tony h

We are all adults capable of making appropriate decisions based on the facts presented. No one is being pressurised into going to any of the restaurants mentioned just to fit in. I also don't believe that we are being manipulated by people who have a stake in discussed establishments (that said, I have no quarrel with anyone defending a mate). This site is full of discussions that anyone can contribute to and I really don't feel thay anyone looks down on anyone else just becase they don't or can't go to starred restaurants. Equally no one is impressed by someone who eats expensively just because they can. If this were merely a vanity site it would have failed by now. That or the discussions would be a lot less interesting.

Hmm, it looks like its only for grown ups.

Are you worried that you are making suggestions or recommendation & feeling slightly responsible or concerned when our experience doesn't live up to yours? I was delighted to go to St J last night & had a wonderful, silly, drunken evening. Eating offal is not something I normally do (and despite Simon's protestations - I really I don't think the duck was well cooked) and it takes time to acquire the taste. I admit that its not a place I would normally have chosen - partly because I got it into my head that it was old fashioned stuffy places where old English gents go to eat (god knows where I got that from) - but part of the whole point of my participating in eGullet is to broaden my horizons. St J's food disappointed - so what? (I nicked one of their ashtrays to compensate.) I was intrigued by the reviews & having been to some of the establishments that some of you talk about its fairly easy to pick up on who has similar tastes, experiences and expectations. And, who you can trust (maybe respect is a better word). Does eGullet influence where I now eat - a big yes. And I'm thankful for the change. London is a cripplingly expensive place to live - and I'd love to eat out more often than I do. I'm fed up wasting money trying places only to find that they're crap - if eGullet recommendations helps me avoid some of that - great. In return I feed back my experiences to help others make similar decisions which, of course, they are free to ignore.

'Tis an ill wind that blows in the mean time

In no particular order - these are what I reach for Raymond Blanc - Blanc Mange - very good on technique Shaun Hill - Merchant House - just 'cause its new Alfred Portal - Gotham Bar & Grill - very good on presentation Gordon Ramsay - any of them Alistair Little - Keep it Simple - when I want something quick I've also recently got hold of some MPW books which I've found to be quite dissapointing I never got into Moro & never got any of the River Cafe recipies to work. Eventuall threw the later out.

Are you asking or telling? I did love the atmosphere & agree it would make a wonderful local. Just wish the food was better. Then again, I also wish I lived nearby. On another note about St J there has been a quite unpleasant after effect and one that I can only raise now that Ruby's sadly left us. Flatulance. I can't say I am great sufferer of the condition but since last night's meal I just can't stop. Has anyone else noted this. Go on - you tell us - we're all friends here. More importantly - is there a cure?

Feeling left out we ate at St John last night. I liked the relaxed atmosphere although the lack of decoration was a bit stark & severe. Starters - foie gras (£8.80) & pressed pork & gizzard (£6.20). The foie gras was mosaiced & lovely - a sumptuous and stunning starter. The pork & gizzard was a pressed terrine - the pork was a bit fatty for my liking but the gizzard most enjoyable (gizzard of what? - I'm not sure we asked but got confusing & contradictory answers). Mains - bathcap & greens (£10.80) and duck breast with radishes (£18.00). The bathcap was essential pork face - cheeks, that sort of thing. Ignoring the gristle it tasted better that how it was described. The greens were the star - french beans with fantastic mustard dressing. The duck was disappointing - largely tasteless as were the accompanying radishes. We also had potatoes (£3) and spring cabbage (£3) - both wonderfully cooked. Wine - chateau gaddy (? - can’t read my writing) - Bordeaux - very drinkable at £21. Overall impressions - can't really see what all the fuss is about. The food was ok - only the fioe gras was truly superb - the rest was average which is a shame because you could so much more with the food than simply dumping it on a plate. We arrived at 7.30 - by 9 the place was packed and had taken on that "who's here" feel that you get in the Ivy. Obviously the place to see be seen - which isn’t really me. Oh yes - thanks to those who told me about comptoir gascon (re the foie gras thread) - I finally made it there yesterday. What a wonderful place.

Confession - I've never seen it. They did screen it a college but I was so fr**in bored that I walked out after 1/2 hour.

What about Last Tango in Paris?

If you listen very carefully you can hear Ruby scream in the distance.

I can't think of many restaurants that will meet your expectations after having waited so long. GR@C isn't one of them. I was there in February & had a decent meal - portions were a bit small but it was enjoyable rather than fantastic. I've booked to go back to try the tasting menu in May (my birthday) but I am also thinking of cancelling & doing it elsewhere.

Has anyone been or know anything about RS's cookery school? Is it worthwhile or just an expensive scam?

Are you saying that you've actually eaten in Emeril's? If so does this constitute a 2 day suspension from eGullet? When I was last in vegas - 4 yrs ago & for 2 days - I stayed at the big pyramid. I've never been so scared by vertgo in my life. The first visit was 10 years previous to that for 1 night - I had a ball. But on the second trip it had lost its edge - its now pacified & family friendly. Disneyfied of you like & utterly horrible. A bit like Renoir's works, really.

What a perfect combination - a work of genuis putting these 3 together. Who's the 4th - Emeril?

I've only tried the tasting menu 3 times - Le Manoir, Le Gavroche & Salt (in Sydney). I'd happily recommend all 3. However, one of the problems I do have is that there is no tactile interaction with your dinner partner - there's no tasting of their dishes because we both have the same. So it's a little less fun. What about wine tasing menus that are sometimes offered? Are these worthwhile or not? I don't know enough about wine to judge - also they seem to be served in miniscule amounts but cost the earth (& I hate paying lots for wine).

Just thinking - when is the world cup on? Last time it was on we managed to book the unbookable when one the home team/s were playing - not just food but theartre. In fact the theartre's were half empty. Then again - as I don't know (read - don't care) where its being held there may be a time difference to factor in. [ps - a few years ago someone mentioned that the world cup was on - I asked - world cup of what?] Oh dear, does this mean I've started a football thread?

Maybe if you spent less time one eGullet....

How can you face eating that late? By 10.30 all I'm thinking about is going to bed.

I ate in GR - RHR early last year. We went at lunch time (evening was full) & spent over 3 hours there without any hint of kicking us out. I didn't like the restaurant itself but the food there is special & better than the others so i'd put it top of your list. Of course, that's if you can get a booking - its virtually impossible these days.

If they’d asked nicely I would have vacated the table asap. Otherwise I would have asked to see the menu & ponder over it until I was ready to leave. LML - if that was me & I'd have asked for a tour of his kitchen & pumped him for tips. But refusing to serve you further because he didn't respect the intimacy of your table is outrageous.

Its only because I'm very new to eGullet - but I am studying Simon R's entries very carefully

Steve I'm not really a fan of Chris Ofili's work - I find it too decorative for my taste. I also haven't spent much time contemplating his work but I thought it was intersting to challenge the notion that the iconic figure, Mary, is white. She was, after all, middle eastern which hardley refelcts the consitently milky white skin she's developed over the years. That she is always dress in blue robes derives from the expense of the paint - artist would save their most expensive colour for the most important figure. That's why ther are very few blue skies in very early works - either the couldn't find the pigment or couldn't afford it. As for the elephant dung - beats me.

I've been thinking about bricks a lot recently. “Is a pile of bricks art?” – is this the right question to ask? It doesn’t lead anywhere interesting and seems too confrontational to provide any real insight into what’s going on. It seems to me to be the kind of question that a non-practicing artist would make. What was the artist thinking, what process or evolution took place that brought the artist to this point, what influence has this had on other works/artists - these lead somewhere more interesting. The “is that art” has no context. Curiously – the Tate’s bricks (Carl Andre’s Equivalence VIII) has permeated our culture in a way that virtually no other work of art has over, say, the last 30-40 years. Whether its good or bad thats quite an impressive achievement for any work of art.

Lets' face to modern art isn't easy - you have to work hard at it and often requires researching the artist which isn’t always possible and almost never so in the gallery itself. Even after that it doesn't always deliver. At lot of "traditional" art can be appreciated a various levels - from the superficial "its pretty" or "that's well painted" to whatever level of depth you want. You can walk around an old master museum have a very enjoyable time just looking (note - I'm not trying to imply that you appreciate is superficial). Its just that a lot of modern art isn't simple - particularly instillations. I run past these in galleries partly because I don’t understand them but mainly because they bore me. I feelt the same with minimalism. Even after finding out what's going on I am often left with - is that it - feeling. Modern art galleries like the Tate could help matters more by making educational help text more available in galleries but that's always a hot issue in any organisation. Even poor souls like Tracy Emin (I can’t believe I'm about to defend her) when you starting to look into what she's doing - its quite interesting. It doesn’t make me like her work more but I do have a little more respect for her. I often get the feeling people judge without investigating (I do it myself).

I ate lunch there a couple of weeks ago. Starters & mains seems to have change quite radically but the deserts look the same. I didn't like the choc & pistchio pud (competent - but not to my taste) or the gianguja mousse (weird texture). Also, price has gone up a pound - still a bargain, 'though. I notice that scrambled eggs are on the menu. That's the second time I've seen that recently - I'm a bit worried that's there going to be a outbreak of the stuff around london.