Here it is, my first food review of the year. The target is to visit 100 tearooms in 365 days, but I’ve decided to review all the places I eat out to ensure we hit target. I’m hoping that it will also prevent me eating out too much, but I fear this may be a doomed hope.
We had to take Number One Son to the airport and Julia suggested eating on the way. Harvester in Wilford was conveniently placed so we tried there. It’s usually passable and often quite good. It provides free salad, fresh bread rolls and last time we went they had a special lunchtime offer.
Well, the offer is over, the bread roll baskets were empty and the salad looked like it had passed peak freshness several days previously.
Very disappointing.
The worst bit was when I ordered cod and chips.
“We don’t have any batter, but we can do you plain grilled cod.”said the server.
Because, of course, beautifully battered, golden, gleaming cod is very much the same as dull, dry, boring, grilled fish. (Please note that I’m being sarcastic here.) Frankly, I’d rather have a slice of grilled carpet.
These are the fish and chips from Fish and Chips at Cromer. Just reminding you, and any passing Harvester employees, what they should be serving. Unsurprisingly, I have no pictures of plain grilled fish. There will be plenty of time for grilled fish when I’m in a care home and can’t find my teeth.
Did you know you can have your false teeth made with your name on so that you don’t lose them in homes or hospitals? One of our customers told me this as he makes them. You machine a recess in the plate, put in the name tag and then finish off with clear acrylic. Cunning, or what?
So I had a burger. No 1 Son (as I think of him in our less formal moments) had a chicken burger. Julia had gammon with egg. She was offered pineapple too but turned it down. I may have some reservations about aspects of the meal, but they can be quite generous at times. Even if they don’t have fresh salad, warm rolls or batter.
I was mildly sarcastic about the chef not being able to mix flour and water, but it seems the batter comes in bags of batter mix.
Without being too detailed or sarcastic, it wasn’t Harvester’s finest moment. They did replace the salad and refill the rolls before we left, but the moment had passed by then.
The food was good, even if the lack of salad, bread and batter was disappointing. Wasn’t keen on paying full price either, though it isn’t actually expensive by modern standards.
No batter!! That’s disappointing as it means that things can only get better from now on.
Steady on, no need for optimism just yet.
At our nearest Harvester, I think the rolls and the salad are the only things worth eating. Everything else seems to be burned (chargrilled, I guess).
I generally enjoy the salad, and a lot of the food, though it can be patchy.
I suppose we’ve generally been on an off-day!
🙂
That’s quite the ambitious goal you have set for yourself. Very weird about no batter for the fish. Even in Maine, we know better than that. 😉
It was very strange. I like ambitious goals. Where would Maya be without your ambitious goals?
Just an idea rather than a reality.
How disappointing. I’ve never experienced such a bad Harvester
This one seems to bounce from disaster to disaster.
🙁
I suppose they have to stick to the corporate recipe so no homemade batter! Rather odd though!
Incomprehensible. 🙁
What, no proper fish & chips? No batter???
It was a very unsettling experience. I expect more things like this will happen as society continues to crumble. However, I suspect I am better off than a lot of people who would like to be safe warm and eating grilled fish. 🙂
Agreed on all counts. 🙂
🙂