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ventaAt least once a week, I trundle straight from work onto a train and head off to a dance practice. Being the sort of person who likes meals at nice regular intervals, I pick something up in the station as I pass through. A few years ago, that basically meant Burger King or Upper Crust. These days there are the heady alternatives of M&S Food and Subway. My default choice for some time has been Subway, because it's hot (ie more like a meal, in my book), made from something at least resembling real food, and inexpensive.
For ages, I've been wondering why stations never sell proper, reasonably healthy, takeaway meals - a bowl of rice and curry, a bowl of pasta, a plate of noodles... sometimes you can get soup, but the UK's highstreets are mostly very low on decent street-food options.
I noticed recently a new kiosk was arriving in Reading. I was inclined to dislike it, because a number of bike-racks were demolished to make space for it. Reading does have a lot of bike-racks, but it also has a lot of bikes and space is a bit short. However, stomach overcame principles...
Stewed![*] has a pretty simple plan: make one-pot, stewy sort of meals, sell 'em in tubs to commuters. Yesterday, I paid £3.95 for a reasonable-sized tub of beef goulash and mashed potato, garnished with a spoonful of fresh veg, and jolly nice it was too.
Probably not nice in the sense that if I'd had it in a restaurant it wasn't rave-worthy, and I might not be bothering to tell you. But if considering it on the same level as Subway and Burger King, it's a damn fine option and very good value. (They also do monster-sized pots at £5.95)
Yesterday I had the choice of beef goulash, a chorizo-and-chickpea thing, a Mexican 3-bean chilli (which was vegetarian) and I think at least one other thing (also vegetarian). I also had the choice of mashed spud, couscous or rice as a side-dish. My fresh veg was grated carrot, diced raw pepper, peas and soy beans (no choice to made there, other than do you want it or not). And I think my mash was made from real potatoes, not nastyregurgitated reconstituted stuff. And their website even suggests that all their food is gluten-free.
I'm most impressed. Finally: inexpensive, tasty, reasonably healthy-seeming food which is suitable for a good range of people. (I mean, I'm sure there will be people with dietary problems that aren't catered for, but offering vegetarian and gluten-free choices sounds like a start.) Now I just need everyone to start eating there to encourage them to keep going :) So, er, off you go.
[*] That website seems to deal only with their supermarket ranges - it looks like Reading is their first foray into station kiosk-land.
For ages, I've been wondering why stations never sell proper, reasonably healthy, takeaway meals - a bowl of rice and curry, a bowl of pasta, a plate of noodles... sometimes you can get soup, but the UK's highstreets are mostly very low on decent street-food options.
I noticed recently a new kiosk was arriving in Reading. I was inclined to dislike it, because a number of bike-racks were demolished to make space for it. Reading does have a lot of bike-racks, but it also has a lot of bikes and space is a bit short. However, stomach overcame principles...
Stewed![*] has a pretty simple plan: make one-pot, stewy sort of meals, sell 'em in tubs to commuters. Yesterday, I paid £3.95 for a reasonable-sized tub of beef goulash and mashed potato, garnished with a spoonful of fresh veg, and jolly nice it was too.
Probably not nice in the sense that if I'd had it in a restaurant it wasn't rave-worthy, and I might not be bothering to tell you. But if considering it on the same level as Subway and Burger King, it's a damn fine option and very good value. (They also do monster-sized pots at £5.95)
Yesterday I had the choice of beef goulash, a chorizo-and-chickpea thing, a Mexican 3-bean chilli (which was vegetarian) and I think at least one other thing (also vegetarian). I also had the choice of mashed spud, couscous or rice as a side-dish. My fresh veg was grated carrot, diced raw pepper, peas and soy beans (no choice to made there, other than do you want it or not). And I think my mash was made from real potatoes, not nasty
I'm most impressed. Finally: inexpensive, tasty, reasonably healthy-seeming food which is suitable for a good range of people. (I mean, I'm sure there will be people with dietary problems that aren't catered for, but offering vegetarian and gluten-free choices sounds like a start.) Now I just need everyone to start eating there to encourage them to keep going :) So, er, off you go.
[*] That website seems to deal only with their supermarket ranges - it looks like Reading is their first foray into station kiosk-land.
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Date: 2012-05-16 12:58 pm (UTC)Having claimed that the UK's highstreets were quite poor for non-sarnie non-junk takeaway options, it has occurred to me since that actually London has quite a few different chains (of variable quality) offering the sort of thing I want.
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Date: 2012-05-16 01:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-16 01:11 pm (UTC)Ealing has a large Japanese population, which means we have lots of great Japanese restaurants in our immediate area. Best of all, there is an unprepossessing-looking corner shop which has a fish counter at the back, selling sashimi-grade fish. We can get enough to stuff two of us full (to the gills ;) for about £12-15 which is fabulous.