January Journal: Food experiences

[liv]

rysmiel asked me for some reasonable number of most memorable positive food experiences. rysmiel is a great person to give me this prompt since when we spend time together is things like this happen. So, food experiences that haven't been in rysmiel's company:

1. jack took me out to Restaurant 22 early this year. We have a bunch of anniversaries around the change of year, given that we both have birthdays in this season and that it's time when we're off work so it's a good opportunity for Significant relationship steps. I found myself surprisingly jealous when jack took illusive_shelle to a restaurant I've never been to, even though I'm normally never in the least possessive about that kind of stuff. So anyway, I was really really touched when jack suggested we could have a date there.

The thing about Restaurant 22 is that it started out as a kind of almost-private dining club, they put on the occasional meal for people in the know. And then they expanded to one single cover once a month, but in theory open to anyone who could book far enough in advance. And now it's more like a normal restaurant, but it's still very small, and set up to give the impression of being a guest at a dinner party in someone's home rather than a commercial restaurant. It is in fact inside a very subtly converted private house, from the outside pretty easy to miss that it's a restaurant at all unless you're looking for it.

Perhaps it's embarrassing to admit this, but this celebration of my 35^th birthday was my first real experience of what you might describe as fine dining. I've been to plenty of nice restaurants before, but never really to a fancy restaurant. This is partly because fine dining isn't something that really featured in my upbringing, and partly because, now that I have the money and move in circles where people do that sort of thing, I am never quite convinced that high-end restaurants are going to be worth it for veggies.

I really enjoyed the evening. The food was definitely better than merely good restaurant food, and the whole experience worked really well as a package. The décor, the service, the situation of really enjoying every bite over a luxurious evening of conversation with someone I really like. It also never felt ostentatious, nothing about it tried to highlight the point that only rich exclusive privileged people can eat in a place like this. I could see the waiter carefully not reacting to anything that might have given away that we're not used to that kind of restaurant; I suppose really perfect service might have hidden even the fact of that non-reaction, but still, it felt pretty comfortable. It was definitely that ideal balance of never feeling hassled or rushed, but also never needing to wait to ask for anything we wanted. Also complete lack of surprise that I, as the female member of the party, know more about wine, or that we split the bill rather than having the man pay for the date.

One thing that's difficult about this prompt is that I'm not really very good at writing about actual food. Basically it was what I would want from a meal out; everything tasted good, with plenty of contrast in texture and flavour. Some original dishes that you wouldn't find on the menu of every gastropub, but nothing really outré or self-consciously weird. Portion sizes were perfect; at no point did I think I wish I could have had more of a dish, and at no point did I feel over-full or needing a break before I could try the next delicious thing. And the vegetarian options were exciting and didn't look like poor relations of the meat and fish offered.

The amuse-bouche was a shotglass of a bean soup. Not OMG the best soup I've ever tasted!!! but definitely at the high end. It was just a tiny bit on the thick side to drink out of a shotglass; I don't know if it's possible to do a few mouthfuls of soup in such a way that you can eat it with a spoon. The breads that accompanied the meal were really nice, three really distinct breads which were clearly there to be appreciated rather than to bulk out the meal. The veggie starter was a baked cheddar custard, which if I had to choose was my favourite part of the meal. It's not like anything I've eaten before, it was heavier than a soufflé but lighter than a lot of baked cheese dishes, and really brought out the flavour of the cheese. That was accompanied with a beetroot and watercress salad and a slice of nice toast, all of which were done well and matched well with the main dish.

Veggie main was described as a tatin, a pastry thing based on peppers, onions and feta as well as some salad vegetables. It was definitely a perfect example of its genre, separate flavours and textures which combined extremely well. But it wasn't as novel as the starter, I've quite often eaten onion and pepper pastries as the vegetarian option in mid-scale restaurants. We opted for a portion of sauté potatoes to go with it, listening to the waiter's recommendation that one portion between the two of us would keep the meal balanced and not too carby. Even the best sauté potatoes in the world are still pretty much just potatoes, but these were a contender for the best in the world.

I have a sweet tooth, and I was really looking forward to the desserts. They were excellent, and original, but perhaps not as memorable as the savouries. I had something based on quince, chilli and lime, which made a really interesting combination. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the quince part of the dish, but when it came it was a smooth paste, somewhere in texture between a mousse and a jelly. I was impressed with the way it was both light (given we'd already had two substantial courses by the time it arrived) and satisfying.

The only part of the meal that was a bit disappointing was the wine. Possibly I made a bad choice, opting for a Loire valley red that was described as light, let me find it on the list, oh yes, 2011 Saumur Champigny Les Tuffeaux Chateau de Targe. To me it was a bit dry and thin; it was certainly nice compared to your average £10 bottle of wine, but it wasn't up there with other £30 bottles of wine I've occasionally had the opportunity to drink. And we finished with dessert wine because that's something I really like as a treat, and again, it was perfectly drinkable but not superlatively amazing.

Based on that, I think I would like to make an occasional habit of fine dining experiences as a special treat, and would certainly be glad to go back to Restaurant 22 specifically. Because of the whole context of the experience, I think it really did justify spending twice as much as I normally would on special occasion eating out, maybe 3-4 times as much as I would on "can't be bothered cooking" type eating out. So I should do more investigation into which high end places are good for vegetarians. I'm also intrigued to go up the scale even further, at least once, to try out the kind of meal that costs as much as a week's foreign holiday, say.

2. I've eaten two really good, really memorable meals at Rasa in Stoke Newington. The thing is that my normal idea of a treat is to go to an ethnic restaurant with really great vegetarian options, and Rasa certainly fills that niche extremely well. I went there for the first time for my brother Thuggish Poet's birthday, and there was a crowd of about twenty people who were all fun and interesting to talk to. (I love hanging out with my sibs' friends, they all know really cool people.) And I was so excited by the food I went back there for a date with jack.

Rasa is in fact a smallish chain, they have veggie and mixed restaurants dotted about London. They do specifically south Indian food, which I've only eaten in a few places but always really like. My favourite restaurant locally for a long time was Hanging Mangoes, which ambience-wise is really nothing at all special, it's basically just another curry house. But it served food recommended to me by actual Sri Lankan colleagues who said it was the only decent S Indian place outside London, so I imagine the food is quite authentic. The family who ran it were amazing, lovely lovely people and very helpful to random anglos who don't know much about their cuisine as well as to the hungry expats who formed most of their clientèle. Very sadly last time I tried to go there I found a repossession notice on the door :-( I'm also really liking Cocum in Cambridge, the more since it's very convenient for jack's current place.

Rasa is a bit more upmarket in that it actually has some interesting decorations and ambience, but basically it's like any mid-range London restaurant, a bit crowded, a bit noisy, generally pleasant, and the service was good both for the big party and just the two of us. But the food, wow. Basically everything on the menu is a dish that's new to me, and every single one was delicious and everything tastes properly different from everything else, there's no generic "curry sauce" involved. jack and I had no way of choosing, since everything was unfamiliar, everything sounded delicious and everything was veggie. So we ordered a vegetarian banquet, which was just out of this world. I can't remember how many different dishes we tasted, about a dozen I think, and every single one was amazing. I don't think I've ever eaten so much in one setting, I almost couldn't move by the end of the meal. Because everything was rich and portions were huge, even for a sampling menu, but it was all so delicious I couldn't bear to leave any.

3. The other style of food experience I'm most fond of is country pubs, and my absolute favourite of those is the Anchor at Sutton Gault. It's kind of ridiculously far from Cambridge for an evening out, being more than 10 miles out of town, but the food is worth it. I discovered it because it was near a place where jack worked for a while, and I went there as his plusone for a work do. I've been back a few times since, once to celebrate getting my current job with a small group of friends, and twice on romantic dates with jack.

One of those was just between the end of term and Passover, when I was exhausted, and I couldn't stay in his flat at the time, so as a treat we booked a room at the Anchor instead of in a crappy town centre B&B. So I got off the train after two months of intense teaching and a week of pre-Pesach spring cleaning and four hours of travel, and we drove to the pub and had the most delicious meal I could imagine, and then stayed overnight and had an equally delicious breakfast. We got upgraded from our booked double room to a sort of palatial mini-apartment, and I was almost sorry that all we had time to do there was sleep, because that's seriously one of the nicest places I've ever stayed. That was just 12 hours of perfect wonderful luxury. I can't remember exactly what was on the menu, probably something with mushrooms and something with chocolate, and really good cheese, and tasty tasty wine since we were staying over and not driving.

And the second was the time that jack proposed. He asked me to the Anchor for Tu b'Av, the Jewish romantic festival. Again, it was totally relaxed and perfect and all the food was exquisite. I am pretty certain that at least one of us had a truly excellent mushroom risotto for a main course, and I remember having a very very rich chocolate pudding, the kind that's cakey on the outside and runny on the inside. That's what we were eating when jack started a discussion about getting married (and it really was a discussion, there was definitely no embarrassing Dramatic Moment).

The food at the Anchor is very good for what it is though I expect not the kind of thing that serious gourmets get excited about. Mostly contemporary British style, big hearty portions, the kind of thing that really emphasises good quality ingredients over showing off the chef's cleverness. And excellent excellent puddings, which is exactly the sort of thing that English cuisine is particularly good at. I love that kind of food, fairly simple things done really well. And I love eating it in places that are a bit old-fashioned and cosy, with beams and fireplaces and all that, and where you look out of the window and see a lovely view of the English countryside. The place locally that's nearly as good as the Anchor is the Hand and Trumpet, and I also love finding places in that style when I'm out walking or exploring small villages.

I realize I don't have a tag for eating out, even though recording dining experiences is something I do use this journal for. I shall make one, though I suspect part of the reason is that I often go out for nice meals when I'm also seeing friends, so lots of the relevant posts are tagged 'friends'.

[January Journal masterlist]

Comments

[ceb]

I do love Restaurant 22. It's right at the top end of places I'd feel comfortable eating, but as you say they're so nice about it. Last time I went I had chocolate brownie with popping candy for dessert, and every mouthful made me giggle :-)

[liv]

I honestly don't know whether I'd feel comfortable somewhere grander. I'm interested to try, and I did have an Oxford education so in theory I ought to be able to manage table manners suitable for high society. But I was seriously impressed with Restaurant 22 for being both luxurious and comfortable. Popping candy dessert, wow.

[wildeabandon]

If you're looking for fancy restaurants that are good for vegetarians and especially good for puddings, then I doubt you could beat Vanilla Black - all of their food is good, but even though I'm not usually a big pudding person, it was by far an away my favourite course there.

For somewhere the next step up the scale, I'd recommend Hedone. I took my housemates there recently, and it was mind-blowingly good, with really good veggie options - two of which I actually thought were better than the omnivorous ones.

[jack]

Ooh, thank you!

[liv]

Thanks so much for the recs. A personal comment about veggie and veggie-friendly fine dining establishments is super, super helpful. I have this idea that one year instead of going on holiday, J and I should have a really luxe weekend in London, stay in a fancy hotel, go out for a once-in-a-lifetime meal, maybe go to a show. Probably not this year because we're trying to buy house so we don't really have spare money, but one day.

[naath]

22 is lovely.

Fancy food is usually fun; I've never found posh places to be snooty, but maybe I've had good luck with choosing places. Alas many places aren't great for veggies :(