Wilfrid

Eh?

I may have said this before, but if I run out of red wine to make a sauce, dark beer is usually a good substitute. Yes, it will change the flavor of course, but you will still have a nice sauce. This information is especially useful in New York - and doubtless other American cities - on Sundays.

Macrosan, are you barmy??? (Sound of retreating footsteps as Wilfrid hurries off to a safer thread.)

Roast hedgehog. There's another thread. I understand that it is practice in some cultures to roast them in clay; I assume you remove the spines first? Didn't know they were selling them in the greenmarket, though.

What a lot of consensus! Simon's comments about the way the music magazine apportions good reviews come as no surprise to me. Much of my journalism was in the "music/entertainment" field, and there have always been pressures arising from the obvious fact that record companies, movie studios, etc are the prime sources of advertising income for supposedly independent and critical journals. In addition to that, one key bargaining chip is "access". If you tear up a star from a particular studio, you are not going to be front of the line to interview their next candidate. At one extreme of virtuousness, one had the example of the New Yorker, which under the editorship of William Shawn had an impenetrable Chinese wall between the editorial and advertising departments, so that there could be no influence on content. That is most rare. I cut my teeth at a magazine which was acknowledged to be quite feisty and iconoclastic. I was never told to whether to write a good or bad review. However, it was absolutely clear that the editor in each section would apportion assignments knowing with some certainty whether a particular act/performer/event was going to get sympathetic or hostile treatment from the writer. The decisions were usually based, I am quite sure, on a need to keep the magazine interesting: a highly promoted act, if they had received three or four good notices in a row, would probably be thought due for a mauling. But, at the same time, the editors were conscious of sponsors' attitudes and the resulting pressures, and I am quite sure that real life involved a pragmatic balancing of critical and commercial priorities, not the noble defence of the former against the latter. Waffle, waffle...Applying it to food critics? I think it is fully accepted that book, movie, music (etc) writers are going to have contacts, and even friends, in their chosen field. They also - where it's relevant - get the bests seats, the best view, and all kinds of other special treatments. Why should a food or wine writer be any different?

I recall that a widely available bottled beer in the UK was Budweiser Budvar, made in Czechoslovakia, and with only the most remote historical connection to AB Bud. Is this Czechvar stuff perhaps the same thing, with the name changed for US sales?

I think I would go so far as to say that I have written more positive pieces about people I have come to know and like than I might have had they remained strangers. The important thing is that the pieces were not insincere; my views changed because I got to understand them and their work better. But perhaps I was going no further, John, than you would have gone.

Quite aside from ookiness and poofability, I think they look like scallions (or spring onions), so I just treat them the same way. Although they are a bit "oomphy" chopped raw into a salad. I saw a sign for fiddlehead ferns in a store yesterday, but none of the curly little chaps were in attendance.

Jim, that sounds wonderful. And thanks, Malawry. There are some bizarrely coloured Dominican sodas which turn up in our apartment from time to time, and I only wish I could remember their names. Probably names of Latin American teletubbies!

Good news for all of us. As I said on the trout thread, Liza, you cannot post too many useful greenmarket tips as far as I'm concerned. Jinmyo, you mentioned Dijon sauce. The sauce I put around the trout last night was a very simple mustard sauce - equal parts Dijon mustard (Maille) and melted butter, stirred firmly together, drizzle in warm white wine (so it doesn't separate) and season. I bet your Dijon sauce is much fancier...what goes on?

All interesting points. I suppose I am trying to say that we are talking about Grub Street, and keeping a clean nose therein - we are not talking about an order of sainthood. Simon mentioned Lester Bangs. one of the summits of the latter part of his sadly foreshortened career was his series of articles for the New Musical Express about being on the road with The Clash. He was passionate about the band - hugely enthusiastic. He also pointed out some of the inherent problems with what they were (then) trying to do. I don't know for sure, but I would expect CBS picked up all his hotel bills, probably his international flights, and paid for his drinks and meals too. If the NME paid for anything, I shall pass you a feather with which you are free to knock me down. But Bangs's readership trusted him, and rightly so. At the end of the day, it's the track record of what you put on paper, rather than how many free parties you go to, that counts.

Jordan, thanks for that, and it would explain why I am not so familiar with the term "cordial" having been raised in the UK.

While Mebutter's strictures are admirable, I sometimes think we are holding restaurant critics to an unreasonably high standard. I worked for years as a freelance journalist, covering a variety of subjects (never food or wine). A few observations: there is a whole profession out there - publicists - whose paid job it is to make journalists feel good about (a) themselves and (b) the publicist's client. It would be most improper for money to change hands in the expectation of a good notice. However, journalists are constantly offered every conceivable kind of freebie (ncluding some pretty exotic ones), and receive VIP treatment from publicits with decent budgets. Few are the journalists who reject any treatment of this kind, and few are the human beings who are untouched by it. I agree, the task is then to give a lousy notice - where deserved - despite the lavish treatment. And I have done so. But let's not get so flustered at the idea of journalists being pampered. It's an everyday occurrence. Second - I partly agree with and partly depart from John Whiting. A journalist working in a subject-area in which they are genuinely interested is almost bound to make friends - or at least get to know pretty well - some of the professionals in that area. It is fine to say that a friendship shouldn't stand in the way of a bad review. I think the situation is more subtle in real life. I have had the experience of coming to a better understanding and appreciation of someone's endeavours through contact and conversation with them: the result has unquestionably been a better review than if they had remained a stranger. I don't think this is dishonest - on the contrary, I think it's often part of the job to try to develop a sympathetic understanding of the subject - but lets be clear that personal relationships will indeed color a writer's appreciation of a subject.

Incidentally, I never received the courtesy of a reply from B.R. Guest restaurants to my questions about their reported policy of refusing to serve tap water.

Okay. Here are my two excuses. First, there is no sign on the facade. There's a huge, heavy wooden door, and a window through which bar-type activity can be seen, but I had assumed it was a bar attached to the Asian restauarnt next door. Second, in the day-time, the whole facade is covered by metal shutters, so you wouldn't even know there was a bar there. We made our way into the bar area on Friday night. It was quite swanky, but people were standing three deep. It has definitely been discovered. We elbowed our way to the end of the bar, where stairs led up to a raised dining area. This too was full of beautiful people. I enquired about a table, and the ridiculously gorgeous greeter advised me it would be at least an hour's wait. Telephoned the next day and was offered 6 or 10.30. We'll try and go back on a quiet night and see what's happening food-wise, but the word of mouth is clearly working for them.

Ting? Wink? Should I know these beverages? :o

I could have given you some in Jimmy's last night to take home with you. You should've mentioned it. By the way, her name was Claudine. :)

I could have given you some in Jimmy's last night to take home with you. You should've mentioned it.

You can make a gratin out of endives by slicing them down the middle, sprinkling the cut side with diced bacon, crumbled cheese and a few spot of oil, and slipping them under the broiler. Too messy to eat?

That brought back some pleasant memories of our trip to Charleston in summer 2000. There are some gorgeously preserved eighteenth and nineteenth century streets, as I recall, and we also spent some time snooping around the mansions which are open to visitors. I tried to eat in Sticky Fingers, but it was closing when I got there, and I ended up with some very pleasant traditional fish and chips in a fish restaurant a few doors down.

Yes, I have never had a problem getting a seat in the bar area. Although the restaurant is popular, I think it is fairly easy to get tables if you get at slightly off-peak times.

The lock on my metal tongs which holds them closed has been broken for ages, but that just means they take up more space than necessary in the drawer. Unlike the wooden tongs Blue Heron displayed, my metal tongues have like little hands at each end which are great for gripping things. I got another one. I bought an implement from Williams and Sonoma which I thougt was a large fish slice, Turns out it was actually designed to flip burgers. It has a wooden handle, is about four inches wide, maybe eight inches long, and has quite sharp edges. It is a terrific fish slice. You can get a whole fillet, and many whole fish too, completely supported as you lift it from the pan.

What do you do with spurtles? Stir things?

The mushroom brush didn't long survive inspection by My Beloved. My face is now as smooth as my baby daughter's bum. I am looking for other ways to brush my mushrooms.

It's great. I just feed you the lines, and I know you're going to come back with the punch. This is how Martin and Lewis started out. On a food web-site, right?