offcentre

Not content with going from a fun-lovin lass to vegetarian to vegan in the space of 6 weeks, my (soon-to-be-ex-if-she-carries-on-like-this) partner has now gone raw. God help me. In order to counter the endless stream of mindless raw food propaganda she spouts at me - gleaned from a couple of books she has managed to read written by dope smoking, dreadlock-sporting, skinny little freaks with names like shazzie - does anyone have any actual evidence as to the benefits or (more hopefully) drawbacks of said boring-as-shit diet. I quite like her so am hoping this will soon be forgotten and we can go back to a normal diet of pork fat and blood sausage. thanks.

yes - breakfast, lunch or dinner, I am yet to be dissatisfied with the Real Eating Company.

this was really very good indeed. Went to watch the spain match last week not intending to eat but looked so nice we couldn't help ourselves. There wasn't much we didn't try from the tapas menu by the end and ate our way through gazpacho, roast chicken and ham croquettes, pimentos padron (tiny green peppers chargrilled), a plate of cured chorizo and some lovely little cooked choricito sausages (served with toasted bread and tomato/garlic dip), several cheese plates and a good number of little bite's from the bar. There's about 15 plates on the menu rangeing between 4 and 10 and the same number of proper tapa on display on the bar at a pound each. Free beers came round when their first goal went in and a lovely bottle of rioja vega went down very well. It looks and feels very slick and I presumed it was a chain, but no. Wouldn't hesitate to go back and will definitely try the posh restaurant upstairs.

I learnt a lot from a 6 month part time job in a restaurant kitchen. If you choose the place well, are eager and able, you may be suprised at how much they are willing to let you do.

as we are unfortunately in the time of the salad bag, iceberg is about the only actual lettuce you can buy in Tesco. what in gods name has the world come to.

Kambi's, the lebanese place, is about two thirds veggie. Glad you enjoyed the dials. If you're in Lewes you really should go to the Jolly Sportsman, just up the road in lovely countryside. Or the Ram, in Firle - very nice pub grub.

I'm going to this this year but have a question that the website doesn't seem to address. All food must be paid for with festival crowns but how much is a crown. Do you get 2 crowns for every £? I see lots of dishes on the menus are 6-10 crowns - I take it its not 1:1?

yeah, I went for lunch and wasn't drinking and was sharing with someone who doesn't eat meat so had to pass on chorizoey things, which are always the best part of tapas for me. tomato stew with peppers was tasty but very oily. Seafood paella was short on seafood but fairly tasty. I can't remember the third dish we shared. Something nicer than tesco french stick as bread would have been good. Nice cosy little room. They were closed for a week or so in May. They had a ghost.

Heard lots good on Gingerman at Drakes Some good and not-so-good reports from Seven Dials. Went to Bodega D'Tapa the other day and wasn't impressed with a few cheap and oily microwave heated plates. La Fourchette has always been good for me. Or there's the usual Hotel du Vin of course. For Sunday lunch get out of Brighton and go to the Jolly Sportsman - a recent a deserved winner of best sunday lunches in the south east in the observer. Book or turn up early for a seat in the small bar. Kambi's on western road - Lebanese - would be my recommendation for dinner. Went at the weekend and it was great. BYO too. Always busy so book for dinner.

whoa - hold on a minute. Are you saying you butter a rich tea biscuit and then stick it under the grill? This is pretty radical.

I found this... "Vegetables: I ordered a veg box from North Aston Organics, 18 miles from Oxford, and went to collect it by bike (50p discount for customer pick-up) from the back of Daisies Flower Shop. Delicious salad leaves — purslane, mizuna, rocket, ..." ...from the Times online dated March 15 2006. Might be worth a try North Aston Organics Supplies fruit and veg boxes. 3 Somerton Road, North Aston, Bicester, OX6 4HP. Tel - 01869 347702

Best - mcvities rich tea biscuit with a thick scrape of unsalted butter. Can't be beaten with a cup of tea. Worst - marmite - its the devils arse juice.

ooh - I love a good burger and there's a branch of this opening in the Komedia in Brighton. Just looking for info on the opening I found that they pay... Head Chef - £20-25k plus bonus Grill Chef - £18-20k

It had to happen sometime I suppose. Ingredients: Wagyu beef fresh lobe foie gras black truffle mayonnaise brie de meaux rocket red pepper and mustard confit English plum tomatoes Can you even get english plum tomatoes at this time of year?

Montezuma's certainly seem to make their own. And its lovely.

as far as I understand it, if your card has a chip then from 14th Feb you must use the PIN facility at the point of sale to use this card. If you don't know the PIN number then the merchant will no longer let you sign for it instead. However, if your card doesn't have a chip then they should still swipe it for you. I think most merchants will keep the swipe technology because, as you say, most US cards along with many other countries do not have C+P yet.

a great question akiko - I was just wondering this myself as I fancy sprats tonight and am fed up with deep frying in a saucepan. Anyone?

bugger me that sounds lovely - I'll have the black pudding followed by the pigeon please.

Nice to see The Real Eating Company with a Bib Gourmand - never been disappointed with a visit there be it for breakfast lunch or dinner. Can I add my congratulations to Ginger Chef.

you're obviously going to be massively busy but any details and info you can find time to post will be read with great interest Gary. The best of luck with this from a naively jealous reader.

I'm lovin red mullet at the moment but for value for money - and ease of catching - its hard to beat mackeral.

If you ever find yourself in Brighton you can do a lot worse than going to Firle - a very quaint little village a few miles past Lewes on the A27. Not only does it have a church that has been there pre 1066 that is well worth a look it also has the Ram Inn. With a nice Harveys Sussex Best at a ridiculous £2 a pint it might be worth it for that alone but it serves a fine range of very reasonable bar food in 3 tastefully and minimally decorated rooms. I've been 4 or 5 times in the last few months as it has plenty of room inside and out for my little nipper to run around and cause trouble - especially chasing after the chickens that are free in the big back garden. Recent meals have included some of the best fish cakes I've had, a decent Sunday roast with Firle lamb, good steak sandwich and chicken and tarragon sandwich, a nice mushroom and chestnut bake and a fine ploughmans. Nothing ground-breaking, but as I say, very nice bar food all below a tenner in a nice wood-fire-warmed friendly environment. If you don't like it there you can get yourself to the Jolly Sportsman not ten minutes away in East Chiltington, which is even better.

ah right excellent. as you were.

didn't I see him in a newspaper or something over xmas - a bit hazy but I'm fairly sure there was a photo and something about the restaurant....somewhere.

A friend bought me a present back from France - 500g Foie Gras Entier. I have no previous with Foie Gras at all and have just discovered that... "Foie gras entier is the purest form of foie gras. It consists of a whole foie gras that has been deveined, cleaned, seasoned and sterilized-cooked in its own fat, without any additives. It has a firm and dense texture and can be made of goose or duck liver, each fowl having its own delicate taste." What can I do with this? Is it best to eat as it is, can it be sauteed, made into pate...? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Ross