howardlong

Last year, I think this particular set of awards also raised some frowns if not eyebrows. A bit like having pan fried foie gras with bubble and squeak. Howard

Popped in there for a swift one on Friday while waiting for the car back into town after lunch at the Fat Duck. It certainly wasn't busy, with half a dozen blokes propping up the bar and a couple of diners from the FD similarly waiting. Howard

LOL! It's a bit like that. I get invites to their awesome food and wine matching evenings (think: Ch. d'Yquem, Cheval Blanc, everyday drinking stuff, you know how it is). Judging by the guest list on those occasions where seating is allocated, the Upper House most certainly does not sit on those nights. Here are a couple of recent menus to wet yer whistles... L E M E N U CANAPES ***** SAUMON ET JAMBON ‘PATA-NEGRA’ EN GELEE, JUS DE TRUFFES ***** FILET DE ROUGET GRILLE ET TOAST A LA MOELLE ***** RIS ET LANGUE DE VEAU, CEPES ET JUS AU RAIFORT ***** FILET DE BŒUF A L’OS, ECHALOTES CONFITES ET MORILLES A LA CREME PETIT ***** SOUFFLE SUISSESSE ***** CAFE ET PETITS FOURS L E S V I N S ROEDERER BRUT VINTAGE 2000 Magnum RESERVE DE LA COMTESSE 2004 & 1999 en Magnum CHATEAU PICHON LONGUEVILLE COMTESSE DE LALANDE 2003 RESERVE DE LA COMTESSE 2001 CHATEAU PICHON LONGUEVILLE COMTESSE DE LALANDE 2004 & 2001 CHATEAU PICHON LONGUEVILLE COMTESSE DE LALANDE 1983 & 1995 CHATEAU PICHON LONGUEVILLE COMTESSE DE LALANDE 1995 & 1975 ********************************** L E M E N U CANAPES ***** RAGOUT DE LANGOUSTINES ET COQUILLES ST. JACQUES PARFUMES AU GINGEMBRE ***** ESCALOPE DE FOIE GRAS DE CANARD AUX RAISINS CONFITS ET COMPOTE DE COINGS ***** ASSIETTE D’AGNEAU DE LAIT DES PYRENEES, JUS BRUN DE ROTI, POMMES FONDANTE ET PETITS LEGUMES ***** ROQUEFORT ET FOURME D’AMBERT ***** MILLE-FEUILLE AUX POIRES, SAUCE CARAMEL AU BEURRE SALE ET PISTACHES ***** CAFE ET PETITS FOURS L E S V I N S TAITTINGER “COMTES DE CHAMPAGNE” 1995 Brut, Blanc de Blancs Y d’YQUEM 2000 CHATEAU D’YQUEM 2003 & 2001 CHATEAU CHEVAL BLANC 1989 & 1999 CHATEAU D’YQUEM 1989 & 1983 & 1981 en Magnum Cheers, Howard

Not sure if this is the right place to mention it, but as a diner and only a very occasional cook, I found the Julie and Julia film on general release in the UK to be right up my street. It's not going to to tax the brain cells too much, and neither is it going to excite those looking for fifteen minute car chases. I was taken there on Saturday by my neighbour without knowing what it was that I was going to see, although she knows I like me grub. Definitely recommended viewing for any foodie. Cheers, Howard

Soufflé Suissesse is a cheese soufflé made with lashings of double cream and aged gruyere, perfectly seasoned with more than a hint of black pepper. I have had it slid in as a cheeky tasting-sized mid-course on occasion when going ALC. It frequently appears on the Menu Exceptionnel. I am sure that they would do the same with the set lunch for a tenner or so each. Stunningly good for vegetarians, but a disaster for the lactose intolerant. To re-coin a phrase, if you have to know the calories, you shouldn't be eating it. Cheers, Howard

I am afraid to say that a celebrity list does not mean you will necessarily receive either good food or service. In fact, I would suggest it's normally the reverse. I went to the Witchery about a year ago after many years of attempting to secure a table when in Edinburgh. It was pleasant enough although the most memorable thing for me by far wasn't the place, it was the great company I was with. My suspicion is that often celebs are wheeled in as paid publicity in much the same way as you'd wheel one in to open a supermarket. In fact, scrub the suspicion bit, thinking about it I know that to be the case in at least two restaurants. Another poster's comment about a cabbie's anniversary reflect my thoughts entirely! Cheers, Howard

Folks Be very careful indeed about the Capital: Chavot's gone and (I am sure coincidentally) so has almost the entire front of house. Since the hotel manager went a few months ago, the owner ("Mr Levin" as he seems to be continually referred to) took over day to day management. It seems that he and Chavot didn't quite see eye to eye on some things, and with it the desire for the Capital to have a fine dining Michelin level establishment seems to have disappeared. Dishes tend to be much simpler affairs now, and with Chavot now gone, so have the signature dishes like Assiette Landaise and the Saddle of Rabbit, both favourites of mine for a couple of years now. Just don't expect a Michelin food experience any more. Cheers, Howard

That should, of course, read "nine tables". Sorry haven't figured out how to edit posts in this new version of software. H

Two friends and I went for dinner on their opening night on Wednesday 9 Sep: definitely this was a soft opening, without the extravagant PR that many new openings choose to engineer. It's small, with only none tables. But then so is the kitchen down in the basement - tiny, perhaps only 200 sq ft. There is a weird service area behind glass in front of the tables, apparently originally intended for cooking at, but it's way too small to do anything remotely sensible. Christophe Thuilot is Maitre d', who's been at the Capital twice in his career as well as at Aubergine and Soho House's outpost in Chiswick. At Augergine coincidentally he worked with the new Seven Park Place chef Billy Drabble. Considering he'd only arrived five days before, there was little to tell this was opening night. Two of the other front of house crew new me too: both had previously been at the Capital ans well as other places such as the recently closed Ambassade d'Ile, so I made to feel at home straight away. We opened the menu, and immediately it was difficult to see if you were located at Park Place or Park Walk (Aubergine's Chelsea location). Classic Drabble dishes such as the herb encrusted lamb, and foie gras with gingerbread and figs means the chef's still doing exactly what he did before, except for one thing. The quality of the ingredients at Aubergine has been going downhill at Aubergine for some time. Now we are back to properly sourced quality ingredients. Another especially welcome facet is that the wine list has to be one of the most sensibly priced list there is for this category of restaurant, with the clear majority of the 250 bins being in the £30-50 range. The wine list p!ss taking that's been going on over the past few years in various more established locations has thankfully come to an abrupt halt at Seven Park Place. We had the Menu Gourmand, switching the sea bass course for a snail dish that was new to me, and I can recommend it. The foie starter that I mentioned earlier as well as the lamb is currently on this tasting menu. Including the matching wines, it's £99 per head. So it's certainly sensible pricing. Dessert was a spectacular chocoholics' wet dream, courtesy of their German pastry chef. A big dessert for a tasting menu, if I described it, it would be akin to presenting a spoiler to the outcome of a rivetingly complex novel. Anyway, perhaps I'm biased, but I was sold, as were my dining companions. Billy Drabble's no-nonsense less-is-more approach to cooking with good quality ingredients together with the juxtaposition of intricate desserts made for a good evening. Plus, even better, the bank definitely wasn't broken. Cheers, Howard

That concurs with my understanding from chef too. Howard

Back in the days when I had a travel budget, I went through T5 about once a week. I dined so often at Plane Food I became recognised by a couple of the maitre d's. During a kitchen tour, the first thing I noticed was that there's no naked flame - it's all leccy. One morning I noticed the sausages were pre-cooked and then warmed up. When I asked chef what was going on he abruptly told me that you can't cook a sausage in eight minutes (apparently the time they have from order to plating). Still, despite this, the PF brekkie is jolly good, and for 18 quid it needs to be. Other visits there have been rather variable. However I do fully support the notion that there should be at least somewhere half decent to eat. PF is definitely better than the fare that you're presented with in the BA lounges, and that includes what's on offer in the Concorde Room (for longhaul First passengers). However, the lure of lashings and lashings of free (and pretty darned good quality) grog in the Concorde and First lounges is often too much, and Ramsay has to wait until next time. Cheers, H

Interesting point, but if I have turned up with, say, three instead of four with a credit card guaranteed booking, then they haven't charged me for the no show. Cheers, H

I had a tip from the maitre d' of a well known 2* who suggested that when booking, I should book a table for two, but turn up on my own. He suggested that a restaurant is less likely to accept a single diner, as hanging on for a couple would generally mean you'd achieve a larger spend (apparently I am an exception to this rule!). Certainly if a restaurant refuses to accept bookings from a single diner then they deserve this approach. It's not like they can turn you away. Cheers, Howard

Good point: must admit if it's a really good'un having it on its own is a good option. I hadn't heard the cheese coated tongue thing before. Perhaps that's a bit like drinking milk before a hot curry to dull the spiciness. If you're into food and wine matching, then there are two pre-requisites, food and wine. And when you hit highs like a fairly aged decent vintage d'Yquem with pan fried foie gras (how much fat?!) or Roquefort I'm prepared to give it a go. Cheers, Howard

Well I think this snippet is right. Quite how you think your customers can consider a markup of 200-300% on a bottle of wine is right less than a rip off is beyond me. It used to be about 100-150%, but over the past eight years or so, it seems to be considered fair play by restaurants to up their gouge to astronomic proportions. Sadly I have yet to see the good old days return, but I live in hope if they see we're all drinking Thames tap instead. H

I'm assuming your Leeuwin is a chardonnay, in which case buttery cheeses are great with it, although percieved wisdom is so often for reds. My rules of thumb are: Sauv blanc and Champagne (especially the warm, flat remains of your apéritif, try it!) for soft boursin-texture goats cheese Port for Stilton Sauternes/Barsac/Fargues & taste-a-likes (incl. Tokay 4 puts/Jurancon/Vin de Constance) for Roquefort and possibly Forme d'Ambert: I find that only salty blue cheeses work with Sauternes, forget Stilton or anything else pretty much Gerwurtz for Munster (try asking the kitchen for some honey and cumin too) Oaky chardonnay new or old world for almost everything else including Brie, Cheddar, Parmesan, Pecorino, Epoisses, Vacherin Mont d'Or, Comté, Gruyere, Beaufort, Reblochon, & Stinking Bishop At a push I find a red Burgundy in particular a fruity Beaune red will work with hards such as Beaufort, Comté, Gruyere. I'm afraid that although it's not offensive taste-wise, for me red Bordeaux adds little to the experience of cheese eating (apart from the obvious intoxication part). H

Folks I had the 48 quid lunch deal with my work collegues about ten days ago, and dinner (menu exceptionnel+wine flight) on Saturday with a couple of friends of mine. Both good, but I must say that the 48 quid including a half bottle of wine each and as much bottled water as you can take is an absolute bargain. Although perhaps the ingredients are less expensive, in all other aspect the set lunch is definitely no cut down offering. My menu exceptionel was the same as kutsu's except for the amuse bouche. I'm interested in the comments about service aberrations. It's been almost a year since Silvano left, and I've been probably six or seven times since then. I can't honestly say I've seen any reduction in the attention to detail except once about eight months ago or so, when an assistant sommelier was so slap dash it was unbelievable, with the screw tops of water bottles flying about and the water itself barely making it into the glasses, slopping over onto the table cloth - shocking really. Anyway, the abhorrent sommelier is not there anymore, and my work colleagues and friends uniformly loved it. Cheers, Howard

How weird - I went there for lunch yesterday with four work mates, and as one of my work colleagues is over from some far flung part and is veggie, I selected Vanilla Black. This is only the second time I've ever been to a veggie place, the last time was about ten years ago in Brighton. The decor itself was clean and inviting. We arrived just after midday and it was empty. When we left at 1:30pm, it was maybe 1/3 full. I agree that the wine list is rather limited, but I wouldn't call it eye watering - in fact, I thought it was good value for what little was on there. The same bottles in a Conran or D&D or whatever they're called nowadays would demand a rather higher gouge. I had: Sweetcorn Créme Brulée and Smoked Paprika Biscuits with Tomato and Chilli Salsa and Truffled Potato 'Bubble and Squeak' The creme brulee dish was OK, but hardly made me forget that I am a meat eater. I though that the truffled potato was pretty good, a highlight for me. I also tried one of my fellow diner's mustard panna cotta and I quite liked it. Also there was a cheese soufflee knocking about on one of the plates that was pretty tasty, although up to the Gavroche Soufflee Suissese. Service was lacklustre, and I didn't get a nice warm feeling that I would get any dialogue that would help me choose one dish over another. When it came to desserts, we chose instead to furnish the bill immediately and partake of McFlurries all round at the conveniently located Maccy D's at the tube. I went in with high hopes. I've done veggie only a couple of times in the last year or so, including tasting menus at the Balmoral's Number One in Edinburgh and also at Rasoi Bhatia. Both were successful, but #1 won hands down, and I remember stating at the time that if all veggie food was like that, I could possibly consider living as a veggie. For a day or two anyway. But Vanilla Black fell rather short I'm afraid. It was interesting, but it was a long way from making me believe that I could enjoy food without the slaughter of many innocent animals. None of use were in any hurry to return soon, even the veggie among us. H

Chavot leaves on Friday 14th. His sous, with seven years at the Capital, remains. Front of house it's all change: over the next few weeks many of the regular crew are leaving, including Maitre d' Christophe Thuilot who's going to St James's Hotel & Club, working with, I understand, Billy Drabble ex Aubergine. Interestingly I remember the pair working together at Aubergine about eight years ago or so. I only ever met Chavot in the kitchen once, although he pretty much attended daily, choosing to do the prep but not hanging around for service. Whether they will retain 2* remains to be seen. Cheers, Howard

Thanks for the tip, will mean a stiff uphill cycle for me, but I'm sure I'll pick up some speed on the wobble home. Cheers, Howard

I can also recommend Ynyshir Hall. Cheers, Howard

Sadly I noticed today that Fuzzy's Grub on Houndsditch has shut with signs intimating that this may be due to rent arrears. I am not sure if other outlets are affected. H

Never mind about the sharks, what about all those birds with no nests to fly home to? It's a disgrace S ← The same could be applied to French gastronomy, what with all those limbless frogs not hopping about. H

You see it's different strokes for different folks here: I really like the Capital, although I would accept that I found earlier visits several years ago were a bit of a "mixed bag". Cheers, H

Sure, about five years ago! However, those occasions were bad enough such that I'm not at all interested on risking it again. Of course, if someone else is paying, then that might change my mind! Cheers, Howard