Sussex and the City - “Excuse me…but are you LOCAL?”

12c Meeting House Lane, Old Lanes

(While uploading this picture, the thought occurred to me that the owners of Sussex and the City mightn’t appreciate linking their lovely new local shop with that of Tubbs and Edward Tattsyrup of Royston Vasey. It’s hard to say no to such an obvious and cheap gag though. Besides, someone once told me that the “are you local?” phenomenon began in our neighbouring sleepy village of Rottingdean.)

The Lanes Deli & Pasta Shop has given way to a posh new oyster bar (while moving its good self around the corner to Brighton Square next to Ben & Jerry’s) and now what was once an herbal remedy etc type store has now become Sussex and the City, a great new shop that’s hot on the heels of the “eat local” food craze that has all Brightonian foodnerds (myself included) forming a devout following. All of the goodies at SATC are either made, grown or produced within 5o miles of Brighton. Nice.

I love nothing more then to go to a market/foodshop/etc on a Saturday and just peruse all the goodies. My husband is more of a “listman”. He doesn’t understand my need to see, know and hopefully taste all the new treats that align the shelves of my local markets. That’s why we don’t go grocery shopping together too often and when we do it’s:

“I need 2 avocados and some tomatoes (make sure they’re vine-ripened) in the last aisle, and then look at the endcap on the next aisle and get a bbq marinade but not a cheapy one, then I need you to get some toilet roll (make sure it’s recycled) and some rinse aid (the Ecover kind). When you’re done, report back to me.”

This ensures me at least 10 minutes of alone time to peruse and labelread to my heart’s content. Needless to say, even though SATC is a darling wee place, I went with my friend Delphine to ensure primo browsing time without having to hear “can’t we just get what’s on the list??”. Men don’t get that the list is purely a guideline. Besides, food shops are seldom entered into with a list. It’s purely what I like to call “goodie shopping”.

I was happy to see some brands that I already recognized being sold in SATC. One has become very near and dear to my heart, and that’s Chilli Pepper Pete. His chipotle crush has become a permanent fixture in our condiment nook and I’ve been known to smuggle it along in my bag if I know we’re going out for pizza. He does just about every sort of chilli crush and dried chilli you could want, along with authentic Mexican oregano (say it with me: oh-REH-ga-no) and lovely relishes and chutneys. I also spotted a local microbrewery on their shelves (funny how so much of the local fare is alcoholic. Go Brittania! Heh.) that I recognized, Fallen Angel. While attending the opening of last year’s Food Festival (the Fiery Food Fest), I tried their Fire in the Hole chilli beer:

“Wow..this isn’t too ho……MY GOD!!”

No wonder it’s only to be drank only when extremely chilled and in shots. They simply have the coolest beer labels EVER:

Sassy. I don’t believe they carry the full range of Fallen Angel but hey, space is limited and my GOD I had no idea how many local beers/ciders/perrys/wines, etc there are! The picture below is just a sampling, believe me. I wanted to take so many of them home with me but I knew how heavy it would be and I didn’t have The Husband in tow. Another time then!

One of my favourite local indulgences has to be Montezuma’s chocolates on Duke Street. Oh-the Montezuma truffle with tequila, chocolate and chilli, how I sing your praises! I stuffed my husband’s Christmas FULL of bars from Montezuma’s last year, which of course was partially for me. I have a frequent buyer’s card that isn’t even half full yet but that’s only because I (amazingly) exercise restraint. Anyways, Montezuma’s is very much present at SATC, as well as The Chocolate Alchemist. I have yet to try them but rest assured, I pick up and caress their chocolate whenever I see it, especially the White Chocolate with Cinnamon bar, so I’m sure a purchase will be made soon enough. As soon as summer comes to an end you can bet yer britches I’ll be all over their Dark Drinking Chocolate with Chilli.

Since it was a hot day and since they were offering samples of Coy’s Ice Cream for only £1 a tub, we decided to partake! Coy’s Ice Cream is very posh, a bit pricey but so worth it. I’ve tried the White Chocolate and Chilli before so this time I tried the 3 Citrus and Mint while Delphine (faithful sidekick that she is!) had the Champagne flavoured. We were both very impressed. Mine tasted like a frozen caipirinha while hers tasted like, well, champagne!

I certainly hope this cute wee shop does well for itself. I dont’ see any reason why it shouldn’t, afterall it’s in a great location. They’ve also got fresh food like fish, sausages, cheese, milk, butter, etc. and of course all of your standard local foodstuffs like chutneys, jams and relishes. They’ve even got lovely homemade takeaway sarnies and who can resist the smug disposition you’ll rightfully possess by knowing that your sarnie is 100% locally sourced? I thought not!