The Old Parsonage

I may need to ask forgiveness from local restauranteurs, but the Old Parsonage is probably the most high class restaurant in Oxford proper.  There is of course Raymond Blanc's flagship just outside, and thr Nut Tree Inn with one Michelin star.  Within the city walls, though, there is a lack in good restaurants.

Part of a group of restaurants, the Parsonage is where you take a guest if you want to have a good meal.  Less business like than Quod, and less fish bowl like than Gee's (the two ugly sisters).

We had a leisurely lunch to while away some time, so felt like visiting the Parsonage.

Half a dozen starters and mains on the set menu, and some desserts we ignored.  A had the rabbit liver and I the ham hock terrine.

We have reached a point which most couples tend to, whereby we know exactly what the both of us will order out of a selection, and the question is who had which.  A is a huge fan of liver (as am I) so I deferred to her this time.  The rabbit livers, the first time we have tried it, were delicious.  A light metallic tang which were mammalian and chewy tasted like excellent chicken livers.  The texture was more akin to calves, but softer, and size also seemed similar to poultry.  With a little touch of bacon for salt, and little broad beans (fava if you want pretension) to chase around, the starter was excellent.

The terrine was also very good, and not overly salty as they sometimes can be.  Good bounce to the meat, and plenty of it.  It wasn't excellent and no better than any good potted meat you can find elsewhere, but still an excellent start to a meal.  Cornichons weren't necessary, but a traditional accompaniment, I suppose.

The house bread was very nice.  Two options were served: a chewy sourdough and a harder (rye?) that provided plenty of opportunity for picking.

A had the kedgeree with poached egg.

The egg in question was just right, and the flavour of the dish was a pleasant balance of fish, rice, and a touch of smoke from the haddock.  The colour looked more like artificially dyed haddock than saffron, but that does sound like something the Parsonage would do.  My only (slight) complaint was that the rice was overcooked and mushy, it was a little homogenous, lacking more peas for texture, and stingy with the fish.  A told me to stop whining.  In truth, it wasn't a risotto and the texture wasn't bad.  There were some fish bones, which I thought they could have taken more care with, and a few more peas would have added texture.  None of this made us unhappy; I am just picking at bones.

I decided on a boring steak frite.  The steak frite wasn't boring; I was particularly uninspired that day.

I asked for as rare as they could manage, and to their extreme credit, the thin sirloin was wonderfully pink.  As much as you can expect for a minute steak (6oz?).  There was some trade off with a brown exterior but I would rather have a pallid, raw piece of beef than all that browning but solid grey throughout.  The chips were excellent.  Crisp, thick and extremely fluffy inside.  I had immediate food envy of the scampi and chips that went past to another table, as the freshly battered scampi looked so enticing.  My steak was fine, but pallid is still pallid and the portion was small.  Fine for most people I guess, but not for this growing (sideways) boy.

The bill came to £37 for two set menus, and a slight indulgence in a glass of champagne took it to over £50 with service.  The meal wasn't mind blowing (although the liver was excellent), but everything was just nice, which is difficult to find in Oxford, where there are several tragically flawed alternatives.  Is it worth the price?  Not for the food, albeit lovely, but yes for a very enjoyable lunch.

Pierre Victoire

Once upon a long time ago, a young M and A had their first date in a French bistro in Oxford.  Years later, we decide to spend a Sunday brunch seeing how the old place has weathered the years.  We go from strength to strength; will Pierre Victoire be the same?

In Sundays they only have a prix fixe menu, which is fine.  It is volumous and covers french classics like pate, duck confit, etc, as well as catering for locals with a range of Sunday roasts.

A ordered the are, and I the salmon cous cous.

The pate is delicious, and extremely fluffy, making the large serving a pleasure to finish.  Oddly almost no bread was served with this, and the gratuitous baguette with the table cover cost didn't make enough of a dent, and we had to ask for more.  What do most people do, eat it with a spoon?  One could, although it's not advised.

Sad baguette.  £2

The cous cous was a sorry affair.  With almost no salmon, and certainly no detectable pieces of eye advertised smoked salmon, it was extremely bland.  Insufficient herbs and peppers to break up the mushy monotony, this was diet food (read: pointless).

The wait was the worst part of the meal.  After plates were cleared away, mains simply failed to appear.  We weren't forgotten; the restaurant just moved at glacial speeds.  Having been seated with no reservation with the admonishment of "ok, but you need to be finished by 2pm", which seemed reasonable since we had come in on the last bell of noon, we were now sitting waiting at 1.15pm for our mains.

A's moule frite was lovely.  Not an overly large portion but plenty for her and some to share.  The mussels were tender and plump, and in a simple marnier sauce.  Frites were rather ho hum.  No bread for soaking up the sauce.  Maybe baguettes are at a premium, or maybe they are habitually wasted, but I would have thought they would replenish with appropriate dishes.  Moan about bread over.

My Sunday roast was a masterpiece.  Something very lean, possibly top rump or silverside, were blasted so that there is still some perfect rareness in a few slices matched well with a good Yorkshire pud and some lively vegetables in jus.  I thought the gravy was too think but A pronounced it excellent.  I do like thick, meaty, gravy, and shouldn't fault this sauce.

For the price, the mains really made the set menu.

By 1.45pm we were worrying about our parking, never mind the deadline they had set.  No sign of desserts; should we just leave.

Finally, these arrived.

A's cherry tart used sweet cherries in season rather than the sour morello type, which meant the flavour was entirely lost in the cooking.  What a waste of good fruit.

My strawberry fool (by some French name) was fine.  After the enormous (even for me) roast meal, a bowl of cream was just a tad too much.

All in all, the price was more than fair for a three course Sunday lunch, and some of here good was excellent and enough to make up for the less interesting dishes.  One needs to pick and choose and learn the menu, which would be a worthy excercise for the best options.  The service does rather let getting experience down.  All very friendly, loud, and extremely french, we were sitting for two hours which rather stretches just how leisurely a lunch we wanted, and at points perfectly good English names and descriptions were given in French.  Yes, I understand it's an authentic french bistro with authentic french staff, but a Yorkie by any other name; a fool is still a fool.

This is the worst photo possible.  I am sorry and I am turning in my blogger card at the door.

Lunch for two with a glass of wine each was around £35-40, and portions are very generous.  Worth becoming a local just to avoid the dud dishes, and order by looking at others' plates, not the menu.

Cafe Rouge

Café Rouge
51 St Giles St
Oxford
OX1 3LU



With a fantastic 50% off the food bill with the Gourmet Society, we couldn't wait to dine at Café Rouge.



Having had fantastic steak and roast chicken here before, the discount is difficult to ignore.



Café Rouge is a nation-wide chain serving (faux?) French food - mostly steak, chicken, and fish, grilled or roasted. Faily generic, but in Oxford it is done very well. It's about the only place in Oxford one can find a steak cooked to order, rather than uniformly grey.



The highlight is usually the dessert menu.



My duo of seafood (crab mayonnaise, and smoked salmon) was somewhat disappointing. The salmon was marvellous, but the crab was scant and mayonnaise overpowering.



A chose the daily special of escargot served one of three ways (with spinach, or garlic butter, or goat's cheese). The garlic butter was delicious, and snails tender and flavourful but without the earthy stink that they sometimes have.



We asked the waiter the provenance of the snails, and after several iterations he got it out of chef that they were sent alive from France and not frozen as we had assumed.


A's seabass with spinach was served possibly poached. The skin was certainly flaccid, with no sign of crispness. The fish was cooked nicely though, with good flavour. It was just a shame that the crisp skin, usually the highlight of seabass, was left out.

My marinated bavette steak was delicious. Recommended by our flamboyant (Brazillian) waiter, it came with excellent frites, and served rare (or as near as possible) as requested. When ordering, we asked what bavette was, not being familiar with the term. After some confusion, our waitre rubs his tummy and declares 'the belly!' And indeed it was - a trimmed piece of thin skirt steak marinated in oil, garlic, spices and wine, and grilled rare. Slightly chewy but with an intense flavour of beef and the marinade, this is definitely one of the better steaks I've recently had.



A couldn't resist the trio of desserts: lemon tart, rum baba and chocolate truffle torte. The lemon tart was perfectly light with a zesty flavour, and topped with brulée sugar. The rum baba lacked rum - rather it was watered down for the English I expect, and the chocolate truffle torte was decadent and heavenly.



The damage: with 50% off the food bill, and a bottle of wine, dinner for the two of us came to a meagre £41.72 - a ridiculous amount. Even with tipping our fantastic waiter heavily, we walked away from a delicious three course meal barely scathed. Paying full price, the bill would be £70-80 for two. Still excellent for the quality of food here.

Oxford farmers' market

Farmers' market
Gloucester Green
alternate Thursdays every month



Apostrophy madness aside, the market is a great place to buy fresh meat from farmers, giving better choice than the usual weekly Wednesday market, and with a few interesting stalls that outstrips the usually excellent covered market.




The hog roast man is usually there, and aside from excellent roast pork baps, he also sells fresh bacon and pork ribs.



Fresh soup is always to be had.



Local ales.



Masses of crackling: the hog will usually come to 200-250 portion.



This lady sells amazing goats' cheese. Garlic, herb, pepper, it's all excellent.



Small batch farm-made dairy products.



Not being a sucker for meaningless adjectives like 'farm made', these cheeses spoke for themselves. The smoked cheddar was singularly outstanding.





The pork man (one of many) sells excellent tongue.



Blue veined brie.



By 12 noon the doughnuts have all sold out.



The mushroom man sells interesting varieties: shiitaki, shimeiji, oyster and the best giant portobellos we've tasted.



We took home one of the cute little punnets of beets. Watch this space for our beet-growing antics!



All sorts of vegetables I never thought to grow at home: including sweetcorn!



This man sells brilliant mutton, and also game when in season as well as grain-fed duck, smoked chicken and also venison.











Mmm, smallgoods...



Little Whittenham lamb, as well as beef from a local farm every alternate market.



The breads aren't my favourite: I prefer our local baker at Gatineau.