Harters

Thanks for the tips.

I suspect you may need to find a company importing American goods. Kosher salt is not generally available in the UK and I suspect the same will apply to other European countries.

The love of my life is on the chase for a deal at the art deco Midland Hotel. It's two night deal and throws in dinner on the first night. Restaurant menu there doesnt look too bad and may be the best option for Night 2 - unless there's anything close by. Google throws up nowt. And the only place I know nearish is the Bay Horse at Forton which is not a thrilling experience. Anything else worth considering?

http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fmcg/fresh/meat/kerry-abandons-the-porkinson-sausage/229984.article

It’s been a while since we were last at Dilli – certainly not since its inclusion in this year’s edition of the Good Food Guide. I hope we caught them on a bad night as there were a number of gaps in service. Like it being an age before they took our order. Like only one of the three advertised beers being available. Like bottles of sparkling water not being available. Like a starter being “off” the menu. Like the credit card machine not working – necessitating a schlep down the road to find an ATM. No, I really hope this was just a bad night and not a sign that it has gone dramatically downhill (the fact that the place was busy perhaps confirms this was a glitch) That said, the food was generally OK. The “new” menu is now a couple of years old and there’s clearly been no issue with customers about ditching the bog standard “any protein with any sauce” curry house menu. There’s lots of stuff that, when you read it, you want to eat it. Like a “samosa ki chaat”. A well spiced vegetable samosa topped with chickpeas, yoghurt, zingy tamarind and mint. Really good. Or the interestingly named “Chicken 65”. Yep, I had to look that one up when I got home and, yep, it’s a genuine dish coming from the state of Andhra, as do a number of the menu items. The chicken is mainly cooked by deep frying but is then finished in the pan with a thick coating of yoghurt, ginger, chilli and garlic. We both went with lamb for mains and this proved to be a game of two halves. Bhuna gosht, another Hyderabadi speciality, had an excellent flavour. Real chilli heat, certainly, but tempered with mint and methi leaves. But the meat was not well cooked with some pieces being perfect, while others remained unpleasantly chewy. The other plate was pretty much perfect – gosht banjra was a generous portion that would have fed two not very hungry people. Or just me. I liked the way the spices had been coarsely ground giving a little texture to the sauce, which just clung to the meat. We also saw off a small portion of dhal makhani which was a good thickish consistency and excellent flavour. It was the sort of dhal that, as an omnivore, you wouldn’t mind too much if someone said that was all you were getting to eat. Of course, you’d also want some carb. And Dilli does very good rice and a none too shabby crispy roti. Up to now, I would have regarded Dilli as the best Indian in the metro area. Much as we enjoyed our evening, I’m not at all sure it still wears that crown.

Two hours driving in an evening is enough for me. If we fancy a place that takes longer, then we do an overnight stop - make it a weekend away, sort of thing.

We have a rule about midweek meals – TomTom has to say it’s no more than a 60 minute drive. Bistrot Verite just squeezed in at 59 minutes and we’re really glad it did. It’s the sort of “locals place” that you’d wish was in your neighbourhood. And the local residents of Southport are clearly pleased they have it in their neighbourhood – place was packed, with walk-ins being turned away. There’s a shortish menu, maybe around 10 dishes as starters and a similar number of main courses. Some clearly have a strong French influence. Others seem more British but, perhaps, gussied up to appear Gallic (black pudding becomes boudin noir, for example). Others still are pretty much bog standard “modern Brit” bistro affairs. Thankfully, there’s good solid cooking going on here. And friendly, efficient service. One starter was an “assiette of French salads”. Half a dozen little piles – dressed diced beetroot, sliced fennel, lentils spiked with cumin and the like. Very light; very summery. There was another light summery plate, featuring crab flakes and celeriac remoulade which was absolutely fine, although the remoulade could have done with more of a mustard hit. For mains, steak frites featured a juicy fillet steak, crisp chips which might have benefitted from a tad more seasoning and a little bowl of well dress salad leaves. No complaints with that one. And absolutely no complaints about my duck, which came as nicely rare breast and confit leg. Great flavour to the meat. There was a Calvados based sauce which, to my taste was overly sweet and not sufficiently balanced by the semi-sharp fried apples. Served separately to accompany, new potatoes dressed in a light cheese sauce, broccoli, green beans. I very happily hoovered all this up. Dessert certainly had a Gallic bent. Tarte aux pommes was a classic – a thin disc of crisp puff pastry, topped with thin, overlapping slices of apple and served with cream. The day’s “special” was a peach and apricot melba, wrapped in crepe and served with both cream and ice cream. Absolutely delicious, the fruit having a slight sharpness which perfectly balanced out the sweet stickiness of the melba sauce and the two creams. I’m not normally all that keen on desserts but this is one that might convince me to be more inclined to order one. If there are to be criticisms, then I accept that they are very minor ones – at this level have linen napkins not paper, offer a choice of wines by the glass, other than just “red” or “white”. These are front of house matters – there’s little needs sorting out in the kitchen. The Good Food Guide’s score of 3 seems about right.

BEM BRASIL Bem Brasil is a churrascaria serving in the rodizio style. Which, in my book, means it’s a posh all you can eat buffet. When these places are done well, they can be a fine experience. A good variety of fresh salads to start. An equally good array of vegetable dishes to go with your meats. And it’s the meats that should be the stars. Servers moving round the room carving off long skewers direct to your plate. However, Bem Brasil doesn’t do it well. Yes, there’s a limited range of albeit good salads. And a limited range of albeit good vegetable dishes. But it’s the meats that let it down. You have to have servers constantly patrolling the room with the various cuts. Here, minutes go by before someone comes to your table. It means the veg you got to accompany the meat has gone cold. Or your meat has gone cold if you’ve tried the alternative method of waiting until its been served to you before braving the veg buffet queue. And then you find the meat quality is quite poor and pretty flavourless. For example, beef fillet was absolutely nothing of the sort. Oh, and at £24, I don’t think that’s the best value for money meal in the city centre. Not by a long way. Not by the whole length of Princess Parkway. I’m not a pathfinder when it comes to deciding where to eat and, almost invariably, rely on reviews I’ve seen written by amateurs or professionals in the print or online media. Because I’m only going to places that have been well tipped, I rarely come across a duffer. This was one.

Yes and no, Adey. Certainly well deserved to be up there in the Top 50 - our meal there a few weeks back was a cracker (must get back for a Menu Black evening). But he's actually dropped a place in their listings from this year (still with a score of 7).

Didnt stay anywhere "interesting". Much as this was an extravagant splurge (celebrating 40 years together), the available money went on restaurants not hotels. Stayed at the Walton Cottage Hotel in Maidenhead (where we'd stayed on the last trip to eat at the Fat Duck) - to keep it on topic for the board, it does a decent cooked to order (or, at least, plated to order) fried brekkie. Our meals running order was the Royal Oak on Saturday night, the Waterside on Sunday night and the Manoir for Monday lunch on the way home. I don't drink alcohol these days and herself only drinks sparingly. She threw herself on the mercy of the sommelier at both the Manoir and the Waterside to come up with a couple of glasses that would see her through the meal. I'm afraid I can't recall what they were but she tells me the choices were fine. .

I’ve long been a fan of Raymond Blanc. Well, maybe not his TV series “The Restaurant” – or, at least, not the final series which seemed to be taking the piss. But, until now, there’d never been the justification to make the drive and spend the dosh. We were keen to see how the lunch would compare with the previous night’s dinner at the 3* Waterside Inn. Well, it was about to compare very, very favourably. Both formal, both French, both pretty classic cooking. We had an aperitif in the lounge and decided to go with the set five course menu – “Flavours of August”. There was an excellent array of bread to choose from including a mashed potato one, where the spuds are mixed into the dough. I liked that one quite a lot. It went well with the pistou soup that was the first course. The bowl held an array of vegetables and the intensely flavoured liquid was poured over them. A little Parmesan crouton floated on top. Soup isn’t something I generally order – I think I’m nervous about most of it ending up on my shirt – but this might convert me into wanting to take the risk. It really was bang-on for flavour, seasoning, taste, texture – you name it, it had it. Lemon verbena marinated salmon may be the prettiest dish I’ve ever had put in front of meal. The pink salmon, thinly sliced deep red and white radish, a yuzu cream bringing a hint of citrus and, to top it all, a little scattering of edible flowers. Oh, and it tasted absolutely delicious. Next up was a dish which, to my taste, was OK but the least successful of the meal. A fried egg, sat on watercress puree, which had been spiked by crisply fried Jabugo ham. As I say, it tasted OK but it was all a bit baby food, texture -wise. My partner has an aversion to eggs and had swapped out this dish for pasta. And she had definitely got the better of the deal. Agnoletti stuffed with ricotta, accompanied by thinly sliced artichoke. The Manoir’s take of “lamb three ways” was an outstanding success for both of us. Thin slices of loin – medium rare; a little long braised meat, probably shoulder, and half a kidney (or, in my case, two halves as my partner has more of an aversion to kidney than to egg). There were a few peas and braised lettuce which appeared to have been cooked separately, rather than together as petits pois a la Francaise. And a dab of garlic puree set everything off. We’d reckoned a dessert the previous night at the Waterside had been one of our best ever. But this lunch served up a dish which may have been the actual best ever. There was a soft chewy meringue which, when you broke it open, out spilled the most intense blackcurrant puree. And, when I say, the “most intense”, I mean it literally. I cannot really think of words to describe just how intense this flavour was. And if that wasn’t blackcurrant nirvana on its own, then it became so when it was combined with a blackcurrant sorbet and a scattering of blackcurrants. This was just, simply, fab. Absolutely. Coffee and superb petits fours were served in the lounge and made for a really good end to the meal. Service had been exemplary. It is worth noting that the menu makes clear that service is included in the menu price and that nothing further, by way of a tip, is expected from customers. I really wish more places would adopt this attiude - I'm sure it would improve service. And then a 160 mile drive home, when all I really needed was a nice post-lunch nap.

Our previous time in Bray was to celebrate our last big occasion (my 60th birthday), when we had dinner at the Fat Duck. We promised ourselves a return to eat at the Waterside for the next big occasion. It was a rare lovely summer’s evening and we were invited to take our aperitifs on the terrace. The Waterside is appropriately named – literally one false step and you’d be in the Thames. By the time we had made our way through the restaurant to the terrace, we must have been greeted by a dozen members of staff wishing us “good evening” or “bon appétit”. Drinks came with some excellent canapés – cured fish with pea puree and tartare sauce; a disc of steak tartare on a game chip, topped with half a quail’s egg and a perfectly made mild goats cheese gougere. Once at our table, excellent bread was offered and continued to be offered throughout the meal, until dessert. The amuse quickly followed - marinated salmon, rolled in what I think was finely chopped watercress and dill, a little horseradish cream, lightly dressed frisee and a tiny grissini. Classic flavours, really well done. It’d taken us a while to decide what we wanted to eat – should it be the main carte or should be go with the six course set “menu exceptionnel”. It was almost a coin toss-up but we went with the menu in the end. First up, flakes of white crab meat (hopefully they find a use for the brown meat), with tiny balls of melon. It doesn’t sound as though it should really work but it really did. What was obviously going to work was the scattering of almonds which provided some interesting crunch. And a marinated king prawn was a delight. Neither of us are big fans of foie gras – the food ethics get in the way of enjoyment usually. But this was excellent – a slice of terrine in which chicken breast had been encased by the foie. Very clever and very delicious. Offsetting the richness of the terrine was a little salad of vegetables with a sharp dressing and a lovely brioche. A single scallop came next. Cooked perfectly to the “almost dissolves in your mouth” stage. There was a little celery puree and a tamarind sauce, the latter just giving a hint of sharpness which contrasted with a foam that (on checking the menu) I see was described as a “coconut emulsion”. The intriguing bit here was the slices of grilled octopus – slightly “al dente” providing a good texture contrast. At this point, there is choice between duck and lamb and we both opted for lamb. It’s a roasted loin, stuffed with aubergine and pine nuts. Needless to say, as this is a French restaurant, their concept of “rare” means “very rare”. Not impossibly so, and not raw, but you wouldn’t want it any rarer. It does mean that the fat is not so pleasant to eat but cut it away and you have a delicious piece of meat. Alongside, more aubergine in what the menu describes as a “gateau of moussaka”. Certainly the flavours were what you might expect. Pre-dessert was a rose petal sorbet – light, a bit floral, a bit sweet, topped with a candied rose petal – it did everything you want a palate cleansing sorbet to do. Dessert Number 1 was an apricot mousse topping a shortbread biscuit, alongside an apricot sorbet. And, I’m sure I tasted passion fruit in there as well. It was delicious. Second up, a raspberry soufflé was one the best desserts I can recall. Ever. Needless to say, this had risen perfectly, tasted perfect and had loads of raspberry puree inside. It is the one regret I had about not going for the main carte – you could see that those who had ordered from it got a bigger soufflé!. Coffee came with a wonderful selection of petit fours – a real tribute to the craft skills of the pastry chef. Almost needless to say, service from the almost exclusively French staff had been immaculate. They, like the folk in the kitchen, had not put a step wrong all evening. It’s very much a team effort and there must have been seven or eight different members of staff who attended our table during the evening. And, as such, it was good to see that service is included in the menu price – just as it would be in France – and not as an add-on charge. We were very pleased to give our thanks for the meal, direct to Alain Roux, when he toured the dining room towards the end of service. It really had been an excellent evening – and, yes, we count ourselves very fortunate to be able to afford experiences like this.

We were passing and saw the sign, so stopped for a nosy. Not a large market - less than 20 stalls. But, if you lived in the area, it's one where you might easily shop at every stall. There's several offering high welfare meat, others with good looking organic veg, others still with craft baking skills obviously present. Being away from home for a couple of days meant we were quite limited as to what we could buy - mainly preserves - a sharp lime marmalade, a quince jelly that I'm sure I'll find a use for - perhaps a version of Cumberland sauce or some such.

OLDE BELL, HURLEY, BERKSHIRE Hurley has its own River Thames regatta, presumably trying to emulate its better known near neighbour at Henley. And we only ended up here because Henley was heaving on this lovely Sunday lunchtime and there was nowhere to park. The Olde Bell seems a deservedly popular village pub, offering a range of food options. There was a well priced traditional three course Sunday roast in the restaurant. Outside, there were BBQ offerings of posh burgers and the like. But, with a Michelin three star dinner in front of us, we just needed something fairly light and simple. So, we opted for the bar menu – mainly sandwiches but with some other bits and bobs thrown in. Like a Welsh rarebit – two slices of thick bloomer, tangy cheese and mustard and a slice of bacon on each piece of toast. Like a ploughman’s – three cheeses on offer (Colston Bassett Stilton, Lincolnshire Poacher and a Cornish brie), together with a ham version. I went with the Poacher – a good sized portion, excellent granary seeded bread, homemade pickle, a little salad, apple, pickled walnut and a sprinkling of capers. No, we hadn’t tested the kitchen’s capabilities but, sometimes, simple is good.

The building and the name are pretty much all that remain to tell the visitor that this was once a pub. Inside, it’s fitted out and staffed in entirely restaurant style. So, let’s regard it as a restaurant and, indeed, one with a Michelin star, rather than a gastropub where one might go to drink as well as eat. There’s no freebie amuse bouche, but there are a few nibbly pre-starters to buy. Scotch egg, perhaps, or a couple of rollmops. Or, for me, rabbit rillettes on toast. Well seasoned bunny with a few slices of cornichon to contast. Game, in the form of pigeon breast salad continued to be my choice. Thin slices of rare pigeon, quails egg, a little frisee, a little radicchio, a scattering of pine nuts and sultanas. They all worked well together. It felt a bit Italian and that part of the world was certainly the theme of my partner’s starter – a courgette flower stuffed with ricotta and served warm. Alongside, and served at room temperature, pine nuts and sultanas, sliced artichoke, a little beetroot and a few raw peas. All very summery. Lemon sole, served on the bone, was excellent and came with a salad of pea shoots, marinated cucumber and brown shrimps. If the starter hadn’t been summery enough, this sorted it out properly. On the other plate, venison haunch came with a very zingy pepper crust – the sort that harked back to the peppered steak of the 1980s. But here, the dish was softened by wilted spinach and a mash which was, to my taste, more sloppy than it needed to be (but then, I’m someone who likes their mashed potato to be potatoes mashed, rather than pomme puree) Desserts were a mixed bag. Strawberry jelly and elderflower cream shouted “English summer”. And, including pieces of fruit in the jelly and topping it with a strawberry sorbet, meant it was shouted pretty loud. I liked this a lot! Rice pudding was as well made as your granny would have made it. It came with two jam doughnuts. Now these seemed to be fashionable dessert accompaniments three or four years ago (at least in our part of the world). They weren’t a good idea then and the passing years havn’t improved the concept. Service was generally good, although the order taken seemed to do a runner towards the end of service which left us, and other tables, doing a bit of finger tapping until we managed to flag down a passing waitress who consented to take our dessert order.

Blimey. If I'd spotted it was going to be a milestone, I'd have made it more pithy. Yours The Gobby Cestrian

Typical Mail story focussing more on the fact that the offender is (1) an immigrant and (2) housed by the local authority than the fact he is simply a common criminal.

Wasn't he trying to flog it, Gary?

Now that does look like a good dinner, Man.

Cuttlefish is very popular in Cyprus where, on the two occcasions I've eaten, it's been an unpleasantly chewy experience that I'm not keen to repeat.

Oh, I'd certainly be interested in crab (fish?) stix that have crab in them. I confess to being quite partial to the cheap crappy ones you get in Sainsbury - a dunk in a lemony mayo improves them no end.

It’s just on two years since we were last at Aumbry. We’d been less than thrilled last time and been in no rush to go back. There had been something of a lack of generosity in portion size that we felt bordered on taking the piss (and made me seriously think about getting a bag of chips on the way home) but there is none of that now. In fact, much the opposite. Service is good – the staff maintaining that difficult balance between friendliness and formality. The whole game has certainly been upped. We’ve been “off” tasting menus for a while, preferring traditional three coursers when it’s on offer, but we went with the full nine courses this time. Bread comes with two butters and a dish of beef dripping, for dipping, which puts an early northern stamp on the meal. There was an amuse of cured ham, a dinky little Derbyshire oatcake (about the size of a 10p) and a blob of cheese mousse, all of which worked well together as you might expect. Mackerel is home smoked but done so lightly that the texture remains almost as raw fish. There’s poached rhubarb, still retaining a little bite but not the almost raw version that we’ve suffered a couple of times recently. A slick of mustard cream brings another classic accompaniment to the fish. As did the toasted rye bread. The black pudding Scotch egg is a dish we remembered from two year ago. It’s a little belter. Well, of course it is. Quail’s egg, still nicely runny, encased in a light mousse of the pudding and fried with a crisp crumb. It sits on a mushroom with a slick of homemade brown sauce and tomato ketchup. Perhaps Lancashire on a plate? Next up was the dish I think I enjoyed most. Cauliflower and oat groat porridge. Powerful and delicious flavours here with the texture like a well made risotto. It was the sort of dish that, if you were feeling a bit down, would give you a big comforting hug. A cauliflower cheese beignet was a good accompaniment in itself and was even better when dunked in the onion puree that was also on the plate. I have a feeling that I might have enjoyed the delicately poached plaice more, if it had not been sandwiched between the strong flavours of the porridge and the following course of pigeon. In itself, it was good enough and you’d think that the ingredients of mint, burnt butter and verjuice would stand up there. But their use was quite restrained and, for me, didn’t make too much of a contribution. I’m sure it works very well as a stand-alone main course. What did work on the plate was the oyster pudding – a light suet crust, just as you’d get with a Hollands steak pudding (although much, much, better), packed with oysters. Absolutely delicious – I reckon there’s a main course idea desperately trying to get out there. Pigeon up next. Not something my partner really cares for so, after she’d had a quick taste, I was invited to polish off the meat for her. No problem. This really was good – full flavoured and presented perfectly rare. Braised chicory was excellent, the slight bitterness working with the gaminess of the bird. Grilled grelot also on the plate. Grelot? No, us neither - so we asked. French name for the little onions. Means sleighbell – which, I suppose, is sort of what they’re shaped like. Cheese next. We always prefer cheese before dessert rather than the other way round in the British fashion. It does seem to send some places into a tizzy when you ask for them to change their running order, so it’s good that Aumbry does it “proper”. I wonder if they get requests to serve it after dessert? Good selection of six perfectly kept cheeses – just a small nibble of each, of course. And I can’t recall what they were – a mild goat, a nicely runny Irish cheese, a creamy almost Stilton like blue and the other three. Three different chutneys on the plate – fig was delicious and there was a bitingly sharp apple, that I’d really like the recipe to try and make at home. First dessert was a grapefruit posset. Lovely and creamy and, with a fashionable use of vegetables in desserts, topped with a celery granita. This was good. Really good. Final offering was a beetroot and chocolate cake. Not too sweet. In fact, just as sweet as you want it, but no more. Somewhere in there was a hint of caraway – which seemed just right as an eastern European match with the beetroot. A rather clever end to an all round excellent meal. I really don’t know anywhere else in the metro area which is offering food of this standard.

I'm unsure why it might be heresy. It's a lovely dish for which I usually use a fresh dressed crab. Our fishmonger also stocks frozen - dunno what brand as I've never bought it. As for tinned, Sainsbury's only stocks Prince's, which I've been known to buy for sandwiches buit I don't see why it wouldnt work with pasta.

I think the Dos Hermanos blog would be regarded as one of the successful ones. It used to be interesting to read (at least about the London area) and, of course, it was the significant help in thrusting Simon Majumdar towards his book writing and, then, his food related career in the States. Job now done, so no blogging since last February. As for most blogs, even those written about my own area, I simply don't generally come across them as I am not part of the local twitterati. On the occasions that I do, I read them in the same light as I assume folks might read (or not read) my posts to this board - i.e. just one bloke's opinion about a dinner he's eaten. Of course, for the blogger there may be other benefits. I know a blogger in an entirely different field to food. He used to contribute to a discussion board but, since starting the blog, no longer posts to the board. His reasoning is entirely one of control. When he posted to the board, he was open to comment, criticism and, indeed, offensive remarks. Now, with his own blog, whilst one can submit a comment, it is entirely within is discretion whether he allows it to be "published".

I fear not, adey. It's one of growing number of blogs around the Manchester area. Pretty much all of them on the same bus and, certainly, all on the invite list of the PR companies (as mentioned in the Solita review linked to ). I think the deal is that you start a blog, put yourslef about a bit on twitter and, all of sudden you're part of the Manchester food glitterati. Great way of getting a freebie dinner, innit. However, I'm sure it's going to prove to be the future (at least until the next Big Thing comes along). Few people now use conventional discussion boards to discuss restaurant experiences - apparently you can do it just as well in 140 characters. Certainly I see a time fast looming where I see no point in posting to the likes of egullet or chowhound (although I have no interest in starting a blog)