I’ve sort of accidentally started doing long runs again.
I say accidentally because after my injury woes, I went out one evening to run for 5km. After 5 I wasn’t done, so continued to 10km. After 10km I still wasn’t done, so I went a bit further.
I came home after 15km – tired, but elated. It was the furthest I’d run since November, the furthest I’d been able to run in a long time. My calf is fixed, my love of long runs back.
This of course means one thing. I can eat everything on the weekend when I run. This means heavy brunches, Saturday night carb-ups and best of all. Roast dinners.
Meat, Yorkshires, potatoes, gravy, veggies. All of it.
So after a good weekend run in the cold where I had to finish early, my fingers were so frozen I couldn’t hold my water bottle any more, a good hot filling roast dinner was called for. I was craving roast potatoes, meat and gravy.
Oh yes. Gravy. Gravy and I have a history. I’ve often joked that I’ll drink it from the jug. I’m not joking. I have form.
See?
So after discussion with Mr GFB, we picked our spot. Mr Cooper’s. Perhaps not your first choice for a roast, but not only had we heard good things, we’d also heard they also had a new menu and a new cocktail menu. Just in case we changed our minds on the day.
We timed it perfectly – though it was mid afternoon, the roast was still available, and our table was free straight away. It also felt late enough to indulge in cocktails, and in the ‘garden’ surroundings of the restaurant it was almost green enough to kid myself it was a late spring afternoon, rather than the bitterly cold 1st March it was.
While we ogled the menus, we sampled cocktails from the revamped bar menu. Bar Manager Nate has worked with the whole team to create a menu that whilst produced independently, fits with the restaurant’s feel and ethos. There are cocktails and mocktails artfully crafted by individuals on the team, pulled together into a deliciously diverse gustable journey.
My first (though it wasn’t the first time I’d sampled it) was the South of the Border – a more refined version of a Margarita – lime, orange bitters, salted agave, tequila, Cointreau and mezcal, served in a coupe dusted with black lava salt and garnished with a dried lime slice. So well balanced and perfect for waking the taste buds.
Mr GFB indulged his sweet tooth and fondness for rum, with a Ruckus Juice – ginger, lime, orgeat, lager and spiced rum. Though sweeter, it still had the spice and acidity to wake the palate and by the time our order was taken, we were starving.
Tempted though we were by the main menu – the raw beef with pickled paw-paw tempted me, as did the buttermilk fried oyster and kimchee purée, and the hake with blue cheese risotto is apparently going down rather well, there was no swaying me.
Sunday roast dinner please.
The roast menu is great value – £13 as a main, £16 for two courses, or £20 for three. It’s changed regularly, to keep it seasonal, and we’d caught it when a favourite was on the menu. Beetroot soup with dill creme fraiche and crispy chard. The soup was perhaps more acidic than expected, the tomatoes used in it were detectable, but with the soft creamy dill creme fraiche and the lightly bitter chard, it was delicious.
The main, when it arrived too, was exactly what I needed after that long cold run.
Though this had been on offer from 1pm and it was now closer to 4pm, it hadn’t suffered. There was no congealed gravy or soggy potatoes here. The beef was perfectly pink and tender, the roast potatoes crispy on the outside, with a good fluffy centre – perfect for absorbing gravy. The vegetables too had kept their density, even the cauliflower cheese had maintained its texture – no wallpaper paste disguised as such here.
And the gravy? Mr GFB let me have it to myself, so he could indulge in the spice of a proper English mustard and horseradish sauce. I’d say I was upset at this, but I’d be lying.
I do love gravy. Though I did refrain from drinking it. This time.
Over a break and a glass of wine we contemplated dessert – and compromised. We wanted a taste, but a whole dessert each was too much, even though the one on offer proved light and airy. So we shared.
Black sesame and green tea cake with tonka bean ice cream. The black sesame base was a delicately light, sponge, perfumed with the flavour of the sesame and atop it sat a light mousse of matcha green tea – gentle in flavour, but delicious. The nutty ice cream, was a delight too. I’m not a big fan of tonka bean, I’ve often found it’s flavour too ‘beany’ for me, but this had lost that green flavour and instead kept the softer rounder flavours. We soon found ourselves spoon fighting over the last mouthful.
Pleasantly full, we headed back to the bar – friends were out watching the football and we had time for one last cocktail before we headed off to meet them.
Gin for me this time, with Through the Looking Glass, a nod to both Alice in Wonderland and the Aviation, served in a medicine bottle. Lavender, a little gomme, citric and gin. I adore perfumed flavours, hence my love of the Aviation, and this is another that’s immediately on the favourites list. Floral, lightly sour, and lots of gin.
Mr GFB indulged in more rum, with Cocktail À La Pression or a cocktail on draught. Literally a cocktail on tap at the bar – it’s regularly changed, so always ask – but I love the idea that it will change to reflect the season.
I’d like to say that after a fantastic meal and some delectable cocktails, Mr GFB and I left after this to meet our friends. The first part of that would be correct. We did.
But I got a little distracted. I started chatting gin and bought a little Burleigh’s Gin to sample, one that’s been on my ‘to try’ list for a while. It seems I had found a fellow ginophile (is that word?) in David, who had his own gin from the Ginstitute that I was then treated to (deliciously citrussy, perfect for a Martini) and some Mince Pie Gin from Sipsmith that was leftover from the festive season.
Meantime Mr GFB furiously messaged our friends to warn them we’d be late.
Oops.
All food and drink consumed on this visit were paid for by Mr GFB and myself.