Harters

Manchester Confidential reports the closure of one of Mrs Harters' favourite South Manchester eateries. Always struck me as doing good business but, hey, what do I know.

Phil The GFG's description of the Old Quay House sounds like the place we had lunch maybe 4 years back (but can't be 100% certain, I'm afraid). Good lunch as I recall, lots of fishy stuff. Cracking views over the river. John

There is. But as we're discussing on the dining sub-forum, these are not high class joints. They're pubs.

A useful contribution coems from Jay Rayner in today's Observer. If I paraphrase Jay correctly, he suggests that there is nothing inherently "bang out of order" here in a business sense. But that one should expect more from the Ramsey Empire, simply because it's the Ramsey Empire. I think I agree with that. I've only eaten at one Ramsey place - Devonshire - based on a recc PhilD gave me on another board. I enjoyed my meal - nothing "boil in the bag" and a good example of gastropub expectations being met. John

Bertie Don't even think of getting me started on the horrors of the thin chip (which are only possibly OK when eaten in the USA, with a burger and called fries). There are an abomination, indeed, and worse than the fat chip. Just. I just want chip sized chips. Homity pie is a great dish. There's a guy sells them at Bakewell Farmers Market. Good stuff. As always, I've sent a review to the GFG. John

THE MODERN, URBIS, CATHEDRAL GARDENS I’ve always liked the Urbis building. It’s stylish and I regret never getting to eat in the restaurant when it was Le Mont. But style remains with the Modern. The lift takes you to the bar on the 6th floor, with great views of the city centre, which got better as night properly fell. You then go downstairs a floor to the restaurant. The wedge shape of the building has the restaurant at the “sharp end”, making it a narrow room. No good at all for people watching. Furnishings are, erm, modern and attractive – except for some awful candle holders which my wife is convinced she’s seen in Poundland. It’s a well thought out menu – leaning heavily on regional produce. It was also good to see vegetarian dishes keenly priced; reflecting the ingredient costs, rather than just knocking a quid or two off the meat based prices. We both considered homity pie as a main, before reverting to type and ordering meat. One starter was off the day’s special menu. It read so well – a terrine of Ribble Valley ham hock with Kirkham’s Lancashire cheese. Unfortunately the cheese completely overpowered the ham (needed to be either a milder cheese or, better, a much thinner layer). The accompanying piccalilli added zilch – having no kick from mustard, vinegar – this was just yellow cauliflower. A disappointing start. Much better was my veal tongue with onion puree and radish and parsley salad. This was rich and unctuous but with a good crunch from the salad. Good dish. My main was roast belly port, braised pork cheeks and a faggot. I enjoyed the lot, and would have been even happier if the faggot was more offaly. It came with a caper and mustard which worked OK. There was a little mound of chard, which is something you don’t often see. I’d ordered some chips as well – these weren’t bad but were the “fat” variety. Always a shame when restaurants don’t realise that chips are, well chip-shaped for a purpose. They’re much better that way! The other main was Cheshire ribeye, shallots, red wine reduction. These came with “beef dripping chips”. Fatter and not as nice as mine, most were left. Steak was agood chunk of tasty meat. For dessert, I really wanted the Eccles Cake/Lancashire Cheese but they’d run out at lunch. Sherry trifle with poached rhubarb made a good seasonal substitute. The other dessert was a buttermilk and vanilla posset with a mainly pomegranate sauce. Not bad, but the posset tasted slightly wrong – perhaps cornflour or something that hadn’t been properly cooked out. So, in summary, one of us ate pretty well; the other being slightly disappointed at every course and rightly so. Service had been good. Bill, including for a drink before, one glass of wine, bottle of water, coffee and tip, came to £105, which wasn’t too bad. But too bad it wasn’t a much better experience – it wouldn’t take much to get this spot on. (EDIT: In spite of the less than stellar experience, one has to wonder why the Modern has not yet found its way into the Good Food Guide when a number of dreary places within an hours drive manage to keep their place year on year)

Couple of recommendations for Mallorca: Good lunch spot for "tipico" cuisine - Es Celler at Petra. And surely overdue a Michelin star - Restaurant Jardin at Port d'Alcudia. We went for a 55 Euro "surprise" tasting menu (and there was also a mor extensive one at, I think 80 Euros). Just great. http://www.restaurantejardin.com/es/index.html The asador mentioned upthread is a pretty good example of its type.

Didn't know that. And it might explain a couple of the odd entries we've come across. Not that I'm suggesting anything untoward - but if you live in an area which doesnt have many half-way decent restaurants and you then have to review one which you regularly frequent as a punter, you might be more inclined to be generous in your view. But if any GFG inspection team recruiters are reading, feel free to make contact with this respected pillar of society - retired civil servant, likes good scoff, willing to travel, etc

Possibly. They'd certainly be available from Smiths in the UK (and you'd get them through Amazon of course)

Might just be the Times using a bit of creative journalism - - there's nothing I can see on PETA's website to suggest they make such a claim.

John The "Good Food Guide" has stood the test of time. It has full UK coverage, is commerically independent (published by the not-for-profit Consumers Asssociation), professionally inspects the restaurants (annually?) and has a write-up on each place which is sufficiently comprehensive to allow you to form a view about whether a place is going to be worth a try. We are currently eating our way through entries within an hours drive of home - we've had occasional great meals, quite a lot of pretty good ones, and a couple that made you think "how does this get in the book". The similar sounding "Good Pub Guide" is commercially published and should not be confused with the "GFG" but is worth a look-see. I'm unsure what the criteria for entry is. Certainly very good dining pubs that I know locally are not there, whilst others not well regarded ones are. "Hardens" is also a useful restaurant guide relying, I believe, only on customer input. I think it has more entries than the GFG but the commentary is only a couple of sentences. It does cover "cheap & cheerful" places that the GFG does not include. My regional centre is Manchester and a local recommendation would be the "City Life Guide" which again gives a pretty good overview of places. I imagine other metropolitian areas might have similar publications of online guides. John

Although the 39 Steps is, literally, just up the road, I've never eaten there. Can't recall it getting the award but, then, I don't move in the circles of folk who buy "Cheshire Life". I choose not to eat foie (and would always explain this before ordering, say, a "surprise" menu) but would always condemn vandalism. That said, I can't say I'm sorry to hear to that they've taken it off the menu.

I'd been in the area to meet up with an e-friend. He'd booked lunch at the Sylvan Oak in Findon. Nice village; undistinguished food that was OK but not somewhere I'd rush back to. And I'd planned to have a third dinner at the fish & chips restaurant on Brighton Pier, but it was shut. So I got my meal from one of the caffs along the front. It was disgustingly vile - even for the poor offerings that we northerners come to expect from southern fish & chips. Unfortunately, I've lost the slip of paper with the name so I cannot even properly warn you off it (other than to say it is on the front just round the corner from the Churchill 2 multi storey carpark).

THE MEADOW Sometimes you walk into a place and you know you’re going to love it, even before you’ve put a fork in your mouth. The Meadow is one of those places. It pressed several buttons for me. A carafe of water was delivered with the bread (which was good), so clearly no pressure to buy bottled. And, when I did order bottled, a bowl of ice and lime slices was also brought. They are proud to name their several local suppliers and, indeed, local “terroir” is an important feature of the menu. As is seasonality. Around half a dozen choices at each course. Starter was a rabbit terrine, studded with pistachios and slivers of prune. This was well made and the flavours melded together nicely. Sat alongside was a small handful of micro-salad and some chutney. Perhaps I’m just old-fashioned but I like something a bit sharp with my terrines – a cornichon or two, perhaps. And here, it would definitely have been better. The chutney, pleasant as it was and packed with fruitiness, overwhelmed the prune. The main was bang on my sort of food (particularly when I’m on my own and have no-one to Ooh and Ahh with). Slow-roasted shoulder of Romney Marsh lamb fell apart almost before the fork touched it. Underneath, a small pile of wilted wild garlic. There was a pearl barley and leek risotto. Into this had been melted Wieldway goats cheese, adding a richness as Parmesan would to a standard risotto. More micro-salad acted as a garnish Dessert was a yoghurt pannacotta, with poached rhubarb and blood orange. The yoghurt came from another local supplier, Northian Dairy, and it gave a nice sharpness to the pannacotta, which was silky smooth. The sweet/sharp was picked up in the rhubarb and orange which decorated the plate. I inwardly moaned when I saw micro-salad decorating the plate, reminiscent of the sprig of parsley whatever you’re eating. But then I realised it was micro-mint. Nice touch. I liked the room, which had lots of space and was decorated in a fairly minimalist style. Service was good and well worth the 10% added to the bill. Mains are priced at around £15; starters and desserts in the £5 - £6 bracket. My meal, including service and coffee, came to £35.

SEVENDIALS I quickly warmed to Sevendials once I’d arrived, although I’d started out feeling a little peeved. Being a stranger to the area, I’d emailed them (through their own online system) asking about parking in the area but received no reply. However, that was the one fault in service and the actual delivery of food was first rate. The young woman who served me was one of the best I’ve seen at this level of restaurant – constantly watching her tables as she walked by, she was completely on the ball. And, whenever we needed to talk, she made eye contact and, wonder of wonders, smiled. My table was already set for one, something I always think indicates a place has thought about the customers. I hate when you’ve booked and are sat at a table for two – and the crockery is then whipped away suggesting to everyone that your date has stood you up. Bread came almost instantly and was replenished without needing to ask for more. An amuse of beetroot soup was pleasant enough but was lacking the sweet earthiness that you might hope for. Starter was an oriental style salad. Thin slices of just warm pork belly, dressed in sesame oil. Cold, crisp shreds of mooli and cucumber, dressed with rice wine vinegar – bitingly sharp. Great contrast of flavour and texture. The main was a “bouillabaisse” of local fish. Difficult to identify the fish as they were a bit samey. Perhaps three different ones , certainly including sea bass. And a lone, but lovely, scallop. Served separately, a dish of new potatoes and some braised fennel. The fennel was picked up as a predominant flavour in the light fish broth. It came with an unadvertised rouille, which most folk would have found fine – but I could have stood more garlic. Quite a bit more garlic Dessert was the least successful course. Described as a warm banana pudding with peanut icecream and toffee sauce. Certainly it was sweet and, as such, made a good ending after two fairly light courses. But there was no discernable flavour of banana and the texture of the sponge was just a bit claggy. But, hey, the meal and a bottle of water cost just over £26. Any complaints from me are just nit-picking.

The Chequers, Weston on the Green, Bicester, Oxfordshire. Another “find” from www.5minutesaway.co.uk. This time just off Junction 9, M40. A nice country pub with thatched roof, wooden beams and rickety furniture. And a menu that, on first glance, didn’t look too promising. Just bog standard pub grub. But a “specials” board almost exclusively consisting of fish & shellfish dishes made me think this might be interesting. Then I spotted the little poster which boasted of the quality of meat they used. They sourced it all from “Dave the butcher” in the next village. Dave always tried to source local meat and, in fact, all of the beef came from a single farm, two miles away. Dave then hung it for 28 days. I was immediately tempted by the sight of this 28 day beef being carried past in the form of an enormous burger. It looked “the business” and I nearly ordered one but, in the end, went for the home made steak & kidney pudding. Good suet pudding and the excellent flavour of the beef brought out by long cooking. It came with mash – not pomme puree. This was just potatoes, er, mashed. A separate bowl of carrot and cauli. This was just a great lunch, even if the extra gravy had a somewhat industrial quality to it. I just needed a long nap or a brisk walk to work it off.

I'm sure Mat was thrilled to read this classic piece of stereo-typing. "He wears a short goatee and owns a Harley-Davidson, and since the win has been assured that he is a gay icon."

I'll get the TomTom out. It's a long drive from the northwest and, in truth, I don't want to add too much more time behind the wheel once we've got to Dover. J

Rather sad news about Passione. It's been one of our favourite places on trips "dahn sarf".

Some times, you just have to overcome your prejudices and put your grudges to one side. So, after a number of years, we went back to the Market Restaurant, in the Northern Quarter. It was a pleasant surprise. Gone are the quirky furnishings. Gone are the quirky menus. Gone are the quirky staff, who seemed to only have time for their regulars. In place, a young, friendly and efficient staff and solid bistro cooking. The menu offers around six items at each course – nothing that’s going to set the world on fire but, thankfully, nothing that jars. A starter of shrimp croquette was straight out of the Netherlands or Flemish Belgium. A crisp outer coating surrounding a creamy softness which bound together good quantities of Morecambe Bay shrimps. A few salad leaves sat alongside and these would have benefited from a little dressing. The other starter – gnocchi with a rocket, walnut and Roquefort salad – worked well. Good contrast of texture and flavour. It’s not often I order a steak but I was taken with the description that, alongside my ribeye would be a kidney pudding. It sat there just like a Hollands steak pudding – but a thicker, far tastier suet crust. Inside some nice pieces of kidney. The steak was cooked more medium than the requested medium rare but the taste was still there. It came with mash and sautéed spring onion. I also had a side of some mixed veg. Lamb loin was the other main, cooked a proper pink. Came with minted peas and what the menu described as caramelised “navets”. Why, oh why, does a restaurant feel the need to chuck in this unnecessary French word (the only one on the whole menu)? What on earth is wrong with “turnip”? Well, what was wrong was they weren’t cooked enough and “al dente” turnip (to chuck in an unnecessary Italian phrase) is not very nice. Other than that a good dish. We both had cheese to finish. A good portion of Blackstick’s Blue, Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire and something else. They came with crackers, celery, grapes and nice homemade chutney (plum?). And fruit cake. This was well thought out and a nicely presented plate. Coffee is a “bottomless pot”. A well-earned 10% service charge is added to the bill, which for including a couple of glasses of wine and bottle of water, brought the total to £95. Not a bargain but a pleasant enough way of spending a Friday evening.

The website of the Marquis tells that Charlie Lakin was sous chef at the Star and, later, head chef at the Feversham Arms. Question. Is he good enough to make the Marquis worth a punt? Or should I stick with the GFG listed nearby Wallet's Court?

Winchester has the country's largest farmers' market so food shopping should be pretty good. Nice city - but I've only visited as a tourist.

I'm sure we had lunch at the Craster pub last time we spent time round there, about 5 years back. Other than there, even pub grub wasnt that brill - much being of the gammon/pineapple/chips variety. John

Mrs H & I are having a week there in June. Guides such as the GFG and Hardens suggest there's nothing really of interest. Google doesnt produce anything either. But is there anything - say within 20 miles or so of Bamburgh?

Another one just off the M40 (junction 12). Malt Shovel @ Gaydon. Proper village pub - folk in just having a pint. But also some good pub food. Nothing fancy. Locally made Brixworth pate. Thick granary toast, chutney and some leaves. Steak & kidney pie. Proper pie, mind you. Good shortcrust pastry, portion cut from a real pie. Nice flavour but I prefer my meat a bit chunkier. Boiled spuds and some veg. Not the finest pub lunch you'll ever find, but not bad. And a damn sight better than M40 Warwick Services.