PSmith
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Friend emailed me this photo
http://www.thecriticalcouple.co.uk/blog/?attachment_id=229
If I am not aware of another diner taking a photo, then it is fine. But when they start flexing their elbows, then it becomes annoying.
Personally I will rarely take photos of my plate, unless the food resembles genitalia or something funny. For me there is something a bit impolite about photographing your dinner in a public place, but then I am English and was brought up not to put my elbows on the table.
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Here in the UK restaurant staff have to be paid the full minimum wage net of any tips. The employers is not allowed to use the tips to make up the wage.
We now have creeping in a service charge of 10-15% which the owners are probably using to make up the money they would claw back from tips. It is supposed to be optional, but us non-confrontational Brits will rarely ask for it to be removed unless the food or service has been particularly bad.
I would guess however, that may diners think the service charge is a tip replacement, but generally it goes to the company.
Personally I would prefer the price of the food to be gross, so it is easier to judge value for money, then if I have a good experience, I can leave a tip.
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My experience of the catering sector comes from the lower end of the industry - working in a pub doing a bit of everything where the tips were put in a central pot and then distributed evenly amoung the staff every week.
I am pretty sure that the average diner will assume that any tips they give to waiting staff WILL be shared with the kitchen staff and might be a bit disappointed to discover that in some cases 100% goes to the servers.
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A question for the non-Americans: are restaurant prices higher (accounting for differences in currency) or equivalent to the prices in the US? In other words, does paying a regular increase the actual price of the meal? And does this affect how often people dine in a restaurant?
It is difficult to say. I can get a nice meal locally - 3 courses with wine and coffee, in a Michelin recommended restaurant for £50 a head including wine and tip - that is about $80. In London I would say you could easily pay twice that for a nice meal in a Michelin starred restaurant. Two main courses and desserts in a nice pub/inn will cost about £30-£40 with a couple of beers each.
We were in the US in 2011 and found eating out very expensive compared to the UK - but that might just be the exchange rate.
We have cut back considerably on the number of times we eat out. We tend to just eat out somewhere really nice on a special occasion rather than the "can't be bothered to cook tonight - shall we go out" meal, but that might just be the recession.
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Tipping!! I'm dreading it. We're coming to the states next month for three weeks & will be eating in restaurants quite a bit. HAVING to tip just drives me nuts.
In the UK we seem to be moving more towards the American culture of tipping. Like you, I hate it. If I see a price on the menu, that is the price I want to pay, not the price plus taxes, service charge and then tip. What was an average priced meal quickly becomes expensive. If the service and food has been good, then I will tip and I would expect the tips to be shared with the kitchen staff.
Since the introduction of minimum wage, we are also seeing a lot more establishments in the UK adopting a service charge, which a lot of people mistakenly think goes to the staff and therefore don't tip.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/jun/07/waiters-tips-restaurants-minimum-wage
Personally, now we have minimum wage in the UK which applies to all trades, then I don't see why certain industries should have the culture of tipping, unless expectations have been exceeded.
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Forget Michelin Stars - you can check out the food hygiene rating of your favourite establishments.
http://ratings.food.gov.uk/search/en-GB?sm=1
Rather surprised that my local butcher is only a "3" star.
Virtual pint for anyone who can find a real shocker.
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Now it is no secret that us Brits don't have the same generous culture as Americans when it comes to tipping.
But one thing that seems to be creeping into UK restaurants is service charge. More so now we have minimum wage. Bar staff, food servers and kitchen staff are now on the same hourly rate as a junior administrator in an office.
Many don't realise that the service charge often goes to the establishment and not the staff and is therefore not a tip.
http://www.timeout.c...not_to_tip.html
Personally I am not sure that this is a good thing.
ETA - restaurants were allowed to use tips to make up minimum wage, but this loophole has been closed
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/jun/07/waiters-tips-restaurants-minimum-wage
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One thing that is becoming increasingly common in the UK is service charge - often between 10-15%. Plus many customers don't realise the service charge isn't a tip.
This is an old article, but quite interesting.
Might be worthy of a separate thread for discussion.
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Fried Eggs
Now I am a bit odd where fried eggs are concerned. I guess if I actually thought about it, I don't really like egg white. My Dad (sadly now departed) was the only one who could fry an egg to my liking.
Sunny side up but the white should be crispy round the edges (almost burnt underneath), but the yoke should still be slightly runny.
Using a very high heat and vegetable lard, I can get close but usually end up with a solid yoke. My Dad was the master.
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I'm not sure if it is the case in the UK but you would be very hard pressed not to have had many main courses that had components cooked sous vide in Australian fine dining restaurants. I know from your reviews that you eat out fairly regularly.
Think you might be confusing me with the other critical couple (they are dot com - I am dot co dot uk) I am the much poorer (and probably thinner) version who is an ABC diner (Anniversaries, Birthdays and Christmas).
One trend that seems to be fashionable is serving food raw and looking for sensational items such as live ants. Noma opened a pop up restaurant at Claridges in the summer and received some un-complementary review - especially on TripAdvisor. I especially like the onea from Mark T and CanB. With a price tag of £195 ($300), I would have been pretty peed off with what was on offer.
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By-the-by, although you talk about steaks in your OP, the title of the thread ("And how do you like it cooked?") ought to allow for quite a wider range of discussion involving how different folks/cultures/cuisines like things cooked, such as touched on in that Gourmet magazine article. Would that be OK, or do you want to keep it on just beef steaks/hamburgers?
More than happy for it to include other areas rather than just steaks. Pretty sure I wouldn't be that enthusiastic about eating chicken feet.
Here in the UK we have recently had some councils coming down on chefs for undercooking various dishes after a spate of food poisioning.
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When I was younger and had a bad case of testosterone poisoning, I wanted my steaks bloody. It was the manly thing to do. But about 15 years ago I started to get them medium to med rare because I found that they tasted better and weren't so damn chewy..
So it is not just me then.
Like you I have previously had my steaks bloody - probably more because I thought it was cool.
Personally I still can't get my head round the fashion of eating burgers rare too. I am a bit fussy about having ground beef fully cooked unless I am 100% sure it is freshly ground from steak beef.
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I have always been a medium to rare when it comes to steak. However, a chef friend of mine suggests that it is better (especially for ribeye) to have it medium-well done.
In their view the fat is where the taste is and unless the meat is well cooked, the fat doesn't melt and therefore distributes the taste into the meat.
Must admit that I did try a steak medium-well done and I think they might have a point (or I just might have got a really nice piece of meat).
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I like Masala Tea - or Chai. It is spiced tea from India which I drink without milk or sugar and is great after a meal.
Plus I have the normal UK blended black tea. Our favourite brand is "Yorkshire Tea" which is a strong "builder's" tea best drunk with a little milk.
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Made this one last week, although I left out the garlic as I hadn't got any in house.
Curried parsnip and apple.
However, I am not sure how widely available parsnips are in some parts of the world. I served them to a friend who was staying over in Chicago and they had never had them before.
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Shame the OP has gone off - only just seen this thread
Firstly - some meals taste a whole lot better as left overs. I am thinking Lasagne, Shepherd's Pie. They always seem to taste better the next day.
I have lived alone for long period of time. The jacket potato has been my fall back, but I also try to cook healthy meals from fresh - especially when I have been trying to lose weight.
This has included Spaghetti Bolognese, stir fries, hot pots, risottos and grilled fish/meat with salads. I also had a small slow cooker so I could make casseroles before I left for work in the morning that would be ready when I got home.
If you are looking for actual recipes - try here http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/favourites/meals-for-one/
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We could give SV more of a '70s feel by calling it "boil-in-the-bag" like we did back then.
Quoted because I think this comment got lost in the other discussions.
I struggle with Sous Vide as I remember boiling minted lamb shanks in the bag to serve as designer pub grub, so mentally I am thinking convenience rather than improvement. Plus I haven't as yet been blown away with the two main courses I ate that were cooked in this way.
When I questioned the reasons for purchasing to one of my friends who bought a SV to use at home, they said that it was due to a concern they had with potential cancer risks on food that is cooked traditionally.
However, I have always been a laggard. I have never owned an iPhone and probably never will, preferring to use a cheaper Andriod equivalent that does everything an iPhone does but at a fraction of the cost.
Anyway - back on topic - anyone else bored with the trend of serving meals on anything other than plates. Slate roof tiles are very popular in the UK.
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You are showing your age.
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Since then it seems to have been those who realized it was ridiculous having a bit of fun with those that didn't.
LOL. Well spotted.
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In the UK we traditionally have a roast dinner on a Sunday. The fat from the meat gets saved in the fridge and is then used for basting roast potatoes the next time we have a roast dinner. I tend to have three pots in the fridge, pork, lamb and beef, so the correct fat gets used with the right meat. The fat will keep for several weeks in the fridge.
It doesn't tend to work with chicken fat as it is too runny and doesn't keep as well.
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BTW, the header graphic on your blog is brilliant.
LOL - that was thanks to my nephew. And to think I used to tell him off for playing with his food.
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Sounds like reverse elitism to me.
Ah - the stock reply.
Have a read of this - which I have also llnked to in my latest blog posting - "When does sharing become bragging?"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444184704577587091630924000.html
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Okay, hang on, let's take this scenario: You're invited to dinner, you really enjoy the food and conversation, then, after dinner, while your host is moving the last of the dishes back to the kitchen, you tag along, since you're in the mddle of discussing something. You notice the kitchen has a lot of Modernist equipment, and inquiry reveals that the meal was prepared using quite a lot of Modernist techniques and ingredients.
Actually - that scenario will never happen.
Pretty sure that any home chef who had used a Sous Vide to cook dinner would be crowing on about it all through the meal.
I think for me the issue with modernist cooking is the enthusiasm of those that use it emits an air of eltistism against us traditionalist luddites. It is probably not intentional - it is just them being enthusiastic, but it can often cross the line from sharing to bragging.
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Must admit that I am not a big fan of modernist cooking. To me there is something a bit "Emperor's New Clothes" about some of the techniques and gadgets. I have yet to eat something that was cooked for me via a £300 Sous Vide that came out better than a £20 slow cooker. But as "nickrey" above states - it could be more about the chef than the method.
My interests lie in the ingredients. Very few professional chefs seem to make an effort to source rare varieties of veg. Rare breeds meat is available, sometimes the menu all but lists the GPS coordinates of the animal's birth - but veg remains the poor cousin. The difference in taste between a commercially grown carrot and a properly grown one (doesn't even need to be organic) is immense. Two different vegetables IMHO. Anyone ever eaten a purple carrot?
Don't get me wrong, I am not a vegetarian, but there is too much emphasis on the meat.
Seems like a reasonable deal
in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining
Posted
http://www.travelzoo.com/uk/local-deals/Kent/Restaurant/38604?utm_source=top20_uk&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=uk_top20_2013_5
Not eaten here myself, but £59 for two doesn't seem bad value.