Simon Majumdar

Slightly incongruous mix Started with Gambas Pil Pil Followed by Toad in the Hole Not a normal combination I grant you, but it hit the spot S

Only been there once many moons ago but loved it. It was indeed for the 70th birthday of a jewish grandmother who invited me to meet her grandaughter ( Matchmaker matcmaker, make me a match etc etc ) The food was entirely unreconstructed but none the worse for that. The service was hysterical and they kept referring to the elderly woman as my sister which of course went down a storm I do, however remember a horrible dessert ( kugel, I think ) that is still, I suspect, working its way through my lower intestine. The last time I had Duck with Cherries was at The Gay Hussar, but that is whole 'nother story S

What's the difference between St John & Simon? With Simon, Tongue is always on the menu Ahem! S

My pleasure Dollface S

Perhaps BUT Bacon and cream with cabbage is a wonderful combination and a classic one I forgot to mention that in more classic treatments, they add Juniper berries S

Rather than braise the cabbage. why not try and make cabbage and bacon with it which would work wonderfully I shred a white or savoy cabbage ( after taking out the woody central stalk on each leaf ) into very fine shreds I then brown lardons or chunks of pancetta until crisp and drain away the excess fat When ready sweat the cabbage (in no more than the residual water left after cooking ) in a mix of olive oil and butter until it begins to soften but does not lose its crunch Add a small carton ( 1 cup ) of light cream and some salt and black pepper mix in one teaspoon of english mustard add in the lardons or pancetta and warm the whole thing through Incredibly simple but it works so well with braised meats If I wasn't out tonight I would make this. Perfect. S

Unfashionable but good. The equivalent in NY would be Bernadin. It is one of those places that people often forget about in the clamour to go to the latest and hottest, but they know what they are doing and do it exceptionally well and seldm disappoint Have fun. I have been told that people can have fun with a set lunch but have never tried it myself S

Copyright in the UK lasts 75 years after the death of the author, but if the publisher and the book are defunct, it is porbably OK. I suspect though, if he dabbled in the black arts he may come back and turn you into a newt ( mind you being a jock you are probably pissed as one by now anyway ) S

Is this the same chap ( I think it is ) who produced a dictionary of the occult and was a collector of the works of Austin Spare? If so a very weird chap indeed S

Got back from Paris in the middle of last week and have to share the tale of one of the more bizzare experiences of my travels abroad Some friends had booked a place called Le Telegraph which they had visited a few months before and enjoyed. When we arrived two burly bouncers were at the door and looked us over very carefully before letting us in. When we sat down I noticed that everyone in the place ( men that is ) was wearing a Yamake (sp?) skull caps and, when I ordered a drink I was told I could not have it as it was not Kosher!! The place had gone Kosher THAT DAY and all new staff had come in. That in itself was unusual, but not unheard of and would have been fine if.. The waiters were the worst in history and all very burly swarthy Israeli's. The service was a cross between The Keystone Cops and Ghengis Khan and so surly that my friends ( both jewish,) were convinced that this place had become a cover for mossad. The food was OK but we were served and out of there in 40 mins ( including soup stains on clothes, dropped bottles wine ) The highlight ( ?) of the evening was when one of the bigger waiters ( think Obelix from the Asterix books ) took great offence at my friend using her funky new mobile phone camera to take a picture of the other two of us and ran over shouting at the top of his voice " NO PICTURES"s and gesticulating like a mad windmill. One of the more weird experiences of eating out in Paris. No wonder I love it so S

That's fab Thanks for the advice S

On my own - out of cartons when sharing - on plates S

for reasons too boring to go into, I have just found out I have to make a trip to Birmingham, Alabama in the next few weeks..... Despite a good session of googling ( illegal, I am led to believe in Alabama ) I can't seem to light upon a decent hotel for my night's stay or a place to eat away the evening Any help much appreciated S

£143 is a lot of money, but Fort's review was fair and made me want to go more than I did. I have a booking soon and will report back S

Simon, I have never encountered anything other than an engaged tone at Locanda - what's your secret? Amex Concierge service Works every time S

Locanda never disappoints. I have never had a bad meal there in four visits I walk past Fifteen every day on the way to work and I will never find a reason to stop unless I see a hearse outside that has a floral tribute on top saying "Jamie RIP" and then I will only stop to make sure that the fat tongued pillock is really dead S

I'm with jay on this one. Gavvers by a long way S

Tinned tomatoes are often my preferred choice for many dishes. Even when the season is in, I find the intensity of a tin of Italian tomatoes better. In the CTM I gave the recipe for the other day, I use tinned tom's as a preference and just use quatered fresh at the end to give some texture S

My last visit was six months ago. I have always been a great fan both of the food and the place itself. The service had, until then, been excellent, particularly the sommelier On my last visit, the room was looking very weary, peeling paint and tatty fittings. The service was slow and bordering on the boorish, it appeared as if extra tables had been added as I felt cramped in a way I had never before Above all, the food which had always been great, if not astounding, was by comparison crude and uninspiring. I had been to the Gotham about 10 times before that and it had never disappointed. I could put it down to an off night, but I got the feeling there was more to it than that. More of a case of a place coming to its natural end. The Grammercy has now replaced it as my dependable NY dinner, but I would be delighted if someone could tell me that it is still operating at a high level. S

From a recent visit, things are very definitely not what they used to be at The Gotham It always used to be one of my favourite places for a dependable if unspectacular meal and the service was always spot on My last visit found the room/the food and the service all on the worng side of tired Still damn tall though Of its moment, which has now passed S

OR maybe it is actually good. The majority of critics did not review the restaurant but reviewed the opening press junket. I am led to believe that the disadvantaged young people who were wheeled out in the TV programme were nowhere to be seen but were replaced for the evening with the culinary equivalent of Steely Dan's "Wrecking Crew" I am not sure in what sense a review in in such a circumstance is worthy of the name Less a review more an advertorial I have lost much of the respect I have for FM since she took part in this debacle. The reverse is true of jay rayner who didn't S

For those of you interested in this scotch, I found it at Ambassador Liquors (1020 2nd Ave) for $45.99 That's about right. In the Uk it's £25 and at the airport they had it on sale for two bottles for £40. I brought one to the dinner, the other got me through the blizzard S

I gave a recipe ( on the dinner thread I think ) for a Bengali soup using lobster shells which will work well with Crawfish tail. use a tsp each of Turmeric powder Ginger powder Cinnamon poder Cumin powder Corriander ( ground seed ) chilli powder Also, a bay leaf Saute in oil to remove the rawness for a minute or so and add the shells. Add a 30z can of tomatoes and 3 pints of water. Cook on a low heat from three hours and then strain. it can make a wonderful broth just as it is, but I also like to take chunks of fish and add them to poach at the end to make a indian fish soup Very easy and delicious S

You don't mean the christopher Biggins who looks identical to G Jaohnson do you? S

As leaves they are best kept to the end of cooking as they lose their flavour quickly. In Non indian cooking ( Moroccan is a good eg, )I like to saute them with lemon rind and pour over a Tagine like a tarka They also make an interesting tea with ginger root S