Restaurants and dining out are a passion. It’s always great to step out of an evening and find the latest local eatery serving the finest seasonal produce. Home made dishes to tradition al recipes are a real winner this time of year too. Root vegetables are a gift from nature and the earth during onset of the colder months; turnips, parsnips, potatoes, beetroot, carrots – autumnal colours from deep under ground. Dishing these beautiful flavoursome delights up any evening certainly brings a smile to the face of any discerning diner. Mashed, smashed or bashed these excellent, inexpensive vegetables are perfect accompaniments to any roast, pie or stew.
As a region Staffordshire has a rich cultural heritage of the humble stew, or as it is more commonly known throughout the county, lobby. A simple dish that comprises of leftovers (meat cuts and vegetables) thrown together mixed roughly into a large pan and cooked slowly with plenty of seasoning for a good few hours to mature the flavour. Lobby is probably one of the most satisfying and hunger beating dishes there is. This is one of Staffordshire’s most loved culinary secrets, rarely found in restaurants in Staffordshire, it is more often than not a meal prepared at home for the family. If you are looking for a regional speciality and are looking to eat out, I highly recommend the online guide I found recently – http://www.dinelocal.co.uk is a really useful and highly accurate dining out directory to Stoke On Trent and Staffordshire. I was looking for somewhere I could find a really good quality, locally sourced English restaurant.
I began my search at work while I was online and typed in ‘english restaurants staffordshire’ and the first result was this fantastic website. I clicked on the link and hey presto – a wide selection of English restaurants throughout Staffordshire. A comprehensive description, lots of great photographs, a Google map to help me find the restaurant and even a review section to tell me what other diners had thought. A really helpful feature, I thought, honest feedback that you can trust. I chose to eat at The Green Man at Hixon, so I checked my directions on the map, took down the phone number and booked a table right away. While I was on the phone to the helpful staff I was dreaming of the ‘famous steak and ale pie’ that the chef, Nick, had begun to tell me was on offer that evening. I was salivating at the thought of this wonderful pie and all of the seasonal vegetables I might encounter all the way to the restaurant. It was a short drive to my memory. I arrived at the pub, with my good friend Victoria and we were shown to a table straight away and I was served a cool, refreshing pint within minutes of taking my seat along with a large white wine for Tauz. As we sat with our drinks, anticipating the deep and sensuous flavours that were yet to come I mentioned to the waitress that I had found The Green Man online at DineLocal.co.uk and she dutifully reminded us that we would be entitled to a generous 10% discount from the final food bill. Well that was all the encouragement we needed – I ordered a pair of deserts there and then – taking the final bill scarcely over the original price that it would have been. Delighted with our ‘free’ pudding, Tauz and I shared a joke about the last time that we ate out – not an experience we can share here – and before we could catch our breath the food was in front of us, piping hot, oozing freshness with a strong beefy smell only achieved in the best of pastry cases. Chicken, white wine and mushroom pie for my good lady friend and, you guessed it – steak and ale pie for yours truly – well, I couldn’t resist after Nicks eloquent description. And then silence. Not a word for at least 2 minutes. Speechless. Both of us. What a taste! What a pastry! What tender meat! Certainly the best pie this side of Manchester. We were both thinking the same thing. We’d found ourselves a little gem; a low key, unpretentious and simply delightful country pub.
A restaurant secret of the highest order; 10/10. Our little adventure led us to that rarest of eateries – great location, excellent value and top notch food. We swore to keep it secret, just for ourselves and a few rusted gastro-friends. But that would be doing a disservice to culinary brilliance of Nick the Chef and the charming subtlety of The Green Man. I simply had to share this great find with other like minded foodies, and hope one day that the favour is returned. Thanks Dine Local for introducing me to the best country pub food I’ve eaten in ages. Just don’t tell Tauz I told you…
Click here to view Restaurants in Stoke On Trent, Staffordshire
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