Wilfrid

Love albino rodents. Cute pink nose, rat.

My enthusiasm is much restrained by the fact that I have tried making dishes with canned beans and dried beans are much better. What's the test? Suvir, do you have some secret to using canned beans? Cassoulet with canned beans is disgusting.

I wonder ifit was an error. When I ordered my steak black and blue at The Strip House, it was properly charred on the outside, and cold and raw right in the center. Some steakhouses, at least, do this deliberately. I have ordered steak blue, and been told by waiters, "You realise, sir, it will be cold and raw in the center." Now, I am not saying this is appropiate for lamb. I don't much fancy it. But there is a chance that the Strip House will intentionally serve lamb that way if the request is "rare".

Goya is a good brand when canned beans are appropriate. Maybe I could get my Beloved to whip up some rice and beans for the cook off.

Don't tell me there's no-one here who knows about smoked fish. Please. And Lyle's freezing question is apposite too. Let's be having you.

Could the bollito misto be orderd by a single diner? Sounds huge.

The caviar and champagne tasting at $5 a head, with a private show by the Rockettes. If that's going ahead, put me down plus one. Thanks.

After your write-up of All Bar One, you may as well go for broke.

I'm surprised at some of you. I used to use canned beans when I was a lazy slug, but when I changed to dried beans my life improved immeasurably. For most purposes, canned beans are too soft, too squishy and break down much to easily. If you are making a dish which requires long, slow cooking, such as cassoulet, canned beans just won't stand up to it. No, no, no. My Beloved does use canned beans to make the relevant part of rice and beans, but in that case, of course (of course), the intended end result is a soupy broth with a few beans floating in it. That's fine, and maybe they're fine for purees too. I actually make an exception for canned chickpeas, as they seem to hold up pretty well, and I was planning to use them in my callos a la madrilenas next week. Having seen Adam's and Nina's comments, I may try the dried ones; I am always willing to learn.

"Fading Feasts" by Raymond Sokolow, author of "Why We Eat What We Eat" (have I got that right?). I like this guy; clear, unshowy and logical style. The book in question is a series of essays on American culinary traditions which were fast disappearing (when the book was written about ten years ago). No more squirrels in the burgoo, for example; the parlous state of the Kentuckjy moonshine industry; the erosion of artisanal Smithfield ham curing. One chapter which shocked me was about key limes. He says that whenever we are served something claiming to be made from key limes, like key lime pie, the juice is almost certainly from a different and more readily available kind of lime. I didn't realise. Is that still generally the case? I know I have seen and handled real key limes (distinctive shape and all), but can't now remember where. It may have been in the Caribbean.

Well, if it's smoked, it's preserved and therefore lasts forever. Or not. How long is it wise to keep smoked fish in a refrigerator? I am thinking mainly of freshly cut smoked fish, such as salmon or sturgeon, rather than vaccum packed. It is different for cold smoked and hot smoked fish? Thanks.

Ajay, since my experience with Susur was that he was very happy to speak with diners and discuss his cuisine even during service, I would suggest calling ahead and enquiring about a vegetarian tasting menu. I think it would be very interesting if the restaurant was willing to do it.

Without going back and reading what I said, my response to Maggie's comment is that, for me, it was a bit of each. Some very good cooking at home (not always, but often) and in the occasional restaurant, and devastatingly bad cooking at school and in many other restaurants.

On that subject, I have some 10 year old Laphroiag hanging around at home. If I wanted to buy an older one, what sort of vintage should I pitch for. In other words, can anyone identify a reasonable trade off between satisfaction and price? Or does it just get better the older it is, so I need be guided only by my budget?

I've never noticed his size because I'm always blinded by staring down at his glowing pate. His brother has a fine head of hair. And a pleasant demeanour. Funny how things get handed out so unfairly.

He'd look thinner if he was taller, wouldn't he? (Best to poke fun at boxers from other side of ocean.) Impressed as I am by the fitness regime, it makes it hard to assess the independent effectiveness of the diet in Simon's individual case. I should think I would weigh 162lbs if I did all that, regardless of eating the odd bun. I did, out of curiosity, try the ketosis thing earlier this year. My personal experience was that of a very slight weight loss, and then tedious maintenance without any further loss. Personally, I find weight is lost much faster on a low fat diet with small portions. But that's purely anecdotal. If Robert Schonfeld's looking in, was there a typo here: "I lost about seventy pounds on a low-carb no-fat high-protein diet more than thirty years ago. Meat, fish, eggs, hard cheese, yogurt some vegetables." Doesn't look like a no-fat diet.

Cabby - I believe you. Everyone else - and this includes me - we should try harder at writing down names and addresses in Barcelona. The Barri Gotic is a maze. Believe me, I had trouble putting together my Barcelona report back in February because I hadn't been obsesive about these details.

This is my problem, Cabby - I would love to spend more time in the Basque country or regions of Spain beyond Catalonia, but all time spent outside Barcelona seems time wasted. I think it may be the same with you and France - whenever you go to Europe, isn't it hard to go to somewhere other than France?

You got me thinking there, Peter. More or less opposite Set Portes, on the north side of Passeig Isabel de Gracia? In other words, the side away from the water? Was the doorway actually on that street, or was it on one of the side streets that leads back up into the Barri Gotic? You said piazza: there are one or two little squares just off this street - are we talking about one of those? This requires investigation. I found a superb version of that little eel dish at Ca d'Isidre in the Barri Xines too. If I could, I would move to Barcelona tomorrow and live there for the rest of my life. Without hesitation. I am only worried all these fancy new restaurants will spoil it.

Jon, I think 1837 will be dead as a doornail in January. I thought The Capital was pretty buzzy myself.

Virot got mixed reactions when it was open too. I had one good dinner there. I am assuming Aix is considerably more casual.

There's a danger there may be less than one. Sorry, just saying...

Were the chopped mint leaves a bit grainy?

Interestingly, there's no way to know right now. It was a "privileged experience", in the sense that all we have to go on is my memory of how I felt, and we have no criterion by which to judge its accuracy - or possibly what I said or wrote at the time. Of course, given the well-known slippage of the signifier, I am hesitant to place too many eggs in those baskets.

Sorry, can't make it.