Sunday 22 April 2012

Sharrow Marrow


I first visited Sharrow Marrow when it was newly opened, and wow its changed a lot!
In fact I enjoyed my stay so much I decided to write a whole post about it.
The shop owners were taking full advantage of the fact that today was the farmers market, and had a dazzling display of colourful and enticing products outside. Such delights included chutneys, watermelons and yellow courgettes, with lots of free tasters!

 

 
I nibbled on a slice of dewy and refreshing watermelon, picked up some plums, a bulb of smoked garlic and a yellow courgette and went inside.


 

This place is full of gorgeous tempting fresh fruits and vegetables plus loads more goodies. The daughter of the shop owner has her own company - brambles, and makes such delights as cakes, jams and cordials here too.




The range of high quality nuts, spices and other store cupboard essentials make Nigella's larder pale in comparison.You'll find Sheffield honey, tempting snack bars and a vast selection of local cheeses.





The lovely ladies were happy to pose for a photo and were keen to hear more about what I had to say, even though they were super busy!


So its definitely worth popping by when you are in the area. I'll be coming up specially to visit and I'd even go as far to say its my new favourite place on sharrow vale road!


Sharrow Vale Farmers Market

Today the residents of hunters bar plus visitors, came together to celebrate and enjoy food!
Sharrow vale road is already full of treasures for the adventurous foodie to discover and so it comes as no surprise that the local businesses clearly benefited from this quarterly event.
People were sat outside the greedy Greek, enjoying slovakis and falafel and cafe Ceres's and Fancie were rammed to the rafters with happy faces spectating the hustle and bustle, whilst simultaneously being stuffed with delicious goodies.

Most of the traders will be very familiar to those who frequent these kind of events, much like myself and others keen on the local Sheffield food scene. I've visited before and photographed those people so this time I did my best to take some snaps of a few new folk...

The rather suave Italian foccacia guy.

This lady is super friendly, has refreshing drinks and advised me where to visit in Mexico! Oaxaca apparently!

These fooled me for a second...they are bath products!

This is gorgeous pumpkin oil. I'd love to experiment with it in a cake...

Friendly and familiar mushroom stall.

Newcomers on the scene. A German bratwurst van.

Lastly, the famous cat that sleeps in the window of that shop..I always forget its name but this soporific feline always makes me smile.

Sunday 15 April 2012

Lunch on London Road...Fanoush and Cake R us Reviews!

The weather was deceptively cold. Glorious sunshine but bloody freezing!
This could have been due to the fact that I'm at optimum warmth around 10% of the time. Also I have to remember, this is England, we get a handful of days per year where I'm comfortable enough to leave the coat at home, often only to be caught in some freak hail storm a couple of hours later.

London road - watch out for that rain cloud!

My first stop was Fanoush. Minimal decor inside, one wall displays the menu, the other wall holds an array of upcoming Sheffield nights out, gig dates and even a poster I handed in earlier in the month for my charity cake auction!

glorious salads
The salad bar is adventurous and exciting. There's beetroot, olives, two types of hummus and loads more. You can forget your token limp lettuce supplied with a dodgy kebab from most of the eateries around here. This colourful entourage has salivating in anticipation.


I choose a fanoush wrap with extra halloumi. 10 inches of it! I get a mix of all the salads except tomatoes and onions (not too keen on those raw) and spicy hummus, tahini sauce and mango pickle!


I'd spent three hours climbing and another rummaging through piles of clothes at a clothing exchange so my ravenous-ness was perfectly understandable.
I chose a carrot and orange juice to help ease the monstrosity into my gut.
That first bite confirms what I already knew. It's beautiful. A harmony of flavours from the nutty falafel to the spicy hummus and creamy tahini. Contrasting textures make each mouthful satisfying and leaves me wanting more. Crunchy cabbage, dense falafel and squeaky halloumi. Wow and the mango pickle just joined the party in my mouth. This is amazing.
If anyone thinks vegetarian food is dull, hand them one of these. I'd eat this over a steak at every single opportunity. It's practically all my favourite foods rolled together in a nice warm wrap! How can it not be perfect?



Stomach almost satisfied, I head to cake r us for pudding. As I walk in the friendly assistant instantly recognises me and tells me about their newest recipe - sesame seed puffs as she's remembered I'm lactose intolerant and they're milk-free. Plus wife cakes - my favourite- have just been made. I've got to eat quickly before my stomach realises the vast amount of grub I've already consumed and locks the gate.


I go for both, partly out of politeness and partly because I'm plain greedy.
The wife cake is still warm from the oven. The pastry is flaky, perfect for getting all over your scarf, trousers, hair, everywhere. Good  job I don't mind getting messy.
Secluded within the flaky pastry is the soft opaque filling. Apparently this is melon flavoured but that flavour isn't really jumping out at me. To be fair, no distinct flavour is. Only this vaguely fruity, bland gloop, but that's what makes it special.
It's comforting, like a freshly laundered duvet cover. It wraps around your tongue and makes you happy.


Onto the sesame puff. Denser pastry holds a thick, rich and almost cocoa like, nutty sesame seed filling. It's claggy is reminiscent of peanut butter. It's smokey and slightly bitter. Can't finish it though as my stomach has finally closed the hatch. I don't think I'll physically be able to stand up if I eat another bite.

I'd also recommend the bubble tea here. It's the only place in Sheffield as far as I'm aware that sells it and its an interesting experience, plus its delicious. I'm yet to brave the preserved egg puff. I don't think it's going to happen though. I wasn't tempted in shanghai, I doubt I'll be able to stomach facing the challenging snack over here.

They also do delicious fresh cream cakes!
A variety of Chinese snacks
Super cute faces!!
Delicious whole cakes made to order.
I hope you enjoyed my double feature! I'll be updating my blog more frequently now, so please follow me by clicking the link on the right hand side, or just check back often.
Thanks for reading.