Andy Lynes

Cafe Gray sounds like it has some similarities to The Wolseley in London which opened a year or so ago and is also a modern interpretation of the grand European cafe. It's open for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, although the menu it doesn't feature "fusion" (for want of a better word) food. In the UK, many of the restaurant critics are climbing over each other to be the first to review a new opening, the idea of waiting any time at all is alien to most of them. I don't think that is a particularly healthy thing as it encourages diners to be constantly looking for novelty and moving on to the latest thing rather than cherishing and supporting the best of what they already have. So from a UK perspective, that the NY Times waited two months (plus the "friends and family" soft opening period) seems an act of almost super-human patience. In my opinion, ten weeks should be enough time for any restaurant to get its act together. If it's a keeper, then there is a possibility that ten years down the line it will still be improving, but I see no reason why a reviewer shouldn't form a valid and meaningful opinion after a matter of weeks after a place has opened. Given that NY Times reviews take into account "food, ambience and service", it seems entirely appropriate for Bruni to comment on architecture and design as they have a significant impact on ambience. I can also see nothing wrong with a restaurant reviewer making mention of the mission and identity of an establishment. If either were unclear or incoherent, as Bruni claims here, then they to will have a significant impact on every aspect of the restaurant's operations and again be fair game for the reviewer. Restaurateurs and chefs know that they face the possibility of a review early in the life of a new venture, especially one as high profile as Cafe Gray. If you've made a $6million dollar investment and you know that a bad review from the Times could affect your turnover (which I'm guessing it would), then it seems obvious that you would take every possible measure to ensure you come out of it smelling of roses. If you are not able to do that, then maybe you deserve the bad review. It's also worth remembering that reviews are a service to the reader and not the industry. Their primary purpose is to help potential diners decide where to spend their hard earned cash, not promote a restaurant or help shore up or build a chef's reputation. They will always be a snapshot in time; if the resulting picture is an unflattering one, that's unfortunate but the reviewer has still done his or her job.

Ian Beale - where did he train? Was he one of Marco's boys?

I am developing a story about restaurants that have double lives. The idea was prompted by a friend telling me about the Apothecary's House Tea Room & Bistro in Pateley Bridge near Harrogate. A tea room by day, its taken over on Friday and Saturday nights by a young chef who serves a short a la carte menu (my friend is going tonight so I should be able to let you know if its any good or not next week) . This got me thinking if there were other establishments around the country that did similar things. In Brighton we have Carats cafe which serves full English and beans on toast during the day and a full a la carte menu in the evening; and Inn The Park in London which is a typical park cafe during the day but serves modern British restaurant food in the evening. If you know of anywhere else that does something similar, I'd love to hear about it.

Where can we buy this cheese? ← La Fromagerie stock it. As with all cheese, condition is critical, but when perfetly ripe, the flavour is truly trancendental. It may not be better than sex, but it's a very, very close call.

The BBC list was laughable, not least because Pickled Onion Monster Munch were omitted. Everyone should try Ami du Chambertin at least once before they die. Actually, make that once a week.

Tojo's appears alongside the likes of Per Se and Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road in the Arcarnus Hot 100 list of must-see destinations, hip designers, sure-thing trends, media movers and exciting events for the year 2005. Arcarnus offers a lifestyle management service covering luxury travel, leisure, and hospitality needs to a client list that includes celebrities, royalty, sports figures and numerous Fortune 500 CEOs.

What sort is it? Do they bake it on the premises?

Whilst watching the bread guy at Mohsen in Warwick Road work his magic at dinner last night, cutting, rolling, shaping and baking the fantastic "nan" that is served in the restaurant, I wondered if it might just possibly be the best bread in London. Its so delicious that I would be quite happy if they served nothing else (as it is, their mixed grill of lamb fillet, minced lamb and chicken is fantastic). So where else is the bread so good that its worth a special trip; be it restaurant, bakery or, heaven forbid, supermarket .

I had the tarte tatin of my life so far at Pool Court. Can't remember what else I ate, but that was splendid. Service was good as far as I recall. I was a lone dine and they made me feel very welcome. Looked at the menu last time I was in town and it didn't grab me for some reason.

I too will be in Paris next January, although for 2 nights rather than 2 weeks, in order to celebrate my birthday. Sounds like a good time to be there.

The caterer has an update on the story here. Seems that original owner Claudio Pulze may snap the lot up, although Marlon "look at my wad" Abela is also sniffing around.

Although a bit out of the way, The Gun is in a fantastic riverside location and the building is splendid. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Conran's Plateau restaurant. Head chef is Tim Tilley who opened Vong in London and the interior was deemed spectacular enough to be used as a location for the new Batman movie.

In terms of Pied a Terre for the 2005 guide, I think I'm correct in saying that the fire happened after the guide went to press so the fire shouldn't affect their rating this time around. The fact they they will only have been open for a few months before the 2006 guide goes to press sholdn't make much difference either, unless they have problems get back into the swing of things.

Chef Scott Wade is a god-like genius. Well, he's very good anyway.

Anthony's only opened on 3 March this year so is not rated by Michelin as yet, but I think that they must get one (although I'm yet to eat there). In terms of what distinguishes a 1, 2 and 3 star restaurant, I wrote this for an article in Olive magazine earlier this year, which got changed a bit when it appeared so I suppose I own this version: "So what do the stars actually mean? One star indicates "A very good restaurant in its category" Two Stars are awarded for "Excellent cooking, worth a detour" Three stars are for "Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey" Oh right, thanks for that. So what do the stars actually mean? A very good question. The guide has never revealed exactly how it grades restaurants, not even to the chefs themselves. Although Michelin is notoriously tight lipped and rarely sees the need to explain anything it does, they did tell Olive that innovation & technical skill, the quality of the ingredients used, the wine list and value for money are among the things considered. Chef Heston Blumenthal told us that "A lot is said about the guide, but not much comes directly from them. I'm not sure they do themselves any favours by keeping quiet"." I've eaten in a fair few starred establishments, and in terms of the food on the plate, there isn't a massive difference. That may be why some people say that the length of wine list, the luxuriousness of the surroundings, a seperate bar, number of staff on the floor, the amount of foie gras, truffles and lobsters used and all that sort of thing is what sets the 2 and 3 stars apart from the 1 stars. None of which makes any sense when you consider that modest restaurants like Le Champignon Sauvage or the original Lettonie can win 2 stars and somewhere like Petrus is apparently stuck on 1 star. In short, and to quote Toyah, "Its a mystery, its a mystery, I'm still searching for a clue."

Simon Hulstone (known as "ginger chef" on eGullet) has resurfaced as head chef of the 38 seat Elephant restaurant in Torquay. Hulstone took on the position as of 1 November this year, bringing the majority of his brigade from Juliana's at the Cotswolds House Hotel in Chipping Campden with him. His partner, Katie Cale will head the front of house team. The menu will initially be the same Simon was serving at Juliana's, but will be revamped when the restaurant re-opens after a Christmas break on 13 January next year. Simon has promised to post some more details about the restaurant on this thread later this week.

There's an excellent recipe for foie gras parfait in Starters by Shane Osborn and I'm sure I have others in my collection (I know there's one in My Gastronomy by Nico Ladenis for example). I'll have a search through and let you know.

It did cross my mind that we should round up an eGullet posse and hunt down Mr Green- Trousers-Red-Top and give him a collective piece of our minds, but I really shouldn't be encouraging members to such vigilantism.

I wish I hadn't read your post Matthew, I'm going to be wound up for the rest of the day. I've been fortunate enough to avoid being sat next to stupendously drunk people in expensive restaurants, although its happened in a couple of cheap ones and totally ruined my evening. I suppose we could debate all day about what the restaurant might have done about the situation, but one thing that is certain is that its an offence to sell alcohol to a person who is drunk (click here for chapter and verse ).

In the early hours of last Friday morning, rather drunk, I told Mr Maw how much I admired his writing and that I wished we had someone as knowledgeable and talented as him writing about restaurants in the UK. I'm glad to have the opportunity to repeat the sentiment while perfectly sober and to thank him for one of the best articles I have read about eGullet. File under:Makes It All Worthwhile.

This is definately going to be of great interest to all eGullet members.

According to the 2005 Time Out Eating and Drinking Guide, The Savoy, The Ritz, Hilton's Windows in Park Lane and The Lanesborough all offer dinner dances on both Friday and Saturday nights. Prices range from 42.50 up to 80.00 per head depending what night and where you go.

I would imagine just a jacket and tie and cocktail dress would do it. As far as I am aware Manhatten nights are Saturdays only but they may have somethig similar on other nights, you never know.

The Royal Garden Hotel's Manhatten night might fit the bill. The food should be pretty sound as well, chef Steve Munkley is not a big name but respected in the industry and the restaurant currently rates 3 rosettes in the AA guide which is not too shabby. These nights sell out well in advance so I'd keep an eye on the website for dates for when you are over and book it up as soon as you can if you are interested in going. The refurbishment of The Waldorf will be complete by the time you get here and they used to be famous for their afternoon tea dances. With any luck they may well revive them.

A rather startling two years on from my last meal at Bibendum, I returned for lunch last Thursday. The intervening period has seen the departure of restaurant manager Graham Williams to Gloucestershire to open the The Swan at Southrop with fellow ex-Bibendum employee chef Bob Parkinson. His presence was sorely missed. Service verged on the sloppy and there was a palpable lack of personality in the room. The greeting at the reception desk was less than warm, while at the table, a succession of small but irritating errors added up to a disappointing experience. A large bowl of olives was delivered to the table, only to be joined swiftly by a second. Not much of a problem in itself, but indicative of the lack of real attention being paid to us. Starters were served to the wrong person (we were a table of two) and main courses were delivered and left uncovered while my companion was away from the table. A request for an additional glass of wine went unheard by the unkempt sommelier who looked like he had just that moment woken up from a nap and the waiter who did the sommeliers job for him had to ask us if he had the correct wine. Repeated attempts by my companion to engage the maitre'd in conversation fell on deaf ears. Considering that one gambit began "We've just been to Sophie Conran's house to try out her new range of pies", I was staggered at the apparent disinterest this was met with. Even if the member of staff couldn't personally have given a toss where we'd been, I would have thought this was a clear enough signal that the customer would like a chat. Starters of roast butternut squash, garlic and sage soup and spinach mousse with anchovy hollandaise were judged to be excellent, while my main course of pan fried fillet of royal bream with creamed leeks, tarragon and sauce lie de vin was both delicious and faultless in its preparation. However, skate with confit fennel and lobster sauce went half eaten as the fish was less then fresh, and the plate was cleared away without remark. We skipped desserts as we had a full night ahead of us and I settled for coffee and great homemade chocolate truffles and nougat. Bibendum is still one of the loveliest dining rooms in London and the cooking is for the most part still top drawer stuff, although it could never be accused of being cutting edge. At the moment, however, the edge seems to have been worn off the overall experience and a front of house shake up seems in order.