jamesmarsh

Sandra, I had a look at the Petrus wine list and couldn't see a '66 Margaux. Sandra Levine also posted this on the wine thread: What gives?

Jon, this is the place I was thinking of: Hoo Hing

Jon, I have seen a Chinese supermarket near Hackney Wick, on the road heading towards Leyton. Might this be the place you mean? No idea if it has a restaurant attached. I'll try and track down the address.

Are you sure Jon? I thought it was Mondays and Wednesdays?

My girlfriend and I found ourselves slightly drunk and hungry in Covent Garden last night and against our better judgement gave the Bow St branch of Zizzi a go. Bad choice. The thinking behind it seems to be that if they offer the same pizzas as Pizza Express but make them 50% bigger then people will switch their allegiance. Judging by how packed it was last night, the policy seems to be working but my Capricciosa was horrible. The base was crisp enough and the proscuitto ok but the tomato sauce was bitter, the mozarella tasteless and the capers and anchovies were placed in a single heap so I got them all in one salty mouthful. Tagliatelle with chicken and mushrooms was almost devoid of flavour and rock-hard in places where the strands had stuck together. Service was plain rude. Maybe the other branches are better but I'd avoid this one.

By Mangal Grill I'm assuming you mean the Angel Mangal on Upper Street? Not sure if they take reservations but I've never had any trouble getting a table on weekday evenings. As for noise, this shouldn't be a problem unless there is a particularly large group in there. And, yes, they are fully licensed. Closer to you is Cigala on Lambs Conduit Street. Haven't been for a year or so after a pretty lacklustre meal but had enjoyed it immensely on my previous visits. Noise could be a problem though - the tables are packed so close together you're practically banging elbows with your neighbours and the hard surfaces and open kitchen keep the sound levels up.

Adam, I'm not sure if you've come across it before but Fred Plotkin's Recipes from Paradise is a fantastic guide to Ligurian food including a lot of recipes I don't think you'll find elsewhere. Its not available in the UK but you can order it from Amazon.com here.

I worked in the dining hall of an Oxford College for a few of my teenage years. I never had to serve the high table or any of the "feasts" but average weekdays were strange enough: wearing gowns to dinner (this college had formal hall every night), saying grace in Latin, ritualised drinking games often involving yards of ale... And, as I remember it, the food was crap. Put me off ever going to Oxbridge (good job considering the A level grades I eventually got).

I'm planning on visiting the Cinque Terre and/or surrounding area with my girlfriend in early September. Our knowledge of the area is pretty minimal at the moment so we haven't decided on a particular town to stay in. Neither of us drive, so we want to stay somewhere close to a beach and within walking distance of some decent places to eat and drink. Can anyone recommend some inexpensive hotels which might fit our needs? Is it worth us spending a few nights in two or more places or choosing one as a base and then exploring other places by train? Any restaurant recommendations further to the ones above would also be gratefully received! Thanks James

Ha! I think a lot of us know the answer to this one but are far to embarrased to say so... Or is it just me?!

Scott, my last word. Just to re-iterate, I did not compare smoking in restaurants to eating big macs in the street. I compared smoking in the street (something you don't like and would like to see banned) with eating big macs in the street (something i don't particularly like). Rather different. I have already stated that I favour segregation or smoking at the bar only and I am in no way advocating smoking throughout all restaurants. I was genuinely interested as to why you and mogsob would like smoking to be banned everywhere outside the home (or even in the home in your case) - I asked Mogsob why it upset him so much and I asked you what you saw as the health risks involved with smoking in the open air - but you have both ignored my questions. Hey ho.

Scott, please explain to me the "health risks" to you of being outdoors in the same street as someone smoking. There are none. And you won't find a single scrap of evidence to tell you otherwise. The subject of this thread was smoking in restuarants and I can understand why a non-smoker may be upset if they are seated next to a table of smokers throughout their meal. Thats why i favour proper segregation, or only allowing smoking at the bar. However, arguments such as yours and mogsob's smack of health fascism and an intolerance towards those people who choose to live their life in a different way to you.

Mogsob, if you re-read my message you'll see i was referring to your comment on banning smoking in all places aoutside the home, not just restaurants. Does the idea of someone smoking in the street really upset you that much? i don't particularly like walking past people eating Big Macs in the street but i wouldn't want to ban them from doing so.

As a smoker, this is quite annoying for me too. I'd far rather sit at a table where I know people around me will not mind if I have a cigarette or two. Places like Cigala are the worst offenders where the tables are so close together its almost impossible to enjoy a smoke for fear of upsetting people...

Whatever happened to tolerance?

Monica, I cook chicken thighs all the time, but rarely stray from this (very) simple method: Fit the thighs snugly into an ovenproof dish. Add plenty of olive oil, the juice of a lemon and salt and pepper. i usually throw in the squeezed lemon halves as well. Roast for about forty minutes, adding a few whole, unpeeled, garlic cloves halfway through. What you should end up with is juicy meat topped with crisp brown skin, sitting in a pool of chickeny, garlicky, lemony juices. While the chicken rests for a few minutes i spoon the juices on to a pile of salad leaves and then sit the thighs on the top. The garlic should have roasted to a gooey mush which can be popped from its skin and spread on to the chicken/into the salad. Thats it! OK, its not much of a recipe but someimtes simple is best...

Had dinner here last night and came away pretty impressed. We ate in the downstairs restaurant rather than the upstairs deli (which would surely be better as a bar as it was completely empty and may well have put off any potential customers walking by). Two of us shared a pulled pork and chicken combo, a rack of ribs and some fries. It was A LOT of food. I'm not an expert on such things but the ribs and pulled pork were exactly as i expected - succulent, with a nice smoky flavour and not too sweet. Sauces were ok but not really necessary for the ribs. The chicken was less successful with the breast being particularly dry. Annoyingly, you can only order the pulled pork as part of a combo with the chicken. I'll definitely be back though - the dining room has a lovely atmosphere, the waiting staff were charming and seemed genuinely interested in the food. And the bill, including two large beers, water and service came to a whopping 31 quid. On the way home we tried to think of another restaurant in Soho where you could come away so satisfied having spent the same amount of money. We couldn't.

Yeah, I saw that episode. He took a rather large plastic food storage bin and inverted it. He put the beef cut (I think he was preparing a roast, so it might've been shoulder or something) and placed it on the lid. Then with the bottom of the bin, he cut air holes to let the meat breath. I'm pretty sure he left it in his fridge for several days, though sometime the pace of his show makes it difficult to follow. At any rate, when he removed it, the roast had an even dark discoloration all over the exterior, almost like beef jerkey. From there, I can't remember what he did...oh, wait, yeah, he put it in the oven. Heston Blumenthal suggests doing the very same thing for at least a week. You can read the full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,...,894686,00.html