Lesley C

I certainly didn't travel all the way from Canada to go to Clarke's! I came to London to see the queen's dresses. (OK, that was a joke)

No. I'm saying they probably like the kind of homey food she is making but they are not. I'm really not being insulting to Ms. Clarke. I simply found that her restaurant, which I had been planning on visiting for years, was a massive disappointment. BTW, I'm from Montreal, Canada. I'm not some jaded Brit foodie I was at Clarke's as a tourist. I'm also a restaurant critic by profession, who beleives it's important to get the word out for anyone else thinking of dropping major bucks at this restaurant. I also did a site search before heading to Clarke's and came up blank. So it's good for eGullet as well to get the debate going on this reputed restaurant. No?

Well, I thought it was dreary, and I'm not one who requires the Cirque du Soleil back-hand-springing at my table. Basically what failed here was the service (lazy) and the quality of ingredients (meat and fish were good, but the vegetables were not). As for Norman’s claim that the food was “imaginatively presented,” that certainly was not the case with my food. The plates looked like Sunday dinner. Eliminate those factors and there's not much left to like about this place. Whether or not Sally Clarke is a nice lady means really nothing in the long run if the waitress doesn't know what a pouilly-fumé is, right? I’m sure she’s nice -- to the right people (like we all are), and I would assume those are the kind of people who don’t do much cooking at home.

The bread was shitty. Ultra-shitty, in fact, compared to the terrific bread I had at St-John Bread and Wine for lunch that day.

Beats me. After one discussion with James MacGuire about flour, I now know that everything I learned inb my ITHQ baking class about flour was bullshit. I'll ask James and report back. Wait, maybe it was Italian water they use....

The people at the table next to me had terrible table manners. So much for a society dinner party. Frankly, the place is just drop dead dull. No, make that tedious. It's funny what you say about Clarke being the figure head and all. On the menu she initializes the items she recommends with this odd initial swag thing. So unecessary, I think. What does it mean? The rest isn't recommended? As for the chef/owners snobby thing, I would think if she keeps up with this kind food, she won't be in business much longer.

Also, don't forget mine was delivery so it wasn't as fresh which means a lot in the world of pizza. BTW, the owners of Il Mulino will be opening up a pizza place soon in Little Italy, with flour imported from Italy, I'm told. Maybe it's already open?

OK, I don't want to be a bitch here but..... I just ordered this pizza based on this report and IMO it was pretty awful. The crust is thick and appears to be commercially produced. My crust was also burnt on two of my three pizzas. Funnily enough, it reminded me of Dominos, the crust that is. The toppings were the best part. I enjoyed both the goat's cheese and red onion, and the arugula and parma ham. But the pepperoni is greasy, I thought. We also tried the pasta, which was truly terrible, and maybe even rotten. For me a thumbs down compared to places like Pizzaoile.

I've been trying Tartine all week, excellent book. I have a few quibbles but otherwise it's a winner. Greenspan's book includes both American and French recipes. Every one looks delicious, and really it's one of the only books I can say that about. I think it's a must have for any baker, an instant classic to be sure, and more accessible than the Martha Stewart baking book, which is gorgeous but somehow -- for me at least -- too long. Her pate brisee recipe is worth the price of the book alone. I'm going to try out some of the brownies next. In a word: Beautiful.

The hot shot Montreal restaurant critic wears Gap -- sans gloves.

Actually I gave it three stars. Unless I missed something. The review ran while I was out of town.

Right across the street from your hotel is a new, and pretty casual restaurant called Garde Manger, 408 Saint-François-Xavier St., tel: (514) 678-5044. It's red hot right now so book well in advance. I was there the other night but couldn't get a table. The food, especially the seafood, looked fantastic. The crowd is a bit young and party-hearty at night, so if you're not into the noise, go early -- and ask for a table near the window fro some great people watching.

I was up in London a few weekends ago and headed to Clarke's for dinner on a Saturday night. Why Clarke's? It's been on my list of London restaurants to check out for years. I now know that list needs serious refreshing. Every taste was dull, every plate, uninspired. I guess heirloom tomatoes were a big deal once, but Sally Clarke should know there now has to be more to an appetizer than multi-coloured tomato slices and a few chunks of feta. My main course was a chicken breast with corn so tough I pushed it all aside -- ditto for the green and yellow beans. The cheese course was pleasant, but at these prices (3 courses £39.75, 4 courses, £49.50) I would expect a selection cut from a cheese board rather than a plate with two predetermined choices plopped down in front of me. Dessert -- an orange cake -- was pedestrian. I'm all for Chez Panisse-style cuisine, but Clarke's does not appear to have the quality ingredients to take it to that level. Or maybe now that all top chefs use pristine ingredients, that Alice-Waters-less-is-more style is nearing its best before date. All this was bad enough, but what made my meal at Clarke’s worse was the incompetent service. When I requested a bottle of Pouilly-Fumé, our waitress opened the menu and asked me to point to it -- from the list of reds! The maitre d' was more knowledgeable, yet he was busy behind the bar twiddling his thumbs most of the night while the bus girl was taking orders. Add to that a dull room, zero buzz, messy washrooms and a bill well over £100, and you have my dinner -- one that I have regretted ever since, especially as I only had one night in the city. But with Clarke’s on my “to do” list, that meal was inevitable. Still, one good thing came of it. This review. Clarke’s: to be avoided.

Has anyone mentioned Dorie Greenspan's excellent new book, Baking: from my home to yours? It's set for release in November and it's fantastic. I have an advance copy and have been baking all sorts of fabulous things from it for weeks including some wicked carrot muffins this morning for breakfast (only one recipe so far -- funnily enough, the blueberry muffins -- disappoints).

Hmmm...good idea. Still, there's a lot to think about before handing all your reviews over for free. And a few nice resto visits are the last perks on my list (however, a few cases of wine or -- hey -- even some new clothes -- might make a site like that worth while ).

I also dined at the Pinsonniere and thought my meal was fantastic. I really enjoyed the blini with salmon. I agree the service was a bit aloof, but it is a Relais & Chateau establishment, and I think they aim for that kind of French service. Sadly I did not make it to Vices Versa. I was travelling with my kids and we just couldn't fit it in. But hey, an excuse to return, right?

Hi, Sorry I'm coming in late on this (I was on vacation). As far as I know, my book, Flavourville, is out of print. I would not really recommend it anymore because it was written in 2002, which means it is seriously out of date, and if there's one thing a guide really should be it's up to date. I don't even have a copy anymore because I gave all mine away and can't find another one to buy. I also have no intention of writing another guide (although one should never say never). It's a ton of work for minimal pay. Trust me, if I had intended to write a new guide, I would have never taken on Zagat. As for pay for the local Zagat editor, it was seriously low. How do I know? They asked me to write it. I guess I'm still sore about that article in the Globe and Mail from a few years back when Tim Zagat called Montreal a backwater and said that you could eat better in St-Louis Missouri than our city. Grrr... Another important point to clarify about the french surveys. When I wrote about the Zagat guide for the Montreal Gazette, I contacted the Zagat organization in NY and they told me French surveys had not been available. However, since then, I spoke to Maria Francesca who told me a French survey had been made available but that it wasn't as long (as in complete) as the English survey and that there was very little participation.

I hear that the chef here will be Jean-Francois Giroux, formerly of Le St-Augustin. If so, that is VERY exciting news.

Great Rabbit dish with goat's cheese sauce at Le Paris-Beurre on Van Horne in Outremont.

Just as a follow-up to this post of mine, I discovered that no, they did not provide the survey in French, which leaves out -- what? -- 75% of the population? Also, Alex I agree with you about going a bit outside the city to add some heft. But first I would recommend they actually look in the city as well and add restaurants like Bice, Prima Donna, Le Piemontais, Da Vinci, Chez Queux -- just to name a few.

It's funny reading that post because it goes against what a couple of organic gardeners have told me. I once asked Mr. Daignault why Quebec vegetables had less flavour than French vegetables and he said it was the varieties grown, not the soil, which he says is excellent here. Mr. Tratt says the same, that it's the varieties and not necessarily the growing conditions. So, you know, I'm just relaying what the experts told me. I guess it's a bit of both. But I can assure you those tomatoes looked fantastic, but could not hold a candle -- taste-wise -- to the red cherry tomatoes I bought at Berri. The zebra had none of that tartness or sweetness you speak of.

Most of Mr. Plante's tomatoes are not heirlooms but hybrids. And I can't agree about the green zebra, which I find has a muddy taste. If you go to Mr. Plante's stand ask for the pink tomatoes from Mr. Tratt. Mr. Tratt's tomatoes are heirloom and they have much better flavour. I think Mr. Plante tomatoes look great, but many of them are tasteless. However I know he's working to change that.

Hey Matteo, did you serve Madonna?

Hey Matteo, did you serve Madonna?

Hi Matteo, Where are you cooking these days?