Harters

You weren't keen then David?

The rings were very much in his style. If you look at the Hardwick's menu, there are a number of dishes that are "lots of ways with protein"

NUMBER 4, DIDSBURY This little modern bistro is tucked away down a cobbled side street, just away from the ghetto of chain places that infest this end of Didsbury. My partner had been before but today’s lunch was a first time experience for me. As you might expect, there’s nothing adventurous about No. 4 – just decent offerings of Brit bistro food. Like a cheddar cheese soufflé, which was light and cheesy and came with a splodge of tomato & chilli sauce. Like a goodly sized portion of four king scallops, just cooked through, and thankfully, still with the coral attached. They sat on a slice of crisply fried prosciutto, some pea puree and a sprinkling of pea shoots. This bit of spot-on cooking preceded another spot-on bit of cooking in the form of calves liver. I’d been asked how I wanted it cooked and I’d replied that I’d like it how the chef would like it. Thankfully, he doesn’t like overdone liver. The thin slices must have been in the pan only a matter of seconds to come out as pink and delicious as they did. There were a couple of slices of back bacon, a dollop of spinach, a bigger dollop of none too sloppy mashed spuds and a well seasoned light sauce. And, for a bit of texture contrast a few battered onion rings. It was the sort of plate that I reckon to be a nigh on perfect lunch dish. Oh, and they offer this in large or small portions and, yes, of course I went large. Another dish offered in two sizes was my partner’s fish and chips. Small in this case but certainly sufficient that she wasn’t about to go away hungry. Fish comes as haddock goujons, in a very light, very crisp tempura batter which makes it a very different dish than you get at Fosters Chippy at the other end of the village. Not necessarily better – but different; more refined; more elegant. Good chips – proper chips, not fries or “fat” chips. Mushy peas, of course. And tartare sauce that was probably out of jar. Desserts kept up the decent standard. A salty caramel cheesecake did everything you’d expect by way of a rich dessert. Apple and rhubarb pie was in lovely crisp pastry with the tartness of the fruit softened by a good sprinkling of sugar and clotted cream. No, Number 4 is not going to set the food world alight. Not even the South Manchester food world. But it’s enjoyable food. And it must disappoint them that, on a Friday lunchtime, ours was the only table occupied.

But, presumably, will always welcome more. Both times I've been to L'Enclume it's been doing good business, but not full.

It’s been far too long since our last meal at Fraiche and, in truth, we’d started to forget just how good it is. There’s been changes since the last visit – the menu is pared down a bit and so is the price. And Menu Black is now on just once a month. Front of house are youngish, very cheery and thoroughly professional. I like the changes and I like the things that havn’t changed – the relaxed formality of the place and, most of all, the clever, clever cooking. There were spiced pecans to kick off while we sipped our aperitif. Once at the table, pork popcorn, lightly dusted with sumac, was as good a nibble as you might want to come across. Then it was on to the first course – potato foam (OK, it’s a soup) topped with a little grating of Montgomery Cheddar. Absolutely lovely in itself but everything heightened when served with thin crisps – one squid ink, the other poppy seed. We’re never going to be the biggest fan of foie gras (too many ethical issues at the back of our minds) but here it was served with rhubarb which did an excellent job of cutting through the richness. Bread is always a big feature at Fraiche and it was around this point that the first serving came – four small rolls. Can’t recall them all but there was treacle granary and a goats cheese which were really good. Two sorts of butter – a cow’s milk one, made on the premises, I think and a goats milk one, flavoured with Hawaiian sea salt (not that I could tell the difference between the American one and my favourite Halen Mon). Fish next – something I’ve always reckoned Marc excels at cooking. A fillet of bass, just cooked through, a little dice of courgette, parsley quinoa. And a tempura courgette flower which was a stroke of genuis. Perfect for my tastes. Second serving of bread around now – another four rolls with a stand-out olive just taking first place for us, from the tomato one. Gressingham duck was another perfect bit of cookery. Pink and moist with no hint of the “almost raw” that you can come across when a chef is trying too hard. A little roasted shallot, celeriac, roasted Little Gem and a cocoa crisp. The latter shouldn’t have worked – the cocoa flavour was quite intense – but it did. This is exactly the sort of food I really want to eat. Next up, a long time Fraiche favourite – the fizzy grapes. This is the third time I’ve had them and they still make me smile. There was then an unadvertised chocolate cake. Light as the proverbial feather and not too sweet. It’s served with a mini “toothpaste tube” of, I think, apricot puree to squirt over. Lemongrass panna cotta was a work of genius. Yes, you might say it was just panna cotta. But this was bang-on panna cotta – both in taste and texture. And when it’s topped with a sour cherry mousse, to my mind it becomes a near perfect dessert. Finally there’s an offer of cheese or a final dessert. We picked dessert but almost regretted it when we saw the cheese trolley offered to the next table. Something like 25 different offerings, mostly French, were explained and they looked in superb condition. We’d picked the “chocolate textures” – mousse, apricot (?) sorbet, some other bits and bobs that I’ve forgotten. Well, when I say a final dessert, it wasn’t. Last up, a small jam jar filled with a peanut butter custard was sweet and savoury as you’d expect. To finish, espresso and petit fours. Excellent petit fours. A peanut crisp, a meringue looking like a pink breadstick, a goats cheese and chocolate affair and an intense “After Eight” mint thingy. Really good.

Oh, dearie me. This story is going to run and run and it isnt going to get any better.

We've missed most of this, having been in the States for 3 weeks, but have enjoyed the last couple of nights. Although the "you havnt changed your crap food so you can't cook it again" set is just another bit of fecking irritating fake tension arse.

PHEASANT INN, BURWALDSLEY, CHESHIRE It’s just over three years since I was last at the Pheasant. Some things havn’t changed. Then the menu proudly proclaimed “We source the very best local and free range produce wherever available”. Then there was not a single item on the menu described as free range. Now, the menu proudly makes the same proclamation. And, now, there’s still not a single mention of an ingredient being free range. Frankly, that’s a bit piss poor. Some things have changed – or, at least, my ordering skills have improved. Then I made the mistake of ordering a fridge cold terrine that tasted of nothing but cold. And the classic error of ordering pub fish and chips – never a great idea. Things were a bit better this time around. Goats cheese risotto was well made. Well made, that is, for the UK. By which, I mean it was not the thick claggy gloop that usually passes for risotto. Now, it wasn’t as soupy as you’d get in northern Italy but it wasn’t at all shabby. And packed with flavour. The local Kinderton goats cheese really delivering on a tang. Less thrilling were a small “nibbles” serving of cauliflower fritters – not much a flavour from the veg, but a nice crisp batter. They were advertised as coming with a chilli and garlic dip which would have worked well. But, it actually came with what was probably a homemade plum chutney, which was sort of OK , but it lacked the kick you’d have got from the chilli and garlic. For mains, a burger was a big lad, topped with bacon and cheddar. The bun, as all too often, was soft, flabby and disintegrated before half had been eaten. Everything tasted good though and was accompanied by mustard mayo, a tomato & sweetcorn relish and decent chips. Breast of salt marsh lamb was advertised as being a confit, although I doubt it was. What it was, was a very nice piece of meat, long cooked and then crisped up in the pan or oven. It’s hard for anyone to cook breast of lamb in a way I don’t like and this was no exception. Came with carrots, asparagus just cooked through and decent mash. Unfortunately, it also came with industrial strength gravy which was oversalted and already forming a skin before I started eating. It was best avoided. Oh, and there’s still cracking views across the Cheshire plain up towards Liverpool that might make the trip just about worthwhile in spite of the so-so food.

Nicole - apologies for the delay in reply, I don't check this board too often. Hope I'm not too late I'm afraid I've nothing more to offer other than the above. There's non-adventurous choices at all (at least, I would regard the choices as non-adventurous). When you say you have a "no meat" person, are they OK with seafood (in which case, they're going to be fine in Venice. Can't recall the state of play on vegetarian offerings, I'm afraid. That said, I think most of the above have menus on their website. John

I'm with David about this week. Twelve dishes and I wouldnt have been in a rush to eat any of them. That said, foraged stuff can be good - I've had dishes at Sat Bains and In De Wulf (Belgium) that have been bang-on. And the brother in law brought me back a carrier bag full of "sea fennel" last summer from Mallorca. You pickle it in white wine vinegar. Delicious with stuff like salami

LOTUS - again So, we went back to sample the Malaysian menu. I think it’s better than the South Indian. Google tells me that “Rojak” is the Malay word for “mixture”, so it’s no surprise that this is exactly what the dish was. A mix of soft fried tofu, bean sprouts, egg (and other stuff I couldnt identify) in a thick sweet chilli sauce, topped with peanut sauce with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. This was good – very good. The other starter was roti canai. A couple of delicious flaky roti – just as we had a few months back in a Cape Malay restaurant in South Africa. The daal perfectly flavoursome and well seasoned but very thin in texture. Perhaps that’s how it’s supposed to be but it wasn’t a massive success – not least as it was so thin it ran off the bread. Nasi Goreng Kampong Style was a very generous serving of rice, chicken, king prawn, vegetables, topped with anchovies. The prawns were obviously previously frozen and were served still with their tails on – but cooking managed to avoid the usual turn to rubber. Good dish – but not as good as my partner’s lamb rendang. This was a portion that would happily have fed both of us. This was good quality meat, cooked for a long, long time, so it was exceptionally tender. The sauce had all but gone and there was just enough clinging to the meat. I managed to get a couple of tastes (well, “tastes” undervalues the greed with which I attacked the leftovers). This was a star dish and I’d go back just to eat it.

I don't think I've seen anything this week that I'd really want to eat. And I normally like Charlie's food (see upthread and here

Peru. Like everyone else. Last year, my local Sainsbury even had Peruvian asparagus at the height of our growing season.

Anything recent on Kenny? I'm toying with the idea of a surprise trip as a pressie for Mrs H's birthday in a few weeks.

MIDDLE KINGDOM A year on from Northern Food's review and we finally got round to eating here. This is, I think, the latest addition to the city centre’s small list of “not Cantonese” Chinese restaurants. It’s on the southern fringes of the centre, at the end of Princess Street. And, as with many such places, it’s in the basement of one of the old Edwardian cotton trading buildings. These days, we’re used to being older than other diners at a restaurant but, here, folk were less than half our age with many perhaps being students. Certainly the very reasonable pricing would make it attractive to students. And, for what it’s worth, all the other customers appeared to be Chinese – not always a guarantee of good food but at least a possible good indicator. With experience of the other Sichuan places, like Red Chilli and Red & Hot, we correctly made the assumption that portions would be vast, so decided to skip starters. It was straight into the food mountain that was fish fragrant shredded pork . Well, this was a new one for us and a very successful one. Shredded pork is always going to be a winner, whether it’s American pulled pork or, as here, mixed with lots of strips of ginger, sliced garlic and a couple of different (although unknown) greens. And it’s ginger, Sichuan pepper and the inevitable chilli that are the predominant flavourings. No fish, of course, they do like their bit of fun, don’t they. Apparently it’s only called “fish fragrant” as it uses the same seasonings as used for fish. The other vast mountain was the Sichuan standard of gong bao chicken. Well, standard for me. It’s one of those dishes which you know so well, you can judge a place by how it is. And how it was, was damn good. For me, the right balance of flavours and textures, with the crunchy nuts, the slightly sweet, slightly more vinegary sauce. And there’s the dried chilli lending something of a smoky kick to it all. Even my partner, usually no fan of chicken outside our own kitchen, tried it and declared it a winner. Upto now, I’ve reckoned Red & Hot to be my first choice for Sichuan. I think they’ve just been overtaken.

Must admit I didnt think the food seemed that stunning this week. Certainly Alan's starter and fish course looked streets ahead of the rest to me, I still wouldnt see them beign selected for the banquet. As for the coming week, we keep promising ourselves a couple of days in Brum (we've never been together) and would certainly want to try Lasan and one of the Michelin places in the city.

About as many as "Michelin starred chef" and "Classically trained chef" - or whatever it actually was for the other two.

There's the voice over and the fake tension. Not to mention the bleeding repetitive format. I gave up this week and just couldnt be arsed watching the desserts. I think I'll be going back to just watching the Friday programme.

Thanks for the nudge, Gary. Now you mention it, it was indeed the Drum & Monkey. Must be getting on for 10 years since we were there.

Used to go to Harrogate fairly often and always found the eating a bit disappointing. There was (is?) one of those Hotel du Vin places that wasnt bad. And, IIRC, a decent seafood place.

Two so far. Far more extensive range than our usual Sainsbury's. And, without doubt, these two are better quality than anything turned out by the independnet baker in the village. We don't buy too much bread as my partner bakes most of what we need. And, on that subject, I think Morrisons is the only supermarket where you can reliably get fresh yeast (as opposed to the packet yeast)

I often take the FiL for his weekly shop at Morrisons. Invariably, I sit in the caff with a coffee and a bacon barm till he's finished. However, Mrs H suggested that we go and do some actual shopping. And how right she was. There's an excellent range of herbs and unusual leafy vegetables, kept fresh by a misting device. There was veg that I had never even heard of. There was even a range of about half a dozen different beetroot. And more than that by way of chillis. And it was all very reasonably priced The fishmonger's stuff looked good, as did the help yourself salad bar. The range of bread was superb. As were the offerings on deli counter (which had Palma & Serrano ham on sale at £1.99 per 100g). Now, of course, there's a lot of cheap crap on offer as well. I doubt if I'd buy much cheese there. And you wouldnt find free range or organic stuff amongst the meat (although tell me another supermarket that will sell you a pack of lamb bones for 50p, or have sheets of pig skin just to make crackling). So, you'd have to exercise some thought but go give it a try.

POINTING DOG, CHEADLE HULME, GREATER MANCHESTER Only open a few months, it’s name sounds like it’s a pub. From outside, it looks like it’s a pub. Inside, it’s more cafe bar and restaurant. At least they don’t describe themselves as a gastropub. And they’d probably piss themselves laughing if anyone else did. So I won’t . I loved the inside. Very modern, bright and spacious. With separate areas dotted round the rooms set aside for drinking and others for eating. And comfy seating, with tables well spaced apart. The menu is best described as “better than average” pub food with some interesting stuff. Like a half lobster served with a chilli lime butter and aioli as either a starter or main. Or a chicken/ham/mushroom/leek pie (I’ll come back to that one in the winter). And, alongside the main menu, a very short set menu at the bargain price of £12.95 for a starter and main. This changes regularly but seems to follow a set formula soup/terrine/something else for starters; risotto/fish & chips/chicken/something else for mains. And it was this menu that appealed. I’m not big on soup when I’m eating out. It’s the fear of chucking half of it down my shirt. But I enjoyed the mushroom. Not a lot to say about it. It was hot soup of a rich mushroomy consistency and flavour. Seasoning was spot-on. And I ignored my usual rule about eating fish and chips in pubs. That’s don’t. Unless it’s (a) in sight of the sea and (b) has a reputation for good fish & chips. Other than that, it’s usually shite. But it wasn’t here. Excellent crispy batter, which was not at all oily. Nice white flakes of an indeterminate fish (I think one of the cheaper ones, like Pollock or something). Proper chip sized chips fried to just retain a hint of the floppy. Peas were a puree (not mushy) with a hefty dollop of mint incorporated – I think I’d have liked this better with something other than fish – the mint just didn’t quite feel right. So, nothing to rave over. Just a nice quiet midweek pub dinner at a remarkably reasonable price. And what’s wrong with that?

I think all the Paul Heathcote Italian places are now rebranded as Gusto since the flogged them. The other reasonably decent, albeit chain, option in Knutsford would be Piccolino. Both there and Gusto were rammed last night as we walked past after our miserable repast. FWIW, I quite like Loch Fyne - they used to have one nearish to us in Didsbury but it's now closed. It is, as Oli suggests, a bit piss poor that the best you can get in a town with money is a chain Italian.

There was a time when the Belle Epoque had its own belle époque as a restaurant. That was some 30 years ago. It really was the dog’s danglies of places to eat in North Cheshire. Of course, then, we thought of it as a place “not for the likes of us”, so we never went as a couple, although my partner did go once for a business dinner. I suspect they havn’t done too much to the place in the intervening years. The building dates from 1907 and was built as a home for a wealthy industrialist and the dining room appears to retain many of the original features. There’s an attempt to recreate the ambiance of an Edwardian room. It doesn’t really come off. That’s probably because the Belle Epoque is now more of a wedding venue than a restaurant. With at least four weddings a week, they only take restaurant bookings on “wedding free” evenings. The menu certainly nods in the direction of France even if for some of the dishes this is in name only. And there’s also bog standard Brit affairs as in a rack of lamb which comes from a flock raised just round the corner at Tabley Hall. Perhaps oddly, saddle of lamb doesn’t come from there and is sourced from the Lune Valley in Lancashire. Rabbit terrine was actually rabbit rillette. It was OK and might have been excellent if it wasn’t fridge cold. “Health and safety” means they have to keep at 3 degrees. Or so the chef says. A slice toasted sourdough and a little heap of well dressed lambs lettuce were decent accompaniments. Scallops were more than a tad overdone. Accompaniments here were quite well thought through – chorizo dice were crispy and nicely poky and porky; there was another dice of sweet carrot with peas adding to the sweetness, and a drizzle of hollandaise to bring it together. Now, if we thought the starters had been a bit mediocre, then the mains took a dive. Seabass managed to be both overcooked and still retain a flabby skin. It was topped with what was described as a potato gallette but which was, in fact, a few thin slices of slightly underdone spud. There was an aubergine caviar which was fine. And some sunblush tomatoes which are always pleasant enough when we buy them at Sainsburys and were pleasant enough with the fish. A little beurre blanc dressed the plate. My own main was not so much the dog’s danglies as the dog’s breakfast. At least it had a French name – poulet sauté au Belle Epoque. A signature dish presumably. Anyway, what I got was a generous serving of chicken thighs (although the lack of crispy skin was a let down), together with a scattering of Parmentier potatoes, mushrooms, Savoy cabbage, Roquefort cheese and a tomatoey sauce. The plate looked awful with items seemingly just chucked on there. Mercifully it tasted better than it looked. Which is more than can be said for my dessert. I like Tarte Tatin. I like the crisp pastry. I like the caramelised apples. You know it’s going to be good even before you taste it. And vice versa. So, when you see undercooked pastry and pale slices of apple, you know you’re not in for a treat. And I wasn’t. On the other side of the table, crème brulee was going down a treat. Until the hair appeared on a spoonful. That was enough. We told the server. “Sorry about that. Wasnt one of mine was it?” was the reply. Time to get the bill.