If I had wanted to try it, I would have chosen it in the
first place. Or I would have asked the waiter if he could interrupt my
enjoyment of the delicately balanced dish I actually ordered by running from
the kitchen with a steaming forkfull of another meal and thrusting it into my
face. Or maybe, he could have simply thrown it at me while passing, perhaps
from another guest's plate? Or perhaps just encouraged me to pick it from the
floor as a scrap?
Any of these options would be just as out of context and
annoying as being forced to try someone else's meal for a grumpy and obsessive
miserablist such as I.
Despite all that, I found myself trying to force share my
own meal with my partner last time we visited The Littleton Arms; a little
wonder, hidden away in Penkridge Town Square, near Stafford.
I visited on a Sunday and enjoyed the set price menu - as
did my companions; Mrs Eating Out In Stafford and our two children, aged one
and two.
I had a genuinely exquisite Wild Mushroom Gnochi as a
main course followed by a chocolate and orange bread and butter pudding.
It was the former, with its piquant sauce and deliciously
textured body that I dangled in front of Mrs EOiS as she attempted to enjoy her
roast pork, which I'm informed was also excellent.
Happily, she isn't such a belligerent old git as I am and
she happily tried it and declared it excellent.
Before the meal, we were presented with a perfectly acceptable selection of
breads, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A restaurateur who can go to his grave,
content that he has taken the edge of his customer's hunger with any
combination of bread, butter, olives, oil and garlic can do so a happy man in
my opinion. Particularly if he did so, as in this case, without additional
charge.
While we consumed said delicasies, the littlies
entertained themselves with the children's menu, which has a suitably
distracting word search and dot-to-dot on the reverse. And here lies my only
criticism; if you give kids something to draw on, you have to give them pencils
or crayons. Luckily I'm married to child care expert who is never without such
items, otherwise there could have been big trouble in Littleton.
After the menu, our two small people both had fish
fingers and chips and even Jamie Oliver would have been proud of the home
battered mini cod slices and hand cut chips they were presented with.
Both followed this with ice cream, while Mrs EOiS had an
impressive looking chocolate and cherry Eaton mess for dessert. I was quite
jealous.
The Littleton Arms is well worth a visit and I'm led to
believe it performs equally as impressively as a hotel.
The Sunday Set Price menu is a great value £15 for two courses or £18 for three. Forced-sharing of food is optional.
