Well, it’s nearly my birthday. Which I can’t believe is here again already and yet the year seems as if it’s done its paces. Last night I went out to dinner with my BF and his family to a local restaurant to celebrate as my birthday this year falls on a weekday. The restaurant itself is reminiscent of another time, another era. It was once the actual printing room of the local newspaper and now calls itself of course The Print Room. It also has an attached bar called the Ink Bar. What struck me as I first walked into this place was its enormously high ceilings and black and white checkered flooring. It also had chandeliers, dark colored woods, and very modern yet art deco influenced interior.
We sat in a beveled glass and dark cherry wood booth. There was an actual piano player in the corner to provide some live music. Above us, the lightbulbs glow in glass boxes and the windows have red neon lights all around, again, lending itself to the feeling of being in a speakeasy. The only thing that’s missing is an outfit inspired by Coco Chanel and a Studebaker to take you there. This isn’t a place pretending to have art deco inspired details, it’s a place that actually has all it’s original windows and features. That’s the great thing about England is its determined efforts to conserve its buildings with upmost care.
For my starter I selected the pan fried scallops wrapped in pancetta and served with cress and a parsnip purée, which was all perfectly cooked. For my main, I had an absolutely delicious sea bream en papillote with potatoes Lyonnaise. Lastly, for dessert I selected a crème brûlée with raspberry mille feuille. Now, it was a bit too tart and sour for me with the amount of raspberries served with it. I was expecting the crème brûlée to be the star of the show. It was however a clever take on it. I washed this all done with a rosé wine spritzer.
I think the only thing I would’ve changed was my dessert–my BF ordered a spin on the classic peanut butter and chocolate combination. Also, I would’ve liked the prices to be a bit lower. I felt that it was over priced for what it was, albeit good tasting food. I’d certainly go here again, but just have to keep in mind what my budget is.
I liked the genuine decor, the attentive staff, and it’s attention to detail with its food, which is after all, why you go out to celebrate something in the first place.
Now tonight, as I’m feeling under the weather with a nasty cold, my wonderful BF is making us chicken soup again for dinner! Mmm…I could seriously eat it by the bucketful. We also have some nice crusty French bread to go with it. We’ve never made so many soups before until recently. Once you have homemade soup, which are so easy to make, why wouldn’t you want to make it all the time?! So homemade soups it is for us. My loving BF has bought me some nice tissues to blow my nose with. So off I go to tend to my nose and leave you with a recipe that we made the other night (minus the homemade chicken stock bit) and thoroughly enjoyed–we have a bay leaf tree outside as well as a thyme plant, so fresh herbs are never far away. I think it’s the herbs that make this soup so good, well, and the yummy Manischewitz noodles…and the carrots and celery…..ok, well everything that goes in this soup is what makes it good! Serve it with some fresh French bread and the occasional smear of butter, and you’ve got yourself a meal. Enjoy!
See recipe here: Chicken Noodle