On our last night in the UK, dear friends joined us at The Brasserie, the less formal of the two restaurants here at our hotel Rockliffe Hall just outside Darlington in Hurwoth on Tees.
The setting is indeed casual, but the prices are high as this is a country club/hotel/resort owned by the owner of the Middlesbrough Football Club.
I was quite shocked to see bread on the menu for 3 pounds, but when it arrived it was beautifully housemade tomato bread and garlic/thyme bread along with a nice bowl of large pitted green olives in quite peppery olive oil. In the end our very helpful server Steven did not even charge us, nor did he charge for the extra slices Sam requested to mop up his starter, Pea Veloute with Curried Peas, Shallots, Bhaji and Creme Fraiche. He went on to a huge bowl of Hand Rolled Pappardelle with Wild Mushrooms, Truffles and Pecorino that he declared way too rich and creamy for his palate.
We started with a bottle of Legato Grillo 2016 from Sicily that was slightly creamy yet crisp and went excellently with our starters, so much that we ordered a second bottle to enjoy between courses.
The Scotch Egg wrapped in Black Pudding with Baked Beans, Smoked Bacon Jam and Brown Sauce was a revelation. The egg was cooked to perfection, wrapped in the pudding and then battered and fried brilliantly and the beans were huge white beans with a homemade tomato sauce, not your average "baked beans" at all. The bacon jam was truly unbelievable and made the dish ideal. The Whitby Crab with tossed salad and Hensleydale Hen's Egg was a nice timbale of crab with a light English mustard mayo binder that made for a light and delicious start.
The mains were just as superb with Slow Cooked Pork Fillet with Sage Pearl Barley Risotto, Apple Puree and Port Sauce as well as a tasty King Prawn & Chorizo Paella with Mussels, Red Peppers and Herbs.
Will & I chose the amazing Flatiron Steak with a Yorkshire Blue Cheese sauce which was cooked perfectly and came with a large rocket salad with parmesan shavings as well as crispy onion rings and of course th requisite chips which were awesome dipped in the blue cheese sauce. The meat had not a piece of gristle or fat and was just divine. Our red was a Fico Grande Sangiovese DOC Romagna from Poderi dal Nespoli 2016 which was a decent but not super full bodied red.
Desserts were nice with White Chocolate Mousse, Brandy Snap & Grapefruit/Rosemary Syrup (a bit too rich for moi) and Apple Bakewell with Lavender Ice Cream and Blueberry Emulsion.
Several of us split the full cheese platter which came with grapes and an onion chutney(odd choice) and some of the best crackers ever(called CF's) which were black, red and white yet not flavored to overpower the local cheeses:
Ribblesdale Smoked Goat from Ashes Farm, North Yorkshire was easily our favorite with an aged smokiness that was out of this world
Admiral Collingwood was flavored with Newcastle Brown Ale and came from North Doddington Farm in Wooler, Northumberland
Cotherstone Teesdale was a semi-hard cow that came from just around the corner near Barnard Castle, County Durham
Swaledale Ewes Natural form Swaledale Cheese Co in Richmond, North Yorkshire was a real treat
Mrs. Bell's Blumin' White was a creamy cheese with blue tones from Leachfield Grange, Newsham in also nearby Thirsk
The Wenslydale Blue from Hawes, North Yorkshire was a typical milder blue from the area which I adored and all of them made for one of the best regional cheese platters you could imagine.
It was a delicious meal with great friends and alas we are sorry to leave Yorkshire & the UK, but are headed now to South Africa for more adventure(and food!).
