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Post by Colin B on Dec 1, 2015 19:18:34 GMT
Have you sampled the culinary delights of the Blackbird, the goat curry is especially nice. Well remembered, Mr Roader, we can't forget to advertise the fare at the best eatery within 3 miles of the Grenoble Road stadium. Yes, I'm looking at you the Baldons' Mole and Chicken or whatever you're called with your modern floor, light-coloured tables, 90's food and cliched black-clad clueless servitors. This Sunday the Bird will be serving a five course feast in the newly-opened upstairs Sennett Gallery (stools only, no chairs; avoids fuss): - Beluga caviar on home-baked sourdough blinis, 2004 Veuve Cliquot
- Chislehampton crayfish on a bed of foraged Osney samphire, 2005 Leflaive Le Pucelles
- Saumon dans le facon de Toby, wilted aged root veg, chips, tartare sauce a ping-ping, NV Chardonnay chez boite
- Loin of Sherborne venison, blackcurrant and quince jus, game chips, red kale and topinambour with comice pear warm salad, 2003 Château Calon-Ségur
- Croquembouche, hibiscus beet gelato, gold thread, 2007 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey
I should warn newly-tempted warn forum members that the BlackBird operates a strict dress code - no overalls, no workboots. Edit: this meal is featured in a Harpers' and Queen advertisement, so it might be wise to book early. I was fortunate enough to have a preview of the Sennett Gallery last week, and have to say I was not impressed! Mine host has employed that awful Kirstie Allsop woman (who bears an uncanny likeness to a female Sennett) to design the decor and it is truly horrible and garish. Laurence Llewellyn Bowen couldn't have done a worse job. Luckily for him, I was able to use my contacts and Jeremiah Brent is giving it a makeover before opening, at no cost to mine host! He just wants to be able to put the Bird on his portfolio, such is the esteem it is now held in. Hopefully it will be finished in time , as I'm particularly looking forward to sampling the distinctive Osney samphire again.
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Post by Colin B on Dec 1, 2015 19:22:21 GMT
If it turns into a f*cking carvery I will burn it down. If you burn it down, I'll pour fuel on the flames! Carverys are the sort of awful places where the disaffected masses plot revolutions, strikes, and discuss the X Factor results!
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Post by manorlounger on Dec 1, 2015 19:49:38 GMT
Chardonnay with Salmon??? Good God man! And, never, ever tartare sauce, it would ruin the taste.
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Post by Colin B on Dec 1, 2015 20:20:45 GMT
A good, modern Chardonnay can be a very nice tipple. It must be un-oaked though, served very cold. Some good Chilean and (surprisingly to some) English stuff out there.
I'm with you on the tartare sauce though. Horseradish, blended with home made mayonnaise is an interesting alternative that can be served with salmon.
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Post by berliner on Dec 1, 2015 20:32:10 GMT
Dragging this bollocks back towards the matter at hand, does anyone have some recent photos of the Priory...would be interested to see how it looks at present.
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Post by andystroud on Dec 1, 2015 21:18:13 GMT
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Post by manorlounger on Dec 1, 2015 22:18:30 GMT
A good, modern Chardonnay can be a very nice tipple. It must be un-oaked though, served very cold. Some good Chilean and (surprisingly to some) English stuff out there. I'm with you on the tartare sauce though. Horseradish, blended with home made mayonnaise is an interesting alternative that can be served with salmon. Hmm, not convinced by chardonnay but, each to their own. Best sauce would be to simply add fresh tarragon and butter to the pan, add lemon juice and serve. (adjust seasoning of course) Horseradish and mayonnaise is best, I find, when the salmon is served cold.
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Post by Mark on Dec 1, 2015 22:47:32 GMT
Has anyone got the pic of the away fans sat in the shopping trolley at that old woodshed by the priory?
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Post by Colin B on Dec 1, 2015 22:47:26 GMT
A good, modern Chardonnay can be a very nice tipple. It must be un-oaked though, served very cold. Some good Chilean and (surprisingly to some) English stuff out there. I'm with you on the tartare sauce though. Horseradish, blended with home made mayonnaise is an interesting alternative that can be served with salmon. Hmm, not convinced by chardonnay but, each to their own. Best sauce would be to simply add fresh tarragon and butter to the pan, add lemon juice and serve. (adjust seasoning of course) Horseradish and mayonnaise is best, I find, when the salmon is served cold. I avoided Chardonnay like the plague, until about a year ago, when I was on holiday in South Africa and went to a number of vineyards, wine tasting. I was reluctant to try it at first, but had a bit of a conversion after being persuaded to try some un-oaked stuff and it blew me away. Since then I've bought several, some good, and some not so good, but there are many Chardonnays out there that taste nothing like the cliche'd stuff of the 80's and 90's. I'd urge you to put away your preconceptions and give it a try, but it must be un-oaked!
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Post by Denissmithswig on Dec 2, 2015 7:48:40 GMT
If you are having a glass of wine then it needs to be a chilled pinot grigio. Unfortunately it does seem to of become a "fashionable" wine in the supermarkets so there are some really bad ones out there.
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Post by Paul Cannell on Dec 2, 2015 8:38:26 GMT
A good, modern Chardonnay can be a very nice tipple. It must be un-oaked though, served very cold. Some good Chilean and (surprisingly to some) English stuff out there. I'm with you on the tartare sauce though. Horseradish, blended with home made mayonnaise is an interesting alternative that can be served with salmon. Hmm, not convinced by chardonnay but, each to their own. Best sauce would be to simply add fresh tarragon and butter to the pan, add lemon juice and serve. (adjust seasoning of course) Horseradish and mayonnaise is best, I find, when the salmon is served cold. Interesting that the dish that's attracting attention is the one I copied from a Toby Carvery menu. Chablis is Chardonnay, there is nothing per se wrong with Chardonnay; one day we'll look back and smile at the bathtubs of cottonwool Pinot Grigio and dull Prosecco that our womenfolk are hurling down their maws.
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Post by manorlounger on Dec 2, 2015 9:05:33 GMT
Chablis is Chardonnay, there is nothing per se wrong with Chardonnay; one day we'll look back and smile at the bathtubs of cottonwool Pinot Grigio and dull Prosecco that our womenfolk are hurling down their maws. The only good thing about Prosecco is the influence it is having on the price of proper fizz. Lanson Black label has been very reasonable of late. Always enjoy a glass on New years eve whilst watching the neighbouring estates set fire to themselves in attempting to set off fireworks.
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Post by My Manor on Dec 2, 2015 10:07:51 GMT
Chablis is Chardonnay, there is nothing per se wrong with Chardonnay; one day we'll look back and smile at the bathtubs of cottonwool Pinot Grigio and dull Prosecco that our womenfolk are hurling down their maws. The only good thing about Prosecco is the influence it is having on the price of proper fizz. Lanson Black label has been very reasonable of late. Always enjoy a glass on New years eve whilst watching the neighbouring estates set fire to themselves in attempting to set off fireworks. I picked up a case of Lanson Black Label from a Tesco store yesterday,£20 a bottle absolute bargain!
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Post by yuriyeller on Dec 2, 2015 10:08:52 GMT
Chablis is Chardonnay, there is nothing per se wrong with Chardonnay; one day we'll look back and smile at the bathtubs of cottonwool Pinot Grigio and dull Prosecco that our womenfolk are hurling down their maws. The only good thing about Prosecco is the influence it is having on the price of proper fizz. Lanson Black label has been very reasonable of late. Always enjoy a glass on New years eve whilst watching the neighbouring estates set fire to themselves in attempting to set off fireworks. But most fizz is essentially chardonnay albeit sometimes with a dash of pinoit noir/pinot meunier
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Post by Colin B on Dec 2, 2015 13:11:16 GMT
All you fizz drinkers should try Chapel Down Blanc de Noir 2009. It was a Gold Medal Winner in this years Sparkling Wine and Champagne Awards, beating off the French and is English! It is about £30 a bottle though, but I took a case over to some French business colleagues recently and they were very chastened, as they (in their arrogant French way) expected it to be crap, and had to admit it was very very good!
Coincidentally, I cooked them salmon, but in cajun spices, with no dressing at all. Served with gratinated dauphinois potatoes, and minted pea puree.
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Post by manorlounger on Dec 2, 2015 13:30:50 GMT
All you fizz drinkers should try Chapel Down Blanc de Noir 2009. It was a Gold Medal Winner in this years Sparkling Wine and Champagne Awards, beating off the French and is English! It is about £30 a bottle though, but I took a case over to some French business colleagues recently and they were very chastened, as they (in their arrogant French way) expected it to be crap, and had to admit it was very very good! Coincidentally, I cooked them salmon, but in cajun spices, with no dressing at all. Served with gratinated dauphinois potatoes, and minted pea puree. Oh yes! Chapel Down is stunning. In fact, there are some extraordinary wines coming out of the English vineyards these days. Waitrose keep some very reasonable deals in stock if you are looking to try. £30.00 a bottle for Chapel Down is very reasonable, our local shipper was quoting a bit more for equivalent stock. (Has a wonderful wine fair every year with tastings from all his suppliers - thankfully within walking distance)
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Post by Paul Cannell on Dec 2, 2015 14:04:24 GMT
All you fizz drinkers should try Chapel Down Blanc de Noir 2009. It was a Gold Medal Winner in this years Sparkling Wine and Champagne Awards, beating off the French and is English! It is about £30 a bottle though, but I took a case over to some French business colleagues recently and they were very chastened, as they (in their arrogant French way) expected it to be crap, and had to admit it was very very good! Coincidentally, I cooked them salmon, but in cajun spices, with no dressing at all. Served with gratinated dauphinois potatoes, and minted pea puree. Chardonnay au Boite is quite good enough for cheese-eating surrender monkeys and the box looks quite like a case, only more convenient since they have little handles. Needed a bit of sauce, that saumon en la façon d'arbitre, I'll venture.
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Post by Colin B on Dec 2, 2015 18:22:16 GMT
All you fizz drinkers should try Chapel Down Blanc de Noir 2009. It was a Gold Medal Winner in this years Sparkling Wine and Champagne Awards, beating off the French and is English! It is about £30 a bottle though, but I took a case over to some French business colleagues recently and they were very chastened, as they (in their arrogant French way) expected it to be crap, and had to admit it was very very good! Coincidentally, I cooked them salmon, but in cajun spices, with no dressing at all. Served with gratinated dauphinois potatoes, and minted pea puree. Oh yes! Chapel Down is stunning. In fact, there are some extraordinary wines coming out of the English vineyards these days. Waitrose keep some very reasonable deals in stock if you are looking to try. £30.00 a bottle for Chapel Down is very reasonable, our local shipper was quoting a bit more for equivalent stock. (Has a wonderful wine fair every year with tastings from all his suppliers - thankfully within walking distance) I've been to their vineyard in Tenterden a couple of times and it's a great way of tasting what they have to offer. I've been drinking their sparkling wines for years and was really heartened that the cheese munching surrender monkeys (as Monsieur Cannell likes to call them) had to admit it was as good as a very good champagne. Some of them even refused to admit that it was possible to get English wine, before my visit, so quite a turnaround!!!
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Post by Colin B on Dec 2, 2015 18:23:44 GMT
All you fizz drinkers should try Chapel Down Blanc de Noir 2009. It was a Gold Medal Winner in this years Sparkling Wine and Champagne Awards, beating off the French and is English! It is about £30 a bottle though, but I took a case over to some French business colleagues recently and they were very chastened, as they (in their arrogant French way) expected it to be crap, and had to admit it was very very good! Coincidentally, I cooked them salmon, but in cajun spices, with no dressing at all. Served with gratinated dauphinois potatoes, and minted pea puree. Chardonnay au Boite is quite good enough for cheese-eating surrender monkeys and the box looks quite like a case, only more convenient since they have little handles. Needed a bit of sauce, that saumon en la façon d'arbitre, I'll venture. I used a Toby Carvery special sauce..............................at least I think that's what it was? Looked and tasted like wallpaper paste!
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Post by manorlounger on Dec 2, 2015 18:33:21 GMT
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Post by manorlounger on Dec 2, 2015 18:42:06 GMT
Blasted edit facility. I wanted to say lucky man!
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Post by Colin B on Dec 2, 2015 18:46:16 GMT
Blasted edit facility. I wanted to say lucky man! Lucky, for visiting Chapel Down? Or the wallpaper paste?!?!
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Post by manorlounger on Dec 2, 2015 18:48:19 GMT
Blasted edit facility. I wanted to say lucky man! Lucky, for visiting Chapel Down? Or the wallpaper paste?!?! Definitely the former.
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Post by Colin B on Dec 2, 2015 19:24:47 GMT
If you're in Kent it's worth a visit. Not the biggest vineyard, but a nice place, decent restaurant, and a good shop. The village of Tenterden is quite nice for a stroll, but you need to be down there for something else, as it's too far to go just for Chapel Down on its own. Luckily my girlfriend only lives about 20 miles away!
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Post by londonroader on Dec 3, 2015 9:43:00 GMT
All you fizz drinkers should try Chapel Down Blanc de Noir 2009. It was a Gold Medal Winner in this years Sparkling Wine and Champagne Awards, beating off the French and is English! It is about £30 a bottle though, but I took a case over to some French business colleagues recently and they were very chastened, as they (in their arrogant French way) expected it to be crap, and had to admit it was very very good! Coincidentally, I cooked them salmon, but in cajun spices, with no dressing at all. Served with gratinated dauphinois potatoes, and minted pea puree. Chardonnay au Boite is quite good enough for cheese-eating surrender monkeys and the box looks quite like a case, only more convenient since they have little handles. Needed a bit of sauce, that saumon en la façon d'arbitre, I'll venture. Quite amusing..
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Post by Long John Silver on Dec 3, 2015 11:05:47 GMT
Hang on have I missed something, I thought it was a planning condition that the Priory was to be restored before the New hotel could open. Has kassam done yet another deal with the council- when will they learn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Firoka Limited have sought to vary the terms of the planning permission. It wants to have a 6 month leeway after the hotel opens next week before works commence on the Priory. The Priory will need significant work to be undertaken - not just the roof repaired before it can re-open. Seems like Firoka will have to spend a significant sum of money.It's not as if they have only just realised this is it!
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Post by steveo263 on Jan 17, 2016 13:11:46 GMT
Just seen a 'unit to let' sign near the priory. Not sure which unit it means. Maybe Kassam is trying to let the priory.
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Post by botox on Jan 18, 2016 16:54:18 GMT
Is there a bar in this new hotel we can use on match days?
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