MobyP

Where from/How much? And is it your regular oil, or finishing?

Stephen B - welcome to eGullet! Thanks for the post. Whats the pub food scene like in Manchester? BLH - I agree about the pub part. Packed with young luvvies and half-luvvies and friends of luvvies, listening to that rocky rolly music.

A couple of threads to warm the belly... http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=30472&hl=belly http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=13566&st=0&

Wine Articles in the UK Press Tim Atkin Forget the snobbery attached to screw-top bottles. Super plonk - can you say Boekenhoutskloof? Cellar notes #20: The Cape crusader. Anthony Rose - a campaign advertising Burgundy has been banned for associating sex and wine drinking.

I like that. A lot. Every time you reach course 7, Mrs. Aikens comes out with a burning brand. Known throughout the industry as 'Course 8.'

Yes. Back to Ireland after only a few months.

According to the show, it was going to take him 8 years before he was in the black - but according to recent reports, he should be there by next year - so that's less than half the time; albeit he now endorses just about everything imaginable (and fair play to him). He's charging £27-30 for main courses - which is just absurd when I can get three of that quality at the Ebury (and I realise I'm sounding a bit bitter, but I went there with big Jamie love in my heart, and he had to come up with one or two pretty poor dishes in order to change my mind). Did I say chateaubriand? I meant black pludding, with yorkshire pudding, and a lemon suet pudding for desert.

Ah Marina - your review sent me straight to the phones. I'm having lunch there on Monday, and I'll see if I can muster up some speechlessness with adjectives and the odd noun or two on my return.

The Ebury Just a quick report. Another fine meal. 3 courses for £29.50, which is a good deal, considering the quality. The chef, Michael Nadra, is sending out food reminiscent of Chez Bruce, where I was told he used to cook. But half of the plates looked as if they'd come straight from a Gordon Ramsay shoot. Some of the approaches, too, seemed to be influenced. And at those prices, why not, I say! Warm Salad of Squid and Chorizo with Ratte potatoes and Gremolata - The squid was perfectly tender, with a nice citronette, and waxy potatoes. Grilled Quail with Salad Gourmand, Sweet Mustard, and Red Wine - This was fantastic finger food. Visually it reminded me of the poche/grille Ramsey recipe. The quail nicely charred. I could be wrong, but I think there was some braised knuckle mixed in with the salad. I could have eaten this all night. (Other starters include: Buffalo Ricotta and egg yolk raviolo with wood roasted peppers and basil, ceviche of scallops and organis salmon with Daikon, cream of Jerusalem Artichoke soup.) Line Caught Sea Bass with Creamed Savoy cabbage and Pied do Mouton (£3.50 supp) - I didn't get to try this, but it was a sizeable piece of fish, and Kate said it was very nice. (She omitted the mushrooms). Calf's kidney and sweetbreads with creamed potatoes, choucroute salad, and pancetta. Probably worth the price of admission for the potatoes and choucroute. Both the sweetbreads and the kidneys were cooked well. Though the kidneys were slightly chewy, although beautifully pink in the middle. (Other mains include: Roast Hallibut with olive oil mash and piperade, Chateaubriand with Foie Gras, cocotte potatoes, trompettes, and sauce poivrade (for 2 - £10 supp).) Praline Millefeuille with malt Chocolate Ice-cream - a very ramsay-ish desert. Lovely crisp puff pastry, enclosing chocolate ganache, scattered with broken praline, and a scoop of malt ice-cream Champagne Rhubarb trifle - a respectable pud. (Others: Hot chocolate pudding with caramelised Pecan Nuts and Vanilla Ice cream. Pannacotta with Wild Berries poached in Cote du Rhone) This is the second time we've been here - and although it's obviously on the far-posh-nosh end of gastro-pubism, I would say it still slips under the wire. Frankly it's places like this that make we want to lob a brick at 'Fifteen' for charging me so much more for unfortunately less. The deserts we had felt a little contained (or is it 'restrained?'), but otherwise this is accomplished cooking - you feel safe in their hands. The service was very friendly, and attentive enough. The bread was exceptional.

Please note : some of these links may require free or paid registration to view. This week's selection comes from: The Times The Independent The Guardian The Observer The Telegraph This is London Restaurants Marina 'You're gonna get your head kicked in' O'Loughlin, gives the new Novelli a once over. Then she backs up, and does it again! Giles Coren The Fat Duck Matthew Fort La Toque, Beeston, Nottingham. Simon Beckett - Juniper, Cheshire, and a chef who likes to do things a little differently Terry Durack Le Petit Max. Tracey MacLeod - Barnsley House. AA Gill: Man of the Pencil: Lucio Features As the Fat Duck wins another award, Jay Rayner goes to have a peep in the mad inventor's shed. Mark Palmer on Dining cars and the golden age of rail. Lucy Dawson - the traditional art of smoking. Iran - The Best Caviar in the World? The world of Tana Ramsey: the kids, the husband, and the 1/2 Million quid kitchen. Food Heston Blumenthal: "Today, I'd like to unveil another technological breakthrough in stock-making: the deep fat fryer. " Gordon Ramsay's taking the piste. Francesco Quirico - delving deep into Italian cookery. Mark Hix on staying home, rumaging through your cupboards, and being in love. 3 from Jill Dupleix. Wine and Spirits Tim Atkin Forget the snobbery attached to screw-top bottles. Ales from the old country. Super plonk - can you say Boekenhoutskloof? Cellar notes #20: The Cape crusader. Anthony Rose - a campaign advertising Burgundy has been banned for associating sex and wine drinking.

Has anyone read Sichuan Cookery by Fuchsia Dunlop? Maybe we need to do it ourselves. [Carlovski - my sincere apologies. I just reread the thread, and saw that you'd mentioned the Dunlop book above. So, the stupid idiot award goes to....]

Although I'm reluctant to refute the Tseng, I rather thought the curly green sauteed stuff we were eating was Kale. I could be wrong though. It might have just been deboned, with a lot of green food colouring.

It's obvious that (1) you need to return for dinner, and (2) you should go with someone who laughs in the face of fear! Someone for whom danger is but a small rabbit in the field of life! And Terror but a bashed-neep on a Scotsman's dinner table! And when I meet that person, I'll tell them where you are...

DavidG - Welcome top eGullet! And thanks for the tip. The trotters have very little meat in them, though, which is why I was considering stuffing them - a classic SW French approach (I'm told). I think the knuckle/gammon is the better stew or braising cut. Also, I've started keeping the odd trotter in the freezer, because it improves the body of chicken stocks enormously. I just want to take it to the next step. Use these elements to make something that transcends them. Thanks also to Tissue and McDuff. Keep the tips coming!

Jay Rayner is shown the Mad Inventor's Shed!

From the Independent: "Chef who disappeared after knife burn incident triumphs in Tatler awards"

In the Observer Food Monthly, the organic pub up in Islington, The Duke of Cambridge, is in the top three for Best Sunday Lunch. Me and the wifery used to go there every weekend - on a sunny Spring Sunday, there was nothing better than sitting outside with the papers, with some olives, good bread, and some chicken liver parfait with red onion marmalade, a pint (of organic lager), and then a slap-up lunch. Almost every time I go there I either find something I've never tasted before, or some reinvention of the wheel - but it's always deeply satisfying. I've never spoken with the kitchen, but I think the head chopper's an Australian. [Edit to Add:] On second look, it seems like all three of the top Sunday lunch places were pubs or Inns.

Precisely - the unmitigated horrors from the culinary swamp we're crawling out of: Before: And After: When it works, you're talking about really good, really simple food, without any ceremony or fuss.

Sounds like fun. Is Leeds the new Ludlow? Brown the new black? Mystery chef the new Blumenthal?

Anchor and Hope (36 The Cut, SE1 - a few doors down from the Young Vic) Last night a few of us (Jon Tseng, Magnolia, Enrico) descended on Anchor and Hope, and had a very nice evening indeed. They allow you into the dining room at 6. By 6.45, the dining room was full (on a Friday), and by 7.30-8, the whole place was heaving. So, best to get there early. I'm sure it's less busy earlier in the week. The staff were friendly, and helpful. I think the menu is fantastically exciting - the starters especially - even if a few of the dishes didin't quite make it. It makes for fun eating. 3 out of 10 of their main courses were for a whole table to share: a slow braised duck stuffed with cabbage wrapped dumplings (traditionally called 'faggots'), a cassoulet, and a whole neck of lamb hot pot. These came in oval dutch ovens. Divided by four, the prices are reasonable. Starters average out at around 6 quid. To start we had: "Deep-fried calve's brains and gribiche." These were breaded and fried crisp. The brains were lovely and creamy on the inside - it was like exotic fried scampi. With an IQ. "Smoked Sprats and Horseradish" - these had a great, dark and smoky taste. "Terrine" - an earthy-flavoured traditional pate de campagne. The bread was a nice sourdough. "Duck gizzards, bacon, and salsify salad" Just as you would want - confit'd gizzards, lardons, mixed leaves, and very gentle salsify that brought the textures together. "Snail and chickpea risotto" The snails and chickpeas were lovely and tender. I thought the rice was a little over-cooked, and underseasoned. (Is snail fish or beast? What would the Italians say about the addition of parmagiano?) For the main course, we shared the slow braised duck (£48 - for four). This wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as it could be. The duck was a bit over-cooked, the stew surrounding it full of melted cabbage and potato. A good dish for a cold night - still, a little more wine, a few more herbs, and seasoning wouldn't have gone amiss. But I was enormously charmed by the dish nonetheless. They leave the oval pot on the table with a spoon, a carving knife and fork, and it's help-yourself time. It's like going out for good home-cooked meal - there's something enormously comforting about spooning around the pot for the last bits of duck and potato. Single main dishes include "Pigeon, semolina gnocchi, and mushrooms" (£11.80), "chicory tart, ceps, and parmesan," (£10.20), "lobster, potato, and morels" (a whopping £30). Side dishes (all £2): a potato cake cooked in duck fat, lentils, and kale. Deserts: Chocolate tart, lemon and almond cake, rhubarb jelly and buttermilk pudding, caramel ice-cream. These were fine. The rhubarb jelly was the most fun, and the caramel icecream had that comforting taste of just scorched sugar. I think Anchor and Hope are offering a really well thought-out vision of what pub food can be that I would love to see replicated elsewhere. Although the quality of the cooking isn't quite the same level as somewhere like the Ebury, I'd definitely recomend the visit.

The one thing you can't fault Ramsey for is a lack of patience. Has anyone ever gotten 2 stars off the bat? Or is he presuming he'd carry them over from his last place? And didn't they do that for Nico?

Giles Coren definitely gets The Fat Duck.

What I remember most vividly are not the tastes, nor the technique, but the imagination of it. In every plate that reached our table was evidence of a man allowing himself to have fun. I'm almost hesitant to go back for fear a lesser experience. I'm intrigued, though. There are certainly more knowledgeable diners on these boards than me, but I would be hard pressed to place a qualitative difference between Aikens and Ramsey.

From this week's edition of Decanter: Adam Lechmere - English fizz is being served in Paris! and South African wineries to be monitored for additive use.

Let us know what you find out. They've become ubiquitous in supermarkets, but are they anything more than packaging?