Food

I'm looking for a cool box - this Coleman one seems to get good reviews but should I just pony up for a Yeti? Or something else?

The problem with Coleman or any other cheaper cooler is that the seals will harden sooner and the hinges (sometimes just a piece of bendy plastic) will break.

What's a better option? Is Yeti the only one?

Oh man. One of my all time favourite humans. I may just re-watch the entire Parts Unknown back catalogue again. One my all time favourite TV shows. Poor bastard.

Maybe Engle, Pelican, Canyon?
I’ve no experience with these brands, just found that Coleman is not the go to that my wife thinks it is, for the previously stated reasons.

spent ages looking at Yeti, Pelican, Icey-Tek. Then ordered the smaller version of that Coleman.

It's arrived and appears no better than you would expect. Somewhat regretting not digging in for at least an Icey Tek

https://www.coolboxesuk.com/

However I dare say the Coleman thing will do the job for the time being.

Chamber vacuum sealers. I want to seal up dried meats like biltong and droewors to keep mould spores off them after curing, some sous vide cooking, some quick pickling and for sealing things before freezing.

What ones are people using?

I have a coleman xtreme 28l that i got for a 24hr ultra i used to do once a year where you setup a tent for your "home base" at the start/finish line between laps. I'd camp friday afternoon to sunday midday and if i put my perishable food in it with a couple of bags worth of "party" ice from the shop (no freezer) on the friday morning before I left there was still a surprising amount of ice in it on the sunday, enough for me to still have a cold drink after I packed up.

Thanks.

Used the Coleman this weekend and it's fine for 48 hours. Just need plenty of ice packs in it.

anyone know any good restaurants in brighton? need to try pick somewhere that might entertain taking a booking for 8 after restrictions are supposed to lift, otherwise has decent outdoor seating

Budget? Dietary requirements etc? Top of head:

Cin Cin (seem to remember a forumger connection here), Etch, Isaac At, Little Fish Market (but actually it's tiny so likely be a struggle to book for that size. Also think Duncan/owner is off sick for a bit), Food for Friends, Bincho Yakitori is amazing, Salt Room has stunning views, Coal Shed (team behind salt room but less fishy, more beefy), chilli pickle is a place I miss more than anywhere, curry leaf cafe, etc etc - drill down requirements and I'll be more specific. Miss living in Brighton : (

1 vegan, 1 veggie, 6 no allergies, no budget, would prefer nice over budget, but not wanky posh

will check these out cheers

I bought a super cheapo cool box from Tesco for £12 on Thursday because everywhere was sold out of other options and Jana used it camping for two days and there was still ice in the bottom at the end of the trip. Flimsy and thin lid...assumed I had wasted my money. Turns out it worked well.

Terre a Terre had been a veggie and vegan favourite for 20 years. Worth a look.

Cin Cin is owned by a close friend of @Fatberg

Why are English croissants universally so dire?
What kind of sick bastard thinks it acceptable to sell these things with that name?
A good croissant is one of- debatably for me the ultimate- food pleasure.
A bad, is a disappointment that I can only liken to thinking you have a Monday off of work, only to find on Sunday night that you don’t.

I fully understand how difficult it is to make the little crescent shaped, crispy yet fluffy bastards but, why?

I don’t want to have to hunt down good ones (obv 2 freres in KC, bonjour in Putney-if you get there early, the strange little cafe run by an old lady just up the road from the Brunswick ), and Gail’s should be banned from selling their sub standard mess as a croissant.

Please excuse my golf club rant, but as I said, these things need to be better.

Feel free to point me in the direction of other good ones, ideally I’d like a reliable, open early, place in all corners of this magical city.

The Dusty Knuckle Bakery
https://maps.app.goo.gl/vfFwAXZh1x6dG7MQA

I did a croissant making course here (in b4 golf club). Theirs and, to a much lesser extent, mine were sensational.

Why are English croissants universally so dire?

English cant cook, French are gods.

You get up in the morning anywhere in France, start the french press and before you have to press the coffee you can be home from a great bakery with €1 baguette and a few croissants.

I actually hate all French people who live in the UK, like why?!?!

Yup. There’s new one in Fitzrovia now too.

https://www.cincin.co.uk/cincin-menu/

Gonna add old post office bakery into the good croissant mix.
My local bakery and the bread and pastries are excellent. Having a decent/good/great bakery nearby is a game changer.

https://goo.gl/maps/4Ah5Vtrp23A6VwfDA

Just booked cincin brighton! very stoke

Good man! It's really very good. The OG Brighton one is tiny. Just 12 or so covers round a horseshoe bar. The Hove one is bigger and posher but they're both great.

Haven't been to the new London one yet. If Corny plays his cards right he can be my date there next week.

I often wonder about this. What UK chain does the least unacceptable croissants? The Pret ones are rank. They're practically dissolving into a greasy mulch of liquid butter. No air, no flake, no nutty crunchy bits.

@amey I disagree the “English can’t cook part”.
Also last france trip my coffee experience was sub par.

Side note- these days our breakfast of convenience is so sugar driven (ignoring the trad option of anemic, ethically questionable meat stodge).
Pret averaged 30g of sugar per serving
Costa substantially more.
Waitrose- if you just had a yoghurt would have been ok.
Breakfast bars are less healthy than a snickers.
It’s no fucking wonder our obesity crisis is so bad. It’s nothing to do with English breakfasts- it’s all this American shit.

I’ve been on a train every morning this week at 7am from KC so ratings on a 5* scale:

Pain Quotidien:
Like a packet croissant. Average buttery flavour, felt stale.
Unacceptable- and if our French visitors have the poor fortune of eating that as the first thing in London, I can only apologise on behalf of this country.
1.5/5

Sourced market:
Utterly miserable with no butter flavour or structure. Tasted as if it was made two days ago
1/5

Pret:
Flaky, butter flavour present, not greasy.
Most forward taste was sugar- and raw not caramelised.
Structure good, flavor unacceptable.
2/5

Waitrose:
Flaky, fake butter flavor. Structure adequate, not too sweet.
2/5

I missed the opening serving of aux pains de papy by 7 minutes this morning. I nearly cried into my Pret croissant.

The research will continue.

If you're ever down in Bermondsey on a Saturday, try a croissant from The Snapery.

They are sensational. Hand laminated. It's a commercial bakery that supplies fortnum and mason but they do a little stall on Maltby
Streett on Saturday mornings.

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