We made it to Yorkshire today for the main purpose of this trip--to see the family. They loved the restaurant in our hotel so much the last time, so we returned to the Cast Iron Bar & Grill at the Leeds Marriott. The dining area was shut so we ate in the front bar with a table on Boar Lane(the main street) with all the bizarre and amazing passersby on a Saturday evening. The noise from the bar was a bit overdose and reverberated as the place has no carpet or absorption, but it was fine. Our server Lisa was patient with our requests, and we all had a grand time.
Chips and Dips were fun with large puffy crisps to dip in the three different sauces: kale & cashew, white bean and pesto and smoked paprika and chickpea, the latter getting the most praise. A nice dirty Grey Goose martini was in order for me after a day of driving from Wales, a Campari and tonic for Will and a Mojito for Sam. Our wine was a decent red Sangiovese from Vita in Puglia; it won't win any prizes.
The burgers were super and I think Sam got the winner with vegan option made with Moving Mountain Plant Burger(like Impossible Meat in the US) on a brioche with cheese(he had them switch in real cheese for the vegan option), chipotle sauce and fries. My Cast Iron Beef Burger came with crispy bacon, oozing melted cheddar, smoky chipotle sauce and fries. I discovered an superb sauce for chips here in the UK by mixing Heinz ketchup with hot English mustard; my own new amazing device! Most of the group had the Steak Ciabatta which was served with melted Welsh rarebit, caramelised onions, rocket(arugola), mayo and fries.
The only issue was that the meat seemed to all come out cooked medium even when medium rare was requested. Otherwise it was more about family and having fun, which we did!!
