Harters

This may not be the way to sell this to me. Every time he comes anywhere near the north west, he pans places I like. To hear there is somewhere he rates highly is a bit of a worry.

Sarah If you can bear with me until the middle of next month, I'll post a review. We're going to the area as an anniversary treat. Dinner there one night, Stephen Terry's Hardwick the next and lunch on the way home at Le Becasse. Diet resumes immediately after. FWIW, whilst I pay attention to TripAdvisor when booking hotels, I give it no credence for restaurant matters. John

PUNJAB TANDOORI, RUSHOLME Rusholme’s “Curry Mile” has changed over the years. For one, it’s only in comparatively recent years that it’s been known as the Curry Mile. For another, the whole feel of the area has changed. One thing hasn’t changed – it’s never been a mile. Perhaps half that but still, allegedly, with Europe’s greatest concentration of Indian restaurants. Oh, another thing – it’s still very tacky with the bright lights of the restaurants and the even brighter lights from the gold bangle shops. I’m long enough in the tooth to remember that the only time you visited was after the pub closing time with a good few pints inside of you. As Indian food became more popular, it became a place to go for dinner for the more adventurous eater. Now, with a curry house in every neighbourhood, Rusholme is reinventing itself. The new restaurants are middle eastern once again bringing a different cuisine to Manchester diners. And it’s no longer just Anglos sitting in the restaurants and ambling along Wilmslow Road deciding where to eat. In fact, Anglos are now very much in a minority. So, whilst some things have changed about the food, others havn’t. The Indian restaurants still serve their generic “any protein with any sauce” gloop and, whilst folk may claim that they favour one place above another, there is really nothing to choose about the food. Same menu, same gloop, same threadbare carpets leading to the bogs. Except for the Punjab Tandoori. In spite of its north Indian name, until very recently it was the only place for miles around where you could get some south Indian dishes. Dishes like dosas and bhel puri. And a selection of vegetarian main courses that went well beyond “mixed vegetables rogan josh”. So, that’s why we ate there again instead of going to Jaffa, Beirut or one of the other middle easterners. Knowing the size of the thing, we ordered one masala dosa to share between the two of us. Enormous. Lovely crisp pancake. Well spiced potato filling. A little dish of coconut chutney to soften. A much pokier sambar to perk it up. It seems to be my current lot in life to eat in restaurants where there are inordinate delays between courses and the Punjab was no exception. Inexplicable as we know that much of Indian cooking at this level is already pretty much cooked and just needs warming through. What need warming through for us was aloo gobi – big chunks of potato and cauliflower, perhaps a little underseasoned, underspiced and underwhelming. Better was a dahl makhani, perhaps almost the classic Punjabi dish – a rich cream sauce, lentils just nicely al dente, good chilli kick. We had it with some rice and a missi roti. This was a new bread for us – like a standard roti but with garam masala, turmeric, garlic and a heavy hit from fenugreek added to the dough. Crisp, properly scorched round the edges, simply delicious. And then we went for a wander along the road. I love the Curry Mile. Even after all these years. And we spotted a new Afghani place. And a Yemeni. Now they’ve gotta be worth a punt.

It’s not called Panoramic for nothing. On the 34th floor of the West Tower, the view from our table took in the Mersey, the delights of Birkenhead and away to Anglesey in the far distance. To our right, the open sea and, to our left, the city’s well known sights laid out before us. It’s the most dramatic view I’ve experienced since eating at Canoe in Toronto – and I reckon it bettered that. There’s much more to like about Panoramic than just the view. There’s superbly efficient staff – smiley but not over friendly. There’s superbly comfy chairs. There’s a bar area if you just wanted to snack. There’s an interesting menu that generally delivers. And, yes, there’s the view. It’s one of those places where you’re immediately offered champagne as an aperitif and it’s one of those places where you immediately accept. Food kicked off with a shot glass of an intense roasted cauliflower soup, little bits of it giving some texture. From the menu description, I hadn’t realised that my starter was going to be a soup. I’m not a soup person and don’t often order it. But I’m glad that’s what it was. Still not realising what I was about to eat, the bowl was put down in front of me with nothing more than a couple of micro-slices of chicken (slow cooked and meltingly tender) and a spoonful of celeriac and apple remoulade. They’re taking the piss, I thought. But then the soup was poured in from a tea pot. It was excellent – a rich intense cream slightly sweet from the celeriac and with a hint of apple. On the other plate, there was chickpea fritter, surrounded by sundried tomato, roasted artichokes, olives and vinaigrette. Lovely as such, but this was really just posh falafel. My main brought monkfish in what I can best describe as a restrained portion. Certainly delicious, it sat on a little Caesar salad. Well, truth be told, it sat on a little dressed finely shredded lettuce. Alongside, a langoustine mousse was delicate. Punchier were a squid ink sauce and a squash and chilli relish. You can build up your expectations from what’s written on the menu. So, when you see 45 day aged beef, you have an expectation of excellent beef. When you see a plate of food priced at over thirty quid, you have a similar expectation of your experience. Put the two together and, perhaps, you think you’re going to eat some of the best beef of your life. Sadly, it wasn’t to be. Don’t get me wrong – it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t at all bad. It just wasn’t that good. There was a generous portion of braised feather blade, shredded and remoulded into a disc for service. But the texture was odd – as my partner described it, stuck together like the contents of a can of dog food. There were a couple of slices of fillet – bang on for cooking if not for flavour. Accompaniments were, like my dish, restrained in flavour and seasoning – raisins, truffle, shallot puree, diced carrot and a bordelaise sauce. There’d been a bit of a delay between each course. Not a major issue, just slightly too long. Conversation didn’t flag, but there was always the view to look at. Desserts were faultless. There was a pre-dessert of raspberry Eton mess. A chocolate semi-freddo came with berries, vanilla ice cream and meringue. Yes, a bit like the pre-dessert but sufficiently different to be fully enjoyed. The chocolate rich, but not cloying. I had a delicious mango brulee which came with mango sorbet and a “cannelloni” made with pistachio. The “cannelloni” was excellent, good and crisp. Not so keen on the filling which tasted just like evaporated milk (and may well have been – I’ve been served a jam sandwich for dessert at another Liverpool restaurant). So, in spite of one or two minor quibbles, we thought this was an excellent evening. I wish we had somewhere of the quality in Manchester but we just don’t . Of course, it isn’t at all cheap (although they have some well priced wines, especially by the glass). But then you’re paying for the view as well as the food. Did I mention the view, by any chance?

I rarely read the bloggers. Like folk who post reviews to internet discussion boards (as I do), I reckon there's strong element of vanity in it. And I have enough trouble coping with my own Of course, for the bloggers who become well known, there may be a new career in it for them, or the opportunity for them to mix with foody celebs or, at least, to get freebie invites to soft openings and the like. I guess that, unlike discussion boards, the blogger has complete control over comments that might be made about their contributions. And can choose whether to discuss or not. You can see why it's become popular. No doubt in my mind that it's caused the traffic on discussion boards to decrease dramatically. If you can post your review to your own blog, why post as well to a board. Just remind again.....why do I continue with egullet?

Yep - raised a chuckle for all of 15 seconds after which I returned to wanting to put out a contract on them.

QUEEN'S HEAD, GLANWYDDEN, NR LLANDUDNO On the outskirts of Llandudno and only a couple of minutes or so from the main A55 North Wales coast road, the Queens Head makes a decent lunch stop. There’s a varied menu of pretty good pub food and they’re big on seafood, which usually accounts for the half dozen or so items which form the specials board. Whitebait were nice and crispy and came with a few leaves and a good dollop of mustard mayo. Smoked haddock and chorizo risotto was an excellent consistency but would have benefitted from a punchier chorizo. These were followed by ribeye steak sandwich, more salad and chips (a bit too floury, perhaps, but fried to a good colour and crunch). And cod topped with Welsh rarebit and sat on creamed leeks. Well, of course, it was, boyo. Never one to miss a stereotype in Manchester-on-Sea. Chips with that as well. Perfectly pleasant plate of food.

PETRA, UPPER BROOK STREET My favourite local place for my favourite “foreign” food. Under Syrian ownership, there’s a fairly generic middle eastern menu. Situated on Upper Brook Street, just south of the city centre, behind the Infirmary, it’s in a bit of an odd location. And there’s not much parking round about. But that doesn’t stop folk from coming here and it was quite busy on this weekday evening. No doubt, it’s because it’s a nice casual place, serving good food at very reasonable prices. There was a good selection of freebie pickles – salty turnip, cabbage, courgette, fiery chillis and some decent olives. Along with pitta, this kept the three of us going until the mezze starters arrived. There were three of us but we’d been fairly restrained in ordering. Kibbeh were lovely – well seasoned moist lamb encased in crisp wheat. Falafel were also pretty good – although a tad too long in the fryer meant they were overcrisp (OK, burnt). Better were the sujok – good spicing in the sausages here. Fattoush was spot-on – crisp cucumber and radish, toasted pitta, tomato, onion and a dressing really tangy with lemon and sumac. There was more pitta along with tahini sauce and a very pokey tomato based chilli sauce. There’s a few stew type dishes on the menu but, like most other plates I saw going past, we were having kebabs for a main course. A generous serving of chicken, marinated in the ubiquitous Lebanese garlic “white sauce” which is often served alongside chicken but here now baked on. The other two were having lamb. Good lamb but, like the falafel, a little overcooked for perfection. There was a new chilli sauce served – fruity and with a little less of a kick but no less tasty. And perfectly cooked mixed rice and vermicelli. Petra is unlicensed but does permit you to bring your own, for which they make a nominal £1 corkage charge. We’d stuck to a couple of soft drinks, mint tea and Arabic coffee. Bill was still under sixty quid.

As someone who only visits London (and the Market) as a tourist, I have to say I felt very at home there. I like "proper" farmers and producers markets and try to give my custom to them here in the north west. The Market doesnt feel at all "proper" to me - in many of the stalls and, in particular, the folk wandering round who, in the main, were like me - just tourists not really intent on parting with our dosh.

Lunch - something light, delicious and different from the rest of weekend's food - go pick at some mezze at one of the Noura places. But that's just me - I couldnt think of visiting London for a couple of days without some highend middle eastern food.

Mrs H states "Speak for yourself about your memory - it was a chiboust". She has a cruel tongue from time to time.

CLOG & BILLYCOCK We’ve never failed to enjoy food at any of the Nigel Haworth pubs and this lunch was no exception. I just hope that, one day, he’ll open one in North Cheshire and then I can become a regular. My partner is a sucker for a cheese soufflé and here it’s made with Leagrams organic Lancashire. Now that’s a cheese we buy at the farmers market at Ashton under Lyne and it’s a belter. So, of course, it worked really well cooked as Lancashires tend to. Topped with some roasted cherry tomatoes, this was almost as good a starter as you want to come across. Almost as good. Almost. I was getting stuck into a very manly portion of BBQ ribs (rare breed Middle White pork, no less). Exceptionally meaty, they were impossible to eat delicately and I needed a good wash before the main course. And, to put a north west spin on something seemingly American, a little dish of devilled black peas accompanied. Great stuff. And to make sure I kept up to speed with clogging my arteries, I followed up with cheese and onion pie. Good pastry. Substantial filling of Leagrams “tasty” Lancashire and their lovely curd cheese. A baked potato on the side. And a tomato & onion salad which, truth be told, didnt’t work too well. Luckily, I’d also ordered some buttered cabbage – that worked well! Herself was being much more restrained with a beef salad. Good tasty beef, nicely rare. A tossed salad, some new potatoes and a horseradish cream. Excellent.

FARLAM HALL, NR BRAMPTON In the end, I found this country house hotel in the GHG and Hardens. But, as this is a food board, I’ll not describe how lovely a country house hotel experience Farlam Hall is. Except, of course, for those matters which are food related. So, your welcome to the hotel is accompanied by an immediate invitation to take afternoon tea in the sitting room (additional charge) – good coffee/tea, three delicious cakes. On the landing outside our room, a bowl of fruit with plates, knives and napkins for guests to help themselves. In the room, a dish of sweets. And, as expected, breakfast proved to be a bloody good “full English”. Yep, Farlam Hall really is a welcoming place. Dinner is straightforward country house cooking. A salmon fishcake, both fresh and smoked fish, sat on a bed of steamed leeks, surrounded by a cream sauce. Lots of fish, perfectly seasoned, good texture. A Stilton pannacotta was a good cheesy flavour and was spot-on for wobble. Diced celery, apple, walnut and a scattering of cress provided crunch. I liked this a lot – although it was a bugger to eat with knife and fork and really could have done with a spoon as well. Still one manages as one must. We both went with the beef fillet main. This was good meat, cooked properly and with a tasty, if a little thin, red onion sauce. In a welcome change from the cheffy presentation of vegetables on the plate, the greens stuff was simply cooked and served on a separate serving plate. Cheese comes next. A good selection of British cheeses, including a fine Stilton, Yorkshire Blue, goat and sheep, served to you from a board, which had been happily sitting on the sideboard all evening. None of this poncy thin slices “just out of the fridge” nonsense. Celery, apple, grapes, biscuits accompany and, in yet another act that pushes the buttons for me, bread is also offered. Desserts were a triumph. For me, “jelly and ice cream”. Mandarin jelly, Grand Marnier ice cream, a few slices of orange. A delicious full-on citrus treat. Citrus cropped up in the other dessert. There was a French name for it, but we can’t recall – something ending in “biche”. It was a mix of flavoured set custard and Italian meringue, semi-frozen and then sliced into a “pie”. A scattering of the first of the local raspberries set it off. Coffee and petit-fours were served back in the sitting room. I’m unsure if the restaurant is open to non-residents. If not, then you’ll just have to stay the night. You won’t regret it.

BRUAR FALLS Ten miles north of Pitlochry, on the A9, is a lovely wooded walk up the hillside. Of course, few of the folk who parked their vehicles have come for the walk. Most have come to shop at the upmarket House of Bruar - full of expensive home decoration, cashmere sweaters, golfing attire and other "Scottish stuff". We'd come because of the restaurant, although it is much more cafe than restaurant. It'd been recommended as one of the best lunch spots in the area. In particular, a plate of mixed seafood for £16.95 - prawns, crab, smoked salmon, smoked eeel, two sorts of marinated herring, squid, langoustine and smoked trout. And it includes a bowl from the salad buffet. This was really excellent quality and superb value for money. Well worth a stop if you're in the area. There's also extensive food buying opportunities in the very large deli - all the usual UK suspects for jams, chutnies and the like. plus many more local items - and a great range of perishable items, including an excellent butchers counter with beef from the adjacent Atholl estate. And, yes, the walk up the falls was just the thing to work off some of the lunch.

KILLIEKRANKIE HOUSE, nr Pitlochry Killiekrankie House is proof that country house hotel cooking is still alive and well. It’s also proof that you can get four very decent courses, with good service for very reasonable sums of money – in this case, £38. OK, the starters were something of assembly jobs. For example, a sweet pickled herring and crayfish salad, a few micro leaves and a sharp caper dressing. The other, effectively a big vol-au-vent, brought together some unlikely companions – avocado, stilton, bacon, cream sauce – but it worked. Mains were of the sort that a competent home cook would probably manage on a good day, but were none the less enjoyable for that. And it was good to see a “proper” plate of food – certainly the sort of portion this home cook likes to serve himself. There were a couple of fillets of bream – cooking was spot-on. Some cous cous mixed with pine nuts sat alongside roasted mixed veg. Advertised as an orange butter sauce, it tasted of neither but did provide some welcome, if indeterminate, moistness. On my plate, a chicken breast stuffed with Boursin or similar garlicky, herby moussey stuff. Yes, a bit 1980s but thoroughly enjoyable. It sat on a superbly crisp rosti, surrounded by asparagus spears. A little cream sauce, spiked with grain mustard, set it off. They usually serve cheese after dessert here, in the British style, but that’s not for us. Whilst we might not agree with their running order, we’d absolutely no problem with the generosity of their style. It’s “help yourself” from the platter set out on the sideboard. Half a dozen or so mainly British cheeses (and, perhaps, even the Brie might have been Brit Brie) – all in top condition. So easy to be greedy –so we were. As with the other courses, there’s a limited choice for dessert – just four on the menu. Home made toffee icecream came with shortbread and was very much as you’d expect. A honey & walnut tart was lovely – crisp pastry, rich sweet filling with a good texture from the crushed nuts. And coffee is also included in your meal price. Service had been good throughout – although the waiters must despair at the joke trousers that forms their “uniform” – four different tartans (two on each leg, different back and front). It might just work in a Scottish theme park restaurant but here, in a serious restaurant and hotel, they just look very silly. But what a nice evening!

CONTRAST BRASSERIE, INVERNESS There are two restaurants at the Glenmoriston Town House Hotel. Abstract is the more formal – it’s also the one where the Hotel misrepresents the restaurant’s status on the website claiming it holds Michelin “rising star” status (something it hasn’t since 2007, as far as I can see). On the other side of the bar and entrance area is Contrast Brasserie where we decided to eat. As a starter, scallops, black pudding and pea puree is simplicity itself and all the more for it. Scallops, tasting of themselves, salty black pudding, sweet puree. Good flavours. Really good flavours. A “trio of salmon” was pleasant enough, if not a “Wow”. Many of the dishes on the menu have an east asian spin to them. Not full-on fusion, as such – just an element. And here, it was in a very Japenese-y pickled cucumber which accompanied smoked salmon. Also on the plate, salmon ceviche with a citrus “marmalade”, that would have done very nicely on breakfast toast (and possibly does, I suppose) and a confit with thinly sliced fennel. For one main, duck breast, served pink, with roasted sweet potato and green beans ; the latter dressed with sesame and soy. Alongside, a very fruity sweet & sour apricot and plum sauce, providing another nod towards asia. However, like your local Chinese takeaway, this was all sweet with none of the interesting sour that you hope for. I think the only item amongst the mains without an asian spin was lamb rump, served nicely pink. Garlic and thyme roasted new potatoes were OK, although there was no discernable thyme. Some creamed aubergine and a bed of spinach provided the contributions to the “five a day”. A little jus made piquant by capers set it all off. We’d had to chase up the delivery of drinks earlier on and service took another dip at this point. Minutes passed and no dessert menus were offered. Eventually, we buttonholed someone to bring them. More minutes passed and no-one came to take an order. At this point, we lost interest but managed to again buttonhole someone to bring coffee. As she was serving it, our original waiter came to the table and said “So, no desserts?”. “Would have been if you’d been doing your job”, I wanted to reply but, instead, simply reflected it in the tip.

CRANNOG, FORT WILLIAM Worthy restaurants? Well, yes and no. But as good a thread as any to report back on some of the places we visited last this last week (although I've posted separately about Martin Wishart at Loch Lomond) As for Crannog.....It could have been so much better. It SHOULD have been so much better. A seafood restaurant. On the pier. One that appears in guidebooks. Even food guidebooks. Yes, it should have been so much better. What was very good was the Cullen Skink. It was everything I’d want from it – fishy, creamy, a robust smokiness from the haddock, big chunks of fish and potato. Opposite, a smoked haddock soufflé was good in itself. Good texture, the same excellent fish as the other starter. It sat on a bed of salad which should have provided a nice crisp texture contrast. However, everything had been drenched in a boring, thin cream sauce – serving absolutely no purpose except to make the salad soggy. The sauce cropped up again in my main course. Except, by this time, it had split. Other than that, this was a fine fillet of fried salmon with just some wilted leeks and still crisp asparagus. But, oh, it could have been so much better. Certainly, it was deserving of a far better sauce. My partner’s main was off the specials board. A whole roasted sea bass. In itself, nicely cooked but let us hope that a new trend is not starting here – fish is much better served with the fins cut off – especially when you’re paying nineteen quid for it. The description chalked on the specials board advertised and accompanying fine bean and chorizo salad which, by the time it hit the table, had morphed into a spinach and chorizo salad. It worked OK – but not as a well as the beans would have done. I passed on dessert but my partner went with another special – strawberry and vanilla custard tart. Excellent thin crisp pastry, rich filling and, alongside, some vanilla icecream. Oh, and the coffee? Yes, it should have been so much better. Served luke-warm and with all the flavour of dishwater. But, all that said, Fort William is a small town not well endowed with good eating opportunities. It’s either here or Inverlochy Castle. And, with Inverlochy ludicrously continuing with its archaic practice of requiring jacket and tie, it means I’d always be choosing Crannog.

BRIDGE OF ORCHY INN, middle of nowhere, A82, between Loch Lomond and Fort William. It must all be passing trade and it’d be so easy for them simply not to be arsed and to serve up any old crap. But they don’t . Of course, there’s no pretence to be serving other than pub food but, at least, there’s no gammon and pineapple ( a sure good sign in my book). Here, bangers and mash brought three large sausages of well seasoned Bambi, mustard mash, big chunks of boiled root veg and a decent onion gravy. Opposite, a burger was clearly home-made with good meat. Unfortunately the bun was the pappy sort beloved of that well known Scottish named enterprise, McDonalds. You know the sort – it falls apart as soon as you look at it. But there were decent chips. Proper chips, mind. Not fries and not the now ubiquitous “fat chips”. And some well dressed salad leaves. Service is efficiently provided by the East European staff who must wonder (and despair) about where they’ve fetched up. But, even if the location meant it was Hobson’s Choice for lunch, it was a good stop. Fantastic scenery as well – it’d have been great if it had been warmer and we could have sat outside. But that’s a Scottish June for you.

I’ll make this an early predication for a Michelin star when the next listings are announced. There’s a fantastic setting (in the De Vere Cameron House Hotel), right on the loch; an elegant modern room; impeccable service and faultless food which manages to combine elements of both the classic and modern cooking styles. There was a trio of amuse bouche – a single scallop served on the shell with a light cheese sauce, a Parmesan gougere which was the finest example we can recall and, perhaps inevitably, haggis putting in an appearance as a “bon-bon” – a fried crisp coating to a ball of very peppery haggis. All delicious. For starters, gnocchi were flavoured with a mild goats cheese and were topped with poached langoustines – the cheese just providing a hint of savouriness and richness; the langoustines fat and sweet; a little drizzle of a black truffle sauce enhanced the whole dish. Organic Benbecula smoked salmon was sliced at the table. Four thick juicy slices, heavily and superbly smoked. My partner reckoned this the best smoked salmon she’s eaten. To accompany it, a squeeze of lemon, a few capers, a little crème fraiche, a few grinds of pepper and some endive salad. There was also a small toasted brioche which was OK – but nowhere near as good as the general bread offerings – a wholemeal and a rye were excellent. She followed this with steamed fillets of lemon sole. Light, fresh tasting and absolutely bang-on for cooking. There were some roasted baby artichokes and new potatoes, sprinkled with a little parsley and lemon. I was giving roasted John Dory a good seeing-to. Three fillets, simply prepared, with baby turnips, potato puree and a konbu jus. I gather that konbu is the new black in a culinary sense and everyone’s doing it these days. It’s very nice to be in tune with a trend for a change. There was nothing miserly about portion control here. Both plates were generous helpings of excellent food. For desserts, a vanilla pannacotta was perfectly wobbly and accompanied by very seasonal poached rhubarb and a rhubarb sorbet. Less seasonal, but no less successful, a rich caramel parfait came with pieces of sticky caramelised apples and a sharp Granny Smith sorbet. A triumph! And, to finish, there was excellent coffee and chocolates.

By the by, is there any gossip about who might buy the Samling and/or Sharrow Bay as I see they are about to be flogged off by the administrators of the Van Essen Group?

There are those who call me John "Fat Bastard" Hartley. But I think they're just being kind to an old man.

Doesnt sound like old gits like me are their target audience then.

PERSIA GRILL, BARLOW MOOR ROAD, CHORLTON I think there's a local by-law that requires anyone going along Barlow Moor Road to look over at Southern Cemetery and make some remark about it being the "dead centre of Manchester". Laugh, I nearly pissed myself. If memory serves, the last time I was in these premises was getting on for 20 years ago when it was called Zorbas - a kebab takeaway with a few tables. We had a couple of cracking mezze meals there. Well, times have changed although not necessarily always for the better. As the name implies, the cuisine is now Iranian – that interesting point somewhere between the better known Middle Eastern food and the Mogul dishes of the north of the Indian sub-continent. It’s a pleasant enough room – stripped floorboards, a mismatch of furniture, heavy iconic decoration on the walls. Good service was delivered by the lone waitress. The menu is encouragingly short for this sort of place – a dozen or so starters, maybe a few more mains. Mains are mainly kebabs and stews. Halim Bademjan was an interesting starter – mashing together aubergine, long cooked lamb and lentils into a thick, almost paste like consistency. In fact, a consistency very like the soundalike Indian haleem. Also good were some nicely vinegared torshi – a good mix of carrot, courgette and cauliflower. Less interesting was a salad shirazi – finely diced cucumber, onion and tomato. I’ve had this before and it’s usually punchy with a hefty use of herbs and lemon but, here, herbs were absent and there was little citrus zing. There were really excellent crisp flatbreads (again, like an Indian tandoori roti) Mains were disappointing. Fesenjan is a chicken stew which should be a wake-up call – the sauce, sweet/sour with pomegranate molasses and considerably thickened with crushed walnuts. I've eaten it a couple of times and it can be lovely. This was a thin utterly boring gravy that might, possibly, have been shown the bottle of pomegranate and been told what a walnut looked like. The chicken itself was OK and there was good basmati rice. I’d looked forward to eating this and have to confess that I sulked a bit when I realised how poor an example it was. I reckon my partner had ordered better although, unfortunately, she was also underwhelmed with her choice of barg. Lamb fillet, beaten out to a flat steak, marinated in saffron and grilled. It should have been simple and brilliant. But it wasn’t. Nothing wrong with it – except that it wasn’t particularly good lamb and, shall we say, a restrained seasoning of the marinade meant that it wasn’t much lifted. Of course, this isn’t high level cooking. It’s a casual, very inexpensive, neighbourhood restaurant that’s been around for a few years and is cooking sufficiently well to keep it in business for a few more. If they just tweaked the dishes then I might just want to go back in less than 20 years. Although, by then, I might be making a much more long term visit across the road to the Cemetery.

JC Certainly don't read it as a flame. At the risk of going off on a tangent to the thread, I'll try and give a brief answer. The very short answer is in now knowing what's "good food". Or , at least, having a personal view about it. I'm now 60, and retired. It's only in around the last 10 years, generally, and mainly last 5, that we've started eating out with any degree of regularity and/or better quality. In the old days, when we mainly ate at chains - pizza, steak and the like - it was infrequently and it'd be very much a case of ordering what we knew we liked. You don't want to spoil the birthday treat meal, even if it is only steak & chips. And , if you're having a Pizza Express pizza, it's going to be very much like the last Pizza Express pizza (I still like their pizzas, by the way) Nowadays, we eat out much more often. And, indeed, at a much wider range of places - from the back street curry cafe to Michelin starred places. Means we're much more prepared to "risk" ordering something we might not like but sounds interesting. Means that, at whatever level, we've now a range of places to compare against. Which means we do compare. Compare one place against a similar place. Or one dish against a similar dish - although more likely against our expectations of what it should be. And, I suppose, there's contributions to discussion boards, review sites and the like to focus the mind. I tend to write up most meals - usually for this board, although I also submit them to the Good Food Guide (which has used quotes of mine in its publication)and, from time to time, post on local review sites. Whereas, in the old days, my partner and I might drive home from a place and the post-meal discussion would have been "That was very nice, dear". Now, we dissect what the food, place and service was like.

I reckon there's something in that. Until comparitive recent times, meals out for Mrs H and I used to be Pizza Express and the occasional slightly better place for "special occasions". We always used to thoroughly enjoy it every time. Now we eat out much more often, we find ourselves much more "nit-picking".