Stigand

Marrow bone seems to have been a riskier meal back in those days. According to the Norse myths, Thjalfi the giant was enslaved by the god Thor for cracking open the leg bones of his magic goats to eat the marrow. Glad I don't have to worry about then when I go to St John. Click.

So kind of like a classic champagne cocktail, just with lemon in place of bitters? This reminds of a question I've always wanted to know the answer to. Where I'm from (the UK), a champagne cocktail is angostura, sugar, brandy & champagne. On moving to America, I was surprised to find that if I ordered a champagne cocktail in a bar I'd often get the same thing - but with no brandy. Is this a genuine US version, or was this just some kind of house quirk?

I'm very surprised to hear that, even as of last January, you were able to eat marrow in the UK...bovine spongiform encephalitis (Mad Cow)...we were in London right after the big outbreak, and you couldn't get any beef on the bone. Beef on the bone is now legal again, thank God. Basically the English reaction to BSE was to destroy most cattle. The beef we eat nowadays ought to be fine (touch wood) - beef in the UK nowadays is if anything safer than that in most other countries, where BSE might be flying under the radar. Of course, this is little comfort to those of us who were eating the stuff in the 80s and early 90s . St John's bone marrow really is the business: I stopped by there for a late lunch on my own the other day: it felt very therapeutic to sit at one of the tables in the half-empty bar (it was 3pm on a weekday), gnawing on a few bones...

Sounds like ti punch.

Although I wonder if it had something of a pedigree in England as well. Patrick O'Brian has early nineteenth century naval officers drinking "Admiral's Flip" at a dance, which is described as a mixture of champagne and brandy. (We really need balmagowry to tell us whether this is historically authentic or just PO'B being whimsical.)

Removed for usurpation, schism and pluralism, I'm afraid... (AKA I suddenly worried that he might have been a breach of copyright, so I've deleted him while I check.)

I spent a couple of months in Frankfurt 8 years ago. I'm afraid I can't remember the names of any of the excellent and affordable restaurants where I enjoyed local dishes, but I do, inexplicably, remember the name of an exemplary schwarma booth that came to my rescue on the (few) occasions when I wanted something other than German food. It was called L'Emir Sandwich, and was in Sachsenhausen, although I'm afraid I can't remember the street, and don't know if it's still there and still good. Home made yoghurt, fresh parsley and succulent, spicy chicken. I remember it being very good.

The London Farmers' Markets website has this to say about Borough etc.: I go to the Pimlico Farmers' Market from time to time (not as often as I should), and I think it's very good. They often have interesting stuff: really good apples, interesting meat (often goat) and fish. Cheese good but obviously not as big a selection as Borough. Lots of veg at sensible prices, although obviously since it's a famrers' market you don't have the imported stuff and so in winter kale and swede tends to dominate . Last summer there was an incredible stall selling roses - not chocolate-boxy ones but intense, musky orbs that wouldn't have looked out of place in one of those brooding C17th Dutch still-lifes.

Some people, especially in the US, define binge drinking as drinking 5 or more drinks in a row (4 for women). If a 'drink' means a unit of alcohol, then 'binge drinking' includes what a lot of people in the UK would consider to be social drinking (so sitting in the pub with friends and drinking 3 pints of bitter would count as a binge). On the other hand, some people use binge drinking to mean much heavier drinking (more like the definition John gives in his post). The editorial guidelines of the Journal of Alcohol Studies prefer the second definition of binge drinking. So do I: the first definition seems like scaremongering.

Didn't pirates invent barbeque? Even if they didn't, eating it is no great sacrifice...

I tried the new Parmense pizza the other day and it was pretty good. It's nice to see that the competition from Strada etc is causing Pizza Express to raise its game (more, larger pizzas; some sensible menu extensions). I suppose selling thin pizzas to the middle classes has become a mature market now: lots of competition and little producer surplus. I don't think we need to weep for Pizza Express shareholders though - that's business as they say. Is it just me or is there a big difference between two different types of Pizza Express branch: you've got the small, neighbourhood-y ones that are often located in nice converted premises (e.g., Pimlico, Dulwich Village), and the huge aircraft-hangar-y ones that feel like downmarket Conran gastrodomes (e.g., the one on the South Bank or the new Richmond branch). I like the second sort a lot less than the first sort. But I wonder if nowadays most of Pizza Express's business is done in the hangars. If this is true, this might have something to do with their declining profit margins as well.

They're absolutely ubiquitous in the UK; I'd guess that 99% of households have one. And they're popular in offices too. When I first moved to the US and was confronted with a stove-top kettle, I didn't even know how it worked. I assumed it was some sort of Little-House-on-the-Prairie-style nostalgia, until it dawned on me that it was in fact the norm. On the other hand, we do drink quite a bit of tea in England, so perhaps it's not surprising that we take our kettles very seriously...

Sorry - I was being unclear. What I meant was that I agree that _lots_ of pubs are being revamped and starting to serve (usually mediocre) food, and also that _a few_ pubs are turning into food-only places that no longer deserve the name of pub. What I don't agree with is what Hann seems to be implying, namely that there are a large number of pubs that are refusing to serve people who won't buy meals. He seems to be conflating the two phenomena. I totally agree with your comments on the crapness of so many new pubs, and your observation that old-man's-pubs are being bought up and transformed, not always for the better. (The pub I recommended in my last posts was a very dingy old-man's-pub before it was revamped. In this case, though, I think justice was done...)

Forgot to mention - I remember Andy Lynes writing a great article on the same theme last year (think it was called "Saying no to gastropubs" or something like that). Would post the link but can't seem to find it - sorry for incompetence...

Hmm - not sure what I find more vexing about this article: the misleading logic, the rose-tinted nostalgia or the crashing inverse snobbery. Hann's main argument, that lots of pubs are refusing to serve those who don't want to buy food, just doesn't reflect my experience. It seems to be a distorted synthesis of two observations: i) that many more pubs now offer food and ii) that a few pubs have turned into restaurants and don't serve just drinks at all. I agree that if this were a widspread trend, that it would be bad - I just don't see it happening in London at the moment. What's more, it seems particularly unfair to criticise gastro-pubs for being "ubiquitous and formulaic". Weren't the "genuine" pub that Hann eulogises also fundamentally formulaic? Surely the distressed leather sofas and Groove Armada CDs are just the modern day equivalent of the smoked glass, wood panelling, and faux Victoriana of traditional pubs? I don't think there's anything wrong with being formulaic in and of itself: consider the classic French bistro, a good diner or deli - so longer as the quality is good, wild variety is unnecessary. Of course, quality is the key, and this is where Hann has a point. If the aspiration to be a gastropub encourages landlords to sell overpriced Sysco hummus and microwaved satay, this is clearly a Bad Thing. To save this from becoming a rant (hmm - perhaps too late), can I recommend a Gastropub I love, that serves simple home-cooked organic food (including a very good Sunday roast), but will gladly sell you a drink even if you don't want to eat. It's called the Idle Hour, and it's hidden away in a tiny lane in Barnes (I can never find it and have to be led there by Barnesian sherpas). It has a web-site but don't hold that against it.

Just curious - how does it differ from their Sansbitter product - the one that comes in little bottles? have you tried both? Owen, Afraid I haven't tried (or even seen) Sansbitter. San Pelligrino Chino is sweet as well as bitter, and quite dark in colour. There is a website, but it seems to be down at the moment. It describes Chino as a type of chinotto, so I wouldn't be surprised if the flavour is similar to the Chinotto you photographed in your recent post. What does Sansbitter taste like? I dimly remember seeing virulent red bitter soft drinks in Spain many years ago that tasted like non-alcoholic Campari: was it like this?

I can't believe I'm posting recommendations of... er... sex shops on e-gullet. But a sophisticated and non-sleazy/non-threatening one is Coco de Mer, an upmarket 'erotic boutique' run by (among others) the daughter of Anita Roddick of Body Shop fame. From Time Out: Coco de Mer 23 Monmouth Street, Covent Garden, WC2H 9DD (020 7836 8882 / www.coco-de-mer.co.uk). Covent Garden tube. Open 11am-7pm Mon-Wed, Fri, Sat; 11am-8pm Thur; noon-6pm Sun

Interesting site- thank you! I liked the look of the suckling pig, although I have no idea of whether the price (£110) is good or not. I couldn't find St George's Mushrooms, but perhaps they've sold out. D'you mind if I ask how much they cost per kg? PS: Steve Martin: I had a look at your website too: love the pictures.

I love mushroom hunting, although I'm no expert. I mainly pick parasols (macrolepiota procera) because that's all I can generally find. I've never tried in Spring before because I think St George's Mushroom is the only worthwhile mushroom that grows in the UK in the spring, whereas in autumn if you miss one species, you're likely to get something else.

Skate (k)nobs do look a bit like scallops (white, somewhat circular) and are sweet-tasting. I've never heard of them being used fraudulently as a scallop stand-in, but they are very tasty and (at least here in the UK) good value for money. I think I like them more than skate in fact. On the skate/ray debate: the fish that I call skate my (British) grandmother calls ray. Not sure if this is a peculiarly British usage, but it does suggest that ray and skate may be synonymous.

The original (non-chocolate covered) Hob Nobs are good with Roquefort. But as Gustatorian said, you can get them in the US if you crave them. At least I know you can get them in CA. Enjoy your trip!

San Pelligrino's Chino (Chinotto?) is great: bitters soda. To me it tastes like a fizzy version of Angostura Bitters. Yum.

Thanks MobyP! Calling around indicates: Moen's don't have them (yet) Harvey Nicks have them at £53/kg Harrods have them at £59.99/kg [splutter]

I've noticed St George's Mushrooms on the menu at St John, and mentioned in Rowley Leigh's column in the weekend FT. I was wondering whether anyone knows any grocer or market in the London area that happens to be selling them to the general public this week? One catch: I'm looking to buy them tomorrow (Wednesday), so I can't rely on the mushroom place at Borough Market. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Some of it is a bit much, I agree. But the new posters in the shops promoting the fact they make the sandwiches fresh are great: [Picture of concerned-looking 1950s scientist] Headline: "Eating fatty food can make you fat. Just think what eating old food will do to you!"