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Sunday, July 14, 2019

Growing up with British Culture in Monterey County by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Growing up with British Culture in Monterey County by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Monterey’s all-season foggy weather has encouraged the establishment of British-style pubs where you can eat well, sample a beer from a variety of choices, and lunch with children.

One of the most affordable places to eat at one time in Carmel (California) was the Sherlock Holmes Pub in Carmel’s Barnyard Shopping Center.

I thought their menu was typical of the British pubs I had eaten in on vacation in the UK that included a few American items on their menus in addition to British ones.

When I queried The Monterey County Weekly (Circulation: 200,000) about doing an article on the Sherlock Holmes Pub, they were very interested.  The review follows:

Think of England

Cold, damp weather always makes me want to eat hearty British food.  This thought propelled me, my husband Laurent, and daughter Florence to the doors of the Sherlock Holmes Pub in the Barnyard during a recent spate of winter storms.

One of the owners greeted us as we walked in to the snug pub, which had a fire going in a corner fireplace.  The owners opened the pub after visiting England over nineteen years.

The menu features British and American favorites.  We started our meal by sharing an order of mozzarella bread.  Our five slices of French toast topped off with oozing mozzarella took the chill off our bones and whetted our appetites.

For our main dishes, Laurent chose the Deer Stalker Fish and Chips, and I ordered Bangers and Mash.  Florence went with a Dominion Burger to try out the American offerings.

The fish and chips had a crunchy crust, which did not dry out the cod on the inside.  The fish tasted great with lemon juice on it, but malt vinegar is the usual condiment.  Fish and chips vies with roast beef as the national dish of England.

Ale certainly ranks as the national drink of England, which encouraged Laurent to sample a Bass Ale on tap.  Bass hails from Burton-upon-Trent in the Midlands of England, and is Britain’s biggest beer maker.  Bass has a slight citrus flavor, although no fruit is added to it.

My hearty dish of bangers and mash warmed me up after the rain.  “Bangers” refers to the two plump and juicy sausages I had with my meal and “mash” refers to the hand-mashed potatoes and gravy.  Beans baked with brown sugar rounded out my “best of the breakfast and dinner worlds platter.”

I ordered an Irish Guiness on tap – foamy, sweet, and bitter all at once.  You either love Guiness or hate it.  It went well with the sausages.

Two other English specialties that diners might want to try are the Prince of the Pub Shepherd’s Pie and Soho Spectacular Steak and Kidney Pie.  Minced meat such as lamb covered with onions, topped with mashed potatoes, and baked till brown constitutes Shepherd’s Pie.  In the Sherlock Holmes version, top sirloin replaces lamb.

Florence’s Dominion Burger came with Canadian bacon, Monterey Jack Cheese, and guacamole with fries.

Potatoes did not become popular in England until the latter part of the 18th century, although other parts of Europe knew this New World product before then according to Adrian Bailey in The Cooking of the British Isles.  The English like potatoes and even have a chip sandwich according to Bailey.

For dessert, Florence had a generous helping of creamy vanilla ice cream.  Laurent had a slice of chocolate fudge layer cake.  British cakes are renowned for being moist and delectable.  Laurent’s cake lived up to the reputation.  The creamy frosting melted in the mouth.

Sherlock Holmes offers fair-weather items such as salads, soups, and a variety of burgers.  There is a “Little Detectives” menu for children.

With the variety on their menu, it is no wonder a diner would choose Sherlock Holmes Pub as “my local” as the British say when describing their hangout.

End of Article

Note:

Sherlock Holmes closed has but, fortunately Monterey County has large numbers of British pubs (Peter B’s and Crown and Anchor), California brew pubs (Alvarado Street Brewery), and German restaurants (Stammtisch) for an afternoon family lunch.


By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France


Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books