Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Food (and ale) for thought

Good food and good beer usually go hand in hand and, with this connection firmly in mind, my objective this week was to investigate places in Nottingham that are associated with excellent grub but also have a reputation for providing some decent ale. I had a few places already in mind and I'd previously visited them all at least once so, once again, I knew more or less what I was letting myself in for on my travels. Accompanied once again by my partner in crime Matt, I headed into town, with my first destination being The Orange Tree, on the corner of Shakespeare Street and North Sherwood Street.


This black and white brick building was a place I visited regularly as a student and it's renowned for a decent cocktail selection, good food and some unbelievably attractive bar staff. I arrived slightly earlier than planned, about 5-10 minutes before the pub was actually open but, as it wasn't a bad day and I still had to wait for Matt, I didn't mind too much. Inside, the décor is stylish and modern with lots of seating, ranging from wooden tables and chairs to low sofas in the rear area, and a number of decorative arty prints adorning the walls. There is also a fairly decent beer garden to the rear for those who prefer to enjoy their beverages outside. The bar is roughly central and J-shaped with a decent selection of draught lagers and ciders. There are also 4 hand pumps, 1 of which is Traditional Scrumpy, with the other 3 being ales, in this case Greene King IPA, Castle Rock Harvest Pale and Greene King London Glory. With Matt now present, we both opted for a pint of London Glory (4%). This is a Greene King special edition, ruby in colour, rich and fruity with hints of roasted malt. Retiring to one of the sofa areas, I had a peruse of the menu which consists of a mixture of light bites, sandwiches and burgers but also more exotic items like tacos and hot dogs. I can also personally vouch for the quality of their Sunday dinners. Obviously, we knew we wouldn't be eating in every pub that we visited, but the general idea was to investigate the food available in each venue in hopes of proving that there are places that take pride in the quality of both their food and drink. The Orange Tree certainly passes muster in that respect, although I did leave feeling that the timing of our visit was a tad redundant as they are in the process of launching a new menu in the very near future.

Not to be put off by this, we headed on too our next location, which was further into the city centre. Situated amongst the row of premises behind the Council House, the Major Oak has entrances on both Pelham Street and Victoria Street.
 
Formerly part of the Hog's Head chain of businesses, the Major Oak is now operated by Stonegate Pub Company and named after a famous centuries old tree in Sherwood Forest with links to the legend of Robin Hood. The frontage is black and gold and the pub is very food driven but also does a good line in decent beer. The 2 entrances are on slightly different levels with the Pelham Street entrance being slightly elevated above the other due to the layout of the streets around it. There is a large amount of seating, mostly round tables and plush chairs but also an outdoor seating area in Pelham Street. There are a large number of TV screens, all on this occasion showing cricket coverage and the bar runs along the length of the wall and contains 9 hand pumps, 6 of which are in use with a mixture of interesting brews including Old Speckled Hen, Hop Original from Amber Ales (one of whose beers regularly features), Amber Ale from the Harbour Brewing Company, Acorn Brewery Blonde and Amarillo from Frome's Milk Street Brewery, along with one hand pump for real cider. Matt opted for the Amarillo whereas I tried my luck with Blonde from Barnsley's Acorn Brewery. At 4.0%, this was obviously blonde, very fruity and hoppy with a touch of citrus flavours. The food is very reasonably priced with a number of decent money-saving deals, including 2 meals for £7.45 and a burger and a drink deal for £6.45. The meals themselves are standard pub fare but are prepared to a very high quality.

We expected a lot from our next destination, The Bell Inn in the Market Place, officially the oldest pub in Nottingham and now part of the Greene King portfolio.
 
The Bell Inn sits on the site of land that was previously granted to Carmelite friars when they arrived in Nottingham in 1276. They established a friary on what is now Friar Lane and The Bell Inn, which was founded as a licenced premises in 1437, is located on the site of what would have been the refectory for this friary. The cellars of the pub are a combination of natural sandstone and hand carved caves that date from at least the 12th century. A bonded warehouse is hidden beneath a wooden hatch in the cellar, evidence of the old method of wine sales. The interior is very traditional with olde worlde leanings, with original beams and doorways still in evidence. The furniture is in keeping with the overall appearance being largely solid wood. The property extends over 2 floors with the main bar area and a couple of snug and lounge bars on the ground floor and the Belfry restaurant upstairs. The food here is excellent and sensibly priced with a good choice between light snacks and larger meals. My particular favourites are the beef and Abbot Ale pie and their excellent Sunday lunches. The main bar is a loose J shape and includes 11 hand pulls, all of which are well stocked. The usual Greene King offerings are present: IPA, Olde Trip, Old Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale and Greene King Mild. There are also a number of ales from Nottingham Brewery, namely EPA, Robin Hood and Trooper, a special edition brew for Armed Forces Day. Titanic Cap. Smith is also available but me and Matt opt for another Nottingham Brewery concoction: William Clarke Anniversary Ale. Named after a former landlord of The Bell, it has been specially brewed to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the founding of Trent Bridge cricket ground, which the eponymous gentleman was also responsible for. It's 4.6% and dark straw in colour, easy drinking with a smooth taste, fruity finish and an all around flavour of a nice hop and malt mix. As per usual with out ale trips, the conversation goes in some unusual directions at The Bell, with topics touched upon including Salvador Dali and the career of Black Sabbath.
As well as it's reputation as a place of great food and drink, The Bell also has a number of ghostly tales associated with it, which is hardly surprising given the age of the building. Amongst the phenomena reported is the apparition of a man named Robert who is seen walking through the restaurant. Two men have been seen sitting at a table before disappearing. One of the ladies toilets, located in the caves, is said to be haunted by a female phantom and there have been a number of reports of a jester-like figure seen standing outside the main entrance.

Although not as old, or as haunted, as The Bell, our next destination is still one of Nottingham's best known venues for food and drink and has a continued tradition of live music throughout it's history. Located just round the corner from The Bell, on St. James' Street, sits the former music hall now known as the Malt Cross.
 
The Malt Cross has still largely retained the appearance of an old music hall, with the bar downstairs against the wall and a mostly open plan layout to the seating arrangements. Upstairs is mostly a U-shaped internal balcony/mezzanine that looks out onto the floor below but also incorporates a number of cosy seating areas. Originally opened in 2003, the Malt Cross is also a Christian Charity which helps to raise money by donating all of its profits to local causes. Drinks-wise, the Malt Cross is known for a wide selection of European beers and includes 6 hand pumps. 1 of these is a traditional perry and there are 5 ales on offer. One is their own ale, Music Hall, specially created for the Malt Cross by Brewster's. They also have Harvest Pale, Blue Monkey's 99 Red Baboons, Adnams Fat Sprat Amber Ale and Mystery Tor from Glastonbury brewery. I chose a pint of the Mystery Tor (4.2%) which was golden with a hop flavour, smooth finish and notable citrus kick. Matt decided on the Fat Sprat, which he agreed was excellent!

Our next, and last, trip of the day was the place we'd decided earlier in the day would be our food stop for the afternoon. Situated on Wilford Street, near the offices of Nottingham Evening Post and on the very edge of the canal, sits The Navigation Inn, home of the now legendary Annie's Burger Shack.
 
With a working canal lock more or less in the beer garden, this 3 storey building is a haven for live music, real ale and amazing food. The pub layout is fairly traditional with lots of wooden furniture providing seating, the bar on the right hand side of the entrance and a small stage in one of the corners. There are 12 hand pulls present and it's nice to see them all being utilised. The ales are from a variety of sources with the majority from Jennings (Sneck Lifter, Mild, High Spy, Cocker Hoop and Tom Fool) but also beers from Mansfield (Cask Bitter), Wychwood (Hobgoblin), Brakspear (Oxford Gold), Marston's (Morrell's Varsity, Pedigree and EPA) and Single Hop (Amarillo). After making our drinks choices (I opted for Tom Fool (4.0%), golden and malty with aromas of roast malt and a flavour of hops and crystal malt), we sat down and hungrily cast our eyes over the menu. For those of you who haven't yet experienced Annie's (where have you been?), this is what you need to know. The Navigation's sole food provider is Annie's Burger Shack, an in-house gourmet burger restaurant run by Rhode Island native and Nottingham resident Anmarie Spaziano. The burgers are all her own inventions, although competitions are regularly held for people to invent their own to add to the menu and come in a variety of unusual flavours and styles. All the burgers can be vegetarian or vegan as per choice (although why would you not want the meat?) and come with a choice of sides between wedges, curly fries and shoestring fries. All the burgers are reasonably priced and there is now a collector card for those who want to try them all. After a couple of minutes of debate, I eventually decided upon the Hawaiian Burger, a normal beef burger with salad but with the additions of a piece of gammon, a grilled pineapple ring and melted Swiss cheese. I chose this with a side of spicy potato wedges. It was everything I expected and more. Having visited Annie's a few times in the past, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. The beef was tender and perfectly cooked, the gammon was rich and the Swiss cheese added a soft and subtle edge to the flavours of the spicy wedges. Under the circumstances, it would've been rude not to have another so this time I selected Amarillo from Single Hop brewery. This 4% beer is named after the American hop variety used to make it and is very citrusy and flowery but with a refreshing yet clean bitterness.

And with that, our quest to find good ale and food pubs was drawn to close. In all honesty, I think it was a rousing success and proves that pubs can do everything right if they're prepared to donate the time and effort to making it work. All the pubs we visited on this occasion are worth returning too for the beer and food alone and together these ingredients make for an excellent combination. Anyone who enjoys their food and knows their ale will certainly find something to suit them and they are all, especially Annie's Burger Shack at The Navigation, worth visiting on any day of the week. Good food plus good beer equals a good time had by all.    

 


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