fisherman

me too, one of the best things i eat there....

i was talking to a celebrity friend ( i had to edit it to 'celebrity friend as he threw a wobbly ;)) from southsea today (took him for lunch in fischers in baslow, derbyshire, but thats another thread....) he was bemoaning the lack of decent places to eat in pompey, so i said i would ask on here for him, now i dont have to! Bistro Montparnasse was mentioned, and i'm afraid to say that last time my friend went there he was very disappointed, but it was a while ago, so hopefully it'll have changed, and i too look forward to reading your report...

i read it despite the fact it was written by the idiot, and only because it was about a place i hold in very high regard, i wasn't surprised at his comments, just the sort of inane rubbish you expect from him. i haven't read any of his reviews for a while, reading that one reminded me why.........

some good sharpening advice there, i thought i was keeping my globals sharp until last week i bought a couple of 'shun' knives and was stunned by how sharp they are (they are better knives than the global, with vg-10 blades, but still the difference shouldn't have been so apparent)

i'm only going on what they said when i asked their delivery range, they told me the south west and parts of the south of england.

you're in devon, they're in devon, so if they deliver to you, then their service must be 'virtually nationwide' to those of you not living in the south of england, dont bother with the link, as 'virtually nationwide' actually mean to parts of the south of england..............

not been there for a while but the queens in primrose hill was always full of dogs

sorry its taken me so long to post anything further, but i've been a combination of busy and slack, so apologies to simon...... i've also lost the notes i made on the meal, so i cant write anything detailed, what i can say though is that the dishes without exception showed imagination and flair, everything about the lunch was memorable and for the right reasons, i've spoken to the people i dined with that day and everyone has very good memories of it. the only problem now is that on our next meeting (elstree in may) i have to find somewhere comparable or i'll lose my reputation!

never found a good 'box' supplier, as you say, quality wasnt reliable enough. now i use a few different suppliers to get what i want.

chesterfield isn't really a place known for high end dining, but anywhere that can charge £280 per head for dinner (even if it is made out of platinum) needs to have cooking a little more accomplished than seems to be on offer here. and dont get me started on those guest rooms, cheapo b&b anyone? derbyshire has some very fine places to eat, this isn't one of them

stuffed breast of some kind of bird (which most of the menus seem to include) is if anything conforming to the normal paradigms..... maybe too normal. i've been thinking about going on a cookery course for a while now, but looking at a menu like that i think i could teach the chef a thing or two, rather than pay him £200 + for him to pass on his skills

doesnt look that hot to me, the samples menus are pretty dull. as for 'the best restaurant in derbyshire' not sure about that either!

my advice would be to take two of each, replacements wouldnt be easy to find by the sounds of it

should be no problems taking anything (as long as its legal in both countries) in your checked in baggage, i recently brought back some very nasty looking knives from the states with no problem, despite the bags being xrayed several times at LAX

my colleagues and i made it to elephant on monday lunchtime and had a truly excellent meal. highlights for me were the smoked venison and an inspired selection of cheeses. service was just right and it was good to meet simon after the meal (its a good job you came out simon, or the 8 of us would have had to come into the kitchen to see you ;)) anyone in torquay or that area would do well to visit elephant.

bugger, i'm only there friday night - tuesday morning, thanks anyway!

i'm spending a few days in torquay next week and would appreciate any recommendations for lunch, within 30 minutes drive if possible. thanks in advance

anyone been here recently?

i'm surprised by this, the service when we went was perfect, all the staff had a sense of humour, were attentive enough without being over fussy (we never had to ask for anything, just as bread, wine, water or anything else ran out, someone appeared to replenish) and were well informed about the dishes, information was difficult to hold back if anything!

i wasn't planning to drive ;) and i wasn't entirely serious about going.....

its not all glamour! i had to cancel our meal at fishers in baslow tomorrow night as i had an unexpected tooth extraction today. and LA is work, not pleasure, hoping for a couple of decent meals though!

i'm off to LA for three weeks on saturday, would it worth my while taking in chicago while i'm there?

we were going to go as part of a lakeland double header, but in the end couldnt be bothered as we had a wedding to go to in manchester the night after l'enclume. looks good if somewhat traditional, not a criticism, but after visiting l'enclume i dont care if i never visit a traditional restaurant again!

holbeck gyhll??? menu changes in may/june

we had the gourmand menu, no point having an other is there really! one thing to bear in mind is to listen to marys advice re wine, we had half a bottle of champagne and half a bottle of a kiwi sauvignon blanc she recommended and neither of them interfered with the taste of the food, which after all is why you are there! it takes a lot to disuade me from chateau musar when i see it on a list but i'm glad we followed her advice i really couldnt tell you what was on offer at breakfast, as on our way down the stairs, sara and i said to each other 'hope theres eggs benedict' and lo and behold, there they were.........