Dinner at Restaurant Barbeque 13

Dinner on Saturday Evening was at a real gem of a restaurant, one only recently opened here in Exmouth. But before the details of that a little reflection on Saturday Evening Mass.

Mass at Holy Ghost Church, Exmouth 

The walk from our accommodation to the Catholic Church in Exmouth was only .6 of a mile, a very easy walk, downhill all the way.

The Church is unusual for a Catholic Church, being much older than many of the ones I know in this country, with a traditional style. A start was made on the church in 1912 and it was expanded over time. 

I guess my experience, limited to the South Wales coast, is that Catholic Churches were either built grand and tall in the 1880s (with large number of Irish immigrants arriving), like St. Jospeh's, Swansea, St. Joseph's, Port Talbot and St. Peter's and St. Albans, Cardiff or were built in a much more modern style in the 1950s and 1960s - St. Teilo's, St. Brigid's and Christ the King, all within four miles of my home being examples of this. So small traditional churches aren't part of my experience - making this one seem so striking. 

The Church also has more stained glass than many Catholic Churches. Extending from older simpler pieces, to some very modern ones.

St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, above, being an example of modern ones - all the photos can be seen on my Flickr account from here onwards.

The Church was quiet and prayerful, the large seating and standing area which you enter when you first come through the doors means most conversations take place there, making the Church a place of recollection and prayer - which suits me fine. Time to place myself before the Lord before Mass starts is so important for me. Something I find harder to manage now we have Morning Prayer recited before Mass in the parish I attend. 

The Mass began with one of the automated organs leading the hymn. As often happens the music was running a breath or two ahead of the congregation - but even if not all the words were sung, the intention and the theme was clear. 

The priest, Fr. Philip Austen is a very quietly spoken man, but even though he was quiet it was possible to hear every word he said. His homily focussed on the theme of Grandparents and Elderly, this Sunday being the second time Pope Francis has set aside a day of prayer for such folk. The priest began by saying he counts himself in this latter category of elderly and suspected that 80% or the congregation could too. You can read the whole piece here - Message of His Holiness Pope Francis. For the Second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. Like all Vatican documents in English there are some American spellings and turns of phrase in the message. 

Fr. Philip only took elements from the letter, reminding everyone, that whatever age or health they are they can "still bear fruit" Psalm 92 - a very positive message for us all and one which reminds me that God can and will use me in ways which will surprise me yet - but like C. S. Lewis I am always ready to be 'Surprised by Joy' and joy is what my love of the Lord always gives me. 

Dinner

After Mass I went back to the house and we left at 6.30pm to walk back into the town centre where Barbeque 13 is located. 

We had booked the restaurant early last week, when it became clear how dinner would fit around Mass time. We were glad we had booked because the restaurant was full. 

The space is over two floors, but the upper floor includes the barbeque and the pass, so it was nice to be able to see everything that was going on with our food.

We began with an appetiser of Chapa bread with smoked paprika butter. This bread cooked over coals had a lovely crispy texture enhanced by the bite of paprika through the butter which had melted into the bread. A great start.

For starters I opted for Cockle and Mussel Arancini with mussel butter, saffron aioli. This was so, so tasty. Well sized arancini were filled with cockle and mussel flesh and the saffron alioli lifted the gentle garlic flavour to new heights. I've been heard to suggest that saffron is an expensive way to add colour to food - I take it back, its flavour profile with this dish was perfection. 

Drew had scallops and black pudding in chicken butter sauce with roe on top. The roe was delightfully salty and brought out the flavour of the scallops and were enhanced by the butter sauce. The succulent scallops were carbonised, but very lightly and rested on the freshly cooked black pudding. An excellent starter.  

For main Drew had Cod Steak, tartare sauce and scraps. The Cod was cooked amazingly. It had a light crispiness to the skin and the flesh itself was translucent and succulent. The tartare sauce was not overpowering but combined with the fish perfectly. The scraps provided an addition texture to the dish and completed it to make a whole dish. 

I spent a long time looking at the amazingly attractive menu. I could have had Sea Bass or Sea Bream, both fishes I really like. But in the end I opted for the Thai Monkfish Tail. Oh was I glad I did. I love Monkfish and eat it, either filet or tail, when in Spain often. I like it so much that I quickly learnt the Spanish name La Rape. It is strong well flavoured fish and the magicians who work over the coals of the barbeque here made it even better. Not only did it have its own distinctive flavour, but it had a carbonated, charred flavour I associate with barbequed meat. How the chef(s) managed to get this deep charcoal flavour into the fish without losing anything of its original deliciousness I cannot comprehend. Amazing. The monkfish tail was served by crisp Malaysian cucumber salad with a Malay style spicy sauce and a papad, known in other cultures as a poppadom.

Drew had Truffle and parmesan chips for his side - they were deliciously salty and still warm inside, excellent. 

I opted for a warm potato salad with dill and seaweed which was also tasty but couldn't distract from the fish. 

We shared a side of tenderstem broccoli which had a nuttiness from the almond butter and a spiciness from the chilli that was with it.  

The mains were the stars of the meal, but the sides were excellent too.

For dessert Drew had the Smoked Chocolate Torte with white chocolate soil and Tonka Bean Ice Cream. The chocolate torte had a thin, almost unnoticeable biscuit base, but the chocolate itself was gooey and sparkling, with a bitter after taste evidencing that this wasn't British low cocoa bean chocolate, but a rich continental style - lovely. 

I had a lovely board of local Cheese and Crackers, regular readers of my blogs will know I don't like sweet stuff with my cheese, and though the menu mentioned figs and jam, they were happy to serve me the dish with just the cheese and some biscuits. The cheeses were all served at room temperature (so often they are left to long in the fridge) and included a brie style with a nice bite, a sharp cheddar style cheese, a milder smoked cheese. 

It was all washed down with a pleasant espresso each.

I was very happy indeed at such an unexpectedly wonderful meal. You can see how good it was from the food medals that have hit my shirt during the meal. 😂

Heading back to the accommodation

We left Barbeque 13 at 8.40pm and walked through the Strand and took some photos of the model dinosaurs on display there, marking Exmouth's role as the start of the Jurassic Coast. 

Drew had spotted them earlier, but there were to many people about for him to photograph them then. He especially liked the sign:

It seems to be a message for the ages!!

We got back to The Sand House at 9pm and sat drank tea and caught up with things at the end of a very enjoyable day.