A call to arms was recently issued from the pages of Sevenstreets recently [http://www.sevenstreets.com/23743/peninsula-dining-rooms/], calling for some attention to be given to the venture headed by chef Ross Gray and partner Mandy, having experienced a tough period in very tight economic times. The article by David Lloyd was a timely call to arms, as our experience of the Peninsula Dining Rooms was an ultimately satisfying and pleasing end to what started out as a rather sour excursion over to Hoylake. Having received an invitation to a menu launch at Coda Maine on Market Street in Hoylake, a group of friends and I arrived to an absence of any food at the bar and upon the kitchen sending out slates of chicken wings and salad found locals (we suspect) effectively monopolising the wares of the menu launch. Not great publicity for other visitors, especially when staff were also tucking into the food at the expense of other guests. Thankfully, the invite was a free event but the organisation was exceptionally poor, making our visit a rather hollow one. The bar itself was nothing exceptional; a small venue which had a live act following the food which was meant to be given out to customers, there is a pretty average selection of drinks and beers set to compliment the menu, which also looked fairly standard. The establishment is set to make up numbers on Market Street currently, with its previous incarnation ‘La Bodega’ closing to make way. Suffice to say we left rather hungry; serendipitously two of our party had read the Sevenstreets article and placed a reservation for Peninsula, who accommodated us at short notice with little fuss. A warm greeting and smiles were a balm for what had been a disappointing and wet evening in Wirral, thankfully this was a indication of happier experiences ahead. The Peninsula Dining Rooms is a cosy and unpretentious dining environment, comfortable and well maintained with an uninterrupted view of the toil in the kitchen from most of the tables. The atmosphere was palpably calm; the clientele soothed by food, service and surroundings. The offering of 2 or 3 courses on a reduced rate certainly encouraged people to be a bit more adventurous, especially in view of a fairly diverse menu for an establishment of a modest size. The restaurant has an emphasis on supporting not just local produce, of which Wirral and Merseyside has an understated quality which is pushed to the fore by Gray, but supporting local charities with a small donation taken for bottled water at each table. They have commendably raised handsome sums for previous charities, with small nuances such as the sale of breadcrumbs and the water donation adding only warmth to the place. Sadly, for somewhere championing local produce, the choice of beers was sadly very lacking, whilst Liverpool and the wider Merseyside area has undergone something of a renaissance with small craft and real ale brewing, none of that was on display at Peninsula, only Peroni and Heineken beers of note... not exactly local I am sure you'd agree. The English Rosé wine might also need some further consideration, as my companion remarked it wasn't as pleasant as she had hoped, even less impressed following the price tag. An area of potential improvement for sure. Starters ranged from the unusual (for example, chickpea chips with garlic mayonnaise or the occasional soup of the day such as the eyebrow raising ‘herb lollipop’) to the slightly more conventional such as mackerel, fishcakes and cheese pepper tarts. Each of these is given the attention it surely deserves, the chickpea chips unusual but pleasantly conceived and perfectly seasoned with a crisp coating and tofu-like interior. The fishcakes were wonderfully sweet flavoured with a satisfying level of integrity, so often laden with too much potato in an effort to bulk the dish out. The mackerel, although presented well and generally cooked perfectly, suffered from being a little too salty. Main courses were treated with as much care and respect as the starters, them being well thought out and competently executed dishes filling the menu. The burgers were presented to be succulent and stacked generously with toppings; the flavours matched the appearance in an age when the region is experiencing a veritable love-in with meat patties. The sea bass was a superb combination with two crisp skinned fillets riding atop spinach and pak choi in chilli garlic sauce, encircled by the outer crunch and soft centred -globes of deep fried pea risotto which also provided a backbone to the dish and vehicle for the sauces. The menu provides vegetarian options, not as an afterthought, but pleasingly considerate in the form of a sumptuous butternut squash gnocchi with peppers and goats cheese or a sweet and filling red onion tart tatin with mascarpone and garlic fries. The ham hock provided some excitement through the soft textured hock itself, smear of warming piccalilli and the prospective decadence of deep fried black pudding bon-bons, which more than lived up to the literal sense of their moniker. Desserts ranged from the warm, comforting and familiar to the playful and exploratory. Gray has possibly been influenced in the conception of ‘Seaside Fun’ by the Great British Menu; a playful nod to confectionery associated with British resorts through a combination of popcorn, candy floss, jellies amusingly presented on pebbles, flanked by shortbread and honeycomb. While apparently disparate, it provides the perfect foil to the bedrock of the other courses and should be commended for injecting some fun into proceedings. The other desserts such as cinnamon and brioche French toast, cheeses, affogato and fruit tartlets provide more conventional sweets to end a meal, which sadly does have to end somewhere. The amalgamation of passion, skill and care provide an excellent foundation for the Peninsula Dining Rooms which can only be built on. A visit is thoroughly recommended to ensure that they do. Pedro. ------------------------- The Peninsula Dining Rooms can be found at: 3 Grosvenor Road, New Brighton, Wirral, CH45 2LW. Website: http://www.peninsula-dining-room.co.uk/ Telephone:+44 (0) 151 639 8338 Twitter: http://twitter.com/peninsuladining
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Ever felt like a roast dinner, but with a slightly healthier slant? Ever felt that making a roast, especially for one or two people is just a bit too much of an ask following a heavy Saturday? Well, this recipe might just be a happy medium, with relatively less stress and preparation required in order to get a plate of warming, tasty roasted chicken at a reasonable price (should you have some of the ingredients to hand of course). What you need: 2 Chicken quarters (available at a pretty cheap price at most supermarkets or butchers – make sure they have the drumstick and thigh on) 1.5 to 2 pints of Chicken or Vegetable stock 1 large Courgette (15-20cm long) 2 Sticks of celery 75-100g Pearl Barley 300g of Black Eyed Beans 3 medium sized Cloves of Garlic 1 medium sized White Onion 1 Lemon 1 Lime 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil Salt and Pepper to season What to do: 1. Thinly slice the onion and garlic, fry them in a pan until turning slightly brown with the chicken quarters, score the chicken skin slightly diagonally across the quarters 3 times. Whilst the chicken is frying, in a saucepan bring the chicken stock to the boil and add the pearl barley to the stock and simmer for 45 minutes (picture 2). 2. Strip away some of the lime and lemon peel using a zester or grater, put this to one side. Cut the lemon and lime in half or quarters and place around the chicken quarters in foil (see picture 1). Make sure to add the garlic/onion too, wrap the foil up into a packet with a small vent to allow some steam to escape. Place this on a baking tray in the oven at 225 degrees Celsius or gas mark 7 for 30 minutes. 3. Chop the courgette, celery and drain the black eyed beans (if from a can, if cooking from dried, ensure that you follow the instructions to soak and then cook as appropriate). Add these to the stock and pearl barley (picture 3), top up with a little water if needed and simmer for 10-15 minutes with the zest of the lemon and lime from step 2. The barley, beans and vegetables should be in a very thick sauce at this point to ensure the entire dish remains moist. 4. To finish the chicken, open the foil and remove the lemon and lime and allow the chicken skin to crisp up – this should take 10-15 mins or so. 5. Make a bed of the barley, beans and vegetables, place the chicken over the top and season lightly. Bon appetite!
Pedro. Generally speaking, those people that are acquainted with me know my feelings regarding chain restaurants and PubCos (let’s just say it’s not usually a pleasant tirade I venture on when asked). On this occasion, I was more than a little curious to wander into town to investigate the opening of a new branch of the Brown’s (which has now been operating in one form or another since 1973) in Liverpool One to coincide with its 40th Anniversary. Upon doing a bit of research and speaking to a couple of colleagues who had been to other branches in the UK, very consistent opinions were brought forth; mainly consisting of ‘decent if unspectacular’, ‘well-put-together pub menu food’ and ‘classic dishes done well, but nothing mind-blowing’. Possibly less than generous and not a singing appraisal of what Brown’s brings to the table; but not entirely misleading either. In fact, I’d venture it’s actually less than they deserve based on the strength of the preparation of the food myself and cohort were given upon our visit. Thankfully on this visit, having a few friends along for the ride made exploration of the menu a less greedy affair than if I’d attempted to try more than 2-3 courses alone. Upon being seated in the wood, glass and brass (a nod to the classic 1930s feel the restaurant seems to aspire to) surroundings we were enthusiastically encouraged to try and order as much variety from the menu as possible, thankfully the variety of the menu made doing so quite easy. A difficult selection had to be made for the starter with crab, lobster, scallops, venison, tuna carpaccio and goat’s cheese all making an appearance. The tuna, lobster and venison dishes were all chosen by my colleagues, whilst I elected to pursue a crab and avocado stack. As a confession, I am less than enamoured with avocado usually, but on this occasion it performed its role perfectly in allowing the salty sweet white crab to sing atop its platform. A brittle rectangular crostini presented some additional texture and a means to dilute the rich stack of cucumber, crab, tomato, avocado and dressing. The soft, sweet and tangy tuna carpaccio was excellently executed aside from an over-generous glug of vinegar-acidity, most likely from the Dijon mustard. The slaw and other elements complimented the sashimi grade tuna very well indeed. The rather Spartan portion of lobster croquettes was initially a disappointment, with two golden-brown parcels leaning on a small salad, however; having broken into the crisp shell there awaited a superbly seasoned and flavoursome filling of lobster meat and potato only serving to highlight a requirement for at least one more croquette to be entirely sure that you loved it. The venison, as with the tuna, was deliciously pink and served easily on the eye and with a flavour to accompany. The mains were rather more standard options; with two steaks (rib-eye) both cooked succulently and presented with proper chips to mop up any residual steak juice, a pasta dish combining crab and king prawns and the wild boar and chorizo burger. All dishes were presented well and cooked equally so, although running out of pie was a slight disappointment to my colleague, he had soon forgotten about crusty pastry when presented with a generous slab of boar, cheese and chorizo. The selection on the menu covered salads, seafood and grill options that if they are all executed thus, form the bedrock to a very pleasantly solid dining experience. On this visit, I did decide to be greedy and partake in dessert, along with two of my cohort. Brown’s do specialise in chocolate brownies, with the option taken to test this boast on the dark chocolate and pistachio ice cream offering. The brownie was soft and giving with a lovely balance handled by the ice cream, nothing to set fireworks off, but satisfying nonetheless. The salted caramel cheesecake is very a la mode, but well presented and given an added dimension with the lime sauce and drizzled caramel around a well made tranche of cheesecake. The Eton Mess was a variation on a theme and again, well put together with cherries, white chocolate, meringue and cream, looks of softened satisfaction were present all round the table. As with any restaurant that had just opening (or about to open in this case), there were some teething problems present with the staff co-ordination, but expect these to be ironed out in due course as the enthusiastic members of the team become comfortable in their roles. Everyone was friendly with a pleasant attitude on the evening and made dining at Brown’s an enjoyable experience. In terms of price, some dishes are more reasonably priced than others and they hide the cost of the beers altogether in the drinks menu which can lead to a little unpleasant bill reading if you’ve put a few pints away. A well thought out menu, cooked well, presented well and paired with a comfortable environment in which to dine, this is another good option for a dining experience in the city. Until next time!! Pedro. --------------------------------- Browns can be found at: 43a Paradise Street, Liverpool, L1 3EU Telephone: 01517 091 693 Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrownsLiverpool |
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