The
Crooked Billet, Nr Milton
Keynes, Bucks
Clifford
Mould thinks this is the
best pub food in the country
Some
of my happiest memories of excellent
dinners were at 1837
restaurant at Brown's Hotel,
off Piccadilly. Sommelier John
Gilchrist established a
formidable reputation for an
amazing array of wines by the
glass. He would open virtually
any bottle, except perhaps a
few rare wines from older vintages.
A couple of years ago, he and
his partner, the hugely talented
chef Emma Sexton, took
over the Crooked Billet, a pretty
thatched pub on the outskirts
of Milton Keynes. Working closely
with his suppliers, the Cambridge
based wine merchant Anthony Byrne,
he has assembled a list worthy
of a Michelin starred restaurant,
let alone a country pub. He will
still open virtually any wine
on the list, but his speciality
is to produce a unique wine to
suit every dish. Between the
three of us, we tasted nine different
wines during the course of the
meal.
With
our pre-starter of Manx scallop,
perfectly seared, came a glass
the 2000 Lamidor Chardonnay,
whose citrus and butter was like
a beurre blanc dressing for the
fish. After such a generous amuse,
we were agog with anticipation
for the rest of the meal! A
shellfish bisque (£4.75) was
voluptuous and heavily loaded
with lobster and totally put
to shame the fish soup I had
recently in a harbourside restaurant
in Collioure in the South of
France. This came partnered with
a smoky Sancerre Vieilles
Vignes from Guenneau. The
pan fried boudin blanc with meltingly
rich foie gras on a velvety mash
(£8.50) was well matched with
an Alsace Pinot Blanc from
Zind Humbrecht, while I enjoyed
a deeply flavoured late harvested
Tokay (Pinot Gris) from the same
maker. This was paired with my
delectable duo of terrines (£6.75),
one made from smoked chicken
and shitake mushroom, while the
other was a country style duck
terrine with peach chutney.
A
good slug of Penfold's Bin 389
Cab/Shiraz greeted my main dish
of Pork Three Ways (£17.00).
I like these combination dishes
and this was a real trencherman's
helping. There was a steak of
pan fried loin, almost as soft
and tender as the foie gras that
topped it. The slow roasted
pork belly needed longer cooking
while its crackling really needed
blasting. The 'third way' was
a piece of pork rolled up in
a crepinette. But I loved the
accompaniments: a delicate little
tartlet of white beans and a
finely made fondant potato that
I can never seem to get right
whenever I try it! Talking of
ways, there's also a brace of
quail stuffed two ways (£14.00),
sounds a bit rude, but interesting...
The
others both had the "Roasted
rack of lamb with pine nut and
coriander cous cous, garlic roasted
Romaine pepper, baby aubergine
and red onion and a tapenade
jus" (£15.00). The meat
was simply superb, and again
it was the attention to detail
of all these marvellous garnishes
that caught both my eye and my
taste buds, as I rifled my neighbours'
plates for a share of the spoils!
They were quaffing a claret style
1998 Chateau Minuty, but I was
too busy with my Bin 389 and
I missed out on a taste of it.
Puddings
are superb: Emphasis on Passion
Fruit (£7.00), which included
a passion fruit baked Alaska,
was a clever set of variations
on a theme. That was teamed with
a November picked Pacheranc from
Alain Brumont. Emma obviously
enjoys preparing those spoofy
desserts like the famous cappuccino
cup, so we tried her delicious
chocolate grand piano (£5.75)
beautifully decorated with a
treble clef and other musical
motifs. Elysium Black Muscat
is the preferred partner for
chocolate, and out it came, on
cue. I had a lovely pineapple
Tarte tatin (£4.75) with home
made vanilla ice cream (with
plenty of tell-tale little black
seeds) and some Lindemann's botrytis
Riesling, what a decadent combination!.
Great
cooking and great wines, thank
you Emma and John. The prices
here are a bit higher than at
the other three serious pubs
we've visited in the past two
weeks. Nevertheless, the cooking
at the Billet is of a consistently
high standard, and they are pitching
for an even higher market. The
service was also very professional,
noticeably so. I feel an award
coming on, so how about a Dine
Online Accolade?
Right
then, the
Dine
Online Accolade for the
best combination of food and
wine in any pub is
hereby awarded to Emma and
John at
The Crooked Billet, 2 Westbrook Ed, Newton Longville
(not Pichon Longueville)
Milton Keynes, Bucks MK17 0DF
Tel:
01908 631979
www.thebillet.co.uk
Email: john@thebillet.co.uk
If
you're keen on wines, do contact Anthony
Byrne Fines, Ramsey Business
Park, Stocking Fen Road, Ramsey,
Cambridgeshire PE17 1UR
Tel: 01487 814555 www.abfw.co.uk email: admin@abfw.co.uk
Clifford
Mould May 2002
If
you like the Crooked Billet,
then here are some other excellent
gastro-pubs that we particularly
recommend:
The
Stephan Langton Friday
Street, Nr Dorking Surrey. Serious cooking,
wines at moderate prices
The
Hoste Arms - in
unspoiled North Norfolk, this Inn
retains its pub atmosphere and
serves good food
The
Pheasant at Keyston, A good
Cambridgeshire restaurant/pub near
Oundle