Bristol street food- Grillstock St. Nick's/The Woolly Cactus

Bristol has an enviable array of street food options.

Some credit must surely go to the local council, who seem keen to give vendors a chance to establish themselves, some bedrock from which to prosper and presumably enrich both the local food landscape and the local economy. This is, sadly, not always the case closer to home and is a recurring frustration , where 'straining at gnats and swallowing camels' seem to be menu items of more interest to official types obsessed with the minutiae of by-law and precedent. And this is where is where enviable gives way to 'envied', and the question- why can't things be more like this just 40-odd miles away?

One result in Bristol is a thriving, vital food panorama which is highly impressive. As I said, enviable. Food trucks are a not uncommon sight in and around the centre and attract substantial interest. The hardest job for customers must be settling on a decision and sticking with it in the face of distraction from competing attractions.

St Nick's Market, on the outskirts of the shopping centre in Broadmead, is the kind of place you can lose time in, rifling through boxes of LPs (ask your parents, young people) until the various cooking aromas snaking through the air snare you. It's home to the renowned Grillstock stall, the original outpost and older but smaller brother to the Smokehouse in Clifton Triangle. Despite limitations of space, it remains very much an active smokehouse.

 

NB Root beer. We need more places selling root beer. I care not for your objection that it tastes like liquid Germolene (like that could ever be a bad thing!). This was a version straight from what A Partridge would call 'the U.S. of Stateside' and on a hot day it barely touched the sides.

It was a pleasure to unexpectedly meet a favourite blogger, Dan of Essex Eating, running things there and the pulled pork roll did not disappoint. A seeded buttery roll from local speciality bakers Hobbs House was rammed with a good handful of 18-hour smoked meat (so much it threatened to spill from the bun, necessitating a two-handed grip) the house coleslaw, a slice of cheese and some jalapeños for good measure- just in case the hot sauce was too mild...

A (kindly complimentary) portion of that day's special- 'Pig's Head Beans'- was a hot, dense, mess- and that's meant as a compliment. Strands and chunks of slow-cooked pork cheek with butter beans, spiked with red chillies in a thick stew- what's not to like?

A serious side order and, coming so soon after a generous hotel breakfast, something we saved for later. As a side note, my one-year-old daughter loved them. Chillies and all.

While Grillstock is a Bristol mainstay, a newer arrival is the street food of The Woolly Cactus. Over the river from the bars of Welsh Back, this is a small kiosk knocking out a range of Mexican snacks to discerning locals. (Bristolians- I do hope you appreciate how well you're catered for...)

The schtick here is pretty straightforward (or it was when we visited: their website is regularly updated with meal deals). Make your choice between quesadilla and burrito, fajita and taco, or opt for nachos; settle on your filling (two meat options and one vegetable when we visited) and lastly add soured cream, cheese, salsa, homemade sauces and the like. It's a model designed to get orders taken quickly and the food served in a short time, with every stage happening right there in front of you, another attraction of this style of eating.

Three soft tacos (£5) and one each of the three available fillings-a slow-cooked beef steak 'chilli verde', a chipotle-rubbed chicken 'tinga' and a mixed vegetable- made for a hat-trick of big flavours and texture contrasts. Everything on, naturally, from smoky chipotle to creamy guacamole.

On a warm day the smart play was clearly a brief walk back over the bridge and planting ourselves under the trees of Castle Park to enjoy our spoils. Resoundingly good value- again, the three came in at £5- the soft tacos were generously filled to the point of them being two-handers and are a fun lunch option for workers in central Bristol. I'd certainly be negotiating an afternoon nap if this was on my office doorstep.

There can be little doubt the street food options in Bristol are both plentiful and distinctive. Cardiff, though? The hope is that recent encouraging signs the other side of the Severn Bridge are signs of a new determination to organise and promote and celebrate. The success of @PopUpCardiff and the imminence of Street Food Cardiff (@streetfeastCDF) are surely positives and will showcase the best of the area; whether both events running on the same Sundays will be a help or a hindrance, time will tell. There's a danger of diluting what could be a powerful presence, I suppose. Alternate-week fairs would provide weekly attractions and establish street food as something that is part of typical weekend life in the city.

These questions aside- let's hope these are indicators of real development and the start of a similar embarrassment of riches. A change of culture, if you like. We shall see.

Fingers crossed, eh?