PROMOTION
THERE are two questions that Gordo is asked more than any other on both his twitter and via the ManCon rants; they are 'where is the best Sunday lunch?' and 'where is the best breakfast?'
Topside, a cut that dries out quickly if no care is shown, with a little fat was lovely. Really lovely.
Harvey Nichols hasn’t been on Gordo's radar for a few years when it comes to the Sunday Roast, whilst the Harvey Nics breakfast is a matter of record - they're pretty damn good.
So, after the editor began rallying the food writing troops to produce Manchester's definitive list of the very best Sunday lunches (read here), Gordo decided to give the Harvey Nichols Second Floor restaurant a go.
The staff here are always charming, knowledgable and polite. They never fail to send Gordo away smiling. So what of their roast?
There are normally two big fails with this dish; mean portions and crap meat.
This is usually because the establishments are trying to do two things which don’t work. Firstly, serve it up at a price they think will attract the punters. Secondly, they then try and make the margins. So, If you see something at, say, £10, the cost of all the raw materials on the plate must be £2.50 or less. If it’s £5.99 down the pub, the raw materials are somewhere near £0.75.
Now, boys and girls, if you are attracted to a Sunday lunch on the price point alone, then Gordo thinks you are a numbskull. Spend less on cars and more on your food. It’s one of the few things our Gallic cousins have got right. You will not see many flash cars in Michelin starred restaurants in La Belle France.
Harvey Nichols Second Floor
Now, Roast Beef at Harvey Nichols is £13.00 (main image), a pricepoint that's nearing the right side, but still normally not enough, in Gordo’s opinion, for top ingredients.
One thing is for sure though, it looks nothing less that magnificent on the plate. Three thick slices of pink-ish topside of beef, a large Yorkshire pudding well cooked and filled with roasties, all sitting next to a pile of roasted root vegetables. A small jug of warm gravy made the plate.
The potatoes were, as they so often are in large kitchens, not as good as Gordo’s at home, but were top of the line at this level. Perhaps they would have benefitted from a clove of bashed garlic in the pan and some fresh thyme fifteen minutes before being pulled out.
The Yorkshire was better than Gordo’s, as was the gravy. Topside, a cut that dries out quickly if no care is shown, with a little fat was lovely. Really lovely. Horseradish sauce, creamy with bite and the root veg again, much better than Gordo’s.
It’s a Sunday Gordo Go.
