Homage 2 Fromage are now delivering themed boxes of cheese that let you replicate their experience at home, with the added bonus of the element of competition thanks to the addition of a board game! The set includes everything you need to make an evening of your cheese, with a playing mat, counters, dice and reward badges to heighten the stakes along with crackers chutneys, plates, tasting notes and flags to number all of your six cheeses. This is necessary as the cheeses are presented anonymously for you to attempt identify. It’s that identification that forms the basis of a rudimentary, but no less fun for it, game as you roll the dice and work your way around the board to earn the opportunity to match a cheese to the description/region.

We made sure that the cheeses had ample opportunity to breathe and enjoyed the heady aroma of six strong French cheeses filling the house before diving into the game. That said, I was more proud of our feat of correctly identifying all of the cheeses at the first attempt. Incidentally, these were Munster, Bleu de Saint-Flour, Tommy de Savoie, Mimolette, Camembert and Ossau Iraty.

As far as I’m concerned, cheeses should be, by and large, sinus-rattlingly strong and this sextet included a good few to fit that billing. The Mimolette was perfectly nice but a touch mild for my taste while the Bleu from Auvergne was quite intimidatingly plonked at the other end of that spectrum, super salty and wonderfully pungent. The remainder sat between those extremities and all impressed with varying textures, strengths and flavours. Whether or not the amount provided is “all you can eat” depends on your appetite/extent of your gluttony, but two days later we still had a couple of tiny morsels left in the fridge.

The game element could have been a little forced but it worked perfectly to encourage discussion and repeated sampling while thankfully remaining good natured (I can’t promise that will also be the case in your house!). I shall certainly wear my “Curd Nerd” badge with pride for sometime. This is a significant amount of entertainment and more cheese than we could eat in one sitting for the very reasonable sum of £40, an absolute bargain as far as I’m concerned.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for this package. Opinions are impartial.

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It’s clear that a lot of effort and money has been put into the venue, both in the restaurant and the nicely appointed rooms, each of which is decorated to reflect an area in Thailand. The rooms also benefit from some remarkably elaborately folded towels, a skill I can’t imagine where I’d begin to learn!

To start things off, we had a chat to a chef as he prepared a Som Tum (papaya salad) to our tastes, adding plenty of lime, chilli, dried shrimp and garlic. The salad was remarkably light and refreshing, a perfect way to spark off our taste buds before we hit the buffet. It’s not unfair to say that a hot buffet doesn’t offer the most opportunity to exhibit a restaurant’s skills, but everything we tried hit the right notes. Prawn balls and spring rolls were light and well seasoned while the jasmine rice, yellow curry, Massaman and other Thai staples were well executed.

We enjoyed the evening and I’ve every intention of popping back and checking out the a la carte menu to see what Thai Season by Pritsana can do without the constraints of a buffet for a large event.

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After a short walk from the station, we had the pleasure of getting to know some other guests at the event to which we’d been invited and enjoy the company of http://theminimillionaire.com & http://louiseroserailton.com amongst others. The Bossa Grill space was clean and colourful without being overblown, with some outside picnic tables painted in bright colours that will make a lovely place to sit in the summer. As we were seated, we were treated to the sight of some cocktails being made at our table that squeezed improbable quantities of sugar and lime into caipirinhas that my sweet-toothed cohorts proclaimed marvellously refreshing while I got into the spirit with a Brazilian beer.

By this point a room full of sugar-stoked bloggers were ready for hefty quantities of meat and, fortunately, were not disappointed. Bossa counts Fazenda as a stablemate, so it was no surprise that quality of the meat making the rounds was extremely high. The rump cap that came out first was well cooked, with a lovely rare centre, but would have benefited from a touch more resting before its journey to the table to prevent some blood ending up on the plate. Chicken thighs marched succulently to the table and pork came as belly and sausage to give more variety to proceedings. By the time spicy pulled beef was on offer, our stomachs were starting to give up the fight, but we made sure to push on through and taste the grilled pineapple that had been given a good char to caramelise it.

One of the joys of Fazenda is the superb salad bar with such a diverse range of accompaniments on offer that it could almost justify the price of admission by itself. With Bossa being a more casual dining experience that comes with a more accessible price, it’s no great surprise that those extravagances aren’t replicated here though the more basic offering is perfectly adequate and breaks up the meat well. Sides on offer included some dough balls that thankfully didn’t overpower with garlic, chips with generous amounts of paprika, ‘slaw and juicy corn on the cob.

Bossa Grill is avowedly not a high end dining experience, placing the focus on socialising in a relaxed environment where the standard of food is still high. A notable change to the ordering process from other rodizio style restaurants is the use of a small cow to control the meat flow (standing proud to request more, prone and defeated to pause the experience) that speaks for the whole table rather than individuals controlling their own fate. While a small change, it reflects that the table experience their meal together and reinforces the social aspect of the offering. We had a fantastic evening, proving that the social element works by meeting some lovely people, and left with full stomachs and a spring in our step. Bossa is a great fun experience that’s fantastic value.

Disclaimer: While the event was free to attend, opinions remain impartial as ever.

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The range of cuisines on offer really is very wide, taking in Indian, Italian, Sushi, Carvery, Teppanyaki and Asian alongside various deli style options and desserts. It seems that the real challenge in running a restaurant of this style is to keep the quality of all those options at an acceptable standard and the quantities available topped up. After a pleasant explanation from our server of practicalities such as where to collect fresh plates and so on we took our table before making our first trip to fill our plates.

Starting at the Asian counter, I grabbed a modest selection of prawn tempura, duck pancake and a steamed bun with an eye on maintaining enough appetite to sample as much as possible. Perhaps the signing was a little off, but I immediately committed an error in picking up a custard steamed bun, introducing a nice note of dissonance by starting with a dessert item. Still, everything was nicely prepared even if I was eating it in the wrong order. Sticking on the same side of the globe, I next approached the teppanyaki bar to request scallops and calamari be freshly prepared for me. The queue for the teppanyaki grill was entirely justified by the fresh preparation and the resulting seafood. The only hiccup here was in selecting a sauce from the illegible signing.

The next few plates came and went with various selections of pizza, pasta, ribs, shredded pork, stir fry and curry all joined by their regional sidekicks while we revealed a distinct lack of artistry in our plating skills that you can see in the pictures below.

After working our way through the wide variety of savouries, omitting carvery and noodle bar for the sake of both waistline and sanity, we moved on to looking at desserts. Guess what? There was a large range on offer! I can tell you’re shocked. With not much space left, I ignored the Eton Mess, eclairs, brownies and jelly to just opt for a shot glass of chocolate. Grace however, being more game than me, helped herself to ice cream, fruit and sweets alongside marshmallows showered in chocolate. Before lapsing into sugary unconsciousness, she made positive noises about it all.

It’s both true and slightly churlish to point out that all of the styles on offer here can be found produced to a higher standard in other places around York, with the possible exception of teppanyaki, but there’s no denying the value on offer here. Kids were sliding about the place on heelies, indulging in whatever obscure combination took their fancy before taking advantage of the chocolate fountain, while grown ups were able to stick to rather more traditional combinations and order from the sensibly priced drinks menu. With the most expensive dinner option coming in at £17 per adult, it’s hard to argue with the value and we certainly enjoyed our meal and the decision making that went along with it!

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With dinner weighing in at £24.95 per person, there’s pressure to make sure that the quality matches the quantity, but the range of meats circulating is impressive with no fewer than eight different cuts of beef to sample. The sampling we enjoyed this evening also delivered some lovely chorizo sausages circulating along with some rather more challenging chicken hearts, which weren’t to my taste.

The large salad bar gives plenty of scope to break up the meatiness of the experience and gives enough variety to allow vegetarians to attend too, though of course the large wands of meat liberally making their way around the room do suggest it’s not going to be many veggies’ first choice.

When we make it back with a big enough appetite to do the range justice, we’ll post a more detailed review!

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In this country we’re rubbish at going for a quick drink after work, or rather too good at it. It’s well documented that us Brits are useless at adopting the cafe culture of our continental counterparts, preferring instead to inadvertently end up trying to maintain the structural integrity of a dubious kebab. Apericena is the polar opposite of that. Unlimited Italian food including dessert and a glass of wine timed to coincide with office workers exodus, it has all the signs of imposing civility on its guests.

Seven quid gets you signed up to the Veeno buffet and a glass in your hand, a quid more makes that a large glass. I’d expect to pay five pounds for a glass of any drinkable wine in a town centre venue so by that reckoning you’re paying 2 (or 3) pounds for your dinner, which for that price must surely be awful?

Nope. Platters of olive tapenade on focaccia, rice and pasta salads, tuna bites and pecorino were forthcoming and regularly topped up until everyone was sated. Admittedly nothing about it was flashy or obviously expensive, but everything was well executed and tasty. A more ostentatious offering would knock the price up, remove the spontaneity of organising a gathering here and change the dynamic of the socialising, so I think this is right on the mark. Cream and strawberries came out for dessert as things were starting to wrap up, again simple but not overstated.

The only thing I would pick fault with is the Veeno plates. I was tempted to go the full Partridge and bring my own plate to replace the glorified coasters that were provided. I’ve no idea if this was a conscious effort to try and minimise people’s gluttonous urges, but if so it was unnecessary, the clientele displaying continental levels of moderation.

I’ll certainly be back, though not as soon as I’d hoped. Rather frustratingly Mrs YoaF has cast me aside tomorrow night in favour of taking a few friends there. Guess I’ll have to wait, serves me right for shouting about it.

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The striking new Cosmo York facade opens to a surprisingly large space, though when one considers the amount of stock that Argos must have held here it probably shouldn’t have much impact. Dominated by warming stations and open kitchens it’s a bustling space that doesn’t feel cramped and seems to offer carefully calculated routes to the food.

We were easily seated despite turning up unannounced at seven on a Friday evening, in fact we were seated twice after an air conditioning unit started dripping on us. Staff quickly reseated us and I was pleased with the fuss free, quick response and to see that table being taken out of commission for the rest of the evening.

Starting with a few duck pancakes while we found our feet, we quickly moved on to graze on spring rolls, chicken pieces and ribs. The quality was pleasingly high though excepting for slightly dry wraps, the ribs in particular were excellent. Char siu pork buns were excellent but lacked slightly in comparison with Maxi’s superlative offering.

Moving onto the Tepanyaki offering we tried chicken, beef, squid and noodles with various flavourings. The Teriyaki combined with the garlic sauce was particularly excellent and it was a joy to watch the skilled chef preparing our portions. I enjoyed the succulent beef and delicate noodles most. A last portion of steamed eel and rice finished me off, leaving no intention of fighting through a sweet course.

We barely scratched the surface of Cosmo York. Pizza, pasta, traditional Chinese dishes, tandoor cooked meats, indian sides and curries, a Yorkshire car a chocolate fountain and all manner of choices were bombarding the diners. It really does surely offer something for everyone bar the most appallingly allergy afflicted or terminally fussy. Everything we tried was of a pretty consistently high standard. Saying all that, I won’t hurry back. While I certainly enjoyed the food, I just tend to be more decisive and would rather enjoy a single style of dishes that complement each other. Yes you could certainly construct that yourself at Cosmo but the magpie tendency in me wants to grab a little bit of everything.

Additionally there’re other local businesses serving the same individual styles to a similar, if not better, standard with one exception. There’s no other Tepanyaki restaurant, though Cosmo’s customer base seemed slightly resentful at the suggestion they’d have to wait a minute or two for their food… perhaps this isn’t a USP for the masses.

Fairly priced, decent food, acceptable wine, good service and a nice environment speak well for continuing success in York but I don’t feel like I’m the target. If you need to cater for a fussy group of disparate tastes then this is the perfect option.

If i were to offer any criticism I’d encourage the staff to stop constantly talking into their earpieces, it’s unsettling try and grab the attention of one of myriad staff all apparently engaged in debate with themselves. Also the floor was even slipperier than the back of a Google Nexus 4 (the worlds most sensitive spirit level). That might sound like splitting hairs but when the slightest shift in weight shunts you backwards at speed for the 37th time it becomes rather wearing.

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