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,c::::*k.**41■1:241-1•. k■-• NOW that nouvelle cuisine is not quite so nouvelle any more, state-of-the-art food faddists — those self-styled arbiters of taste — are having to look around for fresh titilation. And what this year's well- dressed fashion plate will be wearing, is Spanish food. We're not talking paella and chips here: we're talking the New Spanish Cooking. Watch closely every style council — the colour supplement and glossy maga- zine — in the next few months. The restaurants may be a bit slower to catch up, but it'll come. Two years ago, there was barely a publication that didn't run at least one article on regional cookery. A year afterwards, an elegant restaurant opened in Soho, its special attraction a monthly changing regional menu.
La Bastide (50 Greek Street, Wl, 01 734 3300) has been going for 13 months and its efforts to produce 'cuisine honnete' have met with success, and some stirring super- latives. By eschewing the oak-beam and gingham-tablecloth approach in favour of muted colours and plush drapes, it scores highly with the fashion conscious. So high- ly, in fact, that Nicholas Blacklock, the owner, is in the process of establishing an association that will set up wine tastings and gastronomic trips for interested cus- tomers.
I went on the last day of their Normandy menu: £13.90 for three courses, £15.80 for four; no gastronomic sensations, but a collection of, mainly, old favourites. To start with, there was a thick mussel soup, a less tempting salade Normande of apples, shellfish and cheese, or a piping-hot and comforting leek and potato compote. Then, for those up to the four-course option, tripe in a cream sauce or pate chaude de sole Fecampoise — a pastry- wrapped hot pâté of sole with oysters. I felt I could perhaps have done better with the main course, a dish of brill with shrimps and mussels in a cream sauce which was rather bland. Otherwise there was a veal chop with baby onions and calvados or saddle of hare baked with cream. As one might expect, there was a tarte aux pommes to finish with, though disappointingly the pastry was not as crisp as it should have been. This month their regional menu comes from the Loire and you can expect plenty of game, a local fish, sandre, a cross between pike and perch, pork with prunes and on old-fashioned rabbit soup which I should very much like to try. Their a la carte menu is an altogether less homely affair, and the prices steeper- The preparation of the food itself is not wildly fanciful, but the descriptions are given with a great deal more pomp. As in so many restaurants, their starters are their real triumph: the sweet-smelling, coral- coloured shrimp bisque was perfection; and it would be hard to beat the frogs legs, which are sautéed then covered in a sauce made of the pan juices deglazed with cinzano, duxelles, thyme, chervil, tarra- gon, cream and chicken stock, then put in what they call a 'toast box'.
The main courses were slightly dis- appointing — not bad by any means, but in quite another class from the starters. But the balance between creativity and com- mon sense is ably maintained: breast of duck roasted with preserved lemon and a walnut sauce; veal 'in a waistcoat' of chicken, cream and rosemary; kidneys sautéed with shallots and calvados. I was drawn to the saddle of young hare 'with unusual spices'. And I have to say the finished product did taste unusual, though I can't make up my mind if I liked it. The pudding menu puts things back on to the level of the first courses: the truffle au chocolat, gratinee de fruits de saisons and souffle glace (though more of a moussy slab than soufflé) a l'armagnac all pro- duced a rapturous response. They were having trouble with their cheeses the night I went, but normally (and do ask) they come from Philippe Olivier. A generous wine list allows you to drink well from about £7 (our '82 Bergerac for £7.40 was light but distinctive) and better for more: I rather hankered after the '76 Aloxe- Corton at £17.50.
For me, the most praiseworthy innova- tion is not the regional menu but the Soho menu, an 11-strong list from which you might choose onion soup for £2.50, moules mariniere (£3.20), boudin noir with apple fritters (£3.90), or boned quails roasted in vine leaves (£7.20). There is no minimum charge and the menu is available at lunch and dinner. The atmosphere can seem inhibitingly subdued, though intentions can only be honourable in a restaurant where you are encouraged to eat well from as little as £5.
Nigella Lawson
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