magnolia

Suprised we didn't see you, if you look like your photo. Miss J and I met just by the cobnut table ! Re: the peppers - arrange them in a circle around the multi-colored pattipan squashes and you'll have your winter centerpiece - that is, if peppers don't go bad (?) As for me I managed to spend about £15 on cheese alone, including £4.something *apiece* for balls of mozzarella, as well as taleggio & ovine fort, the world's most wonderful blue cheese. Was it because the mozz. is the freshest I've had in London? Or because the Italian cheese guy's sidekick is so cute? Hmmm...

A colleague tells me that there is still a German word schmalz, meaning 'rendered fat' and slo that the word 'schmelzen' means "to melt" so I don' think it has to be chicken fat per se- particularly if you play schmaltzy music while serving the potatoes. I guess I could modify my signature as well...will try anything once...except brains in schmaltz...

September 27th

Peter the address of Hunan is 51 Pimplico Road SW1 - phone is 7730 5712

Here's my take - if your guests are not very knowledgable, but interested in learning a bit about the history of wine and wine-making - it's fun. Vinopolis is kind of a cross between a museum and an amusement park, with wine as the exhibit/amusement. The building itself is outstanding - and the "exhibits" are well done. But I think someone who knows a lot about wine already, is mildly critical, and/or expects to be challenged or acquire some kind of major insight, will be disappointed. It's very light and just for fun. At about £11 or £12 per person entry, it might make for an expensive pre-dinner jaunt - that said, the price includes four or five glasses of wine, whatever's being sponsored/promoted that day. So if you're just in the mood to get a bit tipsy - and curious to see what they have, then it's worth a trip. You could probably get through there in under an hour if you don't linger...

I didn't look at the menu but one of my friend works on Lambs Conduit and says the place is always empty.

Circeplum suggested Perseverance 63 Lamb's Conduit Street awhile ago - same 'hood as Cigala and Embassy - and it's really good. Raucous and cosy pub downstairs. I'm not a beer person but my crowd was pleased with the selections (I'll edit in the options later, as my 'sources' are still asleep..) Once you haul yourself up the rickety stairs by holding onto the flocked wallpaper, you enter an oasis of calm, a handful of tables overlooking Great Ormond St complex. Menu proclaims Justin Saunders as chef. Name rings a bell but I'm not sure why. I didn't take notes so this is from memory - starters between £6-8 included stuffed piquilo pepper, marinated artichoke & roasted tomatoes; gazpacho; mushroom risotto; ham-hock and foie terrine with girolles; and some others. I can't comment on any of them except the ham-hock & foie terrine because all of us had it, even though I called it first. It was a very generous portion and served with good, warm, thick slices of toast. Obviously they know where to get their bread Mains, between £12-16 included: sea bass; rump of lamb; duck confit; steak; and scallops. Sorry I can't remember the preparations/ accompaniments very well! I had the scallops, which were large and juicy, served with white asparagus and what was meant to be fennel purée (but which wasn't puréed, though I don't like fennel so I left it anyway) in an orange/vanilla "vinaigrette" which 'made' the dish. I'd like the recipe. There were about five scallops, I could have done with a couple more but I ate some of the duck confit that Friend ordered - juicy, oozy, wrapped in pancetta - excellent sweet & salty combination, served with bitter mixed leaves. A couple of bites and I was sated. The steak person said his was perfect. We then all dug into a vanilla crème brûlee which was huge and just as it is meant to be, I can usually take or leave cb, this one came with chocolate short bread, so I used that to scoop up the crème after Greedy had eaten off all the sugar topping. As for wine: they had two bottles of a red (I'll edit this in later too) and I had a glass of Portugese white, which went very well with the scallops. All in £40 each, including service (we didn't have coffees or water) much of this down to the wine. Note they leave the 'gratuity' line in the bill even though service is included, I hate that but I'll forgive them - service is friendly and effective even though I think there was only one waiter and a manager/maitre d' type for the dining room. Booking is recommended, there was one table that was late and I overheard a debate between the waiter and manager over whether to give the table away - I think they kept it empty for 1/2 hour. Not sure whether the ultimate occupants were the latecomers or hopefuls.

Well maybe they'll be flush enough to hire another waiter - the time I went for lunch (and it was pretty empty - maybe lunches are still a good bet?) there *seemed* to be one other waiter but he spent the whole time in hiding.

Lucky you, that this is 'your local'. A steal for a meal like that. Did you see the wonderful chair in the snooker room? I *want* that chair.

You know, I'm so one-track minded when I go to Linas - its ravioli, ravioli, ravioli - that I haven't even considered buying bread. Why not?! Thanks for the tip.

See ?? Even Pret a Manger has better bread in New York than in London, where it started !! Here it has the texture of cotton wool and even less flavor ! !!

The chef at Bonds used to be at New End in Hampstead, which was great while it lasted. I don't think Hampstead has anything to match at this moment. I couldn't resist ordering the braised oxtail raviolo both times I ate there - not sure if this is on his menu but I look forward to going to Bonds.

I think the operative words are 'not...in sight' but definitely there. If the staff and suppliers and landlord are being paid consistently, then you can be sure someone very astute - be it the chef or the city man (you can bet your bottom bean that he's the bean-counter in residence in that scenario) has sat down and figured out how much to charge customers, and how many customers are needed - to cover expenses. You've just cited two examples of restaurants that have struck exactly the right balance that Macrosan indicates: they make and spend just enough money to keep everyone happy, including their customers. It's not rocket science, but it can't be so easy or else restaurants would not be going out of business every five seconds due to lack of funding. What I think you are chafing against is the 'bean counting' of a big faceless corporation that puts its unimaginative stamp on the experience being provided to diners, and wants a 'sure thing' which translates into 'safe bet, no creative limb', and I'm right with you, there - best not to see them - but still necessary.

"From the unsympathetic tone of your post it would seem that you like your chefs to be business-savvy rather than kitchen-savvy. Personally, I value what they produce not how much money they can make, but then, you are an American." Sorry? I really don't know what this has to do with being American, but..as we Americans would say: what-*ever*. I'm hearing you say that Eric Chavot, as "Everychef", is in a kitchen that in some way doesn't "deserve" him, that he has been screwed in some way. If he's great - and on the other thread there are no doubt going to be many definitions of what makes a chef/restaurant 'great' - then he can get "un-screwed": find another kitchen that *does* deserve him. To take your argument to its extreme conclusion...it's OK for someone to do their job (cook) really well at the expense of, well, all expenses, and run the place into the ground, thereby screwing the very people who foot the bill - but as long as he keeps turning out great food - it doesn't so much matter that there will be no money to pay the landlord, the employees, the suppliers. So the place will eventually go under and everyone associated with the place will be either unemployed or in debt or out of pocket - including that poor, misunderstood and mistreated chef. I'm not being unsympathetic - as mentioned, I am not familiar with Eric Chavot. And I value a good restaurant as much as you. But I would like my valued restaurant not to close due to mismanagement, so it's there for a long time for me to enjoy.

I don't really know whether it's so much that most chefs are not good businesspeople - as posters have pointed out, there has to be a balance. Most people probably are not good at "business", if you looked at their balance sheets as would an accountant - few people live debt free and in the black (and of course there's a good argument that it's better business to spend someone else's money than your own). But there are lots of people the world over who work for themselves - this is a perhaps wild, outrageous guess - but I wonder whether individual traders as a group make more money than corporations combined. Many, many chefs, too, fall into the former category - the ones who have their own names on the canopy - and they seem to muddle through. They open, they close, the re-emerge and reinvent, they work for someone else, they make a comeback - for a variety of reasons. One huge problem is of course Greed - particularly in big cities like London and New York. Chefs, backers, landlords - whomever - have stars and money signs - in their eyes. Many are not willing/can't afford to let something develop naturally, they are impatient, they try to speed things up or cut corners or shoot their wad on decor or whatever, exerting energy and effort on "the wrong things" (i.e. NOT food) - and when there's no *immediate return* they crash and burn. Simon I think you brought this up in relation to High Holborn, a much-lauded (for the food) restaurant that shut down too quickly for most of us to try out ! On the other hand, there are so many restaurants - paricularly in Italy and France, probably Spain and elsewhere too (I don't know other places well enough to comment) - where chefs who would not necessarily think of themselves as such - they are "cooks"- run a restaurant for their entire lives, either they make a good living or just get by. This is their livelihood, and they look at it as such - they *have to make a living out of it* for themselves. It's what they do, just like Simon's a publisher and I'm a journalist - it's what we do. And if we didn't do it well enough, we'd try something else. Maybe. But they turn out perfectly respectable, even great food. They toil quietly, stay out of range of backers and banks and critics. I think they are the ones we're all always looking for in fact. That elusive restaurant on a sidestreet that is actually always full, though nobody has "discovered" yet, so it's full of nobodys. We are - or at least I am - intrigued by chefs because they do something that I can't necessarily do, or at least they do it much better than I do- therefore, like artists or great musicians or other "creatives" - they command from me a great deal of awe. So they are on some kind of higher plane, where they shouldn't be limited by such a dirty thing as money. But the landlords don't agree, neither do the bankers or their brothers in law or the mob or whomever is footing the bill. And who's to say whether it's right or wrong to be looking at the bottom line? After all, we as diners pay the bills (along with the bakers, bro-in-law, mob, bank, et al). To say a chef should not have to worry about costs is like saying a newspaper should not take advertising because it morally corrupts the editorial content. Without advertising/diners/backers/etc. - there will be no magazine/restaurant, or they would all be 'private/members only', paid fully by "subscription". Who would be most hurt by that? The reading/dining public. OK, the soapbox has just collapsed.

thanks Bux - those are definitely the ones ! PS What, if anything, do you know about a chef called Josep Quintana? I can't find much about him... he used to work at both of these restaurants, among others...

Get shafted once, you're a victim. Get shafted more than once, you're an idiot. I am not famiiliar with Eric Chavot's situation but if he was that good- and smart about it- I suspect he would not have allowed himself to be shafted. On the other hand, some people want to be shafted- we should not cry for them either.

OK, Catalan speakers - or those who love Barcelona. I just interviewed a Catalan chef who speaks no English whatsoever, who tried to spell for me the names of restaurants where he used to work. We did our best to muddle through - and I got 90% of the conversation I'm happy to say, but as my Spanish is pretty basic - I learned it from Sesame Street and the New York subway, which, as I have just found out, only gets you as far as the first Michelin star ! - I definitely missed the bits that were not standard Spanish. I'm trying to do as much due dilligence as I can about the following, hope these are not too far off the mark... 1) "Spa i Sucre" or something like that - an all-dessert restaurant. Could be Espa i Sucra or Espas i Sucre" - the way I understood it, it was either a pun on "spice and sugar" or space and sugar... 2) El Gag - pronouned "gahj" Both are in Barcelona, both supposedly have Michelin stars or used to, though I can't imagine the likes of Michelin awarding a star to an all-dessert restaurant (though I certainly would !! . I am going to run out & buy a Spanish Michelin guide on my way home but any/all info you guys can provide on the overnight - and I know someone will ! - opinions are most welcome - would be great.

Don't cry for Martin Blunos or his customers - this 'alternating' shtick is probably just temporary, a chef that good will find backers who will let him do his own thing, if he wants it.

If memory serves, Taruschio is consultant to the chef - who used to work at Taruschio's former restaurant in Wales. I'm sure someone will pipe up if this isn't the case ! I was there pre-Taruschio et al. and it was a decent, and very pretty, local restaurant at the time. I always wondered why it didn't get more 'buzz' at the time - so association with Taruschio can only have improved things ! If you go, please do let us know how you like it !

I have to say, I'm really impressed not only with your lively descriptions and dedication to posting regularly - but with the fact that the curriculum is so varied that it includes "ethnic" foods as well as the standards. Maybe I'm living in the dark ages, but until now I had the impression that cooking schools still concentrate on the three "F's" - French, French, French - and maybe some Italian. You'll come out of there with the ability to cast your net much more widely.

OK, now we're getting somewhere ! As Scully said (or was it Mulder?) - "I want to believe" but so far, practical examples have been so few & far between - . I haven't heard of Apostrophe, and I hadn't thought of going to CG for bread, now I will give them a try. Flaneur's a bit of a red herring though - don't they sell bread from St John (two blocks away)...as an aside, St John said it's not happy with the quality of the sourdough they've been selling so they're going back into the proverbial test kitchen. To your other point - New Yorkers reserve the right to complain, loudly, about any injustice. The difference between us and Londoners is that we don't just mumble into thin air, we put our money where our big mouths are...

Sorry to hear it ! I was really looking forward to trying this place. But...you've left out the most critical details of your evening. How was your date !??! Whether or not you end up walking hand-in-hand into the sunset, a girl who will eat rare beef, tendon, eels and tripe sounds like the girl for you...or did she just eat the noodles, prawns and tamarind sauce?

F-G - I can't comment on the bread at GT. I was going to say that I think you were lucky but in fact it's not even a matter of luck. You said it yourself : you were here for a couple of days, and you hit nearly all the good bread places - and it *took* two days not because there are so many of them, but because they require a hike for the average person. Of the places you mention - I agree Paul and Poilane are great. But as you point out, both are part of French chains - so yes, technically "in" London but not native - and not exactly widely available, i.e. only in about five or six places. Harrods Food Hall is fantastic, and much as I dislike Conran shops in general, maybe the bread is good at Bluebird (I think that's the one you tried?) Waitrose own bread *looks* nice - but like dried pasta, it's all the same texture and flavour - i.e. styrofoam - fashioned into different shapes. Waitrose does carry Sally Clarke's bread which is good, but they only have a few loaves a week. I can't speak for the other markets but as Waitrose is supposedly the most upscale one, I can't imagine the bread selection at the others is any more promising. So basically, that's fewer than 10 shops that sell decent bread in this whole, huge city ! Back to my original gripe - in London, in order to find good bread - something that *should* be cheap and plentiful - you have a choice of about 10 locations, several of which are actually outposts of one or two companies - it's like having to do your regular grocery shopping at the likes of Bloomingdales. Ridiculous.

Close to US Southern fare..hmmm... I've heard traditional US Southern fare is also on the wane. What is real Barbadian (or is it Bajan? I've heard both used) food ? What has been done to it ? To what extent do you think it has changed bedause chefs in Barbados now try to cater to a more 'worldly' Barbados-born traveler, who comes back and wants some of the foods she's had while away - rather than the homesick native (which it sounds like you may be) who's looking for the comfort food of childhood?