A Day In Preston: Two Great Eating Places

Introduction

Last August I decided to take the train down to Preston and take my sister Yvonne for a birthday meal. I got to Carlisle and then found out that the trains were delayed, and further delayed and then cancelled. That meant I couldn't get down, so we cancelled and I went back home.

We kept trying to reschedule and the months dragged on, and August 2023 looked like turning in August 2024.

I kept phoning Yvonne and saying we should organise something, but recently Yvonne became a grandma and I became a great uncle and wrote this poem:

I then checked my phone and found that if I got certain trains I could get to Preston and back for £20 rather than the £140 normal ticket cost. This, in addition to me discovering that I was entitled to a lot more annual leave than I thought, set in motion a plan. I phoned Yvonne and we made the date for 22nd May with no specified place to eat, just meeting in Preston at half past mid-day.

This si about the two places we shared our celebration, though there will be more about the rest of my day to follow.

My train out was at 7 am but due to other factors I had to get up at 4 am, then due to train delays I arrived home at 8:30 pm, a sixteen and a half hour day, but it was worth it.

So on to where we ate:

1842 - The Corn Exchange

When I last visited this place it was a Wetherspoons, but it did not seem to be any longer. I walked in and asked the lovely girl behind the bar if it was still a Wetherspoons and she told me it was definitely not. Her name is Amber, a lovely name, and she and the guy behind the bar were extremely helpful and gave me a menu which I took to share with Yvonne when I met her off the bus.

The menus are available on site but this is the menu that we went off:

We got a booth and the interior of the place is very impressive.

The "Rest Rooms" looked ominous and the doors were padded and tiles were gothic black (appropriate as it was World Goth Day")

Amber came over and explained that the menu was small portions so it was best to order two or three, she took our drinks order.

Yvonne and I went for these when Amber came back:

Yvonne: Buttermilk Chicken Sliders and Sweet Potato Fries

Me: Chicken Rigatoni and Italian Cauliflower Cheese

While Yvonne's were small portions (sorry I didn't take a picture, but she said they were filling) mine were definitely not small.

The food was delicious but I could only have a little of the Italian Cauliflower Cheese.

When Amber came after we had finished she offered to put it into a box to take home, but that would have been impractical given my train home.

We were incredibly impressed with the service, and everything about 1842, I will definitely be coming back here and would recommend it to anyone.

Incidentally, this used to be the old Public Hall, and was the first place I performed in public with a school choir in the 1960s and where I saw my first concert, Uriah Heep on their "Demons and Wizards" tour in the 1970s. That is an excuse to include "The Wizard" as the video for this piece, one of the few songs to feature a boiling kettle.

Then on to .....

Bruccianis

Brucciannis is a cafe that I frequented in the sixties when I was a school. This is Brucciani's Facebook Page. I was also surprised to see Kentucky Fried Chicken still there, this was the first one that opened in the UK and I mention it in this piece.

Yvonne and I decided to drop in once again to see what it was like, though I was so glad to see it when I walked along Fishergate after leaving the station.

Inside the style is amazing art-deco and they have a cake selection to die for.

These are what Yvonne and I went for along with oatmilk lattes.

The service was brilliant and the cake was gorgeous.

When we finished, Yvonne left to get her bus home and I made my way back to the station.

This was a wonderful day for a catch-up and one I will be doing a lot more frequently in future.

Thank you for reading and hope I have made you hungry to sample these wonderful culinary delights.