culinary bear

What sort of cooking do you want to sample? There are options within many styles of eating to fit the more modest budget.

This week: JoJo's in Whitstable comes in for the Rayner treatment this week. I need not remind readers of Escoffier's famous dictum, oft repeated (rightly) by the likes of Alastair Little. JoJo's seems to hit the right buttons. Paul, any plans to go and visit? A lovely "review" of Bluu in Glasgow's Merchant City, from the Scotsman on Sunday. Having briefly worked for Bluu in Liverpool, I can assure reviewer Richard Bath that the likelihood of his bearnaise having being made with free range eggs is akin to finding Lord Lucan waiting on your table. Gillan Glover finds good yet overpriced food at Le Cafe st Honore in Edinburgh. Edinburgh hasn't quite got the hang of the whole 'Grand Cafe' experience, she mantains, but then where does? Now, I may be wrong here (it has been known, ask Wylie Dufresne) but I was under the impression that adding milk to tea was, apart from certain varieties, a matter of personal taste. I find Darjeeling and Earl Grey teas better without milk, but Assam I can't stand unless it has milk added. Jan Moir went to The Tea Palace in Notting Hill, and finds that there's but one tea, condescendingly called "builder's blend", which is "designed to be enjoyed with milk". The rest, as far as I can make out, are meant to be enjoyed milkless unless you wish to appear like a Visigoth. Thomas Sutcliffe evades the midges for a few brief hours at the Old Pines, in Spean Bridge. That's in Scotland, for the uninitiated, near one of the most poignant war memorials I've yet encountered. Thumbs up for the food, and well-done to the AA for awarding them their first rosette. Maze Maze Maze Maze Coren Maze Maze Maze. Maize. Corny? Guess where AA "Maureen Lipman hates me and told me so, but I hate her more, the old ham" Gill reviews? Ah, bugger it, you won't struggle to guess. Marina O'Loughlin loves Wizzy, and has a bit of a mixed bag (should that be scrotum?) at Ping Pong. The first incidence I've read of the adjective 'testicular' being used to describe something not on the menu at St John's. Wilton's in London's Jermyn Street is offering understated, well-cooked food, according to Chris Blakchurst. At 243 quid for two, with a bottle and two glasses of nothing fancy, they'd bloody well better be. Charles Campion went to Santorini's, and doesn't care to repeat the experience. Sejal Sukhadwala portrays The Hand and Flowers in Marlow as a "traditional pub with a smart Anglo-French menu" rather than a gastropub. This is my main question for this week - when does a pub with good food become a gastropub? What features do you associate with a gastropub, and once you can apply say, six of them to an establishment, is it forever to be branded thus?

Cheese. Bread. Potatoes.

Tony - I know... seems a bit, well, clubbish... but hey, I suppose that's partly what eG is about. I'm intrigued by the cock's comb; I've never tasted one. A classical garnish from way back when, usually with cocks' kidneys too, no?

Moby - Bugger... how do I book a table? "Yes, I'd like a table for Mr and Mrs Bear, please..." I showed your photographs to my last head chef, who worked for Clive Dixon at Lords of the Manor (Clive worked with David and the two are apparently good friends) and who has staged at LCS, and he says that the photos bring back happy memories.

Sorry about the tardiness on this update... I have had the week from hell, it seems... Gareth McLean reviewed La Potiniere in Gullane, East Lothian, this week in the Guardian. General findings are that the food is good but the ambience leaves a lot to be desired, not least the hooray henrys and henriettas he finds himself dining amongst. Last week Ledbury Guardian Ledbury Jess Cartner-Morley Ledbury Ledbury Ledbury Ledbury Ledbury. I've decided to start posting the food column from the Saturday Guardian 'Guide' section; we'll start with last week's Guide, which has Jeremy Wayne's review of Gordon Ramsay's new outpost, Maze, and Graze, in Maida Vale. This week's offering from Jeremy concerns palindromic restaurants, hence AKA, 202 and Umu. Last week's Raynerish piece was Cheltenham's Brosh, evoking a positive response from our resident baggy-arsed critic (his term, not mine!). Fans may like to note that I have in my possession a photograph of the intrepid Jay judging the 2004 Roux Scholarship. In chef's whites. It's rather good. :) This week, as promised, he goes to Taiwan Village and again, as promised, refutes La Maschler's verdict on the place (columns passim). Fay herself is treated to rather lavish coverage as part of the Women's Special in this month's Observer Food Monthly. I have finally managed to track down Gillian Glover, so here's her latest two. This week is Vermillion, the fine dining restaurant of the Scotsman Hotel in Edinburgh. I've eaten there, and found the food a bit hit and miss. Unforgivably so, considering that it's the most expensive meal I've ever had in Edinburgh. Starters hovered between 10-15 quid, mains 20-25, and puddings 5-7. Can you tell that my keyboard doesn't have a pound key? When somewhere is more expensive than both the Michelin starred offerings of the City, you expect food of a comparable level, and this, sadly, isn't it. Last week, Gillian ate at Morningside's Le Bistrot des Arts, murmuring approvingly about, well, just about everything. Oh-ho... I sense a Ledbury-esque repeat here. Last week, Jan Moir reviewed Maze, and if she didn't actually climax during the meal, she probably wasn't far off. Let's just call it a positive review. No review for this week as the techies at the Telegraph website don't get around to updating until later in the week. Maze Maze Independent Maze Maze Thomas Sutcliffe Maze Maze Maze Maze. Amazing. Last week, Terry Durack ate at Chair, and it's fair to say he wasn't exactly on the edge of his seat. Ah, Coren. Gems of literacy in a sea of untrammelled excrement. Glas last week, trailing behind everybody else... and a genuinely good review (as in well-written and original) of Norfolk's Samphire this week. If you can't guess by the sound of my head whacking against the desk (I'll post an mp3 of that shortly), AA Gill writes about.. No, I can't even bring myself to tell you. Go here and find out. Let's just say it's not a resoundingly positive review of a place that everyone else (and I do mean the majority of the english-speaking world, it seems) is in a frenzy of adulation over. This will have to be a two-parter as it's past midnight; I'll do the Metro and Evening Standard lot tomorrow...

We'll have a double update tomorrow - if anyone on here gets wind of a future plan of mine to move house again, feel free to shoot me.

Musar, Ksara and Kefraya all available over in the UK... I was lucky enough to go and see my friend Alan at Villeneuve Wine in Edinburgh a while ago just after he got a vertical of Kefraya in for tasting. :) the '81 was rather lovely.

My old head chef at Bluu Liverpool used to be head chef there; he said the food was pretty decent. They had a section in the book "Manchester on a Plate" and the food looked fairly good. Time to eat there, I think. Stef, you up for sharing a table?

Have you been issued with your regulation flat cap and whippet yet, Bertie?

I think so, yes... It can only be a matter of time before the aforementioned Robert Thomson (brother of Egulleteer and Roux Scholar Patrick) strikes out on his own. I cooked alongside him at the Roux Regionals this year and he's stupidly talented. It's very VERY difficult not to get green with envy about his talent and drive at that age. :)

It was actually discussing Nathan Outlaw that led Paul (Pweaver1984) to ask me if I knew who the youngest was - I didn't know, so we turned it over to you lot. :) Maybe an email to Michelin might be in order, hmm...

Walking distance kind of restricts you... The Establishment does a very good table d'hote lunch within your budget - quite a posh setting, and the food's good. Or were you looking for something maybe less formal? edited because it's 0030 and I can't bloody spell!

Oh, lordy... I need to eat there. Thanks for the review, Duncan. Is that a piece of turron I see second from right on the petit fours tray? Edited to add : Does anyone know of anywhere else that uses the tableware shown in Duncan's first photo? I first saw these plates in MPW's 'White Heat' and I think they're beautiful. I've never been a fan of coloured rims but these ones seem to act as a focus for the food on the middle of the plate rather than distracting attention away from it.

I have a feeling the Ledbury's going to do quite well; if it doesn't, it's certainly not going to be for a lack of press coverage.

Here's a possible - tunes on Radios 1/2/6 etc might be bought in expecting multiple live playings, whereas DID excerpts might be bought in as a 'one-off'. Alternatively, they may have a standard clause negotiated which might allow 'listen again' (which in itself is only available for seven days) for these stations. It does seem a bit odd, though.

Right... so far, the Ledbury's been reviewed by : (pause for breath) The Independent, The Independent on Sunday, The Telegraph, the Sunday Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, Metro, and the Evening Standard. Have I missed anyone?

Nigel Slater is Sue Lawley's castaway this week on Desert Island Discs. I'll put up a link once the BBC put it on their 'listen again' page. edited to add : Desert Island Discs isn't available on Listen Again, presumably because it contains copyrighted music. Oops.

The review from last week's Guardian is up on the site. It's the 'How to Wear Clothes' column's Jess Cartner-Morley's turn in the barrel. Guess where she reviews? Go on... guess...

Is the expansion a gearing-up for a third star?

Considering that a positive restaurant review is one of the most effective forms of advertising, it must be tempting to try and positively influence the tone and content of said review. Apart from the archaic tactic of actually producing good food in good surroundings, of course.

Terry Durack gets fed before everyone else at Wizzy. Have a read, and tell me if you think the rating of 13/20 reflects the main body of the review; I remain unconvinced. There may be a small delay to next week's update, as I'm moving house at the weekend... Have fun...

It's like the Chorleywood process for making bread. You can get the same level of dough maturation as you would in an 18-hour rise simply by beating the living shit out of the dough for a few minutes, but flavour does suffer. I suppose it comes down to a question of whether you like your spirits (or bread, for that matter) traditionally made, or 'improved'. Ed, I'm interested in the parallels of rum and whisky production. Are the majority of fine rums distilled in pot (batch) stills as opposed to patent (Coffey) stills?

Just to satisfy my own curiosity, here's a list of the most-reviewed places so far... Silk - Terry Durack, Giles Coren, AA Gill Glas - Terry Durack, Jay Rayner, Fay Maschler The Garden Cafe - Giles Coren, Tracy MacLeod, Helen Nicholson Deep - Jan Moir, Fay Maschler, Marina O'Loughlin, Caroline Stacey The bloody Ledbury - Fay Maschler, Jan Moir, Tracy MacLeod, Terry Durack, Giles Coren.

The Guardian website seems not to have updated the Weekend section from last week, so there's no link to this week's restaurant review, I'm afraid. Jay Rayner had a week off (lucky for some), and the lovely and fragrant Mariella Frostrup filled the resulting void with what seems to be a well-written review of Tom Conran's Cow in London. Gillian Glover's latest Scotsman review is unavailable, so here's one from a few weeks ago. It's a bit of a sorry tale, really, as The Vintners Rooms was once a gem of a restaurant serving wonderful food, owned and run by a certain Tim Cumming. Tim was as straight up-and-down as they come, having worked in and later part owning George Perry-Smith's Hole in the Wall in Bath. In a book published a couple of years ago on Edinburgh's favourite chefs, all the photos were of chefs dressed up in finery; pressed starched whites, toques and the sort. Not so Tim, who donned his usual cheap dishwasher's apron and a white polo shirt. It's sad to see a place go downhill, and now that Cumming is no longer a part of the Vintners Rooms it's become a shadow of its former self. When I was in Edinburgh last week, Davy the Sage told me that it's on the brink of closure. Sadness indeed. The Telegraph hasn't updated its site either. Bank Holiday = no work done? I'll rectify this as soon as they come online. I was delighted to see that Terry Durack's review form last week is available online; less delighted to see that it's of the Ledbury. Caroline Stacey stood in for Tracy MacLeod last week, and reviewed Deep, remaining disctinctly unimpressed. The knives are out for this plaice, I think. Will it flounder? This week, Tracy MacLeod goes to the Garden Cafe, roasted by Giles Coren a fortnight ago (the Garden Cafe, not MacLeod). The review's a bit more positive, and it's safe to say she likes it. Ledbury Ledbury Ledbury Ledbury Ledbury Ledbury. Giles Coren Ledbury Ledbury Ledbury. Ledbury Ledbury Ledbury, Ledbury "Ledbury Ledbury", Ledbury. A bit of a mixed review of Glas from Fay Maschler, ditto Taiwan Village, where the food seems to be uniformly deep-fried and smothered in red sauce. Informative stuff from Marina O'Loughlin in her review of Zigni. I'm not too geared up on Eritrean food, but now I think I want to be. Tobia also gets the thumbs up from Marina. Was this a deliberately East African tour, and if so, where are you going next? :) Helen Nicholson reviews The Garden Cafe, and rather likes it. I'm not sure I'm Toby Young's greatest fan, review-wise, and I think his week's offering, The Tiroler Hut, is a bit vapid. Nevertheless, it's here because it's here because it's here, to paraphrase the WWI marching song. Glory be - AA Gill actually reviews a restaurant, preceded by moderately readable interesting guff, as opposed to the norm. Wizzy is nothing to do with AWT, but tries hard to do the properly Korean bit.