Anywho, better late than never, right? And I am in time to rave about the Dine with I experience before his next venture in April at a new venue, the Mauretania. 🙂 Although it may be a little bit odd talking about a festive themed feast in March. Sorry.
To give you all a bit of background if you haven’t heard of Dine with I, it is a popup venture that revolves around the ethos of serving flavoursome, locally sourced food cooked beautifully. The chef, Tim Owen, has previously run the kitchens of The Star and Dove and The Oxford in Totterdown and KNOWS HIS STUFF.
This is not my first blog post about the dine with i pop ups. Earlier in 2013, the chicken was a big feature of the eve. This time…it’s the Guinea Fowl! Tim is a man who knows how to cook meat!
Previously at the legendary pop up location, 40 Alfred Place (also the venue of fabulous afternoon tea events in 2013 from Klauren Events ***cough*** shameless plug ***cough***) this time the food was served up at The Galley on Hotwells Road. A cute little café by day, this is open to pop ups in the evening.
A welcome platter of tasty delights kicked off the festive feast. Not usually a bourbon fan, I was pleasantly surprised by the shot of Jack Daniels laced egg nog. Maybe this is how I transition onto bourbon? A sweet and juicy Medjool date was perfectly balanced with the salty parma ham that encased it. A balsamic reduction drizzled on top finished it off perfectly. Finally toasted sourdough bread had the added kick off smoky chilli butter. Definitely stealing that idea.
How to enjoy bourbon – ADD IT TO EGGNOG!
Platter of tasty delights
The following soup course was the tasty combination of squash, celeriac and parsnip, topped with spicy croutons. This came with a definite kick of spice, making the swirl of coriander yoghurt a thankful accompaniment to cool the tastebuds down.
Spicy spicy soup!
The fish course: Smoked mackerel , carpaccio of crunchy multi-coloured beetroot, dressed with horseradish and dill cucumber. I am always impressed when a chef gets me to eat something that usually sits on my dislike list and the flavour combination here got me to eat the dreaded cucumber!
Mackerel made my overcome my fear of cucumber
The main event: Confit leg of the most deliciously moist and flavoursome of guinea fowl ever to be served! Making me drool now just thinking about it. I wolfed this down with the festive mulled wine cabbage, mahusive roasted carrot, sage and onion chestnut stuffing and crispy goose fat roast potatoes. The jus – started the week before from a hefty pile of bones – was definitely worth the effort for the flavour!
Photo does not do this plate of food justice – sorry!
And finally, the dessert. Oh dear, fullness hit! Although the courses are fairly manageable portions on their own; add them together and I was beaten. My dinner date had to help me with the final bites of the white chocolate, cardamom and cranberry ganache tart served with raspberry and cranberry sauce and a lovely refreshing crème fraiche.
This took me over the edge…
And how was much was the immense feast of delights? £30!!!!! I KID YOU NOT!
If you are looking for super tasty food, cooked with a lot of passion, which also comes at a bargainness price, then keep an eye on the @dinewithi twitter account for his next event. 🙂
