Scottf

They've a website at www.winteringhamfields.com

Steve, Arsenal won, do me a favour! Don't come spouting that pony on our meal!

Though I don't like passing on info 3rd hand, whilst mentioning Chavot may be leaving The Capital to my brother he said he'd read a similar story in a trade magazine but Chavot had denied it. A bit like a football transfer saga by the look of things!

I would 2nd the suggestion of L'Ardoise in the 1st. We ate there on Saturday night and although it was the first and only time we encountered other English speaking diners I wouldn't say that let the place down. My starter of pied a veau et foie gras ravioli was michelin star quality, as good, if not probably better than any starter I've had in far more expensive restaurants. 3 courses is €29 (approx £18).

Tony We went back over Christmas and I must admit the food wasn't as impressive the 2nd time. I think it may be struggling a little to fill the dining room and that is having a knock on effect on the quality of ingredient. A pity as the idea is a good one but your suggestions make sense.

As an addition to this thread of menu translation, is anyone aware of a website or guidebook or whatever that would help to translate a menu in French. Or is it a case of experience, learning to decipher keywords etc. I've seen the odd food dictionary but the French words for milk and bread aren't quite what I'm looking for! How I wish I'd now taken my French studies seriously at school. I think my "Del Boy" take on French is going to bring some amusement to the Parisien restauranteurs! ! Problem is at 15 I never for 1 minute expected to grow up wishing to visit France on a gastronomic adventure.

Embassy 29 Burlington Street W1 020 7437 9933

Hi all and thanks for your continued help. We managed to scrape a Thursday night booking at Les Magnolias and Sam has been trying to obtain a reservation at La Regalade for the last couple of days. (Is it easier to fax than to get a phone answered?) La Regalade has been on our list with L'Astrance since we booked our trip as I've seen nothing but good reviews of the place, so we live in hope we'll get in!

Thanks for your help everyone. Unfortunately L'Astrance is booked for lunch also and though I may attempt to try for a cancellation at a later date I'm like you Bux, I'll have already filled the hole with somewhere else. I liked the idea of Les Magnolias, but Sam talked me out of going to both. I'm taking the initiative and booking it now! It's very well priced and I've looked at an example menu on their website. We'>http://www.lesmagnolias.com/menus.htm We may try one more starred restaurant but I'm quite happy to begin my first trip to Paris in the small restaurants and bistros. There's some fantastic threads/recommendations from earlier on the board and I'll be making full use of those as well as trying to find a treasure of my own!

I'm part of the 2 mentioned above and seeing as we can't get in L'Astrance does anyone have any views on something a bit more upmarket, say Relais Louis XIII?

I eat out regularly and I've never had that in England. And its not like I just live around the corner. I appreciated it anyway!

Getting back on track to my original review if I may, I got home from work last night and there on the mat a letter from Gramercy Tavern, from the Maitre'd, thanking me for my custom, obviously delighted I enjoyed the meal and the restaurant and wishing me a speedy return! It reminded me that I had filled in a comments card but never for one minute expected to hear anything. That is after sales service and when I return, hopefully next year, I will definitely go back (even though my tendency is to try new places). Top marks to GT!

Hi Steven I forgot to mention the bread. It was excellent in all 3 restaurants with plenty of variety. And that tower - That was 'wow' factor, as was the crudite of apple and foie gras in Gramercy. Maybe my report on Cafe Bould doesn't do it justice. We didn't dislike it, it was a perfectly competent lunch, but for the money I'm sure we could've eaten just as well elsewhere. Ruby, my favourite restaurant in the UK at the moment is The Capital in London. Another obvious one is Gordon Ramsay though I refuse to eat in his restaurants at the moment as I don't believe the practice of turning tables befits a restaurant with 3 michelin stars. Chez Bruce is also a favourite, consistantly classy but earthy food. Probably the restaurant I'd most liken to Gramery Tavern in London that I've been to.

I hope someone out there may be interested in my experience on NY eateries from Thanksgiving weekend. I flew in from Heathrow on Wednesday 21st for 5 days and it was my first visit to NY. I met my wife Samantha at our hotel (Hotel Grand Union on 32nd between Madison and Park) and we embarked on a stroll around the immediate area. Later that evening we headed to a bar in Tribeca called The Knitting Factory to meet a colleague of Sam’s. I was tired and by this time hungry so we looked for somewhere on the way back to the Metro to eat. There was a tiny Chinese dumpling house on the junction of Canal St and Lafayette St called The Excellent Dumpling House, and after a brief perusal of the menu we went it. In the window there was also reviews of the restaurant dating back to 1984 which made us chuckle! We ordered hot spicy wonton soup (fiery aftertaste, great dumplings); Beef and broccoli stir fry (excellent stock), chicken rice and the star of the show Seafood noodles. Thick noodles perfectly cooked with lobster, shrimp and scallops (Ů.80 or £5.00). Portions were larger than I’ve experienced in Chinese restaurants in England and the bill totalled ษ, around £18 – Amazing value as in England I’d expect to pay maybe £15 for a dish containing lobster and scallop. We had plenty left over so took away the leftovers and fed the National Guard, State Trooper and NYPD outside! On Friday after a morning carriage ride in Central Park we headed across to the swanky boutiques on Madison for some window-shopping. A swift check of our guide confirmed Café Boulud would be nearby so we went to enquire about a table for lunch. The desk staff were great allowing us to check the menu for prices, dress code was no problem even though I was wearing jeans and trainers, so we booked for 12.30. Lunch was prix fixe or a la carte and we both chose to eat prix fixe. The format was a choice of 3 starters, 3 mains and 2 desserts and the prices were อ for 2 and ิ for 3 courses. We both started with Peeky toe crab salad, a cylindrical mound of crabmeat surrounded by apple gelee, (a recurring theme), topped with frisee and walnuts. It was a perfectly competent dish but the sort of starter often seen on set lunches – cold and prepare able in advance. For mains Sam chose Fettuccini with veal, beef and pork mince, basically a posh spaghetti Bolognese. I had Veal ‘Blanquette’. It was thin sheets of veal welded together by stewing I’d guess to form a tower. Very tender and tasty. The accompanying spinach was excellent. Sam ducked dessert as we were eating out again that night but I had Fall fruit tart. It was an individual tart with an almost biscuit base but light, crispy pastry. It was filled with mainly apple plus pear and cranberry. The waiter spooned a cinnamon cream on top and there was a honey drizzle around the plate. It was fabulous, the highlight of the meal and I could’ve eaten a lot more! The cheapest wine we could find was ึ (£28), and although not under obligation to have wine we chose a dry white Chardonnay for ฼. The wine expense was a bit of a letdown and certainly bumped up the cost of the meal to 贗 (£88) before tip. The service was very good all meal, Sam had water accidentally knocked on her from a neighbouring table and the tablecloth was changed in an instant. Speaking of water, the waiter offered us tap water as soon as we were seated without even mentioning bottled. Could someone of influence be reading Egullet?! Although we declined coffee a basket of very good lemon madelaines were offered and accepted! All in all a pleasant lunch but not enough ‘wow’ factor. For dinner that night we’d managed to obtain a 10pm slot at Gramercy Tavern. We were seated through the bar and grill area to the right. The table was roomy with plenty of space to the neighbouring table. The menu was extremely difficult to choose from and whilst deciding we were presented with a crudite topped with apple gelee and foie gras. An exquisite mouthful. The pre-starter was a cold piece of sardine fillet with beans, olives, red peppers and pasta shapes. It certainly reminded me how tasty sardine is. I started with Nantucket bay scallops with roasted pumpkin and a vegetable puree that I can’t remember. 8 perfectly cooked queen size crustaceans. Sam led with Celery root soup with a parmesan tuile topped with crème fraiche. An intensely tasting soup. I followed with Cod, brussel sprouts and potato boulangere. I chose this due to Steven’s review and the fact Sam chose the Fillet and braised short rib of beef and I expected to share that with her. As far as I can remember the cod was the best piece of fish I’ve eaten. It was a skinless fillet, lightly browned top and bottom, and I’m sure it was around 3” cubed. I didn’t even need a knife to eat it. It was surrounded by a brussel sprout top broth, which included carrot, leek and apple. It was light but flavoursome. I was expecting a large sheet of potato but instead there were 2 tiny rectangular sheets on top of the cod with some stewed onion – An excellent dish. Apart from a mouthful of both fillet and short rib, Sam to my amazement cleared her plate! The fillet was cooked rare as asked and was topped with bone marrow and watercress. The short rib fell apart on cutlery impact, and the dish was completed with baby shallots and a rich consume poured by the waiter at the table. A creamy potato gratin was served separately in a copper tin and Sam enjoyed every mouthful. We were presented with a palate cleanser of a spoonful of lemon mousse and sorbet before attempting dessert. The lemon got Sam on the case and she chose Lemon soufflé tart with ginger ice cream, and though she loved the tart she didn’t like the intensity of the ice cream. I had baked chocolate mousse, which I’d have called fondant, with cinnamon ice cream and chocolate sorbet. My ice cream was much more to Sam’s liking but I wasn’t prepared to swap (should have left me more meat darling!). The mousse was almost crunchy on the outside leading to a soft, runny centre. I noted a dessert wine on the list called Mead from the Lurgashall winery in West Sussex, England (about 1 hr from my address in England) which is something I’m looking up now I’m home. We drank a rose’ with our meal (ฦ) which was so fruity I thought I was drinking juice and the whole list was more accessible than Café Boulud. Steven our server was excellent throughout, extremely knowledgeable about the food and wine menus, even writing down some wines for us to look out for not on the restaurant list. We again drank tap water all night and it was topped up freely. The final cost before tip was 赃.45 (£120). We left around 12.45 after an excellent meal. We were looking for a cheap eat on Saturday lunch so after consulting the cheap eats section of our Time Out guide we headed to The Corner Bistro on 8th and Jane St. We sat bar side and it was already busy just before 1. We ordered 2 beers from the solitary waiter and Bistro burgers and fries from the menu on the wall, as recommended by Time Out. They arrived on paper plates and it was the best burger I’ve ever eaten. A meaty lump of packed mince, plenty of juice, topped with cheese, bacon, fresh onion, tomato and lettuce. Gherkin slices are on the side, which suited Sam, as they’d have ended up there anyway! The fries were also good and I was sorry to leave, though it was packed and starting to get pretty smoky. The damage including the beers was ย (£13). On Saturday night we were treated to dinner at Daniel by one of Sam’s colleagues. We met in the bar area for an aperitif, there was a smooth, suntanned, dyed white haired guy eating whom Sam believed was famous. She’s since told me he presents Who Wants to be a Millionaire! The dining room was spectacular with fantastic flower arrangements and was also full. We were seated on the raised tier, entrance side, which didn’t suit our American hosts but suited me, as it appeared more spacious. The prix-fixe menu is ๢ with supplements on some starters. Whilst we were making our choices a cake stand was placed on the table holding 3 bite sized amuse bouches presented on 3 different stand levels. From the top goat’s cheese and chive wrapped in a parmesan tuile. I didn’t expect to like it as I’m not keen on goat’s cheese but it was good – not too salty. The middle mouthful was a minced prawn mixture in a tiny bowl and the third a bowl holding a piece of lobster with a citrus dressing, again very tasty though my favourite was the prawn. I started with a special - Lightly battered shrimps (6) with an apple gelee (very similar to apple sauce), and a mixed leaf salad. The shrimp were plump and succulent though it was a safe dish rather than spectacular. Sam began with Warm sea scallops with a wild mushroom, bacon and lentil broth. 8 sweet queen sized scallops cooked to melt in the mouth – a very homely dish. Our hosts both had another special, pan-fried foie gras with apple (ฟ supp.). Neither left a scrap so I’m guessing it was satisfactory! For mains our hosts both had Atlantic sea bass in a crisp potato shell with leeks and a syrah sauce. It wasn’t a large plateful and I’m not surprised their plates were cleared. I had chestnut crusted venison. It was a fat free loin cut into 3, cooked rare as asked. I cannot remember tasting nuts though perhaps the crust was aimed more for the crunchy texture. The loin was sat on a bed of braised red cabbage, with 2 scoops of sweet potato puree and a cranberry compote completing the dish, all fine accompaniments to a lovely piece of meat. Sam had Veal chop (a special) which came with baby carrots, leeks and spinach leaves and a boiled sweet potato. It was too big for Sam so at last I got some extra! Our hosts skipped dessert but that’s not my style and I ordered Hot chocolate upside down soufflé with pistachio ice cream. I had to have it as I love pistachio in dessert form, and the soufflé, turned on to the plate with a white chocolate decoration on top (visually stunning), married perfectly. The dessert menu is split between chocolate and fruit and there is a trio under both sections. Sam couldn’t decide which so had a combination of both, the highlight being a mini pear soufflé. She loved all 3. We skipped coffee for an after dinner Armagnac and left around 12.30 contented. We drank bottled water with this meal on the insistence of our NY hosts. We also drank a bottle of Sancere (sp?), which the sommelier described as the best bottle of its kind in the world. It was certainly a fine selection. That combined with pre dinner drinks and a couple of table drinks left a final bill in the region of 迀 (£590) before tip, probably not a great amount by Daniel standards but certainly a lot by mine. However it was a fine meal in spectacular surroundings and I’m glad I was given the opportunity to go. I’m sure there’s plenty I’ve left out or forgotten but we had a great time in New York doing all the touristy things and there’s still so much for us to see and do and try – I can’t wait to return! (Edited by Scottf at 3:44 pm on Dec. 2, 2001) (Edited by Scottf at 7:50 am on Dec. 5, 2001)

I wasn't intentionally trying to narrow the basis of comparison and I did state that I was speaking from very limited experience of the NY scene. However I was saying that if you put my meal at Daniel vs my experience of Gordon Ramsay, GR would come out on top hands down. That's at the top end. I don't think I took long enough over the question to construct the thoughts I wanted to. Let's give it another try. Of my experience at 3 of the top restaurants in NY I've had better meals in London. However I did say that NY appears to have a strength in depth across its whole range in advance of London. As an example I had the best Chinese food I've ever encountered in a small dumpling restaurant on the outskirts of Chinatown, in a different league to what I've had in London especially at the cost. I also ate the best burger of my life in a little place called The Corner Bistro. I'm probably better off summing up my rambling like this. If I could only choose five restaurants to ever visit again I'd live in London. If the whole city was my oyster I'd move to NY!

I've just returned to the UK after a 5 day stay in NY and I have to agree with Steven's comments that NY certainly has a diversity, and a quality across that range, in advance of any other city I've been to including London. However at the higher end and from my extremely limited experience of 3 meals in NY, I'd say it lags behind London in terms of "michelin star" quality. I can only base this on meals at Daniel, Gramercy Tavern and Cafe Boulud, but if I was to equate my experience of michelin restaurants in London to these one off experiences I think NY has a bit to find. I would be interested to know what NY Times stars are awarded for. Is it purely food related or the whole experience? (I will be posting reviews of the above from an English first time perspective at the weekend for anyone who may be interested!) (Edited by Scottf at 5:09 am on Nov. 30, 2001)

Glad to hear Foliage is offering more choice for lunch. May go back myself if that's the case. Twice I've been to The Capital on Saturday lunchtime and the dining room has been full. The Monday I think I wrote about before only had 1 other table. Does mean you get extremely well looked after though and the waiting staff are happy to share a conversation.

Andy I know I've mentioned this before but I'd certainly consider The Capital before Foliage. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed my lunch at Foliage but I think The Capital definitely has the edge. Firstly you get more choice. 5 per course at The Capital as opposed to 3 at Foliage (unless this has changed since my visit approx. 6 months ago). Portions are healthier which may just be a greed thing but if I really enjoy something I want lots of it. I like to walk out of a 3 course lunch full. I have at The Capital now 3 times I didn't at Foliage. I find the staff at The Capital more professional but also more approachable. Added extras. Pre starter at The Capital. Coffee and petit fours are included in price. Definitely consider it!

It's listed on Toptable. http://www.toptable.co.uk/Details.cfm?rcode=A760

I do try and find a restaurant's website. I like to look at a menu, even a sample, for a better idea of what is going on. For example I'm coming to NY in 3 weeks and hope to dine at Daniel, Jean Georges and Gramercy Tavern. I've been to their websites on numerous occasions since the trip's been planned, (Daniel's menu has updated through Spring, Summer and Fall!), and it gets my taste buds going and raises my anticipation level!

Andy I noticed on the Aquavit thread in NY, that you've a weak bladder and it reminded me that there's the sound of running water at The Crescent! Thought I'd let you know.

Daniel has been prebooked for us and we've chosen Gramercy Tavern and hopefully Jean Georges to replace Peacock Alley. Will review in full for the Englanders!

Thanks Yvonne, I'm coming over from England in November and from Steve's review and some example menus I've seen I really fancied it. Nevermind!

Purely for food I'd say better than some one stars I've eaten at and a #### of a lot cheaper! As I didn't sample the wine list I can't comment on that but I'd put it in the one star bracket.

The Crescent is the restaurtant attached to The Montcalm Hotel at Marble Arch. I arrived early with my wife so we decided to have a pre dinner drink in the lounge which was extremely comfortable. The a la carte menu is fixed at £25 for 3 courses (£20 for 2), which includes 1/2 bottle wine per person. We had the Chardonnay which was fine. There is a good choice on the menu (9 starters, 10 mains and 8 desserts) and we chose Lobster bisque with lobster ravioli and Scallop and lobster in a chinese style sauce consisting a chinese ginger, spring onion and soy. My wife loved her bisque and the ravioli was generous, filled with lobster and lobster mousse as well as 3 lobster tails around the bowl. My starter was smaller than I expected but very tasty all the same. I do enjoy chinese flavours with seafood. If my memory serves me correctly other starters included foie gras terrine with broad bean and asparagus salad, game consumme with dumplings, mille feuille of crab and tomato with herbs and olive oil and a tuna and sweetcorn fishcake with a tomato salsa. For mains I went for pot roasted Bresse pigeon with foie gras and truffle ravioli and fondant potato. The pigeon was cooked beautifully tender, though I'd forgotten how fiddly it can be and I remembered why I swore not to order pigeon again the last time I ordered it! It was sat on spinach, with an intense port, stock and juices gravy/reduction. There was also little cannon shaped carrots, courgettes and parsnips around the plate. My wife had Scottish fillet of beef which was at least 10oz of tender meat cooked very rare, but unfortunatley she had exactly the same accompaniements as me though her gravy had a tomato essence to it. That was a little disappointing, though I did enjoy finishing her steak! Other mains included whole dover sole, fillet of sea bass with a sesame prawn crust, egg noodles and chinese veg stir fry, roast grouse, poached halibut with buttered lettuce and a braised lamb shank done Moroccan style I think. Desserts were good. I had chocolate souffle with white chocolate ice cream, my wife assiette of chocolate. I think we counted 9 different chocolate concoctions! Service was pleasant through out, though there wasn't much of a gap between starter and main, only around 5 mins, but that could be attributed to the fact the dining room wasn't particularly full at the time. We didn't sample coffee (£2.50 with petit fours) and the total bill came to £59.40 not including service, £50 for food and wine , £3 for half a lager and £6.40 for a vodka and tonic - £5.25 a shot of vodka! I'm not tight by any means but isn't this a bit much or am I just out of touch with hotel bar prices? Overall though an extremely worthwhile experience and excellent value for money. We shall definitely return.