StephenT

Maybe they did that but had too many "real men" going there and saying "I don't want no stinkin' sauce with my steak" and wanting a discount.

In addition to the sausage and mashed potato it has... gravy

Yeah I know, was just being argumentative since I like brown rice, sorry

Ah, but that extra fat still only brings it up to 1 gram out of a hundred! And brown has lots more nutrients than the white... a lot of the nutrients in the white rice are there because of additives. I'd rather have the nutrients that were in the rice to start with rather than having them taken away and then put back in. Also, those are US government levels of nutrients that are added to the white rice - what about other countries where the government doesn't have minimum levels of nutrient that must be added?

Actually, after reading the chicken nugget story I avoid them like the plague!

I eat KFC quite often after spending too long in the pub, especially since there's one quite conveniently between the tube station and my flat. Regardless of whatever wings/pieces/burgers they have left at that time of night, they're all great.

In other words, nothing of interest at all

After all the talk, I had to pay a visit to Le Pigalle so did so last night with a couple of work colleagues. As usually happens when we go somewhere after work though, we were quite far past tipsy when we got there so weren't in the ideal state for a culinary experience but really enjoyed everything about it. We arrived just after 9 and were the only people there. A few minutes later another diner arrived, who'd obviously come specifically for the food as well. I thought he was a regular, but Francois (who was every bit as entertaining as I'd been led to believe) said it was the first time he'd been. I should probably apologise to him for our undoubtedly loud discussions in the otherwise empty restaurant. I managed to defeat the huge (and very enjoyable) cassoulet. No chorizo this time; was informed by Francois said it was made with Toulouse sausage that the chef had bought in France that morning. Our bill came to £35 a head which was more than I was expecting, but when I realised we had ordered aperitifs, assorted glasses of white wine with our starters and then a bottle of Crozes Hermitage, it became clear. I'll definitely be going back, either at lunch or in the evening when in a more capable state.

My wife recently returned from Portugal and brought me a bottle of white Port (Fonseca Siroco). I assumed it would be a dessert wine but upon reading the label and noticing that it said "Porto Aperitivo" I realised otherwise. Having a quick look on the net told me that it was indeed an aperitif and should be served chilled. My immediate reaction was that I'd expect it to be similar to Sherry but of course have no idea. Its alcohol level at 20% is somewhat higher than the dry sherry I usually drink at home (15.5%). Has anyone had much experience of white Port? I could find out by just opening it and drinking it but was planning to keep it to drink with some friends for its novelty value.

"Mutton - lamb that's lived a little"

I've had skate once, at a fish and chip shop called the "Rock and Sole Plaice" in London. It was of course battered and deep fried and I did find it rather hard to eat - hunting for the layer of fish between the batter (most of which I didn't eat) and the bones / cartilage. I ordered it because it was described on the menu as having a lot of flavour, but mine wasn't particularly flavourful. I'd be keen to try it again, given a more sympathetic preparation.

I just drink London tap water at home. I have a Brita jug that I used to use but the hassle factor of filling it up and waiting for it to filter enough for me to fill a glass (yes I'm lazy in the extreme) made me just revert back to plain tap water which isn't that bad. At work I drink whatever it is in the bottle on the water cooler. Often I buy a bottle of Highland Spring / Evian / Volvic / whatever on the way to the gym or somewhere and somehow never fail to be surprised that it tastes so much better than what I usually drink.

My "cure" happens on the night, not the morning after. When I get home I try to stay awake for at least an hour before going to bed and drink lots of water. I read somewhere that the body processes alcohol more efficiently when you're awake so I'd rather sacrifice a couple of hours of sleep and get some of the alcohol out of my system. It does seem to work. I know lots of people tend to crave greasy food the morning after, but my theory is that my liver is having enough trouble dealing with the alcohol already so I shouldn't give it any more trouble by eating grease. I don't have coffee either... often I've woken up with a slight hangover only to drink a cup of coffee and end up with a nasty headache... probably related to the above. I'd rather be tired than have a headache (am not fond of taking painkillers).

Ah, Old Orleans. Would have to be my least favourite place of the year so far too. I have been there a few times in the past with people from work after having spent too much time in the pub. The attraction was that it was always easy to get a table there (not surprisingly) and we were usually too drunk to care what we ate. Then we went there for lunch one fateful day and I realised how bad it actually was. Next time someone mentioned it I remember saying in a loud voice "I'm never going there sober again".

I've never had that, but it reminds me of a very amusing noodle/pasta-related incident. My wife and I were camping and we had cooked some spaghetti and something or other. I dropped a fairly long strand of cooked spaghetti onto the ground and soon some of the ants that were on the ground came up and inspected it. After a short while, a whole lot of ants arrived, picked up the piece of spaghetti and marched it off... it looked like a long white caterpillar with black legs. Then they marched the whole thing down their ant hole inch by inch.

I've put mustard powder into scrambled eggs before cooking them. Didn't think it particularly odd at the time, but now that I think back...

I love olives in most of their many guises, especially those stuffed with either almonds or anchovies. My wife doesn't like them, which means that there are more for me! I particularly enjoy olives with a glass of Noilly Prat or Manzanilla while lazing around.

The only white Rioja I remember drinking I ordered a few years ago at a somewhat trendy restaurant/bar/club called AKA in London. I drank it on a company-sponsored night out following a few cocktails and some sherry, so my recollection of it might be somewhat skewed. I recall it being full flavoured, probably well oaked, and it went particularly well with the buttered green beans we'd ordered with our meal. The most interesting thing about it to me before ordering it was that it was the oldest wine on the menu (6 or 7 years old), despite being white. That was the main reason I ordered it and I was glad I did. Have no recollection whatsoever who the producer was.

This whisky/whiskey thing is quite simple: If it comes from Scotland then it's "whisky". Otherwise it's "whiskey". And apparently it's also "whisky" for Canadian Rye... just found that out right now.

Now that I've seen how much Simon Majumdar spent at Nahm, The Blue Elephant looks like a bargain! I don't think I've ever spent more than half that there.

I live two blocks away from Esarn Kheaw and my wife and I used to eat there (or get take-aways) quite regularly. Eventually the lamentably slow service got too much and we stopped going although we really did enjoy the food. Actually the fact that we endured the "service" so often says a lot about how much we enjoyed the food. The Market Thai on Portobello Road is fairly decent from what I remember. Possibly a bit too Westernised and "packaged" for some tastes, but well done. If you've got a bit of money to spare, try The Blue Elephant on Fulham Broadway. The food and service are good and the interior really is something to behold - it's like walking into an indoor garden, complete with a large fishpond and plenty of bamboo. After being sat next to the fish pond the first time I went there, I specifically asked to sit near it again the next couple of times even though it means you get people walking past you quite often.