Firehouse bar11/12/2023 ![]() The sweetness of the beetroot is spanked away by the smoked soy sauce. It’s focused on beetroot two ways: in square blocks, arranged like books on a shelf, hiding under miraculously thin slices that still have bite. Onwards to the second partwork, our main course, even though everything has so far floated past us in an unstructured march that plays against such old-school hierarchies. ‘Sprinkled with puffed black rice’: stuffed courgette. ![]() ![]() It’s a crisp, deep-fried orb of oniony joy, with a pungent curry-leaf sauce that tastes like a good spice cupboard smells. We try both and accept the offer of an additional £6 course of leek fritters. It comes sprinkled with puffed black rice and rests on a bed of a sultry harissa sauce. Or there’s a vegetarian cylinder of crunchy, barely cooked courgette, hollowed out and filled with a rice pilaf seasoned with the saltiness of feta, the latter the cause for saying the restaurant is only “mostly” vegan. There’s a vegan plate of dark, chewy oyster mushrooms alongside a crisp-shelled croquette boasting an almost liquid centre tasting intensely of the company it’s keeping. ![]() Apparently, it’s dressed with a gherkin ketchup. Only a small bowl of salted cucumber, playing the part of Japanese pickles, feels like an afterthought. Or pile it on the confit potato, which comes with a crisp fennel remoulade. Use a slab of the crunch-crusted sourdough from Coombeshead Farm to dredge. Alongside is a bowl of a white bean purée, the thickness of Dulux emulsion, honking of garlic and stained red with chilli oil. It’s baba ganoush that’s declined to be further pummelled, because the point has already been made. That aubergine dish, the vegetable roasted to a thrillingly dark, slumped and smoky mess, comes dressed in the saltiness of olive and the smooth velvet plush of tahini. The first and last savoury courses are a partwork. ‘Well lubricated with promise’: grilled beetroot. But the word-spaghetti of the menu descriptions – “aubergine, kalamatas, tahini” reads one “grilled beetroot, spring onion, smoked soy” reads another – is so alluring, so well lubricated with promise, that I give myself to it happily. If I wanted what I was given, I’d stay at home, where at least I’d get to enjoy being ridiculed by my kids. Bring me a list, let me express my sordid desires. I love restaurants because they let me make choices. Although the website lists an à la carte, this evening we are offered only the £45 “Discovery” menu, which is edgy restaurant speak for “You’ll have what you’re bloody given.” This is usually my cue for a good old pout. In this, his cooking resembles that of the equally brilliant Helen Graham at Bubala, just perhaps in more formal tailoring. It allows me the opportunity to be the latest to rave about both his thoroughly good taste and his sublime technique about his ability to use strident Asian and Middle Eastern flavours to get the most from prime vegetables, much as an already well-dressed dandy accessorises with a cravat and fedora. Sachdeva launched a crowdfunder to raise the £150,000 he needed to put down permanent roots at this address. Tendril started as a pop-up, first in a Soho pub, then later here, on this narrow site just south of Oxford Street. The restaurant offers a full service bar with delicious cocktails, wine, and lots of local craft beers & cider.‘A thrillingly dark, slumped and smoky mess’: roasted aubergine. Owners Sheri DeLarm and Crispin Ginn transformed what was once an old firehouse into a contemporary restaurant space with a large refurbished bar and a wall of glass that opens to an outdoor terrace overlooking the Hague Brook. The Hague Firehouse Restaurant is nestled on a brook in the small hamlet of Hague at the Northern end of Lake George. Please call (518) 543-6266 to hear a message confirming what we are serving. September 2nd: BBQ with the Fiori Brothers Band - our final night! NOW ONLY OPEN FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS, 5pm-11pmĪug 18th: serving Chicken Wings, Mac and Cheese, with Caesar SaladĪug 26th: LGA Fundraiser with all tips donated. Sept 2nd, featuring the Fiori Brothers Band!
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