Shira

on two outings to dalston, had manti (first time, but i thought they were delicious) at somine (the most expensive main, but still buttons) and lamb pizza at the mangal bakery. baklava at oz sadly didn't measure up to the kind my local portuguese (corner of brixton road, by the station) gets from somewhere in streatham. also tried the hue pho at cay tre--v. good, but the heat obscured any finer comparison points. by any chance, has anyone come across a home-friendly pho recipe? i'm not sure current kitchen-sharer would welcome 7 hours of stewing oxtail bones.

have been spending some time on the kingsland road and have eaten pho at song quee (multiple times) and long kee. any other recs? what else have you tried on this trip? further up, towards dalston, do any turkish places stand out?

If you're heading west, I'd spend an afternoon in Oxford. It's chock-a-block with tourists in the summer, but it is (except for Cambridge and, having lived in both, they are somewhat different) rather unique and grand. As for food/accomodation there, the covered market, particularly the italian and wholefood delis, do v. good sandwiches, there is a good cheese stall also. the grand cafe on the high street has a nice, not too stodgy tea, rosies across the street is an old-style tea room. dinner options are a bit more limited, the best tends to be lebanese (al shami is one good option). hotels-wise, the old bank and the parsonage are pricy but classy. and to laden down your luggage, blackwells bookstore on broad street.

cocoa nibs seem to be popping up in a lot of recipes lately. have you seen them anywhere outside the v. posh chocolate shops?

any thoughts on prunes--quantity/when to put in/flavour benefit--in carbonnade? i've found a cooks illustrated recipe that i feel good about (i'll add bacon and a bit of mustard to it), but i don't have one that calls for prunes (no julia child to hand). thanks

One last thing. I haven't found bread I love. The Poilane somehow tastes better from the shop (plus they have bread and butter biscuits to nibble). (Why is that?) De Gustibus has been dissapointing, though haven't tried lately. Best recent find is the pugliese sold at Neals Yard. I think it is from Duponds or Exeter St. Bakery. £1.60 for a small/medium loaf.

I agree that prices can be high, particularly for some take-away and prepared stuff. And Neals Yard always gives me sticker shock. But some of the problem is the price of good food in Britain more generally. As someone who's been shopping at Borough every week for nearly two years, I'm increasingly convinced that a careful shop is still the best deal around. My main gripe, still is with the crowds, which I hope will be more manageable once the space reworking is complete. Some specifics: 1) Produce quality/price ratio is highest at Booths. I start there, add if nec from Turnips and the other place. I thought it was expensive until I looked at the supermarket again, where they charge 75p for an indifferent pepper (one). Produce prices across the market have been high this summer--I think it's because of the funny weather, rather than anything else. That said, I came home w/more fruit than 2 people can eat in a week for £10. And it tastes/smells like something too. 2) Cheese at the french stand next to the olive oil place. Amazing goats cheese and alpine cheese selections, prices much lower than neals yard (lower overheads, cheaper production costs, I'd assume.) 3) Comte--just because it's great $) Basic olive oil at the aforementioned stand--w/out buying by the gallon, it's the best value around. 5) Mussels at the fish stand in the middle--debearded, £4/kilo and smell fresh like the sea. 6) Cheaper cuts of meat and sausages at the Ginger Pig and Northfield Farm are great value. Sirloin, etc., is expensive, but the quality can't be beaten, and indifferent supermarket stuff will be nearly as much. 7) There's a new Italian shop in the in-between street (with the wine store and pig roast). Nothing is cheap, so maybe not for everyday, but where else can you get a whole numbered, artisanal robiola for £4? Plus they are v. generous w/samples and generally lovely.

thanks for the tips. will try to get around to posting on food discoveries over the weekend.

uk-friendly version? i certainly can buy belgian beer (and pain d'epice too, w/some hunting), but any thoughts on english ales--perhaps an ipa?--and the use of garden-variety gingersnaps?

reasonably impressed by the selection. prices ok. surprised by how empty it was on a lovely spring night. terrible muzak though.

it's been a few years, but i though that the spaghetti cacio e pepe on the unnamed restaurant on via della croce (it's in time out) was fantastic. student-friendly prices too.

hi, new poster here. i'm headed off to lille tomorrow morning. from what i've read, it's sound like i'll have no trouble finding a good meal, but i wonder if anyone knows of something that stands out from the crowd. l'huitere sounds like it might be a bit much, although i'm open to have my mind changed there. tx