slacker

WE??? I think you will find it was young Becky aged three, who caught it. ← While you were 30 miles away in a rowing boat. Do drop in Sackville! We are very child-friendly for a wine merchant: our wine terrace is perfect for a bottle of pop....and a fizzy drink or two for the wains!

Would I be right to state that there are many more byo places (and no corkage) in Ed that in London? Or is that because I've not visited for ages?

Nice thread, folks. I'm afraid that 'value' food shopping may have disappeared, at least for the masses, paradoxically. Stop going! But of course, if there's no better... In Padstow we have lost the butcher, gained a burtcher. Lost a crab merchant, gained a fishmonger. Lost a fishmonger gained a chippy. And all this in the name of quality? Never! Market forces at work - all in the last year or so. I'd like a new butcher in the town, and a new fishmonger. If I had the cash I'd make it so, and do local veg on the side......except that I'm a wine merchant of sorts, and haven't a clue. Things aren't how they used to be in my day......

Good to hear! I reckon somewhere selling a nice light inexpensive red - chilled, in nice chunky glasses could do well in summer. I could happily lose an afternoon drinking that anyway ! ← I think it may be 2003 Gamay, C. de la Presle, Touraine. And there may also be Krug by the glass. I fancy giving it a go!

Update.....whew! When the sun shines we are packed! :)

Ok, we're off! We had our opening bash last night, after a few days pulling the last few loose ends together. The Mayor of Padstow cut the ribbon, and we are open from 11am today. We operate a very simple fixed-price corkage policy: £5 plus the shelf price for any bottle. We have a dozen or so wines by the glass, priced at about twice what you'd pay for a quarter bottle of the same. Add to that G&T made with Tanqueray Ten (=TT&T), Absolut Bloody Marys, Pimms and chilled Manzanilla, serve with some bread from Basildog with dipping oil, and voila! A binTwo Wine Terrace! There will be pics here soon.

A brilliant start. Thanks SD. I have accidentally and brutally cut off my chopping hand whilst clipping my fingernails, so won't now be able to compete. Sorry. Let's see how the rest of you do, though. I am rather excited about the market too. :)

Oh, I've finally got it. This isn't Catalan Ready-Steady-Cook, but a bit of homework to get done as and when. We're definately on. At least I'm definately on. She (tcm) will prob be on, too. In fact, we might just compete. Oh yes. We need more rules. Perhaps I'll just reread those already given.

Yeah, no problem. How about choosing a deadline? Would Sunday, June 19 be ok with everyone? ← Early June being 1st to 6th. Don't arrange especially for us, but we'll try and join in if there's anything on then. We are staying very close to La Boqueria, and will doubtless be visiting frequently. Are ther any days better than others?

If this is still on in early June, I (we) might like to join in, if that's possible.

oh no, slacker, that's extremely shabby behaviour. to redress the karmic balance (what??), I would be prepared to sacrifice a jar of my mum's marmalade (it would be the smallest jar, of course, I'm not entirely altruistic). are you going to be in London in the next few months? ← Yes.

Useful thread! binTwo, the merchant I run in Cornwall (Rubbish Website), Groovy Messageboard , will be opening its doors in May, Plumber Volente, to the great and the good who wish to drink wine with us rather than just buy it. So technically it's a wine bar. We have a slate terrace in front of the shop which will be strewn with teak chairs and tables, and we shall have a few seats under our canopy and a few more inside. But it never rains in Cornwall. Smart brand colour railings will mark our territory. A supplier the other day suggested we operate a system where anybody can try anything (we stock c.500 lines). I love this idea. We'd also have staples - Champagne, Wine, Gin, stickies etc. I envisage customers paying a fixed mark-up of x, still undecided, but possibly £5 per bottle or half the price of the bottle per quarter bottle glass, though of course explained less confusingly. I'd like to discover the joys of nitrogen gassing, too. Any pointers? And we are not serving meals, but nibbles. Smart crisps, smart nuts, Olives, bread & oil, sweet thingies (?). All views welcome, helpful or otherwise.

[tucks bat under arm and walks]

Can we keep on topic please? ;)

Brief addendum:- I tried the curd from the fridge last night, and it's gone grainy. I think next time I might beat the butter in after cooking, and stir till cold over ice for the silkiest of textures. And when I say tried.....4 dessertspoonsful before by conscience kicked me. :)

And the eggs make lovely lemon curd, which thinking about it, is hollandaise with too much lemons and not enough vinegar.

I used this recipe this morning with lemons from Malta. I gather they were from someone's garden, so possibly not truly organic, but natural, certainly. Look at their misshapenness. I also used these eggs, which were given to me last weekend by the farmer and his wife. Nice. Recipe worked a dream. Didn't quite boil....sieved finally.....and potted. I have also eaten slightly too much: most of it in warm spoonfuls, but some on Maltese galetti, or water biscuits. It has the most delicious, creamy texture, and given the ingredients, I can't believe it doesn't taste rich. Mmmmm eggs. :) P.S. Moderator, why can I not upload pics here?

Um, yeah, I've found one in my Waitrose.

I expect that JM intends to be read with less of a pinch of salt than I award him. Both points you make are valid, but they (i.e. he not you ) entertain rather than annoy me. Edited for PS: Is not Best-of-all-Davidness a shade patronising? :) Oh bugger I've missed another joke.....

A few points from Sunny Cornwall. And in no particular order. I like Meades writing style. It amuses and challenges me. I think we review restaurants as we eat at them personally. The review can only ever be a guide. I also enjoy his point about anticipation being better than savouring. Our imaginations are surely the most lively part of our minds, so is not the savouring inevitably disappointing? I still believe that there is far too much of the Emperor's New Clothes about the 'pinnacle' of today's restaurateurism. Granted, I am not one to afford these clothes, but all the same common sense reviewing is all too often lacking, and I'm afraid that common sense includes a respect for education. I'm afraid that use of 'non'-words is to be magnificated perumptiously. Come on, how does language evolve? I have rarely misunderstood Meades and his peculiar lingo. Finally, I really disagree with Meades' last paragraph. Utter, utter crap. But hey, let's laugh at him. He had to finish triumphantly: he just got it wrong this time. Arrividerci, mon brave.

What's a sticky Bapi? I'm having a strange mental image that I'm not sure is entirely healthy. ← He's always sticky - haven't you noticed? Whatever.... ........nice review Bapi. I stayed at Burnham Overy Staithe what must be b years ago - one November. My lasting memory is not of twatty Londoners (do they exist (tongue-in-cheek-emoticon)), but of large fistfuls of peeled brown shrimp. These are the best prawn/shrimp/lobstery thingy I have EVER tasted. :) P.S. Do you think I'm a starling? Edited for unclosed bracket, para 3.

A few other pearls in no particular order.... Ed said he had enough room to move the birds after 1 year within the same enclosure, then grow corn on the fertilised part. This helps prevent disease. They like shoelaces. And fancy their chances with a 6'3" alcoholic. They say buuuuuuuuuuccckkkkk buk buk buk, much like the other hens I've met. They make great Eggs Benedict. (Do say if you want repro action shots of this, and I will oblige, with muffins) They don't smell like battery hens do. They run away when you say 'mechanically recovered'. The yolks are golden, and very, very rich. Double yolkers don't necessarily produce twice the yolk....more like 1 and a half times. They die less than battery hens do. Ummmm...... (Edited for spelling)

She met a rather gingery-whiskered long-tailed gentleman who seduced her whilst he pretended to read his newspaper.

Call me a pedantic pedant, but 'we' had eggs benedict 'with' hollandaise? Mmm? We had Eggs Benedict, I think. I had extra Hollandaise, but then I was making it:- Some White Wine vinegar - about as much as... Juice of 1 lemon, which you also need Heat in a pan till simmering, then beat into:- Two Colombian Blacktail Yolks (=four in this case) separated ready in a mixing bowl with a dessertspoon of white sugar. add a large pinch salt, loads of ground black pepper (rustic recipe ) Then melt:- 1 pat (250g/½lb) Salted Butter in the pan When melted, add in a big stream to the yolk mixture, whisking as you go. It will thicken beautifully, but not quite enough. Balance the bowl on the top of your egg poaching pan, and allow it to warm as the water simmers. Whisk occasionally until thick, but get it too hot and you will need to start again. Aim for the consistency of thick custard (Bird's i.e., not Anglaise) Adjust the seasoning: clearly I like my hollandaise sweet and peppery. Be sure to try often as you poach the eggs. Cook's privilege. Edited because you can't type in smilies. Why not?

I have heard of the Exeter Blue Fish. I knew the owner of the St Ives Blue Fish when I worked for another merchant. More than that....sorry. That was a few years ago.