The Next Episode in Ruddington was a really excellent find when we were meandering our way around the South Notts Villages looking for lunch.

They are serving , in their own words, ‘an assortment of New York style food’

Now ‘that’ is my kind of eating so I was going to be all over this place to check out the scoffing situation.

We popped over a couple of times for lunch to see what was occurring and I can say with no spoiler alert at all that we were pretty much delighted with what we found and what we ate

brunch & lunch menu

On our first visit I was checking out the Brunch menu which was packed out with loads of dishes that I wanted to try. I was really tempted by the ‘6oz denver steak’ which came with 2 fried eggs for £8.50 and also the ‘buttermilk waffles & maple syrup‘ for £6 especially as that last one came with smoked bacon! I was struggling to smother my inner Elvis.

In the end though I just had to stay true to form by ordering the “Full American” breakfast on the ‘brunch & lunch’ menu priced up at £9.50 was listed as being comprised of ‘2 sausages, smoked bacon, 2 fried eggs, house beans, roast tomatoes, hash brown, maple syrup‘

I always have to check out the cooked breakfast at a new place just so I can contrast and compare with everywhere else. It could also be because I really do love a classic breakfast situation at any time of the day 🙂

There really was so many great things happening on this Full American breakfast plate. I think that if you have not lived in or dined in the States you may not appreciate all the nuances of this dish and just how good some parts were.

First off the bacon was just cooked to perfect diner style, really crisp and almost ‘bendy’ I was loving it. It reminded me of mornings sat at the kitchen counter back in Chicago where I got a side of bacon with my eggs and I was picking each piece up to eat like a candy bar. It was even better when I poured some of that maple syrup over it.

The eggs were just right for me, and I loved that they were lightly seasoned with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Lovely runny yolk and soft cooked white, amen to these fried beauties.

The sausage was tasty, firm and meaty, it looked a little bit wrinkled but I really liked the flavour of them. The roasted tomatoes were of a similar vein in that they did look a bit overcooked, but actually they were spot on, roasted and grilled so that they were oozing and almost jam like. I wish more places did them like that.

The house beans were kind of smokey and had onion mixed into them, if I am honest I would have just liked some ‘heinz’ baked beans, I could have mixed in a bit of brown sauce to excite.

The only thing I wasn’t that keen on was the hash brown, but then again I always say that, so i am sure that the one served here at the last episode was perfectly acceptable. It just wasn’t my thing, give me some fried potato instead any day 🙂

Overall this is an excellent American Breakfast (well kind of 🙂 ), its not an English Breakfast so don’t get all confused if you are trying to work it out. Just order one and go with the flow, it’s all good.

plates menu at the Last Episode

On my next trip to the Next Episode for lunch I was looking at the plates section of the menu in particular at the ‘buttermilk fried chicken’. I had been tempted the previous week to get the chicken and waffles from the Brunch menu, so to be honest I was still on plan with my choices.

I was briefly tempted by the ‘pork belly‘ which was billed alongside a ‘white bean and chorizo stew,‘ but I was just thinking of fried chicken already so I parked the thought

Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Waffles and Maple Syrup

The Buttermilk Fried Chicken for £8.75 came with ‘waffle & maple syrup‘ just as one would hope and expect. I was pleased with the size of the dish and the amount of fried chicken that I as getting.

The coating on the chicken was excellent, well seasoned, crispy, crunchy and perfectly fried. The chicken underneath was moist and juicy, lovely tender thigh meat. It was all off the bone which is a great thing when you are cutting in up to mix with your waffle. I don’t mind getting a half piece of fried chicken on the bone though and I would be interested to get some fried chicken like that here at the Next Episode (who needs KFC).

BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN

The chicken gets even better when you pour that sweet maple syrup over it. I really do not know why sweet and salty tastes so good in this classic dish but when it tastes this nice I really don’t care to be given an explanation 🙂

You get plenty of waffle with this dish so you are not going to be lacking food wise. I wasn’t blown away by the waffle but hey we are not in the states so I wasn’t expecting to be. If it was me running this station I would be adding some herbs thing to my waffle mix to jazz it all up a bit, but that’s just me reminiscing of chicken and waffle plates of yore 🙂

I would certainly get this dish again at the Next Episode anyways

mac & cheese, roasted cauliflower,grana padana & crispy onion

I do love a Mac and Cheese side dish so I had ordered this to go alongside my Chicken and Waffles. In my head I was imaging that the richness and saltiness of this side would go well with the sweet syrup. the truth was that i just wanted some mac and cheese as well cos I was a bit peckish.

The Mac and Cheese dish was hidden away on the menu in the ‘salads’ section, I mean that is kind of pushing it but I will play along as in ‘yeh I just had a salad for lunch, with a bit of chicken’

Officially this was described as’mac & cheese, roasted cauliflower, grana padana & crispy onion‘ for £4 and it was really good. You were treated with mixed spoonfuls of flavour as you dug into the dish. There were moments of rich salty pasta and cheese sauce, slightly sharp hints of burnt onion sitting alongside sweet onion, and then a dry charred bits of cauliflower. Different flavours and different textures, nice work.

Fish Burger

Just for the record my dining companion checked out the fish burger -which was topped with emmental cheese, lettuce, pickle, tomato, and a dill mayo for £7.50. It was declared to be pretty tasty and as fish burgers go I thought that it looked really good as well. I liked that it was an actual burger patty made of fish as opposed to a piece of fish. So it was a burger and not a fish sandwich. It was not up in competition against a filet of fish is all that we can say

Another dish that my mate Ant tried were the Salmon Patties with dill & fennel sauerkraut, caper & dill mayonnaise for £9.95. To be honest it looked a bit small to me, well at least when I compared to my chicken and waffles, but hey I wasnt eating it so it was nothing to do with me.

Anyway they did taste good, I was worried that there were a lot of powerful flavours on that plate but apparently all was fine and it worked out ok. I had taste of the caper & dill mayonnaise and I quite liked it. It would make a good foil within a fish sandwich.

I really like the Next Episode in Ruddington, they have my sort of menu and loads that I want to try. It is a little bit American Diner and Bar food with just a little bit of an extra twist added.

Its all a bit different and so does stand out from the dining crowd around it in the village. I would most certainly be coming back to eat some more of their offerings.

Located on the main Road at 6 Wilford Road, Ruddington, NG11 6EN they are easy to find, just walk past the chippy up the small slope towards the mini supermarket and they are there

You can check them out on their website and also on their Facebook page , on their Twitter Feed and on their Instagram page too