i-eat-t, at 2 Gladstone Street, Acomb, York (From York Press)

i-eat-t, at 2 Gladstone Street, Acomb, York

8:39am Saturday 18th October 2008

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IT FELT more like an experiment than a treat when we decided to order from Acomb’s i-eat-t take away.

With a promise of “restaurant food at homely prices”, we poured over the website menu with rumbling stomachs.

As we couldn’t find any starters we went straight for the mains and there was a good choice ranging from £4.75 to £9.50. Dishes included seafood risotto, Bombay lamb chops, minced beef with Yorkshire puddings, and bangers and mash.

All meals take up to 40minutes to cook so I rang early that day with our order for four.

As we live on the other side of town and had guests for tea, I was hoping our food would be delivered, but was asked to collect it.

With the bill just topping £30 I had also expected to be able to pay by card, or cheque, but again the friendly voice on the line asked if I wouldn’t mind taking cash.

I didn’t mind because he was so polite, but it meant scrabbling round for change followed by a nine-mile round trip from door to door. With the clock ticking and our food potentially cooling, I spent several frustrating minutes navigating the residential streets to get as close as possible to the take away. I went equipped with an insulated bag to keep the food warm, and it smelled delicious all the way home.

Gary had put the oven on to warm the dishes but they were still hot on arrival.

We had a quick debate on how to present our friend Kerry’s steamed chicken and mushroom pudding which came in a silver foil bowl. Hungrily, we simply turned it on its head and tipped it out.

The potato and sun-dried tomato pastry lid ended up on the bottom, covered in a heap of poached chicken and mushrooms.

Despite the haphazard presentation, Kerry said the flavours were delicious. There was a generous helping of chicken which flaked away at the lightest prod of a fork. The meat was beautifully succulent with plenty of creamy sauce to dip into while the lid was thick and heavy, with a pleasant but subtle tomato taste. Kerry enjoyed her meal but was disappointed there were no vegetables. Wayne, however, had an abundance of food with his mixed grill, and happily shared his roast potatoes.

The mixed grill came with two slices of black pudding which Wayne said were tasty and nicely seasoned, if a little dry. The sausage was solid and very meaty, but the skin could have been crispier, while the lamb had a subtle flavour on the first bite with a stronger aftertaste. Wayne declared the gammon perfectly cooked, without being too salty or chewy. The steak was well seasoned, with a strong flavour. It was well done, although Wayne would have preferred it medium cooked which wasn’t suggested as an option when I ordered.

Overall, the quality of the meat was very good, and there was little fat left afterwards.

The mixed grill came with a rich, slightly sweet, roast beef-style gravy along with peas, half a grilled tomato seasoned with crushed black pepper, and mushrooms.

I had the beef casserole with two large, strongly-flavoured horseradish dumplings which came in a rectangular, silver foil terrine with a card lid which kept it warm.

There was plenty of meat which was tender and flaky in a rich homemade sauce with lots of vegetables including peas, beans, carrots, baby sweet corn, cauliflower and boiled potato. It was a hearty meal, full of flavour and perfect for a cold evening.

Gary chose the ox liver and bacon Lyonnaise which came in a rich gravy, most of which was lost in transit as the dish must have been slightly tilted in the bag, causing the contents to spill.

We were just relieved it didn’t seep into our treacle sponge pudding.

Gary was impressed by the portion size, with large pieces of deliciously succulent liver which had a strong flavour – potentially the strongest he had tasted – and large chunks of bacon which nicely offset the liver.

There was a topping of thin, crispy slices of roast potato.

We were all full after our hearty fare but had greedily ordered two desserts to share.

That day’s choice was limited to a treacle sponge with custard. We would have preferred lighter options but went for it all the same.

It came in a polystyrene carton akin to take-away burger containers, and was wrapped in cling film to trap the heat.

Although it is probably a practical solution, the pudding lost some of its appeal in such unattractive packaging. However, the sponge was quite light, with a generous treacle topping and lots of thick custard. Clearing up was easy – plates in the dishwasher, bags in the bin, and plenty of time to relax with a glass of wine on the sofa.

Would I try it again? Probably not, because of the time taken to get there and back, but I would recommend it to friends on that side of town if they fancied a lazy night in with warming fare at reasonable prices.

i-eat-t, at 2 Gladstone Street, Acomb, York. Tel: 01904 785941

Nadia visited on Tuesday, October 14, 2008

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