Cambridge News | cambridge-news.co.uk | June 21, 2014 | 25
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៑ In the mood for a taste of Argentina, Ella Walker heads to CAU restaurant, but is left letdown by the South American fare.
food & drink
Chewing over a disappointment
Every week the founder of Cambridgeshire Wine School seeks out the best wines to go with Living’s recipes. Smoky lemon dressing and grilled halloumi calls for a touch of sweetness in your wine as the perfect contrast to salty cheese. A slightly sweet wine also stands up to the honey sweetening in the orange chicken recipe. When seeking a slightly sweet wine, where best to turn than the Loire valley and to Vouvray? What marks out the Loire is that the weather is so variable winemakers must be ready to produce different styles depending on how much sunshine and rain they get. In a gloomy year they produce more sparkling wine (from less ripe grapes) and only venture to make sweet wine in years where they have enough sun. Vouvray is made from Chenin Blanc and usually contains a touch of sweetness from letting the grapes hang late (developing more sugar). Try ‘La Forcine’ Vouvray (£8.99) from Adnams Cellar & Kitchen in Saffron Walden for a good, basic example of the Vouvray style. It has plenty of voluptuous apple flavour and a zingy lemon finish. Or, if you really can’t stomach any sweetness in your wine, try ‘Secret des Vignes’ Saumur Blanc (£15.99) by a producer called Ackerman (also sold in Adnams). This has lemon, pear and quince flavour, but is a dry style so it might seem a bit tart with these recipes.
ᔡ Summer food and wine matching courses at Cambridgeshire wineschool.com
I
’d only heard good things about CAU, and only smelt good things wafting down Peas Hill, so it pains me to have to write this, but what a disappointment. When a place is entirely structured around how well it does Argentinian steak, only to not do Argentinian steak at all well, there’s a serious problem. But before I slide into a tirade against whoever was in charge of the grill on the hot and clammy Tuesday night we ventured in, I’ll admit, I did have exceptionally high expectations. . . You see, the menu reads beautifully. The likes of “melt-in-your-mouth pork coated in a light and crispy tempura” and “the steak lover’s steak. A tender, luxuriously full-bodied treat”, have your tongue lolling out, and they use the word “succulent” with greedy abandon. So you can’t really blame me for getting all hopeful.
The restaurant is all chrome piping, minimalist, pleather seating in cream (which, on a hot evening ladies, the backs of your legs will stick tackily to), and excellent mood lighting. It’s definitely a date option if you’re trying to make a slick impression, but is it a touch too slick? And make sure you aren’t sat in the corridor like we were. Basically, there’s not much heart in it. They’ve gone for clean lines, a touch of quirkiness (spiky fronds of faux-grass and Simpsons clouds lining the walls), but really, everything hinges on the food, and the food was borderline soulless, despite a rather promising start. Sipping huge glasses of salta clericot, a super refreshing mix of white wine, grapes, passion fruit purée and basil leaves (£10.50 for a small jug), a slate of South American anticuchos skewers – aka three mini sticks of
tasty and not too jaw-achingly tough, tender glazed chicken – arrived with a only the fattest piece of meat was tequila slammer sized slice of lime and pink in the middle. We should have creamy guacamole (£6.50). It was fairly sent it back. Halfway through chewing delicious (the guac particularly), but my that, as you’d imagine, Sam’s need for boyfriend Sam and I didn’t exactly scrap something green kicked in. over it which is slightly unusual; we A lightly-oiled collection of peppery were starving. rocket leaves and slivers of crunchy It was good, but nothing to rave fennel arrived, which was very nice about. Then things took a decidedly but diddy (£2.95), while I continued sad turn. ploughing through triple cooked chips My twice cooked pork belly with that were essentially Aunt Bessie-style sweetcorn purée and chargrilled onions roast potatoes (good, but not exactly was a sweet, sticky mess (£13.95). mind-blowing, and quite what the third “Succulence” vowed the menu; in meeting with the oven really achieved, reality a slab of not-so-tender meat I don’t know). sealed by an unrendered, wobbling Prettyy demoralised by this point, layer of fat sat on pudding was CAU’s p too-sweet mushed last l chance for up corn. The bitter, redemption. The r crunchy onions churros (£5.50) were c weren’t quite enough h suitably crunchy and s to cut through the CAU, 14-16 Bene quite delicious dunked q sickliness. ’t Street, Ca mb in swathes of dulce de Sam’s classic ridge, CB2 3QN. Website: cauresta leche, while the baked le sirloin was simple – urants.com Telephone: (0122 vanilla cheesecake va dangerously simple. 3) 357000 Cost: Dinner for (£5.95) was creamy (£ A huge white plate two people, including drinks, and an moreish, even arrived with the came to if tthe accompanying steak entirely on its £72.27. “caramelised” banana “ca own. No decorative Opening hours: was wa actually just a piece leaf, no charred Monday-Saturda y: of banana with caramel tomato or beefy Noon-11pm on top, very misleading. mushroom: just Sunday: Noon-22 .30pm Having been slightly H an unwieldy metal Food: 刀刀 mollified, CAU then mo basket of chips on Service: 刀刀刀 went and added a wen the side. There was Atmosphere: 刀 刀刀 per cent discretionary 10 p absolutely nowhere Va lue : 刀刀 service charge without serv to hide, and givin giving us a chance to (ordered medium) opt o out. Not cool. it was also dry and It’s hard to enjoy a It’ well done. meal when with each bite – churros At a hefty £17.95 it was terrible, and cheesecake aside – you feel you’re terrible form, exacerbated by the sea of accusatory white plate. They didn’t even being utterly ripped off. If you want my advice, go to CAU bother concealing the fact with a sauce for pudding; go to Argentina for (that you have to order separately for proper steak. another two quid). Although outwardly
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