Restaurant VMF, Birmingham, 27th October 2013

Ok, I'm slightly obsessed with Tripadvisor. I don't particularly want to waste time going to restaurants/hotels that aren't very good so why wouldn't I listen to what other people have said about places? Having said that I always try to "read between the lines" of reviews and work out how much in common I have with the reviewer. I'm also prepared to give new places a try (and then enjoy seeing establishments that I've loved move up the rankings on Tripadvisor-most recently this has happened with Adam's and The Pickled Piglet).

So I've been intrigued about Restaurant VMF (Villa Midlands Food) getting such good Tripadvisor reviews and reaching number one of restaurants in Birmingham (although more recently being pushed into second place by a certain newish restaurant on Bennett's Hill-I've not been enough times to remember the name). Restaurant VMF also seems to get booked up which I guess is a good sign (although it is only open on Friday/Saturday evenings and Sunday lunch). Another interesting aspect is that it's a training restaurant which largely uses NVQ students both in the kitchen and front of house. It also has its own allotment and tries to use other locally sourced produce. 

Apart from being a bit difficult to work out the best place to park first impressions are good-the entrance is via the Trinity Road Stand Directors suite, which I guess does suggest it's somewhere special and as a Villa fan it's nice to see how the other half live. The restaurant itself is in the corner of the Trinity Road Stand next to The Holte End. It's a very nice room with large glass windows overlooking the pitch (for better views you can go out onto the balcony). So I'm sure the setting is one of the reasons people rate the restaurant so highly (we overheard quite a few conversations that suggested a lot of the other clientele were Villa fans). 

The service was ok, everyone was trying hard but there were a few little things that could have been slicker-they are things you're probably more likely to notice if you've eaten at Adam's only a few days before (eg unused wine glasses remaining on an already slightly crowded table for quite a while after drinks have been served). The food was all decent-I had smoked salmon to start, then lamb three ways with a good selection of vegetables and creme brûlée for desert. It was all well cooked but nothing spectacular. We were expecting the meal to be good value, but when the bill came it was pretty obvious things had been missed off the bill. This led to a bit of a discussion between members of my family as to what we should do (I won't say who was/wasn't in favour of highlighting the mistake) but ultimately the missing items were mentioned and added.

Overall we had a nice family lunch and I'm glad I've been. I think the setting and price contribute to the positive reviews and people who don't regularly get to eat out at nice restaurants will proabably leave with a sense that they've eaten somewhere special. I think people also possibly forgive the staff for little things knowing that it is a training restaurant (one reply on Tripadvisor to a not so great review pretty much said they felt people should do this). The price is pretty good for what you get (and potentially even better if they miss things off the bill). I guess trying to compare it to Adam's is difficult because they're so different and that's obviously something you always have to bare in mind if you're using with Tripadvisor to decide where to visit.

http://www.avhe.co.uk/vmfvilla

Salad of beetroot with hickory hot smoked salmon (bit light on the salad!)

Rack, shoulder noisette and hot pot of lamb

Abdul's chicken bhuna

View from the balcony

Me with brother and sister-in-law

Marshmallow and truffles

Classic creme brûlée

Black forest gateau in a glass

Are they trying to tell us something?

Adam's, Birmingham, 24th October 2013

Obviously I'm happy for the brilliant team at Adam's that news of their great food and service is spreading (I guess the michelin star publicity hasn't hurt). However this does present a bit of a problem-they are now booked up for dinner until late November, and Saturday lunch until December. So I was very pleased to be able to get a reservation for dinner at pretty short notice thanks to a cancelation, especially as it had been over 2 weeks since my last visit and the current 5 course tasting menu looked really good. We opted to have the tasting wines as well. 

The three "snacks" were are a really nice prelude to the main event. The beetroot meringue with goat's cheese was as good as I remembered, and having not had chemo for a few weeks I felt able to brave the mini steak tartare. Things got started with sea bream, orange buckwheat and lovely sweet tomatoes. Until recently I'd never tried Jerusalem artichoke but I think it might be my new favourite vegetable-in the second dish it was served 3 ways with egg yolk and chorizo. Next came pheasant with celeriac and an interesting battered button mushroom. By this point we had finished the third glass of wine (a pinot noir) and I'll admit I was starting to feel a bit tipsy so was slightly relieved the fourth course did not have a matching wine. It did however contain whiskey, in addition to cream and chocolate-I could have eaten about five times as much. The final desert of apple with cinnamon sticks and vanilla ice cream was a really refreshing way to end a great meal. I was pleasantly full and happy it would keep me going whilst NBM the following day.

To top everything off we were offered the chance to see the kitchen and meet the chef himself. In the few minutes that I spent chatting to Adam I decided that as well as being a great chef he is also a thoroughly nice bloke. I'm seriously starting to wonder how I coped before Adam's opened!

Steak tartare

Roast chicken balls

Beetroot meringue with goats cheese

Sea bream, sea vegetables, orange buckwheat

Jerusalem artichoke, chorizo, egg yolk

Pheasant, celeriac, tarragon, crispy button mushroom

Whiskey and cream, chocolate, honey

Apple, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla

Bistro 1847, Birmingham, 16th October 2013

After burning off a few calories from lunch at Simpsons by walking round the Bullring it was time to try a less well-established restaurant. Bistro 1847 in Birmingham has only been open for a few weeks and being tucked away in the Great Western Arcade is unlikely to get much passing trade in the evening (why can't the Great Western Arcade be moved closer to the main shopping area?-it has a really good range of interesting, independent shops). But a friend I was eating with had heard about it on the veggie grapevine, and seeing as I'd had a decent amount of fish/meat for lunch I didn't mind giving a vegetarian restaurant a try for dinner.

There was only one table occupied downstairs when we arrived at 8pm (we could here other people upstairs though).  there was special opening offer of 2 course for £16 or 3 courses for £20 and although the choice wasn't extensive all of the dishes sounded imaginative and it was also clear on the menu what was vegan/gluten free.

I had the cheddar brûlée to start and thought it was tasty and thankfully not too cheesy. The main course of Hen's egg, smoked potatoes and wild mushrooms was served with a glass dome covering the smoke. Despite really being too full I tried bits of my friends' deserts-their take on eton mess and some tea loaf-both were nice although could have been improved a little.

All in all it was a nice meal and somewhere I'd think about returning to especially if dining with a vegetarian. I hope it does well but I do think it'll need quite a lot of "word of mouth" recommendations and positive reviews on Tripadvisor given its position.

http://bistro1847.com/birmingham.html

Battered halloumi, hand-cut chunky chips

Hen's egg, 'hay', smoked potatoes two ways, wild mushrooms, date ketchup

Malted tea loaf, condensed milk ice cream, brown butter digestive biscuit

Rosemary meringue, cream, Chambord and blackberries

Spirit selection

Simpsons, Birmingham, 16th October 2013

Simpsons was the first restaurant in Birmingham to get a Michelin star and has definitely managed to keep these standards up ever since. The setting in Edgbaston with a nice garden is very pleasent  (although much nicer in the summer than on an initially very wet day in October). After slightly stupidly deciding to walk from Five Ways to Simpsons in the pouring rain we received a warm welcome and had drinks whilst perusing the menu before being taken to our table.

The lunch menu is actually a pretty good deal-£40 for 3 courses, an amuse bouche, predesert, petit fours and half a bottle of wine. With two choices for each course we were able to avoid the fois gras starter and instead opted for the ravioli of scallops (which despite not generally being a scallops fan I enjoyed. The bread selection is excellent so anyone who might be concerned about small portion sizes (apparently it does happen) can easily fill up. The star of the show was the main course of pork-classic combinations cooked very well, with lovely little pulled pork balls. The desert of pear with chocolate sorbet was nice if not spectacular.

This place is dependable, you know you're going to get a good meal in a nice setting with attentive service and taking advantage of the lunch menu means you can convince yourself you're not being too extravagant. 

http://www.simpsonsrestaurant.co.uk

Amuse bouche (not so amusing when spilt on a white table cloth...)

Bread (including lovely foccacia and onion bread)

Ravioli of scallop

Pork belly, apple balls, onion sauce

Pre-desert

Pear, chocolate sorbet, creme caramel 

Petit fours

Fiddler on the Roof, Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton, 15th October, 2013

This wasn't particularly a must see (especially seeing as it required a trip up the Wolverhampton Road) until I found out that it was directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood. I actually quite like him on Strictly and I'd previously really enjoyed a production of Sunset Boulevard which he'd choreographed. I'd heard that Fiddler on the Roof involved cast members also being the orchestra and playing their instruments whilst acting stage, and seeing as I'd really enjoyed this approach to Sunset Boulevard I thought Fiddler would be worth a watch, and it was.

Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky in Starsky and Hutch) plays "the papa" trying to uphold "traditions" despite his three eldest daughters efforts to do things differently. The first half was possibly a bit long and there were a few dodgy accents, but the main characters were all good. Having the cast members also playing instruments definitely worked and allowed the "Fiddler on the Roof" to be more than just an analogy. There are some surprisingly funny moments and I came out humming a couple of songs that are probably less well known than "Matchmaker" and "If I were a rich man". So all in all it was worth the drive up the Wolverhampton Road.

L'Enclume, Cartmel, 10th October 2013

We had made it to the restaurant voted number 1 in the UK in the Good Food Guide. We drove up to Cartmel the day before and were staying in a nice hotel (The Priory). After a (purposely not too indulgent) breakfast and wander round the village we just had to walk around the corner to get to L'Enclume. Service was friendly and relaxed from the start, on our way through to our table (in the conservatory) we caught a glimpse of Simon Rogan in the kitchen-always nice to know the chef is still overseeing things especially when he's got new restaurants popping up all over the place.

Despite the name (and my father's assumptions) L'Enclume is not a French restaurant (apparently when it was set up 11 years ago it was, and the name which means anvil was chosen because the restaurant is in a former Smithy's). Over the years Simon Rogan has developed a style that concentrates on getting the best out of local and "foraged" ingredients. I did have some reservations that we may be eating leaves and soil, but I needn't have worried.

There is no choice of menu which means they are "free to express and to use whatever is available to us at that very moment in time" (although we did get asked if we would mind eating raw meat-usually I would mind, but when in Rome...). You do get a nice card with that day's menu printed on it to take home.

First course was "cod yolk" an interesting dish of cod mousse in an emulsion that makes it look like an egg yolk. Then they bought out the warm bread rolls before a beetroot broth with (slightly too) cheesy dumplings. The valley venison was raw, and although I'm still not keen on the whole idea of it the slightly barbecued taste (with charcoal oil) was very nice. My favourite savoury course was hake with cabbage, leeks and celeriac puree. The first desert was very tasty plum with toffee ice cream. We were sat in the very nice conservatory overlooking part of the garden with an apple tree, so it was not too surprising that apples featured in the final course of mousse with granny smith apple sauce.

To drink I had a sparkling rose as an aperitif, then a small glass of rose before having a desert wine to finish. Given my relative lack of alcohol recently I was pleasantly merry by this point and felt I needed a coffee to get me back round the corner to our hotel. A decent coffee was accompanied by a petit four-a chocolate containing Kendal mint ice-cream. There was also a selection of ales from the local brewery and English cider.

Overall everything was "just right". There was just the right amount of food on the set lunch menu at a pretty reasonable price of £45 (not sure I could manage the 21 courses they serve up for dinner). The different courses offered the right amount of new experiences versus more traditional combinations and the service was pitched at  exactly the right level. They use Studio William cutlery (just like a certain Birmingham restaurant). What's more you can get a lunch reservation without having to plan things two months in advance and access an internet booking system at precisely 10am and have the chance to visit a pretty village in a lovely part of the country.

Beetroot broth, westcombe dumpling, onion shoots, nasturtium

Cod 'yolk' wiwth watercress, dunner beans, salt and vinegar

I don't understand anyone who moans about still being hungry at the end of a meal in a michelin starred restaurant-you can always fill up on bread if you need to

Valley venison, charcoal oil, mustard and fennel

Butter poached hake, grilled cabbage, hen of the woods and celeriac

Plum and honey oats, malt and brown sugar

View of an apple tree in the garden

Meadow sweet, granny smith, sorrel and walnuts

Petit fours

http://www.lenclume.co.uk/sr/

La Boheme, Lymm, 9th October 2013

This was a warm-up act to L'enclume, chosen because it was roughly half-way between Birmingham and Cartmel (a village in the Lake District). It also had a mention in the Good Food Guide and some decent reviews on Tripadvisor. It was pretty busy for a lunchtime service (although the average diner age was about 60), so you got the feeling they must be doing something right. The service was very friendly, bread and tap water was already on the table-was this good organisation or did it take away something of the interaction with the waiting staff. Maybe a sign of being "up north" but refreshing that there was no attempt to get us to pay for bottled water.

My appetite was improving but I was still beaten by their portion sizes-my starter of chicken ceasar salad was fine but big enough to be a main course. My main course was duck leg with duck sausage and dauphinois potato. This was generally nice, although probably big enough for two and a bit too much garlic in the dauphinois for my current taste buds (I guess being a French restaurant it was to be expected though). The Assiette Chocolaterie for desert was absolutely lovely (just a shame it required some effort to get through it after already having eaten so much). Coffee and (pretty cheap looking) mints were included in the lunch price of £15.95 for two courses. 

Chicken Ceasar Salad

Duck with Dauphinois potato

Assiette Chocolaterie

http://laboheme.co.uk

Harry Potter Studio Tour, Leavesden, 8th October 2013

Since I watched the first Harry Potter film I've been a little bit obsessed with him and his friends. I admit I have queued up at midnight to buy a new book and came very close to dressing up for the films. I was very excited to find time and equally sad friends to go and see the Warner Bros. studio tour in Leavesden.

We arrived about an hour early (you have to book time specific tickets on line), which meant we could get something to eat (a slightly overpriced but nice fish-finger sandwich) and take our first look inside the shop. Then we moved on to start the tour-this starts with a little talk and short film before the screen retracts to reveal the entrance to the Great Hall.

We walked through the Great Hall before moving on to see more sets-the Gryffindor boys' bedroom and common room, Dumbledore's office, Hagrid's hut, the Potions classroom and the Burrow. Interspersed were various other props and displays. We had the digital audio tour so also learned lots of other interesting facts as we were going round (such as lots of the books on the shelves in Dumbledore's office are covered phonebooks).

Next you move to the backlot where you can see some of the exterior sets including a replica of 4 Privet drive and the Knight bus. There is also the opportunity to buy some Butterbeer-it is very sweet, I think I'd have found it very difficult to drink a whole glass (and quite clearly other people had struggled).

Further on there were some displays about the animatronics and models that were used before you get to walk up Diagon Alley.

The finale is a model of Hogwarts that was used for a lot of the exterior scenes in the first six films. 

And then it was back to the shop, where we spent a considerable amount of time trying to decide which wand to buy (I went with Hermione's) and how much money it was acceptable to spend (I'm not prepared to give further details).

Overall I had mixed feelings: on the one hand some things were not quite as spectacular as I expected, for example the Great Hall does not have a proper ceiling, some of the costumes not as luxurious as they look in the films. I guess this leads to the realisation that as with most films there is an element of smoke and mirrors. But then that's kind of what makes it so special-that such a magical world has been created with the help of animatronics and scale models. Ultimately I wanted to go home and watch the films again-whilst wearing my new scarf and with my wand at the ready: "Expecto Patronum".

http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk