1. The Carlton Arms pub. This place has been a favourite of ours for the last four and a bit years, from when we first saw their advertisement in the Cambridge CAMRA rag, Ale, not that long after our boys were born. The magical phrase 'families welcome' was all we needed to prompt a trek from the centre of the city to north Cambridge. Terri, Jethro and all the staff and fellow customers have been unfailingly welcoming as our boys have grown. From the early days when we trekked over with the two of them in Huggababy slings and drank a pint while they slept on our fronts to the four of us walking over today (we live much closer than we did!) for our lunch, a couple of drinks and a sit outside in the sunny weather.
Not just family friendly, but also a real community pub offering good food and - most important! - a selection of about 6 real ales on at any one time. Terri and Jethro have gone on to the Cambridge Blue (while still keeping the Carlton Arms for now), another great Cambridge pub and the very first pub we took our children to. This lunchtime - our last visit, for a while at least - we enjoyed: Woodforde's Wherry (a long-term favourite); Black Country Brewery's B.F.G. (a great, hoppy, quite austere pale bitter); Archers 5s & 3s (strong ale, quite chocolatey and biscuity, I don't think Archers can brew a disappointing beer); and Cottage Brewery's Pawfather (part of their Whippet range - another darker beer, nutty and toasty, very more-ish).2. Michael Matthew Teas and Coffees at Cambridge's main market, by the Guildhall. A wonderful selection and an unfailingly friendly man. Just what we'd have done without his strong 'Household Blend' tea I don't know. We've had days when it's the household blend that's kept body and soul together. His own blend of coffees is wonderful, as is exploring the different varieties he stocks, at pretty unbelievably low prices we think. Two not just drinkable but enjoyable decaffeinated varieties, a 'continental' blend which is fantastic and strong, the Ethiopian Sidamo, which is I think my favourite variety, subtle in strength but full in flavour. We'll miss our trips to buy coffee beans! On the subject of the market in general....
3. Cambridge market. During the week there are a variety of excellent fruit and veg stalls and in the right bit of the season you can pick up copious amounts of fruit for home preserving. This year we made stacks of plum chutney from 'market plums', as well as a great selection of fruit that went into our Christmas Rumtopf. Again during the week on the days where the Cambridge Cheese Company (temporarily homeless) aren't there, the cheese stall has the most wonderful selection of British and French cheeses all sold when they're ready. The unpasteurised Brie has been a staple of our lunches. The bread stall is there all week - our favourites are their pain de terron, campaillou and the huge pain a l'ancienne - and they come in on Sunday as well.
And it's on Sunday that the market really comes into its own food-wise. From the queues that snake around the vegetable stall Mayfield Organics (the best time to go is around 9.00am) to the cakes on the bread stall that are so lovely for breakfast (washed down with a coffee from the van in the middle of the market), going to the market has been a feature of our Sundays. It's one of the best places to buy fish in Cambridge. The stall beside the bread stall sells the most wonderful eggs (putting the pale supermarket-bought varieties to shame), wild rabbits and boiling fowls, at various times of year. Their pickles are great too.
Green Poultry sell the best chickens in Cambridge as well as game in season and astonishingly good turkeys at Christmas. Next door to them is the apple stall, offering wonderful Bramleys, as well as other (eating) apples and fruit in season - we've been enjoying their forced rhubarb and their late-summer raspberries are fabulous. Catch the damsons while you can - oh, and the plums too! A recent arrival is the small stall on the side of the market furthest away from the Guildhall, opposite Rose Crescent, selling sausages, bacon and pork from Gloucester Old Spot pigs. Great stuff, particularly recommended are their 'Old English' sausages and their belly pork.
I hope I haven't forgotten anything about the Sunday market there. I'll leave the rest for a later post. If you live in or near Cambridge you really should set the alarm and get in to enjoy the great food, support the stallholders who are doing such great work and treat yourself to a cappucino from the coffee van and a chocolate and almond brioche from the bread stall...
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