
magnolia
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Everything posted by magnolia
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Winot - thanks for this review, I still haven't returned since I had drinks there but I just have this feeling it's not long for this world, at least not in its current state. It had all the right ingredients and just was too ambitious for its own good. I wager it will turn into a wine and cheese place, private party venue etc. for all the reasons you described bad service, wrong price point for the food quality - you are obviously paying for the high rent and the cheese room/wine cellar. Also its location is just unfortunate. Little if any food traffic, and a very unauspicious facade (there's this big sign that looks like a "for rent" sign on the outside, something like 'for wine and cheese parties call 7XXX XXXX" so you don't even know it's a restaurant - frankly it could be anything from the outside, a gym, an office building) However I was intrigued by something...what is chateau potato? Sounds like my kind of place...
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You will be hearing a lot of that in the Jerry Springer Opera. And Circe if you haven't seen it already, you *must*. It's right up your street.
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Agent Provocateur, owned by son of Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren who I happen to think were a seriously sexy couple - Broadwick Street in Soho http://www.agentprovocateur.com/
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I've only had a chance to skim this comprehensive post, but I can tell you my beau HATED beets until we had them at a friends - and now he can't get enough. Me, I never had anything against tinned "pickled beets" but didn't know what to do with the real thing. So a variation on a few of the above posts: clean 'em Take tops off (and use them separately if you are inclined) leave skins on Make a "package" out of aluminium foil throw in some garlic cloves, the more the better pour in some olive oil and if you like, some balsamic vinegar or drizzle with honey seal package Slow roast until you can pierce them with a sharp knife They reduce when cooked so make more than you think you need; they're great cold the next day with a dollop of sour cream (like solid borscht I guess)
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According to Zagat - Incognico is run by Nico Landenis' daughter Natasha Robinson. It got good marks for a "bargain" pre-theater menu. It's a clever name . The Ivy really isn't our kind of place. If I wanted to see celebrities - I'd just book a couple of days at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills and hang around the bar and swimming pool. At least my business is appreciated there - I don't suspect it would be at the Ivy. What kinds of places are east@west and Sheekeys (restaurant - pub)? Thanks for your help. Robyn East@West is semi-posh "Australian fusion" food, hear good things about dinner, not such good things about lunch. Do a search - I think people have talked about it on the site, they may even have their own website with a menu on it - to see if you like what they're serving. J Sheekeys is mainly known for fish but has other things, too. It's "smart casual" - so not formal, but not jeans. It's not a pub at all though you can eat at the bar (which I love to do) Mela Indian restaurant on Shaftesbury Avenue (loads of write-ups on this board) is very good for pre-post theatre but again, emphasis is not on the 'drink'. The problem with this area - Soho/Covent Garden - is that the typical pubs around there generally have horrible, if any, food. There are some decent Chinese restaurants (Harbour City, eCapital though some people think the latter has gone down - see discussions); there are Hamburger Union and Bodeans, both in Soho (the latter is American style ribs probably not what an American wants to have in London - and also recently flagged for a possible downward slide) But if you don't want a restaurant per se, you might be better off with a wine bar like Le Beajolais which has very basic, large portions of French food or someone else wrote up here or on another board a place called Cork & Bottle, I'll see if I can find the addresses of the above wine bars. You'll need a reservation at all of the above for dinner. In fact best to reserve anywhere, especially for dinner. Jerry Springer Opera is fantastic by the way. As far as County Hall area goes -there's not much just around there but there are a few places not far away, near Waterloo- on or near The Cut. Depending on what day/what time of day, Anchor and Hope is a pub with excellent food. Impossible to get in at night (no reservation policy means you need to get there as far in advance of 6pm when the dining room opens) in order to get a seat - much discussion about it herewith - but apparently weekend brunches are less of a hassle. Across the street from Anchor and Hope is a large Turkish restaurant Tas, which part of a mini-chain of very good quality/service/value places - here you could certainly keep it light with salads and appetizers. The Fire Station, just outside Waterloo (on Waterloo Road) is also decent though not as good as the above, it's a casual wine/beer/food place, they have soup, sandwiches, salads too.
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My guess is that was cervelle de canuts.
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You're making me hungry - and yearning for another trip to Lyon, a city whose surface I only just scratched on a trip to Beaujolais last October - and will probably not have a chance to visit again until next trip to Beaujolais - next October. Here's a question that has been irking me for months, and I can't seem to find an answer. At a little cafe in the covered food market, for dessert, I had a bowl of very creamy cheese with garlic and maybe chives - I can't remember - it was a savoury dessert and it was out of this world. It's meant to be a Lyon specialty (at least that's what the waiter told me) Does this ring a bell, and if so, what's it called? I'd love to try to recreate it for myself.
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As an aside, are these "stuffed animals" as in taxidermically stuffed, or stuffed animals as in Teddy Bears, Snoopy et al? Both would be appropriate for a Bond villain; but only the former would be even remotely understandable for a restaurant - and even then, it should be called Ye Olde Grumpy Hunter and not les trois garcons...everything about this place sounds incongruous and random.
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I seem to recall there's a 'critical mass' (unfortunate turn of phrase) of ice cream places on Rue Mouffetard, is Damman's the one that shapes your scoop into a rose? I actually bought one of those Italian flat scoops in order to try this myself but haven't gotten around to doing it yet... Berthillon is not disappointing, just over-exposed. Much more humane and better service since the new guard took over. PS What's Bulgarian yoghurt - how's it different from any other?
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yes - went last week & had a very enjoyable evening nothing new to report except the foie gras portions seem to get smaller each time I visit St John is getting curiouser and curiouser. 1) perhaps they've been doing this for awhile, and I never noticed, but they are now promoting the fact that they are an off-license 2) as you've noted, their portions are getting smaller; their plates, 'starker' if that is even possible - slap down that slab of meat or whole fish - and serve it. 3) their bread loaves, by contrast, are getting larger 4) Haven't seen brownies or eccles cakes in a long while...next time I'm there, I'll ask
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Hand-vac. Good to know! Thanks for the tip! Be careful not to vacuum up the other ingredients, especially eggs...
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I will never try to "sprinkle" a tiny bit of cinnamon from a wide-open jar. And then I will never again stick a hand-vac into the bowl to try to suck up all the spilled cinnamon in order to save the dish which was three hours in the making up to that point (even though it worked ).
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Food stuff around Sloane Square?
magnolia replied to a topic in United Kingdom & Ireland: Cooking & Baking
Yes, i've been there - I don't remember what it's called but it's just next to Manicomio, an unmemorable Italian restaurant that might even own the cafe - We stopped into the cafe to get hot chocolate and had a quick look around, it has both eat-in and takeaway - the same light wood-y atmosphere as Baker & Spice - lots of Italian branded products, a bit like Carluccio's. Though if Gail Stephens recommends it, perhaps it's worth a closer look...next time I'm in the 'hood I'll check it out and report back. Have fun with Fergus ! -
Food stuff around Sloane Square?
magnolia replied to a topic in United Kingdom & Ireland: Cooking & Baking
Just returned from there this moment ! Am now full of caffeine and custard tart. -
Food stuff around Sloane Square?
magnolia replied to a topic in United Kingdom & Ireland: Cooking & Baking
As you noted ! Hope I have put you out of your misery. Obviously great minds think alike Here's hoping they'll be selling some last-minute Easter eggs at Borough Market tomorrow... Edited for crossing wires! -
Food stuff around Sloane Square?
magnolia replied to a topic in United Kingdom & Ireland: Cooking & Baking
There's a decent Waitrose and a Safeway on Kings Road, not far from Sloane Square. Also you must go to l'Artisan du Chocolat at 89 Lower Sloane Street - the street that starts on the corner where Gieves is... I'd stay far away from anyplace on Sloane Square proper or on Knightsbridge itself, even the ones that look appealing - like Oriel, where the last time I stopped there for a drink, I had a glass of wine that was nearly thrown at me by the very bad-tempered server, and cost something like £14!! and Gloriette (sp?) a very appealing-looking patisserie across from Harrods, where everything tastes like cardboard. If you want to spend a mint in order to be part of a 'scene', you have Zuma on Rafael Street for nouveau-Japanese near Harrods - the service and food are good but very expensive - you are definitely paying for the decor and atmosphere. I'd say it's not really for kids. But do veer down Kings Road and things improve somewhat. There's an Al Dar (very good Lebanese) at 74 Kings Road; there are some decent and atmospheric 'gastro-pubs' such as the Cross Keys (1 Lawrence Street) in the heart of posh Chelsea; Builders Arms at 13 Britten Street, just behind the Waitrose; The Atlas at 16 Seagrave Street in Fulham...and a 20 minute bus ride from Sloane Square, in Battersea is one of my favourite restaurants in London - Ransome's Dock at 35 Parkgate in Battersea - great for all meals, kids and adults. I haven't been, but the Ebury Wine bar (139 Ebury Street) has received some good press as well - I think there may be some reviews on this board. -
Parsee was one of the first "dates" I had with Simon M & another poster from a previous board, Howler. I can't recall exactly what we had but there was an amazing omeletty dish. What I *do* remember is that Simon & Howler played the "who's more Indian" game
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Oh, I agree - Hakkasan is excellent but it *is* twice the price, and some non-foodies just won't spend the equivalent of US$50 on dim sum. Plus Hakkasan's ambiance made me feel I should have been wearing stilettos and fetish gear - and not everyone wants to do this for brunch re: Golden Palace, it would take a lot to get me to go to the suburbs for dim sum, even in my advanced state of senility. What were we talking about again? Who are you people?
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Please do report back Sandra - am "helping" someone make a choice between Hakkasan and PP, for the less flush among us, for this Sunday. Really like Hakkasan but might make a bigger push for Pho Pal if in fact it's snazzier and the food's as good, if not better than before... and still half the price. FYI as a NYer, I have to laugh whenever I see things like 'the food arrived promptly 40 minutes later', it has been a real change of habit not to stand by the door expecting the bell to ring moments after I hang up the phone from placing my order...
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Adria is nothing if not incredibly busy. He's like the Michel Rolland of the Spanish food world (in a good way). He even took time out of his myriad projects to co-host a communal paella fundraiser for a school in Honduras last sunday at La Boqueria, which I'll write up and post photos when I have a moment - but suffice to say, of the 500+ people there, very few were foodies - and even fewer knew who he was. Most were just people walking down the Ramblas who were attracted by the prospect of all you could eat for 7 euros.
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Don't know what it's named for - probably a river or something - but there's a building in Paris called the Villa Ourcine that in my complete ignorance of architecture, looks to me like the worst example of council-put-it-up-quick ugliness - it's probably listed.
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Anyone been to Cophenhagen more recently? Would love some recs for a friend...especially for Danish food. Thanks!!
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Glad to hear it all worked out, I'm a big fan of Los...but I thought La Regalade was closed on Saturdays and Sundays anyway. Has this changed? Say it's so...and weekends in Paris will no longer be Regalade-less...
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Shame on you Craig Camp! Genova is AMAZING and very underrated. 1) The food is fabulous and cheap as chips, even compared with other major Itlalian cities which are already cheap as chips by UK, US and certainly French standards 2) the people are "real" - it's not high up on the tourist list (even though it should be) but I understand fully that people coming to Italy on their first, second, third and even fourth trip would go to Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan...in fact when I was there in October I heard nary an English word aside from present company. 3) fantastic for sightseeing, loads of tiny but opulent churches built by wealthy industrialists. 4) it doesn't wear its heart on its sleeve the same way other abovementioned Italian cities do (though I love those too) 5) European city of culture this year, shared with Lille, another underrated/undervisited city. LEdlund - go and enjoy !!
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Hmmm...math has never been my forté so it is probably my error. Here are the specific recs for the UK (the US are slightly less, France & other Med countries slightly more). 3-4 units of 8g for men 2- 3 units of 8g for women In the UK, a 'unit' is defined as: 1) half a pint of ordinary strength lager/beer or cider at 3.5% 2) a small glass of wine at 9% abv 3) a 25ml pub measure of spirit (40%abv) 4) a 50ml glass of sherry, port or vermouth at 20%abv What does this work out to?