so I get asked kinda out of the blue by a local PR agency if I wouldn’t mind popping along to the Calcutta brassiere in the historic market town of stony Stratford .. Sure says i why not!
Now I don’t really eat out round these parts very much.. There really isn’t anything that turns me on that much.. And that is a damn shame I tells ya.. A damn shame..
Particularly when you love food and get really rather excited about it..
You know how that goes right? 😊
Anyhoo.. Let’s talk Calcutta brassiere then..
Well for starters its in a pretty cool looking building.. An old school or something.. Considering it can seat 200 it doesn’t have the canteen feel for sure. (I was also told that every Friday and Saturday night they do have the place full, plus take outs and just seven chefs to work that!)..
Onto the real starters!
Ok I had the obligatory poppadoms. With the sauces that were very fridge cold indeed.. And pretty big considering that it was just me and I had two poppadoms .. Hmm
The mixed starter contained an aloo tikka which was pleasant enough, a tandoori paneer piece, a bit of chicken tikka? ( tasty yet not like in the tree of life!)
https://cookingwithmrfitz.com/?s=Tree+of+life&x=0&y=0
And a very suspiciously bright red small lamb kebab.. I am not going to talk about the ‘salad’ .. Ahem..
The salted lassi really was the highlight! ( I asked for plain water twice and never got any)..
After speaking with the most hospitable Mr Osman (a Turkish chap that is front of house).. And asking if I could have whatever he recommended I got served up the rail road mutton .. a dish from the glory days of the railway by all accounts and a new item on the menu.. Oh and about the menu, I was told that it was a change of menu, ( hence the pr agency getting ahold of me to try it out), turns out it’s not a new menu, it’s the old menu with new additions.. I guess that does make it a new menu of sorts!
The railroad mutton was a tasty dish, not really suitable for a first date or dinner party perhaps as it contains knarly bones as well as tender meat.. It was protein rich for definite!
I enjoyed it although I think there was too much in the pot, not often a complaint I know yet their bins must be overflowing as every dish I saw coming out ( including a lobster at one point) were really quite large!
The rice? Well it was rice…
The naan I have to say disappointed me , when I get to eat in places that have a full on tandoori oven I really want that crispy on one side yet billowy cloud like softness of a blown up naan, not this time.. this was more like a tandoori roti perhaps? And painted with a serious amount of butter and as you know I am rather partial to a spot of butter .. cough cough. 😉
The Tarka Dahl seemed to have no ‘Tarka’.. that screaming hot spicy oil that is so so delicious .. Mr Osman also agreed that it seemed a little raw too..
Don’t have the lemon soup though..
(Only kidding! That’s my finger bowl..)..
Onto pudding..
Best thing about eating out is having a sinfully devilish pudding right?
Well after a discussion with Mr Osman we decided that I would skip the bought in desserts.. Not that I have a problem at all with nought in desserts in any way.. it would have been nice to have a Calcutta brassiere special though.. ( even if it was bought in..) 😕
Would i go again? probably not.. I think it needs a good refresh and perhaps make the food smaller and more delicate and special.. Maybe that’s just me.. If you want more than your ‘average’ curry house ( their words not mine) then give it a go.. Heck why not.. The setting is pretty and the staff very friendly.. (In that weird floating about with twisty heads manner..), and maybe you will strike it lucky.. I wish I had..
Nice chap though that Mr Osman..
(Terrible lighting for pics though!)
I look forward to my next assignment !
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Categories: Dining out & about, Dinners/Suppers, Lambs, previous posts, Random.., Travel Bites
Cooking with Mr Fitz 
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