Having spent the morning walking around the World Heritage City searching for a job I soon realised that I was starving and in need of dead pig. I knew of a cafe in the city called the hub, whose review shall appear on here in the coming months, but I remembered that they charged world heritage prices and so resolved to find a proper greasy spoon. My wife suggested the Guildhall, once inside I knew she was right, we spotted a cafe, with a small queue, at the front of which were several gruff, burly types wearing hi-visibility jackets. This was the place.
The Review
For all the build up the sandwich was poor. The Hi-vis wearers of Bath deserve better than this.
The break-down, scored out of a maximum of five.
Order placed
Bacon sandwich please. To take out.
Bread
Two slices of white bread. Soft. (3)
Spread
I asked for it to be buttered, but her expression told me that it would have been anyway. (4)
Bacon
two or three rashers, pink. Some fat left on and equally rarely cooked. (1)
Sauce
Offered but not for my own application. None taken. (2)
Salinity and flavour
Fine. (3)
Price
£2.40. I would have paid no more than £1.50. (1)
Drinks offered
usual cafe fare (3)
Overall rating for the cafe at Guildhall, Bath - 2.4 out of 5
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Hungry Jacks, Follingsby Park industrial estate, Gateshead.
For months the lads at work had been buying breakfast and lunch from this unassuming little sandwich van on the stretch of disused road that runs alongside the new road into the industrial estate on which we work. I had seen a lot of dirty things coming from that place - a burger in a pasty being about the worst.
Never one to put my own personal health before THE QUEST, I decided to try out their bacon sandwich.
The Review
I had to wait for what seemed like a lifetime, I say a lifetime, it was only enough time to read the Daily Star cover to cover so probably more like ten minutes. The sandwich itself was delicious, perhaps because I'd waited so long, the fact that there were multiple layers of bacon was a plus but by the final mouthful it's saltiness had become too much to bear. Excellent price for the size of the sandwich.
didn't get no drink, though tea in a polystyrene cup was available.
The break-down, scored out of a maximum of five.
Order placed
Bacon Sandwich please.
Bread
Quarter of a Stottie. Fresh. (4)
Spread
Butter offered. Offer accepted. Butter then spread on top and bottom of stottie. (4)
Bacon
Countless rashers, layered in places, some fat left on and still a bit soft. (3)
Sauce
Offered to apply on my behalf. Offer declined. (2)
Salinity and flavour
A bit too salty for my liking. (3)
Price
£1.70 (4)
Drinks offered
A fair selection on offer (3)
Overall rating for 'Hungry Jacks' 3.3 out of 5
Never one to put my own personal health before THE QUEST, I decided to try out their bacon sandwich.
The Review
I had to wait for what seemed like a lifetime, I say a lifetime, it was only enough time to read the Daily Star cover to cover so probably more like ten minutes. The sandwich itself was delicious, perhaps because I'd waited so long, the fact that there were multiple layers of bacon was a plus but by the final mouthful it's saltiness had become too much to bear. Excellent price for the size of the sandwich.
didn't get no drink, though tea in a polystyrene cup was available.
The break-down, scored out of a maximum of five.
Order placed
Bacon Sandwich please.
Bread
Quarter of a Stottie. Fresh. (4)
Spread
Butter offered. Offer accepted. Butter then spread on top and bottom of stottie. (4)
Bacon
Countless rashers, layered in places, some fat left on and still a bit soft. (3)
Sauce
Offered to apply on my behalf. Offer declined. (2)
Salinity and flavour
A bit too salty for my liking. (3)
Price
£1.70 (4)
Drinks offered
A fair selection on offer (3)
Overall rating for 'Hungry Jacks' 3.3 out of 5
The Granary. Team Valley, Gateshead.
For a long time The Granary has been my bacon sandwich provider of choice, and so it came to pass that eventually I would have to quantify this decision for my QUEST blog. That day was last friday, the 4th of September 2009.
The Review
The Granary always adheres to the three-rasher minimum, and the bacon is invariably well done. This was my final day working as delivery driver so I expected nothing less than perfection from my favourite bacon sandwich supplier.
Because I was driving I chose not to buy a drink as I had water in the van, which was fine.
The break-down, scored out of a maximum of five.
Order placed
Plain Bacon Sandwich please.
Bloke behind counter "no sauce?" - I am a recognised customer at last!
Bread
large white bun. soft and lightly floured. (3)
Spread
No butter offered. (2)
Bacon
3 rashers, nicely cooked, slightly stiffened through cooking process. (4.5)
Sauce
Available but only for the sandwich maker to apply. None taken. (2)
Salinity and flavour
Salt level acceptable. Flavour good (5)
Price
£1.90. excellent value for money (5)
Drinks offered
Plenty of choice, though none taken. (3)
Overall rating for 'The Granary' Team Valley, Gateshead' 3.5 out of 5
Only 3.5 for my favourite bacon sandwich place. Disappointing really, but then that's what you get for not allowing the customer to apply their own sauce and not offering a buttered bun.
The Review
The Granary always adheres to the three-rasher minimum, and the bacon is invariably well done. This was my final day working as delivery driver so I expected nothing less than perfection from my favourite bacon sandwich supplier.
Because I was driving I chose not to buy a drink as I had water in the van, which was fine.
The break-down, scored out of a maximum of five.
Order placed
Plain Bacon Sandwich please.
Bloke behind counter "no sauce?" - I am a recognised customer at last!
Bread
large white bun. soft and lightly floured. (3)
Spread
No butter offered. (2)
Bacon
3 rashers, nicely cooked, slightly stiffened through cooking process. (4.5)
Sauce
Available but only for the sandwich maker to apply. None taken. (2)
Salinity and flavour
Salt level acceptable. Flavour good (5)
Price
£1.90. excellent value for money (5)
Drinks offered
Plenty of choice, though none taken. (3)
Overall rating for 'The Granary' Team Valley, Gateshead' 3.5 out of 5
Only 3.5 for my favourite bacon sandwich place. Disappointing really, but then that's what you get for not allowing the customer to apply their own sauce and not offering a buttered bun.
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Welcome
Bacon sandwiches have long been my favourite food but it has been many years now since my metabolism and digestive system afforded me the luxury of eating them whenever and wherever I like. Nowadays I am a lot more discerning when it comes to my bacon sarnies and so have devised a scoring system. Or should I say I am in the process of devising a scoring system, and it is through this blog that I intend to fine tune that system. All comments are welcome.
New York Deli - Van at Team Valley Retail Park, Gateshead
The Review
The sandwich retained it's heat throughout and carried good flavour but the bacon to bread ratio was unacceptable. I felt a third rasher should have been included to allow some doubling to occur, failing that I would have padded out the sandwich with a filling such as tinned tomatoes or even mushrooms. The only reason I haven't said egg here is that I feel this transforms the sandwich into something completely different, introducing further complicating factors when trying to evaluate the overall quality of the meal.
I would have preferred a cup of tea with this sandwich but it was the seventh of June and a hot drink would have been inappropriate, so I shared a can of Fanta with my wife. Fanta being the best of a bad bunch on offer, the only other two were water and pepsi-max.
My wife came right out of left-field and went for a Cheeseburger with fried onions and a cheap slice of cheese.
The break-down, scored out of a maximum of five.
Order placed
One Bacon Sarnie please.
Bread
Medium sized white bap. Soft, lightly floured. (3)
Spread
Buttered without question. Spread too thinly for my liking. (2)
Bacon
2 rashers, beginning to crisp around the edges, well-done in parts that were in prolonged contact with hot-plate. (4) but loses a point for the missing third rasher, so (3)
Sauce
Available for the customer to apply at will. None taken. (5)
Salinity and flavour
Mild. No rogue flavours from the hot-plates' previous application. (5)
Price
£2. I valued the sandwich at £1.70, so only a (3)
Drinks offered
abysmal (0)
Overall rating for not at all ironically titled 'New York Deli' 3 out of 5
The sandwich retained it's heat throughout and carried good flavour but the bacon to bread ratio was unacceptable. I felt a third rasher should have been included to allow some doubling to occur, failing that I would have padded out the sandwich with a filling such as tinned tomatoes or even mushrooms. The only reason I haven't said egg here is that I feel this transforms the sandwich into something completely different, introducing further complicating factors when trying to evaluate the overall quality of the meal.
I would have preferred a cup of tea with this sandwich but it was the seventh of June and a hot drink would have been inappropriate, so I shared a can of Fanta with my wife. Fanta being the best of a bad bunch on offer, the only other two were water and pepsi-max.
My wife came right out of left-field and went for a Cheeseburger with fried onions and a cheap slice of cheese.
The break-down, scored out of a maximum of five.
Order placed
One Bacon Sarnie please.
Bread
Medium sized white bap. Soft, lightly floured. (3)
Spread
Buttered without question. Spread too thinly for my liking. (2)
Bacon
2 rashers, beginning to crisp around the edges, well-done in parts that were in prolonged contact with hot-plate. (4) but loses a point for the missing third rasher, so (3)
Sauce
Available for the customer to apply at will. None taken. (5)
Salinity and flavour
Mild. No rogue flavours from the hot-plates' previous application. (5)
Price
£2. I valued the sandwich at £1.70, so only a (3)
Drinks offered
abysmal (0)
Overall rating for not at all ironically titled 'New York Deli' 3 out of 5
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