Joseph's Cafe

After a quality fry up of egg, bacon, sausage, black pudding, beans, tomato’s and sometime a slice of fried bread only a cheese omelette comes close to this piece of heaven.

Some Fine Brekkies in a few Greasy Spoons

I love a good fry up, always have and as long as my body can take them, I always will. I hope.

I’ve always preferred my full English in more traditional cafes that sadly now seem to be very thin on the ground.

A day out in Cambridge and the St John's Chophouse

It’s amazing really, since we moved to London 10 years ago this November, we have hardly left the capital to visit other areas of England, well apart from many a long haul trip to far of climes.

As when we lived outside this metropolis we were always wandering around this fair country of ours, but since then we’ve hardly done this. Does that mean that London is too good to leave? Me thinks not, we’ve just lazy that’s all.

Pie n Mash @ F Cooke - Crimes against Pies

I have a fondness for pie n mash, maybe because of all the stories I used to hear from my parents, aunts and uncles when I was a child about how great it was.

When I first tried it, I thought it was the blandest meal I’d ever had. Then I learnt pretty quickly that the vinegar, white pepper and salt are all there for you to make it to your liking. And like it I did.

Every pie n mash shop I’ve ever been to, sells the dish exactly the same. There is but one recipe and change it at your peril.

The mash is always smooth but never seasoned or buttery enough. A bit like mash at school in the 70’s but without the lumps. The pies are made with a cold water pastry with a lovely minced meat filling that a tad of vinegar brings to life.

The green liquor, which I used to deplore, has become a staple on my plate these days. Something about that eel water and parsley that has a hook in me now.

I’d never been in a F Cooke Pie n Mash shop before. But I was expecting everything to be as I’ve eaten countless times before. But it wasn’t quite there.

The mash was as it is always, smooth but bland. The liquor was green and not too thin that it ran around the plate, it was pretty spot on.

The problem was the pie. The filling was good after a drop of vinegar and white pepper on it to bring the bugger to life.

It was the pastry. It was like cardboard, bloody hard and old. I not sure how long they had been stuck in that small oven on the counter waiting to be sold, but it was more than a day. The pastry was so hard, I could of done with a knife to cut it. Normally a spoon suffices but on this occasion it was rock solid. Not a happy man.

The girl behind the counter was less than interested, and seemed annoyed that people were coming into the shop and was taking her away from her texting marathon.

I was less than impressed with my first venture into an F Cooke shop if the truth be told, that I’m not sure if I want to venture into one again, but as I am a sucker for these things I probably will, but maybe not this branch on Broadway Market.

Christmas Days Out - The Sportsman in Seasalter

I ate many memorable meals in 2010, but really only three of them were truly memorable. In no particular order they were at Trinity in Clapham, Aux Lyonnais in Paris and The Sportsman in Seasalter.

All three of these meals were far superior to everything else I had eaten last year that they are forever embedded in my memory.

It wasn’t just the food at the Sportsman, or even the restaurant itself, or even the quirky manor that the menu is on a blackboard in the main bar that you are mixed with the other diners choosing your meal and then ordering it at the bar. Or even the fact that our view was looking out over the back garden of oyster shell paths. Or the surrounding area of deserted beaches and marshy fields. Or even the amazing drive through deserted roads that no restaurant should be at the end of it, or even that I had reserved it a month prior and was looking forward to it everyday. It was plain and simple everything.

The minute we walked inside I fell in love with it. What’s not to like about the place. Its quirkiness appealed to my weird sense of playfulness.

I like places where it’s my way or the highway. It’s a chef’s dream to be able to do something like this. To be able to serve the food you want in a style you want and also buck convention as well. Plus to win a Michelin star as well. I can just imagine those snotty Michelin reviewers having to get up from their tables and waddle over and choose their meals off a back of a door. Quality.

Our starters were light and beautiful. My chestnut and smoked goose soup lived up to and exceeded all expectations I had. The velvety texture of the soup with the slices of smoked goose delighted my taste buds. It was properly the best soup I had ever eaten. Ever.

Lina’s onion tart looked the part, but somehow it was not oniony enough for me. She loved it, but I like my onion tarts to pack a bigger punch. But don’t get me wrong the subtle flavours and the smoothness of the filling were of Michelin standard.

For the mains we went for a plate of Seared Thornback Ray, Brown Butter with Cockles and a Sherry Vinegar Dressing, the other was a Braised Brill Fillet with Chestnuts, Bacon and Parsley Sauce.

I really cannot fault either dish. Both were cooked fantastically. My Ray was probably the best piece of fish I had ever eaten. That soft white flesh came away with no effort from the bones. I love ray wings as it just never ends. You finish one side and then you just flip it over and begin again. Brill. The cockles with the sherry vinegar were a perfect combo. The chefs nailed this dish on the head. Perfect.

What I had of the brill fillet, which was not a lot, but it was damn good. They seem to have perfected those traditional combinations and taken them to new heights. Why do bacon and chestnuts work so well when paired with fish. So glad it does though.

We had no room for dessert, but I wish we had shared one, as they all looked really good as a string of them went to the large table in the corner. Next time.

We had a wander afterwards down to the beach. It was not a beachy day but who cares. It was the seaside and I kinda prefer beaches on cold, wet and windy days.

It doesn’t really matter to me that the Sportsman has a Michelin Star or not, as that book is kinda old hat now and has no relevance on the majority of diners in London today. The Sportsman however does serve great food in a quirky atmosphere, and should be on everyone’s list to dine at as soon as possible. I want to return as soon as I can.

Christmas Days Out - Cambridge Chop House

A week of driving around the outskirts of London was pretty amazing. The only problem was going anywhere from Islington took an age, especially when you gave no idea where the shortcuts are.

Just to drive up to the M25 through Edmonton took an hour. Well we learnt our lesson the hard way.

Cambridge was a joy even with the freezing cold weather and the thick fog that allowed us to see about 5 metres in front of us. We were wondering if we would ever make it or see anything when we arrived.

U never realized that the centre of Cambridge is a shopper’s paradise, which kinda depressed me a tad. I came for the Colleges and the Imperial architecture not to look at a branch of so and so that I see everyday back home. So we kinda steered clear of the centre and walked around it.

I’d not done any research about where to eat in Cambridge as I just assumed we would find a few places worth eating at. How wrong we were, apart from your chain restaurants and quite a few places selling jacket potatoes, there wasn’t that much on offer. Luckily we found the Cambridge Chop House, and it was a damn good find at that.

Wandering around the old college’s reminded how lucky we are to have such a heritage and history in this country. Makes me proud it does.

We found out the Cambridge Chop House is part of a chain of Chop Houses and other restaurants in Cambridge.

Its menu of hearty English fare was a welcome sight after a day of wandering around in awe at the beauty of this town in near arctic conditions. Damn it was a cold day. We were offered the punting tours, but in this weather you had to be either insane or a Japanese tourist. So being neither on this day anyhows we declined and scampered off for some nosh.

In true Chop House tradition the menu is big and hearty. Looking at it evoked a time of Edwardian debauchery and over eating. A time of big meals, large trousers and larger braces were the sign of a good Chop House.

This modern version still serves up some large portions for damn reasonable prices. The chalkboard of daily specials spell meat heaven. I was pretty tempted to have one of the veal or baby tortured cow chop but somehow the lure of some thick cut bacon and a duck egg with chips was too good an offer to turn down. Sometimes I just want food I enjoy eating at home, nothing fancy just plain simple good food.

The bacon was as it said thickly cut, with a lovely duck egg and some hand cut chips. It looked a small portion but by the end I was pretty well stuffed. But I had just eaten the whole basket of bread. This was all washed down with some local ale from the kegs behind the bar. Wondrous warm and comforting meal

Lina had the fisherman’s pie with a side of greens. This tasted really good and very freshly made. Lovely chunks of mixed fish along with a velvety béchamel sauce and a smooth grilled and crispy mash potato topping made this the star of the show. It was an award winning pie. One of the best I’ve eaten in a long while. I’d even go so far as to say it was better than mine. Modest I am sometimes.

I want to return to Cambridge in the Spring or Summer where we can punt down the river in between the colleges admiring the fantastic architecture. But more importantly we can try the other Chop House in this chain. 

Foto Friday # 33

Traditional London food. Pie n Mash, as seen here in Cooke's window on Broadway Market. Great to look at and delicious to eat.

Christmas Days Out - Hinds Head in Bray

Between Christmas and going back to work we rented a small car to travel to a few spots outside of London, to see that there is more to this world than this fair fine city. Guess what. There is.

I was going to write a tonne on our Xmas day meal detailing all the courses I cooked for our epic all day 5 course eating fest. But if the truth be told I can’t be arsed, and it’s a bit tacky anyhows so I shelved that idea, but I am going to bore you to death with a few of the places we went to on our little jaunts outside the capital.

We never had turkey on the big day itself, we had duck, as I am not a fan of this white meat. Too many years of too dry breast meat has put me off it forever. So my meals on the 25^th contain anything but turkey. So far duck has ruled supreme over the last few years. For Boxing Day I am a stickler for tradition, and in my household as a child we always and I mean always had cold cuts, mashed potatoes and salads. No idea where this tradition came form but we have been doing it since I was a wee little bairn, and I will not have it any other way. There are some things that must never change. Never.

So on the 27^th we left sunny Hampshire and headed to Berkshire and the small village of Bray. Anyone reading this thinking we were going to eat at the Fat Duck, can stop right here. It was a Monday and it was closed. No we were here for his posh pub, The Hinds Head.

It was exactly how I imagined it. A typical old English style pub in the countryside manner. I.e. it has very low ceilings, and yes I bumped my head even as we walked in. The sign told me to duck or grouse. I groused. Damn.

We were seated upstairs, which is a shame as it was a tad lifeless up there. Downstairs next to those open fires looked like a dream. Shame.

The menu is very simple and easy to read and eat. We ordered a started of pea and ham soup, and a scotch egg and devils on horseback.

To say the portions were small is an understatement. Pretty tiny, but with big boy prices. But the flavours out gun those prices 5 – 1. The soup was a tad watery but the flavours were awesome. Now that is how pea soup is supposed to taste. Wow. It’s pretty hard to put it into words, but imagine a really intense pea flavour, now times it by ten. The Scotch egg was well cooked and still had a runny quails egg inside. 

The devils on horseback were nice but one bite wonders. I only got 2 and I wanted more. But these were pre-ordering tasters, but I knew what I wanted and I was just amusing my stomach to get it active for the treat to follow.

For mains we ordered the oxtail and kidney steamed pudding, with sides of potatoes and green beans. Plus a rump steak, marrow sauce and triple cooked chips.

The oxtail and kidney pudding was unxious beyond belief, maybe a little too much as I could feel my mouth slowly sealing shut. The suet pastry was the right thickness, anymore and it would have been too much. The gravy, same as for the steak was fantastic.

The potato’s were a tad bland, and some of the green beans squeaked a little. Both were under seasoned. Not what you would expect from a Heston joint.

The rump steak up to that point was the best steak I had tasted since we came back in March. I never knew a steak could taste so good. I had lost faith after a weekend in Paris trying to find good tasting steak. It had so much flavour. No idea where he gets his beef from but that farmer cares for his cows. 

The marrow sauce was some of the best gravy I have ever had. The chips were good, very good, not sure if that was just the triple cookedness in them that made them good or what, but damn fine chips to go with an awesome steak.

We were pretty stuffed when it came to puddings, even with our waitress tempting us, but we just couldn’t do it. Even the coffees took their time going down, especially with the little truffled chocolates we had to eat.

The service was swift, smart and efficient in a very friendly way. I would have preferred to have sat downstairs in the bar area, but hey ho.

All in all it was a pretty bloody good meal. Small portions at big boy prices. But the flavours, textures and tastes all made up for it, even with one or two schoolboy errors.

I am now either saving up to come again, or to visit the Fat Duck across the road. Something I always said I would never do, but after this, I am very very curious.