On Wednesday 4th November 2020 my family went to Costa for coffee for the last time before lockdown starts on Thursday November 2020. You could eat outdoors or indoors but it was a cold day and we went indoors. We had to sign into the National Health Service (NHS) QR code for track and trace before they would serve us.
The server was wearing a mask. So were we.
Behind the glass, before we got to ordering coffee, were the savouries and then the temping tea time treats. Decisions, decisions! Croissants we can buy in Tesco up the road. Maybe a chocolate muffin? Then I saw the almond slice. Done deal. It had to be almond slice. My favourite.
In Praise Of The Almond Slice
Yes, I chose an almond slice. No trouble persuading my partner in diet crime to share one.
I had forgotten how good ground almonds are in cake, when combined with jam. Ground almonds and raspberry jam. Delicious. Melt in the mouth. I was so pleased.
The almond slice used to be my favourite. In the early days, it was large, long. Then it shrank to a more square shape. Then it vanished altogether.
One person surmised, 'Lack of demand?' If so, I had not made my demands loud enough. Or, I was the only demanding person? Or had the chocoholics, of which I am a devoted member, voted with their money and their mouths, more strongly than Almond Slice Almondolics Anonymous.
The good news is that the Uber delivery service can provide a raspberry and almond slice, for a very modest fortune or, for a few pence more, try their classic Bakewell Tart, in a circular shape, with white icing on top. While you are ordering that, you might as well top up your order with a couple of a range of sandwiches and assorted bread style lunches, such as panini.
The delivery options include a huge range of drinks including coffees. Ten capsules of Nespresso compatible capsules cost three pounds twenty nine which is about the same as Nespresso if you want an alternative.
The Future of Restaurants and Covid-19
Afterwards we looked at the new Fire and Ice lounge where I had seen lights on inside the day before, but it was not open. What is fire and ice? Fire water? Iced water? Whisky on the rocks? (See my picture of Fire and Ice in the previous post on Hatch End Restaurants.)
For me one of the big impacts of Covid-19 is going on a diet, policed by the family. I look forward to the happy day when I can go back to eating two cakes or desserts, or even one, a whole one, instead of the guarded, slowly savoured half.
I looked online for the delivery options. The costs are not clear, at least not to me. It can be ten per cent of the bill, but it varies with your distance from the restaurant, and the restaurant can set their own delivery charges, and for under a five pound delivery you pay a two pound minimum delivery charge.If you are near the cost of delivery it may be worthwhile to top up your order rather than paying the surcharge.
Travel Tip
If you ever get to route through Bakewell, stop to buy a Bakewell tart. Three shops claim to have the original. If not, Costa has a pretty good version of it. So do many UK supermarkets.
| Description | English: A Bakewell tart. Photo taken in Feb 2006 by Benjamin Richard Wheatley. |
| Date | May 13, 2010 (Original). May 6, 2012 (Date of creation for this revised version) |
| Source | Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Closedmouth. |
| Author | Whitepaw at English Wikipedia |
| Permission (Reusing this file) | Original version released into the public domain (by the author) |
Useful Websites
https://www.ubereats.com/gb/brand/costa-coffee
https://help.uber.com/ubereats/article/how-does-the-delivery-charge-work-on-uber-eats?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakewell_tart
https://www.bakewell.co.uk/bakewell-pudding-or-bakewell-tart
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakewell_pudding
https://www.visitpeakdistrict.com/food-and-drink/the-old-original-bakewell-pudding-shop-
https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/bakewell-tart.html
About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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