erica graham

Yikes thats from a while back!! Thanks!

How about buying a cheap baby belling? You need to get inventive and think like a student, but in might be fun! (also alot cheaper than eating out every night, although not nearly so much fun!) Our first flat had a baby belling, and not much else, andits long enough ago to have fond memories!!

Shucks.......thank you..

Blimey- since when did we all give scores on the doors.! (Sorry don't mean to be rude, but it sounds like a guide book review rather then a personal one) No offence meant.

Although sometimes its the whole evening , the sum of the parts rather than just the food that remains in the memory , and I think thats just fine. (although if its just the hangover the next morning, well thats a wholenew ball game!!) I've had stella nights out that have had good food, but not the best ever, but the evening out still ranks up there. On the other side bad food, good evening will always be remembered as a bad night. My meal at Ducasse was probably the most scary 3 hours of my life, I was terrified of clanking cutlery, dropping anything or saying/doing the wrong thing. The ladies of Paris kept staring at us, and it totally freaked me out. The food was fantastic, once I'd stopped sitting up straight and wishing I'd bought something new to wear. In hindsight I really wasn't ready for it. These days no waiter or French diner would scare me, and the wine list would be alot easier to negotiate!! Although now we have two kids we REALLY can't afford it!

Good luck Mathew, hope it works out for you!

Ok so my most expensive meal ever was lunch at Alaine Ducasse in Paris at £300 for two (10 years ago) Recently 700 Euros for three + child at Duomo in Sicily was fairly painful- especially as we had really cheap wine. Eeven more so when we failed to get past 160 euros anywhere else (and believe me we tried).

Funny thing, multi course menus. They can leave you very excited and talking about them for years to come, or else a big disapointment, when you feel that you didn't get it, or they didn't get you. We thought our meal at Tragabuche was outsanding 2 years ago, but we went for the tasting menu at Duomo in Sicily and we left exceptionally underwelmed. Interestingly enough both these restaurants took bloody long drives to get to, so both got the same build up of anticipation, but had two very diferent reactions. Still hasn't stopped me from being a sucker for a tasting menu.......

Do you mean that hhis starter didn't make it through to the gerkin?

A bit off topic, but I had a fantastic "Exmoor Burger" at Putsborough Sands, North Devon on monday. Great view too.....

No HP type brown sauce, a ketchup style sauce, necessary with any cooked breakfast in our house. http://www.hpsauce.com !!

I had one yesterday for the gourmet guide book or something saying we had been specially selected to go in their well respected guide of nine years, we would recieve a laminated cetificate that could go straight n the wall, and our credit card sized entry would only cost us £100!!

Ugghhhh I hadn't even factored in those rodents with wings....

Why WHY?? I don't get why you would want to do this- I was sure it was a joke! I thought of one FAQ not there- do they provide paper bage for panic attacks, or any other eventuality?

We stopped in at The Masons arms yesterday for lunch. It was lovely. In all terms. Kowstone is a teeny tiny village- we had been staying on Exmoor, and as a final treat went for lunch on our way back home. The pub is a chocoltae box vision of a Thatched Cottage. I say pub with reservation, because its obvoiusly not really when you get in. There are commemorative plates from the Waterside, Clivedon, the normal engraved magnum of Ladouette, all housed in a very pretty and welcoming building with seriously low ceilings. There were only really diners there, but perhaps the locals will mailnly go in at night for a drink. We were a party of 4 adults and three children, and were made very welcome, even though the rest of the clientel that day were a good 20+ years older than us. We had drinks in a cosy lounge, and went through to the restaurant at the back, with amazing views over very lush green rolling hills. If you go, don't forget to look up at the ceiling, a mini michaelangelo fresco is there in a simply decorated stylish dining room. No cloths, but good quality napkins (one slight irritation is the habit of replacing with a new napkin every time we left the table- anyone eating with 3 kids can tell you how many time that will be!!) good glasswear etc. I ate seared tuna with an oriental style salsa, lovely sesame seed tuilles and enoki mushrooms, followed be pork belly with red cabbage and apple. Hubbie had a terrine with pistachios followed by seabass, daughter no1 Salmon with Potatoes and Broad beans and Majoram Sauce. All the food was very prettily presented, with lovely clear flavours and no pretension. Good breads and no amuses at all meant that the simplicity and qualty were allowed to shine through. As we had cooked a monster full English that morning, we were unable to make it through to pudding, although if had I would have had the orange and mascarpone mousse with passion fruit. Still, ther's always next time. Mark Dodson and his wife, who was looking after out front have a lovely place, and although we too live in a beautiful area of the Cotswolds we couldn't help driving away with a wistful sigh.

I've got to recommend Al Shami 25 Walton Crescent as my complete favourite for eating out in Oxford. We go a couple of times a year, and stuff our faces with Meze starters, but never get around to the skewered mains. Great traditional desserts, really sweet, but prfecet when had with Lebanese coffee. They also have a great selection of Chateau Musar, varoius vintages, and all for under £30 a bottle! www.al-shami.co.uk 01865 310066. And no, I don't work there. Would do if I got staff food from the menu though!!!

No I don't eat at Caesars, my family do (you know what they say about being able to pick yourfriends etc etc..)

Sorry - this just sounds a heavy bias against Liverpool stopping you from appreciating what is available. There may be a shortage of 3-starred restaurants to tempt you, but I'm sure there are plenty of serviceable eateries to choose from. ←

So I read that Jeremy and Jane have split from Raymond Blanc. No great surprise there then.......

Just found out about Vatika, to open at my old work place, wickham vineyard, and being a very nosey person, I was wondering if anyone out there had any information about it. The vineyard couldn't help, they told me it was a seperate comapny and that they expected it to open at the end of June. I'm fascinated! I really like the wine they produce at Wickham, they have an own label Fume for the house of parliament, and it's a really beautiful setting in the center of the Meon Valley with its own wildlife reserve and all the stomping ground you could wiah for. Wish they would have sold the restaurant to me!! Especially as I read that Atul will have his own Carp pond and his own market garden there too.!! Any further info really appreciated!! Erica

Wild Harvest in Lonodon do the Sosa line. MSK can be very expensive. www.wildharvestuk.com

Article and info on The Reservoir here http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news_de...categoryid=9007

Thats the one I was winging about on my other thread!! Awful,awful.awful is all I can say.

Nope, there is nowhere in Southport, honest, I've tried everywhere thats supposed to be "good" and they aren't, full stop. See my previous post " Lunch Next Tuesday, Restaurant near (or in) Southport Needed" (you'll have to search it as I'm not clever eniugh to link it in. Take a picnic to the beach, or the pinewoods in Formby would be my advice.

Didn't get to see it- how did they both react?