Skosh

Every time I try and start this blog I’m stumped for words. I simply want to write Wow! Over and over again because that’s what I said on repeat every time I tried a dish at Skosh. In fact we’ve ended up going back for a second visit before I’ve written up the first! That’s never happened before. It seems that a particular theme of great places to eat this year is the soundtrack. Just like at Lyles earlier this year, Mr Frivolitea’s face lit up at the music choices. It could have been our own playlist on shuffle. Skosh is a relaxed and friendly place to spend the evening. The beautiful design and open kitchen gives a real excitement and buzz.

This places delivers little plates of joy. You can tell that head chef Neil and his team put their all into every single dish they serve up. It’s no wonder everyone is talking about Skosh.
And the cocktails … well you can’t go to Skosh without trying one. On our first visit Mr Frivolitea had a rum, pumpkin and ginger cocktail with beautiful sugar work. It was like drinking a big hug on a winters evening! On our second visit we both had the spiced rum, pineapple and lemon cocktail. It was so so good!

What is great about Skosh is the concept of small plates means you can get lots of different things and then you go back for a visit 3 weeks later you still have new things to try.

The sourdough bread with Gunpowder spice and locally made butter. The gunpowder spice gave hits of different spices at different times.

The Sea trout cured in molasses with peanuts and lime was definitely one of my favourite dishes. I could eat many times and still get excited by it. The lime flavour in the dish was through a marshmallow of lime with a hint of lime powder on top!! I mean marshmallow and fish. It’s a pretty mental combination but it made me grin from ear to ear.
Mr Frivolitea ate one and simply exclaimed ‘that makes me very happy’. The sweetness of the molasses, the zest of the lime, the crunch of peanut and the freshness of herb – the perfect marriage.

Another particular hit was the Skosh fried chicken, smoked garlic and lemon thyme emulsion and fermented slaw. The flavour in the chicken was incredible and the emulsion pretty addictive. If only they could sell it by the bucket…

The venison tartare brought back memories of the tartare at L’enclume for me. It was expertly done. The pickled kohlrabi gave a lovely freshness to the dish, the ginger cream gave a nice bit of heat and was like a light mayo bringing the whole dish together. Last but not least the Pakora scraps were a fabulous twist to the dish giving a lovely hint of spice.

Vegetarian dishes at Skosh are given real care and attention, we particularly enjoyed the beetroot, leek and apple with basil ricotta and green tea. The buckwheat with the beetroot gave a lovely texture to the dish. The vadai with Fadmoor carrot purée, curry leaf and mustard seed are packed full of flavour.

A particular favourite of mine is seafood of any kind and there are a number of dishes to choose from at Skosh. We particularly liked the monkish tempura with burnt apple, celeriac and yuzu and the baked hake, cauliflower, dukkah and miso dishes.

When you have finished a selection of ‘mains’ you then have a really difficult choice. Do you go for savoury ‘afters’ or sweet ‘afters’.

On our first visit we went for sweet and had a fantastic dish: pineapple cream with yoghurt, black sesame and long pepper. This was exquisite. I love pineapple and this did not disappoint in flavour.

On our second visit I went for savoury. They had on the menu mince pie with whipped young buck cheese, when a girl from Newtownards sees Mikes Fancy Cheese (from Newtownards) on the menu she chooses it!

This is a place that you MUST visit. Then visit again and again. I can”t praise this place enough. It’s what we’ve been waiting for in York for a long time and Neil has delivered it in style.

Street Cleaver Pop Up

I happened upon Street Cleaver by chance thanks to a leaflet in the window of Kiosk. I love the opportunity to try out pop ups so we went to Lucky Days and booked ourselves in.

Street Cleaver describe themselves as creating unique, fresh and exciting street food. I was interested to see how they would do this in a restaurant environment and was pleasantly surprised. The dishes stayed true to the street food style but the dishes were elevated through their presentation to suit a sit down meal. With most of the dishes I could picture how they could be served in a cardboard container or in a brioche bun and be the sort of food I wanted to eat.

The first course of ‘winter spiced or cheek’ braised and charred ox cheek, red pepper, spiced beetroot powder and braised gem was a great dish. I didn’t taste much charring and I think this would have enhanced the dish but the combinations worked well. Have it in a brioche bun and you’d be very happy but put it on a nice ceramic plate and it holds its own as a part of a tasting menu.

The next course of ‘salt baked organic beets’ , goats cheese, pickle, anchovy, dill and watercress purée was my favourite dish of the evening. The richness of the goats cheese married perfectly with the sharpness of the pickles.

We then had ‘Pigs and eggs’ tender ham hock smoked and deep fried, cured yolk, crispy yolk, pickle and aioli. This was a really interesting dish. The Ham hock had a great flavour and the egg accompanied it really well. This was a definite street food hit.

The final savoury dish of ‘Mackerel and radish’ sweet cured and pan fried mackerel, local grown radish, grapefruit, vinegar scraps was the dish that disappointed me. I love mackerel and it’s a great fish to play around with but the flavours on this were confused and competed with one another a bit too much.

The last dish was ‘Something sweet’ chocolate, rum, coffee, coconut
This was an interesting dessert. More coffee and rum and I think it would be a real winner.

I’m looking forward to seeing what Street Cleaver if they get their own place as part of the development on Piccadilly. It would be a great addition to York’s independent food scene.

Sara @ St John’s

We have been to Sara’s supper club a number of times over the last 4 years but this is the first time I’ve blogged about it. I’m still trying to organise my life in such a way that I can have more time to write the blog….

Sara appeared on Masterchef a few years ago and reached the final. I remember watching the series and being in awe of Sara’s attention to detail and way with flavour. I was really excited that someone from York had done so well and was then going to open up her home and invite people in to eat her food. You’ve probably guessed already that the food is really good, given that we’ve gone back time and time again.

This time we went with family and for my brother and sister in law it was their first time at the supper club. I wish I could have captured the joy on their faces as they tried the food.

Sara provides a set menu of an amuse bouche followed by three courses. Sara’s husband David hosts the evening and Sara joins in throughout the evening to talk about the food. What I love about evenings with David and Sara is the opportunity to eat round a table with people you’ve not met before and chat to the chef about the food, the flavour combinations and life in general. The evenings are often full of laughter and fun.

The menu this time consisted of an amuse bouche of Devil’s Rock blue on rye bread with walnut and alba truffle honey. A little taster packed full of flavour and the honey, oh my that tasted good.

The starter was partridge risotto with confit partridge leg. Game is something I look forward to at Sara’s supper club. It is always cooked to perfection. The risotto was beautifully rich and the partridge wonderfully moist.

The main course of roasted haunch of venison, shallot purée, parsnip mousseline, cavelo nero, roasted golden beetroot and carrots was the perfect autumnal dish brought together with a deep silky sauce.

The pudding seemed very appropriate given Sara’s appearance on Masterchef. A chocolate fondant, the nemesis of many a Masterchef contestant, was cooked exactly as it should be. The moften chocolate enhanced by drunken cherries with warming spice.

Sara’s supper clubs are a fantastic way of eating great food in a relaxed atmosphere. Sara’s joy of cooking shines through in all she does. I’d highly recommend it.

Kiosk, York

I’ve been walking past Kiosk for a couple of months, every time when they are closed, intrigued. I love food and I love ceramics so the window display and interior of Kiosk kept calling me in. Kiosk is another recent addition to Fossgate which has a growing collection of exciting and independent places to eat and drink. Finally I found a day when I was free and they were open and set about getting some brunch.

What a fabulous place! The menu is simple but incredibly exciting. I couldn’t decide what to have but as fortune would have it I discovered I was sharing a table with Becky, one of the three owners. A quick chat about food and the decision was made. I was going to have the asparagus wrapped in bacon with a lemon and herb dressing but at Becky’s suggestion adding a fried egg and a slice of sourdough. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better the chef popped his head out of the kitchen and said he’d just made some fresh pesto with sunflower seeds and did I want some of that drizzled on top. Why wouldn’t I?

The food was perfect. Fresh, simple and really tasty. The coffee was also really great. The knowledge and love of making excellent coffee shines through. I ended having two flat whites because the first was so good.

I love everything about this place and I’ll definitely be back. Chatting with them about their food and what they love to cook was a joy. During the conversation I discovered they do ‘cantinas’ one evening a month. I couldn’t book on the August one as it is full before it has even been advertised (doesn’t that speak volumes!) but my name is down for September even though they don’t know the date yet. I wasn’t taking the risk of missing out!

Cave du Cochon

Mr Frivolitea and I have been waiting in anticipation for some time for Cave du Cochon to open, knowing that if it had even a fraction of the passion and flare Le Cochon Aveugle has then it was going to be a winner. Oh boy, we were not disappointed. We have been in the last few months to a couple of wine bars that offer wine flights, bar snacks and platters. Cave du Cochon offers the same idea but with unique flare. We really couldn’t fault it.

We decided to go for the wine flight each. This came as 5 X 75ml glasses of wine and we decided to let the barman choose a flight of white for me and a flight of red for Mr Frivolitea. In hindsight sitting in the window was not the best idea as those walking past I fear thought we had a serious drink problem and this looked much worse once the wine was consumed and here was a lot of empty glasses on our table!

I really enjoyed the selection of wines we had, they were all new to me and all interesting and challenging in their own ways. I really like the idea of wine flights and someone else choosing the wines, it’s a great way to try new wines and learn more about wine. The barman was really helpful at explaining the wine to us. Later on in the evening he encouraged us to sample a couple of other unusual wines, his love and knowledge of wine was clear to see and that’s what makes this place extra special.

Our flights consisted of

White :

Picpoul de Pinet, Domaine Morin-Langaran (Languedoc, France)

Costlier de Nimes Blanc, Chateau Vessiere. (Rhone, France)

Soave Castelcerino, Cantina Filippi (Veneto, Italy)

Gruner Veltliner Handcrafted, Ma Arndorfer. (Kamptal, Austria)

Screaming Betty, Delinquente (Riverland, Australia)

Red:

Ciello Rosso IGP (Sicily, Italy)

IGP Saint-Guilhem-Le-Desert, Domaine Coston (Languedoc, France)

Castillon-Cotes-de-Bordeaux, Chateau Beynat (Bordeaux, France)

Beck Ink, Judith Beck (Burgenland, Austria)

Malbec Sin Sulfito, Bodega Cecchin (Mendoza, Argentina)

We chose a selection of bar snacks to accompany the wine including pork scratchings with apple sauce , curried peanuts and pig terrine with homemade piccalilli. The pig terrine was particularly wonderful and I was nearly tempted to order a second!

We also, thanks to the advice of the barman, opted for the ploughmans platter as this enabled us to sample some of the other bar snacks and a nice selection of the cheese and charcuterie. It was a thing of beauty and consisted of beetroot pickled pheasants egg, Scottish smoked salmon, pork rillette, breakfast radishes with aioli, Saucisson, Corsican lonzo, Mimolette cheese and another cheese that I annoyingly can’t remember the name of! All accompanied with their homemade sourdough and homemade butter.

The food offering was delicious, and recognisably Cochon. This is a great place to go whether you just want to pop in for a drink or linger longer. We really enjoyed our evening and will certainly be paying a return visit soon not least to have a glass of the La Amistad we sampled as we were leaving. More of that when I write up the next visit.

Le Cochon Aveugle – photo blog

I’ve written about Le Cochon Aveugle before. I love it. Josh Overington is a genius. Here’s what we had this week when we visited. ( we went for the carte Blanche option)

A peche egg ( at least I think this is what it was called but who cares it was delicious! )

Whitby crab and apple, Potato chip

Radish with fermented pepper mayonnaise

English and white French asparagus, almond gazpacho, lemon zest

Lamb tartare, oyster emulsion, cider granita

Homemade tagliatelle with wild mushroom ragu

Blowtorches mackerel, goats curd, melon veloute

Lobster ( I was so excited about this course I forgot to write down what it was!)

3 part main course – Duck consommé with beer, Foie gras, citrus jam, cracker , Sous vide Duck, aubergine, tear drop peppers, tasty paste

Strawberry, wild strawberry strawberry mousse, pistachio ice cream, cream of wasabi

Roasted pineapple, caramel sauce, Szechuan pepper, truffle ice cream, fresh truffle ( my favourite and a great way to end the meal )

Brew and Brownie

I love this place. Everything about it. Right down to the hipster lighting ( light bulbs in jam jars )

You should go. Really you should. You might have to queue but that’s ok, it’s worth it.

We went for breakfast today and boy was it good.

I had the pancake stack with fruit compote, yoghurt and honey. Other options include salted caramel and banana. The pancakes are light and fluffy, the compote thick and not too sweet and the honey they use is beautiful.

Mr Frivolitea had the black pudding and smoked bacon stack with fried egg and the most wonderful vinaigrette.

It came with a side of haxby baker toast and butter. How can you go wrong with that!

Rounded off with a really good flat white ( ok, ok we had two )

I don’t need to persuade you any more do I.

Pairings

Some might think that in early January, not long after Christmas excess, we might have had enough cheese and cured meats and we’d avoid them for a while…..what foolish people. You can NEVER have enough cheese and cured meats and when you see that Pairings have a January offer of a bottle of wine and a platter for two for £25 how could you refuse? Exactly.

This was our first trip to Pairings and it’s a great way to spend an evening if you don’t want a full meal. I was really impressed with the quality of the platter and the choice available in meats and cheeses. The platter came with bread, honey, chutney, pickles and pork pie as well as our chosen meats and cheeses and it was great to see British cheese and cured meats in the selection.

We also ordered some harissa almonds, make sure you get some harissa almonds.

This is a great addition to the York food scene, an independent venture that’s well worth supporting.

Spa and Dine at Cedar Court Grand

Recently I met up with a friend for a catch up. We try and do something nice together a couple of times a year and had in the past enjoyed a spa day. Unfortunately we didn’t have a day to catch up this time so I was on a mission to find something that felt like a treat and was similarly relaxing. We’d agreed York was the best place to meet, so I had a look on the Cedar Court Grand website for what they offered on an evening and was excited to see a new package called ‘Spa and Dine’. An opportunity to have a treatment, use the spa facilities and then enjoy a 3 course meal in Hudsons restaurant. Definitely my thing!

The package was fantastic value for money and we could select from the full menu. Before our starters arrived they brought a lovely selection of bread.

I chose the hand dived scallops, wakame, sunflower seeds, sea herbs, dill mayonnaise, salmon keta it was beautifully presented and had fantastic flavour.

My friend chose the poached ocean trout, hay smoked heritage beetroots, watercress cream, beetroot sourdough. What you cannot see here is the beautiful glass cloche it arrived in, that when lifted released the hay smoke.

For my main course I chose Fowlers of York’s Atlantic Stone Bass, fennel, langoustines, coastal herbs, buckwheat, bisque. Another beautifully presented dish with great flavours.

My friend chose the roasted fillet of East Coast halibut, caramelised cauliflower, brassicas, verjus and brown shrimp sauce. She commented that she partciualrly enjoyed the texture of cauliflower and how it lifted the dish.

Finally, for pudding my friend had inspiration of ‘Ferrero Rocher’ pralines, almonds, burnt white chocolate, candied pistachios. She enjoyed it but it was richer in chocolate than the description suggested and a bit too filling. Definitely one for the chocoholic.

I had lemon posset, macerated berries, basil, crispy raspberry cake. The lemon was sharp and refreshing. Just right to end the meal.

All in all, it was a great package and a fantastic opportunity to try the food at Hudson’s restaurant. I can highly recommend it.

Le Cochon Aveugle

To quote Mr Frivolitea ‘a neon sign means either very good, or very bad things inside’.

We’d heard some good things about this little restaurant in York, finally got round to booking in, and we can confirm this particular pink neon is a sign of VERY good things.

I’m a fan of a tasting menu, I love having no choice and instead enjoying several different plates of food that I may not have ordered. What made things even better was the wine list. Nyetimber on the menu -that immediately puts a big smile on my face (and a bit of a dent in my bank account).

The menu uses seasonal produce, changes every week and costs £35 for 6 courses. The food is creative, interesting and challenging. If you read the menu every week when they put it on Facebook (yes, I do that) there’s always something that makes you sit up and take notice. The menu for our visit included many of my favourite things but in ways I could never have imagined.

Our first dish was a collection of little bites: Radishes with gremolata, Pain de Campagne with truffle butter and beurre noisette, a jar with goats cheese, Yorkshire rapeseed oil, provencal herbs & olive and finally burnt celeriac consommé with passion fruit. It was all beautifully presented and balanced. The highlight for me was the beurre noisette, wonderfully light and full of flavour. I was sceptical about the consommé but I can confirm celeriac and passion fruit work well together.

The second dish was textures of cauliflower with yeast, hazelnuts, pickled grape and baby sorrel leaves. Cauliflower is one of my favourite vegetables and this dish did it justice. The variety of textures really showed cauliflower at its best.

The third dish was glazed mackerel tartine (crushed almonds, Parmesan, sourdough) lemon jam, herbs and a soy based sauce. The mackerel was the star of the show and the tartine worked really well with it though I would have happily had more lemon jam.

Then we had a trio of Gloucester old spot, baby turnip, fennel foam, fennel tops and honey glazed apples. Pork and fennel are a tried and tested combination and I really enjoyed this dish.

The fifth dish was a lemongrass chilli and ginger sorbet with Italian meringue. This was really fresh and zingy and worked well after the rich pork dish.

The sixth and final dish was pate a cigarette with strawberries, rhubarb, elderflower Chantilly and elderflower oil. I love rhubarb and this dessert was wonderfully balanced.

Mr Frivolitea likes coffee equipment and he’d been intrigued by the coffee siphon from the moment we walked in the door. So, we rounded off our meal with coffee and petit fours. The coffee was a fantastic bit of theatre to round off the evening and the petit fours of passion fruit jelly, chocolate and peanut butter lollipops and Bordeaux cakes with rum and vanilla were a final reminder of the quality and creativity of this little restaurant.

So, we were done; we’d eaten well, and we were ready to go home, but Le Cochon Aveugle had one last surprise for us. Breakfast! A little parcel of banana bread for Mr Frivolitea and the best florentine I have ever had (as I can’t eat banana). A really thoughtful touch. We enjoyed our breakfast at Flamborough Head the next morning on our 12 mile walk .

We will be back and next time we will definitely include the wine pairings. £63 for the 6 courses and wine pairings with food of the highest standard – that’s fantastic value!