The John Barleycorn PH, Thresher’s Bush

This is a favourite pub in my house, a stalwart that can be relied upon 99% of the time to offer great seasonal food in a friendly atmosphere. Also great for a lunch, sitting outside in the sun next to the big pond. I visited last weekend for the first time in a few months and I almost didn’t bother reviewing this place as it is on the ‘usual’ list and has been mentioned in my blog before. Except the starter just had to be shared…

There is always an extensive specials board here; in fact I’m not sure I have ever ordered much off the 'normal' menu. One of the options on this visit was a black pudding and sausage meat croquette with a homemade piccalilli. This was an AMAZING starter, one of the best I have had for a long time. The black pudding was full of flavour and the sausage meat was great too, subtly spiced and wrapped in a light breadcrumb crust. The piccalilli was every bit as good as the dish it was accompanying. I could have eaten this three times over for a main course. SUPER-DISH.

The rest of the meal was liver and bacon (beautifully pink) with garlic potatoes, with Eton mess to follow. Both were great (as expected) but this review is all about the starter so I’ll leave it there.

If you live near Harlow, Sawbridgeworth, Hertford or (at a push) Chelmsford then a trip to Thresher’s Bush is a very rewarding one. It’s just a shame that the ever-changing specials menu (the best thing about the pub) is also the very reason why you will have to be very lucky to find the croquette described above! A frustrating catch-22 in a way, but something that is worth living with; a great starter I might never have again!

thejohnbarleycorn.co.uk

Café gourmande… le premier dessert dans le monde!

I spend quite a bit of time in France; sometimes for work and sometimes for pleasure, but always for food. Dessert is normally my least favourite course, I would always rather have something savoury than something sweet. However, our French cousins have absolutely nailed dessert with café gourmande. With what? For those of you who aren’t familiar with the concept, it is basically an espresso shot surrounded by anything between three and six mini-desserts.

On a trip to France last week I had three different versions of this dessert. One at my hotel (Pradotel in Crolles), one at a restaurant in Grenoble (Les Archers) and one in a Buffalo Grill on the way back to the airport. The first two were very nice, with a tasty and varied repertoire of little desserts. But here comes the shocking bit…

The café gourmande in Buffalo Grill was the best. WTF? Buffalo Grill is a ubiquitous roadside restaurant in France, an American-style steakhouse with (at best) an average reputation. It has also attracted a fair degree of controversy over BSE a while back, and more recently over employment of illegal immigrants. Traditionally it has been somewhere I have avoided, but out of convenience visited one last week. I had beef carpaccio, which was very nice; to follow I had the café gourmande. It consisted of five separate elements : crème brulee, some fresh fruit, a cream-filled choux bun with chocolate sauce, cheesecake and a chocolate brownie with crème Anglaise. All were great, and better than the other two I had. A pleasant surprise, especially given the price.

I can recommend re-appraising your roadside stops when travelling through France, was really impressed with my excellent lunch (and especially dessert) at Buffalo Grill. I’ve shocked myself, and I know that my regular French readers will disagree!

www.pradotel.fr

www.lesarchers.fr

www.buffalo-grill.com

Lussmanns, St. Albans

A colleague of mine who lives in St. Albans has mentioned this restaurant many times so it came highly recommended; and an opportunity to entertain one of our overseas partners was the excuse for a visit a few weeks ago. Before going I clicked onto the website and a quote from Giles Coren was the first thing I saw…

“Everything a modern local restaurant should be so thank heavens for that.”

Giles is the restaurant critic in The Times and just about the coolest man in the world; high hopes then when walking through the door for dinner. High hopes that were entirely justified.

The starter was hunter’s bruschetta, which was recommended by my colleague as the starter to have at Lussmanns. This was Cotswold wild boar chorizo, wild rabbit and wild mushrooms, with garlic and parsley. Obscenely delicious and worthy of a SUPER-DISH, the chorizo and rabbit were beautiful together and I could have eaten it twice over.

Main course was a Brixham crab linguine, which was also very lovely and just spicy enough. A camera malfunction means no picture here. I must admit a certain amount of food envy when I saw the beautiful looking steak that my friend Schmitt had chosen… luckily she eats relatively little and I got to try some of my own (as in fact I did with the herring starter). 

Dessert was sticky toffee pudding, my favourite so I’m hard to please here. I was very pleased, it was supremely good and a second SUPER-DISH for this lovely meal.

There is a Lussmanns in Hertford, much closer to where I live so I will try and visit this location very soon, they are also opening a third restaurant in Harpenden in August. Seek out Lussmanns if you are in any of those locations, very highly recommended.

www.lussmanns.com

La Maison, Castle Market Street, Dublin 2

I’ve eaten here once before and I was very impressed. For my second night in Dublin this week I decided to revisit, with four colleagues. I always find when I am introducing other people to a restaurant I have visited before that there is a weight of responsibility on my shoulders, I really hope that the venue delivers for a second time. La Maison is a quirky little French place tucked discreetly away off Grafton Street in Dublin city centre. I especially love the décor; lots of old French advertising posters, I spent most of my meal looking at a happy goose advertising foie gras.

I had for starter the same thing I had on my first visit, pate. At La Maison they elevate the simple pate so much that it gets its own tray, with a selection of three available. There is the ubiquitous chicken liver pate, a venison terrine and (what I would describe as) a rilette of duck and poultry. I naturally chose all three and all three were excellent. Served with plenty of bread, with an interesting balsamic chutney and with some pickled cornichons and cauliflower. My favourite was the chicken liver pate, every bit as strong as if you were to make it at home.

To follow I had pigeon. Traditionally, something that I have most often found disappointing to eat, but nowadays it is almost always excellent. Have all the chefs in the world got together and cracked the right way to cook an air-rat? Very tender, served on a bed of lentils which were swimming in a rich, juicy gravy. Also on the side were a couple of chicken livers. All in all, a great main course, if a little too rich (even for me). Regular readers will know that my favourite main course is steak tartare, somehow I had managed to miss this on the menu so actually ended up being a little annoyed with myself for not reading the menu thoroughly.

To end I had a plum tart with vanilla ice cream and a red berry jus. Just excellent, not something I would normally order but I am really pleased that I did.

There were also a couple of amuse bouches to note. The first was a sort of ragout on a fried potato, it was OK but it was what it was. The second was a lime sorbet with basil, this was excellent and the whole table enjoyed it.

Another great meal at La Maison, everybody thoroughly enjoyed their choices so I feel that I did a good job. I have written before about the difficulty of finding good food at a reasonable price in Dublin; this restaurant is the exception that proves the rule.

lamaisonrestaurant.ie

Anglers Rest, Strawberry Beds, Dublin 20

I’ve been in Dublin a few nights this week and on the first night we came dangerously close to eating in the hotel. Luckily an Irish colleague suggested a venue and this catastrophe was narrowly avoided. The Anglers Rest is a great old pub in an area of Dublin called Strawberry Beds, and the location is every bit as lovely as it sounds. The pub is run by Wrights, famous for Irish seafood, their signature restaurant in Howth has long been on my list of ‘places to eat at’, but so far have only managed a smoked salmon sandwich at their airport concession.

I shared starters with a mate, I had oysters and he had crab. The oysters were super-fresh and super-tasty, with a simple red wine vinegar and shallot accompaniment. Given that I was sharing I only got three oysters, I could easily have eaten a dozen. The crab was every bit as good and was served with some lovely bread (Irish bread is always great). This dual-starter was really showing off Irish seafood at its very best.

A sirloin steak (rare, obviously) for main course, drenched in tarragon butter and served with fried onions and mushrooms. If my starter was a great example of Irish seafood, this was great Irish beef, incredibly flavoursome with a fantastic texture. The chunky chips that were served with the steak were big and tasty and the peppercorn sauce complemented both perfectly. The only disappointment was the small serving of the peppercorn sauce, it just wasn’t enough for me; and only at the end of the meal did I realise that a colleague had left his. Gutted!

Dessert started with some bad news: “we don’t have any Eton Mess left sir”, which was a crushing blow. The antidote turned out to be an excellent bread and butter pudding with an equally excellent vanilla ice cream. A beautifully cooked individual portion with the perfect ratio of constituent parts (i.e. plenty of sultanas).

In summary, a fantastic find. I’m sure Dubliners reading this (I know there are a couple at least) will be very familiar with the Anglers Rest but until last night I wasn’t. It will from now on be an important part of my Dublin food repertoire! Recommended.

theanglersrest.ie

The Chequers PH, Matching Green

Many years ago, this was an old-fashioned spit 'n' sawdust pub of the type that just doesn't exist anymore. It was somewhere I would visit occasionally until one day it had closed, been re-furbished and re-opened as a gastro pub (by their own admission). My mate and I just walked back out in disappointment and mourned the loss of a great public house. About 3 years ago, possibly even longer, a bunch of us went for dinner to The Chequers, as it was getting something of a reputation. It was fine food, but I didn't feel that it in any way justified the above-average price tag for pub grub. Another visit last night and I was ready to be disappointed all over again.

I really wasn't.

Starter was a cold seafood selection, which I shared with a friend. The smoked salmon, prawns, crayfish, crab and smoked mackerel were all very good. The prawns in particular were fresh and juicy, and the horseradish and crème fraiche it was served with was a divine example of what must surely be the best seafood accompaniment?

Main course was a simple sirloin steak, served with peppercorn sauce and some asparagus and chunky chips on the side. I ordered the sirloin rare, and it was much nearer medium (not uncommon) but it was a beautiful piece of beef. With a strong peppercorn sauce it was elevated further still, and there was a good, large jug of it too! Asparagus was fine but the chunky chips (so often poor) were amazing. Some of the best I have had (certainly the biggest!) and entirely deserving of a SUPER-DISH. They were so good that I was too busy eating them to take a picture… sorry!

Dessert was my one of my favourites, Eton mess. Good but not the best, the ratio was 'off' for me: too much cream and not enough fruit or meringue. And the addition of a pistachio powder was a little unnecessary.

About £55 a head with drinks which for the quality and quantity of food on offer was worth every penny, I came away feeling like I had got very good value. Besides, a relaxing drink before dinner watching the cricket on the green... you just can't put a price on that. Recommended.

thechequersmatchinggreen.co.uk

China Garden, Standon

Regular readers (both of you) will know my feelings about Chinese food… mostly bad. When it’s good it’s great, it just isn’t very often. A random need for dinner somewhere a few weeks ago ended up at China Garden in Standon, a new one on me.

Starters were the usual Chinese fare, deep-fried but perfectly palatable. None were exceptional, but the high point was the additional order of salt & pepper squid which was very nice indeed. Crispy duck to follow (obviously) which again was nice but unexceptional.

Main course was a Chinese classic, sweet & sour chicken Hong Kong style. Tasty but lacking in much chicken. Served with some vermicelli noodles which were very nice indeed.

So, really nothing special, but perfectly fine. As a quick ‘drop in for some food on the way out somewhere’ restaurant it has much to recommend it; but honestly I think I would have been just as satisfied stopping for a kebab or for some fast food.

www.puckeridgevillage.co.uk/restaurants

Ferry good or ferry bad?

I travel a lot with my job and recently visited the Netherlands; however instead of the usual ‘up at 4am to get to Heathrow’ routine I decided to play it different and get the overnight ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland. I had done this trip once before but as this was for a stag do it really doesn’t count! I got the train to Harwich and was on the boat by 10pm, ready for a late dinner.

The Stena Hollandica is a new boat, built in 2010 so still nice and clean and surprisingly well equipped. I dumped my stuff in the comfortable cabin and walked swiftly to the food hall, as I remember that this got very busy very quickly on my first trip.

I ordered pork schnitzel with chips, and helped myself to the salad bar. You know what? It was very good, much better than I thought you could realistically expect on a ferry. It was freshly cooked to order and had a lovely spiced breadcrumb coating. The chips were equally good; from experience I know that Dutch people like good chips. The salad was mostly a mix of Dutch options and all were perfectly good. A small bottle of wine complemented this nicely.

An hour on deck with a cigar and a book (under the heater) and it was time for bed. I woke up suitably refreshed and ready to go, I was on the train into Rotterdam less than 15 minutes after walking off the ferry. Definitely a more civilised way of travelling; I firmly believe that train and boat travel broadens the mind whereas plane travel narrows it. Find an excuse to go to Amsterdam (I can think of plenty) and get the boat at least one way.

www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry

Las Palmas, Rotterdam

 

Rotterdam is a city I know very little about. I know it is a big port, and thanks to The Beautiful South I know it could easily be mistaken for Liverpool or Rome. What I wasn’t expecting was a super-new, super-cool city that had a little something of New York about it. Thanks to an excellent host, I got to see a little of the city (including a speed boat ride!) and eat at a famous Rotterdam restaurant, Las Palmas. Specialising in seafood, it is the brain child of a famous Dutch chef and TV presenter, Herman den Blijker.

When we sat down at our table the maître d’ suggested starting with some oysters whilst we chose our meals, which regular readers will know are my favourite thing in the world. He was great fun, and spoke at least six languages! The oysters were big and fantastic, certainly a lot bigger than our own native UK oysters. A simple red wine vinegar and shallot dressing, and some lemon wedges were served with the oysters. Amazing.

To start, another seafood favourite, bouillabaisse. At a basic level, this is just a simple fish-based soup. At Las Palmas it was an event, the waiter introduced and explained the three types of fish that were in the bottom of the bowl, and then theatrically poured over the broth from a kettle. A nice touch (see video above) that just raised this dish from the norm, and it was every bit as tasty as it deserved to be. I’m giving this a SUPER-DISH award, not least because of the accompaniments (croutons, cheese and aioli).

Main course was gurnard, served as a whole fish. It’s not the most attractive fish (it’s a BOBFOC!) but was very impressive when served whole. I have eaten this fish many times before, and this was one of the best; it can be quite labour-intensive to fillet but this was a generously-proportioned specimen. It was served with some un-remarkable vegetables but that just didn’t matter, it was all about this exceptional fish.

For the first time in a long time I didn’t make it to dessert, however I had in effect already had three courses so this can be explained away. What I did have were some excellent petit fours, the chocolate truffle was great and the mini-macaroon was even greater.

This place was simply great great great. The décor was amazing, especially the taxidermy and the beautiful meat hanging up in the lobby. Not as expensive as expected and definitely a great destination restaurant if ever you find yourself in this interesting and exciting city. Very highly recommended.

Heel erg bedankt aan Richard, onze uitstekende gastheer. We hadden een geweldige tijd in uw stad en kijken ernaar uit om binnenkort weer komen!

restaurantlaspalmas.nl

The Meze House, Folkestone

I was looking for somewhere interesting to eat whilst in Folkestone at the weekend, so consulted TripAdvisor for some advice. The Meze House was a restaurant I had never heard of, rated #3 amongst Folkestone’s 83 restaurants so definitely worth investigating. I’m a big fan of Greek food, and it isn’t something I get to eat very often so I was suitably excited. The restaurant is in a great location just off The Leas, underneath a slightly crappy old hotel. Walking down the stairs and the atmosphere in the basement restaurant is nice; it is subdued and softly lit. However the all-Irish staff doesn’t give you the confidence that this is going to be an especially authentic experience!

I shared the inevitable meze with a mate. First of all (again, inevitably) was houmous, taramasalata and tzatziki served with pitta bread. All were good, none were brilliant. The horiatiki salad was nice, well dressed with balsamic vinegar. The grilled halloumi was for me the best of the starters, probably best of the whole meal actually.

Inevitable (third use of this word) was the calamari, which was unfortunately not as good as the calamari I had for lunch a few hours earlier. The fish course was seabass, which was very good and was devoured quickly. The meat course was souvlaki (pork) served with chips and a flatbread. The souvlakia was fine, as were the chips.

All of the above was fine, no more and no less. Exactly the same thing you would expect to see in any mid-level Greek restaurant in any town in the UK. I might visit again, but I would not by any means make a bee line for this place. The trouble is, once you have eaten at the best Greek restaurant in the UK (Vrisaki in Palmer’s Green, which is AMAZING) nothing compares!

themezehouse.com