Jump to content

Pranian man

participating member
  • Posts

    53
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Pranian man

  1. According to the Sun, Stacey and Matt would apparently rather have a Big Mac - quel surprise. Oh well, as they say, "I'm chaving it" And here's to more rants from alexw - spot on, I think
  2. It may just be worth my pointing out that (at least when I went in May) at Can Roca, the €75 selection is billed as the "surprise menu" - obviously with no further details provided. The tasting menu costs around €55-60 and consists of around 7 or 8 fully detailed courses and would still be an excellent option for anyone on a budget. Looking forward to Pedro's write up!
  3. I have to agree with the sentiment of the above post - there are far more deserving cases for sympathy than a foodie living in Muswell Hill. It is curious that such a sought after area doesn't have a single quality restaurant, but there are some good options in nearby Crouch End and Highgate. Also nearby are the terrific Turkish cafes and shops of Green Lanes and even Tufnell Park, Primrose Hill and Islington aren't that far away - what more could you want? By the way, talking of Primose Hill, has anyone been to the excellent vegetarian restaurant, Manna? Also, in that area, if you like good food, don't even think about going to Lemonia.
  4. Provisional details at this stage. Dinner at 8.30 PM on: Wed 16th Nov - 40-60 people, around 100 Euros per head (inc food & drinks). Maybe some rustic and simple fayre, typical of the Tuscan countryside. Thurs 17th Nov - push the boat out night with up to 70 people, around 150 Euros per head with (the Italian equivalent of) haute cuisine - perhaps a tasting menu with a local, Florentine take on it. Maybe have some sort of chianti tasting event or food preparation demonstration or other local gastronomic theme. Open to ideas! Fri 18th Nov - 40-60 people, aim around 100 Euros per head. Something a little different from the other two evenings and relatively straightforward, but no idea what!
  5. Also, in the mean time, does anyone know anything about the following restaurants that I have had brough to my attention (from a non-eG source I should add - so they may not be up to scratch): Ristorante La Posta Paszkowski Ristorante Alle Murante (apparently more upmarket). Finally, does anyone know anything about Hotel Fenice Palace where I will be staying (i.e. is it suitably near the city's gastronomic attractions)?
  6. Great, thanks. Help would be much appreciated. The website looks great, perhaps we could incorporate something from Divina into one of the evenings as I wanted to have some kind of Italian, particularly Tuscan, gastronomic themed evening. I will put together a list of the details tomorrow. Shall I send them to the email address on the Divina website?
  7. I wonder whether the chef or management may have changed? I may be wrong but the idea of lamb curry and goujons on the menu sounds perhaps a little too new fangled. Also, the food is very different from any pub food that I have ever had before and is more like a sort of rigidly traditional English farmhouse style. We ate in the "restaurant" area (to the right as you enter the pub), and is only worthy of the term by virtue of not having a bar. It apparently can be reserved for larger parties. I would love to know what goes on there at night as apparently the landlord always has a bad hangover at a lunchtime. Maybe this is when the lager drinkers get shouted at? Another eccentric feature that may appeal to some and appall others is that anyone caught with a mobile phone ringing must put £1 in the collection box for the countryside alliance. At least it doesn't go to a dogs home. This is probably because there isn't one in the area - there doesn't need to be as the 3 Stags Heads appears to perform this role.
  8. Honeymoon in Crouch End is first class and about the best Chinese in the area (also doing other Asian cuisine, but I haven't tried this) and definitely does takeaways - the sea bass in particularly good. Jashan on Turnpike Lane is, I think, by far the best Indian in the area. Does excellent fish curries and check out the tandori paneer kebabs. They also definitely do take-aways but don't deliver. As many will no doubt tell you, and you probably know already, they produce the Indian fayre for the Harrods foodcourt.
  9. I am looking for three restaurants in Florence, with separate function rooms if necessary, that can seat 50-60 people and, most importantly of course, serve excellent food. Having never been, I don't know what my chances are of finding three such establishments. Can anyone help? This is for three evenings (a Wed, Thurs & Fri) in November. Also, where does Florence fit into the gastronomic map of Italy? Having briefly been to Piedmonte, I sensed this region may have more to offer that Tuscany. Is there a " gourmet capital" type region as there is in the Catalan and Basque area of Spain for example?
  10. Following all the talk of the Old Vicarage and Riverside House, has anyone been to the 3 Stags Heads located in the same part of the world? Having only been on a Sunday lunchtime, I would be especially interested to hear what it’s like at night time. It’s location is certainly the only thing it does have in common with the aforementioned, refined establishments. The 3 Stags Heads is rustic by almost any standards you care to mention – some have said downright dirty…oh and don’t go if you don’t like dogs…big dogs…lots of big dogs. Anyway, most importantly, of course, the food it terrific. Expect a choice of 3 or so main courses on the blackboard (for around £10 each) and a desert if you’re lucky – rice pudding on the day I went. They specialise in game and so, with the glorious 12th just days away, if you fancy this sort of traditional fare at its best, now could be just the right time to go. If you are in any way upset by the phrase the “glorious 12th” (because it’s no so glorious for the grouse etc), stay away – you can literally barely move for the hunting paraphernalia…and the dogs…
  11. Johnny, your place certainly looks enticing on all accounts and I will try and make it there next time I’m around that way. The menu looks like just the sort that would attract me to a restaurant. What would you call it, a sort of modern British with a few exotic twists? I am however at a loss as to be able to imagine what the tea smoked chicken is like (so much so that I would almost certainly order it), or have I missed something – can you not move for chefs preparing this dish nowadays? Anyway, at the risk of appearing pedantic, just so that we can clear this up once and for all, presumably your 8 courses includes a few snacks, an amuse-bouche, a pre-desert etc that are not listed on the menu? Also, does the cheese constitute a course in its own right (rather than as usually is irritatingly the case in this country, instead of a pudding) and are coffee and petit-fours also included in this price? If so, £45 seems eminently reasonable. I think there is one other thing that should also be taken into consideration: Bakewell is in a genuinely attractive part of the peak district where property prices are no doubt high and Ridgeway…well, it’s just not by any stretch of the imagination, despite the actual building being impressive. I referred to the “4 courses” at the Old Vicarage as such because it was really a glorified 3 courses with another 3 that don’t really count (and certainly wouldn’t be counted on a continental menu) of snacks, a-b and pre-desert. I think just another couple of small courses would move it closer to being value for money.
  12. Has anyone been to the Old Vicarage recently? Thank God (for the slightly steep, compulsory £48 per head, "4 course" meal) the food was delightful, but the service....well, what on earth was going on? At 8pm, we were initially seated in a comfortable, but perhaps slightly bland, country style lounge, just big enough for our party of six, for drinks and some pleasant but unremarkable snacks. Eyebrows were first raised when, during the ordering, a male member of our party, following his (female) partner’s lead, was cut off mid-flow and informed by the bossy, headmistress type maitre d’ that she would be taking the ladies’ orders first! Even if this is their modus operandi, surely professionalism would require her taking his order graciously and then returning her attention to the ladies’ heart’s desires? (It’s also worth noting that - much later - the dishes did not arrive at the table in any such order). At 9pm, we were still in the lounge. Around 9.30 we were, at last, taken to our table in an elegant, Georgian style, neutral toned dining room with painted panelling, stripped floorboards and a few more modern touches (but perhaps with a few too many - i.e. any - twigs in vases). Why on earth had we been sitting in that small lounge, that was in many ways a glorified corridor, for an hour and a half instead of this charming room? We naturally assumed this was to ensure we would be only shown to our table when our starters, or at least the a-b, was ready. But no, nothing appeared for about 20 minutes and when it did, it was only a small glass of (wonderful) gazpacho that must have only taken seconds to dish-up. Finally, two hours after arriving, our starters arrived….without a word of explanation or apology. Fortunately, my crab risotto was superb, that much I do remember. I also recall my desert: a chocolate sponge that struck me as perhaps a little ordinary. Better than this was an enticing selection of strawberry themed summer delights I also tried. However, unfortunately, as this was around six weeks ago, although I can remember every detail of the dreadful service, the details of whatever else I had to eat escape me. There were other more minor niggles such as ordering drinks that never arrived (again from the maitre d’) and not being able to find a waiter sometimes, but really….two hours!?
  13. I must also voice my opinion: Rafa's really is that good (despite my huge expectations). I raved about it in some detail in a recent "Restaurants in Catalonia" thread. As I make clear though, I only found out about it in the first place on eGullet. Booking is essential as many were turned away, even on a Tuesday lunchtime. One other thing that's worth knowing (and is a further sign of its popularity) is that the Sra. will only accept reservations one week in advance.
  14. Wow, that image of the summer lunch is making me really miss Spain now……especially as the weather here (in London) is currently more reminiscent of November. I will be looking out for some of those cheeses as well. Spanish cheeses seem, generally, much, much underrated and only manchego is commonly available here. As it happens, I can name precisely the cheeses I ate at Mas Pau: Maxorata (Fuerteventura), Mogent Cendrat (Catalonia) and Ibores (Cáceres), all of the goat variety. This is thanks to their fantastic system of providing each diner with a take-away copy of the complete list of cheeses on their trolley (as well as their oils and salts) with individual selections numbered by the waiter in accordance with their positions on the plate! However, there were numerous others on offer with large selections made from cow’s and sheep’s milk as well as a few mezcla de leches and two segunda fermentaciónes. The oils and salts were served with whichever cheeses were selected, not just the harder varieties. These were part of the “Any Dali”, menu gastronómico (at just over 50 Euros) and were served immediately after the meat course - roast guinea fowl with prunes and apricots - and before the first of the deserts – a chilled pineapple soup with coconut ice cream that was probably the highlight of the whole (delightful) meal. In fact, the whole establishment is a delight – pool, gardens and all. I haven’t seen the rooms, but am currently fantasising about spending a weekend there….without children. Regarding La Xicra – again, it was a delight. The rustic bean dishes we had for starters really stick in my mind. The freshest imaginable beans (both white and broad) were involved and came with another dish of layers of white onion in olive oil that was so amazing, I just had to ask what was going on. Apparently, they literally had just come into season and were at their absolute sweetest. They had been marinated in salt and vinegar for two hours to remove any unwanted flavours and then cleaned and served in olive oil. I have never found any Spanish onions like that over here! If you keep them for yourselves….well, I don’t blame you. One further question, does anyone know where I could get hold of a copy of lo mejor de la gastronomica 2004 by Rafael Garcial Santos? Internet searches have so far yielded nothing – a few mentions of the 2003 version, but nothing on this year’s.
  15. One thing I forgot to ask: Does anyone know what was I expected to do at Mas Pau with the 3 types of olive oil, 3 types of salt granules and the small squares of bread that accompanied their fine section of cheeses (plus quince jelly)? Is it a case of simply dipping the bread in the oil and salt and then covering with cheese or something more esoteric? If so, why? I would usually trust the cheese makers to decide on the correct balance of flaours for their produce.
  16. Thanks to everyone who has posted information on e-gullet regarding eating out in Barcelona and the Costa Brava at anytime in the past. The chances are that I have read it. La Guia Roja was, naturally, my starting point. However, as some will no doubt agree, it is by no means perfect as the recommendations tend to favour only certain types of establishment which results in many omissions (however, I have never been disappointed with anywhere that it has listed). Rafa’s is a case in point. Thanks to these sources, I was able to assemble a diverse itinerary including both the rustic and the nouvelle. I was also reassured by postings on this site regarding how one should not be concerned about taking young children (aged just under 2 in our case) into restaurants in Spain. In general, we found that the more upmarket the restaurant, the warmer the welcome she received and the more likely she was to be given treats and complementary dishes. The only downside about Spain is that the restaurants don’t even open until after her bedtime at around 9pm, so all the below refers to lunchtime menus. So, in brief, the two main highlights of the trip had to be the meals at the fabulous El Celler de Can Roca in a most unlikely suburb of Girona and the restful Mas Pau near to Figueres. Also excellent were the egullet recommended Rafa’s in Roses, La Xicra in Palafrugell and Hostal la Granota near Sils. I can also heartily recommend the star worthy and probably up and coming El-Roser 2 in L’escala. In Barcelona, for those with a limited budget, the 7 Euro lunch menu at the very pleasant Atenu (St Miguel Pl) is unmissable and the old-school Can Culleretes is also excellent value. Having only gone to so many of these restaurants due to egullet postings, I feel duty bound to elaborate a little on some of my experiences for the benefit of others planning a similar trip. The meal at Can Roca was not only probably the best meal I have ever had, but also the best value. The four course seasonal menu at just over 40 Euros was amazing. I can hardly wait to return to sample either the tasting menu (around €50-60 I think) or the “surprise” menu (at €75). We kicked off with a flute of local cava and a selection of snacks including a (what I imagine to be) Ferran Adria style “lollipop” that seems to be quite the thing at the moment as we were served the same thing, but with different flavourings at Mas Pau. It consisted of a very thin disk on the end of a metal stick with a texture similar to that of a real lollipop but inset with sesame seeds. Also on this platter came black “olives” still with their stones, but the flesh actually made from a kind of tapenade lattice. The amuse-bouche was a platter of three distinct and tiny dishes including a multi-layered, teaspoon sized tower of very fine, delicate sheets of ….god knows what except sardines were definitely involved at one level or another. Another dish contained a few barely cooked and ever so fresh peas covered in a kind of frothy Hollandaise sauce or bechamel. The last was a small glass of a fresh vegetable and herb veloute/soup that had obviously been sieved and reduced to an almost jelly-like consistency and topped with trout caviar. The first official course of the menu was an astonishingly successful soup of foie-gras (the dominant flavour), artichoke and golden swirls of truffle oil with hints of a very fine black truffle paste. One remarkable aspect of this soup was the care that had obviously been taken to ensure that that it was served only just luke-warm, at a temperature that seemed to maximise the impact of the delicate combination of flavours. Another was that the consistency subtly changed to become almost mousse-like at the bottom of the bowl. As I say, astonishing. The fish course was delightful, even if not as clever as the soup, and consisted of a chunky fillet of (barely) roasted cod with two small cubes of a very mild tasting macaroni cheese bound with an almost invisibly thin lettuce type leaf on top. There were also a few small, translucent balls of some type of very tasty fat (?) that I was unable to identify, and the dish was decorated with a few dribbles of a some kind of sweet, possibly balsamic very sticky, reduction. Having been given a brief chance to admire this work of art, the waiter then produced a metal jug filled with an apparently traditional Catalan thin, fish soup which then swamped our bowls leaving just the tips of the cod and its unlikely accompaniments protruding like islands from the surface. The meat course was a kind of duck terrine, served hot, bound with tender, generous slices of well cooked breast meat and containing a blend of what seemed to be minced duck with chopped black truffles and larger segments of duck liver. A delicious, intensely flavoured jus (probably with red wine and meat stock or the like) covered this and much of the rest of the plate, save for a seemingly yin-yang shaped area of whitish pear and cardamon puree that, needless to say, superbly complemented the rest of the dish visually, as well as in flavour. Next came my introduction to the “concept desert”, in this case a “Trip to Havana”, but there were also other novel creations on offer such as a recreation of a perfume with some local connection and another that I think was just called “Orange”. The Havana excursion consisted of a delightfully refreshing, frozen mojito in a small desert dish with a floating, rum soaked cake and, bizarrely, a relatively large, trapezoid, frosted glass ash tray containing a (naturally) Cuban cigar made of (naturally) cigar flavour ice cream surrounded with a slim, plain chocolate coating. For anyone planning to try this, I would suggest eating the ice-cream first as its taste is not really the hint of dried, aromatic tobacco leaves that I expected and rather, was suspiciously reminiscent of the ash tray it was served in (and not a flavour that I expect to find Dino’s serving on my next visit to the region). However, the frozen mojito washed it all down nicely. The fun continued with petit fours served on a whisk embedded, mini-chopping board with sheets of chocolate lattice between the blades. Another highlight of trip was the much praised Rafa’s in Roses. Having read so many plaudits, I couldn’t help but wonder how it could be so much better than any other place of its type. On entering, the left hand half of the long, thin, simply tiled room is taken up with a chiller cabinet and counter with the kitchen behind and on the right, a line of about eight tables with basic, wipe-down blue tablecloths, each with four pine chairs. Fortunately we had reserved a table as even on this Tuesday lunchtime, all the tables were taken and several groups of chancers turned away by Sra. Rafa(?). There was a discernible “locals”, (especially of the male variety) meeting place, feel about it, with big, strong men helping themselves to nuts from the jar on the counter. Anyway, despite my huge expectations, I was still astonished at how such simple and simply prepared ingredients could be so full of flavour. I have eaten many a langoustine that looked identical, but in comparison were almost flavourless. Chiperones, simply and probably quickly fried in olive oil were probably the highlight. The rock fish I ate subsequently, also so prepared but salted to crisp up the skin was, again, bursting with flavour. I can only assume that they somehow have access to a supplier of the very best possible ingredients and everything is literally straight out of the sea.
×
×
  • Create New...