Cambridge Foodie has been busy eating out (celebrating a recent promotion at work) and Sunday took us down to London to visit The Italian. We had the grand tour of Walthamstow high street and got to see the Sunday farmers market (well worth a visit for some local cheese) and had some heartstopping baklava from the Turkish supermarket.
Up in Walthamstow Village we stumbled upon Orford Saloon, a small tapas bar with a rather lovely (and wonderfully warm even in winter) conservatory out back with pretty mosaic tables but slightly annoying pop music playing. A reassuringly Spanish waiter greeted us and recommended the Alhambra beer - fresh and fruity with a sweet maltiness.
We started by digging in to a dish of olives, rather disappointing as they had been stored in brine. However, the rest of the dishes were fantastic. The Patatas bravas had a sauce that was pleasantly spicy (unlike the gloopy La Tasca rubbish), the Fritura de pescado (deep fried prawns, calamari and white fish) was perfectly cooked with the white fish being divine - moist and just cooked in the middle and coated in a properly seasoned and non-greasy batter. I gave the anchovies a miss but TH and The Italian polished them off pretty quickly.
Our favourite dishes were Pulpo a la gallega (octopus cooked with paprika and potatoes and onion) thanks to The Italian for introducing me to this dish - soft, succulent and moreish with semi-roasted potatoes and onion. We also enjoyed Pinchitos morunos (lamb marinated with cumin and chilli) and Lentejas con chorizo - chorizo and lentils in a tomato sauce, a winter warming thick stew-like dish.
At £20 a head this is not a cheap lunch but it is properly cooked Spanish food and I imagine the place has quite a lively vibe in the evenings. If nothing else you should visit just to try the octopus.
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
Monday, 13 December 2010
The Green Man Pub, Grantchester
A gorgeous (and warm) Saturday morning necessitated a trip to Grantchester. We didn't do the riverside walk this time but if you haven't, you should. The two miles from central Cambridge along the meandering river are perfect for working up an appetite for lunch.
The Green Man http://www.thegreenmangrantchester.co.uk/ is one of three pubs in Grantchester and by far the best. The setting is a beautiful 16th century building with many different seating areas which gives the place an intimate feel. In winter the two log fires are kept lit and it was close to one of these that we set ourselves down for a spot of lunch.
TH and I decided, rather foolishly, to start by sharing a hummus and olive deli platter before moving on to our mains. This is not to say the food was bad - far from it, but be warned, the servings are generous. I was impressed to find the hummus was home-made - though given the amount of garlic marinating with the olives I would have put a clove or two more in the hummus. The quality of the food on the platter put many a deli to shame. To wash it all down we supped a pint of Cumberland ale (Jennings Brewery) - a malty, hoppy ale and a pint of Old Cannon best bitter - rich with a roasted flavour.
TH opted for rare breed sausages with mash for his main (daily special). He couldn't fault it - perfectly seasoned proper sausages and fluffy, creamy mash. It also came with a side of perfectly al dente veg seasoned with black pepper.
I chose the pork belly with sweet potato mash and green beans. If I had one complaint it would be that the sweet potato mash was too creamy and heavy for the dish but that shouldn't detract from what was an excellent meal. The pork belly was slow cooked to perfection with perfectly crispy fat on the top. In fact, it didn't need the sweet potato mash, just a bread roll and it would be hog-roast-a-licious!
At £33 for the lot I find it hard to fault this place - the setting is wonderful, the staff are friendly and will happily let you start a bar tab (The Red Lion next door doesn't) and the food is of restaurant standard. All this and a cracking range of malt whisky and real fire to watch whilst nursing that dram. It's no wonder the place is always full.
The Green Man http://www.thegreenmangrantchester.co.uk/ is one of three pubs in Grantchester and by far the best. The setting is a beautiful 16th century building with many different seating areas which gives the place an intimate feel. In winter the two log fires are kept lit and it was close to one of these that we set ourselves down for a spot of lunch.
TH and I decided, rather foolishly, to start by sharing a hummus and olive deli platter before moving on to our mains. This is not to say the food was bad - far from it, but be warned, the servings are generous. I was impressed to find the hummus was home-made - though given the amount of garlic marinating with the olives I would have put a clove or two more in the hummus. The quality of the food on the platter put many a deli to shame. To wash it all down we supped a pint of Cumberland ale (Jennings Brewery) - a malty, hoppy ale and a pint of Old Cannon best bitter - rich with a roasted flavour.
TH opted for rare breed sausages with mash for his main (daily special). He couldn't fault it - perfectly seasoned proper sausages and fluffy, creamy mash. It also came with a side of perfectly al dente veg seasoned with black pepper.
I chose the pork belly with sweet potato mash and green beans. If I had one complaint it would be that the sweet potato mash was too creamy and heavy for the dish but that shouldn't detract from what was an excellent meal. The pork belly was slow cooked to perfection with perfectly crispy fat on the top. In fact, it didn't need the sweet potato mash, just a bread roll and it would be hog-roast-a-licious!
At £33 for the lot I find it hard to fault this place - the setting is wonderful, the staff are friendly and will happily let you start a bar tab (The Red Lion next door doesn't) and the food is of restaurant standard. All this and a cracking range of malt whisky and real fire to watch whilst nursing that dram. It's no wonder the place is always full.
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Stazione, Market Hill, Cambridge
On Saturday night we decided to catch some pre-comedy food at Stazione. A bit of a tourist trap, yes, but surely it can't be that bad. How wrong we were.
The decor is the best feature of this restaurant, very stylish in a tasteful dark purple with stacks of panettone piled by the counter. We had plenty of time to admire as the staff were milling about aimlessly and with no particular desire to seat us.
The menu is an unchallenging list of 8 or so starters with the same amount of choice in pasta and mains, a promising start given the frequent ability of Italian restaurants to manage mediocrity through 100 dishes.
The food
My husband (henceforth known as the trophy husband TH, at his request) had beef carpaccio with black truffles and rocket for a starter which could have been good if a) there had been truffles included (no, we didn't get a discount) and b) it had been fresh, it had definitely come from a packet. A bit steep at £8.50 for two slices of beef and a handful of rocket. I opted for calamari which had the slightly watery and mushy consistency suggesting it had been bought frozen and even worse, it tasted no better than supermarket calamari.
I hesitate to say that the mains were marginally better, maybe the fantastic valpolicella (£9 for a half bottle) had improved our mood by the time it arrived. I opted for pesto stuffed gnocchi (definitely pre bought) and a white wine and cream sauce (tasted like Heinz cream of mushroom soup) whilst TH had tuscan lentils and sausages with the bizarre addition of prunes - a hearty, tasty dish generous on the sausage and the serving size, and a reasonable £10.95. Had we found the one dish to rescue this restaurant? Sadly, no. Only a couple of hours later TH was missing the second half of the comedy gig due to sudden illness.
We struggled to find any redeeming qualities of this restaurant, the food was overpriced and awful, the service wasn't great and they accept only cash as payment. Save yourself the disappointment and cook up this at home instead http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/squidinkpastamussels_84847 note: many italian delis sell dried squid ink pasta, I bought mine from Olio E Farina http://www.olioefarina.com/
The decor is the best feature of this restaurant, very stylish in a tasteful dark purple with stacks of panettone piled by the counter. We had plenty of time to admire as the staff were milling about aimlessly and with no particular desire to seat us.
The menu is an unchallenging list of 8 or so starters with the same amount of choice in pasta and mains, a promising start given the frequent ability of Italian restaurants to manage mediocrity through 100 dishes.
The food
My husband (henceforth known as the trophy husband TH, at his request) had beef carpaccio with black truffles and rocket for a starter which could have been good if a) there had been truffles included (no, we didn't get a discount) and b) it had been fresh, it had definitely come from a packet. A bit steep at £8.50 for two slices of beef and a handful of rocket. I opted for calamari which had the slightly watery and mushy consistency suggesting it had been bought frozen and even worse, it tasted no better than supermarket calamari.
I hesitate to say that the mains were marginally better, maybe the fantastic valpolicella (£9 for a half bottle) had improved our mood by the time it arrived. I opted for pesto stuffed gnocchi (definitely pre bought) and a white wine and cream sauce (tasted like Heinz cream of mushroom soup) whilst TH had tuscan lentils and sausages with the bizarre addition of prunes - a hearty, tasty dish generous on the sausage and the serving size, and a reasonable £10.95. Had we found the one dish to rescue this restaurant? Sadly, no. Only a couple of hours later TH was missing the second half of the comedy gig due to sudden illness.
We struggled to find any redeeming qualities of this restaurant, the food was overpriced and awful, the service wasn't great and they accept only cash as payment. Save yourself the disappointment and cook up this at home instead http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/squidinkpastamussels_84847 note: many italian delis sell dried squid ink pasta, I bought mine from Olio E Farina http://www.olioefarina.com/
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