I’m quite happy to dine alone. I supposed my camera keeps me company. Years ago I did some work for the EA touring the Kent coastline surveying beaches. That was a good job! Although everything was paid for, and they were quite happy for me to claim expenses for a full evening meal, pretty much every evening I grabbed a salad from Waitrose and ate it on the beach, in my car, or in my hotel room. I used to think that people might think that, as I was dining alone, I’d already eaten dinner at home and then sneaked out for more food!
Of course I know now that nobody would think that, and even if they did, stuff ‘em, I like my dinners!
On my second night at Verzon House I dined, happily, alone. I choose the Caramelised Onion, Broccoli & Pine Nut Pancakes with Roast Garlic Velouté, which turned out to be a fantastic choice and much more detailed and exquisite than I thought a pancake could ever be.
Broad beans, garden peas, spring onion, raddish, pea shoots, samphire (one of my most favourite foods!), asparagus, yellow courgette and a sweet garden pea puree.
Soft pancakes filled with rich, creamy blue cheese, broccoli, red onion and toasted pine nuts, served with such a lovely assortment of green goodies.
You know I don’t like peas? Well, these ones were more than acceptable.
I’m usually put off by the thought of savoury pancakes, especially since Adam told me how as a child he was offered a pancake, and thinking it would be full of sweetness bit into it, only to find it was loaded with Brussels Sprouts!
I followed this healthy pancake delight with Dark Chocolate Crème Brulée with Fruit & Nut Ice Cream.
Cool, creamy fruit and nut ice cream perched atop a crisp choc-chip chocolate biscuit, sitting on a crisp sugar crust, perfectly thin and caramelised. Beneath this delicately breakable layer, a creamy, smooth, moussey chocolate custard, with just the right density. Rich, but not sickly. Sweet, but not sugary. Dense, but not claggy. Is claggy a word?
Mixed together the flavours of the nutty ice cream, dark chocolate creme and crisp caramelised crust, were delicious, sweet and satisfying. Plus it didn’t send me sugar blind! Nice work Head Chef C Mc D!
Thank you Verzon House for yet another enjoyable and delicious meal!