Trvalý odkaz Pridané používateľom Anonymný (bez overenia) dňa So, 11/30/2024 - 07:10
There is something reassuringly robust about The <br>
<br>
Punch Bowl Inn. Not just in the old-fashioned <br>
<br>
bar, where the Wainwright Gold is well kept and a huge leather sofa sits before a blazing wood burner; or in the dining room, solid and comfortable, with its old <br>
<br>
beams, well-trodden wooden floors and tables unadorned with cloths;<br>
<br>
it's in the menu, too, mainly British with a Gallic burr, that makes full <br>
<br>
use of the magnificent local Lake District larder.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Stornoway black pudding with crispy egg and bubble and <br>
<br>
squeak: ‘pure Cumbrian comfort by way of Lewis', is <br>
<br>
Tom's verdict<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
We're here with Peter Gott, that great Cumbrian hero, and the man behind Sillfield Farm, who has invited me up <br>
<br>
to cook at the Westmorland County Show; also chef Phil Vickery, <br>
<br>
who certainty knows his alliums; and the force of nature that is Lorraine Stanton, <br>
<br>
something of a legend around these parts.<br>
<br>
But first dinner, and a sublime twice-baked Mrs Kirkham's cheese soufflé, the texture as <br>
<br>
light as a sigh, the flavour profoundly, lasciviously rich.<br>
<br>
Mrs Kirkham's, now made by her son Graham, is one of the world's great cheeses, <br>
<br>
and this is a soufflé of quiet majesty. A mushroom soup is equally splendid, <br>
<br>
managing to be both light and gutsy, while Stornoway black <br>
<br>
pudding with bubble and squeak and a deep-fried egg is pure Cumbrian comfort <br>
<br>
by way of Lewis.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
There's a fundamental generosity here, matched by assured technical precision. Duck à l'orange sees a plump breast cooked rare, the <br>
<br>
skin crisp, the sauce just the right side of bitter.<br>
<br>
It comes with a fat potato fondant and cabbage spiked with shards of smoked bacon. I eat rump of lamb, four vast just-pink slices, drenched <br>
<br>
in the stickiest, most gloriously intense of gravies; by its side, a tiny <br>
<br>
shepherd's pie, one bite of pure ovine brilliance.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Puddings are every bit as fine: a lemon tart, beautifully sharp, with damson sorbet (this <br>
<br>
part of the Lake District is famed for its <br>
<br>
damsons); along with a banana soufflé, this time the classic version but ethereal, served with vanilla ice <br>
<br>
cream and a pot of sticky-toffee sauce to pour deep into its molten centre.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
This is good old-fashioned food, immaculately done, in the sort of pub designed for lingering.<br>
<br>
It's getting late now, and we've an early start. But first, <br>
<br>
another bottle of wine. Dinners like this are too rare to be rushed.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<b><u>About £45 per head. The Punch Bowl Inn, Crosthwaite, <br>
<br>
Cumbria; the-punchbowl.co.uk</u></b><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
★★★★✩ <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Here is my website - <a href="https://linkagogo.trade/story.php?title=%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%81%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%89%E0%B9%83%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%9E-%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B5%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%83%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%81%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2">discuss</a>
There is something