Results tagged “Moseley” from Birmingham Mail - Restaurant Spy

Relationships are said to be in trouble when things get predictable. I'm not so sure.

I've been eating frequently at Kababish in Moseley since soon after it opened 25 years ago. It's the curry house to which I head when I want a relaxed family meal. And I usually order the same dishes.

So much so that the waiter last night took my order for a starter - inevitably pakora - and then rightly said: "And for main course you'll be having the keema mattar?" Which, of course, I was.

Next time, just to inject a bit of excitement, I might well order something entirely different. Then again, I do like my usual dishes.

Since I live in the People's Free Republic of Moseley, tolerance is a quality that isn't so much natural as obligatory. But there's a limit.

I'm soon to cook for a vegetarian. Call me unreasonable, but I consider vegetarians pests. Would they fry me a rare chunk of steak were I to visit their house? Not on you nelly. It would be the usual raw carrot and lettuce sort of muck on which they smugly survive. Why, then, should they expect me to cook them special unfleshy food?

I accept that there are veggies who have thought long and hard about their choice not to eat meet - good for them! But most, I think, are guided simply by sentimentality. And none, I believe, takes true pleasure in food.

Moseley on a grey, drizzly evening in early March does not automatically conjure up images of Paris. Yet tonight my road was for a few moments transformed.

A van pulled up out of nowhere, the beret-clad driver emerged and opened up a shutter to reveal a treasure trove of Gallic goodies.

There were wild mushrooms, stuffed tomatoes, fabulous cheeses, sausages, figs, bread - a whole array of the sort of flavour-packed, good quality foods that make a visit to France such a culinary treat.

My half-French neighbour was out in an instant, stocking up. Likewise the French woman who lives opposite. Within seconds there was a gaggle of people buying stuff.

My younger son became a teenager yesterday and, to celebrate, we paid a family visit Kababish in Moseley, a curry house that celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. It's scary to think I was there on virtually its first night.

Now I'm not going to pretend that the food is the best in Birmingham (though it is very, very good). Nor that the decor is stunning (though, again, it is very pleasant). But it's a place at which I feel instantly at home and at which I know I'm going to enjoy the quality of the dishes I order. Plus the staff are incredibly welcoming.

A happy 13th birthday to Ewan - and a happy 25th birthday to Kababish.