Al Fresco Lunch

Well, well, well. Spring, it seems, has well and truly sprung. Mother Nature has finally decided to get with the program and bring out the sunshine and the warmer temps. Today we even got out in the yard and did a bit of gardening - some pruning and mowing, to be precise. Next door neighbour was in his greenhouse getting his chainsaw cleaned and ready, and we even transplanted a shrub from the front garden to the back. After all that exertion, we decided a spot of lunch was in order, and since it was so nice, we walked up to the town (I was even wearing shorts!) and decided to get a little something we could take away and eat in the rec (that's short for recreation ground, which is a park, for the uninitiated). Situated conveniently close to the rec, in The Fairings, a parade of shops that was originally a cinema, is a little hole-in-the-wall coffee-and-sandwich place called Cinnamon. The place is located at the top end of The Fairings, up a flight of steps, and in fact many moons ago was the location of the local turf accountant. Remember placing a couple of bets there when younger, on the Grand National. I didn't win.

Today was a winner though. Everything is fresh and organic, and locally sourced when possible. But the absolute best thing about Cinnamon is the prices, and the fact that they deliver.

While the sign says coffees from £1.20, that's the price for an Americano. In actual fact a single shot of espresso is a paltry 70p. A double will set you back just 90p. All the coffees are CafeDirect Fairtrade coffees.

As you can see there are a lot of choices. I went for an Americano coffee as I said, which was fab, and a Mozzarella, tomato and spinach sandwich on granary, which also included red onion and cucumber. Laura picked a bottle of locally produced pear juice and a cheese, pickle, apple and salad sandwich, also on granary. Unfortunately they'd had a rush on juices and were out of apples, but no matter - they just made it without the apple and knocked some money off the price. Laura said it was great anyway. She also chose a toffee flapjack and we shared that.

I have to say that the mozzarella in my sandwich was so fresh it just made the whole thing taste incredible. Kudos to the fine folks at Cinnamon. That pear juice was pretty nice too (I had a sip). If they'd had some apple I probably would have had an apple carrot ginger juice as that combo has been a favourite of mine since the days when The Natural Cafe in Everett, WA was my favourite lunchtime haunt. Thanks for the memories.

What's that ya say? Wanting a score? Okay... four and three quarter yums out of five!


Cinnamon
1 The Fairings, Tenterden TN30 6QX01580 765228