Simon Majumdar

Of course of course I just wouldn't want you two using up your allowance of in one thread S

And of course, limited editions prints of the painting of you that you keep in the loo S

Josalito Iberico Pata Negra As with the truffles @ £1.75 a kilo Perhaps that could be your slogan. "Line your stomach not my pockets" catchy, huh? S

Jeez. Get a room you two this love in is sickening S

Gee, I'd never have thought pomegranate and stilton. Sounds weird but I'll try it. Of course, I forgot Apple/Cheddar as American as....well you know. using pomegranite in a dressing for a goats cheese salad works exceedingly well S

Wilfrid A splendid idea I cooked a dinner similar to this a few years ago I started with a mallard pastilla which went down very well with a spicy Lebanese red ( unfortunately the wine not the resin ) I was particularly proud of this and have made it a few times simce using Duck and goose. I followed with a small cup of venison broth which I poured over very thin slices of venison so they poached in the broth. I can't remember what we drank with this. Next up was a Bigos ( Hungarian Hunters Stew ) using wild boar loin and sausage and bolld sausage. finally we chowed down on roast snipe with bread sauce and game chips and red currant jelly. I think we went the trad claret route for this It was an odd mix ( I was trying to please a lot of people ) and a lot of food ( even though I went the "small plate" route ) but the reaction was very good. If you can get hare, a Jugged Hare would be excellent. hope this helps S

Simon, Welcome There is always another side and I am sure in her mind she had a good reason for behaving as she did. By the same token, why would you, somone who frequents the restaurant decide to criticise it for no reason? I think the truth is now that many restaurants are beginning to get above themselves. They forget that they are merely delivery systems for food/atmosphere and service. Sometimes great food and sometimes superb delivery systems, but delivery systems all the same. Without the customer they have no point. None at all. So now we are being made to have dinner in sittings like a canteen, sit at tables so closely spaced that Kate Moss would have trouble getting between them and to be expected to know the market price of daily special ingredients as they can't be bothered to put them on the menu or tell you about them. Basildog seems to have grasped the rudimentary fact rather well that people want good food at a time to suit them and at a price that does not involve a mortgage. why can't others? S

Are you dissing my tempura batter?!!! That's fighting talk where I come from S Simon dear, it's just not traditional tempura, which I prefer. It's like Western folk adding onion to miso shiru. That's not miso shiru. I'll add miso to an onion soup but never onion to miso soup. The egg white in particular makes the batter fluffy and luscious. So it's great for fish and chip kind of things. But t'ain't tempura, really. Fluffy & Luscious!? Them's still fighting words S

Are you dissing my tempura batter?!!! That's fighting talk where I come from S

Soda water is better. And yup, I use cornflour. You can also mix in a whipped egg white. I did this once and it worked really well S

That's just too easy, Adam....... But, I have learned that the secret to good tempura batter is to make it at the last moment and to make it with Soda water that has been kept in the freezer until it is ice cold. S

Selfidges Food Hall had them the last time I saw them Steve Hatt often has Razor Clams, but not the large ones. The razors work just as well in the dish above. Very simple and delicious S

Adam If these are the ones I have had, do not bother with the foot as it is chewy and tough. I like to serve a plate of these done very simply sauteed in a not too strong olive oil and then served up with crunchy lardons and capers ( perhaps, if you are into that kind of thing, on a great piece of bread toasted after being rubbed with garlic ) would make a great starter with a glass of Pinot gris S

Quite it is a very simple notion that different people may like different things and, while we may like to have debate about which we prefer, it never ceases to amaze me how badly people take it when one of their favourite places is criticised. S

As I put on the other thread, it was a bit "blah" there were a couple of interesting stalls but nothing to really excite What also was surprising was, even though it was early in the morning and they were not busy, how disinterested in talking about their produce they were. The guy I bought the Swaledale cheese from might as well have looked as if I was offering him poison on a bap for all the good will he gave out. S

I think we should start coming up with phrases on Egullet and see how long it takes for them to be taken in to the vocabulary of reviewers How about " An eclectic menu had its impetus dissapated by naive saucing" "you could almost taste the cynicism" " a reduction so fierce I hd to use a whip and a chair" S

Mogsob This reflects almost exactly my views on Jo Jo I was a fan of it in its old incarnation. it was the one JG place that was any good. I was there in April and I hated HATED the room. The tables were close together in a way that made the spacing at Blue Hill look positively generous and the wine prices and mark ups were pernicious. The food was ordinary to say the least I will certainly not be returning anytime soon S

Here is an interesting link S http://www.sonzyskitchen.com/chickentikka.htm

Tony Positive. Tikka is really just a way of saying morsels of chicken ( is that right Suvir?) and can be prepared with any one of hundreds of marinades. It is always tandoored although at home I prepare it on a cast iron griddle. The masala bit is a pure western invention and originated with the Balti Houses in the Sparkhill area of Birmingham in the late 60's early 70's. It is about as Indian as Peter Sellers in The Party. My real point is can a dish created outside of the main culinary tradition come in from the cold and be accepted?

As most people know, the Chicken Tikka Masala is a creation not of Indian Kitchens but of Indian chefs in Birmingham, England, trying to prepare a dish that was palatable to the tastes of UK punters. It is, at worst, oily and an extraordinary bright red colour. However, in a recent conversation with a chef at one of the top hotels in Delhi, I was told that the dish is now on just about every restaurant menu in India also. It has been refined, developed and made with natural local ingredients. His version is Chicken Tikka ( made with a wonderful sounding corriander and garlic past marinade and then tandoored ) with a rich butter, tomato and fenugreek leaf sauce. My question is this. Can a dish created by Indian chefs who are working in the Indian Diaspora and which is taken on by hose chefs still working in India, be called an Indian dish? S

Not all by me I trust! Mostly, but not all S

Odd, apart from one or two things, I thought I gave the place a good review. It is interesting on this site ( not so much on this board, but certainly on the French ) the different reactions people have if they see a negative review of a place they like/have had a good meal at. I enjoyed Capital. In fact, when it comes to the end of the year thingy, I would possibly consider it my meal of the year. However, I find it more than possible to see that Macrosan had an awful meal and that he a) Has enough nouce to know whether he had a good meal or not b) Would probably not use the word "awful" Unless he thought it was deserved. We have very different taste, but I respect his opinion. What I find hard ( no comment on this thread ) and Andy touched on it, is the idea that if you don't like a meal at a place that other people rave about, there is something wrong with you or that you just "don't get it" That attidude is to say the least offensive and at worst, crass. Andy, there was an element of that in your response to the mixed/negative reviews of Racine and there are myriad examples of it on other boards. I think we are all grown up enough on this site to know that not all restaurants perform at 100% all the time and that sometimes a good restaurant can be down right shitty on some nights. We should all probably just realise it happens. Whether it should happen is another matter. Of course, if you disagree with me, you just don't understand what I am trying to achieve here. S S

Marc That's a good write up and a fitting tribute S

Anu may I suggest that you pop this on the India board as well and I am sure Suvir will come back with about 20 recipes.... That being said, I like Hydrebaddi way of cooking these which is to seal the pot with a flour and water paste or a dough strip while you cook it to make sure that all the flavours are absorbed by the rice. For the best results, I like to use root vegetables and squashes that hold up to the cooking process better than others. I only use a great Basmati rice and, being a good bengali boy, very few spices ( turmeric, ginger, cumin ) I also use a great deal of garlic. Cook it on a low heat for a few hours and before serving I add a tarka of ghee, friend onions, bulb chillies and slivers of yet more garlic. It is delicious. S

Bloody Hell!! S