Fish Platter

Here is another food post about our holidays in Dorset. One day, we went to the Taste Café at Chesil Beach, just to see the, well, beach. Also to have lunch, as we had heard good things about it. I had the best meal of my whole stay. It's a fish platter: fried scampies, smoked salmon, prawns in sauce, some kind of mackerell pâté (the best!), tartare sauce, a baguette to go with that and some beetroot salad for vegs. I cannot stress how good it was. A simple café by the sea, next to the visitors centre. I wanted to go back there again, but we didn't have the opportunity. If you ever go this way, seriously, this is the café to go for lunch and this is the dish to order if like me you are pretty much pescetarian.

PS:Literally just after posting this I discovered that the café shut down yesterday, after ten years of business. This is heartbreaking. It's like I was writing their eulogy without knowing it. Really lovely place with friendly staff.

Seafood Dipping Platter

During our time on the Isle of Wight, I wanted to enjoy as much as possible the products of the sea, as you know. As I could not always go for fish and chips, I tried to vary my meals a bit. One dish you often find in pubs on the Isle is the seafood dipping platter, which I tried once. It was exactly what I wanted. This one had salt and pepper squid, scampi and blanchbait. Deep fried of course, so I guess it was not really different from fish and chips, especially with the Tartar sauce, but all the same, it felt very right. It's like something you eat when you are famished, yet it is almost fancy.

Another pub classic

Two years ago, after we moved in our new house, we had quite a few evening meals in the local pubs, as we had no fridge to keep fresh food. This is where I had this: a deep fried scampi (or prawns?) and chips with tartar sauce. It is not nearly as famous as fish and chips, bangers and mash and other pub classics, but I really enjoy it from time to time as an alternative to fish and chips. I usually order it when I want something that is in essence a fancier variation on fish and chips. You eat this, you are in a familiar territory, yet not a very common one. Seafood always has a veneer of exoticism, even in a pub.