Shalimar Harrogate: A jewel in the crown

21st August 2013
I wanted to go to the Shabab in Harrogate, and got the details off the Internet. Not only had it changed its location, but had also changed its name. All that remained of the place I remembered was the chairs. I suppose that after almost 30 years, the fact that those were still the same was pretty stunning.
Having told the owner that I was a long standing customer of the Shabab, which he claims to have worked at, but I guess he must have been in short trousers when I went there, he said he had brought the food and staff with him, and promised me an excellent meal - and so it was. This place is great.
They have a web site on http://www.shalimarharrogate.co.uk/ but that is mainly for on-line ordering of take away food. The location is in the busy Cheltenham Parade, which is essentially restaurant row, and you can find something to everyone's taste there. Be advised that it is difficult to park there, and the on-street parking in the center of Harrogate of an evening is challenging. You may also need a local parking disc before 8pm.
The owner welcomed us like long lost friends and promised everything.
We started with popadoms which were offered complimentary. They had an unusual selection of sauces to accompany

This was then followed by 'mixed poultry and red meat' platter for two, which was a 10 on the CHOF scale as it was absolutely sizzling on arrival. We discovered that they had sneaked in some tandoori fish to make it more of an adventure (that is what is at the front of the picture);

There was a variety of lamb, kebab, chicken and vegetables. This was huge and was spicy and excellent.

I then had the mixed biryani which contained chicken, prawn and lamb.

This became far too much and defeated me. There was probably a bit of a mix up in instructions, as my wife like things madras spicy, and this was probably applied to my dish. I tasted her chicken tikka karaiha special, which had a wonderful smoky flavour and was not too spicy. Temperature wise, they were 8 on the scale.

One of the interesting features of the menu was Cobra special 8% beer which came in a 750ml bottle. This is not something I come across a lot, and again is a recommended choice.

I have to say that this was an excellent experience for many reasons, and I am surprised that the place is not more full of an evening. There is probably too much choice on Cheltenham Parade in Harrogate for ethnic food. I cannot praise this place highly enough, and if I go back to Harrogate, this will definitely be on my agenda. Including a dip of post-prandial digestive mixes, the meal for two came to about £45 including drink, and was deemed to be good value for money.

Willow Farm Pub/Restaurant, Cramlington: Cheap for a reason

20th August 2013

Having dined at the excellent Beefeater down the road and seeing the stream of families going in at 5.30, we tried this pub restaurant for a cheap meal. The place is huge, and is a modern versions of a pub restaurant to traditional style. The front area is more pub, and the back more restaurant carvery. We had no previous experience of this brand. This was a blind choice with no research.
Arriving at 7.30, we were told that the carvery was closing at 8pm ( a fact recorded on the web site, but unknown to the casual visitor), and a quick look showed that it was on its last servings. Having said that it was standard looking stuff, and seemed very good value for money if you want a carvery. So we went for the a la carte, which incidentally stops serving at 9 pm. The menu, which is not on the web site http://www.willowfarmpub.co.uk/index.htm is typical fare.
We had a mixed starter, which seemed to be the price of two other starters. However the plate of fried fare including potato wedges, chicken wings, musrooms etc was probably big enough as a starter for 4, and the couple on the next table were having it as a shared main meal with a plate of chips on the side.

I had the steak and kidney pudding for main course. Huge. However the pudding was largely suet crust, filled with gelatinous gravy with finely chopped meat and kidney. None of the chunks that typify a good s and k pudding. 

My wife's penne with chicken and chorizo sauce (which you can see in the background) was largely pasta and very little sauce. Whilst quantities were huge, the quality of food was below average for this sort of restaurant. However after that amount of food we did not go hungry. Drinks are bought separately from the bar and are pub prices.
One of the features of this restaurant is that you order your meal at an ordering point by the bar, and pay up front. This leave little scope for complaint once you have paid (they may have had problems in the past),and also leaves the serving staff exposed. We did not leave a tip as we thought the quality of the food was very poor, and even though it was not the fault of the serving staff, we did not feel like hanging about. There was a pub quiz going on, but we were not tempted. (the questions were actually quite challenging).
So it was really cheap costing about £23 for the meal for two with no desert and pub prices for the drinks. But cheap turned out to be a bit indifferent. You get what you pay for in this case. My wife was given a comments form, and has mailed her displeasure about the poor quality of her meal to the main offices. I will not be going to this brand of restaurant again, unless I want something really cheap.(This review also appears on TripAdvisor)

Beefeater, Cramlington, Newcastle. A pearl among chain restaurants.

19th August.
En Route to Hadrian's Wall. We stopped in the Premier Inn in Cramlington, and because we arrived a bit later than we expected, we ate in the attached restaurant. We are very flexible in our eating, and thought we knew what to expect, but our expectations were exceeded. There is nothing clever going on, but straightforward food for English palates.We chose the evening value menu at three courses for £13.29.
http://www.beefeatergrill.co.uk/beefeater/food-drink/menus/meal-deals.html
I had the garlic and herb breaded mushrooms, which came with a lightly garlicky sauce and a mismatching barbecue sauce. These were nothing special, and clearly came from a catering pack and had been deep fried, but they were exactly what it said on the box, and they were a 9 on the CHOF scale.

I followed this with the 8oz* Beefeater Classic Burger (A 8oz* beefburger with plain or spicy bottomless chips and side salad)

I thought this was pretty good, and the burger was well cooked, tasted of meat rather than filler and grease, but there was probably a bit too much bun. It was a successful 8 on the CHOF scale.  Of real interest here is the spicy bottomless chips. These were excellent and hot. I have to say that by this stage, I thought that an additional helping of chips was a step too far, but the offer was there, and the staff did nothing to discourage. On the whole, the service was a bit slow, and I had time to go out to the petrol station outside, which was also a Co-op minimarket and top up with supplies. The place was not busy, which was just as well. There is also a pub as part of the restaurant, so drinks were at pub prices.

For desert, I had the chocolate fudge brownie sundae, which was pure greed.

I think the picture speaks for itself. 

The whole meal including drink for both of us, came to just over £35. Very fair. Whilst the menu lacks imagination, it would not be a burden to eat at a beefeater again. The staff were excellent, even if the kitchens were slow, and I could not fault this establishment.

Cafe Latte, Gainsborough, Lincs. Local cafe with local colour

19th Aug.
We had come to Gainsborough to look at the excellent Gainsborough Old Hall, a medieval manor house in a fantastic state of preservation, and needed a late lunch. This was hosted by Cafe Latte: there is no web site, but information is on https://plus.google.com/101589084713743034152/about?gl=uk&hl=en
This is a typical cheap town center cafe serving food and drink most of the day. There is nothing fancy, and the old photographs of New York on the wall tell you nothing about anything.
It is a simple menu at an attractive price.
I had a sausage and fried egg baguette, and my wife had a baked potato with chilli mince.

I am sure that everything was freshly cooked (I suspect that the potato and ingredient may have been in reserve), and the mince tasted very home made rather than boil in the bag. The sandwich was fine, but could have been just a little hotter, scoring a 7.9 on the scale. There was probably an issue in serving the two things simultaneously. Otherwise it was exactly what was expected but the baguette was fresh and buttered. The potato was probably the better bet, and even after a few minutes, scored an 8.5 on the scale. That would definitely be my recommendation. Coffee came in the old fashioned Ramboult like individual filter, and therefore was fresh. 

The meal including two cups of coffee and tea came to £10. A bargain. The staff were friendly and helpful, and the other customers even more friendly. One of them, hearing my out-of-town accent insisted on educating me on the pivotal role that Gainsborough industry had played in manufacturing parts for miniature s submarines during world war two. Fascinating stuff. If you are needing lunch in Gainsborough, or are visiting the old hall. you could do a lot worse than Cafe Latte

Vasco and Piero's Pavillion, London W1.

Saturday 10th August.
In two words - Safe Bet. http://www.vascosfood.com/
I can't remember when we started using Vasco's - probably about 20 years ago, and it has always served reliable Italian food, that you would have no problem putting in front of any guest or acquaintance. I don't know anyone who does not like the food there.
In the past it used to be a bit of a bargain, as there was a fixed price for a two and three course meal, which was very reasonable. Now it is (on a Saturday night for sure) a la carte, and there is a limited menu of Umbrian food that is heavily reliant on Fish. On this occasion we took some friends for a BIG birthday, and were not disappointed. I don't why they use the term pavilion as it is not so big, and not in a tent. It is a local looking place in SoHo, near Oxford Street, and if you go there, it is possible that you might recognise some of the clients.
On this occasion I had a home made tagliatelle with a meat ragu sauce as a starter.

This was very tasty, very fresh tasting, and scored a 9 on the CHOF scale: very good.

For main course I had grilled lamb

You are not asked how you want it cooked: it comes medium, and was not exactly pretty. It was tasty and a bit chewy, but this may be the nature of the beast. A 7.9 on the CHOF scale. We had a portion of sautee potatoes on the side.Portion sizes are not huge, but sufficient. I had a taste of one of our companions Spaghetti Arabiata which was excellent. A good reliable meal.

Including wine, but not coffee, it works out at about £50/head, which is realistic for the quality of the food. Service is helpful and friendly, and the somewhat upmarket atmosphere helps.

So we have good hot Italian food that tastes like Italian food. Can't be bad.

Benugo, Museum of London: better take a fat wallet

The choice for eating at the Museum of London is not great, and the main catering outlet appears to be Benugo at the main entrance. One can get a variety of salad and snack foods and drink, in a museum cafe sort of atmosphere. Because of the nature of he museum it is inevitably a venue for tourists, families and historians.( I fit none of those categories).
We chose a couple of sandwiches, all of which were all overpriced at £4.65 each, some cake and a couple of mugs of coffee to have at lunch.

Sandwiches were quite imaginative and well filled. We had a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel (which they offered to sacrilegiously toast) and a salt-beef, avocado and cheese sandwich. These were fresh, well filled, and tasty. The lemon and almond cake was well flavoured and moist. Coffee came in big mugs and was good quality. The bill for this came to £17.65 which I thought was a bit steep for a museum and had we been a family, it would have been a big hit.

I know that some of the better catering contractors now have the franchises for the museums in London, but the cost of eating there is becoming prohibitive. Had we had the will, we could have gone over the road outside to Pret a Manger, and had the same lunch for probably half the price, but possibly not the same quality.