AdamLawrence

There are a few of these around. Gourmet Pizza Company has an English Breakfast Pizza (bacon, sausage, black pudding) with an egg cracked in the middle. It's actually pretty good. Adam

I haven't bought The New France yet, but I'm going to - got a pile of book tokens from Christmas still burning a hole in my pocket. But I can say that Andrew Jefford - sadly recently given the push by the Evening Standard - is one of Britain's best wine writers. He has the happy knack of being neither focused only on top-line wines that few of us can afford on a regular basis, nor solely interested in recommending branded pap sold en masse in the supermarket. And being an entertaining writer. Adam

Thomas Hardy Ale is a legendary brew among UK beery circles. Eldridge Pope has changed hands in recent years, becoming (I think) a pubco and selling off the brewery; I am not sure if the beer is produced any more, on contract or whatever. I haven't had it for years, but it will be a dark, probably quite sweet, old ale/barley wine type of brew. Could be excellent with very good cheddar cheese. Cellarwise, I think it should be fine. I'll have a quick flick through some of my beer books and magazines to get some more up to date information and report back. Adam

It's not that close to Euston if you're carrying luggage, as I know to my cost after drinking several pints of Youngs in there before hacking up to the station to catch the Fort William sleeper a couple of years ago. But it is an excellent pub - lovely room, excellent beer. I like it a lot. Adam

I think Aussie and Kiwi rieslings are something wine drinkers in the UK (and maybe the US too, I don't know) take a while to come to. Riesling generally is an undervalued grape among mass-market wine drinkers, although that is starting to change: it is an 'insiders' grape. And even among those insiders, most tend to be familiar with the German style, so the Australian/NZ products require another leap. I haven't had much Aussie riesling, but I've liked what I've had. However I think some of the NZ products are terrific - I think them much more interesting than most Marlborough sauvignon blancs. I like Forrest Estate very much. Adam

Of course you find it interesting. He knows what he's talking about and you don't. Eh, Stevey, he's a she. No, HE's not. FrancescO I'm sorry if I offended you Francesco. It was Steve that wrote FranciscA. Peter - No it wasn't. Try rereading the thread. Steve only quoted you; your post was above his. If you make a mistake, it's as well to admit it, rather than trying to put blame on someone else. That just makes you look an idiot.

I wonder whether the form in which the hops are used is the key? Most of the best UK breweries use whole, loose hop flowers, but there are also pelletised hops (which are used by a number of still reputable producers), and I think there are other processed hop products. Were these places brewpubs? I know the market in the US is different, but in general over here, I avoid brewpubs, because I find there beer way inferior to the output of normal breweries (Although this is an over-generalisation, probably based on too many crap pints in Firkins in years gone by - I've never seen the attraction of that chain). But I agree with you, SB - pasteurisation kills a substantial proportion of the flavour of fine beer. cheers Adam (who is coming towards the end of Dry January, and looking forward to a pint. And some red wine. And a large G&T. And possibly some port)

I had lunch in the Star at Lidgate last winter. It's very nice - upmarket Spanish/Portuguese pub food feel - but it is a bit backofbeyondish, and I'm not sure I'd hack out there from Cambridge on a quiet Monday night. For me, more of a lunch venue. But a very good one (can't remember what we ate, sorry. Will email the wife who has a better memory for this kind of thing ). Adam

Christopher, my cousin, travels down to the Morvan from Paris and back again, most weekends. And has been doing so for over ten years. He generally takes the train to Nevers, then catches a bus to their village. I figure he's had chances aplenty to investigate the best way to get down there, and if he thinks train is best, he's probably right. Also, since he and his partner have a place in Paris too, we can visit them there quite regularly. So my interest this summer is in finding the quickest (or at least, most hassle-free) method of getting there from England - not necessarily the most scenic. My wife's parents live very close to the Eurostar station in Kent, at Ashford, so it's easy for us to crash with them the night before we travel, and cadge a lift to the station. And I really don't like long-distance bus journeys Adam

Both train stations are about an hour's drive from where we'll be staying. As I say, we'll have a car while there - I'd just rather not drive down if I can avoid it. I think we'll probably take the Eurostar and try to change at Lille, hence avoiding crossing Paris with luggage. The other good thing about travelling down by train is that it will restrict my wine buying . cheers Adam

The set lunch at Bofinger, just off Place de la Bastille, was exactly 30 euros when we were there over Christmas, and that includes half a bottle of simple but honest wine (red or white). For your money you got six oysters or some foie gras; then either magret de canard or a very, very good civet de cerf. Puddings were a bit less memorable. Personally, I thought it was a steal. Particularly since we were seated directly under the (very pretty) stained glass coupole. We just rocked up at about half past one, and there was a ten minute wait. In retrospect I'd probably reserve. Adam

I've been briefly. We stopped for one night in 2001 (I was about to say last year, but of course that's no longer the case) on our way down to the Auvergne. Christopher's place is in a village just south of Chateau-Chinon (Mitterand's old fiefdom) - right in the middle of Charolais country. About the only concession to tourism in their village is the 'Musee du Charolais' - aka 'The Cow Musuem!'. So we reckon to spend ten days or so exploring the Morvan and making sorties into Burgundy proper - ie Autun and the Cote d'Or. Were you driving, or getting around by train? We will probably take the train down there and use my cousin's car to get around. So I'm trying to decide whether the ordinary SNCF train to Nevers or the TGV to Le Creusot would be most sensible - their place is almost equidistant from both. Thanks again. Adam

Pan - thanks for the Autun recommendation. My cousin and his partner - who live in Paris - have a country place about 20km from Autun, in the Morvan. We're off there some time this year. Any other tips - not just gastronomic - about Autun? cheers Adam

What's the name of that place with the brilliant beef and the fantastic wine list in Linlithgow? I haven't got my GFG with me at the moment, but it sounded good last time I read about it. Adam

Kikujiro, I don't think Hamilton Russell makes a pinotage. They are probably SA's best-known pinot noir producer though. Fabulous spot, up the valley from Hermanus in the Walker Bay area. VivreManger: if you like burgundy, then try to get some of the pinots from Walker Bay - Bouchard Finlayson is the other well-known producer. It's quite cool by SA standards, and the wines are worth a try. I like Meerlust Rubicon, a very good Bordeaux-blend, a great deal too. And SA is getting big plaudits for its sauvignon blancs - they tend to be a cross between more restrained Loire SBs and the bigger, sharper NZ style. cheers Adam

Let's face it, compared to real (ie living) beer, any pasteurised and pressurised beer - whether Guinness or otherwise - is just a pale (or dark ) imitation. If anyone ever sees Dwan's beers around in the UK or elsewhere (I guess the Wenlock might be a good place), try them. Now their An Dubhain (The Black One); that's a proper stout. Packaged beer is Mouton-Cadet to real beer's Mouton-Rothschild. Adam

And, to back Andy up further, Le Champignon Sauvage (which I still haven't got round to visiting) is in the middle of a decidedly ordinary-looking parade of shops in a not-very-prepossessing part of Cheltenham. Adam

Nipped into Hevin on rue Vavin at about ten to six on New Year's Eve to buy truffes for my cousin and also for his friend who lent us her apartment for our stay in Paris over the holiday. I'm not an expert on high-level chocolatiers but this place was seriously swish. More like a clothes boutique than a choccie shop. Really nice, helpful, people, though, despite the fact that they were busy and must have been fairly close to shutting for the evening. And fantastic chocolates - I think the best I've had. I must go back sometime soon. Adam PS - if anyone is in Paris in the very near future, the Constable exhibition at the Grand-Palais, curated by Lucian Freud, is quite superb. Seemed odd to go to Paris to see the most English of painters, but hey.... It closes quite soon I believe.

Gordon: thinking about it, I was probably a bit hasty just to say 'Rosemount' and leave it that. I really meant their entry-level lines, the stuff one sees in supermarkets at the GBP 5 level. I would say D'Arenburg is better at this sort of price point. But I gather (not from experience) that the premium Rosemount wines are pretty good - certainly the Balmoral has an excellent reputation. But I'd repeat my original point in (I hope) slightly clearer terms - if you come across the D'Arenburg Footbolt shiraz, it's very good as an entry-level Aussie. Adam

D'Arenburg's shirazes (is that the correct plural?) have been earning lots of plaudits in the last few years. Their top shiraz, The Dead Arm, was given a phenomenally high score by Parker a year or two back, and flew off shelves as a result. It was quite sensibly priced beforehand, but became much more expensive afterwards. But the cheaper wines (The Footbolt?) are good too - I had one in a restaurant a few months back, and it reminded me why I grew to love Aussie Shiraz in the first place: full of peppery flavour. For six or seven quid a bottle, I'd strongly recommend it, especially over commercial wines such as Rosemount and Jacobs Creek at the same kind of price. Adam

Do you really think that's true for scallops? I'm not so sure. I had some that were no more than ten minutes out of the water on the Isle of Mull off Scotland last year, and they were beyond stupendous. Deep fried, of course. It's Scotland, after all. Adam

What are you going to take, Tony? Adam

For those in the UK - or who don't mind having stuff shipped from Britain - Straker Chadwick auctioneers in Abergavenny hold regular wine sales, often with interesting older bottles that are less obviously big ticket than Christies etc. Straker Chadwick About a week before each sale, the lots get listed on their site. Adam

I confess to being a little wary of crits - or even former crits - plugging wine, but it's as well to get things in perspective. Does Jilly Goolden still do wine crit anywhere? She certainly hasn't been on Food and Drink for several years, and she doesn't appear in any paper I ever read. The Superplonk thing is more complex. Gluck takes care never to plug his wine, but he has, over the years, forged a fairly singular image, and the Superplonk name is both the title of his column in the Grauniad, his web site, and his wine. Personally I think there is an issue there; Gluck would say that he never reviews his wine, and he doesn't not review or mark down any other wine because of any perceived competition, so where's the problem? Me, I'm not convinced. But then I probably wouldn't buy the wine anyway, because it's a Tesco-only thing, and I don't shop in Tesco. Adam

Charles and Marty - thanks for your advice. In relation to price points, it's a safe bet I shan't buy the '66 Petrus at £595 (the wife would kill me), probably most of the rest of the list is within the bounds of possibility. That said, I don't have much of a palate for Bordeaux - I tend to prefer Burgundy and Rhone wines, so the Boillot Volnay had caught my eye too. I had also picked up on the Vega - we'll have to see on the day. Thanks for the heads-up on the Huet. I read 'Wine and War' - didn't like it much, mainly due to the writing style, but the stuff on Gaston Huet was fascinating. cheers Adam