4 minute read
Drink Bill Knott
Twenty yards later, you arrive at the Quality Chop House, which opened as a ‘progressive working-class caterer’ in 1869, the year before Dickens died.
Since Charles Fontaine, the former head chef at the Ivy, took over from the Enrico family in 1990, the only workingclass memories are those glorious benches – which are listed.
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Again, the meat is terrific but don’t overlook their ‘snacks’, especially the Mangalitza shoulder croquettes. Only in EC1 will you find a rare Hungarian pig breed nonchalantly slumped on a menu. And don’t miss their confit potatoes. Oh, and the cod’s roe. They do a three-course set lunch for £25. Of little use to our fellow diner, Ben SAS Rogue Heroes Macintyre, whose success means he will never need deny himself the à la carte again.
Another local French find is Le Café du Marché, a former storage house for St Barts, not 50 yards from the Charterhouse, one of many local delights.
My favourite restaurant design is bare brick walls and white tablecloths. I become convinced I’m eating somewhere really cheap on the Left Bank. I could have stayed there all afternoon.
So I had rillettes and the cassoulet and plenty of wine, while my two guests had fish. Where’s the fun in that? You can’t get the diners these days.
DRINK BILL KNOTT LOW-ALCOHOL HIGHS
He may have been a brilliant poet, but I cannot agree with TS Eliot about April being the cruellest month.
For one thing, I rather like April. For another, January is definitely more miserable. To make matters even worse, a sizeable chunk of the population forswears alcohol for its duration.
I am not going to sing the praises of alcohol-free wines, beers and spirits – partly because I am yet to find any that I like. But there is no harm, after the excesses of the festive season, in a little moderation.
It is becoming difficult to find lowalcohol drinks. Wines are now routinely around 13.5% ABV. American-style IPAs are often more than 5%.
But the quest is not entirely fruitless. Take Small Beer, a London brewery that takes its name from the low-alcohol beer widely produced and consumed in Britain from medieval times onwards: usually less than 2% alcohol, it was safer to drink than water and was even served to children.
Production declined sharply in the
This month’s Oldie wine offer, in conjunction with DBM Wines, is a 12-bottle case. It comprises four bottles each of three wines, all of which contain gratifying amounts of alcohol: a fresh, zesty, great-value Spanish white; a splendid curiosity from Bordeaux; and a deliciously complex Malbec from the south of France. Or you can buy cases of each individual wine.
‘What wine do you recommend I turn this water into?’ 19th century, but Small Beer have revived the style. All their beers weigh in at less than 2.8%, and some – their pilsner-style lager, for instance – are as low as 2.1%. All are available in various formats – bottles, cans, kegs – from their website.
Waitrose stock a selection of 350ml bottles for £2.20. I especially like the bright, hoppy Session Pale. Those looking to shed some seasonal ballast should note that a 350ml bottle contains a mere 101 calories.
The Belgian tradition of making sweet-sour fruit beers – kriek (cherry), framboise (raspberry) and cassis (blackcurrant), for instance – also offers plenty of drinking pleasure for very little alcohol. The Lindeman’s versions hover around 3%: beermerchants.com stocks a wide range.
Finding low-alcohol wine is trickier. You might try Lambrusco Pruno Nero. It’s a fruity, frothy joy, perfect with cured meats (especially cotechino). It’s just 11% ABV (waitrose.com, £11.99). Or try Moscato d’Asti (once known as Asti Spumante), which is typically around 5% and is perfect with afternoon tea. Try Elio Perrone’s peachy Moscato d’Asti Sourgal 2021, a steal at £8.50 from thewinesociety.com.
Undoubtedly the greatest low-alcohol wine is Tokaji Essencia. It’s a wine so syrupy and viscous that it’s reluctant to leave the bottle, and best served from a spoon, not a glass. I was fortunate enough to sample it a few years ago, and it was extraordinary. It’s a riot of honey, dried fruits, grapefruit and nuts – incredibly sweet but still miraculously well balanced. I swear I could still taste it an hour later.
The 2007 version is a trifling 1.62% ABV, but the price less trifling. Farr Vintners (farrvintners.com) are offering it for £458.33 in bond … for a half-bottle.
But you do get a free spoon.
Join Bill Knott at Château Beychevelle next June See page 83
Wine
Celler de Capcanes, Sense Cap Blanc, DO Montsant 2021, offer price £9.99, case price £119.88
An old Oldie favourite: Garnacha Bianco and Macabeu from the Catalan hills combine to produce a focused, medium-bodied white.
Vin Orange ‘Bel a Ciao’, Olivier Cazenave et Château, IGP Atlantique, France 2021, offer price £13.50, case price £162.00
Quirky, delicious ‘orange’ wine: prolonged maceration with the grape skins lends it both character and colour.
Mont Rocher Malbec, Vieilles Vignes, IGP Pays d’Oc, France 2020, offer price £9.99, case price £119.88
Savoury, complex, spicy Malbec from the Languedoc; perfect with roast lamb.
