Food Snob

Indeed, I remember now. 'Cumbrian rose veal; roasted loin, fricasse of Dorset snails, watercress, wild garlic and Alsace bacon.' You had a point about the interesting combos: trotters and lobster; sea bass and sea urchin; turbot and frogs' legs... The over-earnestness you experienced was the opposite of the negligence I did: so from one extreme to the other. Thanks for the compliment, Fergal, it's much appreciated. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Hi Fergal, Agree about the foie gras! How was the veal served again? Glad to hear service is better, though disappointed that it has happened after my visit. And they were serving pork croquettes back in September too...

Did anyone attend any of last week's events in celebration of chocolate? I had hoped to try a few myself, but did not find the time for more than one. I managed to visit Almeida in Islington who, in conjunction with chocolatier Paul A. Young, had a Chocolate Menu on offer - 7-courses, each featuring the sweet stuff. This is what I thought in more detail: Almeida Chocolate Tasting Menu Overall, it was a pleasant surprise; the cooking was good and the chocolate carefully applied, instead of just thrown onto each plate for the sake of it. There were some interesting combinations, avoiding the more obvious venision and chocolate, for example.

If I recall correctly, Zafferano charges 13.5%

McDonalds? hmmm What about Wimpy?

It was 1993

“My favorite Italian cuisine in London is PizzaExpress. That's where I eat with my family at weekends from time to time. That's where I'm teaching my children to eat properly in restaurants. For all the years I've been eating at PizzaExpress, it's probably the most consistent restaurant I've been to in my entire life.'' - Marcus Wareing

It seems to have been a while since anyone mentioned Roussillon on here! I was there last week for dinner and thought it quite decent. I had a customised version of the 10yr anniversary menu. It was a bit of a rollercoaster with regards to consistency: some courses were a little bland, whilst others wowed. What was refreshing was the simplicity of the dishes - not a foam, spume, jelly, mousse in sight - not that I especially abhor these… There is definitely some potential here: My Roussillon Review Did anyone get around to trying the Flower Menu last May or the Feast Menu ever? Cheers

In line with Muichoi comments above, it appears St John has raised prices and dropped standards since reopening after summer refurbishments. Check the recent Dos Hermanos review: http://www.doshermanos.co.uk/2008/09/st-jo...her-of-man.html Alternatives, together with Great Queen St and Anchor & Hope, include Hereford Road.

I noticed that too...

probably a lot worse now kaupthing has just been placed in administration ← Just in case anyone's losing sleep: Link ← Looks like he's not just a pretty face then...

I have just written up my account of La Maison Arabe in Marrakech: La Maison Arabe, Marrakech It was a decent meal, the tagines were the best part of it; a greasy vegetable pastilla and pastilla au lait et amandes were the worst.

I had liked the look of the menu that Dos Hermanos had posted and been attracted by the the pedigree of the chef/staff - as Howard mentioned, formerly of Le Gavroche. The fact that Michel Roux Jr. was also consultant on this project was almost the clincher, but then I read this post last night and J. Moir's review this morning and I think I have changed my mind. Has anyone else tried it yet? I've heard a lot about the meat dishes, any information about les poissons? Cheers.

Food Snob-maybe I've misunderstood, but if you need to be told what you're eating what earthly right have you to pontificate about food on the internet? ← Maybe the humour was lost in translation, but I was exaggerating for comic effect...

Well said. And, I did have to call someone back, almost each time, to ask what I was being fed. Very annoying.

Sorry, my mistake! Gordon won custody of Jean-Philippe in the divorce. I meant another Jean-machin - sorry cannot remember his full name.

Hi Howard, Well, that's a shame to hear. I do believe the (new) maitre d' was on hand on the night, is it a gentleman named Jean-Phillippe? It's interesting that he hasn't changed the menu too. So you do not believe it will be bumped up a star in Jan then? P.S. Giles Coren has just released his review of MW (obviously in desperate competition with me!): http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_...icle4845661.ece - and he loved it

I finally got around to going to MW@tB. I was very much looking forward to it; actually, I was more excited about it than any other restaurant I have been to lately... I had the tasting menu plus a couple of supplements, so I got to try a fair few dishes. However, I cannot say I had my socks blown off. The dishes were good, but not very memorable. There were two/three that really stood out: foie gras, fantastic sweetbread dish and orange creme dessert. In fact, the sweetbread was a wow. Though, what really worked to dinner's detriment was the service; which was a surprise. No one was rude or the like, but I just expected more, I expected fautless, impeccable service. Instead, sometimes the staff were in such a hurry, they literally dropped the plate in front of me, reeled off the title of the dish, which I could have just as easily read off the menu that had been left in front of me. There were a few other little niggles too. Full critique can be read here: Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley

It is a little late, I realise, but I just uploaded a post on Marrakesh, so I thought I would add it here for future info seekers. I spent a week here in August and generally found Moroccan food very pleasing: I only had one bad meal the whole time and that was at Bô & Zin i.e. fushion Thai food, not local cuisine. In Marrakesh, I had a good meal at la Maison Arabe and an unforgettable one at Dar Marjana. I also stayed a couple of nights at Kasbah du Toukbal in the Upper Atlas Mtns. where I enjoyed several decent meals - these were mainy in the form of tagines. Here is my my Bô & Zin post. This is Dar Marjana. P.S. Blissful Glutton - great photograhs. May ask what camera you were using? Merci, Food Snob

Good shouts, J. Morgan M and The (Dorchester) Grill are both on my list. I have heard nothing but good things about both, especially Aiden Byrne's cooking; he's apparently one to watch. Food Snob

I agree, it did not do anything for me either. However, I did have a much better trio of cauliflower at Hibiscus last month. Bosi prepared couscous of purple cauliflower, purée of white cauliflower and roasted calabrese romanesco, together with a fantastic piece of duck. Also, I didn't get any capers with my sea bass! Food Snob

Not especially covetous, just using One-O-One as a basis with which to start this discussion really. We can debate all day long whether Michelin starring is good or bad, but at the end of the day, people care about them and chefs care about them. It's only natural to want to compare different restaurants and Michelin stars are one of the lesser of several evils with which one can do this. Personally, the meals I have eaten at starred restaurants (in Western Europe, at least) have been better than those at unstarred ones; and the best restaurant I have ever eaten at was a 3*. Of course I have had some terrible experiences at 1 and 2* places, but I still believe it is a useful factor in helping (not deciding) where to eat. Wrt One-O-One, I also brought up the topic of Michelin stardom because of the chef's public statement that he would like one. However, focusing on my meal...what did I like best? Well, the foie gras was amazingly well-cooked and still lingers on my mind. It was probably the second best foie I have ever eaten (after Le Gavroche). The langoustine accompanying it was also very impressive. That dish sticks out because of the quality and simple excellent cooking of the ingredients. The halibut dish was very tasty because of the combination of ingredients in addtion to their quality. The desserts too are memorable (but I am quite a dessert fiend). They both worked on several levels: temp, taste, texture and came together very well. It always makes such a difference to end the meal on a high, so I was left very satisfied.... Food Snob p.s. sorry about rushed reply, but in rather a hurry

Hi, Last week I was at One-O-One. The food was very good - interesting combinations; good flavours; imaginative, but well thought out dishes - and service excellent. There were a couple of slips in execution, but nonetheless, this restaurant is as good as other 1* London restaurants I have tried and is probably due a star. How do others feel about One-O-One? Are there any other deserving restaurants that have been overlooked by Michelin? Or even 1*s that ought to be 2*s? Food Snob

Nonsense! I practically grew up on bread dipped in balsamic vinegar-olive oil. OK, slight exaggeration, but it is actually one of my strongest gastronomic memomries of childhood. lol That reminds me of dark chocolate marmite truffles at Paul A. Young. As for cod, neither have I bar one, at Hibiscus, where it came roasted with gnocchi, truffle, girolles, sage & onion purée and Lancashire mead sauce. That was very good. But, I must admit, I cannot recall the last time I ordered cod ALC; there is always some variety I prefer more on offer. Food Snob

I agree with a lot of that, but why such a strong and common antipathy to balsamic vinegar; I feel almost bullied into silence - I like balsamic vinegar. Disagree about the cod comment too. I, for one, quite like it. However, that may be from the fact that I eat it so rarely, that when I do, it's a pleasant change. The fish+chips reference was relating to the odour from the dish; it was the first thing that hit me and stuck in my mind; the beignets were greasy though. I was very close to asking for the new fish dish they had on the ALC (cod and tomato, I think), but I had already changed so much around, I didn't want to take liberties (though I am sure they would not have minded!). Also, has anyone tried the pigeon main? Food Snob P.S. can chocolate ever be too rich?