9/11 - Tony's Birthday and The White Lion-Brinsley

9/11
....is Tony's birthday! According to Ma he follows in the tradition of other Hill family members - Ma shares her birthday with the Somme and Nanny Clements with the outbreak of WWII.....I must confess to being slightly concerned for Lauren's birthday now! (18 Dec if you want to stay inside!!).
Thankfully on a worldwide scale 9/11/11 was "event" free, however it was all go at ours. Daddy was woken with a crudely wrapped clay pterodactyl, 14 birthday cards, some money, work had got him a flash drive and matching flask and we had got him some dark chocolate Just Brazils and a bottle of Bruichladdich "Rocks", a de-peated malt scotch whisky. He has of course already had, used and in one case partially lost  his other birthday presents a walking stick, some walking boots and a fishing umbrella.
We had a light breakfast but Lauren decided she wanted to try a fried egg, a big event in our house as Lauren is allergic to egg white, so Piriton at the ready I served her up a lovely fried egg on toast which she demolished and thankfully no allergic reaction, always a good result and just boiled eggs to try now.
Earlier in the week we had been at a loss about what to do today, but a chance conversation told us that one of the local pubs had recently had a refurbishment and good things were being said, so I searched out the website for The White Lion, Brinsley and had a look. On Sundays they do a fixed 3 course meal £8.95 for 1 course, £11.95 for 2 courses and £14.95 for all 3. The menu said that 11 September would be Chicken Paté with a red onion marmalade and fresh bread, Lamb Shank slow cooked in rosemary and red wine with roasted vegetables and mashed potato and for desert Vanilla and Summerfruit Cheesecake with blackberry sauce (an unspecified vegetarian option was available too).
Well the menu swayed us and the fact that we knew they served Blue Monkey beer which we have been longing to try, so on Friday night I used the online booking facility, I was a bit nervous as they said they would get back to us within 24 hours which was cutting it a bit fine, but they called me Saturday afternoon to confirm and to make sure we knew it was a fixed menu.

Lauren with her children's meal

The pub itself has been really improved, a little beer garden, children's play equipment and smoking shelter outside, it's been extended a little and is all clean lines, white walls, ash furniture, leather chairs, a bit sterile if you are looking for a traditional pub atmosphere but I think just right if you are eating because you want everything to feel crisp and clean and not be sticking to the tables. You can see into the kitchen from the bar which is always good - nothing to hide. We had 2 pints of Blue Monkey "BG Sips" and a J20 and it came to £6 which I thought was reasonable. On first sip of the long awaited, award winning BG Sips I thought it was a lovely first taste, but a bitter after taste, but as I continued to drink it completely lost the bitterness and had a really nice soft, light beer taste, golden and no bubbles, it went down a treat. It was a bit too light for Tony who I think needs to sample one of their other offerings, but after 2 pints of BG Sips he tried a pint of Sharps Doom Bar, he liked the beer but thought it could have been kept a little better.

Paté

Although we were early they let us have our table and we ordered a children's lamb dinner for Lauren (sausage, beans and chips was an alternative) and we went for 2 courses starter and main. The children's dinner was huge, too big for Lauren but probably small for a hungry teenage boy. Lauren ate as much as you would expect from a small girl who has just drunk a whole J20 and wants to play on Angry Birds!
The paté was delicious, more of a parfait than a paté, really smooth and creamy and loose textured not firm like a paté. It was served with 3 pieces of toast, very light textured bread perfect for a starter and as for the onion marmalade, the only complaint I have is there could have been another spoonful!
The starters went and we had another drink and we waited and waited and were just on the verge of waiting too long when our mains arrived. The waitresses were nice and attentive, a bit tentative but I think it's because everything is so new, they treated us really well. The mains were a large lamb shank on a base of roasted carrots, butternut squash and parsnips The lamb was resting on some creamy mash and topped with crispy leeks. The plate was dressed with a parsnip (and swede?)    pureé. It was accompanied by a bowl of fresh peas and runner beans, a rich gravy and some home made mint sauce. We were lucky enough to get an extra bowl of green vegetables as one too many had come out..
I really liked it, I thought the lamb could have been a bit softer as it was described as "slow cooked" but I loved all the vegetables and the gravy. Tony enjoyed his, he said he had stringy beans but I definitely didn't, he didn't appreciate the pureé or the leeks, he doesn't get that sort of thing he says pureés are like baby food, but I thought it tasty lovely, rich and rooty. He agreed that the lamb could have been softer and he would have liked it seasoned more. We finished off with coffee and another pint and sat outside to let Lauren have a play - would I go back - yes on Friday hopefully and would I recommend it - yes, I already have. As for the bill 2 starters, 2 mains, 1 child's dinner, 2 and a half pints and a coffee £36.

Then it was time for home...and birthday cake, but I think that had better be a story for tomorrow...Coffee & Walnut Cake and Chocolate, Bournnville and M&M Cup Cakes, hope you'll join me.