Thursday

I like Thursday. Not only is it the new Friday but it also means that the worst part of the week (ie. the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday bit is over and done with) and my thoughts start turning away from work and towards the weekend. Slight fly in the ointment this week is the fact that tomorrow is another early start for me but that won’t stop the regular Thursday night club from meeting.

This, in case you’re wondering is a few JD and cokes in the local boozer (served in my own glass, which is kept behind the bar and only used by yours truly – get me!) before dinner at one of the local restaurants that are stumbling distance from home. Not that I’m a creature of habit you understand…

So on the cards tonight is either a curry, Chinese or Thai.

The curry house was one the nicest curry house in town until the lovely owner and his scary-but-quite-nice-deep-down matriarch wife decided to sell up and go travelling about 18 months ago. The new owner is a wanna be actor (I’m an actor know, I’m in the next James Bond, Batman, Pirates of the Caribbean film and am on screen for a millionth of a nanosecond, second from the back in a crowd scene..) who doesn’t really want to be running a restaurant. Luckily the lovely team who used to work there are still on board and the food is still amazing – and really cheap, plus it’s bring your own, which is a result. Shame you have to listen to him drone on while you eat it but you can’t have everything. I have is the fish dishes, which are actually salmon. The fish bhuna, fish saag and bagan (auberguine) dishes are all lush!

You get quite the opposite welcome at the Chinese! The two people who run it are like chalk and cheese. One is really chatty and welcoming, and is happy to say open late if you’re still eating or arrive at 10pm after staying for an extra drink in the pub, the other… isn’t! She doesn’t smile, make small talk and actually gives you the impression she’s prefer to be giving you a terminal illness instead of serving you a meal! I reason I still go there is this. It is not a bad Chinese place. Not the best in the world but it’s better than the local alternatives and it does dishes like sizzling cod with ginger and spring onion, crab with asparagus, aubergine in black bean sauce and squid with chilli and salt – all of which I love!!

Which takes me to the Thai place - you always get a warm welcome there, the food is nice and the service is really good. In fact I have no idea why I don’t go there more often….. maybe I’ll put it to the Thursday night posse tonight at the local boozer (more about that another time!). I’ll let you know what they say tomorrow….