Posh Food

cheese on slate...

Oh...who's going to Story?
Meeeeee!

Post Olympic party wine/cheese function taken from an observatory located near the Richmond Oval (indoor speed skating track).

Aren't all those glass building blocks supposed to be in the building?

Finally had the tasting menu at The Sportsman in Seasalter last Tuesday after quite a few simple lunches off the chalkboard. Quite simply one of the best meals of my life, only Noma runs it close and that was 3 1/2 times the price. Its a pub, next to a caravan park in deepest Kent. The bread is served as a course in itself and all 3 (!) varieties would shine in a 3* establishment. You hear a lot of bullshit about food miles these days but this place really does epitomise local and seasonal. Pointless to try and list the highlights but just go. Train to Whitstable then walk, or bike, and enjoy some of the best four hours you will ever have.

Gutted now. Went to uni in Canterbury, and always meant to go in there. Never did. Think I need to fix this.

Went to The Sportsman about 6 yrs ago on the way back from Whitstable, popped in for a piss and a pint
At the time, just thought it was some out the way seaside gaff so didn't check the menu. Was only when we got home we found out it's suppose to be lish

My first thoughts when we walked in there were 'the people were a bit American Werewolf In London'....you know the bit....when they walk in the pub...."You made me miss!"

I'd've had you down as more the sportsman in tottenham court road..

Never heard of it, you seemingly have?

Indeed, though it's moved to quebec st.

MOC and I are off the Ledbury on Sunday to try out their tasting menu.

Anyone been?

Yep, it's utterly fantastic.

Yep, not had tasting menu, but food is indeed delicious.

Agreed. Fantastic!

So last night at Corrigan's was pretty amazing.

Starter of sous-vide suckling pig served as a ballantine was so nice and sweet.
Main was clove and star ainse braised beef cheek, pommes puree and roasted bone marrow on toast was delicious. The sommelier paired our dishes well with a nice new world Malbec.
Desert was bread and butter pudding done in an orange infused custard. My host was French and selected a lovely armagnac for our digestif.

It was a bit like old school fine dining from the 70s - heavily French inspired classics but not the most exciting menu. I would go back, but not on my own tab.

Corrigan's eh. Quite typical of a hotel restaurant isn't? I've been a couple of times in the last 2 years (freebie) and as a vegetarian it's wasted on me.

On a different not, mrs jaw went to the new Arzak venture last night (work invite) - she wasn't impressed.

Corrigan's eh. Quite typical of a hotel restaurant isn't? I've been a couple of times in the last 2 years (freebie) and as a vegetarian it's wasted on me.

Yeah. Like a really nice hotel restaurant is probably the best description - not really adventurous cooking. Don't get me wrong, the food was really good, just not a challenging gastronomic experience. I think that my mental benchmark of Heston's Dinner may be part of the problem. :|

Didn't gargle the Blue Nun then?

clefty... HOW WAS IT?

MOC and I are off the Ledbury on Sunday to try out their tasting menu.

Anyone been?

Yeah, tis goooood. Not quite as adventurous as I was expecting; more a kitchen who have their classics perfected. Oh, and talk to their sommelier/ bar tender- they made us custom cocktails based on really useless information- "I like sweet things, but not too sweet"- which were some of the best I've had.

clefty... HOW WAS IT?

Oh I made an error. Sunday.

Had a reservation at the Sportsman a few years ago so we could pop in on the way to a weekend in Brugge. It was a snowy weekend when they advised everyone to avoid travel, but we went anyway. Drive down was totally fine but they closed and cancelled reservations for like the second time ever as their suppliers couldn't get through the snow :-( Good reminder though, must look into it.

Went to Menu Gordon Jones in Bath last weekend. Food is awesome. Possibly tries to cram in too many flavours, but pretty exciting food. Venue is a hole though. Looks like a converted estate agent. It's a surprise menu though. Never come across that before. You don't even get a menu to tell you what you're going to have, they just tell you when each dish arrives.

clefty... HOW WAS IT?

This morning I have a Ledbury hangover..

It was amazing! We're definitely going again.
I've never had wine specifically paired with food before and that was pretty special too, although by the 6th glass I would have believed anything the Sommelier said - who was incidently my favourite person of the night.
A tall blond German or Scandinavian girl with glasses who initially looked ruthlessly efficient, but told us a story about each wine as if she knew the person who had created it, with a smile and a twinkle in her eye that showed she loved her job.
I had a girl crush on her by the second course.
Some of the clientele seemed a bit stuffy, but the staff were fantastic - particularly the head waiter from Accrington, who on coming to collect our empty plates for a pork dish, asked in a Yorkshire accent 'How was your pig?'

Marvellous.

Wine pairing is a thing of beauty.. get pretty pished too.

I do enjoy getting beautifully pished like that. Nothing makes a sommelier happier than saying "you choose." We did that on our visit to Dinner and the results were stunning.

This morning I have a Ledbury hangover..

It was amazing! We're definitely going again.
I've never had wine specifically paired with food before and that was pretty special too, although by the 6th glass I would have believed anything the Sommelier said - who was incidently my favourite person of the night.
A tall blond German or Scandinavian girl with glasses who initially looked ruthlessly efficient, but told us a story about each wine as if she knew the person who had created it, with a smile and a twinkle in her eye that showed she loved her job.
I had a girl crush on her by the second course.
Some of the clientele seemed a bit stuffy, but the staff were fantastic - particularly the head waiter from Accrington, who on coming to collect our empty plates for a pork dish, asked in a Yorkshire accent 'How was your pig?'

Marvellous.

Brilliant! Sounds like a great Sunday evening. I felt the same about the sommelier I had at the Ledbury too, total man crush, cheeky stories about each wine, and they went perfectly with everything I had ordered.

Whilst it's possibly posh, the wine experience that can be had Georgovie on Maltby Street is very enjoyable, went there just before Easter and as a vegetarian the food was actually very interesting and you get the chance to sample some interesting wines at reasonably affordable prices.