SamanthaF

Welcome back Andy

The next time Sir Majumdar moans about performing the piss waltz, I shall remind him of orchestrating last nights musical chairs.

I had what I considered a good pizza in Othellos near Dupont about 2 months ago. Thin crispy base, good tomato, good cheese, FRESH herbs and a damn good ham on top. Quite cheap too, like $13.

I'll second the popeyes! I've never seen one in NYC, but when I'm in D.C............

I confess, me too!! I'll also buy chicken croissant things from the place next door.

You forgot the Paddock Wood Grill Mixed Kebab

You can never take the piss out of me again re; marmite

My name is samantha Friar and I've frequented a Brewers Fayre.......... It's been 24 hours since my last 1/2 BBQ chicken with French Fries, Onion Rings and a mixed salad

Sammy Calling, Sammy Calling On further reflection, and discussion Scott and I have upped our Score to 7. But Sir Majumdar is right about the waiter - wrong side of bed does not go far enough to describe his demenour However, the company was great, and I appreciated Mr Anthony coming out to see us. We tried to talk him into doing a Q&A with us all, so if we all bug him enough (he lurks all the time) he should do it. Boy NY is hot today

Thanks Jaybee Scott and I are there this Sunday night, so we'll follow up with a report next week.

Le Trouvaille - the second visit. Considering I had eaten there the week before, and had my best meal of the year to date, I could have been eating in a different restaurant on the next visit.

Mmmmmm...best so far this year? As Scott has mentioned, La Trompette was pretty good, I really enjoyed my grub, company not bad either However, my best Main dish so far this year in the UK was at Le Trouvaille with the 1st London Egullet dinner when I had the Belly Pork. WELL dodgy company though

I am delighted to see a couple of places Scott and I are going to next week are on peoples wish list! 1. Blue Hill 2. Union Pacific 3. Veritas Oh, and we are going back to Gramercy

Bell Peppers - Red Green or Orange, I can't stand any of them.

I'm sitting here 5 days before root canal treatment wondering if anybody else has inflicted pain upon themselves WHILST eating. My wonderfully crispy crackling (pork-rind) caused a pre-molar to snap in half (I have also previously bitten my own finger very hard whilst eating fries ) So come on, share your eating accidents - maybe you can help prevent them happening to anyone else

I second One Blosson Street - especially if summer ever arrives and the outside terrace/courtyard opens. I went to Moro the other day, which although not a brasserie, had a great lunchtime atmosphere, and pretty good food to boot. Another place to mention is The Peasant on St John Street. Don't let the upstairs of a pub thing put you off.

Hang on a minute - there is a discussion involving eggs here and Cabrales hasn't participated.

I normally use eggs, milk & fresh ground pepper. (Sprinkle the salt on when it's hot)

Add some grated hard parmesan - YUM! I call Eggy Bread 'Gypsy Toast' - I dont know why, that's what my mum always called it.

FWIW - I love to tip for good service (I've been a waitress in my student days ) I'm not too keen on "service charges" that are added on in some restaurants in the UK. I prefer to get my bill as a total of the items that I have selected for that particular meal, and assess my own tip. I love France - they include a service charge in the price of the individual items. That way you know where you stand, and you can leave a few euros for exceptional service. My personal biggest gripe about eating and tipping in the US is that there seems to be an unwritten law that you must tip a minimum of 15% even if the service is crap! Now before people jump on the bandwagon of "Oh but they are only paid a minimum wage, they work for tips". Then let them work for tips! Smile occasionaly, be informative, be enthusiastic, let the food arrive on time. Basically, earn your tip! I had a recent experience in Old Ebbitts in DC where a group of us (me the only Brit) where we were drinking at the bar. First of all we had to wait a good 10 minutes for a drink when the bar was very quite, and when we ordered Raw Oysters and Clams they turned up steamed. To top it off, the replacement raw goods took over 30 minutes to turn up. However, when the bill was presented, the person who was paying the tab added a 18%tip. I was amazed and asked him why he thought the crap service we had received deserved a $40 tip. His answer? "That's the way it is here". I'm sorry U.S. Egulleters, I think that you are often being taken for a ride just because "That's the way it is". (Who made me the Deity on tipping )

This is a place I keep meanining to try, so thanks Matthew for the post The best burger I've had in London is at the Hard RockCafe- knock it, as many do - they do serve a good burger cooked to order, although probably a bit basic by the above standards! By far, the best burger I've had in my life (other than drunken nightclub van burgers when everything is great )was at the Corner Bistro in NYC.

Jay - His Kids used to go to school (Bickley Park) with my Godmothers son. Being a student at the time, any extra money to be earned from babysitting was welcome As to the butter, I think you are spot on when you say that Gary is a chef first and foremost - He is not going to compromise flavour to fit to the domestic 'inexperienced' palate.

Saint - I've looked after his kids I have to say that! But seriously (I haven't seen him for over 8 years) Scott and I love his cook books, personally I like the way he promotes British food, and the new take he often has on 'British Classics'. His recipes are also really 'do-able' and there is a sense of achivement when you present one of his dishes at home. On the British note, I think it may be worth taking along a print out of the thread regarding British Food on this board for his perusal. We have eaten at Rhodes In The Square, our review is here somewhere - and you may note that although it was an overall good experience, it was not without it's negatives. As a telechef, I think Gary is informative, not patronising and vey enthusiastic. Jay - the question I'd like you to ask Gary is - Does he have shares in the dairy industry as he has a tendancy to stick huge amounts of butter in everything! (Mind you, I am not moaning - I love it )

McDonalds/Burger King/KFC? Chinese/Indian/Kebab?

Malawry, I'm so glad you enjoyed Melrose! - I'm flying over to DC for 18 hours next week and I've already booked my table.