© Food & Drink Guide If youre batty about bangers, prepare to be spoiled. In a world of chain restaurants, bland sausages and lumpy mashed potatoes, The Big Bang is a welcome breath of fresh air. With such a wealth of local produce on his doorstep, owner Max Mason decided not to travel further than the surrounding farms and markets, instead cutting down on food miles, reducing the restaurants carbon footprint and supporting the local economy. Theres no buying in bulk from warehouses here meat is bought on a daily basis in small quantities. Over the past four years, Max has built up an excellent relationship with some of the very best butchers and farmers in the area, so you can munch away safe in the knowledge that your sausage started its life as a happy piglet, frolicking free in the fields of Oxfordshire.The Big Bang is located in the heart of Jericho (the home of the water-dwelling Gyptians of Phillip Pullmans Northern Lights series). After a stroll along the canal, my companion and I had worked up a real appetite, and were in the mood for some satisfying, no-frills food. Stepping into the restaurant, with its cool jade walls and marble-topped tables, we were greeted with smiles and seated at a table immediately. Upon perusing the menu, we were surprised at the absence of starters. Having foregone breakfast, and with an audible rumbling emanating from my stomach, I was a little concerned, but I neednt have worried the focus here is on bangers and mash, but not as we know it. For under 10 youll get two plump sausages on a generous pile of mashed potato, as well as peas, red cabbage and gravy. I opted for wild venison sausages served atop a mound of garlic and rosemary mash, which was packed with flavour without overpowering the gamey taste of the sausage. My companion, a vegetarian, had been a little hesitant about accepting my invitation to a restaurant that specialised in sausages, but she was not disappointed. She assured me, between mouthfuls, that her basil and vine tomato sausages, with deep pink rose mash and vegetable gravy, were delicious. Even I, a devoted carnivore, couldnt hide my adoration, stealing a forkful from her plate when she wasnt looking. The menu is diverse to say the least, with pork, lamb, venison, duck and beef all making an appearance. And you can match your sausage with the mash of your choice, be it mustard, spring onion or rose. In 2005, Restaurant Magazine named The Big Bangs superb Oxford sausage, served over sweet carrot and swede mash, one of their top ten dishes in Britain, and The Independent voted the restaurant the third best place in Britain to eat for under 50. The Big Bang hosts regular jazz nights in its candlelit Jazz Cellar, so you can tap your toes to music from some of the best musicians in the area, while enjoying excellent, ethical British cuisine.