Heat-blistered dishes raise the temperature at Burnt Orange in Brighton
Burnt Orange, 59 Middle Street, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1AL (01273 929923). Starters £4-£10, mains £8-£19, desserts £4-£7, wines from £22
Brown foods are the best. We know this. Brown foods are about caramelised sugars and the Maillard reaction; they’re hefty flavours, emphasised and accentuated. They conjure images of prehistoric campfires and the lick of the flame before the lick of the tongue. So much about Brighton’s Burnt Orange, which opened in June, is calculated to trigger these lustful, crisped and crispy thoughts. The name was given to a shade of orange in 1915 and is, say web sources I’ve decided to trust, designed to evoke thoughts of leaping flames.