Antiquing on a Saturday

The nice folks over at Puritan Values sent me tickets to an antique fair in London where they were exhibiting this weekend, so we did something we rarely do anymore - left the dog at home and headed into Central London on a Saturday. There were some very nice pieces at the fair, although most were out of our price range, so we only spent about an hour there. Since we had already left the dog on her own, we thought we might as well make the most of the rest of the afternoon, and headed to Ransome's Dock for a late lunch.

I noticed while perusing the menu that their 'champagne by the glass' has been updated in the New Year. When I was there last month, they were serving Henriot. This month, they're serving Billecart-Salmon's Brut Reserve by the glass, something that was most tempting to order. But, my husband went one better - instead ordering for us a half-bottle of Billecart-Salmon's Brut Rose.

This is one of my favourite champagnes. A lot of rose champagnes can be either sweet or insipid. This one is extremely dry, incredibly fruity, and has a long, smooth finish. The bubbles also don't disappoint - with a fine but voluminous stream of bubbles that lasts from the first sip to the last drops of the bottle. It went equally as well with my husband's cesaer salad as it did with my usual order of eggs benedict.

While we always like to try new things, this is a champagne that I can drink over and over again - and one that you should try if you haven't before!