nikkib

We have a dish on the menu where we coat them in a light batter and fry them then spread them with a mild goats cheese with chopped mint and drizzle them with honey. Served with a grapefruit, orange & mint salad the aubergine is overwhelmed by the other flavours.... Or in a Thai or Indian style curry maybe?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tarama-Croquettes-106458 These croquettes look great....

I never have bread in the house fresh or stale so buying breadcrumbs is one 'shortcut' I always take and I find panko better than other brands.

My sister, a huge meat eater started doing meat free Mondays a year or so ago and tries to eat veggie at lunch times during the week do wherever possible

Japanese panko breadcrumbs all the way....

I had one of the best meals I gave ever had at pollen street, between my sister and myself we ate most of the menu in tasting portions and thought the service was truly outstanding, from the bar to our extremely charming French waiter who is the first waiter in a very long time who managed to add to the enjoyment of a "fine dining" meal. As my sister wasn't drinking, I went by the glass and they were great in recommending wines for each course too. Really can't recommend it enough

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/595534 I tried this at Maze when Jason Atherton was still there - an outstanding dish

Bruce - what is a pupusa as a matter of interest?

A great veggie breakfast or lunch is mashed avocado on toast ( essentially a good guacamole with chunkier bits of tomato and onion) if you have fresh corn I add some of that too. Also pittas stuffed with a chunky salsa with tomato, red onions, cucumber, pepperdew sweet peppers and grilled halloumi. Last night I stopped by a sandwich shop near my house and had halloumi, mint, olive and tomato with some extra avocado which was great. I also like making melanzane parmigiana or stuffed squash with plenty if veggies in the hollowed out part with cumin, coriander and fennel rubbed over the top and finished with a bit of cheese. Ohh and eggs florentine for dinner just seems even more decadent than at brunch (I'm weird don't ask me why!)

Oh I completely forgot to add the savoy grill too - the menu there might be similar to quo vadis though... Petrus is certainly more fine dining, check out the menus online and see which you prefer...

Feeling slightly embarrassed about the contents of my fridge right now RRO - and very jealous!

You should be able to find "Branston pickle" in the US i think to replicate the cheese and pickle sandwich for Mr Kim - it was the only thing i asked my parents to bring me when they visited me from the UK. I add some crunchy iceberg lettuce to my cheese and pickle too.

Zuma and La petite maison in dubai are both worth a visit, also Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire. Dubai Festival City has many great options. Also worth going to Bab al shams out in the desert for an Arabic feast (if you can afford to stay the night i'd highly recommend it) I cant remember which night we went but it is such an amazing experience. Al Nafoorah is a good lebanese restaurant too but not too pricy - Happy Eating!!

WE use to smoke the tomatoes and peppers for our bloody mary juice - it worked a treat. Try the pinepple with the chillis in a variant of the margarita...

Maze would be the most different of the two but it would be better to go to pollen street social as that is where previous chef patron Jason Atherton has moved to. I would say hit up Petrus or Claridges for a true "Ramsay" experience personally

I'd recommend you start by researching some of the "best" cocktail lists in your area and big cities such as NYC/San Fran/London etc with thriving cocktail scenes to see where they are taking their inspiration from and what ideas migt be transferable to your bar. If you have a good chef then get them making some great flavoured simple syrups for use in cocktails where you can do something a bit unique that could maybe be a signature drink. You want a balance of spirits - tequila, rum, gin, whisky and vodka - some straight up, some on the rocks, some tall, some short etc. These are just a few things to be looking at, i'd also look at what your best selling drinks were previously and how you can work on creating a drink taht is all new and improved but recognisable to the regulars - if everyone loved the mragarita and you take it off the menu with no suitable replacement you arent going to have all that much success. get out "research" (and boy how fun will that be) ask your guests what they would like to see on the list maybe... Good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks for the hints on the fried green tomatoes Kayb - the relish sounds amazing too, will be giving that a whirl for sure!

go with a dry vermouth and add plenty of fennel to the vegetables, you wont be diasppointed!

I had an orange and saffron sorbet the other day that was delicious - would go nicely with a lime/chilli one too i'm sure...

Same - the movie fried green tomatoes bought them to my attention, never seen them in the Uk but they sound amazing, and i my mind as Southern as Grits, biscuits and hush puppies - how do you prpepare them? Are they egged and dipped in cornmeal? Are they literally underripe green tomatoes or a special variety? Does it work with regular tomatoes or is that missing the point?!

AS someone wgho admittedly doesnt have kids and has yet been subjected to fussy eaters and i'm sure the temptation to give in, keep the peace and let them eat whatever they want, Kids menus freak me out in general. Adults order themselves a well balenced meal and then go for fried rubbish for the people who need nutriuents most, usually with no vegetables - French fries do not count.... In the Uk kids menus consist generally of a mini burger and fries, fish fingers and fries, chicken nuggets and fries and maybe a pasta/tomato sauce dish. I saw this menu when i was in Norfolk recently and this impressed me - much better than the usual nonsense but still recognisable to all, a healthy, balenced alternative http://www.whitehorsebrancaster.co.uk/Photos/TWH%20Sandwiches%20&%20Kids%20menu.pdf

Hi Kim - so glad you enjoyed it! Skate is now listed as being overfished in UK waters so Ray is considered the eco friendly alternative although yes it is incrediably similar. They also take it off the bone/cartilege at Quo vadis (something ive only ever had there and at Momofuku in NYC) so you were not eating any cartilege just the fish which retains the shape of cartilege even once its removed. Looking forward to reading the rest of your blog and trying not to get too home sick!!!

Had the morning off work so headed out for lunch - i forget what this was called on the menu but basically it was a flat bread base with caponata at one end, spinach and pinenuts in the middle and a red onion and herb mix at the other end. Off to Beirut for the weekend and craving hindbe (dandelion in oil) served with caramelised onion on top, think this weekend will end up being veggie for me as ive had prawns in some way, shape or form every day this week pretty much and am prawned out...

I very rarely cook meat or fish unless I have guests as I live on my own and work most nights, always seems hard to buy such small quantities and I can never be bothered to freeze/defrost. Eating veggie is perfect in the summer due to the abundance of produce and the heat generally makes lighter meals more appealing anyway. I really recommend plenty by yotam ottolenghi - it's an amazing book with sone outstanding recipes, Simon Hopkinson also has a great vegetarian book - I forget it's name but it is great for either fully veggie meals or finding unusual accompaniments to your usual meat diet. I am menu tasting still so won't be able to join you this week as my meat/fish intake is significantly higher than usual but I will be following with interest!

Now I'm essentially dry (living in Kuwait) I couldn't survive without these two favourites aprox 60mls red grape juice 20mls raspberry purée 15mls lemon juice 15mls vanilla syrup 3dashes orange blossom water shake over ice, serve topped with sparkling water (just about 50mls) 60mls pomegranate juice 15mls orgeat 15mls cinamon syrup 15mls lemon juice top Ginger ale almost good enough to forget the booze (oh who am I trying to kid?! But they are very nice indeed)