The Mucky Badger

Posts Tagged ‘food’

Location & Photo

 

	White Lion Southam Road Radford Semele Nr Leamington Spa Warwickshire CV31 Tel: 01926 425 770?

Review

Think of a sleepy English village pub with a thatched roof and you’ll probably think of something similar to the White Lion in Radford Semele.

Situated on the busy Southam Road the White Lion’s character pulls you in with all the welcoming warmth a country gastro-pub can. This belies the fact that the pub is part of the Chef & Brewer chain which to me has become the John Lewis of gastro-pub  chains having been a regular at the Bear & Staff pub in Gateacre in Liverpool since my formative years. So being used to the outstanding quality of Chef & Brewer fayre, it was difficult to be objective describing the dining experience here.

The bar area boasts some excellent local real ales and promotional literature throughout the pub announces the imminent arrival of a season long in house beer festival. You know, the kind where you buy pints of local beer, drink it, come back another day and try another one. This pub is probably run by a very ale passionate landlord as the beer rarely disappoints but the prices unfortunately do. But I guess there’s nobody to blame for £3 a pint beer but the government.

The menu is beautifully presented and a chalk board proclaims a changing specials menu. The menu also features a Mixed Grill! Sadly this mixed grill is missing a number of the key ingredients to qualify for a Mucky Badger mixed grill award containing only gammon, chicken(!), sausage, steak and ancillary vegetables. Had it contained some lamb and some liver it could well be in the running for an award.

So not to be disappointed I opted for the 9oz Rump Steak. Served medium, the meat tasted fresh with minimal gristle and was accompanied by some chips and a small garnish. It might have been worth chucking some garden peas on that plate for the price that was paid but it still provided a decent meal.

Service there was more than splendid (despite being greeted with “Good evening ladies” – I must get round to having a hair cut) and the meal arrived without too long a wait. Even the dessert choices left me spoilt for choice. However, in the end the Lime Meringue pie was opted for and the flavour was it’s own reward. The cutting tang of lime causing memories of long forgotten much loved flavours of Angel Delight to come flooding back.

So for

• 1 x Mixed Grill
• 1 x Rump Steak and chips
• 1 x Lime pie
• 1 x Fizzy mineral water
• 1 x pint of Foster’s Lager

The price came to just over £30

Conclusion

Delightful surroundings and pleasant atmosphere with what seems to be fairly locally sourced ingredients served by excellently presented staff deserving a good score, however the price does leave a nasty after taste and while good food does cost more it can’t be helped to think how much profit this pub makes on dry sales.

Still, the portions and lack of fuss make this pub score slightly higher than the Plough in Eathorpe, but the cost prevents a higher score, 87%

Location & Photo

Marton Road
Long Itchington,
Southam,
Warwickshire CV47
01926 633 233

Review

When you’re driving through the lovely Warwickshire countryside, possibly the last thing you expect to see is a Chinese restaurant. Unless, of course, you’re looking for that particular place.

The Water Margin has been a long time favourite of both my companion and mine. We spent New Year’s eve there in 2009 and whenever stuck on making a decision about what we’re to eat of an evening, the Water Margin is often our first choice.

Their menu is extensive and reasonably priced; the decor simple and clean. The staff always pleasant; The food? Well the food is more than delicious.

Having failed to have our Chinese food desire fulfilled at the Emperor’s restaurant (see previous review) we decided that the following night we would go to the Water Margin and compare.

Price wise, for about the same as we’d spent in the Emperor’s, we managed to get a substantial feast to share. The Water Margin’s set banquets do have a wide variation but when catering for two people the selections on the set meals are a little uninspiring. Don’t get me wrong though, they are delicious but my critical mind looks for a little bit more in the way of options. Indeed, had we been a group of three or four then the set meals for larger parties do come with much more choice. I guess the trick is to bring your chums to this one.

Anyway, we opted for:

• Prawn toast (6)
• Salt and pepper spare ribs – deliciously succulent and large, most of the Chinese restaurants I have been to in Warwickshire tend to have those tiny little riblets that consist mostly of gristle.
• Salt and Pepper Chicken wings in Honey – Again, another winner for both of us
• Chicken in Peking Sauce – A sweet and tangy sauce with fair sized chicken pieces
• Pork in Black Bean Sauce – A fantastic salty feast
• Yueng Chow Fried Rice – Much more than the mouthful  at the Emperor’s

The whole selection came to just under £35 which was a similar price to that paid at the Emperor’s but this time we left feeling full. In fact, I could not finish and my companion Zoe, had to finish what was left over despite my appeal for a doggy bag.

The staff were thoughtful and pleasant; the surroundings, again pleasant; the food first rate. Now if the Emperor’s portions were this size I’d have been pleased but when you find smaller relatively off the beaten track restaurants that do comparatively excellent food but with much more portion wise, you wonder why you left the more expensive place feeling hungry.

Conclusion

If you are in the Leamington Spa area I can thoroughly recommend the Water Margin to fulfil your Chinese food fix. If you’re feeling daring why not nip in on a Sunday afternoon when you can have an all you can eat buffet or just pop in on an evening. They also do take away but as the Warwickshire base is a bit far out our take away meal would be cold by the time we’d got it home. Besides, its such an ace place, you’ll definitely want to go back with your chums.

Score – 87% – A Forbidden Palace of a restaurant worthy of a title such as Emperor. Well worth the visit.

I’ve not posted for almost a month. Not because I’ve given up. More because at the moment I am wrestling with the final year of my Honours degree in Television and Media at the University of Huddersfield.

So that’s kind of taking up the majority of my time for the next two months.

All this hard academic work has given me a craving. No, not for jam or sweets or beer. A craving for something a lot more substantial.

A plate of grilled meat.

Yes. A plate of grilled meat. Not just any plate of grilled meat. A mixed selection of grilled meat.

  A MIXED GRILL

The hunt for a good mixed grill is on. I’ve toured many a place over the past few years, dining here and there. Checking this menu and that menu. The constant being, observing the selection on offer at an establishment for their mixed grill.

Possibly the best mixed grill I’ve ever eaten has been at the New Wheatsheaf in Altofts near Wakefield. A massive plate of glorious grilled meat including: Steak, sausage, liver, kidney, lamb chops and gammon steak topped with a fried egg and served with onion rings, mushrooms and grilled tomatoes. Of course you get chips with that if you want AND a visit to the veg section at the carvery to boot. If that wasn’t enough to cause you to put on 10 inches, the meal comes with a side salad. Just so you feel like you’re having something healthy with all that meat. All for the bargain price of……wait for it……..£15.80

The only other pretender to the throne was at the Three Horseshoes in Brierley near Barnsley. However they have changed hands and chef since then and I have no idea if they still do the mixed grills.

Of course I vaguely remember The Plough at Eathorpe having a mixed grill on their evening menu too but as I was there for lunch and not in a mixed grill mood, I’m afraid I’ll just have to imagine.

So yes. Hard academic study wanting a meal to harden the arteries. As I’d say to my mum, if I was to have a mixed grill every evening then yes…be concerned. But the odd one now and then shouldn’t cause too much lasting damage.

Anyway. to me. A mixed grill should contain:

1. Sausage
2. Steak
3. Chops
4. Liver
5. Other meats
6. Onion rings

Bonus points will be given for black pudding, the size of the chips and how local the sausages are. (When I finally get round to finishing my academic work (which should be at the end of April, I’ll probably do a special week on sausages).

So come on. Tell me about your mixed grills. Are you an eatery owner? Do you do mixed grills? Would you like the Mucky Badger seal of approval? Well I have to know where it is first.

The hunt is on.