When: 01-01-2017
Where: Prezzo St Neots
Price: Free – it was a gift
Review: I find Prezzo to be reliably good whenever I go there
Tip: Wise to book – it can get busy prior to film showing times as the cinema is next door.
This is an old blog post that never got put in the correct place. This dates from a time when I saw the future as reviewing those experiences I was able to take in.
Shortly afterwards I determined that the time for the experiences took away from the time for writing the blog.
This and a few like it will have to stand as memories of that aim.
The last such post is here: https://magic-phil.co.uk/2017/02/20/fifty-special-things-thanh-binh-restaurant-cambridge/.
I had concluded that I would write no further reviews. That was until fellow blog writer Anthony reminded me that the 50 Special Things did not officially have an end. Two years later it would now be 52 special things in any case so I have plenty to review.
You can catch Anthony here: http://unofficialcambridgefilmfestival.blogspot.co.uk/ or tweet him here https://twitter.com/theagentapsley
It had been a few months since my resolution to fill my 50th year with as many fun things as was feasible.
The visit to Prezzo St Neots was my suggestion. http://www.prezzorestaurants.co.uk/restaurant/st-neots/
The purpose: to celebrate my 50th birthday with my family. The event was coming somewhat after the actual birthday date.
If one believes in horoscopes I was born under the sign of Libra. (Which should give you a clue).
The original resolution for “50 special things” was before my birthday in a meeting with my counsellor . (However it was embellished on my birthday whilst eating in a resort restaurant with my two friends Jacqui and Jon. (We were in Gaya in Malaysia). I suspect in some not too distant blog entry details of that will emerge.
The idea of 50 special things was to dispel the belief that a birthday is limited to one day per year. Limiting celebrations in this way is likely to be disappointing. Allowing the celebrations to last all year circumvents that problem.
The idea came through talking to my counsellor. In my experience counsellors are often the source of great advice.
I’m certain that not all great recommendations come from counsellors but in my experience many of the good ones do.
This is quite an awesome responsibility when deciding to embark upon the journey towards being a counsellor. (How do you come up with these good ideas).
As a volunteer counsellor myself I am not certain that I can measure up to that expectation.
A 50th birthday celebration at Prezzo. This was in the hope that gluten-free means less stomach aches the following day.
Prezzo have a pretty extensive gluten-free menu (other restaurants take note). This menu means that I have eaten there many times.
St Neots is the usual Prezzo venue due to the familiarity I have with eateries there. (I live within easy driving distance of St Neots).
(I seem to be a creature of habit who would like to be a creature of adventure).
Prezzo is usually a place that is highly-populated due to its proximity to the St Neots cinema. It has a hubbub akin to a football stadium.
New Year’s Day and all I needed was to sleep (after a night in an Indian restaurant – the site of our New Year’s Eve celebrations).
An Indian restaurant some bottles of wine a need for sleep the day after. (To anyone of average intellect that would not have been surprising).
So I am sat half-asleep in a restaurant with a surprisingly muted hubbub. Perhaps I was not alone in my post Chilean wine indulgence.
New Year’s Day certainly seemed to bring a falloff in demand for Prezzo culinary expertise.
It was hard to get enthusiastic when consumption of unsuitable food the night before meant a tsunami stomach ache. Besides enough gas to replenish the North Sea pipeline.
Despite this malaise I noticed that the service (by three waitresses) was excellent. They seemed to cope with a deficit of staff (no doubt brought on by the holiday season) without noticeable decline in delivery or positivity.
For some reason the menu was not filling me with joy (as it has on previous occasions). I wondered if there had been a recent redesign or possibly it was feeling green that did it.
When you’re trying to avoid incompatible-with-IBS foods risotto is usually a good standby. That is apart from those establishments that insist all risotto must contain peas.
Peas are great if you fancy spending a day or so on your own fumigating a greenhouse. With a stomach that feels like a space hopper with an overweight and restless kid on it.
Sadly my choice was only slightly less tolerable as it contained leek. Leek is fantastic for post-food onion-orientated fragrances (as beloved by no one).
King prawn risotto following a starter of gluten-free bread with balsamic onion dressing. I love onion but onion wages outright war on me. It starts with the intestines and continues on down.
For an IBS-sufferer like me rice and gluten-free gets my recommendation.
Fortunately I have not developed a dairy-intolerance. If you are unable to take the cheese in the risotto there are a few gluten free pastas. I do not tolerate tomato well so eat these when I’m feeling quite well before hand.
Desserts of ice cream are well-tolerated by me (with peppermint tea). (This means I get to socialise otherwise going out would be taxing – finding foods that don’t make me ill.)
After all of these precautions I opted for the chocolate drink. In my defence I read recently that dark chocolate helps stay the commencement of Alzheimer’s. (Dementia has been a theme in my family).
I would recommend Prezzo as a place to go if like me you tend to tolerate some foods poorly. The menu gives some options that I don’t see at other nearby restaurants.
Although Prezzo is busy the service tends to be swift. The staff are pleasant despite having a huge number of tables to attend upon.
I tend to visit this restaurant every few months. So far the only down side is that the background volume in there can get elevated. In other respects I choose Prezzo over the alternatives.
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