Bravissimo to The BAY HORSE in Hurworth, Darlington, UK(6-18-23)

 Our final night in the United Kingdom brought us to a place that we discovered through Will's cousin last year, the Bay Horse in Hurworth, Darlington. a mere 20 minute drive through the countryside from our hotel here in the North.

We had such an amazing meal with our family last year that we had to return with our UK best friends for our last night. Not only was our meal magnificent but we were ten times more impressed than last year.

As in the USA Father's Day is celebrated on the same Sunday in the United Kingdom and we thought the place would be jammed when we arrived at 7 p.m. but it was virtually deserted and by the time we left at 10 o'clock there was nary a soul in the restaurant.

The service was beyond excellent and Luke who was running the show absolutely made it the most wonderful evening.

Everyone had cocktails, but I chose to order a fabulous bottle of Saint Audin Villages from Sylvan Langoureau 2021 that was creamy and Rich and everything you could want in a white wine.

Bread arrived and we were more than hooked with a vegetarian sultana walnut bread and brioche with chorizo and caramelized onion, not to mention the butter... did I say the soft local butter?

Sam was thrilled that they had a complete vegetarian menu and he started off with a burnt onion risotto and then chose a Nut Wellington for his main course. Just from looking at these dishes a lot of love went into the preparation and the presentation so be sure to check out the photos on Facebook. He also loved the Aspall cider, which was a name open to many jokes.

Other started included Roasted King Scallops with braised chorizo, Jersey Royals(new potatoes, and not a sports team!!)wild garlic mayonnaise and crispy puffed rice. The rest of us had the amazing Whitby white crab with a decadent smoked salmon and lime mousse with English mustard mayonnaise, new season beetroot, a crispy quail egg, brown crab puree and beetroot powder. This dish was even more gorgeous than it sounds.

There were so many wonderful main courses it was difficult to decide. Since it was a Sunday there was the traditional Roast Sirloin of Grand Reserve beef with Yorkshire pudding vegetables roast potatoes and red wine jus. The Yorkshire puddings were roughly the size of a baby's head and the entire dish was so impressive not to mention the massive array of vegetables and potatoes that came to the table... again check out the Facebook photos.

Two of us had the Roasted sirloin of new season Lamb with marinated feta cheese, tapenade, a salted confit of lamb shoulder with air dried cherry tomatoes, pesto puree and baby aubergine that was simply out of this world. Creamed Peas with bacon were the best peas ever as were all the other veggies!!

There were many wines to consider when we moved to a red but I could not resist ordering a Côtes du Rhône 2019 Guigal in a Magnum format that was gone before we left the restaurant. I was worried that the wine would be too young but it was truly amazing again thanks to Luke's suggestion.

Desserts were just as good as everything else from a sticky toffee pudding with caramel sauce, milk ice cream, caramelized banana, hazelnut granola and apricot gel to a Pineapple tart with Italian torched meringue, lime curd, roasted pineapple, mango and lime sorbet with mango salsa.

My peanut butter and chocolate crunch bar with blackcurrent sorbet with mini donuts and toasted marshmallows as well as salted chocolate caramel and chocolate powder with simply out of this world. No cheese tonight! They even had a special birthday dessert and rendition of Happy Birthday for Steve as his special day is today! So glad we could celebrate with him.

This was a truly memorable and wonderful meal that had us all very impressed with a small little restaurant basically in the middle of nowhere!!

See you again next year in the UK.

you just gotta love CAFE LILLI in Norton, Stockton-on Tees, North Yorkshire, UK (6-16-23)

 Our dear friends Sue & Steve who live 2 blocks from Cafe Lilli and whenever we visit we try to dine there as it is a highlight of our Yorkshire vacay. Friday night was no different, save for the noise and crowds as it was beyond busy. As we sat down and began to order, the staff were erasing items off the chalkboard and changing the ingredients as we made our choices!

They seemed a tad understaffed, but the food and wine made up for everything. We started with fish and ordered the Gavi di Gavi 2021 DOCG "Villa Sparina" from Massimo Moccagatta in Piemonte which was so yummy, the 7 of us (well, 5 who were drinking) had a second bottle. 

I had the Steamed Shetland Mussels which came in a rich white wine and cream sauce with rosemary and altamura, while the Lobster Cocktail (which I was considering, but the last 3 available were taken by others at the table!) was a beautiful presentation with cherry tomatoes, pickled cucumber, baby gem lettuce, Marie Rose Sauce, Honeydew & Bloody Mary Gel! The Oak Roasted Salmon Pate with Avocado Mousse and Pickled Fennel looked fabulous as did the Risotto with Chorizo, Spinach, Pea & parmesan.

Samuel started with a gorgeous Carrot & Coriander soup, then actually ordered this same risotto for a main without the chorizo and raved.

We moved on to a Passo del Sud Appassimento Rosso from Puglia that was as yummy as could be with our mains:

Gressingham Duck Breast was cooked to perfection with the crispiest of skin, Carrot Puree, Fondant Potatoes, Buttered Greens with Beetroot and Turnip. Whilst this dish was the perfection of English meat and potatoes, it really shined on the English garden veggies as well. There was a Pork Belly as well as Hake with Salsa Verde, New Potatoes, Roasted Carrots, Spinach & Cauliflower Puree and Brady Sauce (well, the chalkboard said that, but we figured Brandy!).

Desserts here are excellent from the Coconut Panna Cotta with Passionfruit Gel, Meringue, Chocolate Disc and Pineapple salsa to the Sticky Toffee Pudding, but of course I had to have the local cheeses: Saxon Cross Cheddar, Goat's Mule, Brie(well, who knows how that got in) and of course, the always magnificent Yorkshire Blue.

We have one more night in Yorkshire before heading home and looking forward to another fab meal.

Happy Father's Day & Happy Juneteenth!

CHADWICK's INN in Maltby (Middlesborough, UK) is mighty impressive (6-15-23)

 Our final meal in the Peak District was at our hotel the Maynard which was sadly a carb-heavy unimpressive evening where we hauled ourselves up the stairs to our rooms feeling uneasily laden with a major overabundance of pastry, potato, bread and more.

The next day we headed north to Will's hometown and had a dinner with some family members that was mightily impressive at a small pub-like place called CHADWICK's INN in the small hamlet of Maltby.

I noted the Bib-Michelin  awards on the way in, and was very impressed with the use of local foods on the quite large menu. We all had a truly great meal and the service was also excellent. 

Our first choice for white wine was sold out, so I turned to a delicious Ontañón Vetiver Rioja Blanco 2019 that was wonderfully refreshing and a great blend of lesser known grapes. 

The starters were all superb but one of us said the crab was fab, so Will &  I tried the Dressed Whitby(Yorkshire) Crab, Brown Crab, Crab Pastry, Pickled Cucumber, Horserasdish Mascarpone and Soft herbs. The dish was light, tasty and truly impressive(photos on FB), while others raved about the tomato soup and various options. Since we were so close to the North Sea, I could not resist trying the Butter Poached & Herb Crusted Loin of North Sea Cod, Salt Cod Fishcakes & "French Style Peas" consisting of Fresh garden English peas with lettuce & Pancetta (a traditional French preparation I remember learning how to make while in summer cooking school at the University of Dijon over 50 years ago!).  It was a stupendous preparation and presentation with a crunchy piece of skin atop the loin and the best peas had on the trip. I am not a huge cod fan, but this was indeed the best ever. Will loved his 8 Hour Braised Beef Cheek with Creamed Potato, Honey Glazed Carrots, Kale in a Red Wine & Thyme Sauce.  Sam had the Roasted Cauliflower Steak from the Veggie Menu(they had three menus: a la carte, veggie and a lower priced 2 or 3 course set menu) which can be a staple here in the UK on many menus without many veggie options, but he declared it was excellent.

Everything on the menu sounded super and this was a place I knew I wanted to return to next time.

Desserts were varied from Eton Mess to Sticky Toffee Pudding, but I had to have the cheese which was as novel as local cheeses get: Waterloo (Brie Style), Montgomery Cheddar, Ashlyon Goat and Cornish Beenligh Blue. The plate was a real representation of the literally thousands of local cheeses available across the UK!

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FISCHER's at Baslow Hall in the UK's Peak District is delectable and delicious(6-11-23)

 We disembarked from our cruise Sunday morning, headed to Heathrow to pick up Sam flying in from LA, and headed north several hours to the UK's Peak District for a 3 day visit to an area we have sadly missed duirng our visits here the past 30 years. It's a beautiful hilly region with lots of things to do and of course many dining options. We wanted to dine at FISHER's at Baslow Hall which is a magnificent country home converted to a hotel and one-Michelin star dining establishment where Chef Adam has truly brought out the best of the region and countries cuisine in a modern English mode. We were staying just an 8 minute drive down the road and one of the folks at our hotel mentioned that Chef Adam was her best friend and phoned ahead; needless to say, we were greeted with a wave from him in the kitchen as we arrived.

We sat in the magnificent gardens and enjoyed some super "snacks" or amuses:

Garden grown Radishes(those red and white French varietals) were topped with a French onion cream and black Garlic.

Steamed Bun with veggies for Sam and Devon Crab for us that just melted in your mouth.

We ordered our wine with Neil, who it turns out is the owner's son, and heading inside for the rest our our amuses:

Cheese & Walnut Toastie Rarebit was a great play on the traditional dish in miniature with a fab mustard spice finish. The final amuse which I failed to photograph for Facebook(the rest is there) was the yummy Jerusalem Artichoke Veloute with a Curry Cream and foam with a load of pickled Shimeji Mushrooms in the soup--how amazing and wonderful that was.

Our white wine arrived as Neil sad the Montagny 2019 from Phillipe Colon was a winner, and he was spot on as it has a creamy finish with great minerality. The Bread and Butter arrived and was an irresistible crunchy sourdough with a Lincolnshire Poacher Butter made as a byproduct of cheese!!

Three courses followed with an optional cheese and desserts after that and the whole meal costs 95pounds per person($120US!!). 

For the First course Sam & I had the Aged Carnaroli Rice with a puree of Fresh English peas from the garden, Girolles and Crispy Sorrel with Wild Garlic & Dill oil--a creation indeed from heaven. Will was just as thrilled with his Loch Duart Smoked & Cured Salmon with Brown Shrimp & Sea Buckthorn.

Next came a Yukon Gold Potato with Broad Beans and Lovage for Will & Sam, but the veggie version had a crispy potato skin and Will's a crispy chicken skin al topped with crispy shallots. My Cornish Stone Bass was cooked a la plancha to perfections with a crispy skin, Kohlrabi & Oysters, a bone sauce, trout roe and seaweed. This was the ocean of England on my plate. 

We switched to the last bottle of red Neil said was awesome and boy was he right with the 2015 Okanagan Panted Rock Shiraz from British Columbia, a place we would never think of buying wine from in the UK, even though we know the wines are brilliant from there. This wine had legs and was amazing with the main we ordered: 

Creedy Carver Suck from Surry coming in three forms: breast, confit of leg and liver pate with Almonds, Broccoli Puree, Orange and Sherry Vinegar Sauce with Lemon and Spices. Another brilliant dish offering a little of everything with some of the most beautiful duck in the kingdom.

For the main course Sam had the veggie option of Pot Roast Cauliflower, Passionfruit, Beurre Noisette, Coriander & Aubergine, while he discovered a new beer-Green Mountain IPA.

Cheese--well, of course!! We opted to split one cheese course (4 cheeses for 20pounds=$25, or 25pounds for 6). Our four were amazing and new treats for us that came with all kinds of breads, and grape chutney:

VALENCAY-French unpasturised goat with charcoal powder

LINCOLNSHIRE POACHER DOUBLE BARREL--as in the butter above is an aged unpasturised matured 2-3 years and I describe as "cheddar on crack."

BARKHAM BLUE is a mix of Guernsey & Jersey mil and is so smooth it melts in your mouth

BATH SOFT is a brie style with an earthy flavour

Dessert for Will was Passionfruit, Cow's Milk, Meringue and Oat with dacquoise and syrup(ooops can't read the name).

I had the Brillat Savarin custard with Garden Rhubarb gel, English Strawberries and Sable.

After dinner the chef invited us all into the kitchen for a photo and we left so thrilled we made it to this wonderful dining spot, only to learn the next day that the family has put the entire estate up for sale and this will likely mean the end of FISHER's!! I hope Chef Adam keeps us posted on wherever he roams, as we will follow.

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London's The LEDBURY is a luxurious epicurean experience (5-31-23)

 For our second and last night in London we headed to Notting Hill Gate where we have been dining for years at the wonderful Ledbury restaurant. During our visit to London two years earlier they were still closed for Covid, so we were thrilled to see them open and completely redecorated as well. White linens are crisp, tables are beautifully appointed and behind us the wall had five large panels of recycled wood with mushrooms embedded within, surrounded by smoked mirrors that allowed me facing the wall to see the whole room.

The Ledbury has a tasting menu of 195Pounds and pairs wonderful wines for 130pounds. We never needed to ask the sommelier Jan for extra wine as the pours were generous. Our server Jeremy was the manager and came from Toronto and oozed friendliness as well as made sure we had everything we need.

Like so many places these days house filtered water comes in sparkling or still... Eliminating the need for plastic or glass bottles as it is served from carafes. 

Will settled in with a Campari and tonic while I had a delicious glass of Viognier from Xavier Gerard 2019 in the Condrieu area of the Rhone that was creamy yet loaded with a minerality from the terroir as our multiple amuses arrived:

Charcuterie consisted of Iberian pepe con salami(a tad too fatty for us), bresaola that was light as air and a loin. The presentation on wooden branch-like creations was superb. Tempura fried cod jowls with dill and seaweed emotion were on the other side of the table and then crunchy fun potato puffs were served with an oyster emulsion with Wasabi leaf and tomato jam that you spread on the puffs.

The winner of all of these were the waffles covered with truffle cream and freshly shaved Australian black truffles.

I did forget to take a photo of the first course which was Ike Jime (style of butchering) Chalk Stream Trout(raw) from Hampshire with Isle of Wight Tomato, Spruce and Green shiso and a yummy apple and sorrel sorbet with trout roe. It was paired with a similarly apple-toned 2121 Gruner Veltlliner from Schloss Gobelsburg in Langenlois, Kamptal, Austria.

The rest of the dishes are all available in photographic form on my facebook page. Next came Isle of Mull Scallop(also raw) sliced thin with chilled Blood Orange, Myoga Ginger, Elderberry Capers(who knew?) and a Yuzu Kosho Emulsion. The wine was a Soave Classico 2020 made from 60 year old vines from Vigneti di Foscarino.

I adore sweetbreads and the Veal Sweetbread with wild garlic, vadouvan, salted Gooseberry on a spring onion Velouté was no exception. Super rich and decadent the 2018 Chenin Blanc "Cartology" from Alheit Vineyards in South Africa's Western Cape was the perfect foil to cut the richness.

Bread arrived in the form of sourdough as well as a Laminated Roll with wild garlic, black olive and Cornish Gouda. On the side was a very rich Goat's Whey Butter drizzled with caramelized molasses.

Cornish Wild Sea Bass had Cherry Blossom flowers and English Asparagus emulsion with N25 Kaluga Hybrid Caviar from Germany and some small clams to boot. The fish was delicate yet superb and the caviar a wonderful indulgence. 2018 Riesling "Kallstadter Saumagen" from Kohler-Ruprecht in the Pfalz region of Germany was deliciously dry.

Red wine arrived as the next dish was Mushrooms from the Cabinet. The team here grows mushrooms in a cabinet downstairs that can be observed on all kinds of wood(photos also on FB) as they culture them for serving in the restaurant. We had shitaki in mustard stock, Perigord truffles and silken tofu(non-pressed) in brown miso with chive flowers all paired with a 2105 Pinot Noir from Domaine Charles Audoin " Les Langeroies" Marsannay from Burgundy that was a huge fruit forward experiment.

The main meat course was chef Brett's Iberian pork from Whitley Farm near Birmingham served with chanterelles, white asparagus, XO Morel and Vin Jaune in a green peppercorn and mustard jus.

There was a delicious pork jowl with kombucha as well as a braised belly that was a tad fatty and a deliciously deep fried Pig's head dumpling with truffle and Kimbo ketchup. The wine was also big in the form of a 2018 Grenache Noir Blend from Duncan Savage "Thief in the Night" from Piekenierskloof, South Africa.

We of course were resting constantly and did so again before we moved on to the first dessert of Honey & Sauternes Custard with Apricot, Maple Verjus and Bee Pollen. The main dessert was Gariguette (from France) Strawberry with Sweet Wild Woodruff herbed ice cream, Kelp and Roasted Vanilla. The wine was a yummy 2018 Petit Manseng from Clos Thou in the Jurançon of southwest France.

I guess our team thought we really loved food so much they brought out a chocolate dessert which WOWED us beyond belief with Vanilla Ice cream with Australian truffles, a chocolate shell with custard and chocolate truffles.

Needless to say, there were more little mignardises after this of chocolate truffle with buckwheat and caramel, white chocolate fudge with black truffle and a canelli with praline and almond.

We love the Ledbury, and while we adored almost everything. There was a little bit too much fat in the meal for us. Perhaps it was just two nights in a row that made us a little bit overdosed.

The service here is truly remarkable and the staff are so kind and sweet... We know that we will be back again.