sarah w

She may just have an accent. which is something we can't really criticise her for. Personally I find Nigel Slater's way of talking very irritating, but I like to think he isn't camping it up deliberately. S ← I suspect its deliberate as with previously mentioned Hoomousse & Choritzo

And her pronunciation of so many now everyday ingredients drives me insane, for example Balsamic (ballsarmic) Tarragon…etc I seems to me she wants to create her own Delia dictionary

Hi I'm looking for a Sunday lunch venue near exeter (we have people coming from Plymouth, Okehampton and we need to get back on the A303 for journey home to surrey so quite close to the A30 is ideal) We are lunching @ Gidleigh Park on the saturday so don't need anywhere to expensive or high end, also will have kids with us so preferably looking for a good pub with food and ales. Thanks in advance sarah

I noticed this in TV guide, tomorrow BBC4 http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/listings/prog...0_4544_51131_30 Cheers sarah

Found this website earlier, thought you may fine it interesting http://www.airlinemeals.net/ Cheers Sarah

Doodles, i wish i had known before We did look at Salvador Rojo but it was shut when we walked past and Egana was already booked Next time eh !! Thanks x

Have just returned from 5 days in seville, thoroughly enjoying the people and tapas. We stayed at a lovely hotel very near the giralda...Probably the best location for us on a city break (i have often booked a little out of town unintentionally) http://www.hotelalminar.com We spent most of our eating time in and around Mateos Gago, i mixture of touristy and bustling with locals Tapas bars.. All highly enjoyable, nibbled on dishes such as - Rollitos De Berengenas y Gambas (Aubergine wrapped prawns fried) -Habitas Baby Enchorizodas(Baby Broad Beans + Chorizo) And Croquetas De Queso Manchego,Tortilla with Tuna & Salsa Rojo, Salamejro, Oxtail stew, Montaditos- Pringa The best bar for atmosphere we found was the teeny La Goleta, Mateos Gago 20 The Man that runs it is full of spirit, the son of a famous flamenco singer They serve simple drinks incl Vino Najanja... The tapas menu is short but perfect..The floor is covered in sawdust and the proprietor breaks into song often..Be warned the only servicos is a small cupboard for men !! http://www.footprintguides.com/Seville/Tap...d-Drinking2.php Our only dissapointment was Egana Oriza, we were quite looking foward to a different kind of meal...When we arrived at the restaurant we were very impressed by the place, a stunning dining room Indeed But the staff attitude immediately startled us, the lady who lead us to our table (very near the front)proceeded to sit and cut stuff out of the paper, yawn etc..It became apparant that when she required the attention of the floor staff she made a peculiar noise..Obviously a lot better than yelling but it became quite annoying The Maitre D was sullen, the only positive people were the mature "runners" but they were dressed like they worked in a British B&B Also very strange that they came and took our wine order !! Over to the food Nibbles arrived, Tasty Olives,Capers and Garlic Then an amuse of Bread slices and some kind on paste/pate..Sorry to be vague but we were not quite sure what it was..No explanation was made For starter we had the Ajo Blanco (very tasty) And the Partridge salad..The confit Partridge was good but the accompanying Pistou/Ratatouille was over sweet By now having got very use to 3-6 tapas between us a night this meal seemed huge !! For mains i had the Hake with Salsa Verde, very good fish..Insipid watery leek soupy sauce with no sustanence Andy my partner Had been intrigued by some of the local dishes on the menu, a tripe stew and casserole..He had asked the maitre D if there was anyway that he could buy a sample size portion of the tripe stew additonally (as he has never had tripe) We advised that this was not possible as portion size is already set??? Surely this stew would be in a big pot bubbling away, how else would you make tripe edible..?? Anyway he went for Lamb which was nice but again served with the sweet Ratatouille/pisto We shared a very good dessert of a slightly jellyfied orange sauce, sorbet and chocolate rocks The whole meal with Aperitifs,2 x wine, coffee was £95 incl service (135 euros) so not bad but we really we expecting more We discussed that if we had such a stunning building that we would make so much of the surrounding,service and food... Maybe we have become to use to the French style of service but even in Bruges where we ate at a relaxed Michelin venue it didnt feel as sloppy as this Otherwise Sevilla is a vibrant city with so much going on you would never get bored and getting a flight for £35 Return from the UK has surely got to get you packing your bags !! XX

I think we paid around £80 between 4 to share the Whole truffle in Foie with Truffle sauce at Auberge d'lill in france It was so rich & truffley i feel you would die if attempted alone....! x

I noticed over the weekend the mentioning of a restaurant called Relais De Venise. Apologies if has been open a while or already written about I was not aware of the Paris Branch I am very curious as to whether the London one is any good and if it can survive with a menu selection of: A salad with Walnuts, Entrecote steak,chips & special sauce-Med or Rare Desserts-choices Has anyone been? Sarah x

we have been very happy with our Toledo90 for 2 years now Same as the one in photo Sarah W x

So no more London Time out guides then ?!? Is the current one the last one? Sarah

The whole thing just makes me cringe...

Maybe not but we were shocked at £7+ for Tom and olive salad Pub food prices always shock me Obviously the place has gone downhill since you left the area ! Sarah

QUOTE "Whatever's wrong with the Fort St George In England? tsk..." ************************************************************** Ummm the people, the toilets, a bench table that said "do not enter" with crime scene tape wrapped round and the pricey sounding menu Drinks were ok though Sarah x

P.S Stayed at the Hotel Felix, lovely hotel I think i have seen the Restaurant graffiti mentioned b4, we didnt dine there but chatted to some people who said it was really good and one of their dishes included a catcus like veg they had never had before The hotel doesnt look immediately impressive when you pull due to annexe buildings near the car park but once inside the decor and ambience is lovely and our room was great.... http://www.hotelfelix.co.uk about 15-20mins walk to town Sarah

We visited Midsummer on saturday night, seems like forever since we went anywhere starred so i am not sure if it Jades you Having read reviews in Time Out, Hardens etc alot of chat about stuffiness, napkin folding etc to be honest we found the opposite, there were Michelin type touches but generally it was very relaxed (i also was surprised at this @ Ramsays) We were sat very quickly by a very cheerful but quite in loud member of staff, menus came quickly. I was surprised that there didnt appear to be a sommiliear as such, a guy who could have been Maitre'd did offer some advice but also said "cool" when i selected the wine. Worringly i had emailed them to ask about a wine from the webisite and in the mail depsite asking about a NZ white he had added "We do have copious quantities of red Burgundy, and other special things to choose from" which i found odd in the 1st place...Anyway at the restaurant i heard the cool chap selling another table red burgundy as the all singing match everything wine..Ummm it just concerned me Then we were given our 1st foam Pink Grapefruit & champers (same as mark donnelly's post) It was very nice but a little to sweet to start, this was our 1st foam experience and not sure it really rocked my world Next we were given butter but no bread Then 2nd amuse arrived, a very nice pea veloute, pea foam and very tender king prawns...This was good still no bread, i decided to ask It looked like someone would be in trouble !! To start i had Scallop Seared Hand Dived Scallop, Celeriac & Truffle Purée, Fresh Apple, Apple Reduction : 2 decent scallops but nothing out of the ordinary. Apple jelly a bit weak Andy had Vichyssoise Warm Vichyssoise, Poached Oysters, Leek Purée, Jersey Royals, Sevruga Caviar : This was good, lovely oysters We asked to add on Tasting size version of the Smoked Eel Salad of Smoked Eel, Crispy Pigs Trotter, Braeburn Pureé, Wild Cress :Just had to try it, as Mark's post said the pigs trotter croquets were very good, tasted like a very rich braised ham, there were slithers of foie Gras The Smoked eel with thick but a little mild if anything For mains we had Turbot Braised Turbot with Peanuts and Pistachio, Wilted Cos Lettuce, Fresh Asparagus, Squash Purée, Essence of Vanilla : Everything was cooked to perfection, great piece of fish..Nuts didn’t work for me and the squash puree could have been sweeter. I always enjoy Wilted lettuce, the essence of vanilla was sprayed on, pleasant but not particuarly strong vanilla and Dover Sole Sautéed Dover Sole, Cauliflower and Langoustine Purée, Cucumber, Samphire, Grilled Langoustine :Again fish was excellent, and the samphire and langoustine went down well. Andy really didn’t enjoy the puree, he thought it was like butterscotch I thought it was like peanut butter, very odd and savoury A Crème Caramel Foam : could have eaten more of that Andy had wanted the Farmhouse Camembert with truffles but none left so we reselected Raspberry Millefeuille of Vanilla, Fresh Raspberries, White Chocolate Mousse, Champagne Sorbet, Fresh Nettles : Very tasty, crispy caramel tuille with beautiful raspberries Apricot Cannelloni of Apricot, Strawberry Sorbet, Fraise des Bois, Crystalised Mint : Very similar to a dessert we had at Chantecler in Nice when Alain Llorca cooked there, the apricot/canneloni element was almost like sheets of melt in the mouth plastic wrapped around the filling...(tasted better than it sounds !) We then retired to the small bar for a beer, the chocolate humidor was bought up. Selected 6 chocs Took them home, not sure about curry chocolate and soft caramel one was amazing !! It was also quite amusing when we told to give them to a girl called XXX she knew how to wrap well, they were presented to us in tin foil !! Bill £200 2 x A'la Carte, 2 x aperitifs, extra course £20, 2 x beers, white wine from Loire £39, Service ************************************************************************ To summarise It was an enjoyable experience & meal A beautifully decorated place, very friendly and happy staff (We visited kitchen aswell, tiny and absolutely bustling) I think in conclusion the more I eat out often the more simpler I want things, I hope this isnt age at 28 but sometimes I think places try to hard and there were too many foams. All ingredients were of very high quality, cooked well, they have a lovely restaurant, enviable location (if you ignore pub next door) and staff who really seem to enjoy where they work.. I think a few refinment tweaks could be made (bread) & simplification (foam) and it would be very very good I am not still not sure how they scale 2* places on but it be interesting to compare somewhere as different as Gavroche in august Regards Sarah

Do any of you find the more Tasting Menus you have the harder the become to stomach I am finding on the whole i get to full these days (obviously depending on the restaurant) Tetsuya's in sydney's tasting menu was generally light so i coped despite extra courses being added I found instead with Ramsays that despite being very enjoyable i just got to stuffed Considering with the A'La carte you get the amuses etc anyway they can often compete in touches My problem is the moment read the menu's on arrival at a restaurant i am nearly always craving all the courses on the A'La carte and find it hard to make the decision of only 3 courses Better if someone else decides ! Next meal is midsummer house in July, not sure what i will choose there ! Sarah

Kellie(who reminds me of a kathy burke character) seems quite efficient, works in a pub i believe I want to know what the Geordie "caterer" does in terms of catering ?! Can't believe i am getting into it ! still cringing at Gary's growling Sarah x

What did you think of Tough Guys Rhodes??? I had to hide behind a pillow Sarah

We have just returned from a holiday which included Siem Reap in our travels. Loved the place ! The road casually known us pub street is a nice mix of bars and eateries with a vague colonial style architecture The soup dragon, Red Piano, Banana Leaf are all good for a drink and snack Our best eats included a small Italian on that street called Pissa Italiano Amazingly thin, crispy pizza's..Some odd topping choices but really good pizzas We also went to the Khmer kitchen and are very grateful for the recommendation We found it Easy to find, best to get the Siem Reap free guide from hotels or bars Simple street map provided and recommendations in it including the Khmer kitchen basically it is down an alley a few doors down from the Angkor What? bar on pub street... We had an Amok with Tofu and Veg, a quite spicy prawn & morning glory stir-fry, an amazing baked dish with sweet potato, garlic, cream..Like an asian Dauphinoise A few large Angkor beers.. $14 i think (the beers took there toll) It was pretty quiet that night, it is going into low season in cambodia due to the heat and rains due in May We sat by the main "alley" which i wouldnt necessarily recommend as many beggars and young kids. In the end though rather than give any money we gave them food and some water and ended up playing a game with them... We also ate at Madame butterfly on the airport road, a lovely fairylit haven with excellent food and Chivit Thai which specialise's in thai but we ate cambodian.. Enjoyed an excellent spicy, thick pork dip with vegetable similar to sambal If we had had more money i would have liked to try Shinta Mani http://www.sanctuaryresorts.com/shintamani/ or one of the many french restuarants, also the blue Pumpkin looked worth a visit http://www.tbpumpkin.com/galpict.htm Hotel/ guesthouse wise, the place is changing everyday. We stayed on the airport road at the monoreach,which is about 20mins walk from the fun, we walked or got a motocycle taxi into town but very dusty road I would recommend staying nearer Siem reap town.. If money was no object then i would stay at http://www.amanresorts.com/ the amansara We found the people to be so warm and friendly, food and drink excellent and Angkor was fantastic..Especially if you plan your temple visits against the tide i.e the best photo opportunites..You can always pop for them at another point Get there before it grows to much ! Sarah x

We have just returned from Oz & Asia Trip to Tetsuyas on the 30 March Fantastic, 3 diners, 3 Truffled butters...! sublime One of our group knew the guys who supplys some of the wine so we got some excellent, good value recommendations from the sommiliear The menu was pretty much the same as Shinboners, we had a couple of extra dishes(i dont have the menu with me today) The fish courses were all amazing We really enjoyed the corn soup and basil ice cream Also the Blue cheese dessert was a taste revalation. One dessert we had with Cannellini beans,coffee and a jelly substance was a bit savoury/sweet for me.. With aperetifs,oyster supplement white, red, dessert wine,tip £113 a head... Well worth the visit Even did some star spotting, saw Micheal Stipe who was dining with REM there... Sarah x

Hi magnolia My trip was 2 years ago now but we had a lovely time, if you search in this forum u will find my thread under luxembourg, what a gem ! When are you going ? have fun sarah xx

I hope his wife doesnt look on egullet !! It was lovely, weather was good and i was surprised that once out of main drags i.e ambleside & windermere the roads were clear and a pleasure to drive on.. I would easily recommend everywhere mentioned we ate and would definately advise a night or two's stay at the duck..Twas very relaxing sarah x

Nearly forgot, also stopped for lunch at the Punchbowl in crossthwaite http://www.punchbowl.net/ . Main menu looked good but we opted for bar meals. A great beef sarnie and a Punchbowl ploughmans which had 6 different cheeses, 3 chuntneys-pear,picalli,sundried tom. We totally forgot to ask if they were local cheeses but they were very good, included a goats brie, Grilled goat on filo and several firmer but crumbly cheeses from mild to blue.. Excellent, the most original ploughams we have ever had The chef is ex Gavroche, we heard many other patrons discussing that the food in dining room was very good sarah x

Review of the lake district last week: 2 nights at drunken duck http://www.drunkenduckinn.co.uk . A lovely place, we had a nicely decorated and positioned room across the courtyard with seating at rear looking out over the fells. The bar is open all day,they do food lunch and dinner we only dined in the evening, the food was high quality Brasserie/gastropub fare. The 1st night we had Crab cake with chilli and ginger jam and Rabbit with shitake mushrooms and nutmeg cream. Both well executed & tasty, a very meaty crab cake. My partner said the rabbit was nice and moist and the dish worked well For mains we had Pot roast duck, fennel, new potatoes and broccoli with blueberry glaze & Venison in coca with chestnut polenta, caramalised figs and espresso iced pistachio. The duck was good if a little over cooked, the new pots and broccoli spear made it feel a bit like normal pub grub. My other half chose the venison as it has been on the menu some time so we assumed it must be good. He found the venison was quite tasteless but could be season, the polenta was mush and we both feel polenta benefits from being fried. The sauce was ok but very bitter and the pistachios were nice but really just sugar coated.. He did enjoy the dish but just felt that each component could have been dealt with better.. Dessert was lovely, Dark chocolate,raspberry and hazelnut torte with raspberry sorbet and caramelized hazelnuts... *** Night2 I had the scallops and bacon special which was very good, 5 decent scallops Andy had the risotto with haddock,bacon and pea..This was well cooked risotto For mains I had Snapper with Risotto, a good meaty piece of fish that worked well with the risotto Andy had Lemon sole, nicely cooked. Light herb crust... We shared dessert again, the Warm waffles with "Tag lag"(their own brewed beer) ice cream & maple Syrup Sauce..Very good, lets just say we had to lie down after this meal Included in your room price is also breakfast, Afternoon tea and a newspaper The breakfast selection was the best i have had in a hotel, museli, Yoghurt and fruit compote,decent full english, field mushroom with poached egg and hollandaise, Smoked haddock etc. Afternoon tea was a choice of leaf tea, Scones,Jam and Cream on the Sunday and a delicious slab of passion cake on the monday All in all a lovely place to stay and dine, warm and friendly and when then the sun shines the landscape is fantastic The only other "proper" meal we had was a lunch for Andys birthday, i had enquired on this very thread of where was best to go. We had checked website menus and settled on the Gilpin lodge. It is about 2.5 miles up behind Bowness. We decided to walk, quite steep on a hot day A lovely small country house hotel, we opted to sit in the well maintained garden. There was only one other couple on this wednesday lunch.. http://www.gilpinlodge.com/food.htm Lunch is £19:50 for 3 courses and very decent I started with a carpaccio with parmesan,leaf and smattering of truffle oil Followed but an excellent piece of salmon, Potato cake, Summer Veg & Lobster broth Andy had a mighty slab of guinea fowl terrine with wild mushrooms and asparagus strips. For main he had a very moist piece of pot roast chicken, lentils and summer veg The summer veg was a baby leek & asparagus, the thing was they were so well cooked,Very green and crunchy, almost like they had been deep fried without tasting like that !! Lovely Desserts were good too, a summer fruit champagne jelly with vanilla ice cream and a hot chocolate fondant with baileys ice cream... With a 2 g&t's, bottle of Viognier & a muscat and chilean dessert wine total was £80 Well recommended An excellent holiday in a beautiful place Sarah x