oldschooltie

not to mention a large helping of self-disgust? My predominant emotions are sadness and pity. sadness that a larger public is deprived of the opportunity to read the sort of material (well some of the material) that appears on a board like this or are inspired to learn about, experience and engage with something that gives me a huge amount of satisfaction and pleasure. The pity is for people who choose to produce something, as part of their living, that is generally so irrelevant, so negative, so lacking in warmth and, presumably, fail to see just how bleak a picture it paints of their own characters. On the other hand, given the "a spiteful no-mates old queen" quote above, perhaps they see all too well.

Agreed. No jacket required, but probably advisable not to ditch the trousers as well.

congratulations - I think that this captures the essence of Racine perfectly. We were relegated to the back room on our last visit, so at least had no chance of bumping into Michael Winner. Very easy to take this level of understated quality for granted, but the number of lunchers/diners says different.

"Tuesday 23rd March 2004: Paul’s Birthday ‘Things I like’ - A gourmet celebration of personal ingredients · Champagne to start · Cottage Cheese, Baked beans, Pea Puree, Macaroni Cheese, Hollandaise, Egg Mayonnaise, Tuna Fish, Tomato Provencal, Scallops, Haggis, Cauliflower, Dried Fruits, Soy sauce, Tomato Ketchup, Piccalilli, Sorbet, Warm Anglaise, Spices, Custard Tart, Fig Roll, Rice pudding." enough said

compared to whom?

so there is a God

this has to be the closest thing since the Florida election result. The big question Which is worse - crapping French dogs or crappy American "coffee"? Our Prime Minister would never agree, but for me it has to be the coffee.

I feel your pain. we were there last Summer; mark ups on local wines sky high and pretty average recommendations from the sommelier on what would be interesting to try. not going back

That's no way to treat a baby

Meursault Charmes from Wine Society (en Primeur) cost about £15 Vacqueyras Wine Society (en Primeur) cost about £6

Remainder of Meursault Charmes 1995 Remoissenet When originally opened, this had been quite impressive - good balance of fruit and acidity, taut with a developing richness. Last night, it was showing its age a bit and had oxidised slightly. Remainder of Vacqueyras Cuvee des Templiers 1995 Clos des Cazaux Bit disappointed with this - lacked body and fruit; over the hill?

good idea. bordeaux prices lost touch with (my) reality ages ago and contact has never been re-established; irrespective of the vintage, they seem to command a premium that very few justify.

me too scott - what have you gone for so far?

As a younger man, I was up for relationships in all sorts of contexts, but my experiences with the UK wine trade weren't particularly rewarding. Too often, "specialist" wine merchants - including some mentioned in this thread - seemed to be populated by pretty ignorant, ex minor public schoolboys, whose knowledge didn't reach much beyond what they were pushing that particular season. (Stop me at any point if you detect any personal prejudices coming through). The upside, for me at least, is that I've concluded that the best way to develop expertise/appreciation is to drink a lot and have devoted much of my adult life to this cause and will continue to do so until my liver or bank account runs out. (could be a close call). Drinking alone is always a bad/sad thing, so why not a series of collaborative egullet tastings - try 6/8 new wines each time and split the cost among a small group? As George V (bless him) once said "bugger burgers". Or it may have been "bognor"? Anyway, if it can work for something as prosaic as a burger, it must be possible for something as wonderful as wine

for me the best things about The Wine Society are; Opening offers (French Classic regions) The ability to store the above at reasonable rates Region/country specific offers throughout the year (often good mixed cases) Reliable delivery service Tastings If you live in London, their prices aren't that cheap

as an alternative to France, does nobody fancy trying the freedom fries in Iraq - put your mouth where your money is

Used it a few times for a limited range of products. Meat counter looked OK and bought a good rib of veal; haven't tried the fish yet. Cheese pretty unexceptional and haven't seen the in store cookery demonstrations. I agree that it is far better than any other competitor locally and it's good to have the option to pick up a range of products that - whilst not top of the market - are pretty reasonable. Main problem is the gap between perception and reality. As others have said, notwithstanding the "market" label and extra space and staff, it's a supermarket and that will define what it can (and can't) offer. Interesting to see whether it's viable long term

how about Sardo - top of Charlotte Street, near Warren Street Station?

"an utterly impertinent question, but relevant i think to the discussion: how old are you oldschooltie? "meaning to go for 20 years" gives a clue but not enough. my impression reading this thread is that i would be tempted to go having previously written it off as too old hat - if the quality is so good, who cares about innovation, as long as you know what you're goign for?" utterly impertinent doesn't do justice to it. actually, a remarkably poorly preserved 50 year old. The occasion was our silver wedding anniversary (mrs oldschooltie has worn rather better, before you ask). It's certainly true that it can feel a bit like God's waiting room at times and I'm not sure that we'll be going back before our golden wedding, but I was impressed by the feeling of honesty and lack of self importance of everyone from Guerard downwards. It felt like being at a place owned by someone with nothing to prove to anyone, who was deeply committed to his metier and with a generosity of spirit that communicated itself naturally. All this at a price, of course ps how do you get stuff into nice little white boxes?

spent three days there last new year. first visit, having meant to go for the last 20 years. first night meal was the menu degustation in the main restaurant - as noted by others, many of the dishes had a pretty ancient pedigree, but none of them felt tired or lacked balance or creativity. second night was new year's eve, so the mother of all gala dinners, again featuring dishes that guerard has created over the years. big crowd, but brilliantly done and fantastic atmosphere. last night, dinner in ferme des grives - slightly marie antoinette like in atmosphere, but food was simple, good and made for a nice contrast with the previous two nights. each day we had the minceur lunch, which was a revelation. I've tried to cook this sort of stuff and, at best, it turns out worthy, but uninspiring; here, it was fantastic - flavour, simplicity, execution. cuisine gourmand and cuisine minceur have been two of my favourite and, for me, most successful cookery books for 20 years. I think that he is an incredibly gifted man, who has helped shape contemporary cooking, so I'm not surprised that people are in awe of him. the last point - and for me perhaps the most important - at 73, he looks and behaves like a happy man. For a grande maison, he and his staff were unaffected and genuine and appeared to be enjoying their work, notwithstanding an incredibly busy time of year.

my personal favourite is les jardin des ramparts in beaune which is well worth a trip, one star in beaune town centre. Definitely do not miss having dinner at the Michelin-three-star Lameloise in Chagny. It is worth a drive out of your way. I liked La Cote St. Jacques in Joigny last year, but felt he might have been trying too hard and thinking too much. Agree with all of the above, but would vote for Jardin des Remparts above all; less "service", but wonderful, well conceived and excellently executed cooking