Simon Majumdar

If he does "take you" Sam. Make sure you clear the crockery and cutlery of the tables first. They looked quite expensive S

I ate at Trois Garcon It was truly horrible. Lousy food, crappy service and a bizarre atmosphere I am thrilled to hear that this carbuncle on the London scene is no more. May it rot in hell

bar drinks - £9 each champagne - £10 each 2 x glasses of white - £10 each 1 x Bottle of Red - £55 Tea/coffee - £5 Starters - £18 each Mains - £26 each Puds - £10 each S

damn I am doing the NY/Texas and New Orleans thing then or I would love to join you S

Macrosan Fair points. In "Simon World" the overall impression of the restaurant is what matters, not just one dish. There is no right or wrong to that. If the main course is how you judge a place, so be it. It is not how I judge it So, while my main course was a "minor" disappointment ( not a major criticism ) there was so much else that was 'sublime" or "revelatory" which more than balanced it The cheeseboard is an area where I do not mark up or down. I was surprised though that given the excellence of the majority of the meal, this was so weak. I didn't criticise the ambience or decoration. I merely said that it is like every hotel dining room. For all you know of me, I may LOVE hotel dining rooms ( in fact I do rather and think what they did to the old Claridges and are threatening to do to the Connaught is a disgrace ) As for bar drinks. I have yet to find a restaurant that is anywhere near capable of making a decent drink, so I have almost stopped judging them on that element or they would all start from -2. In the end it is the whole experience. We were not whizzed in and out in rapid quick fire The service was exemplary not perfunctory The service was knowledgable not confused The food did not give the impression of being left under pass for 20 mins but was freshly created and served and was inventive and suoerbly executed. Robin loved the reduction on my dish, so it is down to taste The wine list ( to my limited knowledge ) had a good and reasonably priced selection The overall ambience was cosseting and comforting. On the whole an 85% enjoyable experience. No less valid than Mr Parker on his wines S

It seems that rumours of Chavot's impending departure from The Capital have been greatly exaggerated or so we were told after last night's excellent meal We arrived at the rather dowdy hotel entrance and were quickly escorted by a rather frightening man in an apron to a bar which looked liked just about every boutique hotel bar in christendom. I was slightly alarmed to hear a french voice when being asked for my drinks, not because I didn't realise that this was a french restaurant but because that invariably means very poor drinks. This was no exception. A Cosmopolitan made without sufficient lime and a warm Martini. Ho Hum. Thank God the French can cook. Leaving most of the drinks we shuffled in to the dining room. Again like any other hotel dining room in Christendom, all chinz and chandeliers. Still nice to be in a London dining room not designed by Collins (sp?) Service was immediate and amiable and knowledgeable ( the French at their best ) and we ordered from the A la carte Menu. The Menu Degustation looked interesting but I have yet to have a tasting menu that did not leave me feeling gypped since L'espinasse and that was three years ago. We statred with a glass of Gosset rose NV which at £10 was good but over priced. The amuse summed up everything that made this place a success and GR @ Claridges a failure. Cooked to order it was inventive and surprising and let us not forget that these things are important, delicious. A crispy battered sliver of pig's ear ( there was much pig on the menu, Chavot must have gone long on snout ) a top a boudin made that morning in the kitchen and a veloute of garlic. Sublime. Starters were Duck Foie with Girelles in an intense reduction and topped with sliver of bacon - served with a glass of Reisling Veal sweetbread - rolled in a crust of almonds and hazlenuts and fried until the outside was caramelised and crunchy but leaving the inside liquid soft. It was served on a herb risotto and surrounded by poached snails which had been dusted in almond powder and coated with a warm sabayon. I had a glass of slightly too acidic Pinot Gris with this and I chose badly. The dish itself was revelatory. Main courses were A loin of rabbit served rolled and stuffed with a mouseline of calamari, and with a mouseline of rabbit leg and with a rolled sliver of white meat. Along side the loin was a very tasty selection of offal. A magnificent dish My main course was a veal cutlet in a reduction that was far too fierce and intense and smothered taste of the perfectly prepared meat. It was served with herb gnocchi and turned baby vegetables which hardly repaid all the effort that must have gone into turning them. A minor disappointment. We selected a Ribero to go with this ( Hacienda Monestarias 1997 - delicious and able to stand up to the strong flavours though benefiting from the quick 10 minute decant given to it by the somellier who was efficient and knowledgable. The cheeseboard was a major disappointment and the selection and care of the cheeses was not up to scratch. At £12 a poor offering. Desserts were A Chocolate fondant - perfectly OK A Lemon and passion fruit assortment - a miraculaous plate of four deserts including a a stunning jelly, a sour sorbet, a tart and an ice. All wonderful. A mint infusion and good coffee were served with superb petits and, given that we were the last ones in the place, they doggy bagged about 50 of the things which now sit in my fridge and will be scoffed in one sitting. The meal for two all in, including service was £285. i know comparisons are odious but it is worth comparing this meal to that we had at GR's. which was around the same price. With the exception of the cheeseboard The Capital was in every way its superior. 8.5/10

I had a conversation with someone last night about the use of fruit in Indian food and it was very difficult to come up with more than a few dishes. In Latin food, the use of hot chilli is balanced with the use of fruit in salsas etc but this is not the case in my knowledge of Indian dishes. Where fruit is used it almost fuels the fire not calms it ( chutneys, pickles etc ) Desserts too seem almost entirley milk and sugar based. I have scoured the net looking for recipes but can't seem to find anything. Am I really missing a trick? S

Steve I couldn't agree more The only way to test the pudding is to eat it. My argument is that not everyone has the luxury of a bank balance that allows them to eat at enough places to judge a critic. So they depend on the critic to offer an unbiased opinion. I have no problem if someone says "Chef X is a great mate of mine and and I am going to give him a great review" then I can make the choice if I want to follow his advice Here is an e.g taken from our own site. Andy ( Lynes that is ) promotes Bruce Poole on this site. I give him stick for this, but in reality know that he has enough discernment that he would not promote a duffer. Plus, he makes no bones about the fact that he knows and likes Poole. That allows me to make an informed choice. If he shamelessly shilled him but did not declare an interest, then he would be offering devalued information. Someone who read this site might think they were getting objective information and might go on that basis. Whether they were to have a good or bad meal there would not be relavant to this argument. In the end critics perform a function and it is up to people to follow them or not. I have probably spent more time on this thread than I ever would reading restaurant reviews and I can only think of half a dozen times when I have actively visited a restaurant becuase of a critic. far more I take the word of mouth and even more increasingly the rec's of people on this site.

This is a "rock" magazine and a pretty respected one at that. I have no idea how true it is, but I do respect the person who told me this, so who knows? It does go to show how corrupt all criticism ( not just food related ) is by its nature I know for a 100% certain fact how easy it is to become biased. I have written many book reviews ( some for regionals, some for nationals ) I have not done so for a long time because my own opinions of the personalities involved coloured my opinions of their work, so, I gave a great review to a poor novel by William Boyd because he was incredibly nice to me once when I was a snot nosed junior. For the opposite reason I gave a shredding to an adequate novel by Martin Amis ( no Martin Amis novel is ever more than adequate and he should be shot for using the Holocaust for a literary exercise in Times Arrow ) because he was a rude splenetic individual. Interestingly enough, I was once asked to review a rather good procedural novel by Jay's estimable mother. I refused as I was working for her publisher at the time ( no reason why he should know this, but this was the one time Jay and I met ) it would have been very easy to write a glowing review of it, but how much credibitily would it have had and it would have damaged a novel that stood perfectly well on its own merits?

Actually Jay. I am less inclined to ignore you than most critics and you have moved up the league after the retirement of Meades or Mrs Pierre White as I heard someone refer to him. On the Ramsay thing. Psyche!!! I thought that would get you. Althought on re-reading, I did think that your slightly too self depreciating tone on being recognised could be seen as the lady protesting too much. Something of which I am sure I could be accused also S

I think Steve's points are well made and with one exception bang on the mark I would however question his take on Parker as an example Of course the ideal way to judge a critic is to try what he/she trys and see if your views conflict or agree. This is fine if your budget is unlimited or even reasonable ( which many of us have the priviledged position to be in ) but for many the value of a review is guidance, by those who have the time and supposedly objective knowledge on whatever subject they are offering criticism, on what is worth spending limited money on and time doing. If that advice is skewed becuase the critic happens to have compromised his values for friendship ( and who is to say which is worth more? ) then they are doing their readers a diservice. I agree with Steve that the proof is in the eating of the pudding, so it has cost me a bit of money to find out that I should flip the page when Meades discusses an MPW place, when Jay Rayner discusses Ramsay, when Coren discusses anything and that foulkes should be shot at dawn, but I am fortunate enough to have sufficient budget to do this. Many are not. We all eat out more in a month than most people do in a year and so can make these judgements quickly, others may not and trust the critics to offer them a selection of places from which they can be sure to pick a meal which is not disappointing. From the critic's views of the Almeida, you would think it was a reasonable bet. From my own experience it was as excrable as any other Conran "sham" Here is a fact that is pertinent I have just spoken to a very well known music critic I know and he tells me that a certain very well known music magazine ( think one letter title here ) Magazine have a policy of never giving certain "key" acts less than 4* for any album because their record company would not spend the advertising revenue on which they depend. Compromised? you tell me S

All criticism is by its nature flawed and compromised. A journalist is attracted to a certain field ( in most cases at least ) because of their passion for books/music/cinema etc and their desire to be on the "periphery of Rock & Roll's Great dream" as Lester Bangs put it. They get suckered in by the people who need them and their good words. Why do you think publicists exist? They play up to the desire of these people to mingle with the "in crowd" In many cases a journalist can rise above it and their knowledge can give them the ability to be objective. In food and restaurant criticism I would argue this is almost impossible. I give you Meades - estimable and knowledgable but still capable of writing toe curlingly embarassing articles about his bessie mate MPW Giles Coren - who writes shoddy articles displaying openly his lack of knowledge and also has his picture at the top of his column. Why not just have cards printed that say " I AM REVIEWING THIS FOR THE TIMES PLEASE GIVE ME FREE FOOD" and hand them out when you walk into the place Matthew Fort - Not friends with Conran by any chance? I am not sure about the US but in the UK the state of restaurant criticism is in my living memory at an all time low. Does it matter? No more than the state of critical journalism on Cinema, Books etc etc. But many people depend on these people for guidance when faced with limited resources and a bewildering choice. If that advice is compromised then they are no better than a Dr who prescribes a branded drug which costs twice as much as a generic because the rep sent his wife some flowers

I have been instructed not to bring Gujurati food ( will be well catered for by his family ) nor indeed Bengali dishes ( unless they are very different from the Mishti/rabri etc etc dishes he has eaten at my house ) as he does not think they will appeal to the Gujurati tastes. So i am looking for ideas from other regions. Are there any rich Kasmiri dishes or some sweet/sour goan dishes? HELP!!! S

I have been invited to the wedding of a good gujurati friend and he has asked that all guests bring a dish of food or a dessert. All must be Indian. They can come from any region and all must be unusual, in his words "rarely found outside the region" can anyone help with some suggestions? S

I have not been to Axis for 31/2yrs so can't really comment except to say that when I did go I had an able if not exciting meal. I found the service very efficient and friendly. Strange room though The Lindsay House was one of the worst meals I have ever had. Shoddy service and very ordinary food. I would not rush back S

Barney's is one of the places that I always go to when I am in NY. The food is fine, but it is so different to anything I experience in London, I just love it What I want to know is that both Barney and Murray on Broadway, claim to be the "Sturgeon King" So what gives? Did I miss out on the Great Sturgeon Wars of 1920 in history class? did they ever come to blows? And, who does everyone else consider to be the Sturgeon King?

I have eaten only in the very upstairs bit ( away from Hoi Polloi like Tony :) but, while the first meal ( a Sunday lunchtime ) was very good, the next two, evening meals, were horrendously overpriced and no more than OK It is fine making a big schtick about sourcing the beef, but £27 for Steak and chips takes a lot of cheek to beat I wouldn't rush back there S

Of course. My elitist Bengali nature got the better of me and I assumed that every one knew what we like to eat:) Anyway, for the those who have not been fortunate enough. Rabri is to all intents and purposes condensed milk. it is made by boiling whole milk ( with sugar I think ) until it forms a skin and then moving that to the side of the pan and continuing to boil until the next skin forms and moving that to the side. this process is continued until all that is left is a thick sweet 'cream" which is wonderful with pistachio Mishti Doi is a yoghurt and in calcutta, it is served in small earthenware pots which are tossed aside when it is finished. One of my abiding memories is the sight of these pots littering the streets. both of these are creamy and delicious and totally Bengali. I suspect they are too sweet for may other tastes. Paan is a betel nut wrapped in Betel leaf which is placed in the side of the mouth like chewing tabaco. It is taken after a meal ( in fact at any time ) and helps aid digestion. Some people add tabaoo and in fact it has been seen as a cause of mouth cancer. The non toxic one is rather good although I have not had one in about six months S

I can't imagine an indian meal not finishing without Mishti Doi rabri And then maybe some Paan. S

Wilfrid - You know this British slang is no where near as evolved as that French slang. why? Well it just isn't and if you can't see that you are a horseshit talking knucklehead whose opinions have no value S

Wilfred- Palare? is there something you want to share with us. Vada with care. S

Yeah Finch, who died and put you in charge?

Much as I admire Steve for the proliferation on rap culture ( does he, I wonder take any of his bottles of Petrus and spill some on the ground offering 'one for my homies") the discovery of electricity, the splitting of the atom and many other things. I do think (having met him and being pretty sure he is in his early sixties ) that his use of "whack" is far from "dope" It reminds me of a distant uncle swilling too much beer and swaying to "Lady in Red" at a family wedding.

15th - 20th April 28th April - 6th May ( before my attack on the brisket BBQ population of Texas and camping out at Craklins in New Orleans ) I am, as the character from a Dickens novel, I can't recall, game. S

This raises two important questions If a pie is in a forest and nobody eats it, is it still a pie? Or If you have a pie, and you remove the pastry lid and replace it with a new pastry lid, is it still the same pie? Of the good old days of the Theology and Philosophy degree. I knew they would come in handy one day. How much pastry makes a pie? For Gawds sake. S