Cross Scythes, Baslow Road, Totley, Sheffield
I ALWAYS pause before I order panna cotta, that superior Italian version of blancmange. For I don't want to add to the catering unemployed.
Now this is a deceptively simple dish but should taste light and of whatever the flavouring is and be set just so: not so much that it is as stiff as a stale bread roll, nor that it should collapse under the spoon.
A little while back I wrote that it should quiver like a maiden's bosom but the one before me was so firm that it must have had an implant.
It raised a laugh and it raised another in the kitchen. But not with the pastrychef. He threw down his pinny and left.
Now I'm ordering it again in the new-look, revamped Cross Scythes pub at Totley and I don't want to cause any ructions. After all, the place has barely got on its feet, opening only a month or so back.
It is flavoured with Earl Grey tea and that comes across with a lovely lilt on nose and tongue. The kitchen is, however, taking no chances with itinerant restaurant reviewers and serves it in a tea cup so it doesn't have to support its own weight. But it's light enough.
The Cross Scythes, a big pub on the southern edge of the city, is quiet for a Sunday.
It's been taken over by former Sheffield Wednesday (and United) star David Ford, previously involved in Champs sports bar on Ecclesall Road, in a consortium which includes Stuart Hitchman, previously manager at Champs, and Alan Rigby, formerly head chef at Felicini.
"I must be mad taking on a pub in this economic climate," David joked to me a while back but the pub has the makings of a success story. Trade is building up gradually and so far it's been word of mouth, says assistant manager Lee Davis.
There is essentially one big room which curves around a bar but divides into half a dozen dining areas, some room-sized, others nooks and crannies. The decor is restrained in cream, grey and brown, there is panelling, an eclectic mix of chairs and Sheffield cutlery on the table.
We also have one of the best young waitresses we've encountered in a long time to serve us. Ailce it says on the bill. Could that mean Alice?
The Cross Scythes' obvious competitor is the Cricket Inn down nearby Penny Lane and, while it's not got there yet, the kitchen is setting out its stall with starters like chicken leg curry with home made flatbreads and Yorkshire rarebit and mains such as handmade chicken and ham pie and roast duck with spiced pear.
There is also a separate pizza section and side dishes include chips fried in dripping, so they seem to be covering all bases.
It's the same menu all week round with the addition of Sunday roast (beef) so I opt for the ham hock terrine (5.75) followed by the roast (10.50). My wife fancies the salmon and tarragon fishcakes (5.50) followed by roast breast of chicken (12.95).
The terrine's not at all bad for flavour but needs more presentation for the price. It comes on a big plate with a slick of good apple puree (give me chutney any day) and a home made bread roll. That's it.
I have to ask for butter.
A little bit of foliage and a squiggle of balsamic reduction would have stopped the plate looking so austere.
I enjoy my beef, a couple of slices, still pink, and crisp Yorkshire pudding although my roast potatoes are pretty tasteless. Decent gravy comes in a little jug.
The Cross Scythes' herb of choice is tarragon. It's in the pleasing salmon fishcakes, served with spinach and hollandaise, and again with the roast chicken. This is a lovely, tasty bit of meat with crisp skin but neither of us is sure what to make of the "potato cake," a bland sort of flatbread layered with very garlicky spinach and mushrooms with plenty of tarragon.
Thinking herself short of vegetables she has also ordered carrots (2.95) making her course tot up to 15.90.
She orders creme brulee (like the panna cotta, 4.95) but would have enjoyed it more if all the sugar topping had been caramelised.
Real beer included Crucible and Moonshine, which makes the beer batter for the fish and chips, one of the pub's best sellers along with pork belly.
We paid 48.05 for food, which can be a little bit pricey here and there, but the pub's got promise.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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