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Kitchen On the Road- The Anchor Inn, Ely and a Cambridge, Jamie’s Italian Revisit

September 16, 2013 by Renee

We had lunch on a cool, rainy day at The Anchor Inn at Sutton Gault, a 17th Century building housing a small B&B and a pub nestled against the bank of the New Bedford River in Ely.

You can’t help but feel relaxed when you pull up to such a tranquil spot. It’s off the beaten path, but well worth a visit. Located just outside Sutton, in the outskirts of Ely, gault refers to the hard clay that was used to create the river banks which this pub resides upon.

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The Anchor Inn was originally built in 1650 as a pub to serve the many workers that were digging the rivers that would serve to drain the area known as The Fens so the grounds could be used for agricultural purposes.  These workers were largely made up of Scottish prisoners of war, captured by Oliver Cromwell.  While their future was precarious, the pub itself remains in operation today. Here you can enjoy a meal and take the opportunity to stroll along the river with its sweeping views across the Fens. You may even run into some horses along the way.

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Still evident of its past are the original rustic exposed beams, low ceilings and fireplaces in every room.

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Overall, the food at The Anchor is terrific and features modern British cuisine with an emphasis on seasonal and traditional ingredients. Despite some minor flaws along the way, the menu is quite ambitious for a pub.

For starters, the roasted beetroot, goat’s cheese salad with thyme oil and balsamic glaze was nice and visually perfect, but the beets were quite crunchy still and could have used a few more minutes roasting to soften them more and to caramelize them fully. It would have tasted much better had the root vegetable’s full sweetness been realized.2013-07-29 14.25.21

The confit of pigeon, bacon and black pudding croquettes with watercress salad and port reduction had such a wonderful depth of flavor and textures. The spicy port reduction paired beautifully with the fowl and the sweet, salty bacon.  2013-07-29 14.25.59

The black pudding added a deep, rich highlight to the dish. It was perfect until…

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lead-shot in the pigeon. That could seriously break a tooth! I’m sorry, but if you are feeling the meat and shaping it to make a croquette, then you would expect that the chef would have had to discover this piece of metal, but he didn’t and I was quite surprised. I know it’s not uncommon to find lead shot in fowl but this takes “field to table” to a new level. Just glad it wasn’t swallowed! Ouch!

Things thankfully perked up after that. Fat, tender Sutton sausages that were flavorful and juicy, with mashed potatoes and gravy and crisp green beans that still snapped when you ate them were delightful. The dish was undeniably perfect in every way- the ultimate comfort food on such a cold, grey day.

2013-07-29 14.38.32My friend had the pan-fried sea trout on a bed of new potatoes and samphire (marsh asparagus), which I had several fork-full’s of. I love samphire and it is one of the most unique vegetables I have ever had- like extra thin asparagus that acts more like spaghetti than asparagus and salty like the sea with a very fresh, bright taste.

2013-07-29 14.38.37There was a light and summery lemon panna cotta with melon soup and elderflower foam for dessert and it was no match to my sticky toffee pudding with stem ginger ice cream and butterscotch sauce. Truth be told,  I may actually like sticky toffee pudding (and treacle tart) more than I do any other dessert these days. Shh! don’t tell chocolate mousse.

Dessert- Anchor InnBy and large, the meal was quite good. The charming, rustic atmosphere coupled with the lovely location made this an exceptionally nice experience. At £13.95 (about $22) for Two Courses and £17.95 ($29) for Three Courses, it was very reasonably priced for a weekday lunch menu.

The Anchor Inn

Sutton Gault, Sutton near Ely,

Cambridgeshire, CB6 2BD

Telephone: 44 (0)1353 778537

Email: anchorinn@popmail.bta.com

 

_____________________________________________

Update on Jamie’s Italian-

Back in March when we visited Jamie’s Italian I had an unfortunate experience of not being able to take home half my main course that I didn’t finish due to their no doggie-bag policy.  My friend sent an email regarding our experience and they invited us back to try the restaurant again and to give them another chance. They still have not changed their policy, so we kept a close eye on how much we ordered so we would have no leftovers-not so fun when trying out a new place. (Every other restaurant around Cambridge we have eaten at has always offered us to take home anything we didn’t finish.)

Needless to say, we had a nice meal here and the food was on par to what you’d expect from Jamie Oliver. The starter plank of cured meats and Italian cheeses was perfect and just the right amount of antipasti for the two of us.

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The Wild Truffle Risotto is my favorite dish, with finely minced black truffles with butter and shaved Parmesan. A really lush and delicious treat and I ate every last bite of it.

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The steak was cooked beautifully and simply done with a drizzle of good olive oil over the top.

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We skipped dessert as we were pretty full by this point.  Overall, we had a much better experience this time than we did last time. I think we’d even consider going back.

Jamie’s Italian
The Old Library
Wheeler Street
Cambridge
CB2 3QJ

Phone  44 (0) 1223 654094

 

 

 

Filed Under: Travel, England Tagged With: Anchor Inn, Cambridge, Ely, England, Jamie's Italian, Travel, UK

Kitchen On the Road- Cambridge Folk Festival and Tea at The Almonry

September 15, 2013 by Renee

After a brief trip back  home to NYC to finish a project for a client, I made my way back to England. My arrival was just in time to attend the Cambridge Folk Festival for a second year in a row. The lineup was superb with bands such as Capercaille, The Waterboys, Bellowhead, The Levellers, Tommy Emmanuel and KT Tunstall headlining. The festival is one of the highlights of my year and always has so many terrific acts performing. Last year was a special treat with Nancy Griffith, John Prine and Billy Bragg along with so many other awesome performers.  Next year is the festival’s 50th Anniversary and I am already looking forward to attending and finding out which bands will be there. No matter, it is sure to be an incredible time! Folk Festival 1Folk Festival 2You have to love the laid-back atmosphere and all the festivities going on around you.  There are lots of food stands to choose from including Greek, Chinese and Mexican, plus one that sells the most delicious and messiest of burgers.  The crowd itself is as interesting and diverse as you can get too. I love just people watching and noting all the fashion choices.

We even met up with some folks that we had met at the concert last year. It was great to catch up with them and to spend the last day of our concert together. I hope that when I get back there we can all get together again.

Folk Festival 3The festival is also where I discovered one of my new favorite drinks- the Pimm’s Cup. I had several over the course of the event as well as many types of ales and lagers. I really enjoy trying the different beers that are available all around England. To dispel any myths too about warm beer, not a single pint (or half) that I had was warm!Folk Festival 4

After the festival ended we had a few days to putter around Ely and Cambridge. So of course we explored some dining establishments!

First, there was tea time at The Almonry of Ely Cathedral. While we dined outside on the lawn in the shadows of the cathedral, there is also a full restaurant inside the 12th Century vaulted undercroft.

Ely CathedralWhat a fabulous spot to enjoy a pot of cream tea, scones with clotted cream and homemade, sweet oat filled flapjacks that literally melted in your mouth.

2013-07-29 16.44.57When visiting Ely, The Almonry is a bit hidden and you might walk right by it.  But, as you walk down High Street from the cathedral and you get to the town’s market square, look out for an open doorway on your right and take a couple of steps down which lead right into The Almonry’s garden.  Here, you can enjoy coffee, tea, homemade cakes, sandwiches or light lunches in the garden with wonderful views of Ely Cathedral.  Or in the undercroft restaurant, you can have a more substantial home-cooked meal. But I’d go just for the flapjacks and the clotted cream! And for the company…20130729-IMG_9718

The Almonry

Ely Cathedral

High Street, Ely Cambs

www.elycathedral.org

 

 

Filed Under: Travel, England Tagged With: Almonry, Cambridge, Ely, England, Folk Festival, Tea, Travel, UK

Kitchen On The Road- Ely, Cambridgeshire, UK

April 24, 2013 by Renee

I spent the month of March in England with my dear friend (who I met on my Camino last year), Michael and we did a mini-grand tour of England. There was lots of sightseeing, shows and football games, but there was even more eating and drinking as we explored pubs and restaurants of all varieties including an amazing formerly Michelin starred restaurant on the Welsh border.

From our base in Ely, the first part of our grand tour took us around the East of England, a low-lying, agriculturally fertile and mostly rural part of the country. The university city of Cambridge has many fine historical buildings, narrow cobbled streets and some great pubs and restaurants, while the wild North Norfolk coast, changed over time by erosion, shifting sands and the build-up of salt marsh, offers expansive beaches, cosy pubs and gastronomic delights from both the sea and the land.

The three counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk are sometimes referred to as East Anglia, a historical reference to the area’s Anglo-Saxon history. With no major cities aside from Norwich, Cambridge and Peterborough, the area is characterized by many small towns, each surrounded by tiny rural villages. Food production and processing remains an important part of the local economy and farmers markets, farm shops, micro-breweries and delis selling local produce are abundant.

Ely  (ee-lee)

Located 14 miles north of Cambridge and about 80 miles from London, the historic city of Ely is home to one of the most magnificent cathedrals in all of England. With a population of around 20,000, Ely is one of Britain’s smallest cities and the cathedral, dating back to the 12th century, dominates both the city itself and the skyline from miles across the Cambridgeshire Fens. People often ask why such a vast church was built in such a small place, but the truth is that the Cathedral came first. When it was built, Ely was just a small settlement. The city grew up around the Cathedral.


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A visit here is a must for anyone who comes to Ely. It’s a nice stop for a time of quiet reflection or to marvel at the magnificent architecture, painted ceilings, stained glass and marble floors. You can see the famous Octagon Tower and lantern plus the many sculptures or take a short walk around the monastic buildings and then drop into the Almonry where you can enjoy morning coffee, lunch or traditional afternoon tea.

Ely’s location on the River Great Ouse makes for some idyllic walks as well as the perfect setting for waterside eating and drinking. The Cutter Inn serves a smooth pint of Woodforde’s Wherry, a fine beer from Norfolk, and offers a great burger, fries and slaw, perfect for an alfresco summer snack.

Away from the river, the Lamb Inn and the Kings Arms provide wholesome pub fare, while there are several good Indian restaurants to try too.  We ventured into Le Spice on Fore Hill the night I arrived in England. Jet lag and the desire to sleep was quickly dissipated when the menu arrived.

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We covered two tables with small plates for everything we ordered. Here, I was introduced to Peshwari Naan, a sweet Naan baked with bits of dried fruit that put my typical Garlic Naan to shame.  The samosas were packed with vegetables and savory spices, but made with a thin rice paper versus the thick dough that is usually used, making them exceptionally light. Served with the condiments of pickle, raita and a tangy mango chutney, they were devoured quickly.

As a rule of thumb, I prefer Coconut rice, while Michael prefers the typical basmati Pilao rice. But on the vegetable and meat dishes, we completely agree…Sag Paneer, a sautéed spinach with large chunks of homemade cottage cheese; Aloo Chat, spiced potatoes and chick peas;  Aloo Gobi Bhajee, potatoes and cauliflower in a thick spicy sauce and Fresh Bhindi, okra with mustard seeds, capsicum, tomato and onion.

The chick peas were some of the hottest I have ever tasted and while I do enjoy a bit of heat, these were on par with wasabi peas!

My Chicken Tikka Masala was a beautiful shade of persimmon with a streak of cream in the bowl. Mildly spiced with tender chunks of chicken, this was the perfect anti-spice to my burning mouth!

Michael enjoyed their Rogon Josh , a beautifully spiced  and aromatic lamb curry.

Needless to say, we took home a doggie bag and had a feast the next day for lunch as well!

Right in the center of town, The Lamb, a pub and hotel is a former 14th Century coaching inn. Now it hosts 31 guest rooms and a full service pub that is very popular with the locals. On the night we tried it, an unusual and atypical bar brawl was erupting just as we entered; a surly, obviously overindulged patron was having very loud words with the barmaid and was quickly ejected.  It was quite exciting for this otherwise quiet venue.

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This”pub”, with a large bar in the front is actually very un-pub  like, with a beautifully adorned dining room and brighter lighting.

We shared a platter of tasty bites including Stilton-stuffed mushrooms, potato wedges, garlic ciabatta, honey and mustard glazed mini Cumberland sausages and chicken wings.

Michael’s Ultimate burger, a stack of two beef burgers, cheese, bacon and a giant beer-battered onion ring was far better than my supposed award-winning hand-battered haddock, with mushy peas and tartar sauce. I found one too many bones and combined with leaving the skin on, it just was not a fish and chips I enjoyed.  But the Chocolate fudge brownie topped with clotted cream ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce made up for my lackluster main course.

Just down the street from the Lamb Inn is the Ely Visitor’s Center which is housed in the Oliver Cromwell home on St Mary’s Street.  Known as the Lord Protector of England, he lived in Ely for 10 years. Today the house, the only surviving former Cromwell residence other than Hampton Court in London, has been recreated to show how his family would have lived in the mid 17th Century.   It’s also supposed to be haunted so it’s quite a fun tour to take!

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 (Elizabeth Cromwell’s seat- with a recipe for Roasted Eels)

Thursday is Market  Day in Ely with over 60 stalls selling fruits, vegetables, cheeses, flowers and more.  Every other Saturday, the Craft & Collectibles market is added to this regular market making it even a larger venue for shopping.

On my next trip, I plan to visit the Ely Museum, located in the Bishop’s Gaol in the city center. The Museum, a history center for the Isle of Ely and the Fens features original prison cells, fossils and Roman remains and spans Ely’s history from ancient times to the present.  I also may get the chance to attend the Ely Folk Festival, an annual weekend bijou folk and roots music festival.  We will see!

In the meantime, tomorrow I’ll be talking about our next stop…Cambridge!

 

 

Filed Under: Travel, England Tagged With: Cromwell, Ely, England, Indian, Le Spice, Pub, The Lamb, Travel

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