An Impromptu Dinner At The Junction In Sutton-In-Ashfield
Published On Sunday 30 Jan 2022 by Sticky Beak
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Cheers, Covid! The Man Bird and I had been looking forward to revisiting a local independent business and were all booked in and hot-to-trot when the message every gourmand dreads: ‘sorry, we’ve got to close tonight due to our staff having tested positive for Covid-19’. After saying “oh no, how awful”, my next thought was ’bugger, does this mean I’ve got to cook?’! Thankfully, His Nibs’ survival instinct kicked in (he obviously thought ‘bugger, does this mean she’s going to cook?’!!!) and he got straight on the blower and booked a table at another venue, The Junction in Sutton-in-Ashfield.
It’s been a long while since we last visited and our previous experience was a positive one, so we were looking forward to returning. The car park is huge so we had no trouble at all finding a spot and it was only a short stroll across to the main entrance, where we waited to be seated by the front-of-house hostess. Nothing much has changed decor-wise since our last visit, so it won’t win awards in the style stakes, but it’s clean enough and I loved the quietly subversive prints that were above our table! There’s plenty of space between the tables and there was every age group you could imagine, so The Junction certainly has mass-appeal. I also like the fact that there’s a clear demarcation between the drinking -only section of the venue and the dining space.
I had the Creamy Garlic and Cracked Black Pepper Mushrooms to start with and The Man went for the Chilli and Ginger Chicken Strippers (both £5.95). My dish must’ve had at least 4-6 oz of dinky button mushrooms in it, all bathing lazily in their own private pool of gorgeous sauce! I was instantly smitten by the balance of silky cream, warming Pepper and garlicky hint of the sauce as it coated my palate; this really was a belter of a sauce. The tiny mushrooms were scrumptiously sweet and earthy in their own right, but partnered with the sauce they were elevated into something utterly brilliant. A couple of slices of garlic butter-pimped Ciabatta provided the perfect means with which to soak and scoop up the remaining sauce (which I gave all my attention to!) and my bowl was left squeaky clean!
The Man Bird was happily munching away on his choice of starter, and I have to say that it did look very appetising. The St.Tropez golden strips of chicken were marvellously crunchy to the bite, thanks to the thick crumb coating that surrounded each one and the flesh itself was moist and tender. What really got the Man Birds’ attention though was the distinct taste of Ginger and Chilli in the batter; this was most certainly not your bog-standard offering! Visually this was a good dish too; a deep bed of mixed leaf salad added some colour as well as another layer of taste and texture.
For mains, I went for the Filthy Rooster Tray (£13.95) which had the same chicken strips in it that The Man had had for his starter, paired with seasoned skinny fries, melted Cheddar cheese, crispy streaky bacon, fresh chillies and Coriander. His Nibs was tossing up between the homemade Beef Lasagne and the Junction Smokehouse Burger, eventually plumping for the burger (£12.50) with an extra side order of Halloumi fries and sweet chilli dip (£5.95).
We didn’t have long to wait for our food to arrive and we were remarked on the presentation of the burger; it was superb – probably one of the nicest we’ve seen, actually. All the individual elements of the burger were neatly, precisely stacked on top of each other and secured with a small bamboo skewer, the seasoned fries were in a miniature frying basket and the creamy coleslaw was neatly housed in its own pot. Clearly some effort had gone into the presentation of this offering and it wasn’t unappreciated, Chef, just to let you know. Flavour-wise, the beef patty was superb and everything you’d want: juicy, rich tasting and nicely dense to give it a satisfying chew time in the mouth. Thick back Bacon, tangy Cheddar, juicy, sweet Tomato and intense Balsamic Onions all added their notes to the flavour symphony and His Nibs was grinning from ear-to-ear with joy as he savoured each mouthful.
Both of us tucked into the generously proportioned Halloumi ‘fries’, enjoying their crisp grilled crust and firm texture, and there was a good sized portion of them to get stuck into. If you like a spicy dip then you will absolutely love the one they serve at The Junction; it was that perfect balance of sweetness and fire and it had our lips tingling gently.
My Filthy Rooster Tray was a proper bellyful, so if you have a larger appetite this is the option for you! All the skinny fries had been covered with a generous layer of grated Cheddar, slices of fresh Green and Red Chillies and fresh Coriander, on to which the Chicken strips had been placed and drizzled with a tangy Jalapeno Mayo and BBQ sauce. As you can imagine, my taste buds were spinning with all the different flavours that oozed over them and my mind was in happiness overload! There is an option to add a pot of homemade gravy to this dish for £1 extra, but in my opinion it would’ve spoiled things; it’s each to their own though, so if this is your thing go for it!
Our lovely servers had all been checking that we were happy with our food throughout the evening, and were happy when we decided to order dessert: Salted Caramel Cheesecake with Cream for me, and Sticky Toffee Pudding with Custard for The Man, both priced at £5.95. No surprise when I tell you that the portion size was very pleasing; everything else had been generous, so no reason to suspect that pudding would be any different.
The Cheesecake was, quite simply, stunning! The biscuit base was firm but not rock-hard, which meant I wasn’t fighting to cut into it with my cutlery, and it had a lovely rich buttery indulgence to it. One of the things I really enjoy is a thick body to the Cheesecake (I love the way it clings to the inside of my mouth) and the one at The Junction was spot-on. Crowning everything was lots of toffee pieces and various caramel confections, so it was a visual feast for the eyes as well as one for the belly! There was a large jug of double cream to pour over the dessert too, which I greedily did: well you wouldn’t have expected any else from me, would you?!
Across the table from me, The Man was just about visible behind the mountain that was the rich brown slab of piping hot Sticky Toffee Pudding encased in a sunny toned lake of creamy custard. It’s not often His Nibs blows out his cheeks, but he girded his loins on this occasion in anticipation of a completion challenge!
Thankfully the pudding was quite light in texture, the richness coming from the lavish drenching of toffee sauce that topped it, so it wasn’t as heavy on the tum as others he’s had at other venues. That being said, he still had to gather all his reserves to finish the bowlful before him; it had taken some doing, but he emerged victorious.
Neither of us had any room for coffees so, after settling the bill, we rolled out of the door and waddled across the car park to the jalopy - #prayforthecarssuspension! Hot wings awarded to this lovely local venue, everyone had looked after us very nicely and the food had been yummy!
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