Dan Ryan

Taktika has a table section, but also bar seats. There shouldn't be any problem rolling along. They have pintxos plated, but also come round with hot stuff out of the kitchen (pieces of bacalao tortilla for instance). I'm just not sure that it'll be that revelatory for you, even though I know it's recommended on many threads. I suspect you'd find Quimet e Quimet more interesting, or perhaps even Dolso (another dessert place) would suit you after healthy quantities of delicious pig. In any case PM me if you feel like meeting for a bit of foodie talk, a well-timed cava or cocktail or a market browse.

Sounds like you need to try Bettola. Authentic, welcoming and utterly fortifying. No nonsense, great food, but don't drink the coffee. I'd place several notches ahead of Mario, if a little further from the very centre (a pleasant 20 minute stroll).

Any details there Jon?

Enjoying the blog so far. The mushroom carpaccio you had was Caesar's mushroom (uovolo in Italian). Quite the delicacy, lucky you. And persimmons are great, aren't they. When utterly soft. There is the harder variety (also know as sharon fruit), but they tend to be a little tannic, I find. Do you have any trees there in Umbria? They are amazing with the leaves down but the fruit still up. I can't believe you haven't got the taste for horse meat yet. Get yourselves to Verona and practise a bit.

L'Artisan du Chocolat. http://www.artisanduchocolat.com/Artisandu...cm/OurStore.htm Is good.

Dan, Can't think of any trad German stuff off hand, but will let you know. Also remember that it's a pretty good city for experiencing traditional Turkish pastries. If you don't mind a little over-exposure to sugar syrup, there are some good pastry shops in Kreuzberg: a couple very near Hasir for example. You might want to head to the food hall at KaDeWe (it's certainly worth seeing), and make some enquiries. I don't know if their own pastries are up to scratch, but I'm sure some friendly conversations with likely-looking people could point you in the right direction.

Not as fine as the dark 'n' stormy though...

Quince flavoured stuff with Zubrowka. Of course.

Gerry's on Old Compton St has a pretty good range of a hell of a lot of things.

Most of the supermarkets carry a madeira or three. Waitrose (a partnership, and so a bit more ethical) usually have the Henriques & Henriques range. You could easily pick up all four of the varieties (I think they come in 50 cl bottles). They are excellent too.

So gave the Pegu a go. After all, it's got gin, lime juice, bitters and some form of orange liqueur: all good stuff. Did 4:1:1, using tanqueray (house gin) and cointreau. Initial thoughts: it's definitely dry and tart in this guise, perhaps appealingly so in hot weather. Seems to lack a little in body or mouthfeel though. Give me an aviation or mainbrace in preference. Options: Use grand marnier or triplum, or even some bols dry orange curacao that I've got knocking around (obv the last will be rather drastic). Try some other bitters: I also have peychaud's, and some rather complex homemade peach bitters. Any advice of which way to go? In the meantime I'm off to experiment with some maraschino and grapefruit juice (two of my very favourite ingredients).

I think the 3-year Havana is perfect for daquiris though. It has that slightly medicinal quality that just seems to round off the lime and sugar components. And if you make it a Florida...

I believe Metaxa is blended with wine (muscat) and infused with botanicals. It's an interesting substitute for brandy in cocktails, although sometimes it lacks a little bite. Shouldn't be too hard to adjust the balance in a sidecar.

Thanks all for your input. Much appreciated. I'll let you know any feedback I get.

A mate going to Glasgow and Edinburgh this weekend, and years since I've been. Need some recommendations for bars and restaurants. Any instant help appreciated. I've mentioned Martin Wishart to him already. Still good? I'd also like a definitive recommendation for a fish restaurant in Leith. What about the Buttery in Glasgow? Any recent feedback? Good Glasgow bars, where are they? And is there a best place to try a lot of whiskies?

Great stuff Alberto. Keep them coming.

The xanthia is pretty sweet. It's definitely a last drink. I've also made it subbing strega for the yellow chartreuse. Very herbal then.

The carnivore argument is pretty unsubstantiated I think. It's impractical to raise carnivorous mammalian livestock, in terms of efficiency of conversion and perhaps personal danger too. But lions are meant to taste just fine. And I'm very happy to eat bear and pig, which are omnivorous. Not to mention all the carnivorous fish, cephalopods and crustacea we tuck into. The dog/cat/horse taboo is cultural, nothing more. Mmm, horse.

Horse is great. Like very good beef. Beats it for flavour at any price point IMO. Don't forget foal, which is rather darker and beefier than veal, its bovine equivalent. Prefer horse though.

Kevin, in Slovenia your jota comes in two basic variations: either with sauerkraut (kislo zelje) or with turnip sauerkraut (kisla repa). The turnip is shredded, but otherwise brovada would be fairly similar. The Slovenian dish always contains a bit of potato. I'm a jota fanatic too, and prefer the cabbage version. Another interesting dish with turnip sauerkraut is bujta repa, which is made with more pig than jota normally has, no beans or potato, and millet as a thickening agent. Not sure if it can be found on the Friulian side of the border.

I recently made a pilgrimage there (actually it's where I used to play cricket), and I think it really would help if you go with a Korean friend/acquaintance. The level of English in many of the good places is not so hot. Or, failing that, just go in and say "I'll have what they're having"

I made a very good arancello using moros last year (with a little lime). They have a bitter quality that you don't find in tarocco.

Does sound like a sodding good deal.

Add a teaspoon / teaspoon and half to a standard sized Aviation. Try to cut down the amount of sugar syrup accordingly. I've heard it said that the Aviation originally had a touch of violette, giving it a sky blue tinge (people with more diligence and less work piling up in front of them as they lurk on egullet for hours may care to verify this). The parfait amour does the same, and extends the flavour further. My favourite right now, along with the Sazerac. Otherwise I've got a recipe or two of my own. Just not with me right now.

Any more biffin updates? Jack raises a very interesting point about the use of oven-drying as a flavour-enhancing technique. What else could we apply it to? Ignoring tomatoes, is there any veg that would benefit? Mushrooms maybe (very speculative)? I imagine peppers would just get tough. There are lots of dried persimmons on sale here at the moment, and fruit will definitely work well. Figs and sour cherries spring to mind, but they'll have to wait a good while. Perhaps pears are the next to try. I'll see if I can get on it.