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