Sausage and mash County Restaurant

County Restaurant for many years was an excellent place to eat. It then went downhill, picked up, sadly seems to have gone rapidly downhill again.

Very poor choice today, bangers and mash or bangers and mash. There was a choice of sausage or fake vegan sausage.

And a choice of a flavoured chicken.

The bangers and mash were served with (at extra cost) unappetising looking mash potatoes, under-cooked beans and overcooked greens, served in a bowl formed by a Yorkshire pudding that required a saw to cut, plus gravy if desired.

The sausages cheapest disgusting sausages they could find, though not as bad as found in a Coop or M&S bangers and mash ready meal.  The sausages under-cooked.

The mash tasted better than looked.

Vegan sausages to pander to the vegan lobby. I do not know why anyone wishes to eat fake sausages or fake meat, anymore than from Greggs a fake sausage roll or even why eat from Greggs,  I would rather have an excellent vegetarian dish, though the vegan sausages could not have been worse than the half cooked real sausages.

Served in a Yorkshire pudding a gimmick.

They need to concentrate on quality not gimmicks.

They used to have two good chefs. No sign of them. Maybe they have left.

Water, plastic, not glass.

On sale, Quad Restaurant reusable coffee cups, ugly not barista friendly plastic reusable cups. No surprise low take up.

poor qualty sausage and mash in a Yorkshire pudding County Restaurant #Lincoln pic.twitter.com/qQFqd1Dxua

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) January 8, 2019

poor qualty sausage and beans in a Yorkshire pudding County Restaurant #Lincoln pic.twitter.com/2cO1ERyONf

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) January 8, 2019

not barista friendly ugly plastic reusable coffee cups County Restaurant #Lincoln #Lincolnshire #coffee #coffeecups #plastic #plasticfree #plasticpollution pic.twitter.com/R7bCvwzhZP

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) January 8, 2019

Vegware compostable coffee cups at County Restaurant

County Restaurant is one of the best kept secrets in Lincoln.

roast dinner County Restaurant #lunch #Lincoln pic.twitter.com/j8HlhDDKyO

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) January 10, 2018

It is one of the best places to eat lunch weekdays.  Or was. It went downhill. I am pleased to say it has improved, at least if my roast dinner and sweet that followed is typical of the daily fare.

vegware compostable coffee cups County Restaurant #coffee #waste #recycling pic.twitter.com/cYAeZPMjZk

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) January 10, 2018

vegware compostable coffee cups County Restaurant #coffee #waste #recycling pic.twitter.com/2T2YwILL1Q

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) January 10, 2018

Sitting by the side of the coffee machine, vegware compostable coffee cups. Also some other coffee cups not sure what they were.  Also lids, not sure if compostable.

About half the people with a  drink were using the takeaway cups. There were ceramic cups available.

By the drinking water, plastic cups and glass.

The majority of people a takeaway cup to take back to their desk.

Unless bins for the composting of the cups, nothing has been gained and the cups will go to the waste stream.

• On-site composting at Dundee and Angus College

It beggars belief, polystyrene burger-style boxes for takeaway food.

Encourage relax with a coffee in the restaurant, a coffee in a ceramic cup.

Though as there are indie coffee shops in the town serving speciality coffee, why not take a walk, relax in an indie coffee shop, support the local economy, not drink something disgusting out of a  machine?

For those wishing to take back to their desk, bring your own coffee cup, have KeepCup on sale, bulk buy, brand with Lincoln Imp and a slogan to encourage their use, sell at a discount.

As this is Lincolnshire County Council, responsible for waste disposable and recycling, why are they not setting much higher standards? They should be showcasing best practice for others to follow.

The lid and cup have been retained. They will be dropped on the compost heap to see what happens.

• Coffee culture in Lincoln
• Meet Lulu
• Latte Levy
• Disposable coffee cups

Lunch at County Restaurant

grilled gammon

Excellent piece of grilled gammon at the County Restaurant served with peas and potatoes.

The potatoes were similar to cauliflower cheese, except were boiled potatoes.

A very tasty lunch.

Starter was onion soup, not one of my favourites.

Main course £3-30, add soup and a roll, total a fiver.

This begs the question: Why is it costing £17 to £18 a head for Lincolnshire County Councillors to get their snouts in the trough at the County Restaurant?

Lincolnshire County Councillors get their snouts in the trough

bangers and mash

Lincolnshire County Councillors have quite literally got their snouts well and truly stuck in the trough.

To feed these councillors lunch when they have a meeting costs just over £17 a head for a two course lunch, a year ago it was over £18 a head.

How, how can it possibly cost this much when eating at the County Restaurant? They could go into town and eat at a good restaurant for less.

Main course at the County Restaurant costs during the week £3-30 for the dearer option, £2-80 for the cheaper option. For example sausage and mash with cabbage £3-30, liver and onions with cabbage and mash £3-30.

On a Wednesday, roast lunch £4-50. For a meal deal, roast plus hot dessert £5-50.

For dessert, a yoghurt 50p. On a Wednesday a hot sweet is available at £1-50. A hot sweet used to be available every day.

During the winter, soup at £1-20 (plus 50p for a bread roll) is available as a starter.

The quality of the meals varies, but used to be very good, of late standards have slipped.

Absolutely no way does this come to £17 or £18 a head.

There is absolutely no reason the councillors cannot queue up with their tray same as everyone else, other than their own self-inflated importance. But please do not all join the queue at the same time and delay others as people value their lunch break.

Typical meals

• sausage and mash
• turkey and leak pie

For the snouts in the trough Lincolnshire County Council has a £22,000 catering bill for lunches during full council meetings. This at a time of savage spending cuts across the county. This at a time when the poorest paid council workers have to rely on tax credits and other handouts like food banks.

Lincolnshire County Council has admitted spending almost £22,000 on lunches for councillors attending meetings since 2009. A total of £21,940 was spent catering for the 77 councillors at 17 full council meetings. That works out an average of £16.76 per head. Here is a breakdown of the figures:

• 2009-2010: £6942.77 for 5 meetings = £18.04 per head
• 2010-2011: £6235.79 for 5 meetings = £16.19 per head
• 2011-2012: £4832.43 for 4 meetings = £15.69 per head
• 2012-2013(so far): £3929.44 for 3 meetings = £17.01 per head
• TOTAL SINCE 2009: £21,940.43 for 17 meetings = £16.76 per head

Maybe the councillors should sit down and eat what schoolchildren are served for lunch, if Scotland is anything to go by, not very good, as shown by Martha Payne on her food blog NeverSeconds, maybe they would like to try what was served up early May 2012.

• Council admits £22k lunch bill

Lunch at County Restaurant

County Restaurant pea and mint soup

County Restaurant turkey and leek pie

For starters pea and mint soup. Tasted as made from mushy peas. I did not ask.

For main course turkey and leek pie, chips and green beans.

I am no great fan of pies, they tend to be used for rubbish one has to know the source or trust the chef. Delicious, very nice puff pastry.

Potatoes would have been a better option than chips, but it was chips or nothing.

A big improvement on last week. The difference between white van chiller food hotted up and the chef making his own pies.

No hot desserts.

The hypocrisy of Lincolnshire County Council beggars belief. Lincolnshire is an agricultural county. The milk provided Freshways. Freshways refuse to pay a fair price to farmers for their milk, forcing many farmers into bankruptcy and suicide. They buy milk on the spot market, buy from overseas, to force the price down.

County Restaurant offers good value for money lunch. When not white van chiller food hotted up and the chefs allowed to exercise their skills and not hampered by petty cost cutting, can be a delicious meal, as was the pea soup and turkey and leek pie today.

Morning in Lincoln

Stokes coffee shop …

… on High Bridge

Steep Hill

Steep Hill

Nine in the morning and not many people around.

River Witham flowing at a very leisurely pace, even the ducks looked happy. A big contrast with the fast flowing river the week before even more so two weeks ago.

Looked in Café 44, but did not stop as wished to try a different indie coffee bar today, one in The Strait.

Looked in Stokes on High Bridge. Had a chat with a very helpful and friendly girl. Was tempted to stay, but was going up The Strait and Steep Hill, decided to try an indie coffee shop on the way.

Looked in on Stokes coffee roasting facility. Interesting. More to see when I look in when coffee roasting is taking place.

Ruddocks used to be a good indie bookshop. Now it reassembles a corner newsagent.

Up the High Street, up The Strait.

Olibers coffee shop in The Strait, served by a nine-year-old waitress.

Up The Strait, up Steep Hill.

Looked in Readers Rest. This is an amazing bookshop, a veritable rabbit warren of books. Or was, now a shadow of its former self. I asked, and my worst fears were confirmed, it is closing down after 30 years in business. Man said he had not sold a single book yesterday, none today. He said people look around and walk out empty-handed. Many of my books in the past have come from Readers Rest. It is my first port of call if I am looking for a book. I must admit I walked out empty-handed. I did say I would pop back in on my way back down. Unfortunately I was running late and had no time.

It is very depressing to see a bookshop like Readers Rest closing down, once one of the best bookshops in the country. Thorpes, top of the High Street in Guildford, closed a decade or so ago, forced out of business by the greedy council jacking up the rent. Like Thorpes, Readers Rest a real bookshop, run by a man who knows his books. Soon all we will have left is Waterstone’s, a rubbish chain that knows nothing about books, and they are expected to go under.

Up Steep Hill into Bailgate.

Elite Butchers in Bailgate, one of the best butchers in Lincoln, if not Lincolnshire.

Back down the hill, lunch at County Restaurant. Pies I usually avoid, unless I know the chef or the source, as used to stuff with rubbish. The turkey (I assume Christmas left overs) and leek pie was excellent, as was the pea and mint soup. A pleasant change from the rubbish served up, or should I say hotted up, last week.

Lunch at County Restaurant

carrot and orange soup

County Restaurant was one of the best kept secrets in Lincoln. This used to be a good place to eat, but sadly has gone downhill.

Carrot and orange soup was interesting. I could not quite make up my mind whether or not I liked it.

After that it was downhill.

Chicken Kiev with potatoes and sweetcorn.

Chicken Kiev can either be excellent or pretty disgusting. This was disgusting. White van chiller fare hotted up. Cheap nasty chicken. The potatoes tasted awful. The sweetcorn was ok.

County Restaurant used to have excellent desserts. Hot puddings now restricted to Wednesday and Friday.

Low fat yoghurt is not a healthy choice. Full of unpleasant chemicals.

Takeaways served in burger-style polystyrene boxes is totally unacceptable. This is appalling hypocrisy by Lincolnshire County Council. They should be setting a standard on recycling, not do as we say not as we do. There are available card boxes for hot food, with cellulose plastic lids, all biodegradable. See for example Food for Thought in Covent Garden and Iydea in Brighton.

There can be absolutely no excuse for using polystyrene burger boxes destined for landfill or incineration when biodegradable alternatives are readily available.

Lincolnshire is an agricultural county. The County Council should be showcasing local produce from local farms.

County Restaurant has an excellent kitchen, two excellent chefs. They should not be serving white van chiller rubbish.

You do not employ a dog and bark yourself. Neither do you employ good chefs and insult them by reducing them to hotting up white can chiller food.

County Restaurant used to serve excellent lunches, one of the best kept secrets in Lincoln. A shame to see standards have slipped so low.

Leek and Potato Soup

Ingredients

1lb leaks (two medium size) washed and trimmed
1oz butter
8oz diced potatoes
1 1/2 pint white stock
salt and pepper

Method

Cut up leeks and cook in butter until soft.

Add the white stock and bring to the boil.

Add the potatoes and bring to the boil.

Simmer for around 15 minutes until potatoes and leeks are cooked.

Purée and season.

Should serve around four people.

This is the best leek and potato soup I have ever tasted.

Many thanks to Bob at the County Restaurant for sharing his recipe.

The County Restaurant, in the ancient Roman city and county town of Lincolnshire, is one of the best kept secrets in Lincoln. Open for lunch Mondays to Fridays (except Bank Holidays).

Jamie Oliver has a variation of leak and potato soup using chicken or vegetable stock and olive oil instead of butter, to which he adds carrots, onions, garlic and celery, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper, which will serve around six to eight people.

Note: Stock is the basis or foundation of all good soups. Stock can be white or brown. White stock is usually made with chicken or veal bones.

– Jamie’s stuffed baked potatoes

Jamie’s stuffed baked potatoes

Ingredients

medium size potatoes
cheese
handful of fresh peas
spinach
onion
garlic
fresh pepper

Preparation

Bake potatoes as normal, then allow to cool. Once cool, carefully scrape out the potatoes taking care not to damage the skins.

Mix potatoes with the other ingredients.

When mixed, stir fry in a hot pan or wok to which has been added some oil or butter.

When fried, scoop into empty potato skins. Place into oven and cook for 20 minutes.

Serve hot. When served, delicious.

Many thanks to Jamie Thaxter, chef at Lincoln County Restaurant, for sharing this recipe.

The County Restaurant, in the ancient Roman city and county town of Lincolnshire, is one of the best kept secrets in Lincoln. Open for lunch Mondays to Fridays (except Bank Holidays).

– Leek and Potato Soup