What better way to celebrate finishing both my last exam and my first year of university than a meal at Café 21. Some would rather go out and get ‘mortal’ (a Geordie word I have picked up), whereas I would rather drink fine wine and cocktails, whilst eating good food. This was to be my last meal at Café 21 for 4 months, due to me going home for the summer, so I thought I’d make the most of it by ordering off of the a la carte menu. At the end of the day, what’s a student overdraft for? I would probably get a huge shock if I had kept all of my restaurant receipts from September. Half of my loan and part-time wages have probably been spent on food alone. However, food is my passion and it makes me happy therefore, I feel it is justified.
For starter, I chose the rare salmon spring rolls with citrus/soy dipping sauce. Due to the number of times I have now eaten at Café 21 I have nearly eaten or at least tasted everything on the starters. I’d only had a bite of the salmon spring rolls when Tegan had ordered them once before so I was intrigued to try them properly. The dish consisted of three decent sized salmon spring rolls and a little round dish of soy/citrus dipping sauce. They were delicious, the salmon was perfectly rare, it didn’t verge on being sushi-fied or cooked through, it sat perfectly in the middle. It was lovely and pink. Coriander was very apparent in the spring rolls but it didn’t overpower the salmon, it gave the spring rolls a really fresh flavour. They weren’t at all greasy, they were lovely and crisp. The sauce wasn’t bitter like you might expect it to be and it complemented the spring rolls beautifully. Soy and salmon work really well together. Katie and Sophie both had a bite of them and agreed that they were scrumptious.
For main, I chose the medallions of Northumbrian venison with cherries, grapes and walnuts. It was probably the best dish I have ever eaten at Café 21. I couldn’t fault it at all. The venison was cooked to perfection. It was pink in the middle and it just melted in your mouth. The texture and flavour within the dish was unbelievable. You had the richness of the venison, the sweetness and softness of the cherries and the grapes and the crunchy texture of the walnuts. It was served with a juniper berry jus, which was to die for, and a butternut squash puree which added wonderful colour to the dish. There were also a couple of pieces of pancetta on top of the venison medallions which again added an extra element and flavour to the dish. The venison came served with gratin potatoes which I adore. They are similar to dauphinoise potatoes. They are extraordinarily creamy and were the perfect accompaniment. The venison was served on green beans and cabbage which added extra colour to the dish. It was a really warm looking dish that you couldn’t help but to want to eat. The reds, yellows and dark greens created a welcomingly appetising dish. I really didn’t want it to come to an end and I would have quite happily licked my plate had I not been in public. I did have to use a spoon to make sure every drop of the juniper jus was devoured.
For pudding, I chose the Yorkshire rhubarb crumble soufflé with ginger ice cream and the raspberry and fromage blanc vacherin. The reason I chose two is because I was intrigued by both and couldn’t make my mind up. The pudding menu offers a wonderful choice of original desserts, hence why my decision was so difficult. I wanted to try the lot. I did share the vacherin with everyone else though, I’m not THAT greedy. The soufflé stood proud in the coffee cup it was served in, this was a lovely visual element. The soufflé was pink and the crumble topping sat on top so you had this light and fluffy soufflé with the crunch of the crumble topping. It was a wonderful contrast in texture. The rhubarb taste wasn’t apparent in the soufflé itself, the rhubarb was hidden at the bottom of the cup. The raspberry vacherin was gorgeous. It was so refreshing, especially after eating two courses. It is a semi-frozen dessert so the raspberry takes the form of a sorbet and is moulded with the fromage blanc and crushed meringue. There were little pieces of thyme sprinkled around the plate which added an interesting but delicate flavour to the dessert.
Katie, Sophie and Lucy ate off the early evening menu. Katie had; Terrine of Northumbrian venison with a pickled beetroot salad, roast fillet of cod with tomatoes, pickled cucumbers and capers and petit pot au chocolat with churros. Sophie had; a salad of poached salmon with Jersey royals and pea shoots, grilled chicken breast with wild mushrooms, watercress salad and mustard dressing and palet d’Or of wild Bolivian chocolate with hazelnut ice cream. Lucy had; garden pea soup with gran reserva ham, minute steak with herb butter, chips and salad and petit pot au chocolat with churros. I’ve had the chocolate pot before. The idea behind it being that you dip the churros, which are Spanish strips of fried dough dusted with sugar or cinnamon, into an espresso cup filled with dark chocolate and orange. It’s yummy but very rich and it can get messy, not ideal for a first date, just like camembert.
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