Harters

Malouf's "thing" is Middle Eastern/Eastern Mediterranean food, of which I'm rather a fan myself. Bought his book "Arabesque" a few months back in a remainder shop for a couple of quid. Thought it was awful and we never cooked anything from it, before packing it off to the local charity shop.

I hadnt planned to eat here on this trip but having been warned off the Skylon on another thread, it was good opportunity to pop back. I’ve eaten off their main “Grand Trunk Road” menu in the past but fancied a simpler presentation on this visit. The set menu seemed just the thing at £38. And when I saw that it was on offer at just £19, it became less of a bargain and more of a complete steal. There’s a “freebie” cut-it-yourself salad to start, offered with a little dish of ground masala spices, another of flavoured salt and a tiny bottle of oil. Chicken tikka was my starter choice – moist meat, with just the right amount of charring round the edges and just the right amount of spicing. It was served with a little coriander chutney and a raita. It’s chicken, lamb or veggie for starters. And it’s chicken, lamb or veggie for mains. The Rajasthani lamb curry (Laal Maas) is a classic from the region. I recently had it at a restaurant near home (not one of my top five places – but in the top ten). Then the spicing was overly aggressive but not here. Of course, there is a good chilli hit but the other spicing was more subtle, more complex. Alongside, there was a dish described only as “curried vegetables of the day”. I wouldn’t rate this as an outstanding success. Served dry and very well fried to an almost uniform brown, I confess to not really being able to identify exactly what was in there. Aubergine and okra, perhaps – but, in truth, it was really anyone’s guess. Tasted good enough, though, and a pleasant contrast to the meat dish. There was also a very decent naan, bordering on being the crisper (and preferred) tandoori roti. Another vote for the two guys you can see in the kitchen manning the two tandoors. Really good stuff. I took an extra order of pulao rice to make sure my carb levels were kept topped up. There’s a newish general manager and Michael Cheung is clearly running a very tight ship. You could just see that everything was working seamlessly. Good on him. But if I have one piece of advice for Michael, it’s ditch the £1.50 cover charge. It’s irritating and it’s petty. If need be, just up the price of a dish or two.

LA BARCA There’s something wonderfully comforting about an old school Italian restaurant. And La Barca is so old school that, when I glanced round, I half expected to see red and white check tablecloths and candles stuck in Chianti bottles. Everything else seemed in place – wine bottles everywhere, elderly waiting staff (all Italian), photos of now aging stars in their youth (surely you remember Jill Gascoine in The Gentle Touch?) And, of course, there’s a menu packed full of trattoria classics. There was excellent bread – a generous basket left on the table with four different sorts – the foccacia was a stand-out. There was also some freebie olives. Now I don’t know how they found flavoursome tomatoes in February, but they’d found enough to top my bruschetta. They were helped by a goodly drizzle of olive oil and a scattering of garlic slices and shreds of basil. If you’re going to want to eat calves liver, then I reckon you want to eat it in an old school Italian restaurant. It’s probably the best bet for getting a good plate of food. The Italians seem to understand better than most that there’s a need for minimal cooking and, here, it must have been the work of seconds. It came with a sage butter sauce – rich from butter but cut through by the judicious use of the herb. I’d taken the waiter’s recommendation for spinach and sauté potatoes. This really was a good plate of food. If further was needed to convince me that I liked La Barca, then serving a little bowl of Cadbury’s mini-eggs along with the espresso was a master stroke. Including a bottle of water and service, the bill was just over £45 which felt that, much as I’d enjoyed myself, I hadn’t experienced the bargain of the week. Although the place was packed, so what do I know

BALTIC I was prepared to be a bit disappointed at Baltic after I’d read the menu online. I’d be the first to admit that geography isn’t my strong point and I’d struggle to know exactly where the Baltic was. Baltic, the sea, that is. And it looked as though Baltic, the restaurant, might also be struggling as the menu darts hither and thither across the far reaches of Northern Europe. I needn’t have worried though. I was about to have a thoroughly decent dinner. There’s a narrow, slightly unwelcoming, shop front entrance which takes you into a long, narrow and seemingly soulless bar area. The restaurant is at the back of the bar space and is a much nicer place to be – high ceiling, glass roof, comfy chairs, not so dimly lit that you can’t read the menu. Bread was quickly offered. A choice of four – I picked a rye on the first offering and had scoffed it before my starter came. More was proffered and this time I took a white, assertively flavoured with caraway. Both good. The starter was just the sort of thing you want on a chilly winter’s night. Siberian Pelmeni were a generous portion of well flavoured nuggets of pork and veal, encased in thickish dumpling dough. Even with my poor geography skills I know that Siberia is nowhere near the Baltic so is about as local as paella is to being a traditional Lancastrian dish. The main was pork schnitzel “a la Holstein”. Now, I’m even vaguer about where Holstein might be. Cast my mind back 45 years to “O” level 19th century history and I’m sure it cropped up – although apparently the dish is named after a German bloke of that name, rather than the place. In the event, it was pretty much a bog standard schnitzel – thin pork escalope, bread-crumbed and fried. It sat on some sautéed potatoes and fried onions. The Holstein bit comes by a scattering of capers and a couple of anchovy fillets. It was all OK. Not particularly interesting and I rather wished I’d had the main course sized portion of the Pelmeni. I didnt bother with dessert but there was a good espresso. Service was efficient – one member of staff seemed to be tasked with a constant perambulation round the room looking for dirty pots to pick up.

MICHAEL CAINES AT ABODE Lunch at Abode comes via its “Amazing Graze” menu (geddit?) – a mini-tasting menu, if you will, where you pick your 3, 4 or 5 courses from the list of six savoury and three sweet dishes. A bit of discussion between us meant we were able to sample all six savouries (in the event, passing on dessert). That meant we were on four courses at the very reasonable price of just £19 – a bargain for this quality of food. My partner took them up on the offer to match a wine to each course – small 75cl glasses of pretty good stuff, adding a further twelve quid. There was a very good bread selection, followed by a pumpkin and parmesan soup – the cheese perhaps overpowering the sweetness of the pumpkin. A few pumpkin seeds and small dice of the veg gave some texture. Ham hock terrine was a decent example of this almost ubiquitous starter. A couple of bits of soused carrot and onion again gave texture and might have benefitted from a tad more sharpness – not for nothing does this dish often come with piccalilli. A millefeuille of smoked eel was lovely. The leaves coming as thin Parmesan crisps which worked really well with the very smoky, very delicious, eel. There were a few lentils offering an earthiness. A dab of indeterminate herb puree didn’t contribute too much, but a quails egg and horseradish foam brought some welcome moistness. I really liked this a lot. There was a ballotine of chicken leg, which managed a good crisp skin and was stuffed with a little duck liver mousse. Boulangere potatoes were excellent. Another belter of a plate. Roasted Pollock was the least successful dish. Slight underdone and with an underwhelming parsley risotto, it just didn’t seem to work as well as everything else. Our final dish, which we both ordered, was an open raviolo of roasted root vegetables. Well prepared pasta, with a slice each of parsnip, courgette and something else now forgotten. This was never going to set the world alight but, with another light foam forming the dressing, was nice enough. We then had good strong espresso and OK petit fours.

Baked celeriac must be an "in thing". We had it at In de Wulf (Dranouter, Belgium) last year - where it's wrapped in hay and then a salt crust to cook for 4 hours (they do it on a BBQ). It's served thinly sliced and with fresh goats curd. A stunner of a dish.

North West Caterer reports that mini-chain Le Relais de Venise L'Entrecote (which is more than a mouthful in itself) is to open on King Street. Apparently, it is no choice - offering only a salad starter, followed by steak frites. Priced at £21, that sounds OK for London but pricy for round here. Unless, of course, someone tells me quality makes it worthwhile. Presumably it'll compete with the almost adjacent Jamie's Italian.

Booked into Barca. So that's my 4 nights sorted and all within easy walking distance of the hotel.

What do you make of this email, just received from the Church Green? I think my reading of it is that the Church Green is scrapping its "fine dining" carte and replacing it with a "steak & chips" menu. Am I mis-reading it? As you may be aware, in July of last year we opened the British Grill in the Macdonald Craxton Wood hotel in Ledsham, Chester. This concept has been a great success there and the restaurant even achieved 2 AA rosettes within 8 weeks of opening. Over the three years we have been at The Church Green we have listened to your feedback and this has helped us evolve. With this in mind, and taking into consideration the success of the new British Grill menu we have taken the decision to incorporate the grill and menu into The Church Green. The new menu changes will come in to effect from February 23rd 2012. We will be having a bit of a makeover in the restaurant and investing in a wonderful new Inka grill for the kitchen too!! As well as having the British Grill menu we will also be keeping our very popular Lunch menu and 5 course tasting menus. Our famous wine matching evenings will continue and we will hold regular gourmet events too.

By co-incidence, I'm in that neck of the woods for a few days the week after next. Baltic and the Skylon Grill are on my list (as is a chippy dinner at Masters Superfish - a place almost northern in its quality). There's an old school Italian on Lower Marsh called La Barca that may be worth a punt.

CLOG & BILLYCOCK, AGAIN We stopped for lunch on our way back from the Lakes. At eight quid, a starter of Morecambe Bay shrimps has to be bloody good. Well, it was. But not necessarily eight quid’s worth. They’re served warm in butter – which makes you think the kitchen has taken some standard potted shrimps and warmed them through. It’s not a bad idea, you know. They come served with a toasted muffin. The other starter came from the seasonal specials menu and was, effectively cheese on toast. A toasted, buttered, crumpet, topped with sliced beetroot and a thick covering a melted day old Lancashire cheese curd from Leagrams. Now, I’m a fan of Leagram’s cheese and Bob Kitchen sells his wares at my local farmers market. And, if ever you get a chance to get your hands on Bob’s Knob you should grab it with both hands. It’s his three year old Lancashire and it’s rather brill (he does a five year one as well, which even he says is a bit too mature). Both mains came from the specials list. Braised brisket was a thick, generous slice and damn tasty. It came with some roasted root veg (which could have done with 5 minutes more roasting), very good gravy and chips (swapped for the advertised mash). Chicken, leek and ham pie is pretty much a classic dish and, here, there was absolutely nothing unclassic about it. Another generous portion, well filled with the advertised ingredients, bound with a good thick creamy sauce. Chips are also served. Proper chips, mind – none of your fries and none of your fat chips. Good lunch all round.

It’s just on two years since we were last at L’Enclume and there’s been some changes in that time. The thirteen course menu was then priced at £70 and is now £89. But the food is now much “cleaner” in its flavours and preparation. Gone are the foams and slightly wacky presentations. In are much more straightforward flavours but, of course, still in interesting combinations. Frankly, it’s an improvement (in my view, of course). There’s been staff changes – a new sommelier started at Christmas and a waiter was working his first shift. Service remained seamless, however. This is a well oiled machine and you know you’re going to be looked after. Vegetarians are well catered for by a thirteen courser, which can be cut down to eight. However, as omnivores we opted for the mixed thirteen courser (well, eight was never going to be enough for a couple of greedy so-and-so’s). Here’s the menu: Onion cheese wafers, oyster pebbles, carrot lobster sacks. Cod “yolk” with ham and radish, salt and vinegar Dumplings of turnip in Westcombe cheddar, alexanders and rock samphire Valley venison, shallots, mustard and fennel Jerusalem artichokes, Ragstone cream, tarragon, malt Roasted snow crown in beef broth, parsley and English cultivated mushrooms Pink Fir cooked in chicken fat, crab and horseradish Roasted monkfish in our spices, kiri squash, yoghurt and raspberry vinegar Reg’s duck breast with chicory, duck sweetbread and mulled cider Chestnut, honeyoats, anise hyssop, apple Fig and malted cream, Williams pear ice Sweet clover yoghurt with nuts, rhubarb, brown sugar Aerated parkin meringue To our somewhat surprise, there were no duffers amongst this lot, although we agreed the Jerusalem artichoke dish was our least favourite. It just didn’t seem to come together. Stand-outs were led by the cod “yolk – in fact a cod mousse, coloured to effect and topped with a small sheet of ham jelly. Sweet, salty and slippery in the mouth. The roasted snow crown cauliflower was a masterpiece – intense flavour of the veg boosted even more by the excellent rich broth. The seemingly simple fried Pink Fir, sat on a little crabmeat, tasting of potato and chicken, the hint of horseradish giving a little bite. Inevitable, the duck was from Reg Johnson at Goosnargh and, inevitably, it was superb – just a couple of thin slices, perfectly rare – but the addition of crisped sweetbreads made it a lovely thing to eat. Desserts were all very good, with perhaps the fig one winning a tight race. The fig sat at the bottom of the bowl, topped with the rich cream, itself topped with the pear granita. Truly excellent. There was good coffee and petit fours to finish off. Pretty much as Alan's experience last month - the odd dish slightly altered - but thoroughly enjoyable. I know that some folk don't feel this is better than 1* food - we'll just have to disagree on that, won't we.

Actually that honour would go the French Restaurant at the Midland which, IIRC, was the first restaurant in the UK to receive a star. I'm going back some years, of course.

Can't make the comparision between the two, but the Walnut Tree was a bloody enjoyable dinner.

Andouillette has to be the vilest thing ever to get into my mouth!

Hasting's website looks a bit closed as well. There is spirit but pages with no info on them.

SAN CARLO, KING STREET WEST The city may well have had a significant Italian community for 150 years, but they have had minimal impact on the local restaurant scene. San Carlo is an import – one of the branches of the Birmingham based mini-chain – and it’s now certainly one of the fashionable destinations in the city. The place was packed with Manc glitterati. There were a couple of famous faces. And a goodly number of footballers’ wives – either real or wannabe. It was noisy – this is not a place for an intimate dinner for two, not least as you’d have to keep saying “Eh?” to each other. Conversation for a group larger than two might be really difficult. In the way of many Italian places, the menu is long. Perhaps overly long for them to pull off really good food all the time. But they manage pretty well. There was a starter of mozzarella en carozza – a fried cheese sandwich by any other name. Good flavours, good texture, although the anchovy sauce was a mere arty drizzle across the plate. There needed to be more. Much more – but then it wouldn’t have looked so pretty. I’d ordered sausages – well, of course I had. Two big meaty ones; a decent coating of a tomato sauce, flavoursome with a little kick of chilli in there. And a dainty square of fried polenta – a bit too thin and crispy, to my mind. Mozzarella cropped up again in my main course – veal parmigiana. Thin pieces of veal, briefly fried and interleaved on the plate with cheese and ham. Herself had ordered what proved to be the better of the two dishes. Slices of very decent fillet steak sat on a heap of rocket, dressed with a brandy and balsamic reduction. Dead simple; dead good. We shared some green beans which were nicely slightly underdone and some sauté potatoes which were not nicely slightly underdone. No dessert. Coffee was fine and was served with some lovely shards of sweet pastry dusted with icing sugar. Service had been spot-on and the only criticism was a billing fault. They had charged us for each having two starters. Quickly rectified with an apology. Call me suspicious but I wonder how often this occurs? Certainly pleased to have eaten at San Carlo (even though its baby brother Chiccetti, on the opposite side of the road, is getting all the current play). However, this isn’t my sort of preferred gaff and I’d be in no rush to return. Wannabe glitterati will love it.

Indifferent. Sort of. Bloggers come and go. Posters to discussion boards come and go. I enjoyed the CC's writings on the occasions when I read the blog. As I enjoy writings on some discussion boards. And the writings of some professional restaurant critics. I can't afford to eat at their level, except on fairly rare occasions, so it gives me something of a secondhand experience.

Ta for the ideas. Really does a look a bit thin on the ground - perhaps a bit surprising bearing in the mind the number of wealthy (alleged tax-dodging) residents.

Is there anything I'm missing? Google turns up very little.

Thanks both. In the event, we went back to the Wheatsheaf. Much better than our last visit. In fact, I'd say it was damn good. And damn generous in the portions. A pork terrine looked and tasted as though it had been made there, rather than in some nondescript factory. It really was good. A little bowl of chutney added a sweet/sharp contrast and there was a big hunk of bread. My own starter had the same bread toasted as its base. A layer of onion marmalade was topped with sautéed flat mushrooms, themselves topped with melted Stilton. Alongside a big handful of well dressed salad leaves – watercress, mizuna and the like. This was a dish of main course proportions and it was lovely. For a main, I went off the specials board. Four pigeon breasts, cooked perfectly at medium rare, a sauté of mixed veg and potato and a rich gamey sauce, sweetened (but not overly) by the inclusion of a few blackberries. I think this is one of the most enjoyable “get stuck in” plates of food in a goodly while. Across the table, the less greedy half of the partnership had ordered from the “light bites” – a salad of bacon, black pudding and roasted cherry tomatoes is usually served with a poached egg but herself does not do eggs. The lack of the egg might have made muted the dish somewhat but I had a taste and reassured myself that the mustardy dressing served it well on its own. Other than that, this was a fine salad with bold flavours.

Assuming the freezer's fixed (or will be soon) then I'd go down the soup route. How come you've escaped everything else defrosting or have you sorted something out for those things?

Found the post - Wheatsheaf at Raby. And it was so-so. A good so-so but still a so-so. Anywhere else?

Folks I know it's there in a thread somewhere but I just can't find it. A couple of years back, a decent pub lunch on Wirral was recommended and we went and it was good. Any current reccs? Look sharpish please - schlepping up to Birkenhead on Wednesday. John

PICCOLO - again Went back to try their "crunch lunch" menu. A handful of pizzas, couple of pasta and a risotto - all priced at £3.50. Absolute freaking bargain. Perhaps only matched for value for money in the metro area by the "rice & three" at the Northern Quarter curry cafes.