Charlene Leonard

you can definitely order in advance. Tim gave me his mobile number but I don't have it on me at the mo. I don't know if you would have to order in advance though because he always seem to have half a cow in the chiller!

They have a bit of a kick to them but nothing too unbearable. I've also added them to thai green curry. P.S Sunrise in Willesden sells them

i use the ones kept in brine in chicken liver pate, they give a little kick to the silky smooth texture but I don't know if you could use the fresh ones?

I like to get what is basically a very thick t-bone steak from The Ginger Pig (I think this is different from a rib of beef?). Get him to chine it for you and when it is cooked I take the fillet off and cut this seperately and then remove the sirloin from the bone and slice into thick slices.

On the Collective Food Diary, Vanessa went to Gourmet Burger Kitchen and seemed a little under whelmed by it and poses the question "Is this really the best burger in London?". Whilst the fries are far superior at Eagle Bar Diner, I absolutely love the burgers at GBK and they are definitely the best I have tried but has anyone had better?

oh dear that sounds terrible I'll have to go again to see if they are consistent, maybe I'd shouldn't have posted until I tried a few times... Also this is Basilico's website Here and it lists Finchley Road, I've had pizza's from there loads of times and am sure it is the real thing.

Magnolia, have you tried Basillico on Finchley road (delivery only)?

haven't had the pizza, have had a great seafood risotto - HUGE portions! Kiku - that is gross

Went here looking for a quick bite to eat before the cinema. Had my reservations as a) it is in a shopping centre and b) it shares floor space with an Old Orleans Restaurant, a Wetherspoons and Yo Sushi. We had the paperdelle with veal ragu for starter which was very tasty and meaty, the Salmon with tagliatelli was ok. Star of the show though were the pizza's, huge and crisp with generous toppings. They didn't go all soggy in the middle like most other pizza's do half way through eating them. Quite possibly the best pizza I have had in London. Portions are huge, excellent value, light and airy room but terrible music. I think there a a few of these around London, I went to the one in the O2 centre in Finchley Road.

why is it that in the UK you can get anything from hedgehog to salad cream crisps but in Cont. Europe you are hard pressed to get anything other than paprika, cheese and ham? Where do crisps originate from? My Fav flavours: Smiths Bovril Walkers Branston pickle and cheese Burts sea salt and black pepper Garlic crisps from Spain I am not a great fan of Kettle chips but they do some original flavours like stilton and port, rosemary and garlic, salsa with mesquite and most recently some Jersey Royal ones which are actually quite good.

are you sure she hasn't been on a date with Simon before?

as nice as it was 'pulled pork' just sounds erm, rude to me

really liked The Player, will definitely go again. Burnt ends were great. Flaming Gully was pleasant but the martini glasses too small or am I just a greedy pig? (don't answer that Simon)

Simon, what are burnt ends?

we have a whole day of pontificating about who's going, where we are going and what Andy looks like yet!

what a traitor!

i will also be coming with my elbow minder! So what's in a Flaming Gully or is it a surprise?

Second most. what's the first?

don't worry about that. I've found drinking straight from the bottle gets round that problem and a martini glass is far lighter and easier to hold than a cup of tea.

will the place be open to the hoi polloi or just us and selected guests? would love to come but can't go anywhere too crowded at the moment.

oohh, don't get me started on that... Among my friends (twenty something DINKIES) I am regarded as an excellent cook, which I am not by any stretch of the imagination, but because I use the best ingredients I can afford e.g. organic chicken even if cooking for 10 - Neals Yard cheese, rare-breed meat - surprise, surprise everything I cook tastes better than if it was made with pale, flabby chicken or plastic cheese. I don’t mind buying a piece of meat for £40 because food is very important to me, it just isn’t for Joe Bloggs. My friends just don’t place importance on traceability of meat, wild salmon over farmed etc. I don’t know if this is elitist though, as most of my friends could certainly afford it (average incomes for London) but would rather own 100 DVD’s and would rather eat 5 Melton Mowbray’s than just one delicious Mrs Kings. I suppose what is elitist is for us on Egullet to presume that our interest in food is the norm or more accurately to be disappointed when others don’t share our passion for eating or care what the top 50 restaurants are.

I trust you will be ordering a kilo or two for us British egulleteers then?

I've no idea what Duelling Banjos sounds like, can't they add sound to Egullet?

Sam, I should have made it clear in my original post that I grew up in East Sussex and went to school in Bexhill. I can't believe that there is a good restaurant there, that really is very interesting news and I will definitely check it out the next time I go back, blimey, I am shocked but in a good way. The extent of my culinary adventures as a teenager in Bexhill was eating a pizza pasty on the seafront (a calzone to you but it would be at least 5 years before I knew what one if those was) after consuming 4 cans of Special brew. It just goes to show that sometimes there can be some little gem hiding on your doorstep.

It's 2nd Jan, so time to start planning a holiday. I'm looking for any recommendations for nice country pubs and restaurants in West Sussex, we will be there over Easter week. Ta C