Andy Lynes

I know this probably isn't going to help much, but I had the extended menu at Lunch on Sunday. Although nearly every dish was outstanding (the duck and the lamb, by comparison to the rest of the meal, were less impressive) it was simply way too much food. I took a break when the waiter told me I was at the half way mark - I could scarcely believe what he was telling me - and to be honest I was just about done then. I did get my second wind and I did eat virtually everything that was put in front of me but after four and a half hours of eating and drinking, it was as much as I could do to drag myself back to the hotel and flop onto the bed. I didn't reappear until around 7.00am the next morning. I was honoured to be so well looked after and I'm not for a second complaining, but I think the menu as printed would have been more than sufficient. But on the other hand, I would have missed out on that amazing trotter stuffed with sweatbreads and the black truffle pasta and maybe I wouldn't have got the "chips and dips" and maybe....

Lunch at Canteen on Wednesday was the last meal of an 8 day road trip from LA to SF via the Napa valley. I was exhausted through lack of sleep and too many hours at the wheel, my palate and stomach were screaming for mercy after numerous multi-course-matched-wine blow outs and I was fretting about making my plane in time. I felt like I'd had enough restaurant food and service to last me a lifetime and I just wanted to get home. But boy was I glad I made that one final detour. You can travel the world and somehow find yourself eating the same meal in the same restaurant over and over again so it's refreshing to find a restaurant that is genuinely distinctive, that has integrity and is run with such obvious passion for food. I don't know anywhere quite like Canteen; a converted hotel cafe with a melamine counter and stools, a few booths, St Peppers blaring away in the background and, oh yes, a world class chef, Dennis Leary, beavering away in a postage stamp of an open kitchen in the corner. The lunch menu of just six items is priced from $6.50 for a bowl of sweet potato soup with herbs to $11.95 for roasted seabass with artichokes, spinach, brown butter and lemon. All the food has a freshness and simplicity to it, no doubt partly dictated by issues of space and the fact that Leary cooks everything with the help of just one assistant. There's a brightness and immediacy to the flavours typified by a tangy plate of scallop ceviche with green tomatoes and avocado or a salad of asparagus, treviso and shaved sheep's milk cheese with a perfectly poached egg. The food here tastes freshly cooked in a way that few restaurants can achieve. Dishes don't sit around under heat lamps waiting to make their journey from kitchen to table because there are no heat lamps, or counter space for dishes to hang around on. The food is served as soon as it's ready and travels a maximum distance of about 25 feet from kitchen to the furthest most booth. The dinner menu (not sampled) jumps up in price and complexity with starters ranging from $7.50 to 11.95 and mains hitting $25.00 for duck poached in red wine. Tangerine sorbet with champagne gelee, sliced tangerine and fromage blanc appears on both menus and was a beautifully light and clean way to finish an outstanding meal. The majority of the 18 strong globetrotting wine list (12 of those available by the Riedel "O" stemless glassful) comes in at under $40 but you can splash out $73 on Gaston-Chiquet "Carte Verte" NV, Champagne if the mood should take you. Perched on a stool, watching the action in the kitchen is a great way to spend an hour or so at lunch but I'd probably choose to sit back and enjoy a relaxing dinner in one of the more comfortable booths. It’s a bold and unusual move to go from head chef of a restaurant like Rubicon with all the resources of the Myriad restaurant group to call on (not to mention a brigade to share the sheer hard work with) to going it alone in a small set up. You know it can't be about making the big bucks, so it's got to be all about personal expression and the food, which makes Canteen a great restaurant and one well worth traveling to. 825 Sutter Street, San Francisco P: 415-923-6800 Website (under construction)

All London based as far as I know.

Cafe Monaco is a very cool spot I have to say, especially as I was able to down a few cold Heinekens for the first time on my otherwise resolutely gourmet road trip from LA to Napa. Fine artisinal wines and grand crus are all very well, but sometimes you just can't beat a beer. The Vitale is a beautiful hotel (on the inside at least, I know the building itself has attracted some negative comments) and don't they just know it. I'm all for cool interiors, but I'm not quite so keen on cool welcomes. Nevermind as the service in the Americano restaurant couldn't have been warmer. The sparkler went down a treat with the artichoke and salt cod starter, a combination of two of my favourite things (how did they know?). I ducked out of a probably too young and tannic cabernet with the help of my knowledgable dining companion so that a perfectly bloody hanger streak with some sauted/roasted potatos and mixed veggies was matched to a deliciously fruity Californian Zinfandel. I finished off the glass with some slightly sweaty cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery which came with a startling array garnishes. A few grapes were all I needed. The fritters were outstanding and stood up well in comparison to The French Laundry's donuts. I liked Americano a lot, although the jurys still out on those ceiling paintings. A very fun evening and great to finally meet up with Carolyn after all these years (five - but who's counting).

They haven't got a clue and are desperate to find out - her audience is huge and she is genuinely influencial in London. All the other critics just think they are. Apart from the Sainted Marina, I always take particular note of Terry Durack, Jan Moir (whose occasional tangental ramblings are more than excused by her brilliant prose) and Fay Maschler.

Open daily 11am-9pm. I was there on Thursday and it was packed with a queue out of the door but that was around 1.30pm. I was told at my hotel that its less busy between lunch and dinner times as you might expect but I didn't pass by in the afternoon so I can't confirm that. Even at peak time, the queue moved very swiftly and the food arrived quickly so it wasn't really a problem.

Fascinating article and all that, but what really caught my eye was that the sadly now deceased restaurant PR Alan Compton Batt "used to boast about punching Jay Rayner." I'd have paid good money to see that!

Oh gosh this looks good. I'll be there for lunch on Thursday - really looking forward to it now.

The Monster Mash Cafe in Forrest Rd by the University looks like a great breakfast desintation. They also do huge tray-baked pies and various types of bangers and mash with sausages from Crombies, an award winning Edinburgh sausage maker (according to the website). It's quite basic and maybe a bit too post modern for its own good, but how cannot you not love a cafe that offers copies of the Beano rather than the Daily Mail for its customers to read. I also hear good things about Mussel and Steak in Grassmarket which serves,um, seafood and beef.

Mario rather kindly name checks eGullet in his latest newsletter - good man!

Freedom Pilsner is British, made in Burton on Trent. Mash restaurant used to have their own micro brewery and bottle their own lager but I'm not sure if they still do it.

I do wonder if such places exist anymore - the city seems to have been guide-booked and restaurant-criticed to within an inch of its life. I sometimes think I should walk off the street into the first restaurant I've never heard of just to see if its any good, but I get the feeling a hundred pairs of Time Out-funded feet have probably been there before me.

Thanks (and thanks) - now back to the food...

I really hate to say this but you're going to have to wait for the article when it appears in the Independent on Sunday. I understand that the rest of the week went down a storm and that there were few if any logistical hitches which is amazing when you consider the number of chefs and ingredients that went through the kitchen and the number of different dishes that were produced. I can tell you that if you want to go next year you need to book as early as possible. The line up should be finalised around October time and it sells out in a flash. There were 105 in on Sunday for example, some of whom were apparently still at the bar until three in the morning!

Up there on Sunday night for the final might of the festival. All I can say is stunning - its a really special place and the food was pretty outstanding. The visiting chefs I spoke to had nothing but very high praise for Nigel Haworth (possibly the funniest man in Lancashire), his head chef Lisa Allen and the entire brigade. Its a very happy but disciplined team and Craig Bancroft is just the most incredible host - relentless energy and very caring.

Well, the show is on early enough so that people can catch it before they go out I suppose. Is this Sorrel in London we're talking about?

Anthony's at Flannels get a full page picture and brief write up in the March edition of olive magazine which is out early February.

It's a major flaw with the programme. I can't understand why anyone would want to put themselves through a process where there is no clearly defined judging criteria or reward at the end, apart from appearing on TV which is no reward at all. When you have a competition that is completely dependent on two people's personal tastes which seem to change on an almost daily basis then no one, including the viewer, is going to learn anything from it. There's no question that both Greg Wallace and John Torode have enough experience and expertise of the restaurant business (the former as supplier, the latter as chef) to qualify as judges, but its just frustrating to have to listen in to what appears to be the culinary equivilent of a pub arguement about the best LP ever made. It might be fun for them but its a whole lot less entertianing for the viewer.

I'll have a better idea in a coulpe of months time after I've done the research for my own gastropub related article, but I guess that will be too late for your piece. In the meantime, here's my Mashed column on the subject.

It can be anything up to £75 for a tasting menu but they a set lunch from £15. Indiviual dishes are priced at anything between £3.60 for cucumber filled maki-zushi right up to £55.00 for wagyu beef with fresh wasabi and Japanese mushrooms. My meal was a sampling of a lot of dishes and wouldn't have been representative of what you would usually order but it cost around £65.00 and probably would have fed two people (I didn't eat it all I hasten to add).

Had my first experience of Roka in Charlotte Street, London yesterday and was surprised to find there is no dedicated thread to the restaurant on eGullet. I thought the place was outstanding every respect. I tried dishes from across the menu including sushi, sashimi, dumpings, tempura and grilled items all of which were consistantly terrific. The room is just stunning. Anyone else been and agree or think I'm talking total nonsense? Roka website

Its for an article in olive magazine that will appear in the May edition I think.

It turned out to be 11 restaurants in two days. It was great research and I got to eat in a lot of very interesting places - however I wouldn't recommend the experience to anyone, although i don't suppose that comes as much of a surprise to anyone.

Trompette was rather troubled for a while and obviously hasn't been settled long enough (ie summer 2005 until the guide's October(?) press date) to satisfy the Michelin top knobs. My last meal there was very impressive so if they persist they will be in the running. However, they do so many covers that I wonder if it's really an issue for them.

Haven't caught up with this yet but egullet members shoud stick with it for Le Champignon Sauvage later in the series.