Many of our customers come from local businesses in the North Laine area of Brighton - and many of them will be taking a break between Christmas and the New Year. So we've decided to do the same.
There's nothing like a good breakfast to start the day. Unfortunately, standing in the kitchen on a cold winter morning isn't always very inspiring.
If ever there was a month made for baked potatoes, it would be December!
We all like a bit of chocolate at The Laine Deli. That's one of the reasons you'll find plenty of chocolate gifts in the shop this month. Some of our favourites come from The Chocolate Alchemist, which is an award-winning organic chocolate manufacturer based in West Sussex. So whether you're looking for a Christmas stocking filler for children, a foodie gift for a friend or something to cheer you up when you're Christmas shopping, pop in and take a look at our selection of plain chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate goodies!
Panettone is a type of Italian bread that originated in Milan and has been associated with Christmas for around two hundred years. We've tracked down a variety of small panettone loaves in little boxes. They'll make a tasty gift, a novel Christmas tree decoration or even a pre-Christmas treat!
When should you put your Christmas decorations up?
Many of the UK's 'traditional' Christmas celebrations aren't as old as you might think. For example, there's the Christmas tree - made popular by Queen Victoria - and Santa Claus, who only adopted his current red-suited form in the 19th century.
We think that making a decent cup of coffee is something of an art. But then we discovered an American woman who's taken coffee art to a new level. Karen Eland paints using espresso. That's right - she uses coffee. Most of her coffee pictures are painted in her local coffee shop and are coffee-themed interpretations of classic artworks.
Eagle-eyed customers will notice that we've removed the photographic prints from our walls and have introduced a new (borrowed) artwork. It's called "We Need To Talk" by Hugh McLeod and currently hangs at the back of the deli.
The top end of Trafalgar Street is closed at the moment because there's some resurfacing work going on at Frederick Place. (That's the one-way street before you pass under the railway station). And if you've been listening to the traffic news on the local radio, you'll now know that Trafalgar Street is also known as the B2119. Anyway, it's all due to finish this Friday -so we're hoping everything will soon be back to normal.
Hallowe'en on a Saturday? Then it must be "halloweekend"!
Hallowe'en is approaching, which means it's time for pumpkins - and pumpkin carving. We're planning to create a few pumpkin table decorations for The Laine Deli, which is why we recently took time to head over the border and did some shopping in the little West Sussex village of Slindon. It's been described as the pumpkin capital of Britain... and rightly so, because the Upton family have been growing and displaying pumpkins there for many years. Sadly Mr Upton senior died earlier this year at the age of 87, so the 2009 display has been created by a team including son Robin and long-time colleague Tony Smith. It's an impressive tribute - and the family plans to continue the pumpkin tradition.
Recently we've had a few people ask us for a "flat white" coffee which - if you're not familiar with it - isn't as simple as the name suggests. The flat white is rather like a latte but with less milk and no (or hardly any) foam. Or, from another perspective, it's an espresso with steamed milk on top - which makes it a little like a macchiato but with the creamy part of the milk insted of the foam. A flat white is usually served in a cappuccino cup... well, anyway, that's what we do!
Every day at The Laine Deli is different. Sometimes we're busy - as we have been with the Labour Party Conference in town this week - and sometimes it's a little quieter, which gives us time to chat with our customers. Either way, it's all good. And occasionally there's time to try something new... which is when we created these banana and chocolate muffins!
We've almost run out of cards and leaflets for the Sussex Food Awards 2009/2010, so we thought we'd mention it online again. This is the fourth year the competition has run - and as well as voting for your favourite Sussex eating experience (which is the category we're in) you can also vote for your favourite farmer, food producer, drink producer, food shop, young chef, butcher and farmers' market.
It's not entirely altruistic, either - if you vote you'll be entered into a prize draw to win two tickets to the Sussex Food & Drink Awards dinner in January 2010.
We've mentioned our loyalty card before - but we wouldn't want you to miss out, so we thought we'd mention it again. Pick one up and ask us to stamp it every time you buy a coffee. When you've collected eight stamps we'll give you your next coffee completely free. That's a free coffee every fortnight for our weekday visitors!
WhiteAir 09 takes place this weekend in Brighton. It's a festival that combines extreme sports and music on Brighton seafront. There's a good collection of local bands, including Brighton's British Sea Power... and there'll be plenty of action to watch or participate in, with the RAF Red Arrows expected this morning and the RAF Falcons parachute team arriving on Saturday and Sunday evenings.
Brighton's developed quite a reputation for graffiti, with much of it authorised by the city council and local property owners. Cityclean is the council department responsible for removing anti-social graffiti... and it's also responsible for working with local aerosol artists to decorate a number of approved sites.
The Caffè Americano is simply an espresso with hot water added. The result is a black coffee that can be served with or without milk. If you're after "a normal cup of coffee", this is the one for you. It's the closest in strength to filter or instant coffee, except it's fresh and therefore has a different (we'd say considerably better!) flavour.
You may not remember - but back in May we were wondering about adding the curried magic of Coronation Chicken to our sandwich menu. Well, we've done it. In fact, it's been a regular fixture for a few weeks now.
It's hard not to become a little obsessed about coffee when you're making it all day. Did you know that the average espresso is produced using pressure of 9 bar (around 130 pounds of pressure per square inch)?
espresso macchiato) was originally served with a tiny amount of milk - rather like a small, strong white coffee. More recently, the milk has been replaced by foam, making it look like a little cappuccino. Incidentally, the Italian word macchiato means 'marked'... and that's led to some confusion with the latte macchiato - almost the opposite of a caffe macchiato. The caffe macchiato is espresso with a little milk, the latte macchiato is milk with a little espresso!
Here at The Laine Deli we like a nice cup of tea. So we thought we'd take a moment to explain what that weird one is at the bottom of the list. (Unless you already know, in which case it's probably not weird to you).
There's nothing better than a picnic on the beach... except a picnic on the beach that someone else has made for you!
There are those who would say a sandwich isn't a proper lunch without a packet of crisps. While we wouldn't condone a diet that's too high in fried potato, we've done our best to make sure we sell decent crisps. Actually, we don't sell crisps at all - we sell Tyrrells Potato Chips. Their potatoes are sliced and then cooked without removing the starch, which improves the taste and means they absorb less oil than other crisps.
We were thinking the other day about the people who'd inspired us to open The Laine Deli. There's family and friends, of course - and then there are other people who don't even know who we are. For example, Peter Jones offered encouragement in a radio interview by saying the current recession was a great time for young people to start their own business. Then there are all the 'big name' chefs we enjoy: Jamie, Nigella, Bill Grainger and Gordon Ramsay, to name a few. But now that we're here, what really keeps us going is the feedback from our customers. We wouldn't be happy if we weren't making you happy as well.
As cars become increasingly complex, so the number of people servicing their own cars has fallen. The same is true of coffee machines, we're sure. Fortunately, ours is a traditional design... which meant we were able to tinker under the bonnet at the weekend. And we resisted the temptation to add go-faster stripes down the side!
We've mentioned our Rocky Road before; it's a cake (although some people try to convince themselves it's just a biscuit!) that contains milk chocolate, marshmallows and crushed biscuits... with proportions and a few other ingredients that we're keeping to ourselves. But for those of you trying to recreate our recipe at home, here's an extra clue. The secret's out - you need some Golden Syrup.
The other day we mentioned the Banksy graffiti on the side of the Prince Albert pub - and, in a minor coincidence, a couple of tourists called in at the weekend to ask where it was.
As we're sure you've noticed, there's an "i" in "Laine". That's because we're in the North Laine area of Brighton. But what's that "i" doing there, we hear you ask?
This is not the world's largest cupcake. It is, however, pretty big. It's our 'giant cupcake' celebration cake that'll serve up to 14 people - and it's available as part of our Outside Catering service for all kinds of events, including corporate breakfasts, business lunches and birthday parties.
It was originally known as Trafalgar Place and just started off with a few houses at the bottom of the hill. When Brighton got its railway station in 1841 the road became busier, with more houses and shops added - and soon there was a bridge across the top of the road.
We think soup is one of those foods that's great whatever the weather. Rather like a nice cup of tea - warming in the winter, refreshing in the summer - it's become a popular choice with our customers through sun and rain. And as you'd expect, our "soup of the day" is always home-made.
There's a lot of talk these days about 'food miles' and carbon footprints. It's not just a question of environmental awareness and supporting local businesses; it's common sense as well. The less travelling your food does, the fresher it arrives. That's why we're doing our best to source fresh fruit and vegetables locally when we can. It's not always practical to do it for everything - some things just won't grow in the UK! - but we're always on the lookout for good local produce whenever it's available. And if you'd like to know more about any of our ingredients, we're always happy to answer your questions.
We've revised our menu this weekend. There's now a range of salad plates for the summer... and we've also included strawberries & ice cream. All we need now is the right weather!
How time flies!
We usually close The Laine Deli at around 4pm Monday to Friday and at 3.30pm on Saturdays, which means we're still open when many of Brighton's early risers are heading home from work. If you'd like to make sure we've got something for your dinner (or even just a slice of your favourite cake!), feel free to call us on Brighton 686665 and we'll make sure we don't run out of whatever you fancy.
What's the difference between a raspberry flapjack and a raspberry muesli bar?
The Laine Deli is a different place on Saturdays. Instead of catering to our regular weekday customers with their busy lunchtimes, we're mainly visited by shoppers and tourists looking for somewhere they can sit down and enjoy a break.
The Carrot Cake Muffin - all the pleasure of a carrot cake but with none of the sharing!
Although we're often told that the days of cash are numbered, it's still one of the easiest and most-widespread ways of paying for small transactions. But it's not always convenient... and even though we're happy to take cheques, they're rapidly going the way of the dodo, the CD single and the free parking space. That's why we've just taken delivery of a 'chip-and-PIN' credit card and debit card machine. Whether you're buying lunch, ordering a cake or placing an order for your business, you can now keep your money in your wallet.
Brighton's an exciting place to be all year round - and we're honestly not just saying that because we work here! - but it really comes into its own in the summer. Visitors arrive from across the UK (and the world) to sit on the beach, walk along the pier and see the Royal Pavilion. So here's an idea. If you're here for a few days and fancy a picnic on the beach, why not pop in to The Laine Deli and ask us to make you one? Order it in advance and we'll have everything ready for you to pick up on your way down to the seafront.
Jamie Oliver, 'naked chef' and already owner of one Brighton restaurant - Jamie's Italian - is opening his second venture in the city on Monday. Recipease combines a food shop with a kitchen shop and a cookery school. It sounds a great idea; we spotted the shop being fitted out a few weeks ago when walking down Western Road. And Jamie, if you're ever in the North Laine area, we'd love to see you for a coffee and a piece of cake!
