Andrew Chalk

I am going to be in London during July. The first time since last year. I would appreciate any recommendations for restaurants that have opened or dramatically improved in that time. Any type of cuisine, but I am particularly intrigued by molecular gastronomy (even if not openly declared as such). Thanks!

Has anyone, in the history of catering ever actually been "amazed" by a pub? ← The Nobody Inn?

Who are the business brains behind Ramsay's business plan?

naebody What is your investment banking relationship with GRH?

And great German Chocolate cake!

It turns out that Allen has a thoroughly respectable sushi place, Sushi Sapporo. Menu: http://aa.rewardsnetwork.com/diningsearchd...erchantId=82893 Try the rolls. That is where they express their originality. Avoid 'Petra, Essence of Mexico'. Too ill thought out.

As a last resort you can buy haggis in the US (e.g. www.british-emporium.com) Also: Have you used the web to search for mail order offal? Happy neeps and tatties.

Plan B: Use one of those pre-prepared Indian sauces to make "Turkey Tikka Massala", etc.

For a reality check see... http://www.dallasfood.org/modules.php?name...viewtopic&t=301

Louis XV in Monaco. The food is just too damned simple. I suspect this is the case so that it can be reliably prepared outside the master's gaze. NOt worth 3*

So you've had cooked turkey, warmed-up turkey, cold turkey, turkey ice cream, etc. and 70% of the bird is still there. Make a cock-a-leekie soup from pre-existing chicken or turkey stock, omit the cream if your recipe calls for it (some do) and add strips of the cooked Turkey at the end just to warm. Either eat it immediately or it will store indefinately if frozen. I call this variation Leaky Cock soup.

Strangely enough, Cooks Ilustrated just had a review of some: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/testing.as...tcode=L7NN3BS00

Had a disasterous experience with a consumer grade oven thermometer this weekend. Can someone recommend a specific brand and model of commercial grade oven thermometer? Must be remotely readable. Thanks.

Not quite a podcast but youtube has Gordon Ramsay recipes. Watching them on the net is so much better than using a book. Here's an example that is one of my favorites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFc6o2m9mMQ

Interesting to note that you recommend Rousillon Worzel. I was thinking of going there for a long lunch in late Jan and wondered what it was like nowadays as I have never had the pleasure of going there as yet. Any further details... ← I think of it as Gordon Ramsay with the decimal point moved one place to the left on the bill. The food is modern French and highly seasonal. The setting is very much 'couples romantic'. Lotsa' flowers. The service is professional but not stiff. I think bottled water is (as a general rule) a ripoff so when they asked what water we would like I gave my usual reply 'Your finest Thames'. The French waiter laughed. I can't remember his name but the sommelier was very knowledgable as well.

I think you could do either. My preference would be dinner as it allows more time to work through the many small courses on the 12-course menu. http://www.bacchus-restaurant.co.uk/. Also, the food is wine friendly and I prefer drinking wine in the evening. The great thing about Hoxton is that there is no tube so you get to walk a mile back to Old Street and work off all the calories you consumed.

We got a table in June a month ahead. Biggest problem was the virus. They had a virus on thir computers. It would send an infected e-mail to everyone they had e-mailed dozens of times until they finally understood my pidgen French explaining the problem. "Il y'a un Mitterand dans vos ordinateurs". Allez figure! BTW: Make SURE you 1) go the the Forge in Laguiole. It is the only authoritative source for the distinctive knives. The building has a 100 ft. knife in the roof - so you won't miss it on the way to the restaurant. 2) Go to the fromagerie at the far end of town. The oldest (5 years, as I recall) is so intense, so concentrated, that it is the first time I have had to stop eating a cheese on grounds of too much flavour.

Good point. The persimmon was hard when I peeled it. I tested one kebab and, lo and behold, when the pork was ready the persimmon was soft enough to eat. Beginner's luck?

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1627,147171-227197,00.html Very much a guess from the huge no. of choices on the Internet, but it worked.

This makes Joel Robuchon a bargain basement restaurant. Really. It is less expensive to fly to LV from Dallas and eat at JR (as we call him in Texas) then to just walk into any 3* restaurant while in Europe. I intend to make it my local!

Before y'all do anything you need to read the definitive Cornish Pastie 'denoument' by his Grimesness of the New York Times, which is an ad. supported rag given out at subway stations in New York City: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...aked%20Products

www.hardens.com - definitive. Like Ferran Adria? One of his proteges is chef at Bachus in Hoxton. Mainstream media panned it. Harden's reporters raved. I thought that some of his stuff worked, other parts didn't. But it was well worth going. Like being an animal in the testing of a new drug. If you are from the US you should be aware that there are Indian restaurants with Michelin stars. Mainstream French high end -- Roussillon.

I tried it tonight. Skewers with marinated pork and chunks of persimmon. Tasted great! Thanks.

That is interesting. I wonder how they ensured the Persimmon was softened at the same time that the meat was cooked? Marination? In what?

Can anyone recommend a place for Saturday lunch between Plano and downntown? Any cuisine. Any price. Thanks!