A Parkers Arms miscellany

I probably go to the Parkers Arms in the tiny Ribble Valley village of Newton-in-Bowland more than I go to any other local pub or restaurant.  The beer's good, the welcome and service are good (though occasionally struggle when under pressure on the busiest days).  But above all, the food is genuinely and consistently interesting and excellent.

I could fill this blog with reports of meals at the Parkers Arms (follow me on Twitter for blow by blow details in the future), but I thought for once, I'd just present a photograph gallery of images from recent meals in 2013.  Everything at the Parkers Arms is homemade (the only exception I can think of is the bacon and gammon which come from the excellent Roaming Roosters near Burnley), so rather than me repeating that in the caption to each photograph, please assume it.

I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed eating the dishes!

Starters

Game terrine with piccallili

Pastrami with  treacle bread

Stosie has now got her pastrami spot on, and as for that bread ... well that's almost worth the trip on its own.

The treacle bread

Cheese scone with tomatoes

 On this occasion, I'd asked for a small tasting menu, and this cheese scone was the first course out: not something I'd have ordered, but it was jolly good - a very light scone with a nice cheesy flavour

Beautiful buttery squid

Mushroom parfait

Curd cheese with grilled white peaches

Cured salmon with horseradish cream

Wild garlic custard with chicken scratchings

Main courses

Prawns and vegetables grilled on Stosie's new toy, a Primo BBQ.

 

Squid with extra hammy petits pois à la française

 

Lamb kofte - beautifully and delicately spiced, excellent hummus, tzatziki and baba ghanoush in the little pots

 

Beautiful, simple spring lamb

Spicy BBQ baby back ribs. Fab French fried onions too.

Grouse done properly

The grouse liver, kidney and heart

Desserts

 

Stosie's curd cheese with a variety of gooseberry preparations

Raspberry-vanilla slice

 

The pasteis de nata (Portuguese custard tarts) are a must if they're on the menu

Wobble factor!

Blood orange rice pudding

Tarte fine aux pommes

Grape tart

 

Pistachio turkish delight and marshmallow

A postscript: don't just take my word for how wonderful the Parkers Arms is. Here's Jay Rayner's review, published in the Observer on 22nd June 2014, in which he absolutely "gets it": http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jun/22/parkers-arms-lancashire-restaurant-review-jay-rayner