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!
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