Vanessa

v

Audrey - thankyou, that was most helpful. v

what does the 'violet' bit refer to? v

touché!

Just came to me as I posted the last (damn that flood control!): Maquis? somewhere in Hammersmith? Owned by the Moro people? v

Isn't there some relatively trendy restaurant in London doing fondue now? As usual, can't remember what one. v

I've noticed that I pay little attention to the GFG with regard to London. I have other points of reference that work better and I feel instinctively that the book is not London-oriented. However the one restaurant in the Guide outside London which I have been to recently, The Punchbowl at Crosthwaite in Cumbria, has a wholly appropriate review, in my opinion. By the way, I am completely open to substantiated criticisms of the guide's non-impartiality. v

Quite, but the Good Food Guide is not what it once was, and the reason for this is that the current editor spends far too much time being chummy with media chefs and not enough time berating them for taking the piss out of their clients. When? Are you talking about Tom Jaine? (great guy, but never could work out what food he liked) Raymond Postgate? Times change. Editors change. We can't like them all. I have a nasty feeling this all boils down to a positive review about the Fat Duck. (Was there one? I didn't notice). v

yeah, I know (and agree) - but you know what I mean. What I'm getting at is that I don't think there is such a thing as a guide which you can follow 100%. You just have to use your judgement - without being excessively judgemental. v

Does the guide actually have any credibilty? For many, what was once a consumer guide has become "My favourite restaurants" by Jim Ainsworth. A less than objective editor who is alarmingly keen to chum up with media chefs. LML: Objectively: there is an on-going e-gullet relationship with Basildog. Some Members of e-gullet have even frequented the restaurant of Basildog. When the GFG review of Basildog's restaurant appeared, it was noted by Members of e-gullet (who have no known link with GFG) as a very appropriate review of Basildog's restaurant. This gives a certain positive impression of GFG. LML: in other words, much as I respect your opinions of, say Ferran Adria, I am concerned that a certain polemic takes over from reality. I don't actually see why a 'consumer guide' (complete objectivity is utterly impossible unless you are God) and 'my favourite restaurants by Jim Ainsworth' are a contradiction in terms. Personally, I wouldn't dream of going to a GR restaurant and for that reasson would ignore the 10/10 rating given by GFG. But I don't see that as a reason for discrediting GFG. v

UP YA BUM! actually its very quiet tonight...i have just served the starters to our 2 booked tables...so semi slaving tonight Well - if you were a bit nearer London you'd be inundated with e-gulleteers every evening. A good thing or bad, I wonder? v

Sounds good, Basildog. Slaving over a hot stove as usual I see. v

My question to you, Basildog, would be: how are you envisaging sourcing your produce - other than what you make yourselves of course. I find that good deli's have great products, but that they are often the same from one shop to the other, because there is a limited amount of really good suppliers to shops. As an example, the best Spanish stuff comes through Brindisa. So, wherever you are in this country, if they have good Spanish products then they are the usual Brindisa fare. And that gets boring (to me at least). Of course, for a shop-keeper to source foods from the horses mouth is very expensive and time-consuming, so it is natural that you would use wholesalers/distributors. And there are certain products which you would want to stock as a matter of course because they are simply the best, regardless of their ready availability in other deli's. One of the important considerations will be whether you are competing with other such shops in the neighbourhood and how you would differ from them. Didn't Rick Stein also have a deli in Padstow? Is it still going? By the way, isn't it 'artisanal' in English English? Not that we use the word much. In the end, Basildog, I would say, go for the product itself, rather than the fancy packaging. But that's what the others have been saying to you as well. And the more that comes from your own kitchen the better. All the best v

Vologodskoe butter? (just being patriotic) Ah, my heart swells with pride as my eyes mist up with bittersweet emotions. Of course, we invented butter, you know. Oh my God - what is it about e-gullet that keeps stirring up old memories from the past? I lived in the USSR for a year, nearly 20 years ago, in a provincial Russian town, closed to foreigners, and unknown to all except Russians who know the front ran through it for a large part of their WWII or who are into the poet Mandelshtam, and to those English students that used to get dumped there, like me. I have always considered that one of the main reasons for my survival was the fact that I managed to find a regular source of butter in a little shop tucked away at the bottom of some flats in a courtyard. It didn't come in a packet like that illustrated, but in a large mound on the counter. These were the days of the EEC butter and meat mountains and I have always suspected that they were selling the butter off cheap to the USSR. This was a town where there was no meat in the shops. It was only available in the market for an exorbitant price. However, due a boyfriend with some mysterious connections, I used to be able to acquire meat from the hi-fi shop. Those were the days. v ps. Confirmation: Lurpak in the UK is considered thoroughly inferior!

Or tempura, a bit further back. v

Just a quick thought - isn't lunch traditionally the main meal of the day in Southern European countries? In the same vein, re-Steve's comment about old buildings being dark - windows in the past would have been an extravagance. Also, as people would have been spending the larger part of the day working outdoors, wouldn't they be wanting to get away from sunlight when indoors? Just conjecture. v

Simon - does that mean you can buy those large clams here in London? Steve Hatt or elsewhere? I'd be very interested to try but have never seen them. The thought of sweet octopus/lobster flavour clam flesh with lardons & capers has just given me the munchies at this time of the afternoon. v

Borough is a life-affirming experience. I always come away feeling better in myself. Not the case for the Covent Garden thing, although I have enjoyed it in the past. Something just didn't feel right. There are many reasons as to why this could be, all probably not unconnected with Henrietta Green. v

Is the 'press pot' what we call in the UK a 'cafetiere'? v

Interesting, Steve, your friend's comment about over-salting. I have only been to Chez Bruce twice, some 2-3 years ago, and found the food heavily over-salted. To the extent that I am still not inclined to return there even now.

Macrosan and SamanthaF - that's the kind of encouragement I was seeking Will report anon. v

thank you Andy - the recent positive reports were part of the reason why I had decided on The Capital. I was just looking for someone to restore the good impressions after Macrosan's downer. La Trompette is the easy option for me - local and I've been there enough to know it is absolutely reliable. I was looking for something that was a level up from La Trompette (which I believe means the top) - but maybe there isn't such a thing - at least that can be relied upon 100%. v

Help! I had set my heart on going to The Capital the week after next, as the restaurant in London which I thought the most appealing for a top notch dinner and which e-gulleteers appeared to find was the best meal going at the moment. Macrosan has set a spanner in the works. Firstly a couple of questions to Macrosan, which I hope he does not find provocative: 1. When making a reservation for a restaurant where it is known that extra-menu items are served, would it not be considerate - both to yourself and to the restaurant - to state any particular dietary issues when booking? 2. I find the comment on bitter/acidic vegetables a little puzzling - but then maybe you found it puzzling at the time as well. I mean, how can cabbage be mouth-puckering - unless it is sauerkraut? My questions to the world at large are: 1. Can anyone provide a recent review of The Capital that soundly contradicts Macrosan's, to help restore my confidence in the place? 2. If not, where do people think the best dinner is to be had in London at the moment, with 3 provisos: a) nothing Asian (my dining companion has just overdosed on Asian food during a month-long trip to almost every East Asian country) b) No GR or MPW - my prejudice. c) suggestions would have to be for places that are bookable around a week in advance (for a Tuesday evening). Otherwise it'll be La Trompette. v

Great price, but I have 2 issues: firstly I don't enjoy food/drink blowouts in the middle of the day, secondly it would involve taking a 1/2 day off work. So I'll try for the 12th in the evening, go into debt for a week and report back on the food in detail here. v

Thanks for the input. It was really produce-selling outlets rather than restaurants I was looking for feedback on, and it seems that nobody has come up with anything special there. Feeling sorry for myself this morning. I don't have the disposable income of others around here and have developed an uncontrollable obsession with trying to book a table at The Capital next week (I blame e-gullet). Unfortunately this is incompatible with the state of my bank balance until pay day, nearly 3 weeks away. v p.s. wanking tramps don't trouble me - but they clearly troubled my friend, thereby causing my embarrassment!