We went with Ella & Julian to wish Mary (Julian's Mum) a very happy birthday. She's 98, very frail now and not always lucid though today she was on top form & as long as you hit the right pitch you could have bit of a chat as well. Unfortunately it was arranged at too short notice to get the boys and girls along which was a shame.
We took her down to the pub next door (how convenient!) for lunch the only negative being again there was next to nothing Tara could have. Soup without the bread for instance.........is it beyond the wit of man to keep a loaf of wheat free bread in the freezer!? It doesn't take long to defrost. Many pubs these days claim they can cater for dietary intolerances, it looks good on the menu but in practise as Tara has the double whammy of being vegetarian as well there's usually precious little to choose from, however, rant over. I should also say that when the pub found it out it was Mary's Birthday they presented her with a bottle of Prosecco which was very kind.
The very palatable 'Reverend James' ale was both mine & Julians choice. Based on the recipe from 1885 it's quite sweet but not too sweet, a lovely mid brown colour, tawny I suppose, and 4.5% in strength. Having ranted about gluten/wheatfree Tara had a gluten free bottle of Peroni lager, Ella had a Southern Comfort and lemonade and Mary a small sherry.
Spiced Parsnip and honey soup for T&E was bit of a surprise though they agreed it was alittle insipid, Prawn and lobster pot for me (posh prawn cocktail, very nice though). Mains were in the shape of baked camembert & salad for T (a bigged up starter without bread!) pork belly for J, childs cod goujons and salad For Mary and I had a really very good chicken, leek & crème fresh pie with mash & green beans. Strawberries & frozen yoghurt for Tara's pud, lemon cheese cake for Ella and ice cream for Julian and his Mum. I slummed it on beer!
A very pleasant couple of hours with a grand lady.
We took her down to the pub next door (how convenient!) for lunch the only negative being again there was next to nothing Tara could have. Soup without the bread for instance.........is it beyond the wit of man to keep a loaf of wheat free bread in the freezer!? It doesn't take long to defrost. Many pubs these days claim they can cater for dietary intolerances, it looks good on the menu but in practise as Tara has the double whammy of being vegetarian as well there's usually precious little to choose from, however, rant over. I should also say that when the pub found it out it was Mary's Birthday they presented her with a bottle of Prosecco which was very kind.
The very palatable 'Reverend James' ale was both mine & Julians choice. Based on the recipe from 1885 it's quite sweet but not too sweet, a lovely mid brown colour, tawny I suppose, and 4.5% in strength. Having ranted about gluten/wheatfree Tara had a gluten free bottle of Peroni lager, Ella had a Southern Comfort and lemonade and Mary a small sherry.
Spiced Parsnip and honey soup for T&E was bit of a surprise though they agreed it was alittle insipid, Prawn and lobster pot for me (posh prawn cocktail, very nice though). Mains were in the shape of baked camembert & salad for T (a bigged up starter without bread!) pork belly for J, childs cod goujons and salad For Mary and I had a really very good chicken, leek & crème fresh pie with mash & green beans. Strawberries & frozen yoghurt for Tara's pud, lemon cheese cake for Ella and ice cream for Julian and his Mum. I slummed it on beer!
A very pleasant couple of hours with a grand lady.
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Julian, Mary and Ella.   |
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