Bavette, Horsforth

I do like finding great local restaurants. The only problem is that I have a tendency of fixating on certain places or dishes and then favouring the known and loved over the new. Case in point - currently, every time D suggests a quick lunch / supper in town I immediately start craving the spicy beef noodles from Northern Market. We were supposed to have those this week actually, and I literally almost cried when we arrived and the vendor, Yuzu Street Food, was closed. 

Anyway, Bavette, a French bistro in the Leeds suburb of Horsforth, was recommended to us ages ago by people who know their grub. And no less a personage than Jay Rayner reviewed it for the Financial Times and gave it a glowing write up. And Horsforth is a 15 minutes taxi ride away from our house. But still, we’ve only just got around to going. If I have my way, we’ll be back again soon - although I don’t think D was quite as enamoured as I was. 

Which is not to say that the food was perfect. Of the two snacks that we tried, the Comte croquettes were fantastic - crispy, gooey, cheesy, what’s not to like? But the egg with mayonnaise and anchovy was verging on the slightly too rich - I’d have liked a second piece of anchovy to cut the richness a bit more. 

D’s steak tartare was excellent - absolutely classic, with pops of flavour from the capers and cornichons finely chopped through the tender meat. I opted for a tomato salad with whipped feta and chimichurri - fabulous flavours but I actually think they’d have been better off crumbling rather than whipping the feta, as the whole dish ended up a little bit soupy (delicious soup though). 

My main was practically perfect though - a perfectly cooked piece of monkfish, rich creamy beans and some salty girolles to garnish. D opted for a pork chop with ratatouille which was well cooked although he said that the olive oil pomme puree was a tad on the rich side (I tried a mouthful and can confirm that this was the Scrooge McDuck of potato dishes).

The absolute highlight though was dessert. We shared a St Emilion au chocolat - basically a very dense chocolate mousse - garnished with Amaretti crumbs, Armagnac syrup, prunes and a dreamy prune and Armagnac ice cream. Heaven on a plate. I’m not often a fan of chocolate and booze together (separately, of course, is an entirely different matter) and always eschew a liqueur truffle but here the balance was just right so that all the ingredients harmonised together to create rich chocolate and fruit perfection. Bliss.

Perhaps it was the glow of that dessert that was still with me when we left and I declared my intention of returning soon because, reading this back, I can see that it definitely had some flaws. The service, incidentally, was friendly but speedy - our snacks and starters were out at break neck pace and I definitely got the sense that they were turning tables which never makes for very relaxed dining. But then, given the state of the industry at the moment, you can’t really blame a venue for wanting to make the most of being busy and popular. And it really was busy and buzzing, even on a wet Wednesday evening. Merci bien, Bavette, et au revoir (probablement). 

North East stars!

After reporting back on a slightly disappointing dinner at Solstice, I thought I should redress the balance - and the pride of the North East - by talking about a couple of AMAZING meals we had this summer. I've been meaning to write this post for a while, and, indeed, several iterations have sat in my Drafts but I just kept forgetting to get them finished off. As such, it has been a while, and the descriptions may be somewhat perfunctory. But, the important thing to know is that these two restaurants are, as far as we are concerned, among the very best that the UK have to offer and we'd be there every week if we could (just one lottery win away...)

First and foremost, it was a re-visit to Restaurant Hjem which is located in a village called Wall. Oh, how I love this place - it was our third trip and it has never disappointed. Actually, Hjem itself closes at the end of the year, but the couple in charge are opening a new place called Freyja next year which is extremely exciting and, you can be sure, we'll be there as soon as we can get to it.

Hjem itself is sort of Scandi in influence, and with the main man being Swedish they know their Scandi. The flavours are delicate and fresh, everything is neat and pretty and despite the plethora of courses, you never leave feeling uncomfortably full because of the extraordinary balance and restraint. We started with a Lindisfarne oyster - ALL good meals should start with a Lindy, the very best of crustacea - and it just got better from there. The chicken liver parfait tartlet was a particular favourite and we had an absolutely fascinating squid dish served with a turmeric broth - turmeric is so seldom allowed to be the star of the show that it was highly unusual to see it shining so brightly here. There was the signature apple and horseradish dessert that we have had on every visit but never fails to disappoint and the most delicious brown butter financiers and oh, so much loveliness.

Oysters!

Squid!

At the other end of the trip (we stayed in Northumberland for a few days and consumed as much seafood as we possible could throughout) we went to Restaurant Pine. This is somewhere that we've been intending to visit for ages and just never got round to it - criminal really, considering how close it is to us, relatively speaking. I wasn't expecting to love it as much a Hjem but my expectations were confounded - it was remarkable. The flavours here are much, much bolder and brasher and everything is turned up to eleven, such that by the end I felt almost overwhelmed. One of our favourite dishes here was simply described as potato, wild garlic and cucumber which sounds a bit nondescript but it tasted like the kind of garlicky mash that they serve when you arrive in Heaven, and had a cloud like texture to boot. The majority of ingredients here are homegrown and used so intelligently - I defy anyone to try the three month black apple candy (yes, they make it from their own apples and it takes three months to become like the very nicest toffee apple you've ever tasted) and not smile like a loon.

Potato!

Apple!

It's pointless trying to compare these two places, or pick a favourite, because they're different and truly marvellous in their own particular ways. I suppose the only way to end this post is to say - if you find yourself in this part of the world then both of these (well, Hjem only for a few more months) are really worth a trip and it's a fabulous representation of what this very diverse part of the country has to offer.

Restaurant Hjem

The Hadrian Hotel

Wall

Hexham

NE46 4EE

Restaurant Pine

Vallum Farm

Military Road

East Wallhouses

NE18 0LL

Happy meals - nature's bounty

We've been lucky this week; a good friend gifted D some of the produce from his lovely garden, which meant we had a huge tub of tomatoes that were just on the verge of overripe and some lovely plums and greengages. Although we meal plan to the point of almost obsession, the original plan was jettisoned to ensure that this got used.

And what a lovely supper it was too! I cut the tomatoes in half and placed them, cut side up, in an oven proof dish, seasoned liberally with not only salt and pepper but onion granules, garlic granules and a few chilli flakes too. Drizzled with balsamic glaze and added a few thick slices of butter. Then roasted for 50 minutes until the tomatoes were collapsing into themselves and the buttery juices. Stirred through 4 finely chopped anchovies, a small handful of capers and a flurry of Parmesan before adding pasta and some starchy pasta water to create a clinging sauce. More Parmesan and, voila. 

This was followed by a greengage dessert cake, made from this recipe, warmed through in the microwave and served with a good splodge of cream. We don't often have pudding midweek, but this seemed warranted. I liked the texture of this cake very much, a good, dense, buttery crumb with a sweet crust, and the sharp greengages contrasted well. 

The remainder of the fruit has been transformed, by the very talented D, into a spiced compote which will be delicious with yogurt in the coming weeks. I am very tempted to do some homemade granola as well - Nigella has a couple of recipes that look interesting, including one with olive oil.

Solstice, Newcastle: a curate's egg

We were fully optimistic and fully looking forward to our dinner at Solstice last Friday. Kenny Atkinson, the chef-patron, is something of a North-East name, and we had thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at House of Tides a few years ago. So, no reason to think that Solstice wouldn't be equally lovely.

And, in some ways it was. The staff were brilliant, the surroundings were great. But the food...the food was hit and miss.

When it hit, it was capable of hitting very hard. The lobster spelt risotto was among the best things I have eaten all year. I adored the chocolate souffle tart with banana miso caramel (D less sure) and we both agreed that the brown butter poppy seed Madeleines were things of absolute beauty.

Chocolate!

Madeleines!

But when it missed then...ugh. The lobster with spiced carrot puree was horrible. The aged Parmesan tart did NOT taste of Parmesan. The opening course of smoked eel brandade with chicken skin was way too rich. And considering the quality of the beef that was served as a main, it just didn't land properly. The texture was beautiful - the flavour, less so.

Brandade!

So, in summary - a curate's egg. Good in places. Maybe just not entirely to our taste. But I'd recommend HoT over this, and I would certainly recommend plenty of other places in the North East before encouraging you to venture to Newcastle proper.