Brasserie Black Door

I wasn't sure if I was going to venture into restaurant reviews but I like my food and I think I have been to enough restaurants around the country to have an opinion and after a recent experience I thought I should.

The Black Door was without doubt my favourite restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne and in fact one of the best I've been to anywhere in the UK. I have a huge amount of time for the cooking of Executive Chef David Kennedy. The Black Door served me the best 'blue' steak I've ever had. It was cooked to perfection and melted in my mouth. After a three course meal there I felt perfectly sated. The front of house service was excellent, the attention to diners, to glass levels to explaining each course, each wine, each cheese was superb. This was a team of dedicated professionals. I told everyone to go.

That was then.

The Black Door has been sold, apparently they got an offer for the building they really couldn't refuse and the main Newcastle operation moved to Brasserie Black Door at The Biscuit Factory, a previously established outpost on the edge of Newcastle City Centre.

So having loved The Black Door my partner and I decided to venture to the Brasserie. My previous experience of the former Biscuit Factory restaurant occupant 'Barn at the Biscuit' had not been good. A plate so overloaded with clashing flavours that fought on my tongue I actually thought I was going to be sick and I swore never to return, aided in no small part by the worst service I have had. Ever. But now things were different, my favourite restaurateur was in charge. The king is dead long live the king.

Alas the ghost of Barn at the Biscuit pervaded over my experience. We were booked in and expectantly turned up to find quite a few people waiting in the seated area. No matter, that was standard, we understood that and it obviously wasn't going to be a long wait as there were 3 empty tables. We were offered and took a seat in the bar area. Very comfortable seats. 20 minutes or so later we managed to flag someone down and order a drink. More people had left so there more tables available but none of us seated in the bar were moved into the restaurant.

Then they remembered we might want to have something to eat and brought us a menu. The menu was varied but not exciting but no matter, it was going to taste fantastic.

Finally after more waiting our order was taken.

I was hesitant to simply order a blue steak but it was so fantastic at the Black Door I couldn't help myself. Both my partner and I ordered potted shrimps to start. My partner a lamb mixed grill for main course.

Another 20 minutes passed by.

Then sheepishly we were approached. They had lost our order and could they take it again and don't worry we would be taken straight through to the restaurant and did we want another drink which of course would be on the house.

Oh god.

So to our table we went the best part of an hour after we had arrived.
Another 10 minutes and our potted shrimps turned up. Mine had no flavour at all. My partner was enthusing about how hers were brilliant, fishy, buttery, peppery...yummy. Had I lost my sense of taste? We swapped spoonfuls. Nope mine really didn't have any taste. Hers, to be fair, were good. Not great but good.

Should I complain I thought....Well I worked in restaurants (posh ones) and complainers had horrible things done to their meals and my steak was still cooking so I held off. Meanwhile it was now getting so late that there were only a handful of people left in the restaurant.

My blue steak was blue-ish. More rare than in most restaurants but it was as tough as an old boot. It didn't melt in my mouth and I think it may well still be stuck inside me somewhere it seemed so heavy.

My partners lamb was fantastic thought she showed surprise at the mixed grill including kidney and liver which she wasn't keen on but nonetheless it was ok. Despite my own experience I even ventured to try the liver which is something I would never do having hated liver for ever and a day. It wasn't bad, still not my thing but I could tell it was cooked well and it had a good taste. It won't make me eat liver but I at least understand that liver can be edible and I see why many cooks and gastronomes hold it in high regard, it's just not for me.

We ordered desserts and I can't even remember what we had but it was nothing special, again it was ok.

The bill came and the free drinks weren't free, so we pointed it out, slightly embarrassed, they amended the bill. It was now getting quite late and I just wanted to get out of there, banish the experience from my memory and hope it was a one off. I couldn't be bothered to complain because well, the food wasn't awful. Some of it (my partners) was good, mine was largely ok. It's just it wasn't great. If I'd had the same meal at the local pub, and I pretty much have, I wouldn't have complained as I wouldn't have expected as much but then again I wouldn't have paid the same price and the service would have been a whole lot quicker. I wondered if I was a victim of my own expectation, after all Black Door was fine dining, this was Brasserie, it's cheaper accessible cousin. Except top chefs elsewhere still deliver service and excellent food in their brasseries. This was no better than a good gastro pub and over all maybe not even as good.

Would I go back? mmmm yes of course, it MUST have been a one off. Will I temper my expecations? Yes of course, a different mindset will fairer to the place. Should they sort the service out? Definitely.

As we got up to leave we got an apology, they explained they were understaffed and it wasn't usually like this.

We hadn't said a thing but I guess our faces must have said something we hadn't.

So much to review so little time

Okay yet again I've not been updating the blog. So have set myself and summer resolution to sort this out once and for all. To make up for lost time I'm going to go all Haiku on you with short reviews of things since last time so in no particular date order...

Bambucco Bridge (Newcastle upon Tyne)

The Tyne's Bambucco bridge
it breaks my heart
to see such wasted money

Translation - It was being built for a month and allegedly cost £250,000. It opened on Friday (wtih fireworks woo hoo we love big bangs on Tyneside) but I couldn't go so decided to pop down in my lunch break the following Monday to find.... them taking it down! Now I've never ever said that a piece of culture was a waste of money before (well apart from the Royal Opera House and the money going to the RSC) but ladies and gentleman I give you my first 'waste of money award' to..... NewcastleGateshead Initiative. What the feck were you thinking?

British Surrealism & Other Realities: The Sherwin Collection and Material Culture: Recently Gifted Works at mima

Downstairs didn't do it
Upstairs really did
Both made a perfect whole

Translation - Surrealism doesn't really work for me. I can see that it did at the time and to be honest I respect that. However while the work just doesn't do it for me this collection is pretty amazing, partly for the collecting of the Sherwins and partly for mima Director Godfrey Worsdale getting the exhibition together (I hope he can go one better and get them to gift it to him on their demise). For that reason and for the opportunity to see it and for the good people of Middlesbrough to see it I think it was great. It was the Material Culture Exhibition that I loved. It's simply a great big thank you, once again from Godfrey, to a range of artists and others who have given work to the mima collection. I loved everything in there, Dan Holdsworth's fantastic photo's of mima, works by Antony Gormley, Andy Goldsworthy, Edmund de Waal, Julian Stair, Langlands & Bell and Graham Dolphin all came together perfectly. Well done all of you for donating and again well done Godfrey. Can I suggest you for the vacant job at Baltic? Which leads me to....

Yoshitomo Nara Graf / Mariko Mori / Double Agent / Barti Kerr all at Baltic

Baltic look to mima
to see how it can be
Nara is a start

Translation - Well I'm not going to review all of these - some may say I don't review anything at all but who cares....Anyway Double Agent and Barti Kerr...well they're there and I suppose they're better than empty rooms. I did like Barti Kerr's use of bindi to create some interesting works of art but it didn't really make me think there was something new happening. Pretty and slightly autistic but not exciting. Mariko Mori is Japanese. Rich and privileged too, some might say rich enough to be able to decide to be an artist and to be able ot fail but rich enough to be able ot make sure her work is shown. Shame.
Especially when you see the work of Nara and Graf. Three fantastic buildings built inside a gallery because Nara feels that gallery's are too clinical too white. You enter the world of Nara by entering the buildings, you enter his mind and childlike world that has such a sinister edge you wonder if there are some children buried under his patio back home. Everytime Nara visits somewhere as part of the exhitibo he builds a new house and for Gateshead he built a castle, a New Castle. Yes yet again the good burghers of Gateshead lose out to their slightly more glamorous (but less cultured?) cousins across the water. Does it matter? Hell no, it's great and you've got only a couple of Weeks to get yourself down there..... Begone young fool and try it for yourself.

Chris Watson - Oceanicus Pacificus at Alt Gallery, Newcastle

Light of blue in ceiling
sound of sea in ear
favourite store becomes a womb

A gallery housed in a record shop, not any record shop but a damn good one Alt Vinyl, I'm in heaven. There have already been a steady stream of excellent exhibitions at the gallery based on music and sound. They have been curated by Rebecca Shatwell who has recently been appointed as Director of the region's AV Festival (a great choice) and this is no exception. It's an experience and one you have to go to on your own and experience but to simplify it, you are immersed in the light and colour and sounds of the ocean. It makes The Blue Planet seem a bit one dimensional. I have to admit to feeling slightly sick after a couple of minutes but I still thought it was that simple kind of art and sound installation that works brilliantly. Perhaps every shop should have to calm customers down - or make them sick so they leave.
Oh and for every £10 you spend in Alt Vinyl they give you a stamp, collect 10 and you get £10 off a purchase. And they've got a vinyl sale on. And there's loads of good stuff in it. No, I'm not on commission.....

Ok that's it for now and I realise it's a bit visual art heavy. Will try and address that with more updates on the last couple of months soon....