Afternoon,
Tattoo finally settling down I write to you after an eventful and laid back kind of bank holiday weekend. As things start to get back to more normality, or whatever this new bullshit is now, Mr Warehouse and I have visited friends, family and even done a spot of masked-up shopping at a local retail park. However there is one thing I am looking forward to tonight, as I have done for the full month of August and that is one of my fave things to do of all time - Eating out!
Announced mid-July 2020, the Gov.uk website states that from 3rd to 31st August, foodies can get a 50% discount when you eat in Monday to Wednesday's that are registered with the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme. But what is it and how does it work?
With the scheme launched in order to boost more spending from the Great British public following the reopening of many of our favourite haunts by the Governments Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, with the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme means many can get a 50% discount on food or non-alcoholic drinks to eat or drink in (up to a maximum of £10 discount per diner) as many times as you like. You do not need a voucher but can use it at the same time as other offers and discounts. The discount will be automatically taken off the bill should you eat in on the designated days and establishments will then claim a reimbursement from the government for the discount they’ve given you.
Winner, winner chicken dinner. And you can take your pick from Nandos to KFC and other local chicken shops as there is no minimum spend. Some of the drawbacks though? You cannot claim discount on alcoholic drinks or service charges. Where can you use it you ask? Participating establishments may include restaurants, cafés, bars or pubs and even some work or school canteens. With all diners in a group of any size being able to use the discount it is certainly one that has been popular the last few weeks.
Mr Warehouse, Miss Tweedle-Dee and myself have certainly taken advantage of the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme at a participating establishments and quite frankly taken the piss sometimes, eating out at least once a week, sometimes two or three.
Week one I took the chance to frequent somewhere I had been meaning to take Mr Warehouse, Miss Tweedle-Dee and myself for several months - Pasha. Located in close proximity to Bletchley Park near Milton Keynes, Pasha are leaders of exquisite Turkish and Mediterranean Cuisine and proud to have reached the Finals of the British Best Kebab Awards 2020.With every meaty morsoul ever-so slightly charred on the outside, tender and succulent on the inside there are no ovens, pots or pans. Just teasing flames from the grill and the best ingredients we can source in locally from within the Buckinghamshire area. Being Turkish food it was a more healthier and fresher choice but with their signature welcome bread and salad prepared the authentic way on site by experienced chefs and platters to die for it was the perfect place to start our culinary journey.
Week two was Date Night and Mr Warehouse chose an Indian down the road from where he used to live in the next village over. Lounge India welcomed us on a rainy but terribly humid Tuesday but was nice to visit and get the history that it was once a pub run by Mr Warehouse's Dad. Specialising in Indian & Bangladeshi food, every dish was authenticly cooked which were mouth-watering delish, if a little different for me (someone who had never eaten out at a Indian in my life up until that point and barely had a takeaway from one). But with each dish cooked fresh to order and using the finest combination of spices, most of which were freshly grounded in the kitchen.
Week three was special since it was Mr Warehouse's birthday. On the day, following an escape room experiance (honestly so much fun and 100% doing it again), I treated the Bae to dinner at Browns Milton Keynes, conveniently located just over the road on Midsummer Boulevard. Whether it’s a pre-shopping lunch, afternoon tea or, as in our instance, an la carte dinner, the menu delivers fresh and seasonal dishes and all served in the comfort of our stylish yet cosy brasserie ith the elegant yet comfortable bar in the background offering exceptional drinks including classic and contemporary cocktails which we just had to try.
Last week I had another disappointment (although not on the same level as the Indian) when Miss TweedleDumb and I branched out and visited the Blossom Room, again in Miltons Keynes Hub District. Instagram worth posts lured me to the establishment, however whilst the venue itself screamed dinner with the girls pre-night out, the food was slightly letting the "show" down. I dont know maybe its just not the kind of place you go for food because the cocktails were lovely. Certainly looking at the website it is the perfect Hen-Do starter location with Cocktail Masterclasses and VIP Booths or maybe a calmer Afternoon Tea or Bottomless Brunch to tickle your fancy. Anyhoo, definatly worth a visit for afterworks drinks and to decompress from your office in the tower block next door, the Blossom Room comes with golden angel wings to pose next to, cherry blossoms to gasp at and flower walls with neon signs to lust over, but not really somewhere for food, especially so when the website describes itself as "Japanese-inspired where the theatre of food and drink is served" and here I was expecting sushi and dancing Kimchi.
Tonight was the last day and so we went out in style booking one of the last tables at The Smoke Pit in Northampton. Right in the heart pretty much of the town and situated behind the buildng I did some of my first ever counselling sessions in and next to The Cordwainer, a Wetherspoons pub whee I had my first post-college job after moving from the 'Shire, it was certainly an experiance being back. A casual, compact BBQ restaurant with sofas and high stools, for pulled pork & chargrilled meats, it was an exclectic mix of odds and sods collected from bric-a-brac shops with an all american feel and a nod to street food and art. The venue alone had Mr Warehouse and I looking around for the whole of our duration there and definatly somewhere to be coming back, if only to try the mega-death shakes my Dad had reccommended to us so highly.
However as week sixteen starts and the bank holiday ends, so does EOTHO. But does it have to? A news article from the BBC has gone into detail about how beneficial this has been for eateries and establishments up and down the country. Since it was originally designed to boost the struggling hospitality industry, in its first three-weeks over 63 million discounted meals were ordered, but now as the "freebie" ends several restaurants say they will carry it on at their own expense including Tesco Café, The Real Greek, Harvester & Toby Carvery just to name a few.
Obviously some of the critics have had had their fill so as to speak and with fast-food chains such as Burger King, McDonalds and others having taken part EOTHO has drawn questioning from some anti-obesity campaignersand ergo pointing the finger at government and asking whether this is them giving a ''green light to promote junk food''. This is something I can totally get behind and understand since the discount doesnt seem to sit well alongside the government's healthy eating plan that bans "buy one get one free" deals on unhealthy food and this is not even taking into consideration the growing evidence of links between obesity and an increased risk from coronavirus.
Do I think it should continue? Yes is the short answer. However I feel like the little guy is getting left behind as the bigger multi-site corperations can afford to take the hit of a tenner a head, little independants maybe cant and that can't be good for business or economies. If it is extended then whoopie for me and all my loved ones, but I think the government needs to get smarter with their "help" and only allow smaller companies to cash in on the benefits whilst also offering discounted gym memberships or fitness schemes because hell only knows I will need something to shift this Corona-comforter from my waist!
