Tag Archives: friends

paul’s back! AGAIN

12 Wednesday Feb 2025

Posted by in bluesky, food & drink, friends, sevilla, spain

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It’s actually been a while since Paul was here… last August! Usually he doesn’t leave it so long between visits, but you know, life stuff and this and that. Anyhow, he’s here now for almost ten days and yesterday we met up for lunch and – also due to this and that – our Plan A turned into Plan B and then finally Plan C (technically D as we were going to C when I spotted La Casa del Tigre and I remembered they have a new tasting menu). And so we popped our heads in and they had a free table and that’s what we did. Well, we weren’t sure at first if we would do the tasting menu but then went for it and it ended up being quite fabulous (will update the website soon). Lots of wine, chat, catching up, the usual. It’s gonna be a fun week.

paul & marj

21 Tuesday Jan 2025

Posted by in bluesky, friends, sevilla, substack

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Over the years I’ve met many lovely people via Twitter and several I’ve even had the pleasure of meeting in person. Well this is my first Bluesky connection! I came across Paul @macrambles.bsky.social there a few weeks ago noticed his interest in local live music. So after I started up Bitesize Sevilla I got in touch to see if he wanted to write a guest post on the jazz scene in Sevilla and he was happy to contribute. Then on Sunday we met up for lunch with his wife Marj and Peter at ConTenedor (one of venues in his article) and we all had a lovely time.

It’s a great article, please go have a look and give it a “like”. Also sign up for a free subscription if you haven’t already, it all helps me with getting more visibility on the site. Look for other guest articles soon talking about travel, hotels, art, lifestyle and more.

Sevilla Jazz

birthday 2025!

07 Tuesday Jan 2025

Posted by in birthdays, friends, restaurants, sevilla

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birthday 2025

As everyone who knows me knows… I love birthdays! This Birthday Week started off with a bang by returning to the fabulous Jaylu Restaurante in Triana. My first ever visit there was on my birthday two years ago… it’s not an every day kind of place. Since that visit I’ve been back a couple of times and discovered the joy of sitting at the bar there rather than the posh dining room. I mean, same eye-watering prices, but a much more casual and friendly experience. So this time I called ahead and Ana said she would have my usual spot at the end of the bar ready for me.

Peter very generously invited me out, as on the first visit, but this was his first time at the prized bar location and he agreed it was a lot more fun. Fabulous food, amazing wines and a chupito of orujo blanco to finish us off. There’s more to say about this but I’m playing blog post catch up so will either write more here or do a long Jaylu birthday post on my Substack. Have I mentioned I have a new Substack?

We had…

  • Raventós i Blanc Brut Cava
  • Breaded king prawns
  • Ossian Verdejo
  • Morillo de bacalao
  • Grilled tuna belly with garlic sauce
  • Zamorano cheese
  • Orujo blanco

There’s more coming up this week, stay tuned…

a dantastic afternoon

28 Thursday Nov 2024

Posted by in christmas, food & drink, friends, restaurants, sevilla, spain

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deb graceDeb & Grace

Deb is back! This time with her friend Nina. And so we met up at Manolo Cateca, along with Grace (who is soon to be neighbour) for a pre-lunch sherry and to also delivery their Sevilla L’Armanaques. Peter also joined us as I wasn’t actually able to carry the two almanacs on my own (they’re quite heavy this year!). He then took home all the lovely loot Deb brought for me from London: mince pies, the latest Decanter mag (with my article in it!), a lovely card to add to my collection and a mystery gift which I am trying not to open until Christmas Day. Afterwards Deb, Nina and I went on to have lunch at the fabulous Lalola Restaurante. And oh my, what a lunch it was.

This is becoming a lovely tradition that I hope continues, with Deb returning to Sevilla every year to revisit the places she and her late husband Dan (aka Dan Jamón) used to go to in their favourite city. Today, as in the past three December visits, we met for what inevitably ends up being a very long, very boozy and very emotional lunch, and this was no exception. The restaurant choice was perfect because Dan loved his jamón, really anything Ibérico, and so going to Lalola, and having chef Javi Abascal, El Rey de la Casquería (the Offal King, sounds better in Spanish) prepare a special Ibérico tasting menu just for us was… well, Dantastic.

lalola (1)🐷 starters: buñuelo de bacalao, jamón croqueta, chicharrón de cádiz topped with scallop tartare

🐷 sautéed boletus topped with seared foie

🐷 arroz Ibérico with jamón, presa, asparagus, topped with papada

🐷 grilled abanico Ibérico with potatoes

🐷 jamón baklava with pistachio ice cream and white chocolate crumble

🥂🍷 Sumarroca, Ossian Wines, Cortijo Los Aguilares, Bodegas Baron

lalola (2)chef Javi Abascal

craig aka zoomer

14 Monday Oct 2024

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I just found out that my friend Craig Lawrence (aka zoomer) died last month after a long struggle with Parkinson’s.  This was us back in 2008 when he came to visit. No other words, other than thanks for being so kind and for your lovely big bear hugs. Hasta siempre amigo mío xx