In my mission to eat every brunch in the North East, today I ventured to Heaton to try The Butterfly Cabinet. A funky wee place with a laid back vibe not far from that other Heaton stalwart, Sky Apple Cafe, this is mixed rather than veggie but the vegetarian is well catered for. From a plethora of choices I went for the posh French toast and it was so tasty and filling I needed a little lie down afterwards…
Another stop on my Metro Challenge today: Monkseaton to see my friend S, for a much belated catch up. We went for brunch to Kith and Kin, a lovely little cafe on the main drag a few munutes from the Metro that he had been to on a previous visit and I was keen to try again. The veggie options are great, the coffee good and the service friendly – and they passed the Tracey Test for brunch by doing my egg just how I asked…
If yesterday presented all the reasons I missed Brighton, today was a splendid reminder why I moved. I had recently reconnected online with one of my best friends from college, with whom I had lost touch when, in pre-Facebook or email times, I moved away to university. I was a little nervous about seeing him – it’s been 3 decades, after all – but from the moment he turned up at my door it felt like old times, and what started out as brunch near his swanky new flat turned into drinks then dinner and getting home 12 hours later – frankly, it might take several posts to cover it all!
First stop though was the new container yard on the Gateshead side of the river. A short walk from the town centre (or over the swing bridge from the Newcastle side), it’s a great use of previously neglected space. We decided on the Backyard Bike Shop, a cafe / shop hybrid (I think – there seemed to be something going on at the back I wasn’t paying attention to) that turns into a bar in the evening. A very generous avocado on toast (egg done exactly as I asked – always my test) went down a treat, and though I was initially suspicious of the toilets being in a separate container I was pleasantly surprised to find them plentiful, clean and in good nick.
Sated, we strolled along past the Sage to the Baltic Mill – which I will cover in a separate post – then returned to go next door for drinks.
Unfortunately it was, in Geordie parlance, hoying it down, so we couldn’t take advantage of the outdoor seating, but there was a good selection of beers on offer and a couple went down a treat.
Where did we go next? Stay tuned…
