As it stands, Sundays are special - so anything you do on this day has to feel worthwhile or you'll just end up resentful.
Hence the Sunday pub lunch, which comes round once a week like a little Christmas dinner - especially if you involve roast potatoes and a glass of sherry. I like to imagine in the event of a nuclear holocaust, three things would survive: cockroaches, scorpions and pub lunches.
And so, the Sunday afternoon before last, we wound our way over the Lancashire moors to Helmshore, a pretty little dip in the Rossendale valley.
Because of its proximity to the M66 and M60, as well as nearby towns of Haslingdon and Rawtenstall, Helmshore has become a popular spot for commuters to buy homes - and the village has grown from a quiet backwater into a thriving community, full of picturesque walks and cask ale pubs.
The Holden Vale Hotel sits at a bend in Holcombe Road, one of the main roads through Helmshore - perilous in lower places with its double parking - but opening out on either side into farmland and a gentle rise up to the road connecting to the motorway.
Sleigh Restaurant is within the hotel, and popular with locals as well as visitors keen to enjoy its countryside setting.
Pebble-covered charger plates sit strikingly on white table linen and, while the yellow flower on our table was browning slightly, we had wonderful views of the uncut flora outside, basking in one of the first sunny days this summer.
As for the menu's aptness, dishes are seasonal and British in theme, with as much homemade as possible. The chefs smoke their own salmon and hams, and also produce their own black puddings, shortbread and ice cream.
Skillfully cooked
The three-course Sunday menu, at just £13.95, is great value for the standard of food, which is thoughtfully sourced, skilfully cooked and creatively presented. Sleigh offers an extensive a la carte menu throughout the rest of the week, but Sunday is the lunch menu only - not that that's too restrictive, even as a fussy meat-eater and sausage-obsessed veggie we found plenty to tempt us.
After a 'perfect shandy' for my handsome, but hungover, (blame wedding season) dining companion, we began with a leek and potato soup and a ham hock & foie gras terrine.
The terrine was packed with chunks of ham around a meltingly smooth foie gras centre, served with homemade piccalilli and a friendly onslaught of bread rolls. The garnish of balsamic-drizzled leaves was perhaps unnecessary, but starters get away with more than other courses due to their arriving when you're at your most hungry - so I raised a vaguely critical eyebrow and shifted the lot.
Handsome's soup was smooth, rather than chunky, which helped to keep the temperature consistent (no lava rock potato chunks to suddenly contend with) and seasoned to peppery perfection.
Traditional mains were on offer, such as roast beef dinner and roast (Goosnargh) chicken, but I decided to go for something more unusual: duo of salmon and sea bass, fricassee of samphire and wild mushrooms with caviar butter sauce.
Yorkshire pudding
However, I must admit as a pensioner at a nearby table later grappled with a square foot of Yorkshire pudding, I could barely contain my plate envy.
The fish dish was good, though - the fish perhaps slightly overcooked, but nicely portioned, crisply pan-fried, and served up on an over-generous amount of samphire, a seaweedy vegetable that grows mainly on tidal marshes and has a salty, aniseed freshness and the firm, succulent texture of asparagus. It's in season, so grab it when you can - it's lovely with most seafood. The caviar in the butter sauce looked pretty, and finely-chopped tomatoes added sweetness.
Mushroom stroganoff for Handsome - who tucked in with the hunger of a veggie who enjoys the most meat-like veg and fungi.
The creamy rice was spot on, the 'shrooms varied, and his involvement was only interrupted by a mad mix of music overhead: opera (which he quite liked), followed by Cliff Richard's Summer Holiday (which he chair-danced to), followed by the Beautiful South (whom he wanted to kill).
When it came to choosing dessert, Handsome decided that as it was a fixed-price set menu, he would take his home and enjoy it later. However, we were informed that the restaurant operated a policy whereby no food was to be taken off the premises.
This seemed odd as it wasn't seafood - or even meat - we wanted to take away (and even then a signed disclaimer usually does the trick), but a piece of lemon tart. It seems a bit mean-spirited, especially when lots of older folks I know like to take home the remains of their Sunday lunch and have it on a sandwich as a snack later in the evening, watching the telly. Plus, we were paying for three courses.
Luckily, Handsome wasn't too disappointed, and I allowed him to sample my vanilla pannacotta, wobbly under real vanilla seeds, and plated up with sharp fresh fruits and a dollop of blackcurrant compote. A refreshing end to a British staple.
Sleigh Restaurant, Holden Vale Hotel & Conference Centre, Holcombe Road, Helmshore, Rossendale. (01706 222 500). Opening hours Mon-Sat Noon-2pm & 7pm-9pm; Sun Noon-8pm.
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