Hallie

My husband recently asked me for the name of a cookbook he wants to buy me for Christmas and my 2 remaining brain cells failed me completely. It is supposed to be the definitive guide to French cooking - the standard text which everyone should own. Please help jog my memory!

What about a beef Wellington on Christmas? Thumbs up or down? Somewhere I seem to remember a thread about being able to pre-order a suckling pig from an establishment somewhere. Am I imagining it, or do they cook it for you too? Goose sounds interesting, but I've never eaten before, let alone prepared it, so I'm completely in the dark when it comes to knowing what its meant to taste like. Could prove to be too much of a risk during what will inevitably be a stressful cooking experience even without the goose. I do like the game pie idea. What about pheasant? Or a poultry dish (duck, pheasant) and a big poached salmon - is that too Easter? (Would I be able to get a pheasant big enough to feed four adults and two kids? My head is spinning. So many choices and none of them seem right.

Yes, I've got the same dilemma. I'm making Xmas dinner for the first time and I want something slightly more interesting than turkey. I'm going to be feeding four adult foodies, and two children (progeny of two of the foodies, who'll eat anything). I thought of doing duck, but that won't be enough. Please, keeping throwing out ideas.

White truffle oil - or the truffle itself: so NOT over-rated. So worth every accolade.

Err...Moby, what were you doing eating fast food in Paris?

Pret and Eat - now we're straying into a different category of food; 'lunch fast food', grab a sandwich and drop crumbs on your keyboard eating. I'm thinking Big fast food: Mickey D's, Burger King, KFC, and generally those other heart clogging types of places that are open around the clock for three meals a day. I really like Eat. Their soups are by far and away the best you can get at lunchtime. It's a shame that Soup Works disappeared. I used to walk for 15 minutes just to eat at their place on Monmouth Street. Their offerings were seriously good - especially their sweet potato, coconut and chicken soup.

totally under-rated: golden beetroot (with apple and roast pork) totally under-whelming: Relais de Venise totally unimportant: Ramsay's F Word totally disgusting: Sainsburys (Finchley Road O2 Centre - now worse than ever...)

totally over-rated: snails totally unpleasant and over-rated: snail porridge totally over-priced and over-rated: caviar totally over-priced and out-dated: OXO Tower totally over: bangers and mash chic

Nandos is an obvious choice and seems to be in a league of it's own. What about other places, though?

This question came up during a recent conversation about Subway - which seems to be appearing in every gap between two buildings at the moment. A friend of mine said that 'for a fast food chain, some of the sandwiches weren't too bad'. Frankly, I've never been tempted, but it begs the question; can one find edible, even tasty and enjoyable food at fast food chains? It's probably been about 8 years since I've darkened the doors of a McDonalds, so perhaps their offerings have improved. How would I know? And as I walk past countless Pizza Huts, Buger Kings and KFCs , I feel a bit like the extremists who condemned Rushdie's Satanic Verses, without so much as opening the cover. It seems to me that convenience food comes in several guises: lunchtime chains (Pret, Eat, etc.) which can be pretty good Coffee chains (on which most of us rely - IMHO, I think Caffe Nero's probably the best) and then; Big Fast Food (McDonalds, KFC, Subway, etc.) This does not include all chains (Pizza Express, Wagamamma, etc.) - which is another thread altogether. Thoughts?

Oh God. You've made me so sad that I missed it. My lunch meeting lasted until 5pm. I had a salad and a glass of wine. I spent 4 hours diplomatically telling a screenwriter that his work was crap. I did see the hot actor from Casanova though. Which helped. Never fear Cinderella, there will be other balls...

Please remind me of the location of Lola's.

Right. Now thoroughly looking forward to it. Especially the terrine de clingfilm.

This has just been booked as a birthday lunch. Should I be excited?

Speaking of morels - I always meant to ask this question. I bought some about a year ago at a produce market while in Paris. I carefully brought them home with me on the Eurostar and lovingly kept them wrapped in paper before deciding 24 hours later to sautee them with veal. When I sat down to clean them I noticed they were riddled with worms. This really, really put me off. In the end I just couldn't bring myself to eat them. A complete waste. Long story short - is there a reliable way of cleaning morels?

I wouldn't bother with La Fromagerie personally. It's not all it's cracked up to be. Neal's Yard will suit you just fine. ← Just to complicate matters, I would disagree - La Fromagerie is fantastic (especially the Marylebone branch) - not only for their entire walk-in closet of cheeses but for the sights and smells of the deli itself. It is truly a feast for the senses. Don't miss it.

Andy, We had lunch there last year and for the life of me I can't recall what I had beyond a seabass nage which was heavenly. We were completely surprised at just how outstanding both the food and the service was. I would recommend it highly.

I'm so totally embarassed to admit this but I actually like Wagamama. Like you, I boycotted it for about two years and then got dragged there for a work lunch. I was so surprised to see that they had re-vamped the menu a bit and added a few more interesting things. I had a lovely, lightly tempura battered piece of hake with soupy ramen noodles which did not disappoint. Obviously, this is not the place to go for strict Japanese. Its new menu is a bit more fusion - with a number of Thai inspired dishes. They've also added desserts to the menu. Basically, I'm now more than happy to go there, but Roka it ain't - nor am I kidding myself that this represents anything other than a reliable lunch. I was at Satsuma about two weeks ago with a friend. Yes, much better than Wagamama - hands down. But something really worries me about that place - the state of the toilets. If the adage; you can judge a restaurant's kitchen by the cleanliness of the loos holds true then I'd be a bit concerned.

Wow. I hope the kids liked the art in the lavatory Marylebone has a couple of kid-friendly places. Giraffe on Blandford Street is quite a good place. The food is inventive and the atmosphere is child-friendly. There's also La Galette on Paddington Street - excellent...no, outstanding crepes and a variety of ciders served in earthenware for the grown ups.

Or even Kate and Pete...

So Rick, how was it? Spill the beans (refried or otherwise...)

Oh Tony, I feel your pain. These people would be happy with soggy egg salad sandwiches. They probably have never known any different. If you do manage to bring them to Le Gavroche please put me down for a ticket. I'd love to watch. Perhaps somewhere dependable and not too exotic might be the order of the day. What about trying Homage at the Waldorf? Or my favourite, the Wolseley? If they want a sandwich and chips or a bowl of soup or a steak they can get it there. Good luck.

Welcome to e-gullet Raj! No post is ever too long... You've just proven my theory that students can often find the best holes-in-the-wall due to bugetary restrictions. When I was a student I lived at Food for Thought on Neal Street. Although I'm not a vegetarian - their food was excellent, home-made and cheap. That was roughly ten years ago and the gastronomic scene in London has changed beyond recognition since then. Keep on fereting out those hidden gems!

Duran Duran, The Reflex. What do I win? Dinner at one of the places at which you ate during your four free days!? ← correct! glad to see another 80's kid out there, just watching simple minds from live aid at the minute, they ROCK! and yes! cheers gary ← Duran Duran - Best group bar none. Scott F got me 2 concert tickets for Christmas. (Where I will eat a Birmingham City FC Pie - to keep it on topic.) ← How did I manage to miss this thread the first time? Pshaw! Concert tickets, Concert smickets - Simon Le Bon and the lovely Yasmin sat two rows ahead of me on a flight to LA last month. I'll tell you, I adored that man when I was 13 but bloody hell, someone's been taking ugly pills recently! Why do rockers age so badly? (Wait, I think I have the answer to that one somewhere...) As for last patronised restaurants...well, its been a busy and rather tight month but...: Saturday night: Roka (at last!) Worth all the hype food-wise but seriously, are they really always completely booked? Me no think so. Trying on a bit of the Ivy maybe. Sunday afternoon: Dim-T: Yauatcha it ain't but not too bad. Sadly, beyond that its been Carluccios and work lunches at Pizza Express (not counting E-gullet meal at the Inn at the Park). Hoping for a much better Feb.

Thanks Sandra! I can't wait to give them a try!