Yesterday I was in London for a job interview. After this ordeal was over, I went to the Grant Museum of Zoology, full of pickled beasts and anatomical specimens. It is really quite ghoulish, as it's a big Victorian room packed floor to double-height ceiling- a real blast from the past. Anyway, after this I was in need for some grub.
I switched on my Kindle's 3G feature and googled 'London Burrito'. It turns out that I was round the corner from Benito's Hat which is well regarded, if the reviews were to be believed.
Why a burrito? Simply put, there aren't many decent Mexican restaurants in Essex. There are a couple of chains, with completely uninspiring menus. I picked up a love of burritos in the US last year. We went to Qdoba, and I had a chicken burrito (pronounced burrida!) with loads of queso sauce. It was absolutely amazing.
On entering Benito's Hat, I was glad to see a queue, even though it was 3pm. There is tiny menu, based around burritos, tacos and salads, with the choice of chicken, beef, pork or veg. The food is made swiftly on a production line offering black beans or refried beans, rice, choice of salsa, lettuce, salsa verde, sour cream, cheese and guacamole (70p supplement). I was slighty disappointed that there was no queso sauce, but I stuggled on. Also, they do not serve tea or coffee, which is a bit of a pain.
The burrito was served with a handful of tortilla chips, dwarfed by this huge steak burrito. This burrito was full of sinful sour cream and guacamole, yet had sufficient coriander and fresh tomato to taste wonderfully fresh and deceptively healthy! There was a generous quantity of thick-cut chargrilled steak, charred enough to provide a real depth of flavour, It was squidgy, spicy, meaty and delicious. It was so big I wrapped up the remainder and had it for my tea.
If I get the job, the pesky commute will be balanced out my the fact that I'd be round the corner from such a fine establishment.
Saturday 30 July 2011
The Blue Strawberry, Hatfield Peverel: Review
The Blue Strawberry is probably my favourite Essex restaurant. Something that really strikes me is that the waiting staff have been working there for as long as I have been going- about 5 years! Besides the excellent food, the service is very slick yet not stuffy. I will occasionally make an evening visit, but usually go for lunch where 2 courses is £13.95.
The choice is pretty good- about 8 choices for each course. There are some staples (including my partner's beloved belly pork) that remain on the menu for months at a time, and daily specials including the fish of the day, the soup and the pie of the day.
On Thursday I took my guest there for lunch. I've had a greedy week- eating out 3 days on the trot! One glance at the menu, and I instantly knew what I'd have for starters- EGGS BENEDICT! My favourite! I was blinded my the site of my culinary love, and couldn't really care what else was on offer! When it arrived, it didn't disappoint. I'm an eggs benedict snob, and can spot a bad eggs benedict at 10 paces. This didn't disappoint. The egg was perfectly cooked- runny but thick. The muffin was toasted enough to me crisp and the ham was thick and tasty. The hollandaise was zingy and delicious. There was no attempt to fuss around with fancy presentation- another peeve of mine in when restaurants put garnishes on dishes that do not relate to the dish. It was the best eggs benedict I have eaten. My only gripe is that it is not offered as a main course!
My guest opted not to have a starter, the plan being that she must leave room for a dessert. She had the rump steak with tomato and onion relish and rocket salad. Luckily, she gave me a quarter of her steak, just to be doubly sure to leave room for pud! It was cooked medium, yet was still slightly bloody. It was delicious and tender; rump steak can withstand lenghthy cooking. I didn't much like the relish, but this was probably due to my slight aversion to sunblush tomatoes. The accompanying vegetables were jersey royal potatoes, mashed carrots, cabbage and broccoli, all perfectly cooked.
I had plaice fillets with caper and tomato vinaigrette. I was slightly concerned that the plaice would be overpowered by the capers, but this was not the case. The saltiness of the capers was a good contrast to the tender, mild fish. Delicious.
As a side note, I was once fairly conservative in my choice of fish, being suspicious of fish that was not prawns, cod, plaice or haddock. Since going to this restaurant I have beome a fish fan, eating shellfish, salmon, halibut, scallops, crab and sea bass. I still have a way to go on oily fish, but I trust this restaurant to do fish properly. If I don't like something, it'll be because I genuinely don't like it, not that this has happened, rather than it being badly cooked. I was very ill off bad seafood at a London restaurant many years ago, so I won't eat it at a restaurant I don't trust.
After my two courses, I was stuffed, so had no room for a pudding. My guest couldn't go for their usual gluttonous option of the assiette (4 mini desserts, £2.50 supplement) so went for the orange and almond tart with amaretti ice-cream. I'm not a fan of amaretti, but could tell that the amaretto-laced ice-cream with crushed amaretti biscuits would be loved by those that did. The slice of tart was huge, had thin crisp pastry, and was remeniscent of a Bakewell tart, with the layer of almond sponge. It was topped with sliced oranges in syrup. It was moist, not too sweet or heavy. Again, it was delicious.
If you like straightfoward, delicious food, go to the Blue Strawberry. Simple.
The choice is pretty good- about 8 choices for each course. There are some staples (including my partner's beloved belly pork) that remain on the menu for months at a time, and daily specials including the fish of the day, the soup and the pie of the day.
On Thursday I took my guest there for lunch. I've had a greedy week- eating out 3 days on the trot! One glance at the menu, and I instantly knew what I'd have for starters- EGGS BENEDICT! My favourite! I was blinded my the site of my culinary love, and couldn't really care what else was on offer! When it arrived, it didn't disappoint. I'm an eggs benedict snob, and can spot a bad eggs benedict at 10 paces. This didn't disappoint. The egg was perfectly cooked- runny but thick. The muffin was toasted enough to me crisp and the ham was thick and tasty. The hollandaise was zingy and delicious. There was no attempt to fuss around with fancy presentation- another peeve of mine in when restaurants put garnishes on dishes that do not relate to the dish. It was the best eggs benedict I have eaten. My only gripe is that it is not offered as a main course!
My guest opted not to have a starter, the plan being that she must leave room for a dessert. She had the rump steak with tomato and onion relish and rocket salad. Luckily, she gave me a quarter of her steak, just to be doubly sure to leave room for pud! It was cooked medium, yet was still slightly bloody. It was delicious and tender; rump steak can withstand lenghthy cooking. I didn't much like the relish, but this was probably due to my slight aversion to sunblush tomatoes. The accompanying vegetables were jersey royal potatoes, mashed carrots, cabbage and broccoli, all perfectly cooked.
I had plaice fillets with caper and tomato vinaigrette. I was slightly concerned that the plaice would be overpowered by the capers, but this was not the case. The saltiness of the capers was a good contrast to the tender, mild fish. Delicious.
As a side note, I was once fairly conservative in my choice of fish, being suspicious of fish that was not prawns, cod, plaice or haddock. Since going to this restaurant I have beome a fish fan, eating shellfish, salmon, halibut, scallops, crab and sea bass. I still have a way to go on oily fish, but I trust this restaurant to do fish properly. If I don't like something, it'll be because I genuinely don't like it, not that this has happened, rather than it being badly cooked. I was very ill off bad seafood at a London restaurant many years ago, so I won't eat it at a restaurant I don't trust.
After my two courses, I was stuffed, so had no room for a pudding. My guest couldn't go for their usual gluttonous option of the assiette (4 mini desserts, £2.50 supplement) so went for the orange and almond tart with amaretti ice-cream. I'm not a fan of amaretti, but could tell that the amaretto-laced ice-cream with crushed amaretti biscuits would be loved by those that did. The slice of tart was huge, had thin crisp pastry, and was remeniscent of a Bakewell tart, with the layer of almond sponge. It was topped with sliced oranges in syrup. It was moist, not too sweet or heavy. Again, it was delicious.
If you like straightfoward, delicious food, go to the Blue Strawberry. Simple.
Friday 29 July 2011
Damson Jam
On Wednesday I went damson picking. For free. I came back with 16lb of damsons! I assumed that the keen jammers I know would want some of this gorgeous fruit, but I only managed to give away 2lb...
I then realised I had about 2 jars, and my jam funnel has gone awol! Aargh! I then had to scrounge some jars, but I luckily got enough.
Anyway, damson jam is dead easy. The fruits are firm, and therefore rammed with pectin. Setting the jam is a doddle. The only problem is skimming the pesky stones. It's a bit tedious, but not as tedious as stoning the fruits!
I used the recipe from the Times website.
I made made 12 jars of jam, I gave my mother enough stewed damsons to make another 6 jars, and have another 12 jars' worth of stewed fruit in the fridge, ready to be jammed tomorrow. It's delicious, and with the free fruit works out to be about 45p a jar!
I then realised I had about 2 jars, and my jam funnel has gone awol! Aargh! I then had to scrounge some jars, but I luckily got enough.
Anyway, damson jam is dead easy. The fruits are firm, and therefore rammed with pectin. Setting the jam is a doddle. The only problem is skimming the pesky stones. It's a bit tedious, but not as tedious as stoning the fruits!
I used the recipe from the Times website.
I made made 12 jars of jam, I gave my mother enough stewed damsons to make another 6 jars, and have another 12 jars' worth of stewed fruit in the fridge, ready to be jammed tomorrow. It's delicious, and with the free fruit works out to be about 45p a jar!
Loch Fyne, Chelmsford: Review
On Wednesday, after a hard morning's damson picking, I needed food. It was getting late, I hadn't booked anywhere and I had a guest. A quick burger wouldn't suffice. I didn't think that my guest was a big fish fan, so I was surprised when they liked my suggestion of Loch Fyne. It's in a rather posh development next to the river. It's a bit out of the way, which may go some way to explain why there was only 3 tables of diners.
We had a look at the lunch menu, and were glad to see two courses, a side dish and a glass of wine for £11.50. There were 5 choices of starter and main course, 3 were fish, 1 meat option and 1 vegetarian option. I opted for the mussels with shallots and bacon, followed by hake, sauteed new potatoes, samphire in a mustard dressing and a side salad. My guest had grilled sardines with caper and shallot dressing then the salmon fillet with chilli oil, citrus couscous and a side order of new potatoes.
We each had the house white, and were pleasantly surprised that it was a rather palatable, fruity and dry. I've had some pretty ropey house whites, but this was pretty good. My only gripe was that the lunch menu does not come with a non-alcoholic drink. Alcohol at lunch time is not everyone's choice, and the lunch menu is inclusive of a glass of wine. I asked if I could have a soft drink or a tea instead, and was told I could only have wine or tap water!
The starters arrived and I was presented with some lovely plump mussels- just the right quantity for a starter. My only grumble was that the bacon was rather anaemic looking; I would have preferred it to have been cook long enough for it to start to go brown. My guest's sardines were delicious. I am a bit squeamish about oily fish; the flavour can be too strong. These sardines were moist and the sharp dressing cut through the rich flavour.
My guest was similarly impressed with their main course. The salmon, crispy skinned and moist fleshed, was able to stand up to the chilli oil. The citrus couscous, albeit a small portion, was refreshing. My hake was perfectly cooked. My guest claimed not to like hake, but after I removed the spine, she dug her fork in a changed her mind. It's been quite a while since I've had samphire and I'd forgotten how delicious it can be. Luckily, I didn't notice the mustard dressing, as I didn't want it to ruin the flavour of a delicate dish. The salad was very enjoyable as it went beyond the boring house salads I have eaten elsewhere. It was a well-dressed concoction of cherry tomato, spring onion, celery, spring onion, chicory and mixed leaves.
The service was efficient and friendly, so my only complaint was a minor niggle about the bacon.
By rights, if this restaurant was better situated this restaurant would be full!
We had a look at the lunch menu, and were glad to see two courses, a side dish and a glass of wine for £11.50. There were 5 choices of starter and main course, 3 were fish, 1 meat option and 1 vegetarian option. I opted for the mussels with shallots and bacon, followed by hake, sauteed new potatoes, samphire in a mustard dressing and a side salad. My guest had grilled sardines with caper and shallot dressing then the salmon fillet with chilli oil, citrus couscous and a side order of new potatoes.
We each had the house white, and were pleasantly surprised that it was a rather palatable, fruity and dry. I've had some pretty ropey house whites, but this was pretty good. My only gripe was that the lunch menu does not come with a non-alcoholic drink. Alcohol at lunch time is not everyone's choice, and the lunch menu is inclusive of a glass of wine. I asked if I could have a soft drink or a tea instead, and was told I could only have wine or tap water!
The starters arrived and I was presented with some lovely plump mussels- just the right quantity for a starter. My only grumble was that the bacon was rather anaemic looking; I would have preferred it to have been cook long enough for it to start to go brown. My guest's sardines were delicious. I am a bit squeamish about oily fish; the flavour can be too strong. These sardines were moist and the sharp dressing cut through the rich flavour.
My guest was similarly impressed with their main course. The salmon, crispy skinned and moist fleshed, was able to stand up to the chilli oil. The citrus couscous, albeit a small portion, was refreshing. My hake was perfectly cooked. My guest claimed not to like hake, but after I removed the spine, she dug her fork in a changed her mind. It's been quite a while since I've had samphire and I'd forgotten how delicious it can be. Luckily, I didn't notice the mustard dressing, as I didn't want it to ruin the flavour of a delicate dish. The salad was very enjoyable as it went beyond the boring house salads I have eaten elsewhere. It was a well-dressed concoction of cherry tomato, spring onion, celery, spring onion, chicory and mixed leaves.
The service was efficient and friendly, so my only complaint was a minor niggle about the bacon.
By rights, if this restaurant was better situated this restaurant would be full!
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to my new blog. My intention is to make note of meals out, along with any kitchen triumphs/ disasters that I have.
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