
tony h
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Everything posted by tony h
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Grand Vefour - hands down winner - I still can't shake of the nightmare that was artichoke brulee with candied vegetables and the foie gras ravioli with albino vomit-like sauce stunning room 'though
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:gary:
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oh dear, now I want to go...
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it'd be handy of they could tell us if er're being ripped off or not
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dunno - only see it a at night before - either way its faily brutal and hardly a place to relax it
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Last minute suggestion from the ball & chain – Sunday lunch at Le Manoir. Got a table no problem. Friend also came along. I won’t go into to the details – much has already been said about the idyll that is Le Manoir. Amuses were up to their usual standard – of note: a wonderful mini-tart filled with cheese custard – knock out; a slither of bread with possibly the best guacamole you’re ever had; cylinder of cucumber hollowed out & filled with seriously smoked salmon; there were a few others beside this. Menu was difficult to choose from – so much sounded so good. Pre starter – small glass cup of gazpacco. By contrast to last week’s offering from The Champignon Sauvage which was thick & delicious, here is was an essence of the ingredients – the juices that are gathered from squeezing the vegetables involved. Stunning – so fresh & vibrant and certainly woke the palate up for what was to come. This was accompanied with a lovely little skinned tomato and a thin drizzle of tapenade. Great. Starters – I went for scallop, langoustine & crab with mango & coconut. This was so beautifully presented. A single scallop with a disc of coconut; two langoustine split down the middle, griddles & arranged cross plate; a couple of mini cannelloni-like things filled with the sweetest crab meat. On reflect, I think the cannelloni may have been made with slithers of mango. Deeply mango flavoured sauce – sauce isn’t really good enough it describe this – more a semi-solid emulsion packed with flavour – this harmonised all of the ingredients. Also sprinkled around the plate was a wonderful selection of herbs and greenery. I suspect that M Blanc has started send his troupes to graphic arts classes – either that or he’s been eating at Tom Aikens at lot recently. The others had – tian of crab wrapped in jacket of cucumber with seafood bisque – full of flavour & happiness. Our friend had the lobster ravioli with seafood bisques scented with lemon verbena. I did get a chance to sample the ravioli, our friend, the human vacuum clear, inhaled this way too quickly (still trying to teach her about savouring the moment AND SHARING!). Anyway – suitable signs if approval were echoed by both. Mains – lamb three ways for me: loin; mini-shank & sweetbreads. All nested upon a variety of peas, beans, spinach and related greenness – each little mound treated slightly differently. One slight glitch – I had already finished the sweetbread when the waiter retuned with my sauce. Oh, well. Others – grouse – a stunning arrangement of the different meats, blackberries; square of potato dauphinoise and a whole host of other yummy vegetables. Really good red wine reduction - very pleasant smokiness to the sauce. The other main was beef fillet on a bed of to die for mash with asparagus, salsify and other goodies. Excellent sauce. Desserts – always high point. I went for a orange & lemon parfait wrapped in a biscuit sitting one bed of warm cherries. This came with a lovely sugar sculpture of a flower. Quite amazing – great cherries. The ball & chain went for the chocolate tasting – chocolate sorbet (breathtaking); chocolate ice cream & sickle shaped biscuit-thing and old faithful – the cake that’s liquid in the middle. Any would have made me very happy. Our friend had eaten so much bread at this stage she could face dessert so she got her multitude of vitamin pills out of her bad started consuming them. Fresh waster was thoughtfully brought to the table for her – as was some lemon sorbet so she didn’t feel left out. A much better experience than my last trip there last year – I feel they were just going through the motions – but today everything was virtually flawless. A perfect way to spend Sunday bank holiday. cheers!.
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Le Champignon Sauvage, August 2004 First impressions – what a small place. 10 or so tables is a small-ish room with curious contemporary art on the walls – some less accomplished that others - but decent enough. Good spacing between the tables. Wonderful welcome for Mrs Cook (Everrett something or other) – very much in charge but set a very good atmosphere. Amuses - crispy flaky cheese pastry of mouth watering proportions and mini-pastry with rich tomato & olive topping. To describe as a mini-pizza would be a poor description. Lovely. Pre-starter – simple gazpacco with astounding depth and thickness served in a small tall thin vase? – so thick that when you tilt the glass took about half a second for the delicious liquid to move. Wonderful long finish with occasional hit of sweet, sour, bitter and salt along the way. A very knowing dish. Starters – sweetbread & oxtail open lasagne. Sweetbreads perfectly caramelised; oxtail was taken of the bone in satisfying lumps. All placed between several discs of pasta rounds perfectly cooked – still had a slight firmness to them. Came with cream sauces with various accompaniments. Deeply satisfying. Ball & chain had crab ravioli with meat from knuckle (veal). Also quite superb. Mains – roast pork: belly & cheek – resting upon puree of globe artichoke and accompanied with a variety of wild mushrooms - giroles stood out as particularly “wow”. The sauce was scented with 5-spice/star anise and had a depth an sheen that many a chef would envy. B&C – lamb roasted with lavender – quite astonishing – lavender kept well under control. Pre dessert – geranium brulee with greengage ice cream. Oh so satisfying. Plus – the brulee was made with popping sugar which exploded wonderfully & funnily when you ate it. Great to see a chef have fun. Desserts – mine was a prune & burdock creation – mouse and ice cream rectangular stack with crisp layers and macerated prunes. The burdock was there really to buffer the prunes – which it did so well. Deep autumnal favours here. B&C – caramelised pineapple – I’m a bit vague on this part – however it was met with suitable groans of pleasure. Post meal chocs – about a dozen in total – way to much – but completely irresistible. Also worth noting – the wine list full of very affordable wines – loads under 30 & 40 quid. Well worth a trip and so incredibly reasonable compared to London – final bill 150 – easily twice that in L. PS Stayed in Hotel on the Park – very curious affair – awash with teddy bears. Hmm. Here the link: http://www.lechampignonsauvage.com
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With Capital & Tom Aikens both inconsiderately closed at the same time – I went to sketch for lunch yesterday. Oh dear. Such an inhospitable atmosphere there – yet such a buzz first time I went. Loads if starters & things on arrival. Two types of ginger: biscuit & cake – the biscuit was adorned by a powerful aromatic mango dice which hit the nose with a definite wake up call – very interesting. The cake was just that – a little round ginger cake with a savoury hint. Fine. Accompanied with a row of thin caramelised flattened bread soldiers with two dips – soured cream & cuttlefish – the latter was unfortunately bland. The menu is a mess & uninspiring – really, still have no idea on how to navigate or chose from it. There’s a daily lunch special of sander (?) for £22; then there the lunch menu for £35; on the second page – soup for £8; vegetable salad for £15 then three main courses all approx. £40. I really wanted the scallops which I initially though were done three ways – sadly – it was to choose which way you wanted. Plus they are served on the plate on their own – no hint of embellishments or any other kind of gastronomic fireworks. Sadly there was a list of 3 veg & 3 sauces to choose from. None appealed. Confused – I ended up going for the set menu. 5 mini-starters arrived. There was a mackerel filet on a skewer in a cocktail glass – more curious than good; a cucumber jelly with little daubs of almond cream – pretty good; cube of raw salmon with savings of cauliflower and tiny dice of other veg – bland; foie gras custard with seriously salty jelly – this was more troubling because the bottom of the custard was wonderfully pink whereas the top half look quite oxidised and unfresh. I can’t remember the other starter. Main course was a disaster – a single piece of veal approx 4x4x2cm (that’s being generous) with a few steamed vegetables. The great sauce couldn’t lift this dish. Desserts, two of them, quite forgettable. Overall – a lot of fussiness over the food for so very little impact. Room virtually empty. Also, the restaurant downstairs has closed – now just a video installation projection room. Wines are also still ridiculously expensive – my small glass of red was 13 pounds & gone in a gulp. I’m sixty quid poorer and quietly seething. Maybe I should have gone to foliage.
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superb collection of art uncomfortable chairs food - forgetable
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try the chef's table at claridges along with a few friends - one hell of an experience
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looks like I'm the poor sod who went on their only off night, ah well
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Andy - is this a review or a promotional thing you've been asked to write?
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Please explain more - its at odds with my experience where I thought the food was fairly pedestrain & unexciting
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never when I've been there
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what's to stop you turning up 15 min late/early anyway? I generally just aim to their at the approx time - never once has this caused a problem. How on earth are you supposed to get anywhere in london on time anyway. whole thing's daft. anyway - here's my foliage bit. I turned up at the front desk and asked for foe-le-adg. horror on front desk git's face - you mean faw-ley-aj. kind of takes you appetite away.
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that's nothin - guy savoy charges fifty quid for a plate of soup (artichoke & black truffle). damn good soup it was too (even got seconds)
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anyone been recently? looking for a cheapist night out cheers T
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sadly that has become a fairly dire place to dine - the quality has plummeted of late (I used to lunch there fairly often - just around the corner from work.) I'm afraid we're left wth the capital - great food, not great dining space & the gavroche - nose bleedingly expensive.
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my god - does that mean there's actually been a change to the menu at racine? well, that is something to celebrate
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I didn't think he opened on Saturday's - deligheted to hear he does now Sorry you didn't like the food - I was utterly stunned (except desserts - he's trying something & it isn't working)
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Its been some considerable time since l last went to The Square to eat & with the arrival of its new tasting menu now seems as good a time as any. On arrival the menus, wine lists & amuses all arrived within seconds of our being seated. The amuse was a super smooth pate of salt cod with a couple of different bread sticks - v. good but the olive bread was in contention with the taste of the cod rather than complimenting it. no pre-starter :sad : First course - chilled watercress soups with rillette of salmon, cucumber & horseradish - a little caviar on top. Pretty wonder stuff- bright-green puree of watercress resembling wheat germ drinks from health bars. Excellent and satisfying salmon rillette/pate. Very good harmony of tastes with long satisfying finish. Good start to the meal. This was followed by seared tuna & cornish lobster with gazpacho and avocado This was a tiny portion of tuna and approx half-teaspoon of lobster. All very nice & refreshing but we are talking tiny tiny portions here. Frankly, just too little to enjoy or savour. Third was a sauté of tiger prawns with parmesan gnocchi, cepes and truffle emulsion. Note: “prawns” was how this was described – the reality was prawn, singular. Very naughty. Also the was one single gnocchi – fabulous as it was – one just isn’t enough. Again, let down by size. By now we’d been here half an hour and had steamed our way through 3 courses, wine selection and amuse. At this point was asked them to SLOW DOWN. Which they did. The fourth was roast foie gras with caramelised pineapple. Stunningly seared foie gras with superb puree of pineapple. This also came with a large chunk of pineapple which was a bit too over powering for the fg. However, that was just a small complaint as the fg was very very good indeed – perfectly caramelised surface with luscious interior. Next was steamed sea bass with lobster raviolis and vinaigrette of lemon. The sea bass was fairly tasteless and the ravioli minuscule. Not happy again. Next was loin of lamb with olive creamed potatoes, artichokes, rosemary and garlic. This was a single slice of the loin of lambs with half of one small artichoke. The superb olive mash was, what, about a teaspoon’s worth. I don’t recall any sauce or reduction. Last was raspberry soufflé with vanilla ice cream. I couldn't tell the difference between the ice cream & haggen daas. Plus my soufflé was not cooked – the middle was still raw, I sent this back & to their credit they did send out two new perfectly cooked soufflé’s and a glass of very good desert wine. By now we were fairly cheesed off – the best bits were the soup, foie gras and a teaspoon of potato. And, l was also still hungry which, after seven course, is quite shocking. At 75 pounds – a pure rip off. Nothing worthy of a 1 star. Let alone a 2 star establishment.
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I always thought one was passionate about both food & wine while the other was just focussed on food. Don't which is which 'though.
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Restaurant Supply Shop in London?
tony h replied to a topic in United Kingdom & Ireland: Cooking & Baking
Juicers, blenders etc. delivered prompty: UK Juicers -
Any really good vegetarian/vegan/raw books out there worthy of adding to the must haves?
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not even if it were free