Froggies at Timber Batts, Bodsham, Kent

My apologies for the long gap since my last blog entry, I hope it won't be this long until my next one!

Timber Batts is a lovely old country pub between Ashford and Canterbury on the road out of Wye.  It's tucked away in the tiny village of Bodsham (no, I'd never heard of it before either!) and it's well worth the effort of finding it for yourself.  There is plenty of seating inside at an eclectic mix of tables, but if the weather permits you might want to sit outside and enjoy the rural views from the quiet garden to the side of the pub.  Froggies is, as you might expect from the name, run by a French father and son who have done well to retain the traditional English pub feel while adding their own Gallic charm to the place.  There are a number of wine case lids from some of the grand estates decorating the beams, and every shelf and sill is covered in empty wine bottles that span generations and vineyards of the world, mostly having been drunk by the owner!

We stopped in for a quick lunch (and maybe a swift half!) on the way home and were genuinely delighted with the food.  Although the lunch menu is short, it is full of good options including a home made burger (more on that later), various baguettes and sandwiches, moule frites, or simply ham egg and chips.  Something for everyone then!

I was feeling pretty hungry, so I went for the homemade burger, which comes with french fries and a small green salad on the side.  It's a good job I was hungry, because there was plenty of it and it was delicious.  The difficulty with very thick burgers is cooking them right through without letting them dry out, something the chef managed very nicely indeed.  There was a generous side order of the thinnest fries, and the salad had a light drizzle of house dressing that just helped cut through the big flavours in the burger.  The ham and chips looked very good too, the ham was lightly smoked and thinly cut, while the baguettes were big enough to feed even the hungriest mouth.

One of my favourite things to finish a meal is a café gourmand, usually a shot of espresso with two or three mini deserts just intended to give you something sweet to finish your meal, so I was delighted to find it on the menu.  It came with a couple of home made macaroons and a glass of café liegeois (espresso coffee poured over coffee ice-cream and topped with whipped cream served in this case in a shot glass).  A close second choice for me was the trio of deserts, which included an apricot tatin, panna cotta,  and a raspberry melba.  The desert for people unable to decide what to have, but delicious none the less.

Easy to find?  No.
Worth the effort?  Certainly.
Worth the price?  Yes, I think so.

The Stile Bridge, Linton / Marden

How nice it is to come across somewhere new that ticks all the boxes!  Having asked for suggestions earlier in the week (see my last post) I got a handful of suggestions, many of which I'd tried before, including a couple of ringing endorsements for The Stile Bridge at the bottom of Linton Hill on the way to Marden.  It's well over ten years since I last visited The Stile Bridge, so I thought it was probably time to give it another try.

The Stile Bridge fronts right onto the road between Maidstone and Staplehurst in the middle of nowhere.  It's a welcome sight on a cold, dark, winters night, a feeling that grows as you enter to find a roaring open fire and a busy little bar.  The walls and ceilings are covered in pub, brewery and booze memorabilia, including a fine collection of miniatures in a nice old display cabinet and a collection of printed pub mirrors.  There are five real ales, several unusual lagers and one cider on draught and a selection of more than forty bottled beers from which to choose.  Sorry about the blurry picture, but you get the idea...

Having ordered our drinks (a pint of Horsham ale for me!) we were seated straight away in a cosy side room just off the bar.  The menu was short enough to suggest minimal use of the freezer, but long enough to contain a number of unusual and interesting choices.  I'd never heard of Onglet steak before, but the waitress was able to explain that it is a cut of beef taken from just behind the rib.  I'll give it a try on our next visit, sounds good.

We started with deep fried brie with cranberry sauce for Liz and chicken liver parfait for me.  The brie was rich and creamy, and the parfait was as light as a feather.  We were off to an excellent start.

As well as a well balanced menu there were a number of specials on offer, including a pie of the day.  Now, I have a real problem with what most pubs seem to think passes for a pie.  (For the record, a bowl of stew with a flaky pastry lid is not a pie!)  Imagine my delight, then, on being told that the special was a short crust pastry mixed game pie of generous proportions!  How could I refuse?  It was lovely!  If I was being hyper-critical, it could have had a bit more meat inside, but it was delicious, filling and definitely a real pie.  The accompanying veggies were cooked to perfection and the skin-on chips were crispy.

Liz chose the lamb leg steak with rosemary butter and roasted winter vegetables.  This turned out to be a big slab of melt in the mouth lamb smothered in melted butter with a stack of mixed beetroot, potato, carrot and parsnip chips that added a lovely earthy dimension and a few unusual flavours.  We also had a bowl of the best beer battered onion rings either of us had ever had to share.  As it turns out, there was no need to order side dishes as the main meals were more than filling enough, but we'll certainly be ordering them again, maybe with a house special burger or freshly made pizza next time.

We both chose desserts from the specials board, in the hope that we'd manage to squeeze them in.  Liz fancied the chocolate pot, which was dark, delicious, and came with a lovely little filo basket of red berries to cut through the richness.  I had a blood orange posset with shortbread, mostly because I'd never had it before. It was sweet and creamy with a citrus twist, the perfect end to a very good meal.

 I think it won't be long before we're back.  The beer was excellent, the food was good, the staff were friendly and knowledgeable.  I'm told there might even be some house brewed beer on offer soon and I'd certainly like to try that.  We are very lucky here in Kent, we have a number of genuinely nice pubs that go the extra mile.  This is certainly one of them. 

Trying somewhere new

Finding a new place to try can be quite tricky, particularly if it's a special occasion.  A quick poll of the people in my office turned up a couple of suggestions of places where I had previously had very disappointing experiences.  It struck me that expectation probably plays a big part in the event.

One pub that several people recommended very highly outside Bearsted was particularly disappointing when I tried it because I was expecting such a high standard and received nothing better than "pub-grub" in somewhat uninspiring surroundings.  Is that the fault of the pub for not being better?  Or were my hopes and expectations raised by friends and colleagues who had found it to be very good?  Either way, I went expecting to be wowed and wasn't.

I place a very high premium on personal recommendation, and am never short of suggestions when asked for places to try or avoid, so with this new found insight in mind I will be less effusive in my praise of the places I felt really went the extra mile as that may not be the experience on the night you visit.

One of the places recommended to me today in Boughton Monchelsea has let itself down on both the occasions I tried it.  On the first occasion the service was so bad it was virtually non-existent, and when we eventually gave up and went to leave after more than two hours without having got as far as ordering desert, the owner eventually offered us £100 in vouchers to give them a second chance.  In fairness, the food we did get was very good indeed, it's only a shame no waiter or waitress came near us for close to an hour after seating us to find out if we wanted a drink or were ready to order our starters in a half empty dining room!  Having found the food to be very good we thought we'd use the vouchers to give the place a second try some months later.  Sadly, the same sort of thing happened again, we were as good as ignored, in spite of the owner running front of house and being well aware of why we had the voucher in the first place.  It's a shame, because the food was very good indeed, again, but I really object to being treated like that in a "high class" place.

So what is the alternative?  How do you choose somewhere new to eat?  Trial and error seems to yield at least as high a hit rate as any other method of selection.  Still....who doesn't like researching and reading reviews, eh?  I know I do!

The Red Lion, Milstead

We consulted the Michelin Guide to see what other recommended pubs were within easy reach, it's been a looooong week and neither of us fancied the formality of a restaurant so this seemed a good compromise.  We both liked the look of The Red Lion in Milstead, just south of Sittingbourne, a very short distance from the middle of nowhere.  The Guide says "Simple, cosy country pub, ever changing blackboard menu offers French influenced country cooking" amongst other things....sounded ideal.

From the outside the pub is nothing to look at, screened from the road as it is by bushes and trees.  The flat brick side that greets you from the car park isn't particularly inspiring, but that soon changes as you walk through the door into the small bar area that felt immediately warm and comfortable, despite there only being two other customers there when we arrived.   The only draught ale on offer was Wells Bombardier, which was very good indeed.

The Michelin Guide isn't joking when it says "blackboard menu", there is one fairly large blackboard at the end of the bar, from which you choose starters and main courses.  We were seated quite close to it, so we had little difficulty, but every other group that came in had to sort of mill around between it and our table while they decided what to have (which became a real drag when a relatively elderly group of four came in and struggled to make decisions!).

Dee chose goats cheese on rustic bread with air cured ham and salad to start, while I opted for Coquilles St. Jacques (scallops & prawns in mashed potato served in a scallop shell, in case you were wondering).  Yes, I know....scallops again!  What can I tell you, I love them.  After a very short wait the starters arrived and they were both nice enough, but that's about all we could find to say about them.

I had high hopes that the main courses would blow us away though, so with great enthusiasm I tucked into my bowl of bouillabaisse.  It lacked nothing for ingredients, at least three different types of white fish, scallops, king prawns, huge mussels, assorted unidentifiable shell fish and a rich, smokey soup/sauce.  It was very good, but no better than the bouillabaisse I had recently at The Horseshoes (see a previous blog entry) which was almost exactly half the price.  I still think I came out ahead of Dee though, her smoked haddock fish cakes weren't up to much at all.  Barely browned in the pan, more fish stodge than fish cakes, which is a shame because they were clearly home made and actually quite tasty.  I'm not sure who thought serving them with mashed potato was a good idea, given that the majority of a fish cake is already mashed potato, but there you go.

Never mind, though.  We're two courses in, both of which were nice enough, even if they weren't staggeringly good.  Still searching for whatever it was the Michelin researchers saw in the place, we soldiered on to the desert course, purely for research purposes you understand!  Dee ordered her favourite pud, apple and red berry crumble with vanilla ice-cream, while I forced down a slice of home made amoretto baked cheesecake with toffee sauce.  Once again, I think I won this course too!  My cheesecake was a little overpowered by the toffee sauce, but the texture was good and the whole thing was a nice rich finish to the meal.  The crumble, on the other hand, was certainly not a crumble.  It was more like a bowl of very sweet fruit with a sweet crust that had been welded together with a blow-torch just prior to serving.  Such a shame.

So we leave, slightly disappointed and seventy quid poorer, feeling that while it was nice, it wasn't quite nice enough for the money.  I don't think we'll hurry back, although I'm open to suggestions that we caught them on an off night.

The Three Chimneys, Sissinghurst / Biddenden

Having seen The Three Chimneys listed in the Michelin Guide as "recommended" we thought we'd better go see if it was worth our seal of approval as well.  The Chimneys is a picturesque country pub in the middle of nowhere, just off the road between Biddenden and Sissinghurst.  Rumour has it that French prisoners were kept nearby during the Napoleonic war, they were told that although they were more or less free to roam they should not go further than the three-way junction or "trios chemins" as they called it.  The pub building pre-dates the Napoleonic war by several hundred years and certainly plays to its strengths inside.

 Ales are served straight from the barrel, tonight there was a New Zealand Pale Ale, Adnams Best and Tribute available.  The pale ale was a little too bitter for my liking, but the Tribute was very good indeed.  It's always nice when beer comes in the correct branded glass, I know it shouldn't matter but it's interesting that so many pubs (and presumably breweries) have cottoned on to this fact.

There are two bars, a bar food area and the restaurant.  The restaurant itself is split into various small niches and groups of two or three tables which gives the place a cozy, intimate feel.  There is also a large orangery which looked comfortable and inviting, I'll bet it's a delightful place to eat in the summer too.  The beams are decorated with hop bines, the walls are thick with wine labels and brewery mementos.  We sat next to a roaring wood-burning stove that proved so effective we had to switch places, a sort of turn and baste every 15 minutes exercise!  Fortunately our waiter was able to turn it down for us, it was gas powered and not a wood burner at all.  Fooled me.  (Not too difficult, i hear you cry!)

The menu changes very often, it seems.  So much so that there are no printed copies, just a large blackboard with that days offerings listed on it in chalk.  All the meat is sourced locally, as is as much of the other ingredients as possible.  We chose quite different starters, a large flat mushroom stuffed with caramelised red onion and goats cheese for Dee and deep fried brie with home made fruit sauce for me.  We were astonished at the size of the portions, given that these were only starters they were massive!  I've bought smaller chunks of brie from the supermarket, I'm sure.  Both plates were well presented and both dishes delicious, just far too big.  Never thought you'd hear me say that, did you?  No, me neither.

We both chose the braised shoulder of venison as our main course, although if I had known the portions would be so large I would have gone for the scallops.  The venison comes from a deer park near Sevenoaks, it was served on a bed of parsnip mash with cabbage and carrot, all with a splash of a rich gravy.  The meat was so tender it just fell apart.  You could cut it with the handle of your knife with little or no difficulty if you chose to.  A plate packed full of big, rich flavours indeed, but again there was simply too much of it.  I was determined to make it to the homemade deserts, so I'm ashamed to admit that the venison beat both of us.  It was that or go without the amoretto parfait, after all!

A short list of homemade deserts on another blackboard gave rise to the next tough decision of the night.  For Dee it was simple, she was beaten by the sheer volume of dinner and couldn't even be tempted to have the apple and plum crumble, so I knew she was serious.  For me though, there were a few serious contenders, but the parfait won in the end and I'm glad it did because it was fantastic.  For once the portion size was perfect.  It was smooth, creamy, tasty, and perfectly accompanied by a generous pile of griottines (small red cherries soaked in kirsch) and a few raspberries.

It certainly wasn't a cheap meal, but it was all beautifully cooked and presented.  Starters were between £6.50 and £9 and most main courses were £16 - £20.  I am sure we'll come back here again, but perhaps we won't eat for a day or so either side of our visit.  All in all a lovely place with friendly staff, great atmosphere, good food and excellent beer.  Well worth the trouble of finding it, wear trousers with an elasticated waist though!  The highly sought after Fatfoodie seal of approval is indeed awarded.

Return to The Horseshoes, and new owners at The Bull

Just for a change we had dinner at The Horseshoes a couple of Fridays ago.  I was glad to see that the guest beer (Brains SA Gold) was still on, and still delicious.  I noted with great interest that the second pint was just as delicious as the first.....and the third.

Our timing was good, the new autumn menu had just been produced and for the most part the changes look positive.  I was a bit sad to see the fillet steak on a toasted brioche with duck pate removed, but some of the new dishes could well make up for it.  I like the idea of a scallop dish and a mussel dish of the day, plenty of scope for the chef to do something a bit unusual if the mood takes him.  Of course I had the scallops, which came with chorizo and lentils (one of my favourite combinations) and aside from requiring a tiny bit of seasoning they were splendid.  Dee opted for deep fried brie (always one for the healthy option!) which actually turned out to be very good indeed.

For main course I had one of the new dishes, slow cooked belly of pork with mashed potato and braised red cabbage.  Great autumnal dish, warming and filling.  The pork had been cooked long and low, so it was tender and moist.  Some home made onion rings gave it all that bit of texture that would otherwise have been missing, good addition.  Dee had the mussels of the day, a huge bowl filled to the brim with mussels in a basic cream and white wine sauce that needed nothing more added to it.  A little bowl of thin chips on the side and Dee was in her element.  The only thing lacking was a chunk of bread to soak up the sauce!

 A little individual lemon meringue pie for me (delicious!  Sharp lemon and sweet meringue) and summer berry and lemon sponge with custard for Dee just rounded off another comfortable evening nicely.

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Last weekend we wandered into what I guess could be considered our "local", The Bull in Barming.  Again, our timing was good!  We only really popped in to see if they were planning to do a quiz night soon, but the barmaid said they had only taken the place over a week earlier and were still deciding things like that.  She also told us that the kitchen was being refitted and if we came back the next night they would be doing food for the first time.  The same people also own the Redstart (see earlier blog post) and the Fox and Goose on Weavering Street in Maidstone which is apparently well known for its food.

After an encouraging start the next night (pint of Doombar for me, one of my favourites and very well presented it was too) and a chat with the chef and new landlady who were enjoying a glass of wine in the bar, we had a look through the menu.  Now, even taking into account that it was the first day the kitchen had been open and presumably they'd had to cobble the menu together a bit, it wasn't what you'd call inspiring.  We asked if the steak and ale pie was actually a pie, or one of those bowl-of-stew-with-a-flakey-pastry-lid efforts that you see so often, and were told it was a real bona fide pie.  Faced with options such as a burger, hunters chicken or sausage and mash, we both went for the pie.

It was massive!  It came with chips, peas and carrots and I suspect all came out of the microwave, but it was cheap enough and certainly filled a hole.  It's a bit of a shame though, because as we have already seen, it isn't that hard to do pub food really well.  This felt like pub food of the late 80's and might explain why we were one of only two tables dining on the opening night.  It's a particular shame, because the beer was excellent and it's a nice enough pub, but slightly sticky tables and below average food make it hard to recommend it.  We'll give them a while to settle in and try again, but if there's even a hint of scampi in a basket.......  On the plus side....the quiz starts next week!

Stockholm, Sweden

I know....I know....Stockholm isn't in Kent.  It isn't even NEAR Kent, so why do I mention it?  Well, it's a foodie blog, and we had some great food while we were there, that's why!

As most of you probably already know, the Swedish eat a lot of fish.  Salmon, prawns, crayfish, but mostly herring.  There were plenty of alternatives though, and elk, pork and beef all featured.  We stayed at the Handelsbanken training centre and hotel at Södegarn just outside Stockholm and ate all of our evening meals in the restaurant there because the food was very good indeed.  Everything was very expensive in Stockholm, beer ranged from £5.50 to £9.50 a pint (well....I say pint, obviously I mean 500ml) and a quick lunch from around £12.50 to £25.  Fortunately, the beer was a minimum of 5.3% and the food was fantastic!

 The first day we arrived just after lunchtime and the chef whipped us up a local speciality (the name of which is even more unpronounceable than I had expected) that consisted of finely diced potato, onion and ham fried up together with herbs and topped with a fried egg and with a dish of pickled beetroot on the side.  A sort of thinking mans all-day breakfast.  Hot, tasty and filling, just what the cardiologist ordered!

The week featured a series of stops for coffee and cake, known locally as "fika".  This one, simple little word encompasses a great deal.  Fika means everyone stops what they are doing and troops off to one of  the many coffee places around for a cup of fresh coffee, something sweet like a cake or cinnamon bun, and a good old chat!  Whole office departments troop off for fika at least a couple of times a day.  We should do that too.  It hasn't harmed their productivity or profit margins, so why not?

We also stopped at a number of bars for lunch, picked pretty much at random, or at least on the basis that "this one has a terrace that's in the sunshine, so let's stop here!".  Our first go at this was remarkably successful and rather set the tone for the rest of the stay.  We ordered a dish of crayfish on toast and a warm goats cheese salad.  Now, keeping in mind that this was just a little water-front bar chosen from dozens of similar looking places, look what turned up!  It tasted just as good as it looked, too.

 Another day we wandered up to a bar in a square and ordered one of each of the daily specials, which turned out to be a salmon fillet with horseradish sauce and braised vegetables for me and traditional home made meatballs and mashed potato with lingonberry sauce for Dee.  Again, the presentation was excellent (and there's not much you can do to meatballs and mash to make them look anything special!) and they tasted great.  We went in and ordered at the bar, and the barmaid told us to help ourselves to bread, crackers, salad and coffee from the table behind us as part of our meal.  An unexpected bonus as the salad was varied, the bread was fresh and the coffee strong and dark.

 We didn't have a bad dish the whole time we were there.  It just goes to show what we've always said....it's not hard to do good food!  Why do we put up with the rubbish that gets dumped in front of us for so much of the time here in England?  Life is too short to eat bad food, particularly when there is all this creative, interesting, tasty grub out there waiting to be found!  What a great city.  Not cheap, but a must-do for all you foodies out there.