Ok maybe a bit much, but I love this place to pieces, as I've raved about it many times. I was back at The Pig and Pastry. I love this place to pieces. Delicious, homemade and interesting food; freshly baked cakes and breads, great coffee, super cheap prices, friendly staff and a wonderful atmosphere. What more could you want from a cafe?! It may be my favourite cafe ever. Including places in London.
Anyway, I had the most amazing start to the day with an intriguing and super scrummy-sounding spinach pancakes with halloumi and lime butter.
And it was indeed scrummy.
The halloumi was of great quality, not that rubbery sort and it blended perfectly with the spinach pancakes, which were also incredible. The lime butter added the subtlest zing of lime, not over-powering but added just right amount of sweetness to complement the saltiness of the cheese.
In the evening, I made a last minute decision to dash to a recently re-branded tapas/deli place in York. Down a tiny lane (I would never have walked down it had I not known it was there) is Cabra Verde, an authentic Tapas restaurant. They have a hunk of Iberico ham sitting on the counter at the front of the restaurant and it is of a minimalist, perhaps ever so slightly uncomfortable style. Sparse, white, modern tables and chairs make for a slightly uncomfortable setting, rather than cosy and, for me, some atmosphere was slightly lost due to this.
The owners clearly love the food they serve as the chef sources proper produce from Spain, including meats, cheeses and wines.
A little more expensive than one would expect for York, normal compared to London, but I can definitely appreciate the quality and authenticity that goes in to every dish.
I ordered 3 dishes, which hardly seemed enough but in fact was plenty. What I love most about tapas is that you can try little bits of everything, so I ordered one fish, one meat and one vegetarian plate. All the dishes were beautifully and carefully presented, obviously lovingly made. I've never seen tapas look so pretty, even the best tasting tapas can sometimes just be slopped into bowls.
First: pig's cheek, slowly braised in a tomato, leek and red wine sauce.
It was tender, moist and very yummy. Like a homely stew.
Then, Andalucian style squid rings with grilled apple and Spanish black pudding. Perhaps my favourite of all three! The sweet of the apple combined perfectly with the salty squid and the black pudding was divine.
Finally I had mahon cheese with green figs, drizzled with honey, an exquisitely presented dish. Again, the sweetness of the honey and figs worked together perfectly with the savoury cheese. And you know what? I don't even like cheese that much, so great job getting me to like it!! Oooh reliving it now and I think this might have been my favourite!
I was stuffed at this point, but tempted by the waiter for dessert. Well, you only live once. The cutlery was brought out in a cute little tin - they need more of this kind of thing on the tables! That was fab.
I had the Torta de Naranja - which was a cake made with ground almonds instead of flour with orange. It was a moist yet dense cake, however not claggy in any way. The flavour of orange that came from the cake was incredible. A real punch of pure orange, not subtle in any way, it was gorgeous. It came with Seville orange marmalade too, a lovely addition.
When I visit York again soon, I will definitely be back here!! I want to try so many more dishes on their menu, and it's some of the best tapas I've had. Would obviously recommend and, indeed, hope to bring lots more business their way!
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