We are staying in a fab campsite with no eating facilities, it was super hot and I felt disinclined to cook, so we decided to have huge bought lunches and easy evening meals (hence some weight loss).
We picked a brewery to go to with a well recommended restaurant attached.
When I saw the building, the full car park and the car loads of trendy, budding Lithuanian elite, I tried to persuade Himself that we should go and look for the other place our hosts had suggested to eat at. Luckily for me, its proximity to the brewery and his hunger (due to my tardiness with time) meant that he over ruled me. "Just have a look at the menu and if you hate it I will just have a kvass n you can hv a beer!"
First the waiter surprised me; professional, open, polite, helpful, eager to be of service, no hint of attitude, toadying, patronising or arrogance - the kind of waiting on that Americans hope/dream of giving, that Germans and Austrians take for granted.
I will start with the pointers for improvement so I can freely wax lyrical about everything else.
The net chairs outside are too low for the tables. I noticed it as soon as I sat down and my deep dish of soup compounded the issue!
The waiter didn't gone back often enough and left too soon missing orders for at least three drinks, another kvass for Himself and my usual 2 glasses of wine. I did get a last beer for during the brewery visit.
I got a completely different meal to the one I ordered! Didn't matter, however both were supposed to be served with mash. What I got came with very bad chips. Unfortunately the roast potatoes that came with the lunch ordered by Himself were also way below par for the rest of the meal.
Complaints over! More or less.
I started with a beer an Alaus kelias and Himself a kvass* both were delicious. I can't do kvass when I'm wanting alcohol but for a refreshing non alcoholic drink, I haven't found much better.
We ordered, me, Thai tom yum, Himself, beetroot soup. The beetroot soup was mild, earthy, thin, creamy, light, a gorgeous purply pink colour, flavoured with dill, cucumber, a half boiled egg and served with hot boiled potatoes with a dill garnish.
My tom yum was pinky red, richly filled with carrot, paprika, mushrooms, I think there was pesto or something like it. It arrived with a green oily dollop that looked great but as far as I could tell left no trace of flavour. Though the soup was tasty, spicy, well flavoured none of the usual Thai flavours (lemon grass, laos, lime leaves) jumped out and I had to add some of my own chillis in oil to get it up to speed. All that not withstanding, the soup was a perfect introduction to Asian flavours and warmth for unaccustomed palettes and those, like Himself who like spice but mild.
I ordered pork tenderloin with prune sauce, roasted garlic, cheese crisps and mash with a side of vegetables. I got grilled tenderloin, with peas, (dried) cherry tomatoes, crispy bacon, horseradish sauce and mash.
As I said the mash was marked by its non appearance, the peas were very badly cooked, I am guessing by their cracked bullet like exterior either reheated or not cooked in water.
Himself ordered the ribs supposedly with vegetables and wedges. The wedges were (old) roasters which like the chips we took one look at and left to their own devices! The veg was sauerkraut.
Let's please ignore the supreme let down of the veg. The sauerkraut went amazingly with my pork tenderloin, far better than with the ribs, the dried cherry tomatoes were actually perfectly roasted as was the bacon garnish. The horse radish sauce was unnecessary and didn't contrast brilliantly with the drizzle of light beer marinade.
Ignore everything else I have said about the meal because everything I have mentioned faded into insignificance with the meat. When I put a piece of the ribs in my mouth I felt pity for every practicing Jew, Muslim, Hindu, 7th Day Adventist and all the other non pig eaters of the world ever born! At the same time my mouth sent praise thanks and gratitude to the pig eating forest dwellers of Northern Europe! Both ribs and tenderloin were delectable perfection. So well cooked, moist, aromatic, tasty but with completely different textures, flavours and feel in the mouth. Generous portions without being over the top, that completely satisfied. The side order of vegetables were a good sized bowl of the mind bogglingly delicious Lithuanian cucumbers, sun ripened tomatoes, just enough red onion and a simple vinaigrette, it was the perfect accompaniment to both meats, especially considering the state of the spuds!
Everything I read agrees with me, this us an excellent place to eat. Most say it is more international than Lithanian I think it's fusion, which takes the best of traditional Lithuanian cooking - methods, ingredients and international standard recipes and ingredients and gives them a tweak in each other's direction.
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