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Coriander: a gastronomic World tour - on your doorstep
It was pouring with rain when we
turned up at Coriander on a Sunday afternoon. Little did we know
then how much better we would feel when we left. Coriander is
tucked away round the corner from Church Road in Hove. That means
it's not far from my house. Ha!
Sunday is brunch day, this means
breakfast, organic roasts, fish and the like. Ant went for the
English breakfast (£10.00) of eggs, farmhouse sausages, bacon,
fresh wild mushrooms and home-baked toast and I had the Shakshouka
(£7.00) - a Turkish breakfast of fried onions and peppers with
merguez sausages topped with fried eggs and served with home-baked
flatbread. If you think that one breakfast is pretty much like any
other, then think again. The English breakfast was light and
grease-free with fat, solid sausages, strong wild mushrooms and
crisp bacon just the way he likes it. Both breads were clearly
home-made, mine with sesame seeds, Ant's with fennel. The flavour
of my merguez combined with the perfectly cooked eggs was just
wonderful.
It was unusual but really worked
well. We shared a dessert of Tia Maria Chocolate Cake with Mexican
ice cream (£4.50) - everything made on the premises. You cannot
appreciate real chocolate ice cream until you have tasted this.
Other desserts sound equally glorious. How about Sambucca
cheesecake with anis-red wine jus?
All of the food here is cooked from
scratch by owner, David, and served by partner, Katherine. The
evening menu is somewhat different and features lots of weird and
wonderful combinations from around the world starting with a
selection of very reasonable Mezze and Starters (£2.00-£4.00).
For the main course, several Moroccan tagines including duck and
pear and okra, chickpea and prune sit alongside Chargrilled
Oaxacan Guinea Fowl Supreme and Crispy Tilapia Fish Fillet.
Bearing in mind the quality of the ingredients, and undoubted
ability of the chef to produce superb food, these are good value
dishes at £9-£12 each. The décor is pleasant and clean, but
then we didn't come to look at the wallpaper. The service was
informative and friendly - children are provided with cushions.
The lunch menu soup, pasta, nachos with home-made corn chips,
falafels and more for around £6. There is a reasonable wine list,
and a well stocked bar. Evenings can be busy, so booking is
advisable. Coriander is getting a bit of a reputation for itself
and deservedly so. Excellent, interesting cooking at
customer-friendly prices. We shall return, after all it is just
round the corner.
Coriander
5 Hove Manor
Hove Street,
Hove
01273 730850
Tues-Sat: midday-4pm &
7pm-11pm
Sunday:11am-5pm
Spaghetti western
Sarah Hendrickx loves those Latins in the Lane
I had been looking forward to
coming here; it is widely reputed to be the best Italian in town.
We are talking traditional Southern Italian style with marble
tables, ornate portraits, warm peach walls and lots of plants. The
waiter and waitress are Italian, the chef is Sardinian: things are
looking good.
The menu is extremely large and
varied with over 60 main course dishes, not to mention antipasti,
salads, side dishes and desserts. Where to start? Well how about
Insalata díavocado granchi e rucola (crab, avocado and rocket
salad) at £3.25 or the odd sounding Sardine al succo d'arancia
(sardines cooked in orange juice) (£4.95). Perhaps follow that
with a selection from the wonderful display of fresh fish, which
is bought in daily from local fishermen. The choice varies
depending on the catch but the fish is only bought when it is in
season and therefore at its best.
If fish is not your thing, fear
not, for there are plenty of other options. Ostrich in port wine
with spinach in cream (£14.95) or Chicken in brandy, cream and
pink peppercorns (£9.95) may tempt you more. Vegetarians have
several pasta dishes to choose from along with vegetable side
dishes and salads.
The bar serves almost every known
Italian liqueur and a number of beers and spirits at fair prices.
Desserts are home-made and feature traditional favourites such as
Zabaglione, Tiramisu and lots of ice creams and sorbets all at
around £3 - £4.
I visited at lunchtime and took
advantage of the shorter lunchtime menu, for those who don't have
two hours to savour a full Italian lunch, with dishes around £6.
I had the Seafood Risotto (£6.95) and a Mixed Salad (£2.50). The
risotto was pure comfort food, a plate of soft, smooth rice with
seafood in every mouthful. Huge, fat prawns, calamari, clams and
mussels taste so different when they are fresh and not frozen: the
real flavour of summer at the seaside. It was a large meal for
lunchtime and I left feeling the need for a siesta (or the Italian
equivalent), instead I cycled very slowly home along the seafront,
wishing that I had foregone the Creme Caramel with its burnt sugar
bitterness and smooth custard. Oh well, life is too short to miss
dessert.
The Latin in the Lane is popular
with visiting celebs and MPs so you never can tell whom you will
spy over your spaghetti. They have rooms available for private
parties. Evenings can get busy, so booking is advised, especially
at the weekend. You can get a three-course meal for around £12 or
you could spend three times that much. They have reasonably priced
house wines or four types of champagne, so it is up to you. Either
way, you are assured of good service, fine home-cooked food in a
very pleasant environment.
Latin in the Lane
10-11 Kings Road, Brighton
Tel: 01273 328672
Fax: 01273 321690
Midday-2.15pm last orders
6.30pm-11pm last food orders weekdays
6.30pm-11.30pm last food orders weekends
Diggin tex mex
Just another Tequila sunrise... at Dig in the Ribs
I have always felt an affinity
towards Mexico, with its warm sunshine, bright colours and copious
varieties of Tequila. I understand that this national tipple may
be under threat due to the dwindling stocks of the Agave cactus
from whence it comes. An entire nation will be distraught. Dig in
the Ribs is the place to drink it while you can, as they have
twelve glorious varieties to sample. But it's the food I'm here
for and they've got plenty of that too.
The menu is extensive and full of
ribs, fajitas, tortillas, salads and the like. There is plenty for
the vegetarian, but meat is the main deal. Ant and I chose to
forego the starters after viewing the quantities served up all
around us. I went for the Tex-Mex-Mix (£11.95), which was no less
than a tray full of ribs, chicken, corn, nachos with salsa and
guacamole, onion rings and sour cream. It was huge and delicious.
Ant had the Reef and Beef, steak
and skewer of tiger prawns with chips, which arrived on a sizzling
skillet (£10.95). We washed these down with a couple of Mexican
beers for him, and vodka and oranges for me. Luckily, we still had
room for two lovely puds: Banchanga - fresh banana and toffee in a
pancake with cream and ice cream for me - and home-made Digs Hot
Chocolate Fudge Cake for Ant.
Currently Digs and fellow
restaurant, The Dorset, are doing a Big Deal whereby you pick up a
card in either restaurant which features a number of offers, such
as Buy One Get One Free. Get it stamped when you take up the offer
and when you have six stamps; you will be sent a £10 voucher
towards your next meal. .
Saturday night is heaving, you must
book if you don't want to stand outside and drool for half an
hour. Saying that, once installed, the place operates very
smoothly, your food arrives quickly, everything is hot and crisp
and the service is attentive but not hurried. The décor is bright
and bold with the obligatory cow horns on the walls. Kids are
positively welcomed and all is done to please them. This is a fine
place, which does what it does very well indeed.
Meal for two including two vodka
and orange, two Mexican beers and two Portido tequilas: £43.70.
Dig in the Ribs
47 Preston Street, Brighton
01273 325275
Midday-midnight Mon-Sat,
Midday-11pm Sun
Long lunch
Sarah Hendrickx gets a traditional boozer welcome at the
Freemasons
The Freemasons, Friday lunchtime.
The atmosphere is very relaxed and welcoming. The punters are
20-40s and an amiable bunch. Certainly, the regular who collared
me outside the door, and confided that this pub does the best
lunch in town, seemed to be.
This is a traditional-looking
boozer with a wooden bar and everything. Refreshingly devoid of a
stainless steel and burnt orange re-fit, there is plenty of dark
wood to contrast the pale walls with their abstract prints.
The Freemasons serves food from
midday until 8pm and has put together a nice menu of snacks and
meals to see you through the day. I went for a Bacon and Brie
baguette with chips and salad for £4.50. Other offerings included
Chicken Tikka Masala, Mushroom and Spinach Lasagne, Thai Crab
Cakes with dipping sauce and a whole host of jacket spuds,
ciabatta and baguettes. Nothing is over £5.50 and if everything
is as huge and fresh as my lunch then they have got nothing to
worry about. The baguette was crisp and warm with juicy bacon and
melted Brie - one of my favourite combinations - and a mountain of
hot, fat chips and a decent green salad complete with optional
home-made dressing.
If I'd had the capacity I could
have finished off with Hot Belgian Apple Tart and cream (£2.50)
or Passion Cake (£2.25) and a choice of coffees. Needless to say
that this being a pub, there is the usual array of drinks at good
prices. There is also a fair wine list, which starts at £9.25 a
bottle and if you collect stamps on a loyalty card you can have a
free one once you've eaten ten meals.
All in all, a place that's not
trying too hard and is happy just being itself. Buzzing at night,
more sedate during the day. I was made to feel very welcome by the
efficient and friendly staff and I have a feeling that you will
too.
Meal for one including soft drink:
£5.30.
Freemasons
39 Western Road
Hove
01273 732043
Normal pub opening hours.
Food served: Mon-Fri 12-8pm,
Sat & Sun 12-6pm.
The French connection
Victor's: haute cuisine at lower prices
In case, you are not aware,
Victor's is a top rate little restaurant tucked away behind East
Street. The nosh is very trad French, heavy on the meat and pretty
on the plate.
As it was Mother's Day, we thought
we'd take the kids along for a nice Sunday lunch. Jago was briefed
that there would be no chicken nuggets on the menu and Jess told
to try and eat with her knife and fork, if possible.
We started with Smoked Salmon and
Horseradish Sauce - the salmon is smoked in house and was
deliciously light - and Duck Mousse with Port Syrup. This was a
wonderful, rich paté, not unlike Foie Gras with sweet, red syrup.
We followed this with a choice of
Rack of Lamb with Redcurrant Sauce or pan-fried Salmon with Creamy
Chive Sauce. Jess and I had the lamb and found it to be well
cooked with just the right amount of fat and good gravy. Anthony's
salmon was cooked to perfection and 'as salmon should be'.
The dishes were served beautifully
with a selection of vegetables. For dessert, Jago had a
combination of three ice creams whilst we had Tart Tatin and
Crème Brulee. The apple tart was hot and caramelised with a crisp
layer of grilled sugar. It would have benefited from a dollop of
crème fraiche to cool the palate.
To finish we had coffee and home
made petit fours of dark chocolate truffles. A white Viognier
accompanied our starter and a Gamay the main course. We also had
an orange juice a litre of mineral water.
We ate a set three course lunch
menu at £19.95 per head. Evening diners can select from an a la
carte or set menu at £ 21.95 for three courses up to the
Gastronomic which at £35, which at six courses of this quality is
a fair price indeed. Dishes include Seabass in Red Wine and Breast
of Duck with Honey and Ginger Sauce. The owner, Rosario is keen
for everyone to experience Victor's and has brought down his
prices to attract a wider clientele. He has not compromised on
quality though, I can testify to that. A meal here is an extended
occasion and our lunch took a leisurely three hours.
Considering the calibre of the
place, they were very accommodating to children and provided Jago
with lots of bread and a plate of vegetables, as he wasn't quite
up to a rack of lamb. The service, as always, is spot on, quite
formal with every need attended to. As for the food, the emphasis
here is on quality rather than quantity.
That said, we were pleasantly sated
and did not need to nip to the Pier for a bag of doughnuts. The
décor is rustic France and a little rough around the edges, but
nothing should detract from the food and the general atmosphere,
which make Victor's one of my favourite restaurants in town.
Meal for four including drinks:
£97.85
Victor's
11 Little East Street
The Lanes
Brighton BN1 1HT
01273 774545
http://www.victors.co.uk
Victor's is currently only open
at lunchtime and Sunday evenings for bookings.
6.30pm-10pm Mon-Sat.
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