Caneat
BREAKING THE HABIT
CANEAT ARE NO CURRENTLY NOT OPEN IN EVENINGS
One of the remaining casualties of COVID and lockdowns is spontaneity in my social life. I’m struggling to recall a single spontaneous visit to a pub or restaurant over the last two years, certainly nothing midweek. Nowt. Nada. Zilch.
Thankfully ‘reading week’ prompts a last minute 24-hour home visit from our daughter and I seize the opportunity for a midweek night out. It’s an easy decision choosing here, as an appalling run of luck on her part means she’s missed out on all my (too few) subsequent visits over the last two years. And if that’s not bad enough, she’s had to suffer my effusive eulogies about the food, including me banging on and on about a deep fried jam sandwich with ice cream from last summer; undoubtedly my dessert of the year. Just look at this picture of it.
Deed fried jam sandwich & ice cream
And this one…
Dessert of the Year 2021
She immediately notices their plant-fuelled makeover, along with wall lights that soften the transition between daytime local café and evening neighbourhood restaurant. I immediately notice the menu has shifted from small / sharing plates as it was on my last visit, to the traditional way of starter (4 options) / main course (5 options) / dessert (3 options). Although this doesn’t prevent us discussing possible sharing collaborations when the waiter arrives to take our drinks order.
Caneat ‘restaurant mode’
I order a bottle of the orange / skin contact Cattarato, but he returns with an opened bottle of rosé. They’re out of Cattarato and enquiring about other options, I get the response “it all tastes sour to me, so I’m the wrong person to ask.” Well, sorry mate, but I’d suggest it’s your job to know or find out. Never mind, we settle on the easy to say Entre Vinyes, Oniric Brisat Xare-lo-Parallad.
Entre Vinyes, Oniric Brisat Xare-lo-Parallad
We eventually decide to go three ways on two plates of marinated artichokes and mozzarella pimped up by a pickle plate, house bread and two garlic breads.
Toasted garlic bread
Two plates of the star dish offer a fine balance of delicate flavours with thick slabs of buffalo mozzarella both creamy and tangy in equal measure, perfect for the earthy hints of herbaceous bitterness from a generous pile of soft to the bite artichoke hearts, doused with extra virgin olive oil and chopped pistachios, that in the context of the dish provide a flamboyant nutty crunch. Oh yeah… and double puddles of mopping joy for a double portion of garlic butter soaked, lightly toasted bread.
Buffalo mozzarella, marinated artichokes, pistachio
It’s a triumphant enough start, without the pickle plate offering the holy trinity of sweet, sour and spice from shredded red cabbage, bite sized crunch from cauliflower florets and a decent kick from kimchi.
Pickle Plate
With mains options being haddock chowder, jambalaya, squash risotto, meat stew or vegan stew, it’s definitely a menu for the bleakness of mid-winter. I’m a tad underwhelmed, but eventually opt for the pork, venison and beef stew.
It’s a thick and rich, meat-laden stew, with different textures from the softness of pork belly, seared crusts and the sheer comfort of braised meats all making themselves known. A lightly truffled mash is an immaculate companion, with the sweetness of fried onions and peppery tingle of spring onion oil keeping it all honest. It’s a bowl of food that still manages to demonstrate remarkable subtlety despite some very big flavours and worthy of being the coming home dish after a three month Antarctic expedition.
Pork, venison & beef stew, truffled mash, spring onion oil, fried onions
The jambalaya, topped by two king prawns in peak physical condition, is a jumbled mix of succulent chicken, smoky chorizo, onion, peppers and immaculately cooked rice, but after a few forkfuls it’s struggling to excite me beyond the endeavours of a squeeze of lime and hot sauce… although it’s probably just overshadowed by what’s come before it.
Chicken, chorizo, prawn jambalaya, hot sauce, lime
I’ve no room to even try a forkful of the ‘salad’ (from the starter menu) with chunks of caramelised, roasted carrot on top of a generous pile of smashed butter beans. There’s zesty-sweetness from an orange and lime dressing, with crunch from a pumpkin seed dukkah, although “it could do with something a bit wetter on the plate.”
Roasted carrot salad, orange & lime dressing, smashed butter beans, pumpkin seed dukkah
Half of this and half the jambalaya are scooped into a take away carton, so the best we can muster for dessert is one, with three spoons. The vote goes the way of peaches and cream and whilst it’s not the one I’d have chosen—the toasted treacle cake with stilton, just so you know—I’d order it again just for me. It’s a deconstructed crumble with syrupy-caramel poached peaches, with generous pecan crumb and vegan cream—even creamier than the ‘real thing’. As with most of the dishes tonight, textures and flavours are pitched perfectly.
Caramel poached peaches, pecan crumb, vegan cream
An extra glass of red and white nudges the bill up to £111.50 plus tip and leaves me determined to shake off the long-standing effects of COVID and the apathy of winter.
That’s one bad habit broken… all hail the midweek treat!
RECOMMENDED
1397 Pershore Road, Stirchley, Birmingham B30 2JR
