After a couple of weeks of seeming to do nothing but work all hours it was time for some fun.  So we took advantage of the lovely weather and decided to see a bit of this country’s autumn colour and also call in at Newbury Food Fair to see what delights we could pick up for lunch.

Newbury’s main shopping street had been taken over for the weekend for the fair, there was food of every nationality, from Malaysian street food, through Belgian waffles, Indian curry  and even a stall dedicated to the food of the highlands of Scotland, with haggis and venison on offer.

It smelt fantastic and just wanting a little lunch we were spoilt for choice.  So we tasted most things 🙂 finishing up by deciding to continue the American theme by having Texas BBQ.  I had smoked brisket served in a home-made soft taco and Stephanie had the rubbed chicken with slaw and cornbread.  My taco was very reminiscent of breakfast in the Holiday Inn in Denver only missing the Pico de Gallo chilli salsa. The cornbread was not quite up to King Sooper’s standard – being pre-sliced and slightly less like Maderia cake than our favourite version.

After a mid-course tasting of some very delicious sauces, so delicious in fact that I had to lick the cup out much to the amusement of the vendor (who gave us a much better discount than anyone else!) we finished the meal with French style crepes.  Chocolate and orange for me and Banoffee for Stephanie.   They were so messy to eat standing up with just a fork we were both covered in stick by the time we’d finished.  Stephanie even had toffee sauce on her glasses!

We came home the scenic route through Bucklebury and past the Middleton’s house. There was a story on the local radio this week about a family who had been to visit Bucklebury farm park and had a flat tyre just after they’d left.  As they got our to examine the wheel, within about a minute they found themselves surrounded by armed police – who then went to the garage for them to get a wheel nut unlocker and changed the wheel.  There were no armed guards on the gate this weekend, so we assume Kate and George were not in residence.

And so to home, to light the fire and enjoy an evening catching up with Australian Masterchef.

And so the last day of our American denture dawned, and as we’d come to expect it was another beautiful, sunny day.  As we were both feeling OK for a change we decided that we should celebrate by going out for breakfast.  Something we’d been meaning to do since the very start of the holidays.  And what better place to go than just across the road, to Trip Advisor’s top rated restaurant in the area, “The Original Pancake House“.

We arrived there at 8.20am, and the queue for tables had already spilled out of the building (and it was not a small building!) and people were perched on the benches outside.  So we announced ourselves to the reception staff and joined a bench to wait for a table, it should be about 20 minutes they said.

As we were waiting we were joined by a lady who had clearly been there before. Yesterday in fact, as she was in town from Iowa for the Denver Broncos football game. The food she said was excellent, and the portions very generous, and yesterday they’d waited an hour and twenty minutes for a table!

We chatted for a few minutes until, on cue, after 20 minutes the announcement over the tannoy into our waiting area,  “Susie, party of 2, your table is available”.

We were seated in the outside seating area which was warmed by such an effective heater that it felt like we were being lightly grilled and might possibly be served as an appetiser. Fortunately, as the sun came round the heating got switched off and we were able to fully enjoy our breakfast. Stephanie had corned beef hash, served with 2 eggs, cooked to her specification. This of course came with 3 original buttermilk pancakes.  I was still slightly below par so had a small plate, which was bacon served with 3 pancakes. On the table there was a large jug of Maple syrup with which to liberally douse our pancakes.

The pancakes were without doubt the best I’ve ever eaten, light, fluffy and had a lovely flavour – masked slightly by the lashings of maple syrup :-). Apparently the Corned beef hash was very tasty as well (although not quite as tasty as the corned beef hash at our hotel in Colorado Springs). Neither of us managed to finish our meal, but I suspect under less buggy circumstances I might have just about managed to polish off a small plate.

We marvelled at the expertly skilled waiting staff who were clearly not allowed trays. Carrying 5 large full glasses of water at once, like plates standing them on their hands and up their arms without spilling them. Amazing. Our water glasses were constantly topped up and if we’d had coffee, as seems to be common in America, that would also have had free refills.

As we left if was 9.50am and the queue for tables outside looked to be at least 3 times the size as when we arrived.

Of course, on further investigation, it turns out “The Original Pancake House” is  a chain, so if you find one near you it may be well worth a visit – but get there early!

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