Corinna Dunne

In a great restaurant break off a piece of bread, take it in your fingers and mop up the sauce to enjoy it". I could not agree more!!! ← Great! Wonderful news! Liberated at last!

In a formal restaurant, the sauces tend to be very good, so I am very thankful for a sauce spoon. In the absence of one, I have used bread to mop up some wonderful sauces, but I feel a bit self conscious about this, particularly if there is an upscale hush about the place. After being "caught in the act" in a 3* restaurant not too long ago, I was reassuringly informed by the waiter that chef was very pleased to see my plates coming back wiped completely clean!

…Waiting for Novelli So far, no one seems to have spotted him at La Stampa,. The “I’m too sexy for my toque” pieces written by hypnotised female journalists continue to pepper the media, but apart from these personal interviews which were done a while back, no one seems to have spotted the Gallic lovely. Most of the critics are giving the thumbs down to the new menu and invisible chef. Lucinda O’Sullivan in the Sunday Independent wondered if he had actually taken up the position of patron chef yet (he has apparently), Tom Doorley in the Irish Times gave a seriously ‘must try harder’ report, although the very straight talking Helen Lucy Burke in Dubliner magazine said it was “a good evening”, although her review was mixed. She criticised the “ill-spelled English” menu which she found pretentious, derided the flavourless prawns and lack of squid on his signature lemongrass brochette (15.50 euro), but liked the beetroot it was served with. The Novelli pork knuckle terrine with sauce gribiche (13.50 euro) was apparently good and earthy, but fridge cold. The scallops with boudin noir (29 euro) got the thumbs up for mains as did the Angus fillet of beef with Provence tomato, Portobello mushrooms, Beaufort cheese glaze and wild mushroom risotto (33.50 euro). The desserts were OK, except for the flavourless strawberries, and she liked the hot chocolate fondant (10 euro). Prices are pretty high and to this, the restaurant automatically adds 12.5% service charge, with another shameful box underneath for yet more thanks. Given the mediocre to bad reviews and these prices, I don’t think I’ll be going there soon.

I just got some good advice from Albiston in the Italy Forum: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=74644&hl= to search using their full Italian name "Lenticchie de Castelluccio". Here is a link that tells a bit about them: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=e...2004-14,GGLD:en but I need to do a bit more searching before I find a supplier. Edited to add: and here is the link to buy them online from hathor in the Italy Forum: http://www.gustiamo.com/cgi-bin/front_end/prodotto?id=173

I hadn't heard of them either until I discovered them in Spoleto. I have never seen them on a menu or even for sale outside of this area. I have just tried Googling the words, and got nothing which is disappointing, because I thought I would be able to find some way to buy them online. I'll put up a post on the Italy Forum and see if anyone there can be of help.

I’m off to Mallorca (staying in Palma) for a few days in mid October, so need your help. I was there a few years ago and tried the following places: Le Bodegeuitta (specialises in meat and game); El Pilon (old style tapas bar, great atmosphere); Bar Dia (a “formica” cheap tapas bar with great pimientos de Padrons); and Meson Can Pedros, Genova (slow cooked lamb, out of town, a bit touristy) I have a strong recommendation for Es Verger, in the mountains above Alaro, which reputedly does the best roast lamb on the island. And from Googling and the Rough Guide, the following look interesting: Fish restaurants at the harbour in Palma * La Lubina: Palma’s “most traditional” fish restaurant. Great sea bass in salt apparently * Caballito del Mar: The Rough Guide says it was great but has gone off a bit. Renouned for their sea bream in salt. * Can Eduardo Tapas * La Boveda: many recommendations, apparently long queues, are they worth it? * Casa Manolo * Celler Can Amer * El Bodegon * La Taberna del Caracol Restaurants general * Celler Sa Premsa, a rustic ambiance with typical Mallorcan food Upscale * Tristan, a branch of Tantris in Munich. Has anyone tried it? Basically, I am looking to do one lunch out of Palma (Es Verger sounds good) and the rest in town. So any comments on what is listed above, or any other recommendations would be very welcome. I am particularly interested in finding a good fish restaurant, and a place that cooks seafood a la plancha like Rafas in Roses. Thanks in advance.

Yes, that's probably the closest discription. I just tried Googling it but got nothing (the pronounciation of it could be native to the Gulf). Generally, the rice there is flavoured with cardamon and cinnamon, and served with strands of caramelised onions on top. Matchboos made with lamb is also very popular. It is so, so good! ← This sounds good, I think that I am going to try to make a version on this. ← Oops, I forgot, there's also infused saffron drizzled over the rice. Yes, please give this a shot and report back. It would be interesting to see if anyone on the Middle East Forum is familiar with the term "Matchboos".

I also seem to remember reading a quote from Adria which basically implied he's not too terribly interested in these commercial ventures, especially things like the cookbook above, and they're basically fundraisers for the activities in El Bulli and the Taller. ← Similarly, couture houses underwite the inordinate cost of their collections with a higher volume ready to wear collection, handbags, perfumes and other licensing agreements. Although, I think their emphasis is generally on increasing the bottom line rather than supporting the couture passion.

Yes, that's probably the closest discription. I just tried Googling it but got nothing (the pronounciation of it could be native to the Gulf). Generally, the rice there is flavoured with cardamon and cinnamon, and served with strands of caramelised onions on top. Matchboos made with lamb is also very popular. It is so, so good!

Yep, the first thing that struck me was how little information he is giving away. A bit of a puff piece really.

...and mixed with sauted pancetta, carrots, celery and onions. It is worth trying the Italian lentils from Spoleto in Umbria if you are a Puy lentils fan. They are smaller, like beautifully polished brown/grey pebbles and are even more robust with a very good bite and clean earthy taste.

This looks wonderful! Great shots. Thanks.

Beautiful. These look like "hamoor", a large grouper which is very common in the Middle East. I remember that wonderful "milky" quality you refer to, but didn't encounter the fat, probably because they were smaller fish. In the Gulf, hamoor is typically cooked whole or else under rice, a dish called "matchboos" (phonetic spelling). The cheek is the really special bit.

Food & Wine magazine lists its top restaurants in this month’s issue. L’Ecrevain comes out top, scooping the Dublin and national restaurant of the year and proprietor/chef Derry Clarke also picked up top Dublin chef. I haven’t eaten here for some time, but it’s getting great press at the moment. It’s got one Michelin star and suits a corporate wallet better than a personal one. The other national awards go to Monty’s of Kathmandu (Dublin), for best world cuisine. I’ve been here a few times, enjoyed it, but would not rate it as outstanding. Chapter One (Dublin), gets best service and has earned every single bit of this with their wonderful warmth and attention to detail. La Dolce Vita (Wexford city), not surprisingly gets best value, being a bit of an Irish phenomenon: wonderful Italian food and great prices to boot! L’Gueleton , a Dublin favourite, also gets a commendation in the good value category. On the regional awards: * The Leinster (east) winners are Wineport Lodge , Co Westmeath for best restaurant; Kevin Dundon of Bunrody House for best chef, Co Wexford and The Marriot Druids Glen , Co Wicklow for best country house/hotel restaurant. * In Ulster (north) it’s The Olde Post for top restaurant and top chef with Gearoid Lynch. Castle Leslie bags the country house restaurant award. * The Munster awards in the south go to Les Gourmandises , Cork city for top restaurant and Dennis Cotter of Café Paradiso Cork city, for top chef both regionally and nationally (interesting, because he does vegetarian food). The Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge wins the top country house restaurant in this region. * Finally, across to Connacht in the west, Vina Mara in Galway city wins best restaurant and chef with Padraic Kielty and Ballinahinch Castle gets the country house/hotel restaurant vote. Sorry I can’t comment on much outside of Dublin, maybe some others can chime in.

Adam, these are gorgeous shots. Did you have any dishes with stuffed courgette/zuchini flowers?

This is a very interesting blog. Thank you so much for all the detail on Fillipino food.

Wonderful Doc. I love the photos. You've succinctly captured the essence of Rafa's... no messing around, just wonderfully fresh fish cooked perfectly a la plancha in very simple surroundings. We travelled 80 miles to go there for lunch earlier in the year, and driving the 80 miles back, we both agreed that we'd be happy to do it the next day (...except we were going to Can Roca!). But what a feast!

Hi Jack, this is so informative. I have two questions: Where do you get the Vitamin C and have you any advice on protecting the glass in the oven door and light (I think I read about this on another thread, but am not sure where)? I am in the process of reviving a frozen starter and hope to start experimenting soon. I am a novice, so am totally enthralled by this thread.

It's not widely known this side of the Atlantic either, so I'll be very interested to learn more. I was in Manilla for a few days about 15 years ago, but didn't have enough time to get a real sense of the food. Good luck with your busy schedule!

I only went there once, shortly arfter it opened, so can't tell you too much first hand. It is generally considered to be Dublin's "Ivy" and from what I've heard, the food is pretty good and served straight up with a minimum of messing. It's in a great location and is a nice space, so hopefully, it should be a good experience. Sorry I can't be any more helpful than this. I'd be interested to hear your feedback on it.

Timing is eveything, well at least after size. ← I understand that you had some good advice on this last year (before I discovered eGullet). Will you be posting an optimum time to seek a reservation for 2006?

Please, please bring out the old chemistry texts and sets. I think a thread about the chemistry of smells, the "chemical bonds of the various chemical components in the collected off-product" etc would be intriguing! I just got a present of Mr. McGee's book, so need to get my teeth into that.

Thanks for the wonderful blog Johnnyd, and thanks for trying to get that urchin for us.

This is interesting. I had wondered about the food processor v a Kitchen Aid for the quick-whiz technique. Are there beniefits to using the former? Also, I would be very interested in hearing more about the 17 minute kneaded bread, how the gluten is affected, the science bit etc

Now, that's what I call provenance! Do you have the family tree? Joking aside, am I correct in reading that it doesn't matter too much about the age of the clef, what matters is the fermentation? Do you have any gauge for working out when the fermentation has peaked, and if it is running out of steam, how much will it affect the outcome?