Sketch

After reading about Sketch in a few blogs, here, here, and here, I had been thinking of making a visit for some time now. This week, with my birthday coming up, seemed like a good time to start the spending spree and treat myself and a companion to this Michellin-starred art-exhibition-cum-restaurant, featuring the culinary theatrics of master chef Pierre Gagnaire.

Rather than regurgitating all of the gory details of the visit, I would first refer the reader to Kang’s review, which does an excellent job of setting the scene. My initial impressions were just as he described – overwhelming creativity and artistic inspiration radiating throughout from the moment you walk in the door. Also, in keeping with the theme, we were greeted upon arrival by name (“Good evening, Mister Glaze, welcome to Sketch…”) followed by a quick rundown of the restaurant’s plaudits as we made our way up the stairs to the lecture room. At the time I thought, ah that’s no big deal, it’s Tuesday and the place is hardly busy, and we had even called ahead to mention we were running a few minutes late, so they could have simply deduced based on the timing who we were. But I was a bit more dazzled upon leaving when we were thanked for our custom, again by name – because at this point the entrance had become quite busy with patrons heading to the trendy bar areas for some nightlife. So, in short, the restaurant design is breathtaking, and the service up to this point is brilliant.

Upon being seated at a nice corner table with full view of the room, I noted that the restaurant was indeed quiet – only a few other tables seated at that point. But we appreciated the tranquility, and it was almost like having the kitchen to ourselves, as the other tables were mostly just sipping wine at this point. Noting that I had arrived with camera in hand, my usual trepidation was immediately relieved, as our helpful French garçon informed me that I may feel free to take any photos I like, as long as I promise to not use flash, which would disturb the other patrons. I was armed with my Nikon 55mm f/1.4 AF-S, and so this suited me fine, as my intention was to conquer the dimly lit room and capture my shots in natural light. The wait staff were all very courteous and helpful, yet young enough and relaxed in appearance to set those of us at ease, who aren’t exactly frequent diners in Michelin restaurants. Even somewhat under-dressed (it is Regent’s street after all, on a Tuesday!) and certainly not sporting the same accessories (such as the Armani suit or £20k Breitling wrapped around my neighbor’s wrist), the waiters put us completely at ease and honestly we didn’t feel uncomfortable for a second. There were a couple of poignantly humorous moments, such as when the waiter asked whether we had come from far, and we replied, “well…Chelsea”… and then towards the end of the meal, when the waiter asked the purpose of the photographs, and I explained that I was critiquing the restaurant for my food blog – but hey, I’m sure they’ve seen it all before.

So we were seated, side tables were brought for her purse and my camera bag, and we were immediately served a big selection of amuse bouches, canapes, or hors’d’oeuvres – not sure which one this qualifies as. But it was a lot. I didn’t have time to jot down everything the waiter was saying about each item, and with my lens I couldn’t quite get a wide shot of all the items on the table at once. But I have some nice shots of the individual plates. So look at all of these, and then reconstruct the picture in your head, of the table practically covered with fun little dishes to taste.

One was what has been described as a powder-version of hummous or maybe cassava powder, served with something like strips of flatbread or biscuit sticks – I guess that’s about right.

Two small pieces of what appeared to be cucumber were served chilled on a block of ice. However these were not cucumber at all – but rather either a grape or a combination of grape and other fresh fruit tastes perhaps. Surprising.

While waiting for starters, we were served a selection of bread, mostly fresh apparently, from a nice bread basket. I had the “italian” bread, which was something like a light airy foccaccia, while my companion had the white bread, which was almost like a sourdough roll. Two sorts of butter were served, one ordinary and yellow, and possibly unsalted. The other, heavily salted, and green and infused with what is apparently seaweed – it had a very distinctly seafoody if not possibly fishy taste. Interesting.

For starters, we decided to share something called Perfume of the Earth, which was a selection of small starter dishes, again served to cover the table in choices. This selection is apparently named for its inspiration from the chef’s favourite perfume. The flavor combinations were unique and intriguing – nothing was quite what you were expecting. Some dishes seemed to be deconstructions, others more like unexpected amalgamations of tastes. It was truly a theme park for the taste buds. And I suppose this is where we really see the difference from the set lunch menu. Here I could really feel the chef pouring out heart and soul into a symphony of flavours to dazzle us.

White beetroot purée with redcurrant, red beetroot syrup, purslane salad, foie gras soup with sarawak pepper

The beetroot and pursalane salad was doused by the waiter in what appeared to be a cold brown vinagrette, but on taste surprised us as it turned out to be the warm foie gras soup. It took a few tastes before I could put my finger on what it actually was. The foie gras taste was very nice, but hard to recognize straight away in liquid form. I felt just slightly decadent as I slopped up spoonfuls of the foie gras with bits of salad and beetroot.

Cocotte of vegetables, smoked orange peel and bay laurel

Goat’s cheese and black olives from Nyon

Almond tart

The almond tart had a sweet marzipan taste to it, and it was slightly odd to have what was essentially a small dessert in the middle between the other starter dishes and the main course.

Moving on to the mains, I opted for the Challans Duck, which came as one of the waiters recommendations.

Duck fillet with cinnamon and cumin

The duck meat itself was served in a small hot covered pot, and was sliced to bite size pieces in a rich brown sauce. Following the waiter’s suggestion, we left the meat covered to keep it warm, and spooned out small bits onto the bigger plate to eat together with the accompanying sautée.

Sautéed crosnes, salsify and grapes with sauternes

The sautée dish was something like a chutney, but not as bitter or savoury. Crosnes are apparently something known as chinese artichokes. Salsify is a sort of flower, and sauternes is a sweet French dessert wine. The combination of these flavours made an odd and tasty accompaniment to the duck. But really, where do they come up with this stuff?!

Sologne stuffing on toast

Sologne is a place in France, and so I assume Sologne stuffing is a colloquial way of saying foie gras, and it was delicious.

Kimchi and lamb’s lettuce

For me personally this was one of the most memorable parts of the meal. I suppose I hadn’t read the menu enough to be expecting it, and I probably didn’t pay enough attention to the waiter when he explained it – but when I bit in to the kimchi, I was immediately transported somewhere else, to memories of the last time I ate Korean barbeque. And, well I’m no expert, but I would dare say this was the best Kimchi I had ever had. Mixed in with what I think were a few pieces of tangerine or apricot, it was just an awesome flavour, and I gobbled it all down quickly.

Pear sorbet with Beaujolais jelly

Once again we had a sort of sweet dessert type of dish served alongside the savory dishes. And I’m certain I tasted more here than just pear and wine flavour. I believe there was a hint of rhubarb in there as well.

My companion decided on the Quercy Lamb.

Unlike my main, which was once again a selection of unrelated but perhaps complimentary dishes, the lamb was just that – lamb, served every which way, and how!

Roast leg with Indian spices, aubergine, sorrel, dried tomatoes

First, we had the tender lamb bites, served in a covered warm bowl, similar to the duck. This was certainly my favorite dish of the entire night. Although the waiter had recommended the duck, I found this dish to be more outstanding in terms of flavour explosion. The spices and the taste of the lamb meat were just amazing and so delicious, and I couldn’t get enough. I finished off the last bits my companion couldn’t fit.

Ewe cheese and spinach velouté, Granny Smith apple julienne

Grilled rack and saddle

Shoulder dumpling, white horseradish velouté

For dessert, we decided to share something that was being called either the Chocolate Soup or the Chocolate Puddle, depending on who you talked to. But it was a great chocolate dish in any case.

Chocolate soup: bitter chocolate ganache with ginger, crunchy samana chocolate leaf, cocoa spun sugar

Although not mentioned on the menu, there was a definite orange-chocolate tint going on here, and I swear I found a chunk of orange buried in the moist chocolate fondant part in the middle. The cocoa spun sugar was very different, and made eating this dish interesting. I liked this dessert a lot, because unlike what you get at many restaurants, there was no mistaking this for something that could easily be store-bought and re-plated. This was an in-house concoction, and it was prepared fresh to order. And it was super chocolatey, which we loved.

Some petit fours chocolates and other sweets were served at the end with the bill.

Now, I have to say something about the bill. First, note the ingenious presentation of the bill itself – served in a carved out void inside a literary classic. We did not order any wine or other beverages, and opted only for some (still and sparkling) water. Also note we only went for one shared starter, and one shared dessert. Despite that, it was a good amount of food, and we certainly weren’t left hungry at any point the rest of the evening. In particular I would note that the amount of meat served with each main in the principal warmed bowl was abundant, and defied the theme of the rest of the meal with small tasting dishes. I should also note that, although I probably had it printed out and laying around somewhere, I failed to bring in the well-known £50 off voucher, or to check if it would have still been valid. And despite the possibility of a tasting menu (which would cost more actually) we did decide to go for the a la carte option, so we could pick and choose exactly what we wanted. And so, our bill came out to £160, or £80 per person. Considering we had loads of food and that still came out cheaper than the tasting menu, I suppose we did ok. But it also probably comes out to one of my biggest bills ever, per person without having ordered wine or drinks to go with the meal. So I’m still debating whether it was worth it, and whether I would go again. Certainly as a one-time experience, you should do it if you can afford it.

Sketch
9 Conduit Street
London
W1S 2XG
http://www.sketch.uk.com
Phone: 02076594500

The original set of high-res photos is here.

What I got for Christmas: Tamales!

I guess I’m a strange sort of traveler. I’ve never been much for doing the typical touristy things. When I go to visit a new place for the first time, rather than going to see the famous landmarks and “must-see” destinations, I spend most of my time trying to get a feel for the local culture of the people that actually live there. I remember shocking some of my colleagues when, after 2 years in London, I explained that I had just seen Tower Bridge for the first time. I had spent most of my time searching for the best espresso, the best pizza, the best whisky, etc. I guess I’ve always just had a more practical approach to getting to know a place.

So it’s no surprise that whenever I come back from a trip, my bag is packed with a different kind of souveneirs. Typically this means local food and/or drinks that you just can’t get back in London – or in some cases that you could get but at an obscene markup. Case in point: the Aunt Jemima Pancake Syrup I mentioned back in my post about French Toast costs about 3 times as much as the same thing I could buy back in the States.

Like most people I guess, Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. But for me, besides getting to go back home and see my family, and besides the presents, there is another very special reason. Every time I go back home to Texas, I bring back a bag loaded with goodies that you can really only get in the Lone Star State. And even if I don’t have room for anything else, the number one thing on my list is: TAMALES!

I took this wonderful food for granted growing up in Texas, because it was easy to have several times a week and not even think about it. But as soon as you move out of Texas, you find that this one thing, above all else (well, of course excepting Rudy’s barbeque) is something you just can’t find anywhere else. I mean, of course I guess if you go to Mexico you’ll find tamales, and even in a few other states nearby, such as Nevada and Arizona – but even there it’s just not the same.

I remember trying to explain Tamales to my colleagues when I lived in Italy. It was a very humorous episode, because just the name “Los Tamales” is almost a play on words in Italy – it sounds a lot like “Lo Sta’Males”, which could mean something like “The food that makes you feel bad afterwards”, but in a good way, like when you have just had too much of a good thing. So of course everyone in Italy was looking forward to my return after Christmas that year with a bag full of sta’males to try…

According to some sources, tamales are even part of “one of the oldest Mexican culinary traditions…at Christmas”…”many Texans think Tamales are as much a sign of the holidays as turkey and cranberries.” Well I’ll admit I didn’t know that, but hey it fits right in with my theme so I’ll take it!

Last year I even broke down and bought myself a high quality pressure cooker pot, and brought over a big supply of corn husks and masa de harina, to make them myself. They came out well, but this turned out to be one of the most involved and laborious cooking processes I have had to work through. But it was worth it, so I’m sure I’ll be revisiting that recipe later this year when I’ve run out of the supply I brought back with me.

So this year I brought back a few packs of pork tamales. They also come in chicken, beef, and even cheese and vegetable. But pork is really the best, and this year I just didn’t want to fool around.

Tamales are great because often they are already sold frozen, and can just be kept frozen for a long time until you’re ready to defrost and eat. I bring a cooling bag back with me to keep them cold all the way home. They are cooked and kept individually wrapped in corn husks. The best way to warm them up to eat is to keep them in the husk, and stick them in the oven or microwave to defrost, and then heat up in the microwave for a minute or so. When heating in the microwave I think it’s generally good to wrap these up well in some wet paper towels – that keeps them moist and heats them up more evenly. Then discard the paper towels and the corn husks, and serve the tamale, perhaps with some mexican rice and some refried beans.

Tamales are delicious naked without any topping, or you can top them with any number of salsas. I find green tomatillo salsa to be a nice and more authentically Mexican way to eat them. Alternatively, you could eat them with the typical Tex-Mex style chili-con-carne enchilada sauce and some cheese. Or you could use red salsa, sour cream, pico de gallo, or guacamole – really whatever works for you I guess.

In Texas you can often find tamales served as part of a combo meal, along with enchiladas and/or tacos. But the best tamales come from dedicated tamale houses such as this one or this one. Mmm my defrosted tamales are pretty good, but I’m already looking forward to next year’s Christmas!

The full set of high-quality photos for this recipe are here.

Buen Provecho!