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chrisp

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    Bologna Dining

    in Italy: Dining

    Posted

    Well, I'm back, and we managed to visit both of your excellent recommendations. It wasn't as cold as we'd feared and we had a lovely long weekend pottering around such a beautiful city.

    In fact the only disappointment was the Botanic Gardens, which was a bit decrepit.

    Anyway, reports on the food are here:

    Trattoria Meloncello:

    http://cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.com/2009/0...-trattoria.html

    Drogheria della Rosa:

    http://cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.com/2009/0...-drogheria.html

    Other Bologna:

    http://cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.com/2009/0...ur-best-of.html

    Many thanks again for your suggestions, and if you're ever in Liverpool maybe I can return the favour :)

    Marco Pierre White at Harveys

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    I don't know if this is going to sound a bit pretentious, in fact I know it probably is, but I've always considered MPW as the Van Morrison of cooking. Both genuises in their own fields, their best work created at a precociously young age (Van Morrison wrote Astral Weeks when he was 22) and paid for with massive personal sacrifice. Also both seem to now regard their earlier (best) work with an outward disdain, but which is probably something more like fear. Fear that they'll probably never be that good again, but also that they'll be reminded of the terrible pain it took to achieve.

    MPW on his more recent TV show kept saying how simple everything he did was, using stock cubes etc. which I'm sure is just a coping mechanism. And similarly Van Morrison has never revisited the dark personal themes of Astral Weeks, retreating instead into either MOR pop or Jazz-lite.

    I suppose if you don't like Van Morrison then none of the above will make any sense at all, it's just something I've been thinking about.

    Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Thanks for the comment, Calum.

    I would agree that a star could be revoked, but extremely doubt it will (which seems to be the common feeling).

    Andy Hayler (Michelin-bagger extraordinaire) has a useful analogy - that Michelin stars are "sticky". Very difficult to get, and almost as difficult to lose.

    RHR has been running at 2* level MAX for a number of years now as far as I can tell, but the outcry and controversy involved in stripping them away has meant they've long outstayed their welcome. Same can be said of the Waterside Inn apparently, though I've never been myself.

    Bologna Dining

    in Italy: Dining

    Posted

    I'm off to Bologna on the 16th and some of these recommendations sounds great. I'm much more in favour of turning up at a little Trattoria than booking a Michelin star place for Saturday night.

    How busy are these places and how likely would we be to be able to just turn up and get a table - there are 5 of us?

    el bulli 2009 reservations

    in Spain & Portugal: Dining

    Posted

    I'm still waiting as well. When do they stop sending notices? I'm afraid my spam blocker might have blocked it if I did get a notice, but if Mr. Garcia presses the reply button then it shouldn't be blocked right? Here's hoping it comes as a Christmas present.

    That's what happened to me :)

    Sister's boyfriend received an acceptance but kept it secret until today - we're in (table of 4) for 23rd September 2009!

    Hooray!!

    Hard sell of the tip - a new one on me

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    We'll be familiar with the "near scam" of adding a service charge to the bill and then leaving the credit card machine software set up so that it still asks if you want to leave a tip. Disreputable in my view but something regular diners are alert to.

    But, this week, we were paying in a fairly well known Manchester Chinatown restaurant and the waiter actually says" if you want to leave a tip, press this button". When we mentioned the service charge, he said "well, press that one , then".

    I've never come across such a blatant push before. And it was, clearly, a blatant push. I gather it isn't a one-off. The problem of this restaurant doing it has been reported on local website, Manchester Confidential.

    You think that's bad? There are a few hotels in London (Connaught for one) which not put a service charge on drinks in the bar (fine by me due to the excellent staff) but then the credit card machine makes you add an extra gratuity before you can process the payment!! Obviously each time I have just added a penny but still...

    I haven't made a fuss because of the type of place it is and I'm always with guests or the good lady and obviously don't want to make a tit of myself. Also The Connaught Bar at the moment is the nicest bar and the nicest room in the whole of London.

    Anyhow would be interested if anyone knows of any laws against this as am planning an e-mail to the manager regarding this.

    Paul - is it that the staff are pressing the "yes" for gratuity button before they give the machine to you? Because surely that is illegal.

    New Tayyab

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Hi Paul,

    From personal experience, turning up before 6 has meant getting a table without queuing. I reckon from 6.30/7 it starts to fill rather fast, but I am not an authority on this place.

    Check out this review: Cheese & Biscuits - Mirch Masala

    The author is/was a serious Tayyabs fan, but says this place could now be his curry house of choice, plus its also cheap and also in Whitechapel, if that helps.

    So this is the reason why my site is suddenly inexplicably popular with the eGullet crowd :)

    Thanks for the mention FS - and my comments about Mirch Masala still stand. I have heard (very) mixed reports about the other branches in Tooting and elsewhere, but I am a dedicated Mirch Masala Whitechapel fan.

    Tandoori chicken wings, jeera chicken and the Shammi kebab are particularly good.

    Of course, Tayyabs is still slightly ahead in terms of the standard of cooking overall, but with the effort and pain required to get a seat, I am a far more regular visitor to MM these days.

    Chris

    Ambassade de L'Ile

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    The struggle with the sea urchin was priceless, but the optimistic endurance just to see if you 'had missed anything' is truly valiant. :smile:

    I can only deduce that it must be an acquired taste. I can't actually ever remember going to a restaurant of this calibre and ever having something that was so vile, to the extent of being almost literally stomach churning. OK, sea urchins inside are a bit like oysters. But then to be stirred up in a (sea) watery scrambled egg, well I'll leave that to your own imaginations.

    Cheers, Howard

    I tried a very similar dish in Paris, and had the same reaction- glad its not just me!!

    Very interesting, these comments. I can hardly think of a foodstuff more polarising than sea urchin. I love them, as does my dad, but my sister and mum can't stand them. That's just one family!

    Discretionary spending?

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    At the risk of stating the obvious, restaurants close all the time. Most of them close because they're shite. Natural selection will accelerate as punters grow fewer in number and thinner in wallet, but I doubt the process will make extinct anywhere you'd eat twice by choice.

    Anyone want to start a dead pool? Without much thought at all, my ten would be: Texture, Bel Canto, Kyashii, Just St James's, Brian Turner, Shed, Cocoon, Shanghai Blues, Mint Leaf Lounge and Cape Town Fish Market.

    Edit: damn. I forgot Dans Le Noir. And L Restaurant. And Edera. And ... well, all of these basically.

    So naebody, you think that all those restaurants doing special offes will go bust? Including places like pearl?!

    I bloody well hope not - I've got Pearl booked for my birthday next month.

    Restaurants Missing Michelin Stars

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Morgan M and Pearl immediately spring to mind

    Oh and that other Not Alain Ducasse At The Dorchester place

    J

    Oh Bonds too

    There's a level of haute restaurants cooking at the * level, particularly ones in corporate/hotel backgrounds, where whether you get a * is basically a bit of a lottery - Bonds and Pearl def fall into this category. 1-0-1 too.

    J

    Definitely 2nd Pearl. Had a stunning meal there last October and I'm going back for my birthday this year. The best truffle and gnocci main course ever.

    Discretionary spending?

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    So what's the general feeling about how the economic scenario is going to impact on restaurant spending over the coming months. :unsure:

    I reckon we'll have a few closures, some welcome some not.

    My tip is for Ducasse at the Dorchester to shut up shop before too long, and (unfortunately) the new Bacchus Bar & Kitchen, which has been totally empty every time I've been.

    The Capital

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Or at least food I will remember. After all, I can always get popcorn at the cinema*

    Gareth

    *Excepting certain branches of Picturehouse. How snobby is that ? Surely “Aguirre, Wrath of God” was meant to munch Butterkist through ?

    The Clapham Picturehouse is the cinema closest to my house, and I never go for that reason. They won't even let me bring my own :angry:

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