Right off the bat, I’m sure you have many questions. What’s a Croque Madame? Why is there a shipping port in the background of this photo? Why, of all places, Felixstowe? I can assure you, all will be answered in good time. For now let’s start with the first point.
The little-known partner to the French Croque Monsieur, a Croque Madame is simply that, but with a fried egg on top (similar in appearance to a Portuguese Bitoque). It’s nowhere near as common as its other half in the UK, and yet it proudly features on View Point Cafe’s menu.
Often assembled as a grilled sandwich (although mine was in open-faced form), the croque madame’s ingredients are as humble as they are delicious: butter, ham, egg, and the Gruyère-infused béchamel that is the Mornay sauce.
Many say it’s this sauce that makes a croque madame and monsieur what they are. I would agree, but others argue it’s all in the chunky slices of toasted bread. For those who didn’t pay attention in GCSE French (or who studied Spanish like me), the literal translation of the dish’s name is “mister (or missus) crunch”. Indeed, it was this onomatopoeic word that first sprung to mind when my teeth plunged below the bubbling Mornay.
But perhaps not for all the right reasons; the corners of the toast in particular were closer to a charcoal black than a golden brown. It’s a common problem with dishes such as these, where exposure to the fierce heat of the grill for a second too long can have charring consequences, especially in areas not coated in sauce. The metallic taste of burnt toast is no one’s favourite, and thankfully I was spared here. A moment longer though, and it would have been a different story.
Such an intense heat is needed however, to achieve the bronzed blanket of cheese that is crucial to the croque madame’s look. And let’s talk more about this look. Sure, they nailed the sunny-side-up egg and generous layer of sauce, but I couldn’t help but notice the lack of garnish. No chives sprinkled as a finishing touch, no crack of black pepper… instead a sea of yellow and white stared back at me. If it wasn’t for the orange of the egg yolk, it really would have been 50 shades of beige.
Now it’s easy for a croque madame to become overwhelmingly bland; if you pick thin slices of cheap ham for example, or a flavourless cheese in place of the Gruyère. As is often the case with more straightforward dishes, the flavour lies in the quality of the ingredients.
Thankfully, View Point Cafe’s didn’t disappoint. Thick cuts of Suffolk ham paired wonderfully with the sharp Dijon mustard – the final key element of the croque madame.
Whilst my meal wasn’t much a feast for the eyes, the view certainly was. The aptly-named cafe is located right on the quayside, boasting a panoramic vista across the Orwell-Stour estuary’s calm waters, towards Harwich. Such a peaceful setting was in stark contrast to hustle-and-bustle of the shipping port, only a few hundred metres away. It’s fair to say View Point Cafe delivered dinner and a show.
Which brings me to the last of my questions: “why Felixstowe?” Well, where else can you enjoy a missus crunch, while simultaneously judging the stacking skills of a container ship crane driver?
Overall, it was primarily the croque madame’s appearance that let it down. And when priced at £7.95, a side salad would have been appreciated. When my plate was clean however, I was left singing one thing: “non, je ne regrette rien.”
Tribudishional score: 7.5/10.
©The Tribudishional Food Blog
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I loved even more than you will get done right here. The picture is nice, and your writing is stylish, but you seem to be rushing through it, and I think you should give it again soon. I’ll probably do that again and again if you protect this walk.