XO to GO
Above: XO To Go makes staying in a delicious option
When is a cod not a cod? When it’s a black cod, which is not really a cod at all, it is Anoplopoma fimbria, also known as sablefish. It is not even endangered, despite the number of Nobus proliferating around the world, and it has lots of omega-3, so it is altogether a Good Thing. You can even buy it in Marks & Spencer these days: ‘This is not just black cod, this is diver-caught, sun-dried, rope-grown, free-range...’ etc.
There is hardly a pan-Asian restaurant which doesn’t copy Nobu Matsuhisa’s famous black cod with sweet miso, and those owned by Will Ricker – including E&O on Blenheim Crescent – are no exception. The fish is steeped in a mixture of saki, mirin, miso paste and sugar, then grilled until brown and baked until cooked.
Fitting somewhere between M&S and E&O is Ricker’s new delivery service, XO To Go, which will deliver you a sizeable chunk of ready-marinated I Can’t Believe It’s Not Cod to bung in your own oven. The concept of XO To Go is to deliver food cold, to be heated in the microwave, steamer or oven at home. The terminally indolent might prefer the sushi, which requires no effort other than the languid waving of chopsticks.
Not that the work is onerous. Even handicapped by my Luddite aversion to microwaves, I managed to heat up dinner for four without any trouble, although I created more washing-up than was strictly necessary: ‘pan-Asian’ should not be taken so literally, and I will admit to wishing I had a new-fangled heating device.
The sushi and sashimi is top-notch: maki rolls bursting with red pepper and fresh rocket, liberal sprinklings of tobiko (flying fish roe) on the salmon rolls and a pleasant, freshly cooked texture to the rice. Tuna and salmon sashimi were impeccable, as were Californian crab and avocado rolls, although that is the extent of the menu’s fishy choices.
Apart from the black cod, that is, which emerged after 10 minutes in the oven to general acclaim: cheating dinner party hosts, take note. Thai red duck curry was a little tame in flavour but featured decent chunks of duck; the Thai beef salad was properly pungent, with top-quality meat; and even the ginger cheesecake was a cut above the normal. They also deliver wine, beer, champagne, smoothies and health drinks – into which category a half-litre of sake does not, I suppose, fit, but it was jolly good.
Prices are not high for the quality of the food: it is certainly much cheaper than going to E&O. Lazy nights in just got better.
XO to Go, dinner for two, with wine, around £45