Slow Cooked. Fast.

I've recently realised how much I have missed reviewing food so I was excited to get the chance to try Smokeworks in Cambridge. I spotted the sign hidden down an alleyway in Cambridge and recognised the name thanks to some local reviews. I dragged my friend Katt, who has recently started a delicious food blog What Katt Does, inside and brought out my camera:

I was instantly drawn to the Pulled Pork Burger, as pulled pork is one of my favourite things. The bun is always a deal breaker with these dishes and I was impressed with the light, floury bun which housed my pulled pork, slaw and pickles. The pork was tasty and once I added a little BBQ sauce, the bun really came alive. A little like Nandos, you can choose two 'minor sides' or one 'major side' with your dish and I opted for the sweet potato fries. I often find that sweet potato fries can be soggy and disappointing but these were light, crispy and the perfect portion size. I was extremely impressed and would definitely order them again.

The presentation was similar to my favourite Leeds BBQ restaurant - Red's True Barbeque. I can't help but compare the two restaurants, as their premises are so similar. Red's is fantastic, with huge portions, tasty meat dishes and a strong brand of 'let there be meat,' However, its Southern equivalent Smokeworks offers smaller portions but still tasty food. I'm not sure I would go for an evening meal, as the menu is fairly limited, but for lunchtime its perfect, thanks to the portion sizes and price.

Smokeworks has just released a brilliant lunch-time offer for just £8, which includes a main, fries and a soft drink. As I think this is the perfect place for lunch, I will definitely be returning to try out this deal very soon.
Have you tried Smokestack? Where is your favourite place to eat in Cambridge?

Jess

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Vintage Gems

Despite the fact that I feel like I'm constantly talking about York and Leeds, I am beginning to discover that my home town of Cambridge also has some gems. I have been always been a fan of vintage fairs and Judy's offers Affordable Vintage Fairs all over the UK, including Cambridge. I have already experienced the Leeds version of this event, so I popped over to Cambridge to check out the Southern option.

The Guildhall in Cambridge had been transformed into a vintage haven, full of knitwear, dresses and plenty of coats. I was impressed with some of the extremely low prices - there were plenty of £5 sale rails and bargain baskets to root through for hidden goodies. It's nice to see that some vintage fairs haven't ramped up their prices in response to the trend for vintage clothing. There was also a cute vintage tearoom, with some delicious looking cakes and teapots, and the vintage music playing added to the fun and busy atmosphere. The fair itself was busy but not stressfully so; I could still easily move between stalls and rummage for clothes.

I exercised some self-restraint and only picked up some beautiful vintage fabric, which I am hoping to turn into an A-line skirt. I think I am going to buy a pattern rather than simply use guesswork as I don't want to destroy the wonderful fabric with my sewing ineptitude! Luckily it is an absolutely huge piece of fabric, probably 4 metres long, so I have some room for error and it was a complete bargain at just £8.

I'm excited to head back to the next Judy's Vintage Fair in Cambridge on the 8th March. I will be joined by the lovely Sarah from Adorned, who is a vintage magpie and I am always amazed by her finds, so I'm sure we will find some gems next time!

Will you be heading to Cambridge's next Vintage Fair?

Jess

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Get Connected in York

After graduating from York last summer, this lovely city and its neighbouring Leeds seem to be going from strength to strength, with fantastic new bars and restaurants opening which I am very sad to be missing out on! York has now gone one step further and CityConnect have introduced free WiFi to the city, and although I was jealous to discover this, I was excited to receive an amazing Christmas box of local goodies from CityConnect and an invitation to try out the new scheme.

I will be heading to York for a day out in a couple of weeks but I have certainly enjoyed my treats in the meantime. The first exciting thing I spotted was a tin of Bettys' shortbread. It's become a bit of a tradition to visit a Bettys for a fat rascal or pastry whenever I am near one, but I have never tried the shortbread before. It was delicious - buttery, moreish and perfect with a cup of tea, just how good shortbread should be. I now want to steal Simone's idea to use the empty tin to store my makeup brushes - genius!

The other food delights included some delicious clotted cream fudge, one of my favourite sweet snacks, from the Yorkshire Museum and a chocolate bar from York's Chocolate Story. I haven't visited York's Chocolate Story yet but I have eaten at the cafe and the chocolate fondue is amazing! I also enjoyed a couple of Benefit samples from Browns, which offers lots of great beauty brands - as well as a mean full English breakfast.

Finally, I have also been enjoying the coffee from Vincent's Coffee. I was excited to discover that the owner of Vincent's Coffee is a fellow York graduate and also a blogger. I love a cafetiere of 'proper coffee' and this ground coffee is rich, deep and excellent quality - great with the shortbread!

I'm excited to make use of the tickets which were also included in the box. I somehow never managed to visited the York Dungeons or the Jorvik Viking Centre during my time at York, so I am excited to return to York as a tourist and tick off these attractions. Students and tourists alike will love the new free WiFi and I'm looking forward to giving it a proper test run soon, once I head back up North.

Have you tried York CityConnect yet? Where are your 'must-visits' in York?

Jess

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