Bless You My Son

The Tasty Tuck, Tavistock Street, Bedford, MK40 2RX

Another week, another take-away try out! Both Mrs Belly and I had just reached the end of a pretty busy weekend and I really didn’t fancy cooking so we pondered what cheeky delight we should settle on. I had Chinese on the brain but Mrs Belly had a real hankering for Fish N’ Chips and since I’m not adverse to the fried spud & battery goodness I ...was pretty much down with this decision, the real issue was “Is there anywhere open?”. As Sundays go it’s normally pretty hard to find a chippy open but find one we did and it just happened to be another childhood haunt.

The Tasty Tuck is situated in the bright lights of Tavistock Street and was the chippy of choice after a good swimming session at Robinson Pool, it wasn’t the closest but it was the chippy with the funniest nickname. We never referred to it as the Tasty Tuck, it was always (and still is) known to us as “The Fisty ****” (I think you can guess the rest).

What I do remember about the place was in all fairness, it wasn’t all that great. It always seemed a bit dingy and the chips were always floppy & greasy, I’m happy to say though that all of that has changed.

Gone is the dirty insides and gone if the floppy grease sticks they used to call chips… hello crispy on the outside/fluffy on the inside chips and HELLO crispy olde style batter covering a very moist piece of fish.

I’ve raved in the past about Andy’s Chippy but to be honest I think they have a decent bit of competition for the crown!

Again, this chippy is situated on the other side of town form where I live but both the Batter & Chips managed to make it through the journey without going all soggy (quiet an achievement in my book). The staff where friendly too and we didn’t at all feel rushed like we have done in some other places.

I hate it when you’re in the door for less than 30 seconds and someone’s pouncing on you to order:

“What can I get you then?”

“Erm… I’m not sure yet. You see, I’ve quite literally walked through the door and you seem to have quite a lot of stuff on that big menu up there… You see the one behind you which is listing out the choices I have to make. Yes, that’s it, the big board with all the words on it that although I am a fast reader I’m still not frickin’ Superman so if you’ll just let me have a couple of minutes to allow my glasses to unsteam and my eyes to scan over those selections then when I have mulled it over and decided what I plan to spend MY money on I’ll let you know and you can get right to it and do your thing!”

I’ve come to the understanding recently that not every visit to these places is as good or as bad as the last so let it be known that this was a Sunday and if those same people who served on a Sunday are there the rest of the week then I can’t see their being too much of a deviation in the quality of the food.

Anyway, check them out if you’re swinging by that way and have a guttural growl coming from below. The noise will soon receded in gratification.

The Picture Never Lies (Almost)

Apparently this is what you should expect from Andreas in Bedford. I'm calling bullshit on this one as I have never had as good a looking as this from them, it's normally 2 inches thicker and the cheese is never that stringy!

Ram It Down

Boccelli's, 2 Ram Yard, Town Centre, Bedford, MK40 1AL 

Last night as the snow began to fall once more myself, Mrs Belly, Mama Belly & Papa Belly all headed out in the cold and landed here.

After Papa Belly stopped arguing with the taxi driver over ripping him off (this certain alphabetical firm seems to have a fluctuating “Via” charge, sometimes it’s £1 sometimes it’s £2, when you question them ...on this they “phone” the depot and confirm the charge, however what they didn’t expect was that Papa Belly also phoned the depot after the cab had left to complain only to find out that the driver had not called in at all and had phoned someone else to “confirm” the price… so, be warned!) We made our way inside the restaurant and were instantly greeted & shown to our table.

The waiting staff were extremely friendly and eager to please but you didn’t get that sense of fakery that you get in some places, it’s seemed as if they genuinely wanted to please you.

Boccelli’s is a very small place but really does have a lot of atmosphere, it’s dimly lit, quiet enough to talk but not quiet enough where your conversation will be overheard. The food is reasonably priced and the service was really excellent.


 For starters:

Mrs Belly & Mama Belly shared a pizza base with fresh tomatoes and pesto topping (obviously I had to steal a slice or two!)

Papa Belly had the garlic mushrooms and I had the garlic chili prawns.

The Pesto pizza was pretty sweet! The base was authentic Italian while the tomatoes were very rich in flavour working really well with the pesto (I’m not a bit fan of pesto but I did find this to be mucho tasty).

The garlic chili prawns were nice and plum, very meaty and perfectly cook. The chili sauce had a small kick to it but nothing to be frightened of; it’s definitely a chili sauce that can be enjoyed by the more wary food goer.

I’d tell you what the mushrooms tasted like had Papa Belly not wolfed the lot down (obviously they were very good).

 Mains:

Mrs Belly – Chicken Risotto, I’ll just give you her 3 word review “That was awesome!”

Mama Belly - Fish (I’ve forgotten what she had now but again it was deemed wonderful none the less).

Me: Calzone with salami, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, onions & mushrooms. The dough was cooked perfectly as were the ingredients inside, I know on occasion that the dough can be very touch sometimes but not here! It really was a good tasting calzone but I would have preferred a lot more salami and a little less ricotta.

The thing I really liked about the portion sizes is that while they by no means small they were not overly large either and actually left room for dessert (something that doesn’t happen often these days. We often have the Starter or Dessert argument when we go out to eat; I prefer a starter while Mr’s belly always prefers the sweet desserts).

Papa Belly: Sorry, I really can't remember. (Perhaps I should start writing this shit down at the time of eating...)

Dessert:

Mrs Belly & Mama Belly: Lemon tarts (that’s what they ordered and not an attack on their characters by the way!)


 Myself & Papa Belly: Profiterole Ice Cream

I didn’t get to taste the lemon tarts but was told in no uncertain terms that it was "bloody lovely” and although it was cheesecake like it was served warm to the surprise but ultimately joy of the ladies.

 The real genius of the evening though was the profiterole ice cream; it was exactly as it sounds. Profiteroles encased in vanilla ice cream and my god it was so bloody good! I can’t really describe how good it was, it’s one of those things where I just say “you got to go try it yourself”.

The worst thing was the house white wine, fine it’s alcohol but god damn it was sharp! I’d suggest getting a different wine if you do head down there.

I would also recommend getting a nice Irish Coffee after your meal too, it was delicious and the whip cream could have covered my face had I have dived face first in to the cup!

I really was impressed by Bocelli’s and think If you’re looking for good Italian food with a nice atmosphere then in all honesty you can’t go wrong if you head there.

Bedford Belly on tour: Angus Steak House, Leicester Square, London A Man Of Few Words

Bedford Belly on tour: Angus Steak House, Leicester Square, London

2nd February 2012

Today I am a man of few words, Angus Steak House is pricey but frickin' awesome!

'Nuff said.






Additional: It has now been over a week since my visit and I am still craving the taste of the steak I ate, I just can’t get it out of my head.