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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Burgers are currently at the forefront of the recent penetration of ‘dirty’ American-style cuisine to hit the UK restaurant market. They are usually a safe bet; you know what you’re getting (usually) aside from the ‘accessories’ or side dishes that accompany the burger. There are usual one or two minor questions to answer along the way with ordering a burger, for example; how does the establishment handle the bun? Is it a brioche style bun or a soft but toasted sesame seed bun, or is it a bog-standard floury effort? Then there’s the issue of the aforementioned ‘accessories’; is there a cornichon (whole gherkin) present, is salad present nestling above the burger, how about onion rings and relish or sauces? I have sung the simplistic virtues of a burger in a previous article (right here: [http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/1/post/2011/12/the-art-of-making-a-burger.html], funny that you should ask…), where there were very few places that provided decent burger satisfaction, one decent one (NOT Gourmet Burger Kitchen) and many provided frozen ready-made burgers, there are now a number of options. There has now been a proliferation of patties across the city in recent months, with the arrival of many American bistro/diner establishments in the shape of Free State Kitchen, Nolita Cantina and other establishments such as Attic providing solid candidates for ‘best burger’. We should expect another arrival in the coming months if rumours are to be believed, with ‘Almost Famous’ making a tentative march down the M62 from Manchester’s Northern Quarter (maybe). Now Byron Hamburgers [http://www.byronhamburgers.com/] have taken over a unit in Liverpool One just on Paradise Street Near to Jamie’s Italian and John Lewis. Choosing a Saturday evening to test out a new place is not my usual thing, but on this occasion compulsion, hunger and coincidence got the better of me. Byron’s was very busy when we arrived, so the atmosphere was lightly buzzing, albeit with a slightly canteen-style atmosphere. The choice to sit outside was an easy one to make considering the inside was rather clammy and warm and the start to proceedings was not really the best in terms of creating a positive impression. Twenty minutes passed by until we finally attracted the attention of someone to take an order, the speed of service following the initial hiccup was however, quite remarkable if concerningly impressive. You wouldn’t really expect to receive your food within 10 minutes of ordering it, except for the grimiest of fast-food places, but there the burgers were, in front of us…. In ten minutes. To be fair, selling burgers in a burger restaurant must be something easy to conveyor-belt-prepare. The burgers themselves were competent and tasted as would be expected from somewhere specialising in them; deep rich and meaty and with plenty of meat – not too dense from over handling and not too heavy grained to fall apart in the bun. I ordered the Byron Burger and my accomplice ordered the Cheese Burger. The former was very satisfying with cheddar, sauce and maple cured bacon adding layers of salty flavour and sweet piquancy, the latter I was assured equally so with a thick tranche of emmenthal cheese to compliment my friend’s burger cooked to a medium level. The side dishes were unfussy and presented in pristine enamel bowls; the fries, crunchy and fluffy centred with no superfluous grease and the onion rings, deliciously fragile and crisp with a slightly chewy centre. There were 7 burgers in all to choose from along with 7 types of main salad and a number of side salads and other side dishes plus add-ons to the burgers, so the menu is not totally exhaustive. Pricewise it is much of a muchness as one would say in comparison to other establishments. All burgers cost a similar amount to the previously discussed eateries and therefore Byron’s maintains a reasonable status quo in this regard. Special mention should go to the drinks menu here though, with 9 white and 9 red wines on offer and 2 options for pink/fizz, there is enough for those wanting to make more of an occasion whilst visiting. However, the Craft Beer selection is something to get a little excited about, a good selection which is sadly slightly pricey. Thornbridge Jaipur, Brooklyn Lager and Dead Pony Club are all great with a substantial meat patty, whilst Camden Brewery provide Gentlemen’s Wit and a Lager Helles beer to bolster proceedings. Our burgers were washed down gratefully with Jaipur and Wit. The gradual improvement of the service through the evening was a blessing, our waitress was exceptionally polite and friendly, not to mention thorough and helpful. If the joint irons out the initial kinks of keeping front of house in order, the rest is pretty much taken care of – this shouldn’t take too long. Byron’s apparently do take away for those who want to eat on the move or at home…. handy. All said and done, it is another tasty and viable option in the city for a delicious burger. You can’t go too far wrong! Pedro. Everybody knows somewhere decent they can pick up a handmade burger with fries, chips, wedges and a side salad or whatever else tickles the chef’s fancy in whatever establishment people find themselves in. I’ve had a love-hate relationship with burgers down the years; some really good ones eaten in a variety of pubs/bars which do excellent beers to accompany a tasty meat patty (or bean burger where the fancy has taken me), where others including a dabble with the trial and error of homemade burgers using eggs, flour, onions and beef mince have met with curiously mixed results (including terribly flavourless ones). Two places of note where I have had excellent burgers and they continue to supply fine beers alongside great burgers and fluffy crispy french fries or skins-on-chips are firstly The Holyrood [ http://fullerthomson.com/eating-and-drinking/holyrood/ ] located on Cowgate just off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh which has an extensive burger menu including chicken and numerous vegetarian options and the second is The Shipping Forecast [ http://www.theshippingforecastliverpool.com/ ] in Liverpool on Slater Street. Both places stick in my mind at the moment as the best places I have eaten a burger in recent memory anyway, but should I find any more, I will add them via a comment. With regard making your own burgers, there are a number of recipes that I have tried, as mentioned above. The results were mixed, no doubt. However, upon taking advice, mainly from two people; one being my sister in law and using her approach to making meatballs/meat in a ragu sauce (which I incidentally used in my Mexican Chilli but never considered before); and the second from my friend’s Brother. He spent a great deal of time in Texas, being a geologist and drilling for oil, but was told if he was going to stay in Texas, he must learn to Barbeque properly. This involved making burgers; he always said to use the cheapest and fattiest mince (don’t forget fat = flavour!!) and to pound it within an inch of its life (if it had one) and then reform the mince into a patty. Further inspiration was taken from the different styles of meatballs that people make, I recently read an article on the Guardian website written by Felicity Cloake in her ‘The Perfect…’ column [ http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/felicity-cloake+lifeandstyle/series/how-to-cook-the-perfect ]. Although for ultimate burger satisfaction, I will forego any breadcrumbs in my recipe. Fret no more guys, because below you will find my standard burger recipe that has what I regard as an excellent savoury flavour and good texture. I’ve made it as simple as possible and removed a lot of superfluous stuff that used to pollute my wares. If you want to alter the recipe to your taste though, feel free, there is lots of ‘wiggle room’! Ingredients (Makes 4 ~½ pounders):
600g Beef Mince (or chuck – put through a mincer on finest setting) 400g Pork Mince 1 Red Chilli, finely chopped and de-seeded 1 Red onion, very finely chopped 3 Cloves of garlic Salt and Pepper to season as required What to do: 1. Make sure the chilli, onion and garlic are all very finely chopped to ensure even distribution during the mixing of the burger patties. In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to combine the beef and pork mince with the onion, garlic and chilli. Add seasoning as required at this stage, but don’t make it too salty, as the pork will provide much of the savoury kick needed. 2. If you’re making ½ pounders, then divide the thoroughly mixed forcemeat into four equal portions and shape each one into a burger patty using your hands. Now add a pinch of salt to each side of the burger patties and leave to rest for around 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes is up, take a paper towel and pat dry any water that is drawn out of the burger patties. 3. Fry the burger patties in a little oil in a skillet pan if possible on a medium to low heat to ensure they are cooked thoroughly (being so thick, you’ll need a while to ensure they are cooked). A giveaway to the burgers being cooked though is that the juice will run clear as you press the burger patty down using a slice or spatula; juice from an uncooked patty will be cloudy or bloody. 4. Allow the burgers to rest for 5 minutes once they’re cooked and then add to your bun with a relish or seasoning of your choice. With these burgers, I have found that some more red onions, a little mayonnaise and coarse grain mustard along with fresh rocket is absolutely fine! Enjoy amigos! Pedro. x |
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