Tea at Morrisons, West Denton

Sometimes it's not the most expensive, most well-recommended or even the most trendy place that is the best.  Instead it's the place where you had a good laugh with friends, a place you made special with your memories.  Today Morrisons at West Denton became such a place for me.

Now, even before today I had nothing but good things to say about Morrisons cafe food.  It's tasty, moderately priced and the surroundings are kept clean and tidy.  You know what to expect.  So what did we do to make today different?  In a nutshell, two friends dared me that I wouldn't turn up there with a tablecloth and other bits and pieces to transform Morrisons into a dining experience.  Dear reader, I did it, I did it.  Here's the proof -

I'm sure you'll agree that the cakes look fab!  We three can recommend the belgian buns, the carrot cake and the Eton mess cheesecake.  And fine dining need not cost the earth.  The tablecloth was 50p from a charity shop and the table centre (which doubled as a leaving present, not for me, for a friend but we won't dwell on that) was a similar sum from a 'junk' shop in Adelaide Terrace.  The mats and coasters are family heirloom, embroidered by an aunt in the first half of the 20th century.  We did talk about bringing our own china but I think that might have pushed Morrisons a bit too far.  As it was, the staff seemed happy to have eccentrics eating with them and we suspect that we will be the talk of the staffroom for weeks to come.

So Grace's homely advice this week is make every place you visit special in some way.  If this weather holds we could be looking at a picnic next week and I can think of one or two places that would just suit!

Mikaids, corner of Westgate Road

As it happened I was working in the town centre today.  Ideal opportunity to visit another cafe I thought. But where to go, I couldn't think!  Now don't get me wrong, no one is in danger of starving in Newcastle!  There are plenty of places but either I have visited them already or they don't quite fit my criteria.  I walked past a couple in Pilgrim Street that looked great but I only had an hour and I didn't really want a cafe that thinks it's a restaurant.
Mikaids turned out to be my answer.  Bright and breezy and ideally placed for the Central Station, it has a few tables and barstools but I suspect also does a roaring trade in takeaways.  The sandwich fillings on display looked fine, ditto the cakes, but once I had seen the breakfast menu I knew that bacon, sausage, beans and toast for £2.99 had to be mine.  It arrived in next to no time along with a latte and it hit the spot exactly.  I went back to work fortified for the afternoon ahead.  Definitely the right place at the right time.

Tea Sutra, Leazes Park Road/Percy Street

Journalists have stringers, folk who keep an eye to what is going on locally and tip them off about a good story.  And since I've begun this blog, people who know about it have been recommending cafes and teashops all over the north east to me.  Tea stringers?  Tea strainers??  Whatever, I'm very grateful to them and particularly to the person who pointed me in the direction of the Heaton Perk and now Tea Sutra. 

As with all my posts, names are changed to protect the guilty, so today I was in the company of Miss X or Blondie or Anony Mouse (she couldn't quite decide) who had first found the place.  I didn't know quite what to expect as we climbed the stairs to the second floor, only that it had been described in glowing terms, and this is what I saw:

 It is a glorious little haven!  Bamboo, lovely mirrorwork cushions, even the cane sofas were nice and you know how I am about sofas.  It really is unique!  At first I fancied lounging on the cushions pictured to drink tea but decided that I'd never get up again, so the sofas it was.
So, terrific decor, what about the food?  Well, we were given menus 'they must do a large range of food' thought I. Wrong - a large range of teas!  When did you ever get a menu that consisted entirely of different kinds of tea, each with a description?  What to choose?  Annie X (or was it Miss Blondie) went for hibiscus tea, I toyed with choosing One Hundred Monkeys but in the end went with Northumbrian mainly because it was described as a blend of Assam and Kenya via Byker - how could I resist?  This is how the tea was served:

China teapot shaped like an elephant for me with dinky cup and milk jug and woven tea strainer.  Glass teapot for Blonde Mouse.  How could you not feel special with all this.  Very tasty chocolate chip shortbread too.
Have I done it justice?  Well, there's only one way to find out...
http://www.teasutra.co.uk/

Turner Prize cafe@Newcastle Mela, Exhibition Park

Where were you ten years ago today?  Everybody knows, everybody's talking about it.  I remember vividly where I  was physically, and emotionally.  Just coming to terms with grief myself, this seemed just overwhelming - I didn't sleep for days.  So much has changed in this last ten years, yet are we radically different in our attitudes?  Are we fighting our prejudices?  Have we learnt anything?  You have to respect the bravery of ordinary people in extraordinary times. 9/11 was a turning point but where have we turned to?

I did my share of remembering and then breezed along to the Mela (later this year than usual due to the timing of Ramadan I was told).  It's always good.  First I trawled the clothes and jewellery - two tops and a dress this year as well as a handbag for a Christmas present for a friend.  Then I headed for the food - veggie mix up involving chickpea chaat, veg samosa, salad, onion bhaji and a lovely sweet sponge ball name of which escapes me.  I went back for some jelabi I'd never tried it before - beautifully sweet.

Then I wandered over to the Turner Prize cafe for my first freebie cup of tea of the entire blog!  There was no catch, just a chance view the finalists' work on iPad and in books and discuss with a nice lady who obviously knew what she was talking about, guessed I didn't,but didn't seem to mind.

The Turner Prize exhibition will be on at the Baltic from 21st October, there are four finalists, one of whom paints in the stuff my brother used to use for his Airfix models.  I came away quite enthused!  All in all, a good afternoon!

Eve's Cafe, Station Road, Walker

A teaching assistant friend once rang me from down south to say the children were enjoying a series set in the north east.  Kevin Whatley was in it, and so were lots of pigeons.  But what exactly was a stottie?  If only I had known then what I know now, that Eve has the perfect example.  I had a lovely fresh sausage stottie with brown sauce and a mug of tea for a great price (£1.80 the stottie, 50p the tea - 50p!!).
The cafe (I think) is a portakabin now settled on the edge of light industrial units.  It now boasts decking and a picnic table outside.  Inside is fixed seating at tables and some stool seating on one side.  A bright chalkboard advertises the menu and specials.  The back third of the space is the kitchen so you can see all that goes on.  There were newspapers available and bold background music. 
OK, it's not the Ritz, but it is clean, friendly and accessible.  And even if they do stotties at the Rtiz (and I bet they don't) they won't be as good as our Eve's

Great Coffee, Newcastle Quayside

Nobody likes to be second choice, let alone third, but when it comes to coffee shops you have to go with the one that is open and today Great Coffee was it.  My first choice had sadly and unavoidably closed due to illness, my second choice doesn't do Mondays, but that won't deter me, I'll pick another day.  So, Great Coffee it was after a lovely stroll along the Quayside on a sunny autumn afternoon.  It is lovely down there, and there were even drunken revellers at 3pm (finishing late or starting early?  Who knows?)

Great Coffee is on the corner of Broad Chare opposite the law courts.  I opted for the gluten free dime bar cake and a regular tea (Ringtons!) and sat overlooking the Baltic and the Millenium Bridge, reading the Journal.  You could sit outside but it's maybe not quite that warm now.  The service was friendly and efficient, I spotted loyalty cards but wasn't offered one.  The clientele were a mix of business people and strollers like myself.  The atmosphere was light and bright - pine floors, cafe-style tables and chairs, a few barstools, and a semicircular bench (I refuse to call it a sofa) which would make quite a snug spot on a cold day.  The music was in keeping but I couldn't name that tune.

So, third choice does not mean third rate!  Indeed when I looked around there are very few true cafes on the Quayside - bars, naturally, and restaurants, and a nice looking ice cream place, but to my mind Great Coffee fills a niche and does it in a cheerful, attractive way.