I went to the Fox and Goose earlier this week for lunch with friends and was disappointed...I have actually never eaten there before, and I'm not a raging fan of English food, but we arrived with open minds. We ordered off the "British Specialties" section of the lunch menu, thinking we would get an accurate slice of British cuisine and the best the restaurant has to offer. It's possible we did, and if that's the case I still don't like English food.
The items we ordered sounded interesting on the menu: Vegetarian Pasty (like a pot pie in the shape of a calzone, pictured above) with welsh rarebit sauce, Welsh Rarebit: an english muffin smothered in welsh rarebit cheesy beer sauce, and Fish and chips: pretty self-explanatory. I thought the welsh rarebit sauce was a cheesy, greasy, pungent goo rather than a sauce, but smear cheese on anything and it can't be that bad. The vegetarian pasty was plain: just chopped veggies cooked with some herbs, rolled up in pie dough and baked...nothing to call home about. It was also rather dry.
I couldn't beli
eve the appearance of the Welsh Rarebit, but I've never seen it anywhere before, so maybe that's what it's supposed to look like: literally an english muffin on a plate with that cheese sauce drowning it, garnished with red onions and sliced olives. I have to say my friend really enjoyed it, though...she liked the pungent quality of the sauce, a self-proclaimed "stinky cheese lover". Don't get me wrong, I love me some stinky cheese, but I found that sauce....well, see the description above.On a positive note the Fish and chips was incredible! The batter was perfectly crispy and freshly fried, and I think I would have eaten a paper napkin if it was fried in that batter! The tartar sauce didn't blow me away, but the dish was great none the less.
I owe Fox and Goose another try, and I've heard many people rave about their breakfast and beer selection....that's two more trips if I don't want beer with pancakes. Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3, and I'm definitely bringing Brooks with me to check out the beer selection.
Fox and Goose Pub
corner of 10th and R st in downtown sac
www.foxandgoose.com
*On a blog note, I am working on my technique when it comes to lighting and focusing with the pics...bear with me:-)
1 comment:
nHi, it sounds like Fox & Goose's take on English cuisine is less than authentic. Welsh Rarebit comes on toast, not an English muffin. We don't actually have English muffins in England, and even if we did, the Welsh would refuse to use them on principle!
Their "English breakfasts" are American breakfasts with English stylings. We don't do home fries, and our bacon comes from the back of the pig rather than the belly. We're actually pretty dismissive of American "streaky" bacon because it's a cheaper cut of meat. Also, in my opinion, no full English is complete without baked beans - in tomato sauce, not barbecue.
The pastie in your picture looks too pale and oversized.
Whilst traditional English food doesn't exactly have the panache of French cooking, done well it can be extremely satisfying. Fox & Goose really should offer a proper Sunday roast.
However, when it comes to drinks they do a very good job. They've a decent selection of beer from a few mid-size British breweries (check out the Fuller's on draught and the Sam Smith's in bottles), it's kept well and they serve in Imperial pints (20oz rather than 16oz) and the atmosphere's the closest I've come to a proper pub in the US so far.
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