Kikujiro

Any food manufacturing left in London?

M&S prepared foods. Ubiquitous and always Italian-run sandwich bars: evaluate and explain. Are any of the green huts that serve greasy-spoon food to taxi drivers still in existence?

Kettners is still there, but it's a PizzaExpress-cum-champagne bar.

The other day a taxi driver told me about a great pie and mash place in Exmouth Market. I was a bit surprised when he didn't go on to charge me thruppence ha'penny and turn into a pumpkin on the stroke of midnight.

Was AL at Kensington Place? Both AL and Rowley Leigh were at 192, as were many others.

Gavin, what will be the product of this research?

Wood burning ovens I've seen, the wood is shovelled to the side to make room for the pizza. Same compartment.

But it is, isn't it?

Ah, but 220V?

Also, what if you are using a pot of 1" diameter, or 1 mile?

But does the knuckle method intelligently fluff and warm leftover rice while you're in the shower? Huh? Does it?

Kiku fixed. Take that, Al.

Thank goodness for Al. edit: ... but it isn't.

Link fall down go boom.

Today I spoke to the UK importers for Zojirushi. They don't do Neuro Fuzzies. They were considering it a couple of years ago but decided demand for the basic models was high enough

Meanwhile, in the States ...

20 February 2003 Dear [Kiku-san] Thank you for your email received on 18 February 2003. We appreciate your continued feedback [i only sent them one email, honest] with regards to introducing organic milk into Starbucks stores. I have spoken to our Marketing Department and they inform me that, although we are considering introducing organic milk into our stores, unfortunately there are no plans to do so in the near future. I have however passed your comments on this subject to them for their further consideration. I appreciate your request that we offer Fairtrade coffee in our espresso-based beverages as well as our filter coffee. Starbucks use only 100% Arabica beans and we currently buy 1% of the world's coffee so cannot guarantee either sufficient quantity or quality of Fairtrade coffee to supply all of our stores. We have recently introduced Fairtrade chocolate bars and due to the positive feedback we have received we are looking into the feasibility of offering more Fairtrade products in our stores in 2003. Thank you again for your interest in Starbucks. Yours sincerely [Tempestua Ignatieff] Customer Care Specialist

Forsaking Zaika and its uppity bookings policy, we went to J Sheekey this evening. It was superb. Comfortable, attentive but welcoming service. Champagne in, as Simon says, rather smashing glasses. I had potted shrimp (which seemed very good to me, but it's not a dish I have regularly); others had grilled prawns (didn't try); endive salad (much better than it sounded); and what in the single blip of the evening was listed as a chanterelle risotto but came with ceps (still good). Recommended NZ pinot was lovely. My special of pan-fried brill with mash and kale in, frankly, parsley butter soup, was flawless, as were the other mains -- not only was the fish, chips and mushy peas as good as I've ever tasted, but so was the wild sea bass baked in salt, particularly impressive as I'm comparing it to some excellent renditions in Venice. Lobster was grilled with a daringly light touch -- assuming we're not ill tomorrow, it was great, but I'm sure others would have sent it back in that state. Puds were better tradder -- ubiquitous melting choc pudding just okay, chilled scandinavian berries with white choc sauce rather good but just too sweet for me, panna cotta with blood oranges nearly excellent, but spotted dick and champagne rhubarb pie bang on. I don't do Simon's mint tea test but I do usually ask for a ristretto macchiato because that's what I want at the end of a meal. The Fat Duck last week screwed up on this royally -- I got what they described as a macchiato and was a weak cappuccino made with disappointing coffee. Sheekey produced a real ristretto macchiato; I've had better but this was fine. The downside is after this I won't feel the same way about the Quality Chop House again.

Never let it be said I don't listen to Miss J. Amazon delivered my copy of Dunlop yesterday, along with 100th Window and some other bits. Um, wow. You only have to flick through the book for a minute to see how serious it is. It has 'standard reference' all over it. I'm terribly excited.

You have your priorities upside down.

Hardly non-corporate any more, though, surely? Or do you just prefer the coffee?

Matthew, you can adjust. Try asking for a double tall dry cap. I'm not saying the coffee's good, but the proportions are infinitely fixable.

D'oh.

I once visited some friends of my parents for dinner and brought along, like a good kid, a box of chocolates. Next time I went to my parents house, there was the same box. I suppose recycling is a good thing. I realise this is only tangentially related but what the hey.

Channel 4 over here recently ran a programme called Fat Plague examining one researcher's theory that obesity is caused by a transmissable virus. More here. edit: 'recently', not 'reason'. I'm into rhyming typos now?