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The Farington Lodge
What is the best way to eat fish?
I only bring this up – although in the circumstances of this column that's not the best choice of words – because that tricky question turned out to be at the heart of our excellent meal in the Garden Room at Farington Lodge.
The seabass was such a whopper, you see.
As you might guess my approach is refined and would make any surgeon nod approval.
Gently fold back the skin, flaking away sections of the flesh until a clinical removal of the backbone can be accomplished, leaving maximum residue of the underlying flesh.
I hadn't ordered it, however, and my wife's technique is from a different school of thought.
According to the apprentice, the whole thing must be excavated at once; head lopped off; stuffing scattered and inspected; backbone plucked out and deposited aside. Taste was the only clue left as to the identity of the meal left on the plate.
Fortunately, the taste was excellent, as was the fennel and lemon stuffing, ditto the warm salad of new spuds, fine beans, tomatoes and broad beans in herb dressing (16.95). A fish-shaped plate or a separate side dish for the vegetables would perhaps have meant less manual labour.
While this was going on, I was tucking into an 8oz rib eye steak with mushrooms, chips, tomato and watercress (18.50); a chip building block of three layers of three; tasty flat mushrooms, tasty pink steak as requested. Satisfying, if a little lacking in imagination.
It's the first steak I've ordered in years, usually going for lamb, duck, game, fish ... but such was the dedication to duty on display I chose against type to add variety to this column. It won't happen again.
These marginally less than fantastic main courses were book-ended in both cases by two really good starters and desserts.
Mine was mini-medallions of duck with nicely contrasting crispy Parma ham and a clinching surprise of walnut on crispy lettuce and dressing (5.95).
A big hit was the three chunky smoked haddock fishcakes and tomato in a chive and lemon sauce (5.75).
I'd spotted an intriguing-sounding poached young rhubarb sweet egg custard and saffron jelly, only to be told that that was from a dessert menu which shouldn't have been in the folder.
Instead, I went for the peach and Cointreau crme brulee with ginger flakes and vanilla ice cream in a brandy snap bucket (5.25), drizzled with orange syrup.
Delicious, and the ginger ice cream will live long in the memory.
As if continuing the method employed on the main course, your apprentice went for the classic Eton mess, with sweet cream, crushed meringue and strawberries (5.25).
Imagine our surprise that when it arrived, it was far from being a mess. It was too respectable, in fact, served in a tall glass and looking far too neat. Tasted really lovely, though.
All was eased down with a 14.95 French Merlot house wine.
The Garden Room at Farington Lodge had a lovely warm and rich atmosphere with lush carpets and curtains, white table cloths, and floodlit view across the lawns on which copious evening rain was falling, making the interior all the more cosy.
The service throughout was excellent, barring the fact that we had to keep asking to have another glass of water, which for some reason was kept in glass jugs at the other side of the room. Why can't a jug of water be left on the table?
So cosy was the evening that we almost booked in for the night, only there was a Staffordshire Bull Terrier at home who wouldn't have been too pleased.
Factfile
Name: Farington Lodge Hotel
Address: Staniforth Lane, Farington, Preston.
Tel: 01772 421321
Hours: Dinner - 7pm to 9.30pm all week.
Lunch – 12 to 2.30pm.
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Weather for Chorley
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -5 C to -0 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light sleet showers
Temperature: -0 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
