Writtle is a beautiful village; it has a village green with a duck pond, a teeny weeny pub and some gorgeous Georgian houses. Previously, I had only eaten at Grahams On The Green where I had eaten a perfectly satisfactory meal.
I had never heard of The Blue Bridge until my partner mentioned that it had been one of the choices for a family meal, but it had been vetoed once people saw the prices on the menu.
Anyway, my partner has gone a bit mad recently, and treated me to yet another meal out! (See last review.) He fancied The Blue Bridge to see if it was better than The Blue Strawberry, Hatfield Peverel.
As we arrived, I was worried that there was noone there- I could see that the dining room at the front of the restaurant was empty. I shouldn't have worried. The restaurant is a mishmash of different rooms, and there were plenty of diners in the other rooms.
The staff were pleasant enough, but were very much frostier than at the Strawb'. I attributed this to the fact that it was a 'restaurant' to the Strawberry's lowly 'bistrot' status. I was somewhat concerned when we were shown to a room at the back of the restaurant, especially when noone else was in there! Is this where they stick the oiks, or those who don't know how to use asparagus tongs? I was reassured when other couples soon followed.
The menu was impressive, yet expensive. Their set menu was £18.95 for 2 courses, £23.95 for 3 courses. There were 5 choices for starters and main course, but only 3 for dessert. The a la carte menu was quite steep, with most starters being around the £8.50 mark, mains costing £16-£23!
I opted for the set menu- I always look to the cheaper options, even if someone else is paying! I chose chicken satay, followed by herb-crusted pollock. My partner is a fussy fellow, not liking most fish, seafood, mayonnaise, fruit, mushrooms- he ended up going a la carte.
He chose a simple salad to start with- rocket and parmesan with a balsamic dressing. He said that it was very good- but can one go wrong with such a combination? I was eager to see what top-notch chicken satay looked like; I have had so many disappointing satay incidents with dry meat and gloopy peanut-butter sauce. The dish was absolutely delicious. I find chicken breast lacking in moisture and flavour, but this dish made me reconsider my thoughts on it. The meat was tender, well seasoned and marinaded in something with a very complex flavour- I suspect dark molasses were involved. The peanut sauce was delicious, and used sparingly, so it was not cloying. It was served on a salad of beansprouts, herbs, chilli and spring onion.
When our main courses arrived, I could see the difference between a restaurant and a bistrot. Restaurants serve their food on odd shaped plates, and when the food arrives one feels guilty to have to destroy the artwork when eating it! The pollock was moist and was coated in a cheesy, herby crust. It was served with some amazing piped mashed potato and creamed leeks. It was sheer comfort food- I dread to think how much cream was in that food!
Given that we'd been seated in the Naughty Room, I felt no shame when sticking my fork in my partner's food. He'd opted for the belly pork (yes, he has it everywhere!) with a wild boar sausage and braised cabbage. He also had a side order of green beans in garlic butter. He was very pleased to see that the pork came with extra crackling! Sadly, I was not allowed any! The pork was sweet and delicious, as were the beans. The sausage was nice, but lack any 'wow' factor. My partner was somewhat disappointed by the cabbage. He likes cabbage as nature intended, ie. raw, and failing that he likes cabbage that tastes of cabbage. Sadly, this cabbage had had the 'Christmas cabbage' treatment, having been spiced, sweetened and cooked until it no longer tasted of cabbage.
Given that I was driving, I was on tap water, so felt like I'd earned a dessert. I went for the simple chocolate brownie and vanilla ice cream. The vanilla ice cream was very good- heavy on vanilla, light on sugar. The brownie was crunchy on the outside, gooey in the middle. Nom nom nom.
The bill came to £66, including service, with only one person drinking. It'd be very easy to rack up a £100 bill if a couple both dined of the a la carte menu and were boozing. However, if this is a little steep, there's always the option to go for lunch, where a two course meal costs £13.95. OAPs get it two pounds cheaper, which is a nice touch.
Saturday, 1 October 2011
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
The Blue Strawberry, Hatfield Peverel: Review
Last Saturday, my partner decided to treat me to a meal out at the Blue Strawberry. What was the occasion? Nothing! Dining out for the sole reason of gluttony!
I've never had a bad meal at the Strawb' and this was no exception. My partner was a little disappointed with the menu, claiming that it was very fish-heavy. I'm notsure I concur- I suspect it was just an excuse for him to have his beloved belly pork! There was lamb as well as two types of steak, so what's his beef?
We were seated at 6.30pm. The place was quite empty. I attributed this to the financial downturn, but was pleased to see the place brimming by the time we left.
I started with a very 1970s starter- prawn and crab in a Marie Rose sauce, on an avocado fan! It sounds naff, but there's a good reason it still persists: it's a classic! The crab and prawns were sweet, the avocado perfectly ripe and creamy. The richness was cut through with an oak leaf salad and a citrus dressing. It was a well balanced dish. My partner offered for the pork and ham terrine. I think that terrines are very underrated. Whilst people are salivating over pates, the humble terrine, whose rough texture allows individual flavours to shine through, is ignored. Bah. This terrine was well seasoned, with fragrant apricots and herbs as dominant flavours. It was accompanied by a zingy and fresh pineapple chutney.
Predictably, my partner had the belly pork. I can see why. It is absolute perfection for the meat eater- crispy crackling with succulent, tender meat beneath. It was served with spring greens with pancetta, which had a lovely smokey flavour, as well as apple sauce and what looked like boulangere potatoes. The veg on the table was broccoli, mashed swede and courgettes in tomato sauce. There was even enough pork to smuggle some home for the cat!
I had moules mariniere with skinny chips. To my mind, there is something very beastly about eating chips, especially those skinny-fast-food-looking, whenone is in a decent restaurant. I managed to put my qualms to one side, and tackle the enormous portion of mussels presented to me. They were perfectly cook, in a different league to the small mussels served at Loch Fyne. They were plump, tender and perfectly cooked. the white wine, clream and garlic sauce was beautifully seasoned and very garlicky. Not that this was a problem, but it would have been nice to have had some bread.
After stuffing our faces, there was no room for pud. Well, maybe there was, but I didn't fancy driving home with that overstuffed feeling...
I've never had a bad meal at the Strawb' and this was no exception. My partner was a little disappointed with the menu, claiming that it was very fish-heavy. I'm notsure I concur- I suspect it was just an excuse for him to have his beloved belly pork! There was lamb as well as two types of steak, so what's his beef?
We were seated at 6.30pm. The place was quite empty. I attributed this to the financial downturn, but was pleased to see the place brimming by the time we left.
I started with a very 1970s starter- prawn and crab in a Marie Rose sauce, on an avocado fan! It sounds naff, but there's a good reason it still persists: it's a classic! The crab and prawns were sweet, the avocado perfectly ripe and creamy. The richness was cut through with an oak leaf salad and a citrus dressing. It was a well balanced dish. My partner offered for the pork and ham terrine. I think that terrines are very underrated. Whilst people are salivating over pates, the humble terrine, whose rough texture allows individual flavours to shine through, is ignored. Bah. This terrine was well seasoned, with fragrant apricots and herbs as dominant flavours. It was accompanied by a zingy and fresh pineapple chutney.
Predictably, my partner had the belly pork. I can see why. It is absolute perfection for the meat eater- crispy crackling with succulent, tender meat beneath. It was served with spring greens with pancetta, which had a lovely smokey flavour, as well as apple sauce and what looked like boulangere potatoes. The veg on the table was broccoli, mashed swede and courgettes in tomato sauce. There was even enough pork to smuggle some home for the cat!
I had moules mariniere with skinny chips. To my mind, there is something very beastly about eating chips, especially those skinny-fast-food-looking, whenone is in a decent restaurant. I managed to put my qualms to one side, and tackle the enormous portion of mussels presented to me. They were perfectly cook, in a different league to the small mussels served at Loch Fyne. They were plump, tender and perfectly cooked. the white wine, clream and garlic sauce was beautifully seasoned and very garlicky. Not that this was a problem, but it would have been nice to have had some bread.
After stuffing our faces, there was no room for pud. Well, maybe there was, but I didn't fancy driving home with that overstuffed feeling...
Friday, 9 September 2011
Pork mince and leek casserole recipe
I was feeling the need for a comforting casserole the other day. I also had some pork mince that needed using. I found this recipe:
Serves 4
1lb pork mince
1lb leeks, sliced
2lb potato sliced
1 onion sliced
Some mushrooms
bay leaf
Thyme
750ml Stock
Tomato puree
Butter
Line bottom of casserole pan with half the potatoes. Cover with sliced onion and mushrooms. Fry pork until brown. Add leeks and cook for 5 mins. Add 750ml stock, 1 bay leaf, squirt of tomato puree and a sprig of thyme. Cook for 10 mins. Check seasoning. Pour into the casserole. Cover with remaining potatoes. Brush potatoes with butter. Cook for 1 hour at 180C, removing lid for final 30mins.
The result was very comforting and filling. I dry-fried the mince which was quite lean, so the whole thing was pretty healthy. I shall do this again as it was very economical.
Serves 4
1lb pork mince
1lb leeks, sliced
2lb potato sliced
1 onion sliced
Some mushrooms
bay leaf
Thyme
750ml Stock
Tomato puree
Butter
Line bottom of casserole pan with half the potatoes. Cover with sliced onion and mushrooms. Fry pork until brown. Add leeks and cook for 5 mins. Add 750ml stock, 1 bay leaf, squirt of tomato puree and a sprig of thyme. Cook for 10 mins. Check seasoning. Pour into the casserole. Cover with remaining potatoes. Brush potatoes with butter. Cook for 1 hour at 180C, removing lid for final 30mins.
The result was very comforting and filling. I dry-fried the mince which was quite lean, so the whole thing was pretty healthy. I shall do this again as it was very economical.
Leek and Potato Soup Recipe
After slating Good Food's waffle-laden recipes- here is my attempt to show them how it's done...
Serves 2
1tbs butter
2 medium leeks
1 big onion
1 big potato
Chicken or veg stock
Some milk/ cream
Salt and pepper
Chop veg. Cook veg with salt and pepper in butter with lid on for 10mins. Cover with stock. Cook for 20 mins. Blend. Add dash of milk/ splosh of cream to taste. Strain and check seasoning. Nomnomnom.
Simples.
Serves 2
1tbs butter
2 medium leeks
1 big onion
1 big potato
Chicken or veg stock
Some milk/ cream
Salt and pepper
Chop veg. Cook veg with salt and pepper in butter with lid on for 10mins. Cover with stock. Cook for 20 mins. Blend. Add dash of milk/ splosh of cream to taste. Strain and check seasoning. Nomnomnom.
Simples.
Tomato soup recipe
I've been doing a bit of cooking recently, with varying degrees of success. The scones were a disaster; the flour was stale and the scones tasted of cupboard. They were bitter and disappointing but were eaten nonetheless, if you overlook the scone and treat them as a jam-and-clotted-cream-delivery system. Hehe.
Anyhow, my tomatoes are coming in fits and starts. The weather has been miserable so they are ripening slowly, but one hot day brings more ripe toms than is necessary! I've been making a couple of delicious tomato and goats cheese tarts, but my favourite is tomato soup.
I use the Good Food recipe. It is a ludicrous recipe. It is pretentiously long winded. I could condense the essay to 100 words. It's that kind of nonsense that puts people off cooking. It's slightly contraversial soup as it contains carrot and celery, but it's not a veg soup as the quantity of carrot and celery is dwarfed by the weight of tomatoes.
I tried this soup unstrained, vowing that there is no need to go through the torture of washing a sieve. It is nice served that way, but it is full of skins and pips. Sieving is worth the effort. It gives a silky, sweet soup. It is truly delicious and only to be attempted if you can get your mits on some top notch tomatoes. Don't bother with the supermarket tastless bullets.
Anyhow, my tomatoes are coming in fits and starts. The weather has been miserable so they are ripening slowly, but one hot day brings more ripe toms than is necessary! I've been making a couple of delicious tomato and goats cheese tarts, but my favourite is tomato soup.
I use the Good Food recipe. It is a ludicrous recipe. It is pretentiously long winded. I could condense the essay to 100 words. It's that kind of nonsense that puts people off cooking. It's slightly contraversial soup as it contains carrot and celery, but it's not a veg soup as the quantity of carrot and celery is dwarfed by the weight of tomatoes.
I tried this soup unstrained, vowing that there is no need to go through the torture of washing a sieve. It is nice served that way, but it is full of skins and pips. Sieving is worth the effort. It gives a silky, sweet soup. It is truly delicious and only to be attempted if you can get your mits on some top notch tomatoes. Don't bother with the supermarket tastless bullets.
Loch Fyne, Chelmsford: Review
I decided to go out to lunch the other day, by myself. Why? I like the peace and quiet, the chance to enjoy some food without having to deal with somebody's inane chit-chat.
I went to Loch Fyne as I love seafood and fish, have a partner is not a fan of the sea and I am not confident enough to cook my own fish. I do not trust the freshness of the fare on the fish counters at our supermarkets. We have some fish stalls at the market, but again, I'm not sure about them. I think the combination of fish of dubious freshness, combined with me not really knowing hoe to cook it is a recipe for illness.
Anyway, back to the meal. I took advantage of the '2 courses + glass of wine' offer. As I've said before, £11.50 isn't bad. I opted to start with the mussels with chilli and coriander. They arrived looking plump and perfectly cooked. There was a pleasant heat to the chilli, but was disappointed that there was not much of a fresh chilli and coriander flavour. The coriander and chilli were added at the beginning, so much of their aroma had been lost during the cooking process. It would have been better to sprinkle a little chilli and coriander just before the dish was served.
There was a really good choice on the lunch menu, 5 options for each course! For the main course I had whiting in parsley sauce on sauteed new potatoes. I remember the days when people were horrified that many fish fingers contained whiting rather than cod. If it doesn't say cod, it ain't cod! I'm not sure what their beef is with whiting, as it is perfectly nice. Ok, cod is meatier, has bigger flakes and doesn't have the slightly off-putting pink veiny bits, but cod is expensive and running out! We Brits need to wean ourselves off cod and look further afield.
Anyhow, the whiting was well seasoned and covered in a thick parsely sauce. Interestingly, the potatoes has been cooked in garlic butter. Whilst this was delicious, it did overpower the parsley somewhat. I'm surprised the garlic wasn't mentioned on the menu- there are a lot of people who detest garlic. Served with mixed veg, it was a very filling dish.
It's such a shame that there is hardly anyone in there, and places like Pizza Express are bursting at the seams!
I went to Loch Fyne as I love seafood and fish, have a partner is not a fan of the sea and I am not confident enough to cook my own fish. I do not trust the freshness of the fare on the fish counters at our supermarkets. We have some fish stalls at the market, but again, I'm not sure about them. I think the combination of fish of dubious freshness, combined with me not really knowing hoe to cook it is a recipe for illness.
Anyway, back to the meal. I took advantage of the '2 courses + glass of wine' offer. As I've said before, £11.50 isn't bad. I opted to start with the mussels with chilli and coriander. They arrived looking plump and perfectly cooked. There was a pleasant heat to the chilli, but was disappointed that there was not much of a fresh chilli and coriander flavour. The coriander and chilli were added at the beginning, so much of their aroma had been lost during the cooking process. It would have been better to sprinkle a little chilli and coriander just before the dish was served.
There was a really good choice on the lunch menu, 5 options for each course! For the main course I had whiting in parsley sauce on sauteed new potatoes. I remember the days when people were horrified that many fish fingers contained whiting rather than cod. If it doesn't say cod, it ain't cod! I'm not sure what their beef is with whiting, as it is perfectly nice. Ok, cod is meatier, has bigger flakes and doesn't have the slightly off-putting pink veiny bits, but cod is expensive and running out! We Brits need to wean ourselves off cod and look further afield.
Anyhow, the whiting was well seasoned and covered in a thick parsely sauce. Interestingly, the potatoes has been cooked in garlic butter. Whilst this was delicious, it did overpower the parsley somewhat. I'm surprised the garlic wasn't mentioned on the menu- there are a lot of people who detest garlic. Served with mixed veg, it was a very filling dish.
It's such a shame that there is hardly anyone in there, and places like Pizza Express are bursting at the seams!
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Prezzo, Bond Street, Chelmsford: Review
Chelmsford has two Prezzos, one near the river, next to Loch Fyne, and the other on Baddow Road, near Strada. This review is of the one by the river.
Yesterday was hot. My stash of Spicy Rice (see the nest post for the recipe) was depleted. I decided to eat out. We had a voucher for Prezzos so decided to go there.
It was surprisingly busy for a Wednesday evening, the staff seemed quite overstretched.
We opted to share a starter of oven roasted chicken wings with rosemary salt and a tomato and chilli dip. When they arrived they didn't strike me as being especially good value; £5.10 for 6 chicken wings, some of which were tiny. This niggle aside, they were very tasty. The skin was crisp, and the rosemary was subtle enough to be delicious. (Used with a heavy hand, rosemary give dishes a soapy, medicinal taste.) It was nice to receive wings without a diabetes-inducing sticky glaze, or deep fried in breadcrumbs. The sauce was pleasant, spicy and fresh tasting, my only gripe being that it was a little to vinegary.
For the main course I ordered the Wild Mushroom Girasole. It consisted of some large flower-shaped ('girasole' is Italian for 'sunflower') mushroom-stuffed ravioli, with mushroom, cherry tomato, rocket, buffalo mozzarella all tossed in pesto. It was very good, just not mushroomy enough for my taste. The pesto and mozzarella makes quite a rich dish, but the sharp tomato and peppery rocket compensated for this.
My partner's pizza was another story. He had the 'Tre Gusti', which is a pepperoni, chicken and pancetta pizza. It arrived with an anaemic crust- I prefer a pizza with a bit of colour round the edges because a pallid crust signifies a soggy middle. The pepperoni and pancetta were fine, but the four, count them, four large chunks of chicken were dry and rubbery. My partner removed them from the pizza, wrapped them in a napkin and took them home for the cat to eat/bat round the kitchen floor.
It amazes me that a large chain can get away with serving such a lacklustre pizza. Perhaps the pizza was undercooked because they were busy, but I can always vote with my wallet and go elsewhere. I have had some very good pasta dishes at Prezzo, but find the rest of their menu disappointing. The pizzas have stingy toppings, and the grill menu is hardly worth the bother with a couple of chicken dishes and some crab cakes. Where are the steak, lamb or fish? I went to Strada a few weeks ago, which is very similar to Prezzo in their pricing and menu, and had a delicious saltimbocca whilst my partner had a delicious steak. It can be done.
I'm just glad we didn't pay full price for it. Does anyone pay full price at Prezzo?
Yesterday was hot. My stash of Spicy Rice (see the nest post for the recipe) was depleted. I decided to eat out. We had a voucher for Prezzos so decided to go there.
It was surprisingly busy for a Wednesday evening, the staff seemed quite overstretched.
We opted to share a starter of oven roasted chicken wings with rosemary salt and a tomato and chilli dip. When they arrived they didn't strike me as being especially good value; £5.10 for 6 chicken wings, some of which were tiny. This niggle aside, they were very tasty. The skin was crisp, and the rosemary was subtle enough to be delicious. (Used with a heavy hand, rosemary give dishes a soapy, medicinal taste.) It was nice to receive wings without a diabetes-inducing sticky glaze, or deep fried in breadcrumbs. The sauce was pleasant, spicy and fresh tasting, my only gripe being that it was a little to vinegary.
For the main course I ordered the Wild Mushroom Girasole. It consisted of some large flower-shaped ('girasole' is Italian for 'sunflower') mushroom-stuffed ravioli, with mushroom, cherry tomato, rocket, buffalo mozzarella all tossed in pesto. It was very good, just not mushroomy enough for my taste. The pesto and mozzarella makes quite a rich dish, but the sharp tomato and peppery rocket compensated for this.
My partner's pizza was another story. He had the 'Tre Gusti', which is a pepperoni, chicken and pancetta pizza. It arrived with an anaemic crust- I prefer a pizza with a bit of colour round the edges because a pallid crust signifies a soggy middle. The pepperoni and pancetta were fine, but the four, count them, four large chunks of chicken were dry and rubbery. My partner removed them from the pizza, wrapped them in a napkin and took them home for the cat to eat/bat round the kitchen floor.
It amazes me that a large chain can get away with serving such a lacklustre pizza. Perhaps the pizza was undercooked because they were busy, but I can always vote with my wallet and go elsewhere. I have had some very good pasta dishes at Prezzo, but find the rest of their menu disappointing. The pizzas have stingy toppings, and the grill menu is hardly worth the bother with a couple of chicken dishes and some crab cakes. Where are the steak, lamb or fish? I went to Strada a few weeks ago, which is very similar to Prezzo in their pricing and menu, and had a delicious saltimbocca whilst my partner had a delicious steak. It can be done.
I'm just glad we didn't pay full price for it. Does anyone pay full price at Prezzo?
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