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

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.

2017 - the year in review

And so, Christmas has been and gone and with it the final hurrah of 2017.  I spent most of the year’s dying days snuggled up at home doing little more than watching crap on Netflix and eating chocolate biscuits.  I weighed myself this morning; up 5lbs from the beginning of December which I am quite peaceful about considering that we abandoned 5:2 and any pretence of moderation right at the start of the month.  I am hoping to get most, if not all, of it shifted by the end of January.  Today sees me on my first fast day since…well, weeks ago, and there are even rumours that the Treadmill in the Garage will be grinding back to life very shortly.  As ever, I will keep you apprised.

Before we venture forth into 2018, as always, it is worth having a quick look back.  Firstly, weight loss and health matters – I committed to 5:2 at the start of the year on the basis that:

a) I still need to lose weight

b) Weight Watchers did not agree with me anymore – the constant counting and measuring and weighing and planning was, ultimately, not doing my mental health any good and

c)  Any other formal “diet plan” would likely be just as bad. 

5:2 seemed like the answer to the problem, in that it would require fierce commitment for 2 days of the week, but the rest of the time I could pootle along as I pleased. 

Well, it has worked in the sense that I am 2 stone down over the course of the year.  It’s not what you would call an amazing result, but it is a result nonetheless, and given the number of weeks where we’ve sacked off one or both fasts for reasons both spurious and genuine, I am pleased.  I have genuinely eaten well on non-fast days – aiming for moderation rather than restriction has really helped me develop a peaceful relationship with the food that I eat for the first time in my adult life. 

And talking of eating, D and I have agreed that some of our favourite ever meals were consumed in 2017.  We were lucky enough to visit several amazing restaurants and to pick a favourite is very, very difficult. 

The stand-out, in the end, is The Raby Hunt, which we visited at the beginning of November.  It has two Michelin stars and it is not London based – the conjuction of these two facts do tend to imply quality – but we have learned that Michelin stars do not always make for the best eating or for the best dining experiences (in our opinion.  Clearly not in the opinion of the mysterious Michelin inspectors who I fondly imagine cruising the country’s dining scene in pinstripe suits).  Raby Hunt, which I wrote about here, is just absolutely fabulous.  And the dish of razor clam and celeriac and almonds is probably, probably the best thing that I ate all year.

Razor clam and celeriac at The Raby Hunt

But there are honourable mentions to be made too: the thought of the lamb at Lake Road Kitchen in Ambleside still makes my mouth water all these months later.  And we had a last minute contender in the form of scallop with fermented celeriac at TheBlack Swan at Oldstead just the other week.  It’s rather odd – I didn’t even think that I liked celeriac that much, but in expert hands, it turns out that it is rather sublime.  I probably need to cook with it a bit more.  We also absolutely adored 64 Degrees in Brighton – another superlative lamb dish, this one served with gochujang.

Lamb at Lake Road Kitchen

Dessert of the year probably, again, goes to one of the offerings at The Raby Hunt, but I can’t help but remember with very great fondness the fabulous miso caramel ice cream that we ate at Skosh in York.

Miso caramel ice cream at Skosh

Our own home cooking has, naturally, encountered new influences and ideas throughout the year (gochujang and sushi rice are now both permanent fixtures in our storecupboard), but I honestly think that one of the nicest things that I made was this summery broad bean dip.  I am already looking forward to broad bean season rolling around again so that I can make this dip by the pint.

Broad bean dip at home

We managed to make a bit more use of our extensive recipe book library, but want to ramp this up for 2018 and are aiming to cook a new dish at least once a week.  What with that and plans to visit (among other places) Joro in Sheffield and Where The Light Gets In in Stockport, I think 2018 will shape up to be pretty damn fine itself.

Notes on Northumberland

We had a wonderful few days away at the start of this month, heading up to explore a little corner of Northumberland.  It's not a part of the world with which either of us are particularly familiar, despite it not being that far away - we do have a tendency to bypass the rest of England and make straight for Scotland when we head North.  But this year we decided to go for a bit of a change, particularly since we had already identified Raby Hunt as our Destination meal. 

We booked a few nights, on my Mum's recommendation, at The Red Lion in Alnmouth.  Prior to booking we knew nothing about Alnmouth and, having spent two nights there, can report that there is really not a lot to it.  However, The Red Lion itself is a great little place to stay.  It's a pub with rooms and, while the bar looks to be quite unassuming, it has a decent range of ales and proper Posh Crisps (always a good thing) while the kitchen turns out perfectly serviceable, albeit ginormous, dinners.  I had two starters on the night that we decided to dine there, and found that to be the right amount of food; D was unable to finish his main course risotto.  That aside, our room was gorgeous, with probably the comfiest bed I've slept in all year, and the breakfast was where the kitchen really came into its own - top notch, and cooked with far more care and attention than you often find in bed and breakfast venues.

Goat's cheese and vegetable stack at The Red Lion, Alnmouth

As I said, not an awful lot else to Alnmouth - basically, a single street with the sea at one end. However, on that single street, a couple of doors down from TRL was a rather sweet little fish restaurant which I would not have any issue recommending to you if you happened to be in Alnmouth and in need of something to eat.  Which is not to say I'd necessarily encourage a special trip.  But Hooked, for Hooked it was called, served up some very well cooked fish indeed - my hake and D's sea bass were both absolutely spot on.  Accompaniments were well judged and thoughtfully prepared.  Our waiter did magic tricks at the table.  There was sticky toffee pudding for dessert.  Such things are all calculated to make me happy.

Hake at Hooked, Alnmouth

Sea bass at Hooked, Alnmouth

When we mentioned that we wanted to go to Alnwick (primarily to visit Barter Books which is the most wonderful bookshop that I have EVER SEEN and which seems to make all bibliophiles go slightly misty eyed) a couple of people mentioned the Treehouse and, indeed, one look at the website convinced D that I would insist on visiting there for lunch.  Decor-wise, it is absolutely adorable if you are slightly twee at heart (I am).  Just outside the Alnwick Garden, it is all wooden walkways and blazing fires and twinkling lights - the fact that it is a popular wedding venue came as no great shock.  The food is fine but I think you're visiting (and paying slightly over the odds) for the ambience because they're not serving anything that a competent cook couldn't make at home. 

The Treehouse, Alnwick

The gardens, and the book shop itself are both fabulous though.  I loved our day in Alnwick.  I loved the next day, stomping along one of Northumberland's beautiful, pale stretches of coach, with Banburgh Castle looming up behind us.  We also managed to squeeze in a trip to the Holy Island, driving across a causeway that was barely out from beneath the sea.  There is obviously lots to explore round there, and it is an area with which I need to become better acquainted - particularly since I hope that there are some foodier finds to be made. 

Banburgh Castle