Tag Archives: Cafe 33

Ordinary, Scones

The Hideaway Café

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Hide and Seek

We often stop off in Bridge of Allan as we go to and from the north … for the size of the place it has a lot to offer. For me the reason for stopping is Woodwinters Wine & Whiskies, one of the best off-licences I know. The excellent Allanwater Tinpot Brewery/Pub is also good. Pat, on the other hand, likes several of the fashion shops. It was one of these fashion shops, Ruby Tuesday, that led us to this place, the Hideaway Café. It is tucked away at the end of a mews that runs down the side of the shop. We thought we knew Bridge of Allan quite well but had no idea this place existed. It is aptly named but well worth finding. It has a much more relaxed ‘coffee shop’ vibe than our usual Bridge of Allan haunts, Jamjar and Café 33.

hideaway-01Everything on the menu , including the scones, is freshly prepared every morning. It also has an outside area with a playhouse for the kiddies. A surefire blessing for all the mums of Bridge of Allan. It was unfortunate that we arrived at the end of the day. There was only a single lonesome fruit scone left so we decided to share and put it out of it’s misery. hideaway-03Perhaps it was because it was the last  one that it caused us some difficulty. It was very very good, nice jam and cream, but we felt it lacked a certain freshness. Had we been earlier in the day it would definitely have achieved a topscone. Next time we will get there earlier and not spend so much time and money in Ruby Tuesday!!

Bridges and Jacobites

Bridge of Allan, like most spa towns is ‘nice’. Robert Louis Stevenson visited every year in his youth. But it was not always so genteel. It got it’s name in 1520 when a narrow stone bridge was built to replace the old ford across the River Allan. Soon after that it became a sort of ‘klondyke’ town when copper, gold and silver mines were established nearby and by 1745 the bridge had been commandeered by a group of Jacobites who charged a toll to cross. Most famously of all, of course, in January 1963 the Beatles played the Museum Hall, now converted into luxury flats. At that time, even the Beatles themselves had little inkling of what lay in store for them. A bit like the Labour party at their recent annual conference in Liverpool. hideaway-02

Shooting yourself in the foot

In spite of what seemed a reasonable, if not rousing, closing speech by Corbyn, the sight of a large part of the audience doggedly stuck to their seats and refusing to applaud does not bode well for the future of the party. Or for that matter, the country, which desperately needs an effective opposition. With the Tories in almost as much disarray, the UK appears to be in some sort of free-fall. At home, Scottish Labour has shot itself in the foot so often there is nothing left below the knee except bloodied strands of gristle. What is wrong with the country?

Picture of childrens playhouse at the Hideaway Café
Kiddies playhouse

Perhaps it was summed up this week by Sam Allardyce walking off with £1m for a couple of months work as England manager. Instead of being booted out on his ear as he should have been. Yet another example, like the bankers, of the ‘success of failure’. As long as we continue to reward those who fail us the future will look decidedly unpredictable. Perhaps they should all hole up in that kiddies playhouse at the Hideaway Café for a while until they have sorted themselves out?

FK9 4EN      no telephone       Hideaway

Ordinary

Café 33

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Café 33 is run by the Tortolano family from the Lazio region of central Italy so we expected a small family run restaurant with good food and a warm welcome. 33 01Strangely though it did not have the atmosphere we normally associate with such places. Perhaps it was the weather? Maybe it was the tired decor? Perhaps it was the fact that there was no one there except us. The overall feeling was one of disappointment. However, they are keen to point out that Café 33 is on the sunny side of the street in Bridge of Allan. The street runs east/west and Café 33 is indeed on the sunny side, almost directly opposite Jamjar. We reviewed Jamjar back in May.

It was not sunny today however. Exactly the opposite, rainy and quite cold so it was good to get into the warmth for a coffee. 33 04The scones are homemade every morning and are not at all bad but nothing out of the ordinary either. In fact there was nothing particularly wrong with this place, but nothing particularly right either. If you find yourself in the middle of the street (mind the traffic) torn between this place and Jamjar, go to Jamjar.

Who kills the most?

Our sense of disappointment extends to the ongoing Paris situation which continues to generate more heat than light with all the political leaders slavishly following the script written by IS. Never mind that IS’s buddies, Boko Haram, have killed many more people, we are not aware of any bombing raids on them. Not even an outcry, in fact, not even a mention … but they are in Africa of course! Instead, we seem to risk getting involved in a war that is essentially an argument between two warring factions of Islam. Like all religions each faction regards itself as the only true religion. It is a hard one, if not an impossible one, to win.

Distractions

Did you notice Dave’s response at the dispatch box when Corbyn asked if they would go after the people who fund IS before they start bombing. “Yes, yes, that’s all very well but it’s no substitute for bombing.” The poor guy is bustin’ a gut to join in. He has been PM for over five years and still hasn’t had a war for goodness sake. Now would be a perfect time for such a distraction what with the EU referendum, immigrants, the deficit .. and don’t let’s forget the full fiscal framework for Scotland.

Warning to Scots

Also, in these austere times, he has acquired his own private jet, so that he can sit down with the other big boys who all have their own planes. Playground stuff really, he just doesn’t want to be left out. It does raise a fairly fundamental question however about just how many countries it takes to completely flatten Syria? In fact, who on earth would want to be Syrian? Oh, St Andrew, patron saint of Scotland, he was Syrian. Maybe Dave’s desperate desire to bomb the country is actually subliminally meant to send a message to Scots. We had better behave! Anyway, besides all that, we probably just got Café 33 on an off day. Maybe we will visit again when the sun is shining on the sunny side off the street. That’s provided we are not at war and scone rationing has not been introduced!

FK9 4HN      tel: 01786 834988        Café 33 TripAd