THIRTY OR SO years ago, eating out in Cambridge was
seldom an enjoyable expe- rience for an undergraduate. A few Indian and Chinese restaurants offered dirty table- cloths and cheap food — welcome enough at around 11 o'clock at night after an inad- equate dinner in hall, which for a first-year student was finished by 7 o'clock — but these were early, and not very sophisticat- ed, days for ethnic cooking.
Several pubs outside Cambridge — the Ancient Shepherd, the Plough at Fen Dit- ton, the New Inn at St Neots.— had rea- sonable food; except for an occasional blow-out, however, they were priced rather beyond the reach of most undergraduates. But the Tickell Arms at Whittlesford was always good value, if only for the pleasure of listening to its famous pansy proprietor, Kim de la Taste Tickell, shouting across the bar at one of his young blond German wait- ers, 'Manfred, you idiot boy, I said two more grouse pies.'
In the centre of Cambridge, in the early 1960s, the choice of restaurants which were not also pubs was pretty limited. The Varsi- ty in St Andrew's Street was one familiar haunt, though its appeal had more to do with the poker game which sometimes took place after dinner, in a back room with the Greek Cypriot family who ran -the restau- rant, than with the almost mandatory moussaka, peas and chips that was served up first. Most memorable was The Whim in Trinity Street, now sadly gone, which offered a delicious tea of poached eggs on toast with grilled tomatoes and bacon.
Occasional visits to Oxford in those years left the impression that the food there was rather better; but I am prepared to admit that a few romantic dinners with Joanna Townshend at The Elizabeth (still in busi- ness opposite Christ Church meadows) may have clouded my gastronomic judgment.
These days I go very rarely to Oxford or Cambridge, but in both university towns there is a restaurant called Browns. (Oxford now also has about 25 Indian, Chi- nese, Thai and Italian restaurants where you can eat for £8-15 a head.) Browns in Oxford is a large brasserie which can seat about 250, with plenty of wood and brass, and bowls of greenery hanging from the ceilings. Its listing as an American restau- rant, suggesting Tex-Mex horrors, is mis- leading and can safely be ignored. I would describe the food, and the ambience, as eclectic; it seemed a good place to take three impoverished students for lunch.
Sitting on a sofa in the bar near the entrance, we started unpromisingly with bottles of Adnams Broadside (the excellent Suffolk ale) which were taken from a fridge. It was a distressing example of the lager mentality, though I seemed to be the only one to notice or mind about the beer's temperature. Conversation ranged from economic theory to the forthcoming exams, but when someone mentioned the universi- ty's Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Society I thought it was time to concentrate on food.
We started with a very tasty hot chicken liver and bacon salad, a bowl of thick veg- etable soup, plus baskets of garlic bread and olive bread spread with sun-dried tomatoes (a trendy recent introduction at Browns). Dishes of the day, advertised on several blackboards around the room, included lemon sole with champagne sauce and chicken with cashew nuts, but the gen- eral vote was for something more sustain- ing. A generous fisherman's pie was well filled with white fish and mussels in a rich sauce, and the steaks — one sirloin, one lamb — were judged to be tender and cooked as requested. Even the vegetarian `peasants' pot' was a substantial dish brim- ming with stewed peppers and pulses. The chips, though not (rites, gained good marks for being both crispy and soft inside, and salads were brought with a variety of dress- ings. The puddings on offer included hot fudge brownie and banana cream pie, but most of us went for pancakes.
With espresso coffee and two bottles of a good peppery Cotes du RhOne, the bill for four came to £79, which was generally thought to be terrific value. There was talk of meeting up that evening at the Mongo- lian Wok, but, having eaten quite well enough for one day, I decided to dine with Duke Humphrey.
Browns, 5 Woodstock Road, Oxford; tel: 0865 511995
Simon Courtauld
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