Hambleton Hall is a highlight of our trip in the British Midlands(12-29-18)

Hambleton Hall is  located just outside the very beautiful and old town Oakham in the Rutland district of the central midlands of England. 

 Originally built as a hunting lodge for a wealthy man it went into disrepair over the years and was purchased in the 1970s by the couple who have made it into one of the most beautiful and simple retreats that belong to the Relais et Chateaux group.  Chef Aaron Patterson has earned a Michelin star here making this a definitely 1st choice overnight stay for anyone heading from North to South or vice a versa.

 You were welcomed into the bar or drawing room before dinner starts and offered a multiple choice of cocktails along with some small hor's d'oevres.

 As is typical with English country houses you then get to peruse the menu and order before you were escorted into the dining room;  I also consulted with the sommelier, as we were not driving anywhere and could enjoy both a bottle of white and red wine.

 There a tasting menus and 3 course and 4 course menus and many options to choose from and the menu changes on a daily basis.

We ordered a Saint Peray 2106 Biousse from Yves Cuilleron,  whom I had the pleasure of meeting some 20 years ago and is one of my favorite wine makers in the Rhone Valley.  It's a delicious creamy terroir driven 100% Marsanne wine that goes superbly with so many things.

 Spelt, Beer, and Brown and White sourdough bread arrived with creamy rich butter as we enjoyed our amuse of Cauliflower with granola which was really a warm puree of Cauliflower glistened with truffle oil and touched with unsweetened granola and puffed wild rice along with pumpkin seeds.

 Will and Sam started with the black Winter truffle Risotto which disappeared in seconds, while I savored my multi-faceted Mosaic Terrine of Sweetbreads, Chicken, Foie gras Quince fruit and gelee and puree as well as Blackberries. It was amazing with the Marsanne.

 Samuel enjoyed a second course of Spicy Israeli Couscous which came from the full vegetarian tasting menu but was substituted for the fish course on the main menu. Will and I adored the fresh Poached Fillet of Brill Nicoise with Quail's Egg, Sauce Vierge(tomato based), white anchovy and sea asparagus.  Many delicious vegetables accompanied the dish, but we could never figure out what was inside the deep fried tempura may be a string bean?

 We moved on to our red wine which was a 2007 La Rioja Alta Gran reserva 904 which was in amazing form after aging for 11 years.  We've had this wine before but I can't recall drinking one aged so well.

Samuel and I both enjoyed the amazing and unfortunately way too big portion of moist Roast Pheasant with sweetcorn Risotto, Japanese artichokes both sliced and fried as well as a Madeira sauce with a hint of cherry. Puffed rice and grilled corn accompanied the dish as well as what is known is sea rosemary. Will was  equally happy with his short rib of beef which had been cooked for 30 hours and served with smoked potato puree and red wine sauce although he asked for them to please keep the horse radish off the plate...how un-English.

 While we had seen the cheese tray go by and literally lost our minds over the gorgeous cheeses, we decided that we all needed to share one dessert so Sam chose the Prune and our Armagnac souffle with Prune and Armagnac ice cream which was the perfect finale to art amazing evening here.

 Service was top notch from start to finish but extra kudos go to Laura who was an amazing server and so totally kind and friendly. When we found out she was from Barcelona we immediately told her of our favorite restaurant there.

 Because we were only here one night we were not really able to enjoy the walking paths and hiking around the beautiful man made Lake which surrounds the entire peninsula that the mansion house is on.  I guess this means will have to go back when the weather is better!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Jose Pizarro Tapas in London for a lark (12-16-18)

We wanted a lighter meal after the previous night's degustation and everyone at the Shangri-La at the Shard, where we are ensconced for the weekend, suggest Jose Pizarro Tapas in Southwark. We had been told there were no reservations, which always scares Will, but we arrived and a table had just opened up. The place is tiny with no more room for thirty diners and the team of servers move fast to get the food from the miniscule open kitchen facing us to the floor.

We ordered in spurts which was smart as everything comes out quite fast and the first round was Boquerones with Parsley & Garlic that we oohed and aahed over and by chance the Sicilian server brought another plate by mistake and said is was gratis! Sam chose the Pan de Tomate which oozed with EVOO and also asked for Gordal Olives, which were huge green juicy olives in an herby oil with grapefruit slices and a kind of pickled veggie(okra-ish?).

Will and I started with a glass of 2017 Mervayon Godello and realized the by the glass approach was a ripoff and ordered a bottle of a superb red chosen by the one Spanish server who said we would love the Solanera 2015 , a blend of Monastrell/Cabernet Sauvignon/Garnacha with an amazingly jammy rich flavor.

Croquettas of melt in your mouth ham and cheese were amazing as were the Norwegian Cod Fritters with an amazing spicy piquillo salsa. Sam raved about the Patatas Bravas with two sauces of tomato and garlic aioli, which he would not even let us taste a bite of, so we ordered our own! Jamon Iberico was a letdown as it was quite fatty, althought he nonfat jamon was impressive. Better was the Grilled Pluma Iberica 5J, a grilled pork loin that was spiced gorgeously, but a bit oversalted. We told the server that some of the dishes tended to be oversalted and she agreed. The same was with the Pulpo alla Gallega, perfectly grilled octopus on abed of mashed potatoes.

Padron Peppers were delicious, but I fear a bit out of season, so quite small.

The Torta Espanola, here called a Tortilla was of potato, egg and onion and was a bug winner with Sam; I can't ever recall seeing one so high(check the FB fotos).

Jose Pizarro apparently has multiple locations and I can see why he is a big success. He would win superstar status with a bit less salt!

It was a great preparation for Spain as we board the Queen Elizabeth tomorrow headed to the Canary Islands!

the Ledbury in London is truly a luxurious experience(12-15-17)

Each time I have set foot in London for the past decade, I have made the point of dining at The Ledbury.  This trip we only have two nights here, so we landed, rested for much of the day and then headed across town for our two Michelin star experience.

 

I had already advised the hotel Sam was vegetarian and they had their tasting menu for that, and it was no issue when we asked them to add in poultry. The only choice on Saturday is a 6 or 8 course tasting and we were fine with that...

 Will and I settled in with cocktails called Mezcal tonic of Ilegal Joren Mezcal, thyme and FeverTree Lemon Tonic, while Sam ordered a mocktail, of which he had many throughout the meal paired with all of his courses.

Canapes or Amuses arrived in droves:

Sea weed crisp with smoked mussel

and for Sam the veggie Sunflower crisp with artichoke and lemon.

 We all had the Guinea fowl puff with mead jelly which was amazing and then we had the

Warm  Crumpet with Brown crab butter and potted shrimp while Sam's crumpet had Tamworth cream and crispy shallots.

 Everyone here works in a team and it's really amazing how you are never ever left on watched or in need of anything. Javier and Steph were our lead servers with sommelier Patrick doing all the pouring and in many cases reporting the refills, which were never refused.

 We had not been to The Ledbury in several years and of course right after we went last time they had the horrible under riots which resulted in a lot of damage to the front glass windows and dining room.  It's been redone and redecorated and now they're a beautiful chandelier is which were decorated with branches and blown glass droplet ornaments hanging from the branches, still maintaining the original feel and again with only a handful of tables. Zalto crystal is now used which is classy, but a bit too light for my tatse; I like to feel the weight of the wine glass. Our first wine was a 2016 Alvarinho, Deu La Deu, Adega de Moncso from the Vinho Verde region of Portugal. It's the first time I had an oaked Albarino and it was spectacular and it was the first of many brilliant pairings with Marinated Sea Bream (tartare)with horseradish, seaweed oil and a light cream.

Samuel's first course was a gorgeous Artichoke salad.  He moved on to a white beetroot baked in clay with goat cheese and hazelnut which was paired with an Afghan rosebud spritzer.

Our next course was the same White Beetroot,  But it doing with caviar salt and smoked eel. The wine was a 2016 Riesling Trocken, Clemens Busch from Mosel; a bone dry organic wine with loads of mineral flavors from the blue and black shale terroir.

Warm Porridge Sourdough bread arrived with a thick crunchy crust and Goat's Whey butter with molasses!!  There are tons of pictures on Facebook but I think I forgot the delicious bread.

I think we all agreed that our favorite course of the evening was of the Warm Bantam's Egg with celeriac, Arbois, dried ham and chestnuts but for Sam instead of the ham he managed to get shaved truffles!!  The magnificent egg just used all over the place and it was truly an amazing dish. Sam's paired tail was made with Apple lemon and fennel while we enjoyed a 2014 Rully Vielles Vignes, Gresigny 1er Cru from Vincent Dureuil-Janthial in Burgundy that was much thicker than any Rully I have had with gorgeous lines and legs in the glass!

 

Cornish Cod with Toasted Grains,  Parsley and Cauliflower puree was next, while Sam has a Salt Baked Kabu Turnip in Padron Pepper sauce with dried olives and Ewe's milk ricotta.

Our wine was a South African 2017 Tin Soldier Semillon Gris from Thorne & Daughters in Swartland.  We had this amazing rose while in Africa and have come to love it.

 

The next course was simply called Agen Prune as the prune comes from that place in France. Ours was with an unreal Earl Grey Tea and Bacon Sauce and was stuffed with Guinea Fowl stuffing!! A 2015 Cuvee Maisons-Dieu Domaine Violot-Guillemard from Burgundy was our first red and a magnificent Pinot Noir that was earthy and less fruity than the ones from the US.

Sam got the Roast Cauliflower with Chanterelles and Yeast paired with Jasmine tea with Lemongrass and Yuzu, a kind of sweet and sour drink that mixologist Dan created on the spot; he was brilliant behind the bar!

 

The "main" course was a perfectly cooked just past rare Aged Pigeon from Anjou, France which had been presented while at the table earlier on a nest of hay as it was roasted over that for flavor. It was served with Endive cooked in Grilled Oil, red leaves (radicchio,) and veggies all in a thick pigeon jus with truffle cream that had hints of BBQ flavors. On the side were 3 small skewers with grilled heart, liver and wing which were a triumph of flavor in themselves. Alas, Sam, newly a poultrytarian(?), had to surrender his to me! Sam drank stem ginger, cranberry and lime while we adored gutsy 2015 Saumur-Champigny, La Folie from Chateau Yvonne in the Loire that we just had to get refills on.

 

Pre-dessert was a Pumpkin (Custard)Chantilly with Dandelion ice cream and Whey Caramel that we all loved and Sam went on to the regular dessert of Christmas Tart of clementine and nutmeg which at first he didn't seem to like but managed to gobble up. Will and I chose the cheese trolley as Steph carefully explained the spread and we chose, but I opted not to write down the choices(look at the FB foto and try and guess!). The wine was an Albert Boxler 2012 Grand Cru Brand Riesling from Alsace that was fascinating with lots of minerals hidden amongst a trace of light sweetness.

 

 As if this was not enough a happy 10th anniversary plate of chocolate and crunches arrived, Even though I had explained to the staff that it was not Will and mine 10th anniversary, but my 10th anniversary of first coming to the Ledbury!!

 Of course mignardies arrived and these were exquisite chocolate eucalyptus truffles, but even better were the crispy caramel, lime and juniper sticks!! What a way to go home!

 It would take a lot to make me change my mind that there is a better restaurant in the British Isles, indeed The Ledbury  is surely one of the finest dining destinations I can think of on Earth.