Simon Majumdar

Again, while there may not be a formal contract between restaurant and diner ( althougn in London, that is happening now in some places - MPW hang your head in shame ) there is a definite understanding The restaurant should have the table ready at the agreed time ( or comp a drink if it is not free in an acceptable time after the booking ) If they have stated a time for which the table can be occupied, they cannot rush the diner through the meal. The diner on the other hand, has the obigation to turn up when they have said they would and leave the table by the agreed time ( if they have accepted a booking on that basis I have no problem giving my credit card details to any restaurant for which I have made a booking. I often make multiple bookings on any given evening ( up to three or four places ) and always call back the ones I am not going to use 48-24hrs before the date in question. If I did not call them back, I think I would be a) Exceptionally bad mannered, b) have no right to complain when my credit card was charged. I believe that the whole notion of charging for no-shows is discretionary and I have had many charges waived when I have had to cancel at late or no notice ( due to illness or, godammit, being stood up - NEVER TO YOU SIMON SURELY I hear you gasp ) Charging for no shows is the direct result of the ill manners of diners. If people have bought a theatre ticket or a cinema ticket or a ticket for a sporting event and don't go, they can't claim their money back. The fact that you don't pay for a meal until after you go seems to make people think it does not matter if they show up or not. Perhaps restaurants could charge a deposit of 50% of the cost of a meal for the table with the balance to be paid on completion of the meal or the deposit to returned if cancellation is made within reasonable time or for a reason on a specified list S

I think that one of the great mistakes is thinking of a) Indian food. Like saying European Food b) Food from India being "spicy" There are probably 100 different regional cuisines in India and all vary hugely from the Southern dishes rich in vegetables and fiery chilles and often cooked in Palm oil, through the Bengali food of my own family using almost no spicing ( bar the ever present Turmeric ) and comprising boney fish and chicken cooked in mustard oil, to the rich Moghul food of Kasmir which is rich in cream and nuts. I find the real problem people have with "Indian Food' is they think it is all mouth burningly hot, usually an alarming red colour and has an unfortunate affect on certain areas of their anatomy the next day. When I cook them the some of my fave dishes ( I have posted quite a few recipes ) they are amazed at the subtlety that even an amateur like me can achieve Indian food is SO easy to make, but often scares people off S

The article was not bad at all its only failure was in not pointing out that the FOG is actually jolly nasty and vile. The one sip of it I had in The Player in London replicated exactly the experience of spending a whole minute in Hades ( or the five years of my second marriage ) I think DDG is a legend a great and a god and his training of staff at The match Group has been exemplary, but this was slop in a bucket. S

I was the other one there with Tone I much prefer the cooking here to that at The AA's and The Havelock, but each to their own I had a very good Skate cooked in Chickpea batter and a Veal chop, both excellent Company was, as ever, excellent, and we drank far too much S

I was at The Fish Shop @ St J's last week for lunch and it has improved immeasurably. It had horrid crit to begin with, but seems to have found its feet a bit since I still prefer the Quality Fish/Chophouse though S

Chicken Tikka Masala Even though it is about as Indian as Alec Guiness in Passage to India. I am making this for friends tonight and thought I would share the recipe. It is delicious and works really well. Chicken Tikka Masala FOR THE CHICKEN 4 chicken breasts cut into big chunks 1 ginger 7 cloves garlic (fat) 4 green chillies 1 bunch corriander 1 large tub yoghurt 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp corriander (ground) 1 tsp cumin (ground) 1 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp fenugreek (ground 1 juice of lime FOR THE SAUCE 1 tin of tomatoes 1/2 tsp turmeric 1/2 tsp corriander (ground) 1/2 tsp cumin (ground) 1/2 tsp red chillie powder 1/2 tsp fenugreek 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 small carton cream Method Blend the ginger and garlic into a paste in a grinder with some salt and a little water. Put half over the chicken and keep some for the sauce. In a blender, mix the yoghurt, corriander leaves and chillies and lime juice and pour over the chicken. Add the lime juice and the dry spices and mix throughly. Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least 5 hours ( better overnight ) When ready to cook, place the chicken on a foil layered baking tray and cook for 25 mins. For the sauce just sweat the onion and ginger/garlic paste in oil and add the dry spices. Cook for one minute to allow the spices to lose their rawness. Add the tomatoes and a tinful of water and allow to cook for about 20 mins making sure it does not go too dry. When reduced to quite a thick sauce add the carton of cream and cook through gently. Mix in the chicken chunks ( which should have been kept warm ) and warm through Before serving, add corriander leaves and squeeze lime over the top Keywords: Indian, Dinner, Easy ( RG111 )

The new egullet cocktail The shrieking Harridan. In your very great honour my chicagoan wonder S

Because I prefer bottled bile. Is that with a twist? S

Seagrams?? Why not just used bottled vomit? S

I like to use 8oz glasses Anymore and a) It goes warm before you can finish it b) you are too pissed to enjoy the second one S

Can't afford don't cut it. Quality above Quantity my Mad Chicagoan bake off Queen S

Two bourbons are currently "rocking my world" Hancocks and Bulleit. Both I believe are from Frankfort and are single barrel bourbons. Amazing depth of flavours and both work incredibly well in my drink of drinks, a well made old fashioned S

Two gins are in my competition for the Martini 1) Junipero 2) Tanqueray 10 No others will do S

What for making my own pancakes as opposed to buying them from Sainsburys? S

Ummmmm....so not like crepes? How about the proportions of flour to water? I can experiment with putting the two balls together and flattening them. Tho I can't imagine how it works. Thank you all so much! I am actually going to cook this duck, I think! PANCAKES 10 oz plain flour 1/2 tsp salt 8 fl Oz of boiling water Vegetable oil Make the dough and leave to rest for five minutes or so. Shape in a roll and cut into 16 bits Take two pieces and flatten them. Brush the tops with oil and and place one on top of the other oiled side together. Roll them out with a floured roller until about 8in circles Heat dry frying pan and cook the pancakes on both sides for 2 to 3 mins until they begin to brown a little Separate them and keep warm when ready to eat, reheat them in a steamer or on a foil covered plate on top of a pan of water Easy peasy lemon squeezy, hands and kneasy one two threesy S

Deep fried pancakes??? Heresy! We're not making tacos here!!! Are these turkeys battered like fried chicken? How can you deep fry for an hour without burning them (presumably v low heat) J Where does the word deep appear. I said DRY. S

Jon - A lot of people deep fry the whole thing for thanksgiving. Quite impressive and very tasty. The last person who invited me to one of these last year also injected the breast of the bird with Sprite!! It worked Irish- I would urge you to keep it whole. Much more impressive for the table You can use tinned plums also, so don't give up An heck, make your own pancakes. Dead easy. just flour and water dough. Form into balls and dab in oil. Put two balls together and flatten and roll. Then dry fry in a hot pan and pull the two pancakes apart. Very thin and suitably ragged at the edges S

Of course you can If I can do it, so can you. It is as the french say " a piece of piss" For the plum sauce, I just cook down fresh plums with brown sugar, soy sauce, a little five spice and 1/2 cup of orange juice. I then strain to remove all the bits and thicken with a little arrowroot. Go give it a try and report back S

Unless you are going to do it outside, I would NOT rec deep frying a whole bird. I have seen how it causes chaos with those who were silly enough to deep fry their Thanksgiving turkeys inside without the benefit of an industrial extractor If you are going to go this route, cut the bird up first. The only problem then is that you don't get that frisson of pleasure when you take the whole bird to the table and begin to shred the meat off the bones S

I use chopped red chillies Jon is much better at Temps than I am. Spot on I would make plain pancakes as there is so much flavour in the duck and sauce As I say it is not the trad method, and I know people do all sorts of weird things to make the skin crispy, but this is a close approximation and the end result is very good. Depending on what colour you want, you can always add a little soy to the marinade, but I find the sugar gives a nice gentle brown colour S

I have made this on a number of occasions I can't tell you how "authentic" it is, but it is damn tasty I pour boiling water over the duck to loosen the skin, then I prick the skin all over with a fork I then leave the duck to marinade overnight in a mix of Rice wine vinegar Brown sugar Chilli Garlic Fresh ginger sesame oil pepper & Salt 1/tsp of five spice When ready to cook, I rub a little salt into the skin I then roast at about 170o for two hours and then 200o for a further half hour to an hour or until the skin is totally crisp. I always roast on a rack to allow the fat to drain off and I remove the fat regularly. The pancakes are dead easy too I serve with shredded cucumber, spring onions, and a fresh plum sauce Like I said, not a clue how real it is but it tastes great S

I am also a big fan of Smitty's, but I do not believe they ship. Many of the great ones like Smitty's, Kruez and Meyers in Elgin do not ship. I think Kruez do ship now don't they? I thought they started doing this when they moved to the new site I am, of course, totally capable of being completely wrong S

The ribs at Kreuz in Lockhart were the best I have ever had. The Salt lick was fine, but my fave thing there was the chicken ( the one thing on the menu you had to pay extra for refills for ) By far the worst BBQ I have EVER had was at The Iron Works in Austin. Bodeans in London last week was a 1000 x better S

I liked Blacks a lot ( the links in particular ) But I did not think their brisket was a patch on Smittys I think the highlight of my whole Texas trip was the pork chop/prime rib plate at Smittys S

Damn, stole my line Actually, I met your good lady through Chowhound. You just came with the package and, from the word on the st, that is the only package you come with S