Sherman's Food Adventures: English
Showing posts with label English. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English. Show all posts

Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen

Here we are, doing the touristy thing while in Vegas.  Yep, we finally made it out to Hell's Kitchen located right on the strip in front of Caesar's Palace.  I've wondered about this place for quite some time as I keep walking past it (when I visit).  I considered Carbone but couldn't get a reso.  Ironically, I had to move my reservation since I tried to visit The Buffet at the Wynn without prepaying first.  Lineup looked to be 2 hours, so I ended up eating an early dinner at Hell's Kitchen as a result.

Strategically ordering, my daughter went for the HK Signature Prix Fixe Menu ($89.95) where she chose the Pan-Seared Scallops as her starter.  It featured lightly caramelized scallops on a bed of English pea puree with pickled fennel and sherry-braised bacon lardons.  The scallops were delicate and sweet, but the sear could've been more aggressive.  Scallops were sliced in half, so they were rather small too.  Loved the puree as it was smooth and naturally sweet.

I decided to go for the Steak Tartare with Piedmontese beef, dijon mustard aioli, black truffle caviar and sous-vide egg yolk.  I thought this was really good where the beef was super buttery tender.  It really did melt-in-my-mouth.  Furthermore, it was inherently flavorful.  Loved the creaminess of the egg yolk while the aioli built on top of that with some zip.  Of course the luxuriousness of the black truffle caviar provided some extra umami.  I wasn't a huge fan of the crackers though as they were a bit hard.  Would've liked to see crostinis instead.

My son went big and had the Lobster Risotto complete with a whole butter poached lobster tail.  Oh this was delicious as the truffle risotto was perfectly executed where the aborio rice was tender yet still retaining an appealing bite.  Plenty of woodsy truffle to go with the ample amount of parmesan cheese which meant the risotto was rich and nutty.  The addition of crispy onions on top add the necessary contrast in texture.  The lobster was perfect being naturally sweet with the classic rebound texture.

Viv went a bit boring with the Quinoa Salad sporting honey crisp apples, dried currants & cranberries, candied pecans and ricotta salata.  This was partly due to her not wanting to order the Seared Foie Gras (only other hot appie available).  Boo...  Well, this a good amount of salad that was rather refreshing with the sweetness of apples and the dried fruit.  Quinoa had a good bite while being cooked through.

For her main, my daughter had only one choice with the Prix Fixe Menu - the classic Beef Wellington.  As you can clearly see in the picture, the beef tenderloin was beautifully rare.  It was buttery tender and was properly rested.  Puff pastry was nicely browned and lightly crispy.  Underneath, the duxelle was aromatic from the herbs and earthy from the mushrooms.  The demi-glace was silky with plenty of depth and accented the meat nicely.

My son got his standby dish in the Braised Short Rib atop a Yukon potato cake and bloomsdale spinach.  The whole thing was topped with crispy fried onion rings and beef jus.  This was pretty much textbook where the short rib was fork-tender and was super soft.  It still retained texture though and the beef jus was impactful and rich.  Both the potato cake and onions provided crispiness and the starch need to balance the dish.

I decided to go all out and had the 12 oz Mishima Reserve Wagyu Ribeye with glazed maitake mushrooms and shishito peppers.  Yes, this was indeed tasty.  I know, it wasn't exactly cheap, but I thought this was well worth the money.  There was a beautiful char on the outside where the smokiness and caramelization was apparent.  The steak itself was well-seasoned and prepared perfectly medium-rare.  Buttery and tender, the steak also benefited from the jus underneath.  I found the maitake mushrooms to be impactfully woodsy and was a nice compliment to the meat.

For Viv, she saw all of us having red meat and decided to deviate with the Crispy Skin Salmon.  There was a hard sear on the skin side and hence, it was uniformly crunchy until the last bite.  The fish itself was properly seasoned.  We found most of the fish to be tender and flaky with only the ends being a bit more cooked (as expected).  It sat on a bed of beluga lentils and citrus herb beurre blanc with a shaved fennel salad.  With enough acidity, the beurre blanc did not eat heavy.

For good measure, my son decided to add the Baked Macaroni & Cheese with smoked gouda and crispy prosciutto.  We really enjoyed this as the pasta was al dente, yet was still tender enough.  By using smoked gouda, the mac & cheese had considerable depth that was apparent with even the aroma.  The cheese sauce was seasoned enough that there was enough flavor.  It didn't hurt that that the crispy prosciutto added even more saltiness.

Onto dessert, as part of the Prix Fixe Menu, we were served the Sticky Toffee Pudding with dulce de leche ice cream.  A Hell's Kitchen classic, this did not disappoint.  This was so moist and relatively light.  Many versions of this dessert are super heavy where you can only have one bite.  Yes, like usual, this was pretty sweet with deep rich flavors.  However, it wasn't to the point where it was overbearing.

We chose one of the lighter desserts to balance off the toffee pudding in the Coconut 3-Ways including coconut sorbet, coconut cake and passionfruit caramel.  I guess the 3rd way is the halved coconut?  Whatever the case, this was so refreshing and a great finish to our meal.  The sorbet was aromatic and semi-sweet while the passionfruit added sweetness and tang.  Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Hell's Kitchen as the service was excellent and the execution was on point.  Was it the best meal we ever had?  Well no, but it was solid enough that the money we paid was put to good use.  Still lots of other options in this price range.

The Good:
- Excellent service
- On point execution
- Purposeful flavors

The Bad:
- Considering all the options in Vegas, not sure this is the first place I'd go to in this price-range

Dubh Linn Gate: Irish Pub

Wait...  Wasn't there just a post recently on Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub?  Yes, I had been invited to a menu tasting a few months ago and came away pretty impressed with the food.  With a change in Executive Chef, I was invited back to do another tasting with a nearly complete revamping of the menu.  I was curious to try the new menu items as well as holding high expectations based on the last visit.  Turns out I should've brought my Joey Tribbiani stretchy pants because they didn't hold back with the selection of eats!

We were started off with the Mushroom & Barley Croquettes done in an Arancini-style and served with ranch dressing.  These were hot and crispy with the thinnest of breading.  They were not greasy at all and featured a creamy and mushroomy filling that had a bite due to the barley.  It was definitely different than using arborio rice, but I thought it worked.  It really didn't need the ranch dressing as they tasted great on their own.  With an intoxicating aroma, we were surprised with the Pulled Chicken Curry.  It was pretty legit-tasting being full-flavoured where we could taste the spices including the cumin and turmeric.  There was also a low rumble of spice accented by the nutty crunch from the almonds and brightness from the cilantro.  Although the grilled naan bread was not done in a tandoor (and we didn't expect that either), it was good for what it was being toasty, nutty and crispy with a chew.

Although the Smoked Ham Hock Mac n' Cheese didn't look like anything special, it was actually one of our favourites.  It consisted of Two Rivers smoked ham hocks mixed with pale ale aged cheddar cheese sauce and green peas.  The smoky and purposefully salty ham added plenty of punch to the creamy and full-bodied cheese sauce.  Loved the succulent ham and the pop of the sweet peas together as well as the crunch from the topping.  This was seriously tasty and if there wasn't more food on the way, I would've dusted this off by myself!  But alas, my absolute favourite dish arrived next in the 7 oz AAA Flat Iron Steak with peppercorn sauce, Brussels sprouts, sauteed Yukon potatoes, cabbage and bacon.  This was seared uniformly medium-rare and well-rested with a beautiful char.  Hence, the meat was juicy, ultra-tender and well-seasoned.  Even the veggies were on point in terms of texture and taste.

Of course we had to have some greens too right?  Well, not really, but since we were served 2 of them for the tasting, I had to do the obligatory sample.  The first was a familiar one in the Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad with red, golden and candy can beets, walnuts, poached pears and chevre tossed in a rhubarb dressing.  The thing I enjoyed about this salad was the variety of flavours and textures.  Some beets were sweet being roasted while the others were tangy being pickled.  The dressing was aggressive, but welcomed due to the creamy tang.  We also had the Cider Glazed Prawns and Grapefruit Salad, which was really all about the prawns.  They were large, meaty and exhibited a strong natural sweet prawn flavour and aroma.  The mint cilantro citrus dressing was refreshing and appetizing going well with the rest of the ingredients including pumpkin seeds, feta, avocado and pickled onion.

Back to the meat, we were presented with the Chicken Parmi sporting an Australian version with a breaded chicken breasts topped with tomato sauce and melted cheese served over fries.  This was really a simple dish where the chicken was aggressively breaded where the coating was crunchy and remained so despite the sauce.  The meat itself was a little dry but the amount of tangy sauce and melted mozzarella made up for it.  Loved eating it with the fries though as it was sorta like a chicken parm poutine.  Something just as cheesy was the Ham & Cheddar Toastie featuring Two Rivers nitrate-free ham on Swiss Bakery sourdough with aged cheddar, creamy apple spread and house made piccalilli relish.  This was loaded with ham and was extremely messy!  Lots of ooey gooey cheese to go with the wealth of sweet, tangy and salty hits from the ingredients.

Moving onto a different type of cuisine, we had some tacos.  The first to arrive was the Tacos de Carnitas with ancho-marinated pork butt braised in garlic, onions and limes.  This was pretty good with juicy tender pork that was flavourful from the braise.  There was a pointed spiciness and heat from the habanero hot sauce which was somewhat cooled by sweetness and sharpness of the pineapple salsa.  The amount of cabbage was just right providing a crunch and relief from the spiciness.  The second version was the Crispy Cod Tacos with beer battered Ocean Wise north pacific cod with guacamole, chili lime sauce, cilantro cabbage and pickled red onions.  The moist and flaky cod was enveloped in a crunchy batter while flavoured by the spicy and tangy chili lime sauce.  Layers of flavours appeared from the bright cilantro and acidic pickled onions.

On that note, we also had more cod in the Fish n' Chips with a humongous 7 oz. filet of the same beer battered cod atop house fries accompanied by tartar sauce and slaw.  Since the piece of fish was even bigger, the flakiness was even more apparent.  The fish was on point being super moist and tender.  Like the taco, the batter was crunchy, marginally greasy and nicely seasoned.  Underneath, the fries were uniformly crispy and were extra tasty when dunked into the creamy and tangy tartar sauce.  Even the slaw was on point being crunchy and easy on the dressing while still tangy.  I didn't get to one of the earlier appies until I tackled some of the mains.  This is where I sampled the Hummus & Olives.  Okay, nothing special here right?  Well yes and no.  The hummus was unique where they added harissa which added a je ne sais quoi quality to it.  There was a spiced Earthiness to go with the garlickiness.  The hummus was fairly smooth with a bit of textural chunkiness.

One of the last dishes to arrive was curiously the Brasserie Board consisting of Guinness Cheddar, Chevre, Rondoux, Bresaola, Two Rivers Ham Hock Rillette, pickled veggies, pickled egg, apple mustard, raisin chutney, beer jelly and Swiss Bakery sourdough.  This was a pretty board with plenty of things to share.  I particularly liked the Guinness cheddar as it was slightly tangy, rich and marginally pungent.  The shredded ham hock did its best impression of a chunky rillette.  The saltiness was tempered by finely diced onions.

Onto the sweets, I was pleasantly surprised by the Pot of Cheesecake baked in a mason jar.  Normally, one look at a dessert in a jar and I have this negative bias towards it.  But this was actually good with crispy graham cracker crumbs and a smooth cheesy mousse.  The ample sour cherry topping was juicy and not overly sweet.  As for the Flourless Chocolate Cake, it ate more like a rich ganache square.  This was not a bad thing because it was chocolately, purposefully sweet and appealingly bitter.  The sweet caramel sauce and raspberry compote were nice compliments in terms of sweetness and tang.  These were a delightful ending to a successful tasting.  Once again, the food was solid at Dubh Linn Gate, even with the changes.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Solid eats for a pub (and in fact any place)
- Good portions
- Moderately-priced

The Bad:
- Fries aren't bad, but for me, they are a little generic

Cheshire Cheese Restaurant & Bar

While shopping in North Van on a Saturday, we decided to stay put and grab some lunch.  Without any planned food adventure, we headed to Lonsdale Quay to see if it would inspire us.  Well, I guess we didn't get too creative because we ended up at the Cheshire Cheese Inn.  Okay, I'm not trying to slag the place, but the memories of the Kerrisdale location only brought up memories of mediocre British pub fare.  Wait, isn't that the case anywhere?  Sorry, that was just mean of me...  Well, we gave it a go for ol' times sake.

Give it to my son for picking the most interesting dish of the bunch being the Toad in a Hole.  From the name itself, we were wondering if he would even give it a chance.  That he did.  It featured 2 large lean sausages stuffed inside Yorkshire Pudding and smothered with gravy.  With me trying not to say something inappropriate, we watched him happily dig in.  The sausages were meaty and as advertised, lean while the Yorkshire pudding was a touch dense, but fluffy enough as a whole with a crispy exterior.  Thick and a bit salty, the gravy did its job.  My daughter went for the kid's Fish & Chips which was a decently sized version.  Although a bit greasy, the light tempura batter was crispy while the fish was flaky and moist.  The side of fries were solid as well being fresh-cut and lightly crispy.

For myself, I debated between several items, but ultimately went for the Lamb Curry (didn't think a burger was British enough... and curry is?).  This was a rather surprising dish as it was pretty good.  With very little filler other than some carrots, the large chunks of lamb were tender and not dried out.  As for the curry itself, it was thick and rich with only the slightest hint of spice while being a tad salty.  I wasn't a huge fan of the rice though as it was hard and dry, but then again, the ample amount of sauce solved that problem.  Finally, Viv opted for the Chicken Pot Pie which sported a flaky crust on the top.  Inside, the mildly thick and seasoned gravy enveloped chunks of veggies and fairly tender chicken. So maybe I didn't give the place enough credit.  Sure, it ain't fantastic food, but what it is, we were decently satisfied.

The Good:
- Okay portions
- Acceptable pub fare

The Bad:
- Pricey  

Cheshire Cheese Inn Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

The Abbey

Fresh off a meal at the Fat Badger, I wanted to continue the English pub food theme, but roughly in the same manner (as in slightly elevated).  That brought us to The Abbey in the former location of Wild Rice.  Interestingly, my good ol' friends from England, in response to my mission to find good pub food, remarked that I shouldn't get my hopes up.  Well, maybe they might be open-minded enough to give the Fat Badger and The Abbey at try.  On that note, Costanza, Elaine, Viv and I were about to find out what was in store at The Abbey.

With a bevy of mushrooms and sauce, our first appie was you guessed it, Mushrooms on Toast.  Sporting a combination of chanterelles, shimiji and button mushrooms, this had all the potential to be a wonderful mix of flavours.  However, we found the sauce far too tart which inhibited the woodsiness of the mushrooms.  With that being said, it was still a decent dish.  Next up, we split 2 Sausage Rolls between us (sounds a bit sketch I know...).  These featured a light and flaky pastry which was a touch soft on the bottom.  Inside, the sausage was meaty and actually quite lean.  It was mild in flavour, but the sides of dijon was super powerful where it should be used only sparingly.

Our favourite appie of the bunch had to be the Free- Run Chicken Karaage tossed in togaroshi and served with spicy mayo.  Each large piece of fried chicken was crispy on the outside without being greasy.  The attached skin was also nicely rendered and crisp.  In addition to the slight spice on the outside, the flavours were further amped by the spicy mayo.  Onto the mains, I decided on the Venison Burger with Lincolnshire Poacher cheese, wild boar bacon, pickled vegetables, salt & vinegar fries.  Served on toasted white bread, this was actually 2 burgers disguised as a sandwich.  This was so hearty, I could only finish half of it.  The meat itself was nicely processed where there was both moisture and enough fat to keep the meat from being dry (as venison tends to be).  It retained some pink, which also helped the cause.  I found the cheese to be nutty and full-flavoured while the bacon added both crunch and saltiness.  The side of salt & vinegar fries were da bomb as they were crispy while living up to its namesake.

Viv ended up with the dud of the meal being the Duck Confit with Toulouse sausage and cassoulet beans, blood orange and duck jus.  Although the duck leg was crispy on the outside with well-rendered skin, it resulted in an extremely dry and chewy product.  Hence, she wasn't overly enthused with eating it.  It was also rather salty too.  Not helping matters, the sausage was gritty and dry.  On the other hand, the beans were nicely done though being soft with a slight bite.  Costanza's choice of the Duck Shepherd's Pie redeemed the aforementioned dish.  It was a good portion of shredded duck confit which was remarkably more tender and moist than Viv's dish.  It was well-seasoned, bordering on salty, where it retained a natural gamy flavour.  The mash potatoes on top were not overly heavy nor was it a thick layer either.  Very little filler in this dish.

Elaine went for the Carbonnade Flamande, Beer Braised Beef with onions, horseradish, apple puree and pomme paille. The beef was fork tender and relatively moist.  It was doused in a sauce that had a rich ale essence and woodsiness while riding the line between tasty and too salty.  I liked the crispy and light pomme paille, but they were salted a tad too aggressively. For dessert, we had the Sticky Toffee Pudding with bourbon sauce which was probably the best we've had to date.  Rather than soaking a heavy cake with even more sugar and moisture, this one sat in a creamy bourbon sauce.  The cake itself was super light and fluffy (a departure from the typical).  There were many layers of flavour including a lightly sweet and smoky toffee finish.  

We weren't as enthused about the Peanut Butter Pie with sour cherries as the crust was far too sugary where the granules merely destroyed the smoothness of the filling.  About that filling, it was silky and only semi-sweet with the essence of peanuts. I liked the sour cherries and wished there was more of it to bring some more acidity to the dessert.  Despite some shortcomings, we still enjoyed our meal at The Abbey.  One's experience truly depends on ordering the right dishes.  We would definitely come back for the sticky toffee pudding for sure.

The Good:
- Casual, sophisticated ambiance
- Attentive service
- We liked 75% of the dishes, which is a pretty good batting average

The Bad:
- Not sure what was going on with the Duck Confit
- A bit heavy on the salt

The Abbey on Urbanspoon

The Fat Badger

Sometimes things were not meant to be.  Case in point - we've been trying to eat at Bistro Wagon Rouge for almost a year to no avail.  First time, it was after hockey and Gadget Girl changed our destination on us.  Second time, it was closed.  Third time, the wait was too long.  Fourth time, Whipping Girl was sick.  Despite her insistence that we go without her, Miss Y, Ned Flanders and myself changed our plans instead.  Up next on our bucket list was The Fat Badger in Downtown, where British pub eats awaited us.

Actually Ned was waiting for us by holding down a table nervously since we were a bit late.  He kept his head down so that he wouldn't draw any attention to his companionless-
ness (that's not a word is it?).  When we finally did arrive, we got down to business and ordered far too much food for 3 people.  We began with the Fried Pork Cheeks with cheddar & spring onion croquettes, watercress, frisee and apples slices drizzled with a warm cider & mustard sauce.  Tender, moist and strangely beef textured, the pork cheeks were encased in a crunchy breading.  The croquettes were really good with a soft centre and slightly crispy shell.  With greens on the plate and a mildly acidic dressing, the heaviness was shaved down a few notches.  To go with our brews, we got an order of the Pork Cracklings with sea salt & cracked pepper.  Although I've had airier, these were still light and crispy with just the right amount of seasoning.

Next up was a Scotch Egg atop HP Sauce.  Funny enough, I had exclaimed that the sauce underneath bore a striking resemblance to HP Sauce.  Ned Flanders replied that it was indeed HP Sauce.  Okay, I guess that is why it tasted like HP Sauce...  Duh.  Well, that was probably the reason why we didn't get a whole lot of impact from the sausage.  It was moist enough, but we didn't taste a whole lot of meat (possibly from us dunking it into the HP Sauce).  As for the egg, it was nicely executed with a beautiful free-range yolk.  Completing our "appies", we had the Mini Yorkshire Puddings stuffed with roast beef, gravy and horseradish cream.  We liked the pudding itself as it was light, soft and airy.  However, the roast beef was slightly chewy.  Gravy was nice where it was meaty without a boatload of salt, yet the horseradish was too mild to be heard.

Moving onto some larger items, we tried the Grilled Local Sea Bass with bubble n' squeak, watercress & blood orange salad with caper & raisin sauce.  Nicely crisped, the skin was the highlight of the dish.  As for the fish itself, it wasn't as buttery and flaky as we would've hoped.  I did like the seasoning as it was there without being overwhelming.  The bubble n' squeak was soft while not mushy where it had a nice acidity from the blood orange.  What really brightened up the flavours was the caper and raisin puree as it was acidic and sweet.  Probably our favourite main of the night was the Steak & Ale Pie with champ and mushrooms.  Beneath the flaky and buttery crust, we found a thick gravy that featured the depth of ale without the bitterness.  The sparse speckling of meat was succulent and rich in taste.  The side of champ was buttery and good on its own.  On the other hand, mushrooms added more depth-of-flavour.

Our last entree was the classic Irish Porter Bangers & Mash with sage and onion gravy.  Yes, the portion size was as large as the picture illustrates.  The 2 large sausages were not as heavy as they looked.  Inside, the lightly chopped meat was mixed with a good amount of chunky onion which added sweetness along with a looseness that made the sausage easy to eat.  I found the onion gravy to be excellent as it offered up both a tang and sweetness to balance off the savouriness and sage.  Underneath, the mash was buttery and smooth helping soak up the rich flavours of the gravy.  For dessert, we shared 2 of them including the Banana & Fudge Eton Mess with little nuggets of meringue hidden underneath the cream.  I would say I was indifferent with this dessert as it was really sweet and lacking in differing flavours.  I did like the meringue though as it was a textural contrast to everything else.

As for the Sticky Toffee Pudding with vanilla ice cream, it was love at first bite.  The toffee pudding was moist, rich and  sweet.  Although it was still quite sugary, it wasn't any different than other versions I've had.  To top it off literally, the melting ice cream added more sugary goodness.  Surprisingly, we dusted off all of our food with barely anything left on our plates.  Overall, we quite enjoyed the food we tried.  Sure, it wasn't perfect, but nothing ever is.  The Fat Badger, in our minds, successfully serves up a more refined British pub food experience.

The Good:
- Decent portions
- More than one-note flavours
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Some of the proteins (ie. fish & roast beef) were a bit overdone
- Squishy and tight in there, but hey, it's the pub-like experience right?

The Fat Badger on Urbanspoon

Search this Site