Since my last blog I've been thinking tirelessly about the starter for my July menu and it's really giving me some problems. I'm just struggling to think of something to make with the ingredients I've chosen so I've decided to bring some chicken livers into the equation.
I'm thinking that a light chicken liver mousse coated with a layer of wild mushrooms then edged with Parma ham and topped with a couple of poached Quail's eggs might be the way forward.
I'm researching hard to try and get some inspiration and I think that tonight I'm just going to experiment and see what I can come up with.
The weekend just gone was all jolly good fun. It was mostly spent celebrating our little ones 8th birthday. My better half did some serious baking and the birthday cake was brilliant. I should really say "cakes" because there were loads of little ones on a stand and they were all beautifully decorated as you can see by the picture.
We had family over for a few nibbles on Friday then on Saturday a hall was hired along with a street dance instructor and I think the kids really had a great time.......the adults did too, especially when I got the tea trolley out and walked across the hall like an old lady. I wish I'd have dressed up properly for that now, the kids would have loved it.
On Sunday we had a table booked for lunch at LSQ2 and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. They had a guy playing guitar and singing in one corner and although it's a bit of a novelty I really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere it created. Mind you it helped that the guy was really good, can't imagine it'd be all that great if he couldn't sing or was better at plucking chickens than he was at guitar strings.
Foodwise I was happy with what I had. I went for the hot scotch eggs to start as I've been dying to try them for ages and I followed that up with the pork shoulder roast dinner. Carley had the same as me but Emily started with the pork cracking sticks and opted for the chicken roast dinner.
Loved the scotch eggs, absolutely adored them actually as did Carley and Emily happily munched her way through a stick or two of the pork cracking although she did mention that she thought it could have done with a bit more salt. When asked why she thought this she replied "because it'd make it have more flavour of course"..........Couldn't really argue with that even if it was from an 8 year old! Actually made me warm inside :-)
The pork shoulder roast was very nice and for me the perfect amount on the plate however I could envisage some people thinking there wasn't enough there to warrant the £9.95 but like I say it was perfectly portioned for me and I'm certainly no glutton.
Emily didn't finish hers as I think she was still a bit full from eating earlier on but she did start it off by saying it was the best chicken she'd ever tasted. I tried a bit myself and I have to agree it was pretty delicious. Kids under 10 years old have the roast for free anyway and that really goes give it incredibly good value.
Dessert for the girls was the baked Alaska and even though meringue and ice cream are Emily's favourites I reckon it probably wasn't a 50/50 split on the shared consumption!!!
I went for something off the cocktail menu to finish lunch off with. I reckon they knew that I am a sucker for a Negroni because I've not seen that on a restaurant menu in the UK let alone Reading. (They do have it at Sahara though as you'd expect them too being a cocktail bar and the Negroni being the cocktails makers cocktail of choice) I just had to have one and it took me back to my time spent in Rome.....as they always do. Perfect end to a pretty darn good lunch.
Emily's inspired comments didn't stop at seasoning either because we got her to fill out the customer feedback form and she made some very good comments.
Firstly she suggested that they could make the welcome a bit warmer by perhaps have a sign up saying "Hello". OK not particulally useful but I do think they entrance could do with a bit of a re-vamp myself. Perhaps not with neon signs though.
Secondly she said she felt a bit uncomfortable having to choose from an adult menu because it felt like it was a restaurant only for grown ups and she would have preferred a kiddies menu.
Lastly and this is my favourite because she suggested that they have brighter lights over the kitchen area so you could really see what was going on a lot better. I'd not really thought of that until she said it and I found myself in agreement. I love seeing the chefs working away as I think it adds extra theatre to your meal. I'd even go one further and have mirrors pointing down too but I don't think the ceiling design could cater for that.
So to finish up if you are looking for somewhere a bit different to take the kids on a Sunday lunchtime I cannot recommend LSQ2 any higher. It is the complete opposite to any Hungry Horse or Toby carvery. You might not get to go and help yourself to mountains of overcooked cheap vegetables but you do get probably the best roast dinner I've had in a restaurant or pub ever (OK at least approching par with The Pot Kiln) with real flavour and quality. Then there's the atmosphere, especially with the musician, it's just different class.
So that's it. Blog will be migrating soon to my own personal domain, we're just finalising some of the design and it's looking really nice and professional so I'm excited about that.
Apologise for the irregularity of the posts lately. I've gone and got myself engrossed in another game of Football Manager 2011 and in between trying to create a July starter it's taking over my life :-) ......Come on Sutton United!
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