Bapi

Bas - you win. Please, no more "jokes" like that. I wonder. Is it possible that any future article about the current dining scene in Torquay can be written without mentioning a certain 70s sitcom? I doubt it.

And yet another write up in last weekends Guardian. Anyone would think that this place might be worth a try Jamie Oliver's better looking older brother

Has anyone been recently? We are lunching here this coming weekend. Any recommendations as an L'Enclume virgin? I understand that they will be offering the a la carte, table d' hote and the Introduction menu. I am hoping that Cubism in foie gras, two cold, one hot, cantaloupe, fragrant myrrh and almond cake, will be available on at least one of the above menus. Roll on the weekend.

Anyone wishing to know what she looks like is very welcome to forward me an exorbitant amount of money, for which I will supply you with a rather flattering photograph of her.

I dunno. Whenever I've been with her, I always thought her Jimmy Choos and Manolos with the disco lights were a right give away. ← Bless her. The only time I used to bother reading the Metro on the Tube, was on Wednesday mornings to catch her column. I rather like Coren's writing, although he does stray off-topic on occasion, but so what. And at least Norman, and before that Fort, as well as Jay, actually write at length about the bloody food. (Incidentally Jay, I thought that the cartoon of you in Restaurant Magazine is perhaps a little too flattering ) The one writer I do miss is Jonathan Meades. This snippet from dining in East Anglia, always makes me chuckle. "The cooking veers alarmingly from near excellence to absolute bathos. In the latter category comes a disgusting scallop and pork sausage which is like a condom filled with dog food." Priceless

Matt, have you been smoking something you shouldn't? Edit: Just seen your last post

Ssssh, Gavin for god's sake. They'll bump the prices up before I get to try it. Moby- Bugger off. You'll have to come and visit instead

The Dining Room is slightly set back on the busy Burnley Road, in the middle of Rawtenstall and is owned by the chef Andrew Robinshaw. He has an interesting CV witha stint at Ramsay’s Petrus and then working in France before returning to the vicinity of his hometown- Rochdale - to set up his own place. The restaurant interior has been stylishly renovated, with rich cream walls, modern art on the walls and those ubiquitous, comfortable, high-backed leather chairs one sees so often now. I was very tempted by the a la carte dish of Ballontine of Foie Gras, served with a Gewurztraminer jelly and toasted brioche. Unfortunately, that wasn’t available, but no matter - given that the excellent looking lunch menu contained a couple of the carte dishes we also fancied; we both opted for the set lunch option. We were very pleasantly surprised to be given a choice of freshly baked walnut bread and onion bread. Both of us went for the latter - which was delicious. Very moreish . An excellent start which boded well for the rest of the meal. I opted for Duck Boudin, served with Aubergine Caviar and Red Onion glaze. Very nicely presented, three thin slices of boudin which had little shards of moist duck imbedded within. This sat on a pile of delicious aubergine caviar. around which was small pool of a red onion glaze. All three elements worked very well, the savoury boudin, being balanced by the almost creamy aubergine, and aided with a hint of sweetness from the onion glaze. Rosie decided on the Ravioli of Smoked Haddock, with Fennel a la Grecque and a Granny Smith Butter sauce. A very thin layer of pasta encased moist, flavoursome, but delicately smoked haddock, which worked very well with the fennel. We both wondered whether the fennel and smoked haddock - being two robust ingredients - could work together on the plate but the result was faultless. There was no hint of harshness from the fennel with subtle flavourings from the vinegar, coriander seeds taking precedence but not overpowering the aniseed flavour of the fenel. The sweet , buttery sauce completed the dish by counteracting the smokiness of the fish. I opted for Fillet of Pork with, Fondant potato, Slow Cooked Red Cabbage and Rich Madeira Sauce, for my main course. Every element was spot on. Tender pieces of pork, cooked just to the point of shying away from being too pink. A rich buttery fondant potato came with some unannounced green beans perched on top. The cabbage was a welcome addition as it was not overtly tart, as so often happens with an over enthusiastic use of vinegar. The sauce too, was incredibly rich and wisely served as small pool as one didn’t need too much of it; the depth of flavour within it though was superb. I was bloody happy by this stage. Rosie had the Pan Fried Fillet Of Red Bream, Turned New Potatoes, Braised Savoy Cabbage and a Sauternes sauce. This was a really well put together dish, the fish was astonishngly well cooked. The thick layer of skin had been crisped to perfection since it was completely golden- not a hint of overcooked burnt tinges anywhere- yet the fish remained moist, flaking away into pearls of flesh with ease. Lord knows what "turned potatoes" are, but the Sauternes sauce, which was actually foamed over the fish, was spot on again. I ended with a so called Chocolate Terrine, Shortbread Fingers and Hazelnut Praline. Little pieces of praline sat horizontally on either side of the two central components. A mound of luscious vanilla ice cream and the star of the show an intricately detailed, rectangle of rich intense ganache-like chocolate, which was encased on either side by two buttery shortbread biscuits. A superb final course for me. Rosie went for a text book warm raspberry soufflé. I saw three delivered in total, two to the table of Yummy Mummys next to us and all of the had risen both beautifully and uniformly. I commented that the price of the same dessert alone at The Waterside Inn, was seven pounds more than all of the three courses we had enjoyed above. £14.95 for three courses including coffee (or Earl Grey in our case). This was sensational value for the calibre of cooking on offer. With one aperitif, a bottle of Hildon, a scrumptious bottle of Gewurztraminer ‘Herrenweg’ Alsace A.C, Cave de Turckheim, (France), 2002, and a glass of Elysium Black Muscat- the total bill was £60. Service was very good, though he seemed a bit brusque at first; but he warmed up as we progressed along. My incessant questions probably didn’t help. I have no real criticisms to offer, but would suggest that the a la carte menus would be better served by having a more formal cover. I know it’s a bloody minor detail, but I get the feeling this place is on the ascendancy, and tiny details will matter. Pedantry over, a few more choices of wine by the glass would be very welcome too. Especially for those opting for the tasting menu and wanting wines to partner each course. By complete coincidence as I write this, the missus has just turned over to watch “Who do you think you are?” on Beeb 2. The subject of which is the actress Jane Horrocks, visiting her hometown of Rawtenstall. She would do well to pay them a visit when she is next up visiting her family, as would you if you live in anywhere nearby. One to watch me thinks. Website Edited : As I forgot to mention her main course dish.

bakerstates- welcome. We often venture down to Suffolk as the Mother in Law lives in a village just outside Stowmarket. I have read good things about The Beehive too and we are regular visitors to the Crown and Castle Back down to Sufflok in late February, so we may well try to pop to Dedham. Cheers Bapi

Healthy Food? What's that then? Certainly no point in asking Gary about healthy food. He has't had a salad since the 1980s. Yin may be able to help though.

As recommended to us recently by that well known starred mushroom fancier of cheltenham! ← Mmmm, I too have heard and read good things about your place. Excellent, we will certainly pay you a visit when we are next down that way.

Niall- now you are talking. The St Peter's Brewery produce some wonderful ales. I remember being delighted when we stopped off for a drink before a meal at St John and the fabulous Jerusalem Tavern in Clerkenwell, sold nothing but their ales. Erica- I would definitely go for their ales as part of your new stock, more places should. Their website

Erica, I need you to trust me on this. If Gary hasn't found an English Lager, then it's unlikely one exists I agree with Gary re Samuel Smith's drinks though, they are not particularly nice but god they are cheap. I forget the name of the Sam Smith's pub in central Manchester that's near Selfridges( Thom will know)- but two pints; a lager and a bitter cost just £2.62. What is your place called by the way Erica?

Up there on Sunday night for the final might of the festival. All I can say is stunning - its a really special place and the food was pretty outstanding. The visiting chefs I spoke to had nothing but very high praise for Nigel Haworth (possibly the funniest man in Lancashire), his head chef Lisa Allen and the entire brigade. Its a very happy but disciplined team and Craig Bancroft is just the most incredible host - relentless energy and very caring. ← Come on now Andy, a few more details about the night please Northcote Manor is definitely on our to do list in the next few weeks, so a few details would be appreciated. How did the rest of the Obsession Food Festival go then?

Of course it's educational Matthew and not something you are likely to forget in hurry. Crikey the hours that you chaps have to work to earn your beer tokens, warrants having a splurge every now and again, surely? Enjoy it.

Thank you Scott and welcome. Aaah, Rishworth. I remember passing the entrance exam for the school there, er, many moons ago. Funnily enough, a fellow Landlord in North Yorkshire, mentioned your place -The Old Bore-to me only this week. You are indeed on the to-do list, along with the Junction Inn, down the road. All three, of which Robert Cockcroft has eulogised about. It's just a pity that we keep having to pass over the border from Lancs, to get some decent food within fifteen minutes of where we live. Cheers Bapi

We have had numerous meals here over the last few months. And for the calibre of the cooking, it continues to provide astonishingly good value. Especially with Fixed price menu which provided me with a dish of near perfect Duck confit, with Anna potatoes and Savoy cabbage. Two courses and a coffee cost just £11.95. A special mention must go to the fabulous creation that was a Venison Scotch egg the missus had a couple of weeks ago. She adores Scotch Eggs, as evidenced by her spending £33 on the bloody things from the Handmade Scotch Egg Company a couple of years back! This version was a revelation though-cutting into the cripsy breadcrumbs, revealed a thin layer of the rich, dark meat. The suprise was that the egg inside was still perfectly runny, which worked so well with the rest of the dish. Put it back on the menu! We ventured over there again today for our first Sunday Lunch. Who should be there, but the nice chap-Max-I mentioned above, who had given us reccomendations in the past. A fellow foodie, we had a drink and chat discussing which places we had dined at. We bought him a drink before we sat down to lunch and certainly didn't expect him to reciprocate. Especially when a half bottle of Krug arrived at our table He is officially the most generous chap in West Yorkshire! Back to lunch-I went for a smoked chicken samosa with avocado puree and chilli oil. Very eclectic ingredients - but they worked well. I especially liked how the lightly smoked chicken worked with with the fragrant oil. It was nice to see Yorkshire pudding with onion gravy being offered as a first course as is traditional in Yorkshire. I didn't opt for that as I went for Rib of Yorkshire beef with the aforemetioned puddings and roast vegetables. Spot on rare beef and, horribly good yorkies to mop up a rich red wine sauce. The moo, went for Black Bream, with chorizo and new potato saute. Crispy, golden and slightly charred skin, moist pearly, flesh sat on top of subtle sauce of chorizo and diced new potatoes. Textbook stuff. My only slight quibble in the past was that the cheese could have been taken out of the fridge a smidgen sooner. Easily rectifed, since as we knew we wanted some - we asked for just that to happen. Served with some excellent pickled grapes. I opted for sticky toffee pudding which my mother happily polished off. £ 16.95 for three courses or £13.25 for two. With a round of drinks and one coffee- the bill was an unfeasibly reasonable £40.

we drank, before dinner, house white, le charme sauvignon blanc, a quite quaffable drop, point shown by 3 disappearing very rapidly! think we had champagne to start, georges gardet brut special we then had riesling bollenberg 04, materne hageilin bourgogne chardonnay 2000 etienne sauzet nuits st georges 1er cru les damodes 1997 machard de gramont (sadly now all gone) then its replacement - st aubin 1er cru 99 hubert lamy and finally, andrew quady elysium black muscat ← Oh dear god- the above is the reason that it has taken me this long to respond. A cracking day out, in good company. Loved the foie gras- toad in the hole-inspired stuff as was the turbot dish. And quite frankly, is there anything better than sitting by a fire in the wee small hours, talking nonsense? I think not.

Good grief- just read this thread further. Anthony's missed out again? Out-friggin-rageous

My own very belated congratulations to Gingerchef. Good bloody work sir

Thanks for the welcome Rick is my dad and I work in the kitchen at the seafood restaurant, Ive just got back from 5 years at university and am a commie, hoping to work my way through the our kitchens for a few years. ← Welcome indeed.Very much looking forward to venturing back down to Padstow later this year, despite the likes of Slacker and Basil being in situ. But Jack, did you really mean Commie or perhaps Commis? Although five years at Uni could well do that to you.

Oh go on, go on, go on, Sir. If the pasty Yorkshire man-Marshall can do it And he is working soo hard too. I left him a message about an imminent visit to his Pub next week. Text response" Hi mate, what can I do for you I am in Barbados" Bastard

The first time I read this, I thought it said prospective. ← Tempting as that is - I am not sure Rosie would quite stand for me taking on a few more wives. And indeed if one were too, that would therefore mean you would have to contend with more than one mother-in-law. No thanks

I must be some sort of masochist. I agreed to take the family, including two respective mothers-in-law to The Three Fishes during Christmas week. Having been told that we couldn’t reserve a table, but that they were child friendly, we decided to risk the forty minute drive and got there just before 1pm. The place was absolutely packed to the rafters, despite being huge inside with numerous rooms to dine in. No bookings are taken as I wrote, but you pop your name down on a blackboard and wait for a table to become available. Very glad we did so as soon as we walked in as they did not take anymore food orders after us, despite at least another ten groups pitching up after us. The Three Fishes is quickly becoming a well renowned pub in the area and is owned by the Craig Bancroft and the Chef Nigel Haworth- who also own the Michelin starred Northcote Manor near Blackburn. I greatly admired the ideology behind this pub, as the back of the menu shows where everything on the menu is sourced, both locally and from a little further a field. Even down to Sarsaparilla from Oldham! The menu is split into dishes to begin, House Specialties which sounded like the best ever Ploughman- like selection of meats with piccalilli and home baked bread. Then onto Main courses and Grills. I went for the Stuffed Deep Fried Trotters, Ascroft’s Golden Beet salad, Honey and Grain Mustard dressing. A generous portion of trotters served with really delicious golden beet and an excellent dressing. Spot on for £5.90. Rosie went for the Warm Morecambe Bay Shrimps, Blade Mace Butter, Toasted Muffin. A variation on the classic potted shrimp dish. Unfortunately, we both thought that the mace butter was far too overpowering. It totally overpowered the sweet flesh of the shrimps. A shame as this would have been a great dish if not for that. Mains were for me from the Grill section-an Aged Ten Ounce Sirloin of Ribble Valley Beef (Matured for 5 weeks) Real Chips, Onion rings and a Herbed Tomato. Nice fat layer added flavour to the well cooked, rare beef- very flavoursome but a bit cold in places. The Onion rings were a bit too greasy, but the chips were superb. Crunchy and cooked in something that ones assumes, isn’t too good for you. That was £15 and my Mother-in-law- went for the 5oz Fillet which was really rather small, but she enjoyed it nevertheless. If you have a hearty appetite – do not go for this version. The missus went for Three Fishes Fish Pie, with Fleetwood fish with mash and topped with Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire cheese. Rich, creamy and very comforting. My Mother went for Battered Deep Fried Haddock, Marrowfat Peas and Real Chips. Nicely cooked fresh, flaky fish, I just don’t get Marrowfat peas though. To finish, a Sticky Ginger Pudding and a Chocolate and Orange Pudding with Clotted cream- both brought top marks from the respective mothers. Overall impression- it’s a busy place with about 120 covers I believe, and although the no bookings policy seems to work in general. I thought the young team struggled slightly on the day. For example, as a Three Fishes virgin, once seated at about 2pm, no-one told us that we then needed to go back to till station to place my order. Nevertheless, we enjoyed it and I will certainly go back as I have my eye on Farmer Sharp’s Slow Cooked Shoulder of Herdwick Mutton, Roasted Vegetables, Barley Dumplings and Gravy. I mentioned elsewhere that Northcote Manor is running a Festival of Food and Wine from 23rd January till 29th January. Here is the line up: 23rd Claude Bosi -Hibiscus 24th David Thompson- Nahm 25th Fergus Henderson- St John 26th Heston Blumenthal and Andoni Luis Aduriz- Fat Duck and Mugaritz 27th Marx Hix – Le Caprice and The Ivy 28th Bruce Poole –Chez Bruce 29th Nigel Howarth and Phillip Howard- Northcote Manor and The Square Christmas is cancelled in our household at the end of this year. I am saving up for this event in 2007.

1 million Rupees might be more appropriate.