Charlbury Ramble

I'm sorry, did someone mention a late summer walk?

Now would said walk happen to include 1/2 of a 3 course meal at a phenomenal gastro-pub, The White Horse in Stonesfield?

Oh yes, yes it does.

Menu: White Onion and Rosemary Soup (some sort of strained buttery soupy glory, complete with fresh bread)
               Steak and Kidney Pie (come on England!)

               Baileys & Chocolate Cheesecake

Throw in a couple Crabbies (alcoholic ginger, yes please!), and a cider and you have the makings...of a very difficult next couple of miles of walking.

This particular walk might also feature a quirky fun bookstore (complete with cat), preserved Roman villa (mosaics included!!), the sheer childish delight of freaking out the local poultry (grouse beware), and a phenomenal local pub (the Rose and Crown in Charlbury) at the end of it featuring not one, not two, not three...but six local ales of all kinds of varieties. Friendly local dog also a bonus. They also allowed us to eat our own food (we knew this their copy of"Best Pubs in Britain" guide, in which they were featured, told us so) which was an absolute win.

Ah late summer. Is there anything better?

[googlemaps https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=51.874027,-1.484613&spn=0.011473,0.024891&t=h&msid=115349659951895966320.00048f4557773a015a7c9&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

Rambles: Stanton St. Johns/The TalkHouse

What to do to celebrate the first truly hot day in Oxford? Why, take a 10 mile hike of course! With crystal blue skies, we headed out of Oxford and up through Headington to the small village of Stanton St. John's, known for its...well, its....well, for the fact that it's a small cute town within walking distance of Oxford. It has a Norman Church. It has pretty thatched roofs. It has two pubs. Next door to one another. Need I say more?
The one we chose was the TalkHouse which according to its website had been recently redone and was now serving the gastro-pub crowd.
Indeed.
The customers looked mostly local to us but the service was friendly and the food good. They offered an extensive menu of all standard pub favorites but they sold me on the various nibbles and "country board" options. Put any variety of snacks/tapas on a wooden plank and I'm happy. Don't make me choose one main meal, I'd rather have about 10 different appetizers any day. We invested in the parma ham, bread basket, calamari, and "veggie" country board. All of which was good except for the calamari which seemed to resemble nothing so much as very thin very pointless onion rings. There was barely a hint of squid to be seen. Not that I would complain against anything battered and deep fried (see previous posts), but I at least wanted a hint of the delicious squid in there somewhere.
Beers on offer were fairly standard, I went my usual route of a Bulmers Pear, always delicious, particularly on a hot late spring day.
Dessert was an off-season sticky toffee pudding. Not the right choice for an 80 degree day but delicious nonetheless, served with vanilla bean ice cream and some sort of pistachio wafer.

The pub itself is rustic gastro, with exposed beams and amusing old brass spigots hanging from the walls. The place inside is cavernous but there is a lovely garden patio which is perfect for spring and summer lunching.

The walk from the middle of Oxford should take about an hour and a half, depending on speed. You have to walk through a bit of town and negotiate the bypass to get through to the lovely Oxford countryside.

[googlemaps https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=51.750201,-1.242443&spn=0.010003,0.016522&t=h&msid=115349659951895966320.0004875443fc4f1721db9&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

Wychwood Brewery

Not technically in Oxford, but still ridiculously easy to access by a 20min. bus ride from the town center.
And oh, the joy that awaits you.

The Fishes: 3 for the Set

You'll never be able to say that Oxford suffers from lack of piscologist-themed food venues.
Behold, my latest excursion into the world of upscale pubbery: The Fishes.
As they say right up front on their website, the "heart of gastropubbery in Oxford"
Oh, the elusive and beguiling concept of the gastropub.
Not quite a pub. Actually, nothing resembling a pub.
Welcome to the subtle variations that are your dining/drinking options in the UK. Instead of the "traditional" pub food that has characterized and frightened many a US tourist in years past, the gastropub prides itself on not only a hearty alcohol list (and no one will turn their nose up at you for ordering wine here), but also inventive and remastered dishes. Some gastropubs try to keep at least some English flavor to their menus, featuring things like black pudding mashed potatoes. Others, like the Fishes, conform mightly to the concept of continental bistro cuisine.
Large starter options have been reclassified as cute little one-item bites, affordably priced at 1.75. Which sounds reasonable until your order of crudites arrived and you realize you've paid the equivalent of almost 3 dollars for sliced raw carrots and celery. Not even a friendly dip comes alongside. Dips are priced individually as well, so you'll have to pay an additional 1.75 if you have any hope of turning your poor carrot slices into something that doesn't resemble what your mom packed you for lunch during high school.
Things like a "Vegetable Muffin" pop up on the menu, sounding ridiculously pretentious. Served with warm gazpacho (which I believe misses the whole point) and a "bed" of spinach leaves, it's one of those things that surprisingly comes exactly as described. Indeed: a muffin made of vegetables.