I am in no way, shape or form a decent food blogger, cook, or foodie. My skills lie in eating. I always want to take nice photos but I end up chickening out and whipping out my phone for a quick, blurry snap, looking around to see if anyone is staring at me. If you want gorgeous pictures of food and dreamy recipes, you'll have to head over to my friend KC's blog (bacon salted popcorn, are you kidding me?!)
La Choza in the North Laines and a prime example of my terrible foodography. I spontaneously popped in here in an attempt to defrost and I'm glad I did! For any Texan that goes abroad, the #1 food we miss is always Mexican/Tex-Mex cuisine. I've tried a few "Mexican" restaurants here and there, but they all left me deflated and dreaming of real enchiladas and overstuffing my face with chips and queso. So it's an understatement to say that my expectations for this place were pretty low. Happily, I was pleasantly surprised - my quesadilla with chicken and chorizo had just enough grease and cheese to remind me of home and the salsa had a bit of spice to it and wasn't just a tub of pureed tomatoes. They did throw sour cream inside the actual quesadilla which made it extra gooey - but hey, no complaints from me. The staff were charismatic and the restaurant was small but uber-colorful, and by the time I left it was getting packed. Thumbs up from this hard to please Texan!
My venture to Choccywoccydoodah was part gaping at the window displays and part digging my nose into a mountain of whipped cream atop my hot chocolate. This shop would have no problem fitting in on Diagon Alley. I approached one of the chocolate sculptures on the inside to snap a photo and then saw the tag stating "If you break me, I cost £3,500" so I proceeded to put the lens cap back on and backed away, slowly. I'm clumsy.
Another excellent example of wimping out and taking terrible phone photos, but I couldn't write a post about eating my way through Brighton without a mention of Sugardough's. A recommendation by my Airbnb host that could not have been more spot on. An unsuspecting bakery nestled in Hove, loaves of freshly baked bread and morning pastries line the shelves at the window, drawing in the regulars. Giant mounds of dough are rolled in the open kitchen right in front of you, I was mesmerized by the baker's swift movements between the ovens, to the shelves, to the countertop to create her next product. I munched on an almond croissant and sipped a flat white while watching the locals come in to get their orders. Something I did not try but was clearly a fan favorite were their sausage rolls - I think every other person who came in asked if they were available, one woman cheered when she was told they were about to come out of the oven and a pair of boys ordered twelve. Even the furry customers enjoyed their visit!
Hidden away from the hustle and bustle of the lanes and past the pier, towards Kemptown, on a narrow side street lies the eccentric tea shop, The Tea Cosy. It's not hard to see why almost every passerby did a double take when passing the window. Even the menu is crammed with references to British royalty, with names like "Windsor Castle", "The Will and Kate Selection" and "Queen Mother's Cream Tea". While the shop was kitschy and cute, the cream tea was pretty meh. I've become spoiled by living in the West Country, with Cornwall and Devon cream right at my doorstep. Their cream was a fluffy whipped texture which was still tasty but not my favorite for tea.
Lucky Beach is a real treat if gourmet burgers, local beers, and oceanfront views are your thing (*raises hand*). While most people associate Americans and burgers, England just does gourmet burgers right. I actually eat burgers and fries more often here than I ever did across the pond. I went in at an odd hour, too late to call it lunch, too early to call it dinner, so I had my choice of tables. The owner, noticing that I had no idea what I was doing when I walked in "Umm do I sit first? Order first?" (a regular occurrence for me) came over and we started chatting. He was incredibly nice and friendly and we even talked about Texas since he had recently gone to Houston for work. Even funnier, he started laughing when I made my order for the diablo burger, because it's a brand new addition to the menu, inspired by his trip to Texas. You can take the girl out of Texas, but...
Full disclosure here, I heard of this place from a Zoella vlog - major guilty pleasure alert. Slice Sussex was a stone's throw from my home base, and ticked all the boxes for a great way to start the day. The cafe has chalkboard walls with menus, quotes, and drawings everywhere. It's just hard to beat a decent breakfast.
Marroccos is a Brighton & Hove institution - gelato parlor by day, italian restaurant by night. When someone tells me that a place has "The BEST ice cream I've ever had in my life" - I take it as a challenge, near-freezing temperatures outside be damned. Although I couldn't feel my hands after eating this, I was one happy customer.
I do promise that I ate more than just sugar whilst in Brighton, but desserts are just so photogenic. Victoria sponge is my favorite British cake (I mean...so far...) and Angel Food Bakery in the lanes was the perfect place to sit and people watch with a mouthwatering treat.
BRB, going to the gym now.
