Amazing value. From Tuesday to Thursday they offer 2 for 1 on their main courses. Our bill for nachos and two main courses was £13.80. True value for money. We'll definitely be back.
WHAT ELSE: Oh yes - on Wednesday they have Roast night: Pork Belly Roast with sage stuffing and roast potatoes and seasonal veg. All for only £4.50.
Mediterranean Restaurant
LUNCH MENU
Two Courses for
£6.50
Served every day from 11.30am to 2.30pm
OLNEY
g Pizzas, Pastas & Grilled Food g
g We Accommodate Large Parties g g Reservations Taken g
g Takeaway Service Available g
Phone 01234 714600
4 The Galleries, Market Place, Olney, Bucks MK46 4EA
Monday – Saturday 11.30am–2.30pm & 6pm–10pm Sunday 12–2.30pm & 6pm–9pm
44 Phonebox Magazine