Last night, Kostia (a second-year lawyer here at Selwyn) and I ventured to Midsummer House, the two-Michelin starred restaurant here in Cambridge alongside the river by Jesus Green, as a sort of post exam splurge, us having realised that each other was something of a foody (albeit an armchair foodie in my case). So, feeling slightly awkward and not quite sure of what to expect, at 19:30 last night we crossed the threshold of the restaurant and began a 14-course meal that would finish about three hours later.
Now, this was quite unlike anything I've done before, or will probably do again for a long time. (Un)fortunately, I'm not going to a May Ball this year, so the cost sort of balances out against that, but despite the eye wateringness of it all, I can't deny that it was worth it. Having never been to a restaurant even approaching Midsummer House's standard, I have to confess to having very little to compare it too, but it was certainly an experience!
We started with home made crisps and a balsamic vinegar foam, and cheese scones. I feel incredibly unqualified to criticise anything that we ate last night, and actually I'm embarrassed to do so, but the start was probably the weakest point of the meal compared to the other dishes. The first-dish proper was a champagne and pink grapefruit foam, which was good. Then came a tiger-prawn, cucumber and cauliflower foam, which was very tasty. Cauliflower can be a bit fibrous, but this wasn't at all. Very good. Next up langoustine and king crab, which was my first time eating crab, but while again being very good, didn't quite match up to the rest in my opinion. This was followed by what I think might have been the most impressive dish, piquillo pepper cannelloni. It's a bit hard to explain but it was a chicken liver pate shaped as an ice-lolly wrapped in some sort of red hard coating. Visually it was very impressive, and it tasted to match. Then came a bit of a revelation in sauteed scallop with bay leaf and pigs trotter. I'd never thought you were meant to eat bay leaves, and they do have a very strong flavour, but it went very well with the scallop. But the pig's trotter was quite a surprise, and very nice indeed - ironic for what I guess is quite a cheap cut of meat?! Then a 'safe' dish in English asparagus with a sliver of spring truffle. This was a little less adventurous than the ones that came before, but it was a nice palette cleanser after the previous couple of quite rich dishes. This was followed by roast zander with red wine and nettles.
Then came the mystically named 'Pousse Café', which turned out to be a drink not unlike egg nog made with egg yolks, maple syrup and Jack Daniels cream, to be downed in one. Those that know me will know that I don't drink. The champagne and pink grapefruit foam at the start of the meal was fine though, but Kostia took the first gulp of this one to see just how strong it was. Fortunately it wasn't at all, and I think taste wise, this was probably the most memorable of the meal.
Next was another visual spectacle in bourbon smoked pigeon, iceberg lettuce and sweet potato, which arrived at the table with a glass bowl over the plate holding in a cloud of smoke which the waiter then wafted as he lifted the bowl realising the smoke and the smell. Quite a sight.
We decided that seeing how we were already spending quite a bit that we should pay an extra £5 for the 'artisanal cheeses'. They arrived a trolley, and there must have been about twenty-five to choose from. We each had five each, and while I seemed to pick one's that I actually enjoyed, Kostia was unfortunate enough to pick one particularly strong specimen that had to be severed with a spoon and did actually smell like the inside of a public convenience. His face when he tried it was enough to convince me that I didn't want to sample it for myself; it certainly lived up to its smell. Later on in the evening a guy at the adjacent table refused to have it after recounting his prior experience with the same cheese. But nothing ventured nothing gained I suppose.
Then came the dessert courses, and unfortunately I think I'd have preferred it had the order of the dishes been reversed. We started with what I think was the best with a camomile, lemon and ginger concoction witha gain was palette cleansing and subtly flavoured and wonderfully creamy. Next up was probably the most 'haute cuisine' dish of the evening in the pear, black olive and fennel dish, which we both thought maybe tried a little too hard with quite a few strong flavours. Finally came a bit of a surprise in the coffee, chocolate and passion fruit which wasn't what we expected with each component being impressive cuboid - especially the coffee flavoured poached meringue.
And that was that. As I say, every course was amazing and unlike anything I've tasted before, and I was actually pleasantly surprised by how unpretentious the whole place was. I'm certainly not the fussy eater that I once was, but there are still pockets of food into which I'd rather not venture and I was a little concerned that I simply wouldn't like the dishes we were served, but I can honestly say that there wasn't one dish that I didn't enjoy eating and wouldn't have wanted to eat more of had it been served as a stand along main course. Even those I've criticised, I can only criticise by comparing them to the other dishes on the tasting menu. So in reality, no complaints at all.
Breakfast didn't seem quite the same this morning though.
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