Saturday 22 March 2014

A cure for the blues: The Blue Bridge, Writtle, Essex (21.03.14)

I haven’t given much thought to what I will do for my 78th birthday. My grandpa chose to spend his at a restaurant called The Blue Bridge in a town called Writtle near Chelmsford. We went in the evening, but the glassy exterior and large aquarium would make it a pleasant lunch spot. We had a large round table which made it easy for the eight of us to talk to each other.

I’d like to give special mention to the “bread while you wait”; warm thick slices of a white bloomer and a rye-type bread which provided a comforting and hearty warm up act. We chose a Rioja from the shortened wine list-but were offered a longer list if required. To start I had the smoked mackerel paté, which was deliciously creamy and lightly peppery on a warm slice of toast. I could’ve done with a bit more toast, but luckily we still had the aforementioned bread.

I was so intrigued by the chicken breast with tomato fondue that I had no choice but to order it for my main. I was expecting some sort of cauldron of hot tomatoes featuring either ham or marshmallows (the classic accompaniments to cheese and chocolate fondue respectively.) As it turns out, fondue was a bit of a misnomer, as it was actually a very good tomato sauce. This was served beneath three slices of succulent chicken with crispy skin. Garlic gnocchi completed the dish. It’s hard to keep these potatoey morsels from becoming rubbery, but these were well cooked with a lightly crispy and garlicky exterior. It may even have been the best gnocchi I have had.

My main was a fairly modest size which left me with plenty of room for dessert. Others, such as the beautifully pink Beef Wellington and the beer battered cod and chips were much bigger. I found the staff very attentive. The waitresses apologised every time they had to lean across me slightly to serve the person next to me. It was a bit like having to thank someone every time they hold open the next in a series of doors you both have to go through. I would thank them the first and last time and I think the same principle applies here, otherwise it feels just a little bit overboard. Still, better too much than too little.

My dessert was the chocolate fondant with salted caramel and pistachio ice cream. I was expecting two scoops of ice cream but the flavours were combined into one and they made a great match. I was a little worried when I took a spoonful of the fondant and nothing happened, but relaxed when a second spoonful unleashed a hot puddle of chocolate onto the plate. There were no complaints about the (rather deep) vanilla crème brûlée, although there were murmurings that the brownie could have done with a bit more goo.

I know there are many good restaurants in the area but I don’t think I have eaten like this in Essex before. I was impressed not only by the variety of food, but also by how hard it was to choose, as there were so many appealing options. If I end up spending my 78th birthday somewhere like this, I will consider myself lucky.

8/10

Tuesday 4 March 2014

The Laughing Gravy (14.02.14)

Valentine’s Day was a complete disaster this year—as far as public transport was concerned, that is. I had been looking forward to an early dinner at Southwark’s gastro-pubby restaurant The Laughing Gravy for weeks. I was therefore crushed when my Valentine and I were separated by flooding and some poor soul under a train respectively.

I was impressed by how accommodating the staff were, especially considering what day it was. We had to re-arrange our reservation a number of times and the restaurant was far from empty.

When we finally did arrive, after swiftly ordering a much-needed bottle of Pinot Noir, I went for the Lincolnshire rib eye steak with Madeira sauce. The meat was properly pink and the rich sauce was the perfect foil to my side of truffle chips (these are essential if you are planning a visit.) The whole place smells of truffles, giving it a heady atmosphere.

We were both torn between the steak and the guinea fowl; when I see game on a menu, my opinion of a place immediately goes up. Luckily for me, my other half went for the game option, so I got a taste of the buttery, crispy-skinned bird.

The desserts stole the show however, as I went for the chocolate fudge brownie, which was so much more than the name suggests. It had chocolate sauce, blackberries, coulis, vanilla ice cream, blackberry jelly and a circular marshmallow-like thing. I don’t know what it was but I could have eaten ten of them. Not to mention the gooey, soft brownie itself, which is by far the prettiest of its kind I have encountered.

CHOCOHOLIC'S DREAM: decadent brownie with all the trimmings
My date had the blueberry cheesecake, accompanied by shortbread, mini-lime donuts and a pansy. While there really are some people who get angry about flowers in food, I think it made the plate just that touch more attractive. The cake was creamy and refreshing with a great blueberry hit in the middle. The donuts were well-made, but my partner would’ve preferred the lime coulis inside them, rather than underneath.

BLUEBERRY BONANZA: cheesecake, lime donuts and shortbread
The restaurant is fairly expensive, with a two-course meal with wine coming to about £50 per head, but I didn't find the prices unreasonable. It’s the best Modern British food I’ve tasted in London (where you can easily pay a lot more for something not as good.) Chef Michael Facey is onto a winning formula with his choice of home-grown ingredients and the gastro-pub feel keeps the restaurant from feeling too formal. The jazzy music is fun, if a little loud for my tastes.

The Laughing Gravy was a more than welcome retreat from the hectic world of the British public transport system. Finally, order was restored and Valentine’s Day felt romantic again. Then there was the journey home…

9/10

Sunday 2 March 2014

Jamie's Italian, Oxford (May 2013)

I have been to a few branches of Jamie's Italian now and have been surprised how much the standard varies. The Kingston branch is the best I have visited, but I recently visited the Oxford restaurant. My date and I decided to go for the 'Big Italian Feast' as tasting options are the food equivalent of a montage and who doesn't love a montage? We felt that the menu was rather sneaky, as while it displayed the price next to the dish, we only just caught sight of the 'price is per person' caption in the small print.

We were given the option of having the feast all at once or broken down into starter and main so we went for the latter option. The starter was a board with olives, peppers, hams, salamis, a Parmesan and chilli jam cracker, focaccia, a ball of mozzarella and a shredded carrot and beetroot salad. For me, the spicy salami stood out. I was also pleased to be brought a jug of water without having to ask. Mozzarella is a beautiful ingredient which can hold its own so I found the herbs and oil it was served with to be superfluous.

The board was served on top of tin cans, which is a pleasingly rustic look, but rather precarious and impractical when it comes to eating.

Our main was made up of a spring greens risotto, spaghetti alla norma, chicken drumsticks and polenta parmesan chips. My favourites were the aubergine and tomato pasta and the very more-ish chips. I was concerned that we would be given 'amuse-bouche' sized portions, but the portions were fairly well-judged. The risotto was fragrant but my date would have liked it to have packed a bit more power. The roast chicken drumsticks were served with pesto and blackened vegetables-the pesto was a fine accompaniment but I could have done with more.

Unfortunately, the restaurant suffers from a lack of spacial awareness. This is one of my major gripes when eating out and which is by no means confined to Jamie’s-the tables are simply too close together. There are three issues with this 1. You can't get to your seat and even the most svelte creature can end up feeling like a beached whale and 2. Atmosphere is one thing but I don't want to hear fellow diners' entire conversations and I don't want them to hear mine. 3. In this instance, the 'Big Feast' really was big-if we had decided to have it all at once there would not have been room on our table for all of the food.

It is a bothersome trend, where restaurateurs pack in as many customers as possible to create maximum profit, but forget that customers value intimacy and being treated as honoured guests for a few hours. I think there should be a new law whereby restaurants must ensure that there is standing room for at least one person between each table (otherwise you're left with the Fight Club aeroplane scene in which Brad Pitt has to chose 'ass or crotch' before climbing over his neighbour from the window seat).

Dessert was the confidently named 'Epic Brownie' and I can confirm that this name is deserved. The brownie came with hot chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream and (the thing that sold it to us) amaretti popcorn.

Service was efficient and personable and overall I enjoyed the food. If I visit again I will order a pasta dish and the Epic Brownie again and maybe put in a request for a more anti-social table.

7/10