The great small wins are the ones you’re not expecting at all.
That was definitely the case when, looking for a quick post-work bite to eat, three of us found ourselves in Spalding’s Pied Calf.
A quick glance of the menu and it was very much your regular pub grub; bar bites, steaks, sausage and mash, scampi, hunter’s chicken and, of course, a burger.
The chicken burger, with mozzarella sticks, chicken strips and – for good measure – an egg. For a fiver
My eye drawn to the stacked patties in buns on the picture and the large font declaring ‘BUILD YOUR OWN BURGER – £8.79’, I was won over instantly.
And that was before I remembered this was a Wednesday and that meant this burger was actually just £5 all day.
Small wins, eh?
The Pied Calf in Spalding
So what does my fiver get me?
Well, it was a choice of a buttermilk chicken burger or beef burger, which we could double up for just £1 – as the very friendly barman reminded us several times as he went for the hard sell.
With that patty – plus bun, garnish and sides of fries and onion rings – you also got to choose three toppings from the list of chicken strips, bacon, cheese, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, has browns, jalapenos, free range fried egg and chip shop curry sauce.
The beef burger came with bacon, cheese and extra onion rings
For a fiver!
And if you’re ‘feelin’ planty’ as the menu suggests, there was also a Quorn BBQ onion burger option.
Up for my mega value meal, I went for the chicken burger with chicken strips, mozzarella sticks and the egg.
The mac ‘n’ cheeseEat My Words
One likeminded dining partner chose the beef burger with bacon, cheese and onion rings and the other – clearly the big earner of the group – opted for the mac ‘n’ cheese at £8.29.
These three meals, plus pints of Peroni, Madri and a Coke (one diner’s drink cost more than their food!) came to a grand total of just £32.69 – averaging less than £11 per diner.
Top value if you ask me.
The Pied Calf in Spalding is a warm, cosy pubInside the Pied Calf
The Pied Calf is a nice, cosy pub, with a nice old fashioned curving bar that greets you as you enter.
A number of smaller cubby hole rooms break off, meaning there are plenty of places to find a seat.
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When the meals arrived you can’t argue that – for what you’ve paid – you’re getting great value.
Old favourites could be found at the barA look at the menu at the Pied Calf
With your food presented on a nice big plate, the first glance may make you think you’re not getting too many chips.
But compare this to others places where the burgers are delivered on a wooden board with the fries stuffed lengthways into a tiny little basket and you’re getting the same portion, if not better.
No doubt, my meal tasted as good as you hope pub grub to be and filled a gap.
Our three drinksTwo ‘pub classics’ will set you back £12.49 at the Pied Calf
Plus it tasted far better, and was a few quid less, than any of those mass produced burger ‘meals’ you get from the big chains.
A cracking burger. Just don’t expect any change out of a fiver.
Burger, fries and onion rings… select your own fillingsHow to build your own burger… I’d recommend Wednesdays
Out of five:
Food: It was good old pub grub, and tasty too. ***
Drink: The Pied Calf had plenty of choice at the bar, but very much on the side of the traditional favourites. ***
Decor: A warm, cosy and comfy pub. ***
Staff: Full credit to the multi-tasking one-man-staff behind the bar who took our order, served us our food, popped over several times to make sure everything was alright and still found time to try to convince us to double up our burgers for a quid numerous times. A charming chap too. ****
Price: Three meals for less than £33. A burger for a fiver. Cracking stuff. Both burgers cost £5, the mac ‘n’ cheese £8.29. The Madri was £5.45, Peroni £5.90 and Coke £3.05. *****
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