Even Tesco has standards

Funny story from London...
My brother has just moved out of his flat in Brick Lane and made the short journey to a new pad in Dalston.

Dalston is fast becoming the new hippest place to be in London. Anybody who once thought it was cool to be seen in Shoreditch or Hoxton is now venturing further afield. This could be due to a few of reasons...

1. Shoreditch has become unbelievable expensive and its former residents cannot afford to pay for their overpriced clothing as well as their overpriced rent, not to mention eating & drinking in their overpriced bars & restaurants.

2. Shoreditch has become so ‘trendy’, it’s not actually ‘trendy’ anymore (if that makes sense).

3. East London has a series of new tube stations making it easier to get to.

Anyway, while Dalston is becoming the place to be, it still has a rugged exterior which is a constant reminder that, yes you are still in East London. This was made apparent to my brother when he tried to make arrangements to get his online shopping delivered to his door.

He has been a valued customer of Tesco’s home delivery service for many months at his previous address. When he moved there was a small issue with his postcode as it appeared not to exist on their system. Naturally, he queried this and gave them a call...

As it turns out Tesco no longer deliver to his postcode as it’s just too risky! Turns out that “Every little helps” is a slight stretch from the truth.

Still, there’s always Asda.

Adsa, “Daring to go where no other supermarket will!”

The Gastropub...What exactly is it???

The term 'gastropub' is thrown around all too often and I'm not convinced that people know when to use it. I'm sometimes a little unsure as to whether I'm in a pub, a restaurant or a gastropub. You can imagine my relief when 'Big Hospitality & Restaurant Magazine' did a research piece finding out exactly what defines a gastropub. As a participant of their project I don't feel guilty showing you their findings.
Before I do though I'd like to make this quick point. The Eagle, located on the Farringdon Road in Central London, is apparently the worlds first gastropub. If this is true and was actually the first then surely the concept of the gastropub couldn't have existed. People would have cottoned onto the idea, more and more 'so called gastropubs' will have opened and all of a sudden the gastopub scene was born.

I wonder which pub was the first 'old man pub'???

Definitions of a gastropub...
'Big Hospitality' & Restaurant Magazine state that the term 'gastropub' was once a useful descriptor for a serious food pub. To help with all the confusion they have narrowed the sector into 4 categories.

Definition 1 - The restaurant (that just happens to be in a pub)
The idea of opening up a restaurant in what used to be a pub is becoming quite a popular concept and you can understand why. It can cost up to a million pounds to set up and open a Michelin star restaurant where as you could take on an old pub and produce the same quality food for as little as 20 grand! This is exactly what Stephen Harris did with 'The Sportsman in Seasalter, Kent.

Definition 2 - The bona-fide gastropub
It seems that a lot of pub owners/managers are steering away from the term gastropub as it such a overused and unclear descriptor. 'Pub and kitchen', 'Bistropub' and 'Dining pub' have now popped up as ways of describing some establishments on the gastro scene. What, then, constitutes a 'real' gastropub? Well, it should serve good beer, and set aside space for people who just want to drink. There should be affordable bar snacks and main dishes in a £9-£14 bracket. Food should be local, seasonal, cooked on site and menus should change weekly or daily. It should be independent, owner-operated and avoid costly extras.

Definition 3 - The food-led pub
Apparently if a pub is selling more food that drink it fits the bill to be classed as a type of gastropub.

Definition 4 - The craft pub
A pub that serves restaurant quality food alongside a vast selection of beers is now described as a 'craft pub' rather than 'food led' or'gastropub'. A vast range of beers deters people from believing that the pub is food led and welcomes people to pop in for a pint. Food can be simple honest home cooked classics that you would hope to find in your local boozer but done well.

I don't know about you but I think I'm more confused now that I ever was! For me the term 'gastropub' is a brief inkling as to what you should expect in a certain place. It's like the 'fine dining', 'haut cuisine', 'caff', 'chain restaurant' and 'fast food'. All are brief indications of what to expect (or at the very least, what the dress code is!) but gives you no detail on what the individual place is like. 'The Ivy' and 'Sketch' are two 'fine dining' restaurants but they are both entirely different.

The gastropub has become a loved addition to the hospitality industry, with each one different in their own quirky little way. Long may they reign!