Bubbles and Squeek

What’s in a name? One of the best parts about traveling in the UK (besides the ale of course) is learning the local phrases. I’ve mentioned before that the elevators are “lifts”, instead of intersections there are “roundabouts”, French fries are “chips”, cookies are "bisquits", and potato chips are “Crisps”. Tonight Len and I went out to one of our favorite pubs in Derby, the Olde Dolphin Inne. I had the Everard’s Equinox on cask (very nice), but what struck me most was a vegetarian dish they were offering, a vegetable crumble with bubbles and squeek. The crumble was breaded vegetables with Stilton cheese melted on top (delicious). The bubbles and squeek confused me, but I found out that is a traditional English dish made with the shallow-fried leftover vegetables. The chief ingredients are potato and cabbage, but other vegetables can be added. The cold chopped vegetables (and cold chopped meat if used) are fried in a pan together with mashed potato until the mixture is well-cooked and brown on the sides. It was very good, and I’ll have to share with Jenn so that we can make it at home.

We went to the Flower Pot for a pint and talk for awhile. I had the Headless (the local brew) Legend and Len had the Burton Bridge Big Ben (named after the clock instead of the football player). We had stopped by Burton Bridge on the last trip and really liked the atmosphere there. The other thing that we noticed was that downtown Derby was packed on Monday night. There were young people (I don’t think that I qualify anymore) out everywhere. We stopped by the Standing Order on the way back to the hotel and couldn’t get over how decked out the kids were (especially the blue dresses), almost all of them out on dates or at least trolling for one. The Standing Order looked like it used to be a train station, and offered a good selection of ale. I tried the Shepherd Neame Spitfire while enjoying the local entertainment, and Len had the Goff’s Tournament. Both were good, and fortified us for the walk back to the hotel. - 5205

"There is no such thing as a good small beer, good brown bread, or a good old woman." – British Proverb