Midsummer House, Cambridge

We visited Cambridge on a bitterly cold day a couple of weeks ago and had a few hours to wander around the numerous Colleges and attractive buildings. The main reason for the long journey from the North West was for the first leg of Mrs Nom’s birthday weekend, beginning with a visit to the critically acclaimed Midsummer House, a 2 Michelin starred restaurant run by Chef Daniel Clifford, a regular on TV food shows such as Great British Menu. Midsummer House is located in a standalone building next to the River Cam on Midsummer Common.

My mood was nearly ruined as I discovered a parking ticket had been issued when I returned to the car to top up before the meal. However the residents parking only sign was obscured by bushes and a subsequent appeal was successful, which was a first for me. As a word of warning for anyone visiting and parking on Aylestone Road in the future, beware as the same stretch of road has pay and display on one side but residents permit only on the other and it’s not very clear for visitors!

A choice of 5, 7 and 10 course menus are offered during lunch service and as if reading our minds when we ordered the 10 course the charming maitre’d asked Mrs Nom if she was sure. We had been pondering but out of the earshot of staff whether we could choose different menus but most places tend to be pretty adamant that the same menu is to be served to all guests at the same table. Without hesitation the full 10 course was offered for me and 7 for Mrs Nom and the maitre’d said it was not a problem and would even tell Chef we were two tables of one otherwise!

All of the courses from the 7 were on the 10 course menu and Mrs Nom welcomed the break in between as I had the additional courses. The meal began with a medley of amuse bouches and canapés, beginning with a bloody mary and celery sorbet followed by chicken liver parfait and red apple roll, mackerel wafers, sour cream with chives & lime gel and a decadent truffle cheese éclair.

The first course was an attractive ring of smoked haddock and pickled onion with the centre filled with a grilled cheese foam at the table.

The next course of beetroot baked on open coals, quinoa, frozen goat’s cheese & mizuna was theatrical and prepared at the table. Interesting textures from the frozen but light goat’s cheese with the hot soft beetroot.

Suckling pig, turnip, buttermilk, Iberico ham, one of the highlights of the meal for me.

Roasted sea scallop, tartare, Jerusalem artichoke, black truffle. A selection of impressive truffles were paraded at the table before being shaved onto the dish.

Roast quail, shallot purée, grapes, celery and sour dough. Served in three parts with a quail’s egg, quail breast and on toast.

Roast monkfish, salsify, bacon, cabbage and mustard.

Slow roast venison, Swiss chard, sloe berry and blue cheese. The sloe berry and blue cheese worked well with the venison deep in flavour from the slow roasting.

Pousse café – Jack Daniels cream, chives, pasteurised egg yolk and maple syrup. An unusual but interestingly layered shot.

Lemon posset, blueberries, lemon espuma.

Passion fruit, yoghurt & dark chocolate, very rich but balanced up by the tart passion fruit.

Butter pastries with apple brandy crème anglais and caramel sauce. As if we needed more after the desserts the pastries were surprisingly light.

The consistency of the dishes was incredible, judged by the fact that our 10 and 7 course menus had different running orders and as I had dishes Mrs Nom had enjoyed prior to me were exactly the same despite the multiple components, the quail dish being the prime example. Although expected of course from a 2 star restaurant. Each of the courses was enjoyable and the journey through them all was very memorable. At £105 for the full 10 course menu it is not excessively priced for the quality.

Daniel Clifford is a very hands on chef and we noticed when he walked past a couple of times to another kitchen or storage area in the garden separate from the main kitchen. Midsummer House is a special restaurant delivering top class food in a beautiful city.

Ichimura at Brushstroke, New York

Trying an omakase sushi meal has been high up on my agenda for a while. Having given up on trying to secure seats at Sushi Tetsu in London and Sushi Nakazawa in New York due to the demand  I was excited to find out that Mrs Nom managed to book us into Ichimura at Brushstroke during our NYC trip. In what was to be my first ever evening meal in the busy metropolis and what a fine one it was. Ichimura is located in the former bar area of Japanese restaurant Brushstroke, both held one Michelin star during our visit but Ichimura has since been awarded a second star in the 2015 Michelin guide for New York City.

Due to the small sushi bar setting seatings are limited to two per night at 6pm and 9pm. There were nine diners during our sitting and after after a short wait for the first set of diners to depart we were luckily plonked right in front of Master Ichimura, ideal seats to watch the master at work. 

Master Ichimura was very softly spoken asking us if we had any allergies as we took our seats, with a permanent friendly and smiley demeanour that lasted through the whole meal all of the diners including us couldn’t help but feel charmed by the Master. Below is a summary what we experienced during our sitting. Starting with an appetiser plate followed by sashimi and chawanmushi before the endless nigiri selection featuring some very fine fresh fish. Our descriptions wouldn't do the fish justice so we will let the pictures do the talking. Each piece was expertly cut exuding natural oils and served at the right temperature before melting in the mouth. Freshly grated wasabi and the level of soy was decided by Master Ichimura and he got it spot on each time.

Appetiser plate

Sashimi plate - chu-toro, mmberjack, striped sea bass, octopus, abalone, red snapper

Chawanmushi - steamed egg with Dungeness crab and truffle 

Sea bream

Isaki

Striped sea bass susuki

Kinmedai  - Golden eye snapper

Aji horse mackerel

Bonito

Serra Spanish mackerel

Amberjack

Herring

Shima-Aji - Striped jack fish

Red sea snapper

Sea urchin – Nagano and Hoikkido

Sea shrimp

Chu-toro, medium fatty tuna

Ikura – salmon roe

O-toro, fatty tuna belly

Grilled sea bream & Myoga plum sauce

For us the double layer chu-toro and o-toro nigiri along with the sea urchin were the best pieces of the night, but in truth all of the other fish we sampled were extraordinary. The meal has set a whole new benchmark for us when it comes to sushi, it may only be topped by visiting Japan, hopefully sooner than later. At $180 a head before drinks and at around £170 each with moderate sake it is certainly priced at the high end but for the quality of the fish it is a price worth paying.

L'Enclume, Cartmel

It is fitting as we reach the century blogpost milestone that it belongs to a special restaurant. Much has been written about L’Enclume, the flagship Simon Rogan restaurant that sits in the charming village of Cartmel. As well as being the 100th post it was also the venue for Mrs Noms birthday back in December, I can’t reveal her age though as I risk not being able to finish this post otherwise! The booking was made months in advance, increasing the anticipation as the date drew nearer. L’Enclume holds two Michelin stars and scored a rare perfect ten alongside topping the charts in the Good Food Guide 2014.

The drive to the village of Cartmel takes you on a journey from urban to rural, leaving the motorways to narrow countryside roads. L’Enclume is located on a side street just off the main square. We were one of the first tables to arrive at 6.30pm and were seated at a table with a view of the pass, or theatre seats as they were described. After a quick tour of the state of the art kitchen we sat down to begin the 22 course culinary adventure. The menu for the night was contained in an envelope on the table, but we decided not to look until the end, but truth be told I kind of knew what was coming from countless drooling at other blogs! 

The first nibble was an oyster pebble with oyster leaf. It is fascinating how a leaf can taste like an oyster. A fresh taste of the sea with a melt in the mouth oyster macaroon, this was a divine start to the meal.

Next up was a broiche chicken ragu dumpling with a crispy skin packing intense chicken flavours.

Artichoke crisp with truffle purée and grated truffle with great crunch from the crisp.

Goats cheese from Herefordshire, tarragon and malt, this was slightly too strong and intense for Mrs Nom.

Smoked eel on tapioca and smoked ham fat emulsion.

Poached quail egg with the yoke removed and filled with black garlic with crisp kale. This was a clever nibble and was the last of the appetisers as cutlery began to appear on the table.

Scallop tartare with English caviar, rocket and fennel vinegar. Sharp vinegar but as a dish it came together extremely well. It was one of our favourite courses of the evening.

Sack of brown shrimp, lettuce emulsion and mace powder.

A bowl with three coloured balls were presented next and described as a hot pot with the flavours being puréed potato, lamb and purple cabbage. A lamb broth was added at the table, the balls burst in the mouth, oozing out intense hot pot flavours, a clever little dish.

The bread selecton contained, malt, white and Cumbrian rolls served with rendered fat butter.

Cod yolk on a bed of wild rice and infused with salted vinegar. 

Venison tartare, mustard, caper jam, fennel and candied fennel gin. Very well executed, Mrs Nom preferred these flavours over the ox tartare at Simon Rogans Manchester restaurant, The French. 

The next course was presented with a sealed pot with linseed cracker and langoustine cracker on top, after which the lid was taken off and underneath lay fresh sweet Cumbrian langoustines, black pudding and parsnip foam.

Baby potatoes in onion ashes, lovage and wood sorrel, a lovely salad dish with great flavours 

Butter poached Dover sole with razor clams, nasturtium butter and leeks. 

The last of the savoury dishes was 5 week aged Dexter sirloin beef with wasabi mayonnaise, tomato purée added sweetness. Smoked bone marrow was spooned over finishing off the dish. Whilst the beef was exquisite Mrs Nom found the leaves slightly bitter. 

Likewise with the start of the meal a series of bite size desserts were presented first followed by larger dishes. The first was milk skin crisp and truffle ice cream which was lovely and sweet.

Goats cheese cup with encased pear and beetroot, a mellow cheese flavour and served frozen, Mrs Nom was too busy taking pictures at this point and was warned to quickly eat it before they melted. 

Elderflower wine reduced,yoghurt sorbet and chocolate soil. Probably the only dish of the meal which didn't really deliver a punch.

Buttermilk poached quince, muscovado shard granita crunch and sweetness from honey oats. 

Meadow sweet mousse with Granny Smith apple, walnuts and sorrel. Tangy notes from the apple, perfect and well balanced flavours, the pick of the desserts.

The last course were a series of coloured flavoured cones including raspberry and sweet cheese, celeriac and woodruff. Served with a refreshing Douglas fir drink.

An additional dessert course of raspberry with crumbled shortbread was presented to Mrs Nom to acknowledge her birthday which was a nice touch from the restaurant. It rounded off a fantastic meal which we can say was our best of 2013. No words can do it justice, you will have to visit to find out for yourselves how good L'Enclume really is.