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slacker

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Posts posted by slacker

  1. I really like gooseberry jam

    I adore gooseberry jam. It seems to go pink sometimes....

    Fondest memory is of freshly baked scones (ace recipe ;-)) with GJ and clotted cream. The zip of the fruit v. the sweetness of the sugar v. the pastry-crunch of the scone v. the cream.... wow.

  2. Brilliant lunch here a couple of weeks back - crab with carrot and curry mayo; rump; eton mess. A wine lunch organised for my Wine Club -

    There's a fab foh there too, so things out front are matching the tight kitchen.

    And in next week's episode of Food in Padstow:-

    Margot's - to celebrate a chum's 50th. :-)

  3. Had a lovely lunch last week at 'Paul Ainsworth @ No6' with a chum. A right bargain at £13.50 for three. They're not especially grown-up choices at main (and I don't blame them) but the starter and pud were top-whack dishes - outstanding mackerel with sauce vierge bruschetta-type-thing and berry'd panna cotta. Main of caramelised onions, goat's cheese and beetroot was really delicious too, with slivers of shortcrust woven in somehow; the costing note above is no criticism.

    Paul was most amiable (and generous with the Prosecco ;-)) and with an iced bottle of Rioja Crianza (staff most obliging here), an extra starter (the scotch egg thing: v.v.g.) and bottle of fizzy water, we walked away really well fed for £60 inc service.

    A must, I think!

    (Thanks all of you for your jolly praise of binTwo: weather seems to be favouring us this year - we've had more sunshine already than 2007/8 put together.)

  4. You know what though? Despite the fact that I eat out all over the North West more than most I know, I haven't signed up. The scheme does polarise local chefs and restaurateurs, and as through my business I work with a lot of them, the cost of the odd extra (tax deductible!) meal is well worth it to avoid the risk of getting up their noses.

    Seems crazy to sign up for a scheme and then resent people using it. Isn't the whole point of filling tables a quiet times that you fill tables at um... quiet times? I missed the shenanigans here yesterday, so I hope I'm not covering old, fetid ground.

    Although I can see your point Thom in your role, I can't see why such a deal should polarise any chef/proprietor.

  5. Had a brilliant Tasting Menu at Number 6, Padstow on Saturday night, celebrating two friends' birthdays. The cooking was so neat and precise.

    I didn't keep a menu, alas, or see the bill, though we paid about £90 each. We were 8, so I chose a wine with each course.

    Amuses

    Pumpkin Soup

    Prawn Risotto

    Duck & Foie terrine (many stars, though am still struggling with foie gras)

    Scallops and Black Pudding

    Venison (excellent)

    Cheese (outstanding - esp with truffle honey)

    Pudding 1 - battenburg something (erm...)

    Pudding 2 - something else Tart

    vg truffles

    Can't wait to eat here again. Unfussy, well flavoured, accomplished. I don't know what the Michelin guys are up to, but it gets a slacker star.

    :)

    PS Do any of you Number 6 guys have a menu from Sat you could post please?

  6. A wee bit dry-mouthed this morning. Really enjoyed a brief pre-dinner stop here last night. Tio Pepe tasting really good. Padron peppers, Tio Pepe, Pata Negra (really really ace and not TOO pricey for LOTS), Tio Pepe, good tortilla (a bit too fresh in a funny sort of way), and some really Spanish almonds. Great staff, really cheery (mind you local Lord-of-the-Manor Bapi always raises a laugh). And loads of people eating on a January Thursday evening. Would def return frequently if I lived nearby and explore oxtail, anchovies, croquettas etc. etc. and try their dry sherry perhaps.

    :)

  7. I am SO cross! Mouthfeel - fine. Texture - fine. Caramelised - fine. Flavour Profile - fine. I use them all. And why not? How else our we to market and describe sensations? Panfried sounds appetising. It implies crispy buttery edges.

    I dislike inaccurate descriptions, yes. Cooked onions that are browned and sticky are caramelised. So are black ones. But I would say 'burnt onions' if they were black, to differentiate between the two.

    I gave some chocolate pecan tart to my neighbour this morning, having sat it in the microwave for a moment. 'Can I tempt you with some warm chocolate tart?' Why use 'microwave-fiddled' when 'warm' is so much better? Sell, sell, sell! (She has lovely.....eyes.)

    And to use the sex analogy, Tim, is wrong, unless your sex really IS one-dimensional.

    Actch am not cross. Have calmed. Nice to be wound up, I suppose.

    x

  8. Had a great meal here on Wed night. Others have lamented the lack of alternative in Padstow to Stein's noble work (there have always been alternatives, by the way), and Custard's offering some really good nosh at an utterly sensible price.

    Both S and I had Smoked Eel with Belly Pork to start (great combo of flavours and nice remoulade type salady thing with it), then Plaice with Samphire and Brown Shrimp (skinned and cooked really very well) - sides of new potatoes and summer veg (these too were esp good). Custard, naturally to finish (can't live without perfect custard: dariole set type thing - creamy and rich) with summer berries which I wasn't in the mood for.

    Wine list good and cheap - all European - (I will declare my interest NOW). We drank Pinot Noir by the glass with ice cubes in it, then nice wiry Verdicchio, finishing with Italian Moscato.

    Total bill £87, of which £40 was wine (oops) - so clearly a right bargain.

    I also ate smoked trout and scrambled eggs for breakfast earlier this month - with a glass of Champagne for a friend's birthday. They're clearly doing things well - at least in the way *I* like them!

    Be good to hear the views of others, but feedback here has been really good, with the occasional gripe being sorted out well by the able f-o-h. They've been open all of one month!

    Website CLICK

    :)

  9. But where?

    I have a wee wine bar in Padstow. In addition to Basildog's bread and nuts and the best crisps, I'd like to offer pork scratchings. I love them. But the best I have found are poorly presented. Does anyone sell smart pork scratchings - perhaps from funky or organic pigs?

    I think we should be told.

    In fact I'd like to sell Jamon, but space and practicality forbid. Shame.

    Ta everyone. x

  10. We're right in the middle of town, just off the harbour. Padstow centre is pretty tiny, so that puts us about 300 yards from Basildog's.

    I'd certainly go to Nathan Outlaw if I were you. His cooking is great, and I'd like to experience the new setting. I ate there a little while back and the dining room is good. Fowey is also a lovely town on the South Coast of Cornwall - with fab walking, boats, ferries etc. Due to a late arrival one Sunday recently, when no amount of persuasion could secure us a late table at Nathan Outlaw, we happened upon the King of Prussia, a first floor pub with granite steps off the town quay. Good ordinary wine by the glass, and a delicious 'Fowey Rarebit' - crab, smooked cheese, onion etc. Absolutely ACE, so I ordered one for pudding too. :biggrin:

    The Fowey River also has one of the most idyllically sited Rowing Clubs in the country. click :wink:

    See you soon!

  11. Long time low temperature (140F/55C bottom oven of the AGA) for 6 hours, then flash the skin (250C/500F) for 10 mins

    I go with this. Did a Label Anglais chicken with a slice of lemon and four cloves garlic inside. The juices were FAB. Also spread loads of butter around, and s&p.

    Best £10 I have spent recently. Except for the oysters scallops and roast cauliflower, that is.

  12. Gary, Bapi etc.... how far are you from N Manchester? 1 hour plus?

    Talk of beef...

    :)

    Translation please? :huh:

    HOW FAR ARE IS WESTOW FROM NORTH MANCHESTER.

    Sorry if I didn't make that clear. I will be in North Manchester and need possibly to get to Westow for some beef. So I think to myself: 'Who will know how long it takes?' Perhaps my hairdresser? No. A bloke who lives in North Manchester, I reckon is my best bet.

    ffs. :sad:

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