Andy Lynes

Great link, very funny site.

I had dinner last night at The Clerkenwell in London, and was subjected to a recitation of the entire, though thankfully short, menu by the restaurant manager or maitre'd or whatever you wish to call the guy that gets to wear the suit. This was a problem for two reasons. Firstly it was boring, as he wasn't able to add much to the written descriptions apart from a few meaningless adjectives and point out the dishes he claimed to be his favorites but which I suspect they just wanted to shift that night. Secondly, it raised expectations a notch or two that the food wasn't able to meet. The only other restaurant this has ever happened to me is at Gordon Ramsay, where the charming Jean Claude was able to really bring the menu to life and was fun to listen to. Service was pretty much silent after this and as a talkative group of 7 we were pretty much left to our own devices. I think this is an example of what Grimes is talking about and I do empathise with his view to a certain extent. I thought it well written and enjoyable to read, and not a spurious idea used simply to generate an article to fill space.

The chef has back problems and they have closed for the foreseeable future. There is an excellent interview with the UK Michelin head honcho in Restaurant this week which clarifies the stated criteria for 1, 2 and 3 stars.

You may have noticed that the "new" recieved wisdom is that crab is better than lobster, so maybe it's not so overated any more, at least by chefs who are interviewed or are on the telly. Lobster killed and immeadiately cooked will have a pronounced, rich and noticably sweet flavour. It is not something however that I would normally go out of my way to order.

I've just got around to finishing my review for my website which I will be updating at the weekend, but here is a sneak preview for eGullet users. God, I'm good to you: Cigala is a restaurant serving Spanish food and wines in Lambs Conduit Street, City of London. The chef and owners are ex Moro and River Cafe which has attracted a fair amount of media interest to the enterprise. As a consequence, the rather cramped room was packed to the rafters on a Monday night in late Winter 2001 when I paid them a visit. I was seated in the rear of the dining room next to the open kitchen, from which I was afforded a good view of the overworked front of house staff rushing back and forth in a valiant attempt to get the food to the customers in something like a timely manner. They did quite well under the circumstances, but I couldn't help but fell that one extra body would not have gone a miss. It may have been down to staff off sick or something of the sort, but the meagre number of waiters and waitresses gave the atmosphere in the room a rather frantic edge which I found less than enjoyable. I chose, badly as it turned out, coarse rabbit terrine with cornichons to start and red bream al a plancha (grilled) with marinated peppers and aubergine. The terrine was dry and flavourless, but at least there was lots of it as the old joke goes. Eating it was like working your way through a tin of corned beef, except less enjoyable. The main course was again a large portion, this time a whole fish on the bone. I disagree with the received wisdom that fish is better cooked on the bone. Apart from a thick tranche of turbot cut through the body and roasted that I had at Adlards in Norwich a good few years ago, I have never had one that wasn't over cooked. It is far easier to judge the doneness of fish when it is filleted and pan fried. You have to be exact to within a few seconds, use your eyes and ears and fingers to pinpoint the moment when the proteins set, or whatever it is that happens when the flesh turns from raw to perfectly cooked. This is simply not possible with a whole grilled or baked fish and it is so easy to go too far. The diner then of course has to deal with the carcass on the plate, which is a #### site more messy and time consuming than it would be for the chef to liberate the fillet prior to cooking. Its all a bit of a fag, and in addition, you must avoid looking into those blind eyes which nevertheless seem to stare accusingly up at you. So why did I order it in the first place I hear you ask, slamming down your cup of tea and tuting in a loud and deliberately attention grabbing manner. I can hear you call to your significant other or work colleague "This bloke right, he goes to a fancy restaurant, orders grilled fish right , then moans when it comes whole! Can you believe it. These people don't know they're born" (for the purposes of this review, I have assumed you are a taxi driver from the East End in order to accentuate the comic effect). Well, all I can say is I didn't realise it was going to be on the bone and I never thought to ask. So there. Anyway, there was too much of it, I got bored eating it (a recurring theme for the night), the vegetables were of minimal interest, and the side dish of spiced "sauteed" potatoes, properly called "patata bravas" I ordered were hauntingly reminiscent, in their cubed and deep fried ordinariness, of a hundred works canteen meals. I skipped dessert in case they turned out to be as unexceptional as they read and I moved from being uninterested to bloody annoyed. I drank a glass of beer and one of white Rioja from the frankly perplexing wine list. As a lone diner, trying to make head or tale of it provided some much needed entertainment in the protracted gaps that divided the waitresses visits to my table. Some people I know love Cigala and think it one of the best things to happen to London since the Thames barrier. I simply cannot agree. It is not actively bad. Had I not ordered quite so poorly and were there to have been more front of house staff on duty, I may have thought more highly of it. But it was a short menu, and duff items aren't really allowed on those (lets be fair here, the fish wasn't actually duff, I just didn't like it) and a thriving business should really be prepared to shell out for sufficient people to provide a decent level of service. This review is based on just the one visit. Another night, another menu, another member of staff? Who knows, it could have made all the difference. But if you are a fan of Spanish food and wine, and you like busy, noisy restaurants, if you are in fact an East End taxi driver, then Cigala could be just the place for you. You couldn't just drop me a Foliage on your way could you?

I'm getting this all down. Now, what am i going to wear!!

Five Easy Pieces I believe and I do know the the correct quote, but it just didn't seem to fit somehow.

I would tend to order sweetbreads on a menu, simply because they are a complete bastard to get hold of to cook at home in the UK , unless you live around the corner forn Harvey Nicks or similar, which I don't of course. Most government issued advice on what to eat and what not to eat is complete and utter crap. The scientific evidence is usually incomplete, unproven and contradictory. A good example is eat more oily fish, except it's more suseptable to the contaminationt in the sea. Or something like that. My advice is eat it if you fancy it and don't blame me or anyone else if it turns out bad.

Come on then, whats a saucy nibbler, apart from a quote from "Carry on Chef" (they never got around to making that one for some reason).

Paul Kitchin worked with Shuan Hill at Gidleigh for a few years and also with Ian McAndrew at his Canterbury restaurant I think. I really enjoyed my meal at Juniper but can't remember exactly what I had, but it was a little on the fussy side. He had just got his star so was perhaps trying a little too hard. I read in caterer that he is working towards a second, hence the change in direction.

One can only imagine the conversation between the waiter and the chef, but obviously the chef got his way. It really is down to the chef to agree to the request, as the waiter can hardly go into the kitchen and dish up the pasta himself. I was in the kitchen at Bibendum about 5 or so years ago and in the middle of a very busy service, a customer requested wild mushrooms on toast for a starter which was not on the menu. As Bibendum offer about 18 starters, all of which sounded great to me, I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Matthew Harris did not hesitate to produce the dish however, and agree a price before doing so I might add. He told me that that sort of thing happened all the time and he did his best to meet the customers requirements. Just to illustrate the difference in approach.

Well, I can only really go on those that I've actually met and the co-ords. At the recent c***h***d/eGullet dinner at St John, 8 people attended, including myself. None of these worked in the food industry or made a living from writing about it. If you read the co-ord bio's (linked from the opening page of the site) you will see that the majority of us are pro's, with myself being one of the exceptions. As to the majority of our regular users, 20 or so have a few have posted in the members bios section, most o fwhich from memory are not pro's. On the UK board, I think only one person has "admitted" to being a chef. I have personaly told Shaun Hill, Heston Blumenthal, Henry Harris, Matthew Harris and a few others about the site's existance and have been trying to get them to post something, but to no avail as yet. Wether they are lurking or not I don't know.

I do think kids should be encouraged to try stuff, but after a little to do with my first born over his dinner this evening, I can see the wisdom in letting them have what they want in a party of 10 when it's someone else's birthday celebration. Might help jolly alaong the evening. The real issue is that Hollihead/The Embassy let the situation get to such a point that 10 people walked out of their dining room. That is just bad management. Would it really have hurt to let the chap have his pasta? "One lobster with pasta, hold the lobster" as Jack Nicholson might have said.

Here's another at http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/food_an....=113282

I was very interested to read Jay Rayner's review in the Observer today - It'>http://www.observer.co.uk/life/story/0,690...1,00.html. It would appear that Mr Hollihead refuses to update his attitude which seems firmly stuck in the late 80's Marco/Nico rut. Food sounds good though!

But insider gossip is so much more juicy first hand don't you think? Let's get more chefs and journos registered and let the bitching and back biting commence! (Simon and I can't handle the load all by ourselves you know, and the Bruce Poole allegations are getting a bit tired now). (Edited by Andy Lynes at 5:10 pm on Jan. 13, 2002)

Went to Sevendials Restaurant in Brighton on Friday night on a bit of a whim. The place has recieved good reviews locally and was also featured in the Guardian guide the day after we went. The chef is from London and has worked in 192, The Groucho, Chez Nico and other places, but at what level and for how long I don't know. The place has been converted from a Burger King and it looks like a great deal of money has been invested in it. Hardwood abounds from the floor to the tables and chairs. This is offset by lots of natural light, some abstract art and nicely dressed windows. However, nothing could be done about the wedge shape of the buiding itself, and the dining room consequently lacks space for "good" tables. All are either too near the door, which opens on to one of Brighton's busiest roundabouts, or too near the bar and open kitchen pass. The nicest banquette tables in a relatively quiet corner away from the traffic of waiters and the traffic itself is in the smoking area of the room. Go figure. The menu is relatively short (a good thing in my opinion) with around 8 starters, 6 mains and 5 desserts. I chose Oxtail ravioli with parsnip puree to start and salmon with spinach and tomato hollandaise as a main course, whilst the missus had seared tuna with what I think was a marinated salad of mooli and carrot with sesame to start, and chicken with lentils and bacon for a main. We started with an appetiser of slightly undercooked scrambled egg and good smoked salmon with some salad leaves (other tables recieved soup which would have been preferable as I had ordered salmon from the menu). This would have been improved by the addition of a blini or a crouton to add a little crunch. Bread is poor and tastes like commercial sliced "premuim" loaves you get in the supermarket these days. My oxtail came in thin pasta, sat in the puree and adorned by deep fried parsnip crisps and parsley. This was a nice idea , but lacked flavour and was under seasoned. The tuna was served properly rare, but the dish as a whole was underwhelming, with the salad being of little interest. Simon Hopkinson has an excellent recipe for Thai salad along similar lines which would have improved things no end if it had been used. The chicken was a smallish breast sat on a large bowl of lentils du puy and bacon with more of the deep fried parslay that had come with the ravioli. It was ok but culinery fireworks were conspicuous by their absense. The salmon was perfectly cooked but the tomato in the hollandaise did nothing to improve the sauce and I would have prefered the original and best version. The main courses read from the menu as a rather dull collection, including mushroom risotto, fillet of beef, braised leg of lamb and skate. This seemed to be playing it a little to safe, compared even to the opening menu at the restaurant which had featured partridge, halibut and red mullet. We decided against puddings, which again included the over familiar in terms of creme brulee and sticky toffee pudding. The bill for 2 X 2 courses, a bottle of house chardonnay, a gin and tonic and a beer came to £63.00 including 12% service charge. Service appeared to be well organised, but our waitress seemed to be a bad mood the whole time we were there. I was a little annoyed to hear other tables being offered a starter of seared fois gras as a special after we had ordered. We had not been given the option for some reason. Although very busy, the room lacked atmosphere, which may be a result of the less than fully engaged front of house staff. Overall, Sevendials has not yet pulled itself above the general rather mediocre standards of Brighton's restaurants. It may have the potential, but there needs to be more care taken in the construction of dishes, ensuring the food delivers the expected degree of flavour (the mmmmm factor is missing at the moment) and that customer care is made number one priority. http://www.sevendialsrestaurant.co.uk/ (Edited by Andy Lynes at 10:49 am on Jan. 13, 2002) (Edited by Andy Lynes at 10:52 am on Jan. 13, 2002)

Thom ,have you eaten at Juniper recently. I read that he's come over all Heston-ish serving Weetabix (I think) sauces and such and gives about 12 courses.

Hello Mrs Woman - I completely agree with you. I have had many great meals in the UK including Rascasse (when Simon Gueller was there) Teatro and Leodis in Leeds, Juniper in Altrincham (hoping to go back soon, Paul Kitchen is a mad genius) the superb Aldards in Norwich, The Merchant House in Ludlow (one of the best meals of 2001, Shuan Hill is the best chef in the UK bar none now Marco has retired) Rhodes and Co in Edinburgh, Nairns in Glasgow, Shu and Cayenne in Belfast, Le Poussin in Brockenhurst, La Gousse Dail in Oxford etc etc etc. Virtually none of these meals however have been since the launch of eGullet. Those not mentioned here are reviewed on my own site, or are now too far in the past to be relevant. I would welcome a broader coverage of the UK on these boards, but many of our users are SE and London based. So please kick things off with some places you have visited recently.

Well, so far I've got "I would like to thank my manager, my agent, my lawyer, my mother, my father, my cat, my dog, his holiness the pope, God almighty........." how's that sound?

49 and counting. We need approx. as many votes again as we have already achieved to get to page 1, but that should take less than a month I would think.

Does anyone know if the show will be screened in the UK?

Sounds like he hasn't changed in the 5 years or so since he appeared on that TV programme then. Poor woman, did she avoid your table the rest of the evening?

Thats OK then, just so we know. We demand full transparency on this site.

Sounds wonderful Tony. I hope Gary sticks around long enough for me to try it out. If you had dinner, I assume that the Embassy is not a members only club, open at Lunch only for the general public, I thought they were going head to head against Marco at the Stork Club?