CheGuevara

the last time i had a krispy kreme i was roughy one year ago in nyc, in their uptown store on 3rd or lex and while not the best doughnut i've ever had - the original glazed was incredibly good. given their recent growth, it would not surprise me if the quality were to drop, as it approaches more and more the painful starbucks model. i'm definitely going to try one here in london. -che

basic laws of economics - supply and demand - and most demand lacks palate. unfortuantely its only going to get worse - unless the trend reverts - as food is more mass produced, more genetically modified, more freeze-packed to enable worldwide delivery, and so long as large multinationals continue to market the way they do. -che

crispy quail heads or goosberry fool - this restaurant has spurred by far the most comments on egullet since its opening. now it's packed everyday at lunch. -che

jam is not an easy product to prepare. your best bet is to get your hands on a jam making book - there are a few very good ones out there. not all fruits contain pectin, the necessary agent for coagulation, furthermore the right temparatures need to be adhered to. it's chemistry not cooking. -che

i make it a point to eat here at least once a week....only one block away from the office! -che ps - try the jellies next time you go - they usually have at least one - home-made and served with single cream. EDIT: i see there are a few of us who enjoy the pleasures of SJ's at lunch, shall we organize a little eGullet lunch one of these fridays? Also Andy, there was a thread on the new SJ's a while back with some more reviews, might be worth merging them.

sarah - if you want to do away with the pistachio paste - you can always flavour the milk with roasted pistachios - it works incredibly well. i've made both pistachio & hazelnut ice-cream in this way, and had truly fantastic results. haven't seen any white peaches in borough either - but with the summer in full swing, you might be lucky. additionally borough is probably your best bet. -che if you do find those peaches, i suggest you buy a few extra and make yourself a good bellini - with a nice prosecco - as most of what passes for bellini's today are "mass produced" imitations.

out of curiosity - are you trying to make bellinis, or just enjoy a juicy white peach? must say i have yet to see any white peaches in london markets this summer. -che

the place is or will be named "The Quay". apparently a friend of his will be running the kitchen - doling out mainly fish. i guess taking good advantage of the harbour in front. there was a recent article on restaurant magazine. -che

finally someone who suffers from similar ailments - egullet early-morning syndrome! as for the description of the food, that pseudo-fusion italian concoction simply does not appeal to me. -franco

god i love skate wing with capers and butter...i don't think i've ever had it baked though. how long do she stay in the oven - roughly? now i'm getting hungry - and the day deserves a glass of wine for lunch! -franco

basil....is your menu available on-line? it just seems lamb and potatoes is the main course of choice for egulleteers - otherwise, can you give us a little samplig (written) of your menu for the summer? -franco

sl, i never said that you were taking the moral highground but rather that by utilizing drug use as the off-work behaviour which, as you said, is "not impacting the cook's work right now, but the chef can reasonably predict that it will become a problem later", you focus on a behaviour which inherently carries with it a moral highground flavor - you can add to that the negative social connotations. i clearly understand your hypothesis. the analysis needs to take place at a higher level, as a decision - albeit based ona druguse hypothesis like the one you present - will have a permanent impact on employer vs. employee rights, and in doing that curtailing your freedom and privay. as to employer's responsibilities, as malachi mentioned in his last post, management skills are responsible for dealing humanely and in the interest's of your employees. through mutual respect and honesty, you can avoid the need for strict and intrusive legislation. -franco

I'd want to research that one (but I won't). I think if someone is actually drinking on the job, the employer is entitled to shoot them out of a cannon. But I'm not sure. Of course, I'm limiting this to the facts you present. In this situation - someone boozing while at a client's - I think you've got a slam dunk for dismissal whether job performance is impaired by the drinking or not. That's not to say that you shouldn't offer treatment. We're not animals, after all. Well, most of us, anyway. employers have the right. it's covered by a standard employment contract (i'm tempted to guess that the clause need not be in the contract for the employer to have the right), usually under an "expected conduct" clause, where the dismissal is allowed if certain behavior is manifested in the workplace. being drunk falls into this category, as does sexual abuse - analgous under different clauses other behaviours are also cause for dismissal - stealing. logically irrespective of anything else. -che

when it begins screwing up you, your colleagues, absenteeism - it's clearly affecting your work. you get warned, and then you get fired. onto the handling of a "situation" - those are very siubjective options. in order to dicuss the legality or worthiness of drug testing at work, you need to affront the discussion at a higher level, as the implications on civil liberites are high. the drug issues is only an issue beacuse of its illegality - and its social connotations. (see post above)...now i need to get some damn work done. -che

slkinsey - the only reason you are able to, at best, continue this argument, is beacuse drugs are illegal, thus masquerading its harm in a ficticious moral highground. judging what behaviour outside of work should constitue reason for dismissal, is treading in incredibly difficult areas. your commitment to your employer is during working hours and while representing the company (business trip), period. what about a 4-pack-a-day smoker who's notion of exercise is his walk to the elevator, and considers processesed plastic popocorn nutrition? he's a heart attack waiting to happen. if you go for the drug argument, you must be well aware of the precedent you are setting - which is clearly the invasion of privacy through emplyer rights. that's seriously fucked up. -che

the question has already evolved to that degree, especially in the US. in it not so much the legal system per say, but rather the cultural characteristic which has slowly crept into society's genes. the coupling of a litigious society with an effective - in avoidance of a counterargument, effective when taken comparatively - legal system. the mc.d's example is what comes to mind when i reflect on the above, as it was highly publicized, and higly criticized in the media. nevertheless, mc.d's coffee cups in the US are stamped with a warning sign - stamping costs i am certain were included in the cost/benefit analysis - lest any customer forget "Coffee is hot. Coffee, when poured on genitals, hurts and maybe even wounds" (and it did apparently - 3rd degree i think). another example are the ads, both in the subway and on tv - "been injured at the job, had an accident without due compensation, let the firm of buster and spenCer give you a free consultation..,.blah, blah." my point is, it's ingrained already...and unfortunately - or fortunately probably - you have a legal system that is highly effective - for it provides for geniuine security to the common man - unlike most third world countries. tonyfinch is correct when he says you do have a duty as an employer - at some level you need to protect the employee from the stronger party. i'm as liberal as most east and west coaster in the US, however i do value a welfare state that does provide the small employee with some rights and places upon the employer some due responsibility. the legal system in the US can be analogized to the rampant corporate influence on government - it's completely out of hand, it has turned itself into a risk/benefit analysis with no concern for the common good of the people, and so on... -che

this is the only argument that counts here. the moment you begin to deleve into people's personal lives, you enter a grey area of civil liberties and the workplace. in the US most investment banks, if not all, require a drug test to validate an employment contract. it is merely a PR stunt, as you never get tested again. barring a few jobs were other people's lives are at stake - airline pilots for one - drug testing should not be allowed in the workplace. should we begin testing for child abuse, alcoholism, s&m lifestyles - seems highly absurd, an therefore the same goes for drugs. what you do on your own time is just that, your own f*king time.

i will have to try this bacon sandwich - while we're on the subject, what is the recommended sauce? is ketchup for the uninitiated? -che

can't believe no one has mentioned the "bacon sandwich" - in my opinion the best english food has to offer. with that, i am certainly not the most qualified person to direct you in the right place. now open only on sunday's the "market coffee house" in front of spitalfields market used to serve an excellent sandwich. as for the comments on bread - both here and in NY - why does it go stale faster than anywhere else in the world? is it a environmental ocurrance or just a sign of the quality or lack thereof? it seems world metropolis and quality ingredients are oxymorons. -che

i looked into this a while ago - maybe andy can pull my thread from somewhere, it had some good suggestions, which unfortunately i never got around to trying. edit: this was the one i was going to go for: Wine Education let me know if you decide to go - maybe some egullet motivation is what i need. -che

especially when you're lugging behind a wretched hangover!! -che

the taste of rhubarb and butter continues to hover in my mouth like a summer fly, persistent in it presence. i just returned from lunch at st. john's and im finding it hard to deliver the experience. without a doubt the best lunch in the neighborhood - and in my case, one of the best lunches i've had in london. we had a terrine of pork, pigeon and parsley - all tied in together with a perfectly balanced - juggling between viscosity and flavor - gelatine; a dorstone goat cheese, was perfectly creamy, very mild flavor; a harbourne blue, to which part of my mind is numb as it continously registers the pleasure derived from it, which could be close in lineage to a gorgonzola dolce, magnificent. if you must ask, all this with two glasses of crisp red, yes crisp, served well below room temperature. in honour of dan - the bread was excellent - as was the butter. excellent butter. we finished with an opaquely translucent rhubarb jelly, served with single cream, like my mom used to serve jelly at home, and two warm butter cookies, gently sprinkled with crystal-white sugar. but back to the jelly, forget the damn cream, farm sourced or not, the jelly was like a tiny explosion of acidity, with a sweet aftertaste of berry. the texture, immaculate, firm yet it separated at the merest touch, in a slow calculated manner. if that doesn't tell you it's homemade.... all this - there were two of us - for 35 pounds. remove the wine, that still leaves a hefty bottle of still, and we would have lunched for 20 pounds - albeit cheese, bread and a terrine - have you heard of pret? it's an absolute pleasure to eat simple, good, home-made food - so good was my experience that in all this excitement i forgot to mention the pickles served with the terrine. here's a little something i emailed a friend in response to his inquiry - how was lunch (included the english translation for obvious resons) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Leche separada, en bocaditos de tostada harina Pepinos fugaces y dulces como el placer Un tinto impecable, manteca sin sal Fuimos transportados en jalea de ruibarbo ------------------------------------------------------------------ Clotted milk, in small bites of toasted flour Fleeting pickles, sweet like pleasure An impeccable red, salt less butter We were transported in a rhubarb jelly ------------------------------------------------------------------ -che

a few issues ago - restaurant magazine came out with a cover story on moore jr. - as andy suggested, food is not the predominant preoccupation of the management at his restaurants. moore jr. described his competitive advantage, better termed differentiation, as a space for jet setters and those who wish to be, where they can relax and enjoy themselves without the undue attention usually bestowed upon such individuals. what a load of bollocks as you'd say here. its worth noting nevertheless, that you wouldn't expect most of today's "jet setters" - the justin timebrlakes of our global society, requiring labels to distinguish quality - to appreciate anything more than a grilled-cheese, so maybe he is doing the right thing, financially speaking. -che

at the risk of displaying my under-informed self even more...dan, do you speacilize in setting up bakeries? someone commented about a book you wrote? apologize if this is more inquisitive than this forum allows. -che

a lot of you here are probably aware of what for me has been a delightful discovery this lunch-time. only a couple hundred yards or so away from my office a sister st. john's - with bakery - has just opened..."two weeks on friday" as the lovely waitress informed me. with main courses at 6 pounds a pop - she fills a nice gap in the spitalfields-commercial street-bricklane gastronomic lunch market - one to which i am roped into by corporate governance. i shall report on the findings here, tomorrow, as i uneartherd the discovery on my return to the office...in the meantime i wanted to share my child-like candy-store feeling - which at its core is firmly founded in culinary pleasures, a taste for fresh bread (to be taken home from work), and the magical - yet completely out of our control - world of office location and its impact on work appreciation. -che