AdamLawrence

I don't drink much Bordeaux - prefer Rhone and Burgnundy usually - but I have the opportunity to acquire L-B 89 at what I'm persuaded is a favourable price. Does anyone have any tasting notes they could share? cheers Adam

Charlene, I'm a bit worried about your selective quoting that makes it look as though _I_ said I had control freak tendencies I deny it absolutely. Might be a bit curious, but no more than that. Actually Lucy is a brilliant pastry-maker, so anything involving pastry is likely to be cooked by her. She is getting good at baking bread too, so I tend to leave that to her as well. Just as well. I tried to cook steak and kidney pudding a few months ago, and it worked out well enough eventually, but the suet crust was only made with the assistance of lots of really, really foul language (my friends reckon they can predict the quality of a meal at our house by the number of shouts of 'F**k' that emanate from the kitchen during its preparation) Adam

I do the overwhelming majority of the cooking at our place. Lucy (my wife) is a good cook, but has now refused to do anything in the kitchen unless she can be sure I won't be in the house until the food is almost ready! She says that I have control freak tendencies and will always mooch into the kitchen to investigate what she's doing, taste the food as it cooks, and make comments such as 'Shouldn't you caramelise those onions a bit more' or 'I would have chopped that a little more finely' that are intended to be constructive but which drive her into a killing rage. Of course, I don't recognise this picture at all. :confused: Adam

The whole reciprocity situation is fraught with difficulties. We have a very close friend who is studying to be an Anglican priest, and as a result is _very_ short of cash. So, inevitably, when we meet up, it's always us who end up paying. I don't mind this at all, but the fact that she automatically assumes we'll pay really irritates me. A while ago, we met for a quick sandwich/espresso lunch and our friend got to the cafe first. She was sat at a table waiting for us to arrive (it was a select your sandwich, go to up to the counter, order a coffee and pay kind of place - not Starbucks but of that ilk). And that really, really got me going. But you can't possibly say anything. And if she offered to split the bill, I'd immediately say 'No no, we'll pay'. I think it's the perception of being taken for a ride rather than the reality that annoys. On the other hand, she is a superb cook, and we occasionally dine at her place, and eat very well indeed when we do so. (But these dinners are reciprocated by her and her partner dining with us). In the end, I think you have simply to grin and bear it, if you value a friendship sufficiently. Which is fairly easy for me to do, being an Englishman Adam

I found the Weavers Shed website. It is, astoundingly, at www.weaversshed.co.uk I'd never have guessed. I've been going there, on and off, for about ten years. It's always been good. Strongly recommend. cheers Adam

I'm an exiled Huddersfuddlian (that's really what people from Huddersfield are called - isn't it great?). Don't take any notice of Simon. What can someone know of food when he comes from Rotherham? There is decent food to be had round those parts. But you have to look carefully. Guellers in Leeds is said to be superb. I haven't been but I ate Simon Gueller's cooking when he was at Rascasse, and he is very good indeed. I believe Andy has experience of his cooking too. I've never eaten in Brighouse and it's a bit of a hole TBH. My advice would be to go into Leeds. If you find yourself in Huddersfield, then I recommend Mustard & Punch in Honley, about three miles south of the town. My family ate there a couple of weeks ago to celebrate my Mum's birthday, and it was good. I had braised pig's cheek to start, which was OK, but the sauce was perhaps a bit too sticky, and lamb three ways (sweetbread, fillet and a tiny 'shepherd's pie' - a pastry case filled with meat and topped with potato) for main. That was very good indeed. I would have written a full review, but my Dad and I got stuck into some nice shiraz from d'Arenberg and so I forgot to take notes. But it was an enjoyable meal. The other place I have always really liked is The Weaver's Shed at Golcar, about five miles from Huddersfield. They have rooms, so you could stay there (I presume they must be on the web these days). I once had a starter there billing itself 'Posh Pie and Peas' which was a small, home-made pork pie with a superb pea puree, and - scarily - their own take on brown sauce. It was a bit odd, but really, really good. Think Paul Heathcote or Gary Rhodes but a bit less exalted. They usually have superb local cheeses which they serve with Old Peculier Cake. cheers Adam

(copied from the Dinner thread) There's a quite lovely Italian butter I get occasionally in Waitrose (posh English supermarket) called Burro Occelli. According to the very broken English encomium on the packaging, it won some kind of butter taste-off run by Wine Spectator (which suggests it must be available in the US). Whether that's a good or a bad thing, I don't know, but the butter is fab. I recommend it. cheers Adam

There's a quite lovely Italian butter I get occasionally in Waitrose (posh English supermarket) called Burro Occelli. According to the very broken English encomium on the packaging, it won some kind of butter taste-off run by Wine Spectator (which suggests it must be available in the US). Whether that's a good or a bad thing, I don't know, but the butter is fab. I recommend it. cheers Adam

Adam, can you explain how you make your ricotta? (I too am frustrated by the quality of the commercial stuff. You can occasionally get fresh ricotta in Italian delis though. I'm surprised Valvona and Crolla doesn't sell it). cheers Adam

To a large extent I agree with Gavin. I've not been to Roellinger, Bras, or El Bulli, and I've only had one lunch at the Fat Duck (summer 2000, just after the refurb) and it was very good. I know the palate-cleansing sour is Adria-derived, but it doesn't really bother me. Apart from that, I had the red cabbage borscht with mustard ice-cream, which was excellent, the roast scallop with cauliflower puree, which was OK and a slow-roast veal kidney, sauce Mac-vin and home-made chips and ketchup - which was superb. We also had the beetroot jelly - the only beetroot dish I've ever been able to stomach - and the tobacco-infused chocolate among the petits fours, and at this distance, I can't remember what I had for pudding. Knowing me, it involved chocolate.

I wonder where she sources her sea trout. They are very scarce these days, and I gather if you are fishing in Ireland and catch one, you are obliged by law to put it back. Adam

I roasted a chicken on Sunday, it was a brand called 'Label Rouge' - ironically produced in England - but trying to replicate some of the better French corn-fed chickens. One of the best supermarket chickens I've had, though sadly I overcooked it a little. Deglazed pan with Noilly Prat and served with purple sprouting broccoli bought from the butcher-cum-greengrocer in our village. Since there were only two of us, and the chicken was nearly two kilos, there was plenty of leftover meat. So last night we had our usual chicken leftovers meal, a roast chicken risotto. It's stretching the boundaries a bit to call it a recipe, but I nicked the basic process from Nigel Slater - sweat onion in mix of oil and butter, add rice (I use Carnaroli) for a couple of minutes, then a glass of white wine, then start adding the stock. Shortly before rice is cooked, add chicken, then a bit of cream, some Parmesan and a load of flat parsley. Served with a green salad with a mustard (Maille grain) dressing, a plate of tomatoes and some bread. Tonight's the lady wife's photography class, so we'll have something quick. Lucy's mum visited at the weekend and brought us some eggs from her chickens, so I think we might have mushroom omelettes, again with salad, tomatoes and bread. Then I shall go to the pub. I wonder what the guest beer will be? Adam

I've found myself cooking a great deal from _Moro: The Cookbook_ recently. I especially like the soups - the chorizo and chestnut soup recipe is fab, and I've made it several times since I got the book at Christmas. But the two books I just have hanging around most of the time are _French Provincial Cooking_ by Elizabeth David and _How to Eat_ by Nigella Lawson.

'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover.' That's all I'm going to say. Adam

Sunday - roast leg of lamb, English Sunday lunch style, at my parents' house. Drank: two small glasses of some anonymous Aussie shiraz (driving a bit later). Monday - working late so fishcakes (not home-made: o tempora! O mores!), with purple sprouting broccoli from my organic vegetable box. Drank: Evian, then two pints of Dr Hexter's Wedding in the local (four doors down the street). Tuesday - had intended to make calf's liver and onion with a marsala reduction and fondue de poireaux (onions and leeks also from vegetable box) but couldn't face cooking after discovering drains blocked and spending an hour unblocking them, so had lamb jalfrezi, chapati and chana masala from local delivery service. Drank: two bottles of Budweiser Budvar (Czechvar to all you Americans). Tonight.... (drains permitting) the calf's liver and leeks. Will drink... good question. I fancy something really nice... perhaps Chateauneuf-du-Pape Chateau-Fortia '95. Adam

With all due respect Matthew, I think it is always a matter of degree. You say 'If I enjoy a meal immensely, I tend not to think about the price'. Now, would that be so however expensive the meal was? I don't have a problem paying big money for great food, but it is ALWAYS a cost/benefit calculation. I paid £285 for dinner for two at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons a while back, and felt I'd got superb VFM, but I don't think I could say 'That was a wonderful meal, I wouldn't have noticed if it had cost £500'. Those who've eaten at Stein's seem generally to be saying 'Go for the simple dishes, they are the best'. Now, I think that, for many people (for good or ill) paying huge prices for simple food sticks in the craw. Complex, cheffy food, on the other hand - well, it's easy to see where your money is going. Maybe we should be more prepared to pay top whack for first-rate ingredients, simply prepared, but... Basildog, I presume, buys his fish from the same boats that Rick S does. Why the hugeous price differential? The London comparison I think is a red herring. I don't live in London, I don't eat in London all that often, and I do wince at London restaurant pricing, but I recognise the reasons why prices are high, and one of the reasons is costs. Stein's costs must be lower than (say) Ramsay's by a factor of plenty.

The various threads about Padstow have set me to thinking about parts of Britain that are hotbeds of decent restaurants when one might not expect them to be. For there to be six or seven GFG-worthy eating houses in a town the size of Padstow is pretty astounding really, especially when you consider how few and far between decent food appears to be in the rest of Cornwall. Ludlow is the other obvious small town restaurant hotbed - but are there any others? And what about towns that should be full of good eateries but aren't? I know Andy reckons that Brighton falls into this category. I'd add York - a pretty affluent city with lots of tourists, yet a place I've rarely managed to find a decent meal. Adam

The thing about Padstow is that you're not without choice. There are, I think, seven restaurants listed in the Good Food Guide in Padstow, and that's not including the place just outside the town mentioned above by Basildog. Three of the seven are Stein places, Basildog is there, and there are others. So it's not like you need only eat at the Seafood Restaurant, although it's obviously the town's flagship. Adam

Basildog, I...I...I'm sorry..... I'm afraid that's what happens when a) you're only in the area briefly and b) you're the only driver in a party of four. Me, I'd have been quite happy to mooch into Padstow every day we were there (we were staying near Blisland) but the others.... damn them... they wanted to go to Eden, to Heligan, to St Ives. Humbug Adam

I was briefly in the Padstow area over Easter, though didn't visit any restaurants. Had a look at the menu in the door of the Seafood Restaurant, and it struck me as absolutely outrageously expensive. As Matthew says, most of the preparations are pretty straightforward: you are, I suspect paying for two things - quality of materials and the name of the owner. I don't mind the former but can live without the latter. The set lunch is £33.50 and set dinner is £39, so a bit cheaper than the carte, but still pricey. Personally, I'd go to Basildog's place and splurge on wine. The menus for RS's other places (St Petroc's is his 'second' resto, and a small hotel) are also on the website. Frankly they ain't cheap either. I did have a very good smoked haddock Cornish pasty (bizarre but tasty) from his deli though. And bought some beautiful black bream - which I baked with fennel herb, lemon and olive oil back at our cottage - from the fishmonger next door. St Ives is quite a hike from Padstow. It will take you at least an hour to get from one to t'other. Still, unless you stay the night I suppose the need for someone to drive home might help keep the wine bill down I gather Steins books up incredibly early so would advise you to reserve soon if you really want to go.

Not that it will add much to the total wisdom of the ages, but I've just returned from a week in Cornwall with my cousin, who has lived in Paris for over 25 years, and his French partner. Now, Andre (said partner. damn, how do I do accents on this thing?) is a sophisticated middle-class Frenchman of taste and discernment who has eaten fairly recently at Michel Bras and Lucas-Carton (and who took me and the wife for a plat de fruits de mer at the Dome in Montparnasse last time we were in Paris), with (limited) experience of England and its food. While here, he much enjoyed: * sausages and mash with onion gravy for lunch in a pub close to the M5, in which we broke our journey on the way home (the Bird in Hand in the fantastically named village of North Curry in Somerset for the benefit of anyone who might be passing that way). I had them too. They were excellent. * Cornish pasty. Admittedly these were gourmet versions from Rick Stein's deli in Padstow. * English sparkling wine from the Camel Valley Vineyard (excellent, if a bit young for my taste; I bought half a case and will see how it takes age). * Cream teas at a variety of locations. He's now trying to find a supplier of clotted cream in Paris. * Lebanese food from our local joint in Oxford, pronounced much better than any he can find in Paris. Now, as I said, this proves nothing. But it interested me. cheers Adam

The history of the battles between Anheuser-Busch and Budejovicky Budvar of Ceske Budejovice (pronounced che-ski boo-day-oh-vitz-ay) is long and painful. Basically, it's a trademark dispute, but complicated by the fact that, although they've been brewing beer in Ceske Budejovice for many years longer than A-B, it was the latter (apparently) that first registered the Budweiser trademark. Adolphus Busch apparently adopted the name when he foudned his brewery. There has been a procession of lawsuits in different countries, with differing results. A-B has been trying to buy a stake in the Czech brewery for years, so far without success. See http://www.american.edu/TED/budweis.htm for a detailed history of the dispute. Czech beers are great; the Czechs basically invented the lagering process. I don't drink them much in the winter, but when it's hot I'll often have one because they take chilling better than most English ales. If you're not that familiar with them, try Pilsner Urquell (the original been from Plzen) or Staropramen as well. cheers Adam

Black skinned. Yes, I'd read about the oyster taste too. Didn't notice anything.

Thanks for the suggestions. In the end I made soup, which was OK, quite delicately flavoured, perhaps lacking a little oomph for my plebeian tastes. Don't think I'll be running out to buy more salsify in a hurry though. cheers Adam

Our current vegetable box contained salsify. Now, I've got to confess that this isn't something I've come across much before. Any suggestions as to what we might do with it? cheers Adam