algy

It's ages (and I do mean ages) since we ate there, so can't speak for the food. The Perardel family have an excellent wine business (including outlets in Beaune and Calais) and their own label champagnes are well worth a look (and taste).

forget food coverage in G2, "Nuts" here we come.

another option would be to follow the Tom Parker Bowles method, as shown on TV last night. seriously good guy.

romertopf are good (but mine cracked, so haven't used for years). I go for: - the standard 20 minutes per lb - cover breast with streaky bacon - baste regularly throughout - cover breast with foil when suitably brown and - rest for a good length of time. The resting does seem to make the difference for me, as lengthy resting seems to allow the juices in the breast to return throughout the meat - upturning the bird when cooked can help this too. PS I've never managed to poison my inlaws yet (more's the pity).

an incredibly overpriced trip back to a golden age that never really existed.

How about Salt Yard on Goodge Street?

bapi - don't get me wrong, I like parody (self or otherwise). It just felt like going back 30 years in time. You're right about the clientele: they were loving the treatment and it was delivered brilliantly. As to the wine list, I was very impressed by the coverage of french regional wines (both white and red) with mark ups that are less than in Ramsay's restaurants or The Capital or The Square. Alsace, Loire and Rhone also have reasonably priced, high quality wines in amongst the three figure numbers. The Gavroche list is huge and offers far more choice than anything I've seen for ages (with a good range of half bottles too). Even in the traditional areas of Bordeaux and Burgundy, there are some relative bargains - Sarget de Gruaud Larose 2000 at £40 looked pretty good.

Went to le gavroche last night and ate off the carte. It's not an "exciting" gastronomic experience, but probably isn't meant to be. Classicly inspired dishes, excellent ingredients, skilfully prepared. There's lots of service and the atmosphere is relaxed - the environment/decor is very "old school", almost to the point of self parody. It can get very expensive, but that's probably my fault for drinking so much. The wine list is a masterpiece and, although it includes some stratospheric stuff, is also full of - for a restaurant like this - bargains. OK, relative bargains. I hadn't been for years and won't rush back, but it was a pleasant evening (and that's not meant to be damning with faint praise).

only 2 I think. "I Classici" comprises some of his most "historic" dishes: "Adesso" comprises seasonal innovations. I think that you can't "mix and match" on a table, so you may need to stay 2 nights! (They have rooms).

objectively or subjectively?

we just booked at the station - beware, the ticket machines didn't work too well, so it ended up being quicker to queue at the window! here is a good link for a review of a meal at Le Calandre, with some great pictures http://www.worldtable.com/blog/blog6.html I would recommend it highly. We tried both gastronomic menus during our stay and preferred the "Adesso": Bux's pictures show the I Classici menu, which is exceptional, but - for us - it came second. Wine service is also of a very high quality: a superb list. We asked the Sommeliers to match wines with courses and they came up with interesting selections, including unusual local wines.

we used the train and it worked fine - some services only 30 minutes. It's only about 4kms from the city centre to Sarmeola, so a cab is easy (or take the bus).

"The language of priorities is the religion of Socialism."

they're blind or visually impaired

or the even more obvious slogan "No working classes at Waitrose". Do they still demand a proposer and seconder before you're allowed to enter or is carrying the current edition of the Boden catalogue proof enough of one's bona fides?

not if you're a stepford husband.