The Three Horseshoes Inn - Powerstock - Dorset - 7/10

It's been a while. Awfully sorry about that. I've been away and got lazy. I went to Sardinia and ate some fantastic food. If you ever get the chance you should go there and eat your way through a proper Sardinian meal. It's HUGE. Unfortunately I went away a while ago, and it wouldn't do the food justice for me to try and remember it properly, but take my word, it's good.

LUNCH:

More recently, I went to Dorset. Christmas last I got the Bear a voucher to go zorbing. If you haven't heard of it, is attaching yourself to the inside of a big plastic bubble and throwing yourself down a massive hill. The zorbing centre was just outside Dorchester so we decided to make a weekend of it and stay over in Dorset for a couple of nights. We scheduled in some excellent eating opportunities too.

We made it to the zorbing in record time on the Saturday morning and it was quite an experience. I loved every second of it! But the Bear was less impressed, and looked decidedly green after our little tumble.

We still had a good half an hour in the car before we got to the pub we were staying in, and the mix of hunger and adrenalin was starting to fray our tempers slightly. (Along with the Bear's insistence on not stopping at roundabouts!) We wound round tiny country lanes, up and down hills, for what seem like an eternity, and then finally we came to our home for the night. The Three Horseshoes Inn.

The pub is a proper old-man's pub, in a stone building, in the middle of a small village, consisting of a church, the pub, a primary school and a few houses. Perfect.

The pub has a restaurant one side, the bar the other, and a lovely stone terrace out the back, with stunning views of the rolling Dorset hills. We were shown to our room, which was a bit chintzy, but adequate, and then rushed back down to the pub for some lunch.

The lunch menu changes everyday, and is written on a blackboard opposite the bar. There are ten or so choices and we were easily decided. The bar itself, has a thatched roof above it, which is very cheery.

We decide to brave the wasps, and sit outside on the terrace. Despite it being September, the sun was out and blazing, and the view was just beautiful. We couldn't have hoped for better weather or a nicer setting.

I went for the sweet potato and goat's cheese risotto. It was beautifully presented, perfectly seasoned and sprinkled with balsamic. The Bear went for the Ham, Egg and Chips. The eggs were very fresh, and the yolk exploded with orangy goodness when speared by a chunky, crispy chip. The ham was thick cut and local.

We were so impressed by lunch, that we booked the restaurant for us and our chums for dinner.

DINNER:

After a trip to Lyme Regis, which included some fresh seafood (crab meat, whelks, prawns and cockles) and a cream tea, plus a little snooze on the beach in the September sunshine, we returned to the pub, with our chums in tow.

The sun was just setting behind the hills, so we enjoyed a local ale or two on the terrace and admired the vista. After a while it got a little chilly so we joined the rest of the pub's customers in the bar for a hearty meal.

Angela, Gareth and I went for the Scallops in a Lobster Bisque to start. It was excellent. The bisque was thick and full of flavour, and the fresh scallops melted in the mouth. The Bear had a Chicken and Spring Onion Salad with Mustard Mayo. He said it was very tasty and light. Which was good considering the epic proportions of his man course!

For mains, I went for the Fillet of Red Snapper with Crushed New Potatoes and Sun Dried Tomatoes. The fish was ever so slightly over cooked, but not so much that the dish was ruined, I just would have preferred it on the pink side. The crushed potatoes were exquisite. Sometimes you find crushed new potatoes have just been attacked by a spatula, but these were excellently flavoured with garlic and olive oil. They were really quite a treat. All in all, a pretty tasty main course.

Gareth went for the Whole Pigeon, which he said was a little dry, but very nice. Ange and The Bear went for the Whole Mallard with Orange and Ginger. It was huge!! Half the amount of duck would have been a big meal. The Bear did very well and managed to finish the whole thing (with the help of one of the pub's springer spaniels). And Ange did admirably, consuming at least two thirds.

As you can imagine, we were all pretty full, so we gave the puds a miss. Although they were very tempting, with everything on offer, from Star Anise Creme Brulee, Poached Pears, Sticky Toffee Pudding etc.

After a big meal, plenty of booze (including three after dinner brandies), it was very nice to be able to toddle up the stairs to bed. Albeit a chintzy one. The only slight niggle was the church bells going off every fifteen minutes throughout the night. I'm sure that didn't help the Bear with his digestion!

The whole lot, from the first pint on the terrace, to the last brandy, came to £147 without service. What a bloody bargain. The service was friendly and the food of a high standard. If they can stop the church bells, then I'll definitely be back.