Kash Taprooms

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A friend introduced me to Kash bar in Chester a while ago, as friends do.  Since then it’s become a favourite haunt.  The beer is exceptional and although I’m not in Chester that often, I often pop in before a gig in The Live Rooms.  I’ve introduced a few others to the wonders of this place too, as a way to “pay it forward”.

On previous visits to Kash, I’d been distracted by the food, which looked excellent.  Eventually I couldn’t resist any longer, so Mrs Platinum Al and I went on a mission to Chester to enjoy the full eating experience at this venue.

Kash is on Brook Street, so not in the main town centre.  It’s not too far out of the way though and well worth the effort.  On entering, the visitor finds an elaborately decorated venue with a chilled vibe and some cool tunes.  Not to mention, of course, the myriad beverages available, many of which are brewed on site.

To kick things off, I went for a pint of Gold Digger, from the home Blueball brewery.  It’s a very tasty golden pale ale, not too strong but full of flavour.  My companion went for the ever reliable Brooklyn Lager, one of our favourites.

The food arrived without much of a wait, starting with some tortilla chips and dip to share.  Excellent choice – simple but effective.  The dip itself was a really good, tangy sauce.  We had a couple more beers – I went for a Brooklyn lager too, this time.  It’s getting easier to find bottles of Brooklyn these days, but it’s great to have on draught.

We both opted for burgers for the main event, although the choice was difficult.  So much to sample…  Mrs Platinum Al opted for The Pioneer, which was a burger on a bun with Swiss cheese, caramelised onions, mushrooms, bacon and garlic mayo.  It looked damn fine, but mushrooms are my green kryptonite so I didn’t venture a try. IMG_20151114_193250466

No matter – my own burger was awesome enough for me.  I chose The Bomb, a burger topped with bacon, cheese and Kash’s Blueball ale chilli.  The chilli was rich and full of flavour, I loved every mouthful.  Both burgers were served with chips that were like wedges shaved into fries.  I’m no fan of the big chubby chips, so these fries were perfect.

All in all, the food was fantastic.  Great quality comfort food with loads of flavour, prepared with obvious pride and care.  There’s so much to choose from that Kash demands another visit (next time it’s Mexican for me!).

Plus you’ve got a massive choice of excellent beers on offer – so much that there’s surely something for everyone.  With a warm welcome, attentive staff and relaxed atmosphere, Kash is now the premier bar in Chester.  Think you can beat this?  Good luck.

Kash Taprooms Bar & Grill, 121 Brook Street, Chester

01244 401777

Kash is also on Facebook and Twitter: @Kash_Chester

Food Quest: The White Bear

The White Bear, Mancot

Not too long ago, Mrs Platinum Al and I went for a meal at the White Bear in sunny Mancot.  I should say “another meal”, as we’ve been there many times.  Here’s a quick round up of our experience.

The White Bear is a great little village pub.  There are numerous events throughout the week – every week – making it a lively, welcoming place.  Drinks are affordable – no-one’s getting ripped off.  The food is also affordable – but unlike many other local boozers, the grub manages to be damn good stuff.

Our starters were mushroom and brie bake (for her, you must know what I think about mushrooms by now); and chicken wings for me.  Both great.  The wings were tasty but no overkill on the spice, a commendable job.  My only suggestion would be to provide a finger bowl for this, and other messy food such as ribs.  31029-1_main

Despite the pub being very busy on the evening we visited, the staff were very helpful and attentive.  You can buy drinks at the bar, or one of the waiting staff can bring them over for you.  They are battle hardened and ready to move tables and seats around, provide advice and attempt any task to help their customers.

The main courses were The Legendary Fish and Chips for her; and Kick Ass Chicken for moi.  The fish and chips are indeed the stuff of legend: you get three substantial fish goujons plus chunky chips and good ol’ mushy peas.  Highly recommended – I can speak from experience.

The Kick Ass chicken is not a pretend superhero.  It is in fact a dish consisting of chicken and bacon topped with cheese, in a tangy barbecue sauce.  What’s kick ass about that?  I forgot to mention the JALAPENOS.  Served with chips and peas, this meal is pleasantly spicy, but soon warms up.  By the end, the Kick Ass chicken totally kicked my ass.  But in an “I’ll be back for more next time” way.

For dessert, Mrs Platinum Al went for a brandy snap basket with ice cream and toffee sauce.  I indulged in toblerone cheesecake – never before experienced, my mouth soon forgave me for the jalapenos.

Personally, I cannot believe how the White Bear manages to provide such excellent food – consistently, I might add – for a reasonable price.  There’s plenty of choice on the menu, the surroundings are warm – I can’t recommend it highly enough.  This is pub grub, done the right way – and so much better than the local rivals*.  Good size portions, great taste – the White Bear ticks all the boxes.

Food Quest Test

  • Food: Great taste, large portions
  • Drink: Affordable = good.  A mid strength quality lager would be great (ie bring back Stella 4%!)
  • Service: Friendly, helpful
  • Environment: Traditional pub, busy later on
  • Cost: Very reasonsable

The White Bear, Mancot Lane, Mancot, Deeside, Flintshire CH5 2AH

01244 539077

The White Bear Facebook page is here.

The White Bear web page is here.

*Rhymes with Pubic Hair.  You know the one.

Questions #9: On Toast

What’s your favourite thing to eat on toast?  A simple question, yet this one offered a lot of interest and whole load of suggestions.

Toasted bread is a very simple idea (even I can cook that) – but it’s appeal is massive, judging by the response to this question.  Some of the suggestions I received are obvious, some sound delicious – others are a matter of taste.

Q: What’s your favourite thing to eat on toast?

Nathan: coleslaw

Matt R: bacon

Sian: bacon & sausage

Terry: Bacon

Jamie: butter and tomato sauce

Iain: peanut butter and jam

Sam: marmalade

Jayne: bacon

Mike R: salmon & scrambled egg

Mike Stone: mushy peas

Nick Jones: melted cheese

Mark “Hungry” Harper: peanut butter (smooth)

Lindsey Over: butter

Dan Graham: sardines

Irene Thomas: peanut butter, honey & banana

Annette Evans: spaghetti hoops

Steph Cottam: tomato puree, sliced tomatoes, sliced bratwurst, cheese (grilled)

Sarah Docherty: Branston pickle and cheese

Colin Pugh: sausage, fried egg and tomato sauce

Greeny: apple sauce

Adam Halliday: black pudding and cheese

Andrew Redman: strawberry jam & butter (on white bread)

Lisa Lord: Tomato puree, mature cheddar, Henderson’s relish and black pepper

Sarah Fickling: Dairylea and cucumber with a little black pepper

Claire Bujeaud: beans

Jayne H: sardines

Snips: Runny poached egg, fresh ground black pepper and Anglesey sea salt

Ade Cappadona: cold chilli con carne

Neil Calloway:  poached egg and lashings of marmite

Cheryl Jones: pot noodle

Mark Dutton: crispy bacon and marmalade

Adam Butler: butter

Brian Hall: HP sauce

Matt Barnes: lard

Michaela Jjones: peanut butter and raspberry jam

Laura Jones: Marmite with a poached egg and cheese on top, sprinkle of salt and pepper

Vanessa: cheese and beans

Belinda Spry: Vegemite (+ cheese)

Peter Higginson: thinly sliced haloumi with sliced green olives, dash of black pepper

Zoe Cullen: beans and cheese

Corrine Bufton-Sales: peppered mackerel

Mandy H: cheese and tomato

Donna: cold caviar on piping hot toast with Dom Perignon

Bryn: bacon lardons, red onion and cheese

Mike W: bacon and cheese

Richard Pearson: roast dinner

Me: peanut butter (crunchy) and chocolate spread

There you have it: some excellent ideas.  Some very simple suggestions – like good old butter – we often forget how good that tastes.  Then there’s the Full English options, right the way through to some that sound like they could be on a menu.  I’m also partial to sardines on toast, so nice to see that crop up a couple of times.  One or two of these “favourites” may well be jokes, but I’m not sure…

Sweet or savoury, there are some great ideas here that I would like to try.  I’ve not picked a winner, I hope this fun exercise has given you some “food for thought”.  But – roast dinner on toast?  Regular readers will be able to guess what I think of that…

Questions #6: The Ultimate Burger

We’ve just installed a new burger grill at Platinum Al’s Virtual Hot Tub.  Here’s the deal: you get one super supreme grilled burger, inside a quality bun.  You can have four toppings of your choice on your burger – anything you like, but only FOUR.

Now we’ve got lots of toppings to choose from.  The obvious to the obscure.  What would you choose?

The only freebie you get is sauce – whatever sauce you want, it’s not one of the four toppings.

Q: Which four toppings would you like on your Ultimate Burger?

Jon

  1. Smoked bacon
  2. Goats cheese
  3. Jalapenos
  4. Chorizo

Terry

  1. Extra burger (!)
  2. Lettuce (!!)
  3. Onions
  4. Tomatoes

Jamie

  1. Chorizo
  2. Cheese
  3. Bacon
  4. Onion rings

Sian

  1. Cheese
  2. Onions

Matthew

  1. Extra burger
  2. Bacon
  3. Cheese
  4. Gherkin

Sam

  1. Bacon
  2. Cheese
  3. Chicken nuggets
  4. Chicken noodles

Nathan

  1. Chilli con carne
  2. Cheese
  3. Onions
  4. Chorizo

Iaian

  1. Cheese
  2. Chorizo
  3. Chicken breast
  4. Jalapenos

Me

  1. Cheese
  2. Chilli con carne
  3. Tortilla chips
  4. Chorizo

There you go – just a few ideas for you.

The burger grill is on.  When you’ve had a couple of virtual drinks and a soak in the virtual hot tub, slink on out and head over for a virtual burger.  Your Ultimate Burger, your way.

Let me know what four toppings you would choose – leave a comment below.

* All burgers, drinks and hot tub are purely virtual…

Questions #5: Sandwich Fillings

We’re getting peckish once again at Platinum Al’s Virtual Hot Tub.  Time for a snack.  How about a sandwich, filled with whatever you like?

Here’s the proposition.  The Virtual Hot Tub snack bar will create any sandwich you like, with up to three fillings.  You can have whatever bread you want, and as much salad as you can cram in there – a bit like Subway.

Except grated carrot.  Why would anyone want carrot on a sandwich???

Anyway, just pick three items to fill your sandwich with.  The Virtual Hot Tub sandwich makers will put it together for you, whatever you like.

Q: Which three items would you pick for your ideal sandwich filler?

Jayne

  1. Chicken
  2. Bacon
  3. Cheese

Jack

  1. Pepperoni
  2. Cheese
  3. Bacon

Si

  1. Meatballs
  2. Onion
  3. Cheese

Terry

  1. Ham
  2. Cheese
  3. Bacon

Dan

  1. Chicken
  2. Bacon
  3. Cheese

Ash

  1. Sausage
  2. Bacon
  3. Cheese

Joe

  1. Beef
  2. Ham
  3. Cheese

Natasha

  1. Cottage pie
  2. Sausage & mash

Stu

  1. Sausage
  2. Fried egg
  3. Hash brown

Ben

  1. Chicken tikka
  2. Glastonbury mature cheddar cheese
  3. Nachos

Jon

  1. Smoked salmon
  2. Cream cheese & chive
  3. Rocket lettuce

Mike

  1. Turkey
  2. Cranberry
  3. Stuffing

Sam

  1. Fishfinger sandwich

Me

  1. Chorizo
  2. Cheese
  3. Chicken

There you go.  What three would you choose?  Please leave a reply below and let us know.

Questions #2: Full English Breakfast Ingredients

Except it’s not a “full” English breakfast.  You only get to pick four items, not everything.

Remember recently we asked what five ingredients would you pick for a roast dinner?  This time we asked for colleagues favourite four items for a cooked breakfast.  Here are  the answers from the team.

Q: What would be your ideal four ingredients for a cooked breakfast?

Woody

  1. Bacon
  2. Sausage
  3. Fried egg
  4. Baked beans

Wolfie

  1. Black pudding
  2. Hash Brown
  3. Baked beans
  4. Bacon (cooked properly!)

Jack

  1. Bacon
  2. Sausage
  3. Toast
  4. Baked Beans

Dan Webster

  1. Black Pudding
  2. Hash brown
  3. Baked beans
  4. Sausage

Mark D

  1. Kippers
  2. Black pudding
  3. Crispy bacon
  4. Poached egg

Joe

  1. Sausage
  2. Bacon
  3. Hash brown
  4. Baked beans

Terry

  1. Egg
  2. Sausage
  3. Bacon
  4. Toast

Ben

  1. Fried egg
  2. Bacon
  3. Hash brown
  4. Black pudding

Jayne

  1. Beans
  2. Hash brown
  3. Sausage
  4. Bacon

Stu

  1. Sausage
  2. Bacon
  3. Fried egg
  4. Baked beans

Ashley

  1. Black pudding
  2. Hash brown
  3. Baked beans
  4. Bacon

Me

  1. Sausage
  2. Black pudding
  3. Baked beans
  4. Hash brown

Does anyone want to collect this data and create a graph?!

Please feel free to add your chosen four items by replying below.  Any other suggestions for questions? Let me know.

More questions soon.