Andy Lynes

Will Ricker, owner of e&o in Notting Hill has opened up Eight Over Eight (meaning "lucky forever" according to a Chinese proverb) in the Kings Road. He has roped in former I-Thai chef Neil Whitney to dish up a mix of South East Asia cuisine, emphasis on Shanghai it says here ("here" being the Network London PR bumph). Dim sum will also be a feature. The menu is reporoduced here for your delectation. Interior is by Chris Connell with walls of half pale lime-washed oak and half dark rich oak. Booths and chairs are dark brown leather, silk lamps and bamboo abound.

Rosie, any take on what on earth they meant by "Seized" Cod on the menu? Its not a term I've come across before? Bapi, thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed report, its appreciated.

With friends like you.....

Sunday - With steely nerves, iron stomach and a razor-like wit, he travels the world and eats whatever he finds in it. No, not me, but the one and only Anthony Bourdain. I didn't get the chance to meet him (he was in Spain at the time I believe) but did finally have the opportunity to watch an episode of "A Cooks Tour". Bourdian somehow manages to front the show, be consistently funny and still make it all about the food and the location. Someday all food TV will be made this way. Why the sight of Bourdain eating rotten fish, popping the eyes out of fish heads and discussing the supposed merits of chicken bile with Jerry Hopkins didn't put me off my breakfast I don't know, but I was more than ready for the huge plate of Huevos Rancheros at the Mexican diner close to my host's home. This version, which I took to be an authentic one, included eggs, re-fried beans, Mexican sausage and rice. I agreed with Jason when he nominated it as his favorite egg dish. We of course couldn't leave without trying a genuine taco. Two soft tortillas, some salty aged beef, a little sauce, cilantro and that was about it. Excellent. Two shopping trips followed: the first around the local Indian & Latin food stores to stock up on various chili sauces and fine drinking chocolate, then on to the mall to purchase gifts for the family. It was all that stood between a late breakfast and an early dinner at Roberto's near to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. But first a light snack. Being a Sunday, many of the food shops were closed but thankfully not the Madonia Bakery. You may be under the impression that a visit to New York would not be complete without a trip up the Empire State building, or a journey out to Liberty Island. Wrong. You're on the top of a tall building. What can you see? The tops of other, slightly less tall buildings. You're on an island, oh look, there’s a big green statue, and it’s not as big as you thought it would be. The End. If you really want to be impressed, my advice would be to get yourself down to Arthur Avenue and revel in the sight of your cannoli being filled to order at Madonia Brothers. It’s just a crisp pastry tube filled with a mascarpone cheese mixture. Well, that’s all they're going to tell you there is to it. In fact, it's closer to a religious experience. Despite popular belief, God didn't rest totally on the seventh day. Before a light nap, he found a few moments to jot down the recipe for cannoli and passed it on to the ancient ancestors of the Madonia family. There are some wonderful photos of Arthur Avenue in full swing on this thread including the hallowed cannoli. My last New York supper at Roberto's was yet another revelation to me, this time of how good honest Italian cooking can be. The room is very rustic, farmhouse in style, as is the food. Portions are enormous. A delicious starter of sausage, broccoli rabe and beans would have fed a family of 4 for about a week. Equally the pasta with vegetables cooked in Cartoccio, a variation of the restaurants signature seafood dish, was more than generous in both quantity and flavour. Roberto's also supplied the best bread and coffee of my entire visit by a very long way. Then it was only airline food to look forward to. Luckily I had a pound of Madonia's finest biscotti to see me through the long trip home.

A chip off the old block.

Trust me, you don't!

What a compliment, I don't know what to say etc etc.

Cotswold House Hotel in Chipping Campden is home to chef Simon Hulstone ("ginger chef" as he is known on these boards). As you may know, Simon is this years Roux Scholar and is soon off to spend 3 months in the kitchens at 3 Michelin star Martin Berasategui in Spain. I took the opportunity whilst on business in the area to visit the hotel and try Simon's food before his trip. The village of Chipping Campden is quite lovely, in a picture postcard, sandstone kind of way and very typical of the Cotswolds. The Hotel has a commanding position in the centre of the hight street and is set in beautiful gardens, which the main restaurant overlooks. Rooms in the hotel have been refurbished to a very high standard in a contemporary style and provide a nice contrast to the Regency exterior. Beds are huge, the TVs have built in DVD players and you can make your own filter coffee with fresh milk. You can find more details here. Most important for me however was how well the restaurant performed. The dining room is due to be refurbished in January of next year I believe in a manner more in keeping with the modern stylings of the rooms. At the moment it is comfortable with great views and terrible piped music. On my first visit I dined alone and was treated to a mini tour around the menu, with a number of extra dishes appearing to those that I ordered. All diners are offered a shot glass canape of tomato jam, cauliflower pannacotta and aubergine cavair served with a parmesan straw, which is a very enjoyable way to kick things off with its nicely judged flavours. Hulstone employs produce from the garden in his cooking, and to no better effect than the demi tasse of scallop and lovage soup served cold with a ceviche of scallop. The celery like flavour of the lovage was a new and surprising one to me and worked well with the shellfish. If one thing typifies the cooking at Cotswold House, it's the craftsman like precision with which the plates are put together. The Artichoke and Pear Salad surrounding the Ballotine of Foie Gras, Earl Grey Jelly appeared to have been built leaf by leaf, slice by slice. Similarly a tasting portion of Roast Scallops, Black Pudding, Cauliflower Purée and Smoked Bacon had the touch of the architect about it. The boldness of the flavours and the ideas underpinning the dishes ensure the food doesn't become overstudied or precious. Take for instance Confit Fillet Of Salmon, Cod Brandade, Swiss Chard Warm Beetroot and Orange Vinaigrette. I was quite prepared to dislike what reads as a few too many ingredients forced to share crockery space. In reality however, the orange and beetroot did a great job of balancing out the intrinsic richness of the two fish preperations. Veal Rib Eye with Meaux Mustard Cabbage, Fricassee of Summer Vegetables and Morel Cream was a satisfying plate of food, the pronounced flavour of mustard providing able support to the delicate meat without obliterating it. Desserts may possibly need some tweaking with only the Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream which accompanied Mandarin Mousse on Pain d'épices and Chocolate Nougatine really hitting home. A second visit saw a bad combination of starter and main slightly mar an otherwise excellent meal. A Warm Salad of Pigeon, Wild Mushroom and Shallot Dressing with Truffled Celeriac came topped with a slice of foie gras, as did a main of Roasted Fillet of Brill, Cabbage and Bacon, Salsify and Seared Foie Gras which also included mushrooms. The two treatments, whilst individualy successful, were too similar to be truely enjoyed one after the other. Service was a great deal better than I have experienced at other similar establishments, but can get very stretched when things get busy in the Hotel's hicks Brasserie. The main restaurant was desserted for periods of time on my second visit which became frustrating especially as wine is hidden out of reach. Dinner at £40.00 is not exactly cheap and the wine list is not the most forgiving, although does include a decent selection under £20.00. However, the hotel offers a good value dinner, bed and breakfast rate and corporate rates. Although featured in the guides, my impression is that the restaurant is currently under valued by them. If standards are maintained whilst Simon is away, I would predict a hike in ratings when they are next published.

Saturday: following the excesses of Friday, a necessarily light breakfast of watermelon and pineapple, courtesy again of Rachel, preceded a visit to Central Park via the impressive AOL Time Warner Center building works at Columbus Circle, for a coffee and a wander in the blistering heat. The 150 year old park looked stunning. A truly magnificent example of urban design, it never fails to take my breath away. I made my way via the Guggenheim to Fat Guy’s apartment for a life saving coke and bowl of cherries. I had the privilege, and it has to be said rather odd experience, of sitting for a few minutes shoulder to shoulder with Steven, Momo at my side, typing away on adjacent computers posting to eGullet, the 3,000 miles distance that would usually separate us reduced to a few inches. I had been looking forward to my first real New York style hot dog, and the original Papaya King at 86th Street and 3rd Avenue did not disappoint. A pair of dogs with sauerkraut, mustard and ketchup and a papaya drink for $3.99 hit the spot. A cross town bus took me to the American Museum of Natural History for the rather disappointing chocolate exhibition. However the museum itself is really quite stunning, in particular the mammal dioramas with their “anatomically correctly mounted specimens”, beautiful and disturbing in equal measure. A brief subway ride to Soho found me quite by chance outside our own Matt Seeber’s place of work Fiamma. I ordered a beer and enquired if Matt was in the kitchen which happily he was. I was treated to a backstage tour of the very smart restaurant and watched for a few moments as Matt sent out some very appetizing looking plates from his mission control like position at the centre of the enclosed in pass, including a veal chop liberally sprinkled with truffle. I left him to get on serving the 300 or so more customers he was expecting that night. Sipping (guzzling?) Brooklyn Lager and nibbling tapas in Bux’s idyllic Soho roof garden, I felt like I’d stepped into a Woody Allen movie. Then, the main event of the evening, dinner at Blue Hill with Jason, Rachel, Bux, Esilda and Bond Girl. A great deal has been written about this restaurant on eGullet and I’m not sure I have anything original to add. Chef Michael Anthony appeared at the bar to say hello before the meal. He struck me as a gentle, shy man, subdued in manner. His food struck me the same way. Highlight of the meal was the smoked lobster with beets, and the fine selection of wines, including a Gruner Veltliner and an Alsace Riesling (chosen by Jason and Bux I believe) which complemented the food very well. I enjoyed the room, although the noise levels did get a bit high making conversation a little difficult, and the service was wonderful, never once missing a beat. We had a tour around the premises including the attractive back room and garden (perfect for a large group) and saw the kitchen, before catching the last Manhattan ferry back. The view of the city skyline at night from the middle of the Hudson was haunting. (Sunday to follow...)

I am a dumb Englishman who knows bugger all about real BBQ, but judging purely on the basis of "is this nice to eat?" the brisket that I tried at Blue Smoke was glorious. Tender, smokey but not so much so as to overpower the natural flavour of the meat, nicely marbled with fat, not at all dry. I also got to try the salt and pepper and the baby back ribs, both of which were the best I have ever had, but again bear in mind my relatively limited experience of this sort of food.

Oh, its a jacket! I was imagining something like lab coat! I've aquired a couple of these from working in kitchens and from competitons. I very rarely wear them at home, seems pretentious somehow, although they are extremely practical.

Mind your fingers!

No, he sensibly let Fat Guy do the talking.

I sometimes cannot be bothered to reach down to the draw that contains my cutting boards in my very small kitchen and will use the scratch resistant work surface to cut on instead, which when you think about it is the height of laziness. I wouldn't chop an onion on the work top, but would cut up an orange for example. Bagels are easy because you can slow the knife down before it cuts all the way through and avoid any possible damage to the surface below. I would rarely cut things in my hand, except for maybe slicing garlic over a pan once in a blue moon. I have a suspicion this could well be a male:boards/female:hands thing.

He has a lovely head of hair if that helps with your decision at all. (No, it probably doesn't, does it?).

Well, it was following on from the Blue Smoke Ale which was darkish.

What he produced back then certainly looks terrible when you watch those old shows now, but it was all really about him, rather than the cooking.

I've delayed posting on this thread as I've been planning a magnificent and exciting report. However, as I'm suffering from a mild case of ongoing writers block and a severe case of lazyitis, here are the edited highlights: Thursday: dinner at China 46 - located on the same lot that Tony Soprano buries his bodies (probably) just off the New Jersey Turnpike. This was a revelatory meal of Shanghai cuisine for a Brit raised on the sort of Anglicized Cantonese food that constitutes "going for a Chinese" in the UK (i.e. crispy duck pancakes, prawn toasts, beef in black bean sauce and pounds of corn flour and MSG) . I couldn't possibly describe the food with the sort of knowledge and insight that Jason does on this thread, but suffice to say I developed cravings for fried dumplings that I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to satiate now I'm back home. Everything we ate, and we ate a lot, was very good indeed and expertly chosen by the Perlows, from the spicy capsicum noodles to the lion's head meatballs, through the braised duck and fresh pea shoots. Terrific service and excellent value, in fact one of those restaurants where it’s difficult to see how they are making a decent profit. Excellent chocolate ice cream on the way back to Jason and Rachel's at the hilariously named "Custard Thing" in Bergenfield. Friday : a breakfast of perfectly cooked fried eggs, bacon and coffee care of Rachel, then off to Manhattan to meet up with Steven and Ellen for a $20.03 restaurant week lunch at Danny Meyer's Eleven Madison Park. I recognised what seems to me to be a quintessentially New York dining room from its use as a location in "Sex and The City” (a programme I mainly watch to see where they are eating out at. Oh, and Kristin Davis is fairly easy on the eye as well I suppose). A fantastic space, three satisfying courses of beef cheek with salsify and rhubarb, monkfish cooked on the bone with cauliflower veloute (he shoots! he scores!) and a light dessert of raspberry parfait with champagne granita made for a highly enjoyable meal. In fact, I couldn't have been happier if Danny Meyer himself had come over to say hi and tell me that he had seen my stuff on eGullet and would I like to accompany him around a few of his restaurants he needed to check out, maybe have a beer and try some BBQ at Blue Smoke and just generally hang out. Which strangely enough was pretty much exactly what happened. After which Fat Guy and I stopped for a pair of light beers each at McSorely's, followed by a wander around the Lower East Side in 97 degree heat. It was a journey punctuated with various and very necessary stops for refreshments , including more fried dumplings in a tiny shop front Chinese. Then it was on to a party very kindly thrown in my honour at Lissome's place. It was great to meet so many interesting and entertaining people and feel so welcomed and all due to a shared interest in food and drink. I showed my true colours by convincing Elyse it would be a great idea to make a dash for more beer half way through the evening, but it was a very hot night. That’s my excuse anyway. My first experience of Korean food followed at an all night BBQ place somewhere midtown (Jason, can you help with details here?), but by this time I was in no state to appreciate its finer points, due mostly to jetlag and the afternoon heat catching up on me. Pickled cabbage and strong Korean liquor at around 5.00am UK time was just a little too much for me. (Saturday and Sunday to follow...)

I've had very enjoyable experiences at both Sun Kee and Beatrice Kennedy. From what you have said, it sounds like you have had a number of good meals to counter the bad, so that "chronically dire" appears to be an overstatement. I don't wish to be pedantic, but its worth bearing in mind that these boards have a very wide audience. Its only fair to both those looking for recommendations of where to eat and visit, and those professionals who actually provide the food and deliver the experience, that we try to ensure that posts on eGullet are as accurate as possible. Opinions, especially extreme ones, should be backed up with adequate detail and evidence in order to make them supportable. Its a very different thing to say to a friend in passing that the food somewhere is dire and to post a similar statement here. In terms of my spin on the bold innovation of Red Panda moving into Japanese food, I can't really see a problem. In London, we've already had a Frenchman cooking Italian (Bruno Loubet at Isola) and Alan Yau, a native of Hong Kong launched Japanese style noodles in a big way with Wagamama. I don't think Red Panda is seen as a "serious" restaurant anyway is it?

That appears to be a very harsh assessment indeed. My experience, although now a little dated I admit, was of food and service of an overall good to very good standard. My strong impression was of a quite well evolved restaurant culture, much better than that in my own home town of Brighton for example. Apart from your one bad experience in Deanes, what else has led you to give the city such an extremely poor rating?

I don't like his new shows, but when he was drinking in the 70's, he was hugely entertaining.

Andy, how the HELL do you know this??? I mean, if I can't even get the section.... I'm sorry, this is just my stupid joke. John Foxx (with 2 X's) was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox. One of their songs was called "Hiroshima Mon Amour". I thought it was funny anyway.

I was thrilled to note Jay Rayners homage to this thread in his review in todays Observer where he says : "It is a little 80s-Athena-poster for my liking - the tennis girl scratching her bum would not look out of place in the loos". Sort of like a variation on a theme isn't it? Thanks Jay! The review in full

The article is subtitled "Roll and Weiner Mon Amour". Apparently.

From Ultravox to hotdogs, that quite a leap isn't it?