The Daily Grind and Mabels

My first craving since created Phatblog took me to Downpatrick, County Down. Legend has it St Patrick lived here in the 5th century and was buried on the Hill of Down where Downpatrick Cathedral has been since the 12th Century (St Patrick's Centre, 2021). The Downpatrick Cathedral is a beautiful, historical building and there's parking on the street facing it if you want to eat your food with a view.

I visited the Daily Grind Cafe, it has a great atmosphere with a relaxing sit-in area and also offers take-aways. Their main menu is filled with different sandwiches, toasties, salads and lovely drinks. They have also created a "Souper Duper Specials" menu just in time for Autumn AKA 'Soup Season' which includes lots of tasty soup and sandwich combos. I opted for a takeaway cup of soup and toastie combo. I had a cup of carrot&lentil soup and a flavourful white bread toastie with ham, cheese, pineapple, red onion and chilli&tomato relish. All of their sandwiches come with a complimentary side of crisps which my daughter enjoyed for me, but on the plus side she sat still for five minutes while I ate my delicious food, what more could I ask for? You can check them out on their Facebook page here.

My next stop in Downpatrick was Mabel's Ice Cream Parlour. Mabel's opened their doors for the first time in 2021 and have been a popular place in Downpatrick ever since, when you visit you will immediately understand why. It is inspired by the owner's 92-year-old Granny Mabel and is full of colourful decoration throughout,  some might call it a very "instagrammable" ice cream parlour. They do an array of ice cream in various flavors, whippy ice cream and refreshing, fruity sorbet for the dairy-free people out there or anyone who wants to try something slightly different from ice cream. They also do hot drinks and milkshakes among other tasty treats to cure your sweet tooth. I indulged in a "Mighty Mabel's Bubble Waffle" which consisted of gelato of my choice, two toppings, any sauces and whippy ice cream on top. I decided on the sweet rapberry&white chocolate gelato, marshmallows, rolos and a sneaky extra topping of a rocky road traybake piece with both Kinder Bueno and white chocolate sauce. Yes, it was as tasty as it looks. Check their Facebook out here or their Instagram here.

Thanks for reading about my food adventures, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and hopefully you get to check out these delicious places sometime soon. I wonder where my cravings will take me next, if you have any delicious places you recommend, drop a comment below.