THE PEACOCK INN - Redmile

Church Corner 
Redmile
Nottingham
NG13 0GA


www.thepeacockinnredmile.co.uk


I had heard about the Peacock Inn through a work friend of mine who's family used to own a pub there when she was growing up. She said that the Peacock Inn used to be the place to go back in the early nineties if you lived in one of the local villages and liked to splash your cash. As usual i had one of my trusty discount gourmet cards, and as luck would have it the Peacock Inn was on my list. I wouldn't be splashing to much cash but i thought what better on a cold wintry evening than to have a drive out and investigate.

The promise of a charming 18th century village inn and maybe even a wood burning fire kept me going on the rather long dark road leading to my destination. The building itself had a lot of charm, and looked extremely inviting on this cold snowy evening. On entering, the Inn was very quiet, just a few couples eating and a few locals who looked as though they were sampling some of the real ale on offer. There was a room which seemed to have more formal tables laid out, but as it was quiet we were seated next to the main bar area which was nicely decorated but would probably have felt more cosy had there been more people. As hoped, there was a fire blazing away in the middle of the room,but unfortunately it was still quite cold in there as they had a problem with the main door!

The menu was a bit of a surprise, not the typical village pub food i would have expected, much more of an a la carte menu. I did also spot that there was a set menu available and this seemed fairly reasonably priced. I'd heard that they tried to use local produce as much as possible, which is always a positive for me and i was keen to sample some dishes that i hadn't had before.  I was quite spoilt for choice by their menu, which i must say read very well. The service was friendly and attentive but perhaps a little too formal for me.

James and i both chose starters of Scallops with cauliflower puree and pancetta with a watercress salad.

 The scallops were cooked beautifully, really juicy and sweet, and i was pleasantly surprised by the subtlety of the cauliflower puree as i am not a huge fan. The pancetta was perfectly crisp and the saltiness worked really nicely with the sweet fish. Now i know why this dish is always a favourite with those Masterchef contestants! Only problem was, i polished the dish off in a mater of minutes and wanted more. 


I forgot to mention that we also ordered a rather delicious bowl of hand-cut chips cooked in beef dripping alongside our starters. Perhaps a little greedy you might say, but we could not resist the opportunity to try them. We were more than happy when the bowl arrived, brimming with perfectly crisp chips, which were perfectly fluffy inside. Unfortunately we got so distracted by eating them that i failed to take a picture.


On to mains. I chose whole roasted partridge with cabbage, fondant potato and pear. Whilst James opted for sea bream with mussels,saffron potatoes and a creamy leek and white wine sauce.

When my plate arrived it was fair to say i was extremely impressed with the presentation, not sure what i think to square plates though. Only problem was i was unsure how to tackle my little partridge. The meat was well cooked, and having never had partridge before i found the flavour of the meat quite subtle, and suprisingly not unlike chicken. The potato cake sitting underneath was a little firm for my tastes but well seasoned. One of the highlights was the lovely mixture of the cabbage and crisp pieces of bacon running through it, combined with the small sweet pieces of pear this was a really lovely combination. My only niggle would be, it needed more of that lovely gravy or 'reduction' as some might say,to stop the meat and potato from feeling too dry.

Not wanting to feel left out, we sampled each others meals. The sea bream was again very well cooked, with rather lovely crisp skin. The sauce was rich and packed with flavour of the wine and leeks, and i think this kind of sauce works really well with a light fish like bream. The saffron tinted potatoes had quite a subtle flavour, but seemed a little hard and undercooked. 


I was feeling pretty full at this point but i didn't say no to the offer of a peek at the dessert menu. Strangely there was nothing i felt tempted by so we just got the bill. I would definitely go back to the Peaock Inn. I would probably give the set menu a try as this seemed like good value, and there was a good choice of courses available. The food here is of a very high quality, and you can tell it has been prepared with a lot of skill and care. It's even worth that rather scary journey along 3 miles of dark country roads if you're brave enough, or perhaps i'll just wait until the summer when i can explore the scenic vale of belvoir somemore!


Price for food £46.00
Total price with dining card £23.00

AMARONE - Nottingham

112-114 Derby Rd
Nottingham NG1 5FB



The range of pubs and eateries on Derby road and up by the Canning Circus area of Nottingham seems to have been improving over the last couple of years, and i was keen to try one of the only independent Italian restaurant Nottingham has to offer, Amarone.


On first impressions its decor was far from the typical cosy Italian you might usually expect, all high backed leather chairs and cream walls, with handwritten chalkboards and muted lighting decorating the room.
As it was a week night the restaurant wasn't very busy so it lacked a little atmosphere, but our waitress seemed very pleasant and helpful. 


As always my dining partner for the evening  was my boyfriend James, and we decided on starters of 'Deep fried Calamari with Lemon Napoli Sauce'  and 'Tallegio and Leek Tartler with Cream and Chive Sauce'

When the calamari arrived the batter on the squid looked a little lumpy and dark and on first taste was not as hot or crisp, as i would have liked. I also didn't really enjoy the combination of the tomato sauce with the squid and would have prefered a nice sharp mayonaise. It wasn't that the tomato sauce was bad, in fact it had a nice flavour, i just don't think it suited this particular dish.
Unfortunately i do not have a picture of the Tallegio tart as not a lot of it remained on the plate by the time i remembered to photograph it. This starter, however,proved a lot more successful, it comes highly rated by James.


There is a good choice of main meals available, and i liked that it wasn't just the usual pizza, pastas and risottos you might normally be met with when reading an Italian menu. I decided to go for 'Mediterranean Lamb Stew, Herb Dumplings and Crusty Home-made Bread' ( i am a sucker for dumplings) and James had 'Pork Loin, Fig & Prosciutto Sauce with Lyonnais Potatoes'  

When the plates arrived i was impressed with the presentation of the dishes especially the pork. The stew had lovely pieces of slow cooked lamb in that just came apart as you forked through the dish, along with some nicely cooked baby potatoes and carrots and squash. The sauce itself was lovely and rich,you could tell it has all been cooked down properly and not just made in the last 20 minutes. However, being a big dumpling fan, i was a little disappointed at the small amount on the dish and would have definately have appreciated a more generous offering. The bread was a suprise highlight, i'm not sure how 'homemade' it really was but it tasted good and was lovely dipped into the rich tomato sauce. So, now over to the pork, which James and i both agreed,had a great smoked taste to it, but had been overcooked, and was therefore a bit of a nightmare to chew through. What a shame, as the flavours were very good, and the fig sauce and potatoes all worked well together.

On to the final, and nearly always the highlight of the evening, the dessert. I was spoilt for choice by Amarones dessert menu, and would have happily had a bit of all of them. However i decided on Chocolate Truffle Cake with vanilla ice cream and James went for Apple and Almond Tart with Creme Anglaise, (which is basically a posh word for custard). 

When the desserts arrived they looked great, very generously sized and with the usual sprig of mint and fruit garnish you tend to get. We both wanted a bit of each so did a bit of a swap before tucking in. The chocolate cake was very rich, but not overly sweet. The slightly bitter chocolate tasted good alongside the well flavoured vanilla ice cream. The truffle cake just needed a little more of the biscuit base to help balance out the very dense truffle. The apple and almond tart was one of the best desserts i have had, in fact i was disappointed that i hadn't just ordered this and had it all to myself. The pastry was light and buttery, and the filling had a good balance of soft sharp apple and sweet almond. Again, my only criticism would be that it needed a little more custard, sorry, i mean Creme Anglaise! 

Price without taste card promotion £45.50. Final price with reduction £23.25.


UPDATE! AMARONE HAS NOW CLOSED AS OF JAN 2011

EL RANCHO DE LALO - Brixton

94-95 Brixton Village Market

London

SW9 8PS

I initially ended up at the Brixton Village Market, having read a review on the London Evening Standard website about the rejuvenation of this particular area over the last year, and a rather delicious sounding Caribbean place called ‘Etta’s Seafood Restaurant’ which had been receiving rave reviews. During my food pilgrimages to the capital I realised I had never visited Brixton so thought this would be the ideal time to go.

So, I arrive at the Brixton village market, and locate the rather unassuming enclosed arcade area, which fits the description i have read. Wandering through I am immediately like a kid in a toyshop. I see a fantastic looking cafés, a creperie, little delis and sop on . So many new and exciting looking places that all plans of heading straight to ‘Etta’s’ were on hold while I decided to explore a little more. As I got to the end of the arcade I noticed a rather busy looking restaurant called ‘El Rancho De Lalo’ which, through a quick look at the menu was serving Colombian cuisine.  I stick my head around the door for a closer look as the menu has me intrigued, and hear a host of Colombian accents coming from the kitchen and the diners. At this point I was fairly optimistic that I was going to receive a fairly authentic experience.

When the meal arrived it was a fairly enormous plate filled with some of the tastiest looking grilled meats alongside a range of interesting accompaniments including avocado and plaintain. The pork belly was just how it should be, crunchy with a lovely smoky flavour and soft meat, steak cooked to nearly well done, but that’s how I personally like it.  It also featured some of the best kidney beans in a rich sauce, which reminded me a bit of Mexican refried beans, and a surprisingly good combo of egg with plaintain and rice. There are those that would say it just shouldn’t work, but it did, and it was one of the most enjoyable plates of food I have had in London. It is fair to say that this dish is made for those who have big appetites. With so much meat, as well as the rice and beans you probably wouldn’t need to eat for the rest of the day if you had this at lunch! I shared this with my boyfriend and we were both fit to burst by the end.  I was impressed by some of the other diners who were tucking into one each, they'd obviously had a lot of practice!

Total meal cost £9.00