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Salty

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Everything posted by Salty

  1. Sounds great - will be there soon! Salty
  2. I'm in the same boat - waiting with everything crossed! BTW, Jamsie, I didn't think your post made you sound like a pretentious gimp - does that make me a pretentious gimp too!
  3. Salty

    distil.

    Is the speakeasy cocktail night still happening each Monday in Cathedral Square? I'm going to be in Milwaukee over Easter - sounds like a fun thing to check out. thanks Salty
  4. that's great news - fingers crossed for no recurrence of the problems (maybe legs crossed too!)
  5. Well needless to say we didn't make it to the FD for dinner of course. I guess they are dealing reasonably well with the public side of the situation and my desire to eat there is undiminished (I'd have happily taken the chance on Thursday if given the choice). It is very disappointing to miss out though. When you cancel a top restaurant at short notice you end up having to pay a charge per head to compensate them for their loss - the same does not apply in reverse. Flights, accommodation, baby-sitting and car hire all revolved around a trip to the FD. Anyway, I guess the financial impact is smaller than the disappointment of not eating there and I hope they re-open soon.
  6. Thanks everyone for the information and advice. We will chase up with the restaurant today and try to get to the bottom of it all.
  7. Thanks guys Gary, was there a public announcement about it? If it is back open Thursday then we won't cancel B&B etc. but it would be good to know the likelihood of them fulfilling our booking on Thursday night.
  8. Has anybody heard anything about a problem with the power at the Fat Duck. We have a table for four booked for Thursday with friends. We are flying in from Ireland especially. Accommodation and babysitter booked locally. Phone call to my mate today from the Fat Duck to say that their power isn't working and the reservation is cancelled. We are gutted. Whole point of the trip was to go to the Fat Duck.
  9. I agree with PhilD. I've been to Mugaritz and Arzak and loved both, but for me the overall experience at Mugaritz was a step above. It remains one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. By the way, if you are eating in Arzak and wandering around some of the tapas places in the Gros district, you might like the Villa Soro as a base. We stayed there a few years ago and it was very convenient for Arzak, Bar Bergara etc.
  10. Dinner for 4 in Fat Duck next week Can't wait!
  11. Those were good recommendations. Didn't realise Jacob's Ladder had closed (I must be out of touch). Will have to try the Pig's Ear, but the other restaurants are all good choices. Prices are slowly coming down again (e.g. some lunch deals that offer great value relative to one year ago), but you are right - everything still costs too much in Ireland!
  12. I hope it is not the end - every year I dilligently send off my email and wait a few weeks for a polite "no". I am convinced that some day the news will be good. The restaurant can't close before then!
  13. IFS - I love the enthsiasm in your review. I'm visiting Chicago in April and have already booked a night in Alinea. I was already excited before I read your review, so now I really can't wait!
  14. Any idea how much I can expect to pay for wine pairings (standard and premium) for the tour menu?
  15. My wife and I ate in Tom Aikens for the first time last Tuesday. It was good, but slightly disappointing. Our booking was for 9pm and we opted for the classic menu. Some beautifully presented amuses bouches got us started, and the sommelier did a superb job of recommending nice wines, but there was a problem with the first course in our menu (scallops) After waiting quite a while, I asked a waiter what the problem was. The maitre d' came out to tell us that the chef was unhappy with the first course and wanted to re-do it, and that it was very nearly ready. Scallops of course take notoriously long to cook. Anyway, it was 10.30 before the course arrived and by the time the whole meal was finished it was 1 am and we were so tired we didn't really enjoy the desserts. The cooking was good, but I felt that both the scallops and John Dory were slightly overcooked. The service was a bit haphazard too.
  16. Thanks very much. Sorry, missed the pinned topic at the top. We have an 18 month old boy - any idea id it is ok to bring small kids to restaurants in Italy in the vening time? thanks Salty
  17. Hi there travelling to Tuscany in a month's time. just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for restaurants in Siena or Florence. thanks in advane Salty
  18. I went for the surprise tasting menu in Thorntons a couple of weeks ago, and it was fantastic. We ate at the restaurant in Portobello about six years ago and had been to the new restaurant in the Fitzwilliam twice since then. Our most recent visit was easily the best of all. The service was friendly and professional throughout, making for a very relaxed and well paced meal. I had asked while making the reservation if they could match wines toach course and that I would like to spens €50 or €60 per person on this. They accommodated this very easily and the wine choices were superb. The food itself was absolutely outstanding - descriptions are based on scribbled (and slightly drunken) notes taken that night. First off, beautiful John Dory with pea puree, garden peas, pickled girolles and a shot of cantaloupe juice. All stunning, especially the pea puree. Served with a small glass each of Pomeroy champagne. Next a circle of goats cheese, surrounded by a triangle f marinated tomato and an aubergine skin. The accompanying aubergine "caviar" was astonishing as was the tomato confit. The wine was a Hugel Riesling from Alsace Third course was a tasting of Foie Gras. seared, in a terrine and a third piece in a fantastic truffle encrusted ball. Wine was a sweet red Banyul (I think called Madamoiselle) Fish course was Red Mullet with a beautifully cooked courgette. The courgette flower was stuffed with a fishy mousse (salmon I think). Served with asparagus, spring onion and carrot and a lovely fresh lemongrass sauce. The wine was a really beautiful Austrian wine, that I wrote down the name of, but can't find! Then we had a red pepper sorbet with aqua libra poured on top. Before the aqua libra went on it had a beautiful fresh red pepper flavour. After some magic bit of alchemy, the aqua libra made it taste exactly like a really sweet watermelon sorbet. It was delicious The main course was absolutely beautiful succulent guinea fowl served with savoy cabbage and potato maxim. The wine was a Burgundy Cotes de Nuits something from 2002. Pre-dessert was a fig, with fromage frais, truffle wafers, walnut and some fancy apple dessert was a gorgeous wild strawberry mousse with a milk sorbet and a little meringue. Wine was a very fresh Muscat. Surprise menu was €125 per person and wine was under €60 per person. While we were finishing our coffees and mignardises, Kevin Thornton came over to talk and ended up chatting with us for almost half an hour. We found him incredibly friendly and so passionate about food. A really great guy to talk to. He brought us into the kitchen to show us around which finished the night off perfectly. One interesting thing is that the table beside us also ordered a surprise menu, so we had to get completely different courses to them or it would not have been a surprise! superb!
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