JohnD63

We've been real busy the last few weeks and thought we'd spend the day checking out Bologna. Of course the new passion restaurant was pretty much enroute so decided to give it a go. The restaurant dining area is pretty tidy, no indication that it is an English restaurant apart from the two union jack arm chairs sat in the corner. There are two levels to the restaurant, the ground floor and the basement which is a little more intimate
We arrived 1 o clock and there was only one other couple there. Back in the UK we usually drive out to a country pub on a sunday and have a typical sunday roast so we both ordered their roast beef with yorkshire pudding from a menu of 11 main courses, pretty good selection. When the meal arrived it looked presentable. The beef was done perfect, the yorkshire pudding was almost non existent. I think they must have cooked it in an egg cup. Also it was flat ,one day i will teach myself how to cook it properly. The roast potatoes were small cubes but tasted nice. The veg was also non existent and wasnt a typical english roast veg selection. It was made up of red, green and yellow peppers, and a few titbits of carrot. There was a bit of horse radish on the side of the plate. Anyway for what we paid, €16 a head, it wasn't anything special. For desert i chose my favourite pudding, apple
crumble which came with a scoop of ice cream and for some reason was floating in some kind of caramel sauce. Anyway i polished it off in no time, which meant i enjoyed it.
I would give the whole meal 7/10. It wasnt anything special and luckily we werent expecting anything special. It's only half an hour from our house so next time if i fancy bangers and mash i'll pop in but i dont think it's worth travelling far for unless your in the area.

TestaRossa

When you bear in mind you can get an awesome tagliata di manzo for that price though, with veg or a salad it is a shame it wasn't done properly. Was there gravy? I had apple crumble Italian style here on Thursday which meant sliced like a piece of cake and thin like a torta. It also had nuts on top and crema mixed in with the apple. Nice but not crumble!! I'd be more interested in the fish and chips - if you go again and try them let us know what you think. Could you buy any foodstuffs, like sausages or cheese?

JohnD63

Sorry i forgot to mention there was gravy and it tasted good. They probably used the meat juices to make it. They dont sell any food stuffs, or at least there wasn't any on display. They do sell bottled guinness if that floats your boat. The fish and chips costs €15 which is alot for a simple meal.

.Ariel.

Thanks for the review. I watched the series on tv so I'm interested to know how it's going. I wonder if there are any Brits actually working there now. I imagine the owner is only there occaisionally, and the chef who was there to teach the young Italians has probably left. So maybe if there are only Italians left there they may not know that a Yorkshire pud is not egg cup size. Just a thought.

Yorkshires are apparently easy, though I've never been able to be bothered myself in doing them

Thinking of Naples, a restaurant which is non-Italian, would only get a rush on an evening (on a weekend evening). Meaning that anything other than Italian food would be seen as something to go out and experiment on an evening out, but never to be had as Sunday lunch. Further north might be different.

TestaRossa

That is a lot! I can't remember what we paid for the real deal in Spain, but it was a lot less and had mushy peas with it!

.Ariel. - was in Naples, finally, last weekend. Had a great time and the food is so good I can't imagine anyone wanting to eat anything else anyway! Florence pales by comparison tbh. Plus it is so much more expensive here!

indiebird

Thanks for the review John. Still want to go to Bologna but maybe not for that restaurant then. I must admit that I see English food as a treat now for when I go home which is a couple of times a year. I cook indian here myself but it is also something we head for when we're home. I also cook my take on mexican here too as well as my own english roasts if we feel like them and I've always found yorkshire puds easy. The trick is to put your dish in a hot oven with a bit of oil or lard to get really hot before pouring in your batter and shutting the oven door. I've always made my own cos it's not difficult and was cheaper when we were really, really skint than buying aunt bessies. My son did ask once why I didn't do proper yorkshire puds like nanny (aunt bessies!!!)

TestaRossa

That's funny! I like toad in the hole but it never came out right, maybe because I need to do what you say - I think Delia tells you to do that too but I'm too impatient! I wouldn't try it with the pork sausages here but I might with the chicken and turkey ones!

Lorna at Vicenza

I've made toad in the hole for the kids and they adore Yorkshire puddings. It's true that the fat has to be smoking hot and sizzle when you pour the batter in.

We always used lard at home but here I use a drop of vegetable oil in each patty tin.

JohnD63

Is it possible to buy the ingredients for yorkshire pudding here in Italy? If so what will i need. Thanks.

Lorna at Vicenza

1 cup of plain flour
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
Salt


Mix eggs and milk together first and then add to the flour and salt. Beat well and get lots of air into it.

Heat fat until smoking in tins and then pour in mixture.

Lorna at Vicenza

Alternatively, buy the cheap 9 or 10p ready to make packets in the English supermarkets and just add an egg and water. Measurements are given on the packets.

TestaRossa

Lorna - you are using US measurements! What size is a cup?? Those are the ingredients for pancakes I do know, but I can't remember the measurments!!

indiebird

ok the measurements I use are :

300ml milk
4 Eggs
250g plain flour (I use 00 here)

This makes loads and I often halve it to make enough for just us 4 without being greedy!!

When doing toad in the hole I start the sausages off in the tin I'm going to cook it in with a bit of extra oil, and when it's all hot and sizzly then pour your batter over making sure the sausages are spread out. I buy some nice mild sausages in coop. I think they are called Mantova or something like that. They are fat and not all fatty and strong like some of the italian ones. They make nice toads!

JohnD63

Thanks alot. This is something i'm going to get into as soon as i have a bit of free time

Lorna at Vicenza

My Granny used to fill a tea mug almost to the top with flour - and then she used the same mug and filled it with milk. She never used weighing scales.
Sometimes she'd add a drop of water too and if the eggs were very small ones, she'd throw in an extra one.