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Christopher's
in the City, London EC3
It's
a clever idea when designing a new
restaurant: you take a favourite
painting, photograph it, then blow
up little sections so that they become
abstracts that can be dispersed around
the room. Then you match the principal
colours with paintwork, fabrics,
leather chairs, strip light filters
and even the genial proprietor's
shirt and tie. The neckwear was great
- I was less sure about the strip
lights though. The painting is 'The
Pool' by the American Impressionist
Miller-Bunker.
Chef Shaun Arantz, together with Christopher's
chef-director Adrian searing, have
created a contemporary American menu
covering all the classics like sweetcorn
and scallop chowder, eggs Benedict, New York strip steaks, big fries and
some
new ideas. There are plenty of affordable Californian wines to make your
meal go with a swing.
To
give Christopher's a proper test
drive, I took along one of my American
culinary arts students who immediately
noticed the Maryland crab cake starter. "my
grandma makes those" she enthused, "and
I always try them whenever I go to
a diner". I kept my fingers
crossed, but needn't have worried
as she was very pleased indeed with
the crab cakes and the rocket salad,
though she expected more from the
red pepper mayo, which we both thought
bland and in want of a higher pepper
to mayo ratio. Meanwhile, I
was busy with a melt in the mouth
carpaccio of beef which came with
much the same rocket salad and "Harry's
bar dressing" which was surprisingly
similar to the red pepper mayo.
New
England cod cakes sounded tempting
especially with maple cured bacon,
but my guest chose another of her
favourites, sword fish steak whose
meaty texture was complemented by
a marvellous sauce with fresh baby
clams in the shell. I had the roast
partridge, expertly timed and served
with a very nice slow cooked "Napa" cabbage
with lots of sultanas and a white
port reduction. We had some
sautéed green vegetables that had
retained their verdant colour and
crispness and some fine mashed
potato that had seen some serious
bashing and sieving (full marks to
the veg department).
By
contrast the puds were a tad ordinaire.
I was looking forward to a proper
baked New York cheesecake, but a
supermarket version had been substituted
instead. I don't mean to suggest
that it had been bought in, though
I do have to say that M&S do
one that's very similar. Please restore
the NY version! The chocolate tart
had been made with rather heavy pastry
but the filling was rich and smooth
and the raspberry sorbet was first
class.
The
Bar menu looks very good, with Eggs
Benedict, salt and pepper squid,
bunny terrine, a BLT made with the
maple bacon and of course Christopher's
celebrated hamburger with big fries.
There are some super Californian
wines on the not exclusively American
list, and as it was lunchtime we
enjoyed a delicious Napa Valley chardonnay,
golden coloured from Mt Eden, and
a rich dark Zinfandel from the same
stable, both at £3.50 the glass.
Given
that the kitchen is still settling
down at the end of its first full
week, they are doing a great job
and I look forward to a return visit
to see how things are shaping up.
Clifford
Mould November 2005
I bet
their Thanksgiving Dinner will be
an occasion to remember.
Starters £4.50-£8.00,
Mains £11.50-£19.00, Puds around £6.00,
Bar meals from £4.50 to £8.00
Open
Monday Friday 11am - 11pm
www.christophersgrill.com
18 Creechurch Lane EC3A 5AY
Tel: 020 7623 3999
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