robyn

PDC - First I want to point out a somewhat mistaken point of view in your posting. You are under the impression that *you* have to be worthy of a restaurant. To the contrary - a great restaurant will try to please *you*. I will give you an example. One night many years ago - my husband and I had reservations at a 3 star Michelin restaurant with rooms in a small town in France. We mis-estimated our driving time somewhat - and it rained like the dickens getting there. So we arrived 20 minutes before our reservation - scrambled upstairs to our room to change - and arrived for dinner still half-soaked and with bad headaches. Now we know at fancy French restaurants - you are not supposed to order hard liquor before dinner - you are supposed to have an apertif. But those headaches demanded hard liquor! So I ordered a gin and tonic - a drink virtually unknown in those parts of France. And what did the servers do? Did they call me a worthless piece of American you-know-what? No they didn't. They all huddled together - and tried to figure out how to make a gin and tonic that would please me. Which they did. And that set the mood for a great dinner. It is true that one must spend some time learning "how to eat". It isn't easy to do in the United States - where the eating industry isn't very organized - and where many so-called "great" restaurants are simply this month's fad. It is easier in France - where everything is very organized - from the 1 "knife and fork" local places which had good food -to the 3 star culinary shrines. There is much criticism of the Michelin ratings - that they are too slow to grant appropriate stars to new places - and too slow to remove them from fading places. Some of that criticism is warranted. Nevertheless - the system is better than no system at all. My husband and I learned about food and eating in France when we were younger - and I can heartily recommend that approach. It certainly beats the current approach in the US and many other countries - that the chefs and the restaurants are the stars - and their goal is gaining public acclaim and notoriety as opposed to pleasing customers. And - for many places we've dined at - the only customers worth pleasing are celebrities. In our opinion - any customer who is paying the freight at an expensive restaurant is entitled to be treated with dignity and good food. I cannot tell you how many times we have been disappointed in recent years by restaurants whose "hype" fails to live up to the dining experience one actually encouters. For example - since you mentioned Charlie Trotter's in Chicago - I will mention another restaurant in Chicago - MK's - where we dined a few years ago. It was supposed to be good - but our appetizer came before we had given our wine order - and it was obvious that our "dinner timetable" was about 60 minutes. Totally unacceptable. We told the staff to "slow it down" - which it did - grudgingly. We were evicted from our table and served dessert in the bar to accommodate the next seating. Later I read in the Wall Street Journal that MK was trying to turn its tables 4-5 times a night. You cannot have a fine dining experience in that environment. On the other hand - we have had some very excellent dining experiences. The most recent was at the Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead (Atlanta). Fabulous chef - meal pacing - and service. The give-away-at-the-end-of-the-meal dessert trolley was to die for :). Both of these restaurants got good reviews. So sometimes it's just live and learn . One thing you should definitely do is learn what you like to eat. There is so much "trendy" food these days. A lot of it photographs better than it tastes. Perhaps it is amusing to go to a restaurant where everything is raw - or everything is piled in a huge tower -but my husband and I favor chefs whose primary emphasis is taste. That is not to say that everything we like was perfected 40 years ago. For example - I like some of the new "foam" things I see on menus. But "foam" simply for the sake of "foam" isn't amusing. If your favorite love is meat and potatoes - you can experiment with raw fish - but you will probably love the restaurant that does the best meat and potatoes in the world - as opposed to the best raw fish in the world. I happen to love chicken - and one of the best meals I ever had in my whole life was eating the best possible chicken one could ever have in a restaurant in France that specializes in chicken. One way to learn more about food is by learning how to cook a bit - finding out what you like - what you don't like. Order things over the internet. We order things we can't get locally all the time - cheese from France - chocolates from New York and Chicago - meats from restaurant purveyors. Go to lesser restaurants - and work your way up. Refine your taste buds. Don't be afraid to say - "this doesn't taste good" when it doesn't taste good - or "this service is unacceptable" when you are treated shabbily. If you ordered the meat rare - and it comes out well done - send it back. Put your trust in a restaurant you think is very good - or great. Ask the wait-staff for recommendations - what are the chef's signature dishes? - what wine will go with this course or that course - most restaurants will pair glasses of wine with courses these days (and never be afraid to ask what that wine costs - at most really good places - the staff will try to satisfy you while staying within your budget if you let them know what you'd care to spend). If the restaurant is very good - or great - the game isn't "catch a rookie" - the game is "please the customer". The first time my husband and I ever had hot fois gras - we had never heard of it before. But it was a house specialty - and the chef insisted that we try it. Which - to our delight - we did. And - when you are happy - let everyone know that too. I have eaten at many restaurants where I didn't speak one word of the language everyone else spoke - but everyone knew I was happy because of the big smile on my face. Please feel free to ask questions - here - or at restaurants - this whole eating thing is a lifetime learning process which should be a pleasurable experience. And if a restaurant disappoints you after you have spent a lot of money - it is generally the restaurant's fault - not yours. Robyn

Al Dente - Don't know about Washington - but here in north Florida - many grocery stores (especially Winn Dixie's) carry lard in 5 pound tubs. It is frequently not refrigerated - and is usually in the section where you find cooking oils. Robyn

Prasad - I would very much appreciate your reporting back after your trip - and telling us which Indian restaurants you liked and which you didn't like. My husband and I love Indian food - but it is not available where we live. So we like to eat it when we travel to large cities (like New York) - and we will be going to London soon. Regards, Robyn

Megaroo - I am 56 - and I have been through this with many family members and children of friends. They register for *everything* - tons of stuff I've never used (and I've been married for over 30 years). Bottom line is what do you think you're going to do cooking-wise? With many younger couples I know - they both work - and neither is going to cook much of anything (just like my husband and I didn't cook much of anything when we both worked). And - if you are going to cook - what are you going to cook? You don't want a 5 pound skillet to cook eggs in (a $10 lightweight non-stick pan will work better). You don't want a 10 pound 8-10 quart pot for boiling pasta. On the other hand - you don't want a lightweight piece if you're braising a roast in the oven for 3 hours. Which is why I dislike "matched sets" of anything. Pick the things you need to make the dishes you're actually cooking. By the way - the things we have used the most in our kitchen over the years are knives - cutting boards - and salad bowls. Get lots of cutting boards - and good knives (and get those knives sharpened professionally when they need sharpening). Robyn

Hi Jon - I took a look at the menu there. Perhaps I am dumb - but you guys in the UK have perhaps the best lamb in the world (I haven't been to New Zealand - but your lamb is fabulous compared to ours in the US). Makes sense - you have a country full of sheep - I must have 200 pictures my husband took of me over the years in the UK posed with sheep :). It was a real epiphany for me the first time I went to Gidleigh in Devonshire in the 1980's and had amazing baby lamb. It was the first time I'd ever eaten a boneless tenderloin of lamb - seemed like an outrageously extravagant cut of meat - which it is! My husband had always hated lamb - because his mother's idea of lamb was always an old leg of lamb (mutton). But he loved that lamb at Gidleigh. So why should I pay big money for mutton on the Rhodes 24 menu (which is basically what I get in my grocery store in Florida when I try to buy lamb)? I read some some discussion about this restaurant on this forum - and I recall that one reader basically said - why should you spend almost 200 pounds for a somewhat disappointing meal. That is kind of the way I feel. I don't mind spending a whole lot of money for a terrific meal. I do mind spending a lot of money for a ho-hum meal (on the other hand - my standards are flexible - I don't expect or demand the same things from an inexpensive restaurant as I do from an expensive one). I am a somewhat decent cook (have to be - because I live in a city that doesn't have a lot of decent restaurants) - and I know it's easier to make a terrific dish when you start with terrific ingredients - like lamb instead of mutton. So who is dishing out the best little baby lamb in London these days :)? Robyn

Clerkenwellian - Thanks for the heads up on this. It is hard to keep up with what's happening in a trendy city like London even if you live there. And - since I am 3000 miles away - and only visit every 5-10 years - it is really impossible. I have mixed feelings about "trendy" in general. I used to like old traditional French restaurants - where you went because the chef had perfected a half dozen dishes - and that's why you went to his restaurant - to savor a few of those dishes. I have never had the urge to try grouper cheeks or other concoctions because the chef has run out of good ideas using more expensive cuts of food (although I am a big fan of organ meat). On the third hand - if everyone in the UK had rested on his laurels since the first time I went there in the 1960's - I don't think I'd be on this web site now asking about restaurants :). Do you know what happened to Nico Ladenis? We had a really nice meal at Chez Nico. And a very pleasant evening. My husband and I are both lawyers - and we were seated next to a couple who were both doctors from Kent celebrating an anniversary - we had a great time for over 3 hours talking and eating and drinking. That is why I worry about 2 seatings in a 2 or 3 star restaurant. If the place is really good - and you're having a good time - you don't want to be rushed out in less than 2 hours - and you don't want to show up for an 8:30 reservation and wind up getting seated at 9:30. Take care, Robyn

Tarka - When you look up London on the Michelin web site - it also lists Waterside Inn in Bray-on-Thames - which I suspect is a suburb of London. Robyn

Tarka - Lunch and dinner at RHR. That is quite an endorsement! On the other hand - I was surprised that after all these years - London only has 2 Michelin 3 stars (and of course - this is one of them). I haven't been to that many Michelin 3 stars - and most of them were/are in France - but I have never been disappointed. By the way - last time we were in London - we went to a place called Chez Nico on Park Lane. Not great but very good - the chef was rumored to be a lunatic but we saw no evidence of that the night we dined :). It seems to have closed - and the chef now seems to run a small chain called Simply Nico. Are any of those worth a lunch or dinner? I suspect if I wore a short enough skirt and had enough champagne - I might feel like a Bond girl's mother :). Robyn

My husband and I will be going to London in May - first time we've been there in 7 years. A week long vacation. Lots of museums, theater, the Chelsea Flower Show - and - of course - food. We like all kinds of food (from the fanciest to the plainest) - as long as it's good. So - if you don't mind - I'd like to pick your brains a bit. If you had to pick your one favorite restaurant/bar/pub in any of the following categories in central London - which would you pick - and why? 1. Really fancy; 2. New English cuisine (don't know if that's the right phrasing - I mean what the best chefs are doing to reinterpret English food); 3. Indian; 4. Ethnic (non-Indian); 5. West End after theater; 6. Lunch near Chelsea flower show; 7. South Bank or anyplace near Marriott County Hall Hotel (we will be staying there couresty of Marriott Rewards program so we'll have lots of money left over for food); 8. Outrageously good interior design. Also - what is your favorite extravagant food store? Note that I have been reading a bit about the "fancy" restaurants (reviews and the like). I was thinking of the Gordon Ramsey restaurant in Chelsea - but then I read somewhere that it is now a two-seating restaurant. Perhaps it is a prejudice of mine - but I think restaurants of that alleged caliber should only have one seating. So comments about this restaurant and the two seatings would be appreciated too. Thanks for your help, Robyn