There is something reassuringly robust about The <br>
<br>
Punch Bowl Inn. Not just in the old-fashioned 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 <br>
<br>
old beams, well-trodden wooden floors and tables unadorned with <br>
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cloths; it's in the menu, too, mainly British with a Gallic burr, that makes full use of the magnificent <br>
<br>
local Lake District larder.<br>
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Stornoway black pudding with crispy egg and bubble and squeak: ‘pure <br>
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Cumbrian comfort 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 <br>
<br>
knows his alliums; and the force of nature that is Lorraine Stanton, something <br>
<br>
of a legend around these parts. But first dinner, and <br>
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a sublime twice-baked Mrs Kirkham's cheese soufflé, the texture as light as a sigh,<br>
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the flavour profoundly, lasciviously rich. Mrs Kirkham's, <br>
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now made by her son Graham, is one of the world's great cheeses, and this is a soufflé of quiet majesty.<br>
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A mushroom soup is equally splendid, managing to be both light and gutsy, while Stornoway black <br>
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pudding with bubble and squeak and a deep-fried egg <br>
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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 à l'orange sees a plump breast <br>
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cooked rare, the skin crisp, the sauce just the right side of bitter.<br>
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It comes with a fat potato fondant and cabbage spiked with shards of smoked bacon. I <br>
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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, <br>
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a tiny shepherd's pie, one bite of pure ovine brilliance.<br>
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Puddings are every bit as fine: a lemon tart, <br>
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beautifully sharp, with damson sorbet (this part of <br>
<br>
the Lake District is famed for its damsons); along <br>
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with a banana soufflé, this time the classic version but ethereal, served with <br>
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vanilla ice cream and a pot of sticky-toffee sauce to pour deep into its molten centre.<br>
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This is good old-fashioned food, immaculately done, in the sort of pub designed for lingering.<br>
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It's getting late now, and we've an early start.<br>
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But first, another bottle of wine. Dinners like this are too rare <br>
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to be rushed.<br>
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About £45 per head. The Punch Bowl Inn, Crosthwaite, Cumbria; the-punchbowl.co.uk<br>
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★★★★✩ <br>
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