24. A Purnell's Lunchtime Gallery.

  This Blog is intended to be used more as a history, recorded as it happens, of the way we eat food here in Birmingham rather than to provide a critique of that food though I reserve the right to do so if I feel like it. Sadly, whilst it is possible to include pictures of the food in this Blog no technology yet exists to record the smells, textures and flavours which are generally altogether far more important than the way dishes look. Still, if you like visual art then the modern chef's ability to provide some is an important part of his or her work at this present time and gives one a souvenir in part at least of what that chef can produce.

So we have some dishes from a 5 course lunch eaten with great pleasure at Purnell's yesterday (23 June 2018), the menu is also illustrated. Not only was this a reasonably priced lunch from a restaurant which is 'good in its class', it even surpassed the definition of being served in a restaurant which is 'worth making a detour for' and I would have quite happily have made 'a special journey' to eat it. Well, in truth, that's exactly what I did.

  Small slices of mackerel with various flavours of tomato with basil rounding it off:-

  A tartlet of the crispiest butteriest pastry filled with delightful small pieces of sweetbread, and many summery delights including perfectly cooked asparagus and pleasantly uncooked peas and slices of broad beans:-

  The pièce de résistance, Purnell's classic and mighty Brixham cod masala (initially of course the dish started as monkfish masala when it won Purnell a place in the Great British Menu banquet of 2009 though I prefer the cod) served with the most excruciatingly delicious perfectly spiced lentils and a shard of coconut and pickled sliced carrots. Unsurpassable and much copied.

  Perhaps two tarts in one meal was not quite the right thing to do but again a dish of extraordinarily perfect pastry filled with chopped raspberries and other little pleasures:-

  In addition to the highly pleasurable food illustrated above, Purnell's has introduced a new aperitif to its range of gins which is, frankly, also highly pleasurable - Warner Edward Victoria's Rhubarb Gin - with a lovely element of sweetness to it and made perfect served as it is at Purnell's with a slice of lemon and ginger ale.

23. Purnell's Tribute To Spaghetti Junction.

  In the past couple of days there has been notable publicity on local television stations which has drawn attention to a new dish coming out of Glynn Purnell's worthy kitchen. As usual it has the wit and appeal which places Glynn at the peak of our local cuisine.

  Purnell was asked to come up with a dish which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the beginning of work on 'Spaghetti Junction', the notorious Gravelley Hill roadway interchange, and, as might be expected, he delivered a splendidly delicious-looking and witty dish which deserved the attention it received. And yet, as with the best of food, it's a simple enough concept, wholly apt, and completely designed to drive the diner into a sense of total lust to try it out. 

  The dish is made up of potato and celeriac 'spaghetti' cooked in a cream sauce with a pinch of dried ginger in it and served with truffle shaved over it.

  I'm looking for a reservation in the near future at Purnell's in the hope that this dish is on the lunch menu.

22. London: 50, West Midlands: 1.

  In the recently announced Estrella National Restaurant Awards a bunch of critics put their heads together and chose what are, in their humble opinions, the 100 best restaurants in Britain.

  We won't be too surprised to find that they rated 50 of their choice to be restaurants located in London. Nor will we be too surprised that these doyens of gastronomic criticism rated only one West Midlands restaurant - Carter's Of Moseley - good enough to feature in the top 100 list and then in a rather lowly number 66 position though this single West Midlands representative is sufficient for the ever-optimistic Birmingham Post to claim that Brad Carter 'has helped put the Second City centre-stage again' which seems just a little unjustified.

  I don't think that this has anything to do with the quality of our great restaurants but it is more a consequence of the blinkered viewpoint of London-based, elitist critics who, in the words of Giles Coren, view us as 'One eyes'.

  What a waste of time these lists are. And what a shame that the Birmingham Post gives publicity to them though I suppose Brad Carter is glad of the mention.

  The Post points out that this is Carter's return to this particular list - in 2016 his restaurant was placed at number 91 and then was absent from the list in 2017. Meanwhile Adam's was at number 52 last year and Simpson's was at 91 but both have been dropped completely from the 2018 list.

  The post quotes the organisers of the list as saying, "From Michelin-starred dining rooms with tasting menus to casual neighbourhood bistros and steakhouses, the awards are a celebration of places in the U.K. that make eating out a true pleasure." Although they don't add the obvious qualification which states, "providing they're in London or the Home Counties".

  Meanwhile, I am delighted to report that Maribel, where Richard Turner is head chef, has opened in Brindley Place and some friends and I had the magnificent 7 course dinner there 2 or 3 weeks ago. The new decor is very chic and the excellent front of house staff who served us previously when the restaurant was Edmund's fit in nicely in their new stylish get up. Turner has designed a wonderful menu, much of it beyond criticism, with some splendidly delicious dishes which look good, as shown below, and taste even better. Turner certainly seems to be on form with this new venture.