Culver Haven

We took the other day to have lunch at one of my favorite places on the island, Culver Haven. The pub sits a top Culver Down, a wind swept barren peak that overlooks Sandown to one side, and Bembridge to the other. Outside of the pub, the only other "residents" of the down include a few holiday chalets, some old WWII artillery pads, and sheep. On a nice day, it is a fabulous place to grab a good meal and a great view.

Historically, I've always looked forward to two things at Culver: Pork Medallions in a peppercorn sauce and Badger beer. On this day, they had neither. The pork was off the menu and as of a year ago, Badger stopped providing their beer to off-licenses. An off-license is a pub not tied into a brewery. They often (when allowed it seems) have beers from several different breweries. A licensed pub, is tied directly into a particular brewery.

No worries, I had a pint of Yates Undercliff Experience instead. Which, might be one of the last. If I remember right, the Yates brewery (which is on the island), has gone out of business. Bummer.

We were lucky to have Zoe's college friend, Jenny, join us. Jenny is always a trip, and hasn't changed much since her visit stateside two years ago.

For lunch, Jenny had the bacon, brie, and cranberry baguette (yum!), Zoe had the seafood pie, and I had a lamb shank. The shank was great. In fact, anytime I can order a shank of anything for a meal, I am bound to be pleased.

We arrived shortly before lunch, so I found it neat to watch the lunch crowd saunter in after us. I watched seniors, vacationeers, and a few owners with dogs come in to grab their mid-day meal. After a long walk up the down, Culver Haven lives up to its name as a destination.

After our meal, we stopped at the ice cream stand where both girls grabbed a Mr. Whippy with a flake bar, or as I call it: soft serve ice cream with a candy bar lodged in it. Not for me, but they were certainly jazzed about it. Culver Haven has been checked off my list for this trip, and I'm pleased. Now off to our next destination...