It is good to treat the ones you love sometimes. So with that thought, I thought I'd take Mrs Eats a bit more upmarket and head somewhere with Michelin credentials.
Usually any mention of Michelin would relate to the tyres on the Eatsmobile, but on this occasion it was to do with The Staith House.
One of the hottest eateries on Tyneside, it has appeared in the Good Pub Guide, the Michelin Guide and has been ranked as one of Britain's top 50 gastropubs. Impressive.
With that in mind, my chops were salivating at the prospect of a Sunday roast, previously singled out by The Observer as being - well - pretty spectacular. And much of it was.
But first the venue itself. Located on a prime spot on North Shields' bustling Fish Quay, it is everything you want from a pub. Cosy and quaint, with books dotted around to peruse when the craic inevitably tails off.
And for somewhere charging top-end prices, it doesn't look it - and I mean that in the most positive terms imaginable. There's nothing worse than going somewhere and instantly feeling out of your depth - before checking the prices and realising you are.
Nowt like that here. It is inviting, snug and totally unpretentious. And so is the scran.
First, I've been dying to wax lyrical about the gravy since tasting it so let me cut right to the chase. This is possibly the best gravy I've had on a Sunday roast. Really. It is that good. It was so good, Mrs Eats almost asked to take a pint of it home for her supper. Honestly, it is worth a trip here for the gravy alone.
As for the rest of it, my sirloin of beef (£16.50) was bloomin' brilliant. I asked for it medium. Often, that means it is coming way too rare or horribly overdone - not here. Perfectly cooked.
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Mrs Eats' crispy pork (£16) was also a winner in her eyes, although having had a nibble, I don't think it matched up to the beef. The yorkies were big, fluffy and acted as a wonderful sponge for that gravy, while we were treated to plenty of veg and greens.
This included what I think was cauliflower covered by lashings of cheese, although it was so cheesy I couldn't be certain what was underneath.Whatever it was, it was dynamite.
What I could be sure of though was how disappointed I was by my roasties - or should I say roastie. I like a good spud. Who doesn't? So venturing to the Fish Quay, the only thing I'd expect to see more than big bags of tatties is a few heavily battered cods.
But while there may be plenty of potatoes at the chippies, there sadly wasn't more than a single spud on my plate. Just one roastie is almost sinful in the Eats' household. Thankfully the portions elsewhere were big enough for me to let it to pass without griping to the staff.
Not that I'd have struggled to get their attention though. Considering it was rammed when we showed up just before service finished, the staff were on the ball straight away. Drinks on our table in seconds. Food orders within five minutes.
This may sound like a petty gripe, but maybe they were actually a bit too attentive. I'm happy to be asked once, even twice, if our food is OK. I don't know if there were just communication issues or what, but we got asked four times. By the end I was starting to get slightly miffed.
The only other gripe I'd have was that Mrs Eats' pretty pavlova pudding - advertised as coming with rhubarb - tasted to us both like it was served with a cherry sauce.
It was still lovely though. As was my moist and dense sticky toffee pudding (£6), served with a not-too-sickly caramel sauce. But no sauce could compare to that gravy. I'm still dreaming of it now!
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