NY Times On Ludlow

[cabrales]

Yesterday's NYT Dining section had a 3/4 page article on Hill (Merchant House), Bradley (Mr Underhill's) and Bosi (Hibiscus) in Ludlow. Entitled "An Astonishment of Riches In a Tiny English Town". The article notes that culinary tourist numbers are growing, and the three restaurants have approx. 21 tables combined.

Without connotations I agree, below are excerpts from the article:

-- "For a country that has not entirely shaken a reputation, now undeserved [not implying due to the efforts the three described chefs, I hope], for dreadful food, the cluster of stars in Ludlow is a phenomenon worth exploring. They define a hub of culinary excellence of the sort one might expect to discover in France but surely not in a nation where sweets are called puddings and bubble and squeak is the name of a national dish."

-- "'I think Claude [bosi] will have two stars before too long,' said Mr. Hill, of the Merchant House, exhibiting the generosity that is typical of the three chefs here but would be an anomaly elsewhere. 'It's quite odd,' said Mr. Bradley of Underhill's. 'We socialize. It's rare in England. In Suffolk, where we were before, it was tremendously cutthroat. This is a rare opportunity to walk over to another Michelin-starred restaurant.' And so they do, eating at one another's places several times a year [each is one-starred].  If Hibiscus offers Parisian haute couture, both the MErchant House and Mr. Underhill's are Saville Row, serving the chefs' interpretations of modern British cooking."

-- "As in all such constellations, it is unclear how long Ludlow will keep its three stars. Mr. Bosi has professed an interest in moving on. Mr. Bradley would like a larger place. And Mr. Hill said he has no grand plan to stay. Wise diners will book accordingly, before the night sky changes conce again."

[Bapi]

Very Interesting Post Cabrales, thanks. We dined at all three earlier in March, which was a fantastic experience. Top of the heap for me was Hibiscus. Quite simply stunning food, perfectly timed and presented. Amongst the dishes we had on Claude Bosi's 9 course tasting menu, were: an appetizer of Fondue of egg with cauliflower veloute; Fricasse of snails in a wild garlic broth;  langoustines with truffle butter,and foie gras with liquourice.A Fantastic piece of Glouscester Old spot with wonderful crackling to put the Mother in law's to shame, was also on offer.

We ventured back there again three weeks ago, and had another superb meal (Started with the best Appetizer I have ever had- Foie Gras soup followed by amongst others, Turbot with baked melon! Odd but sublime) I will post a full review when time and grey cells permit.

The Merchant House was next where I had Sweetbreads with potato and olive cakes, followed by his famous Steamed and then fried Duck. Enjoyable, but didn't make me want to weep like the Venison and Foie Gras dish I had there a few years back.

Mr Underhill's has without a doubt the best location at the foot of Ludlow castle, and next to Dinham Bridge overlooking the Weir. The food is very good but I have to say not outstanding. A lovely piece of Brill was perfectly cooked tostart with and to follow Medallions of beef were served acutely pink, as they should be. The odd thing here is, as no doubt the many of you know, is that there is absolutely no choice whatsoever until the final dessert course. The thinking being to get the best possible produce on the day and then serve it everyone. (Very unusual concept, I only know of one other place that employs this technique Morston hall in Norfolk). We knew what to expect this time , but on our first trip there in 2000, I was deeply dissapointed. Isn't half the fun in dining out to peruse the menu and decide what you want? Anyway, the food was on that occasion very good, but when we asked as to why this was the case and why we had not been told there was no choice when booking, the rather terse response was "That's the way we have always done it"!

In any case , those who haven't made this culinary trip should  and by the sounds of it soon.

[John Whiting]

Mirabel Osler's long article on Ludlow, published in the NY Times Magazine in 1999, is far better. She lives there, she knows it inside out, and she's a fine writer. It's still available from the NY Time archives for $2.50, or much less if you have a package account. http://query.nytimes.com/search....1494D81

And Mr. Hill said he has no grand plan to stay.

Neither does he have any "grand plan" to leave, or even to expand. In fact, he has no "grand plan" at all. Enviable.  

[cabrales]

Amongst the dishes we had on Claude Bosi's 9 course tasting menu, were: an appetizer of Fondue of egg with cauliflower veloute . . .

Bapi -- The largest picture in the NYT article is one of Bosi's cauliflower soup in an eggshell, to which you referred. The veloute is served inside an eggshell, which itself is perched on a base of salt. Julienne of truffles appear to be draped over the top of the eggshell. I have never eaten in Ludlow, and the above description is only from the picture.  

[yvonne johnson]

Here's the link

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/19/dining/19SHRO.html

On Bradley's cooking: ""a perfectly cooked piece of brill"

On Hill's cooking; "'perfectly cooked sole"

Burros makes some fun of herself, "rereading my notes from the [Hill] meal I see the word 'perfect' scattered generously.  There was a perfect and subtle sauce....perfectly cooked asparagus."

Why wouldn't a good editor ask writer to tell reader what made these dishes perfect?

[cabrales]

Edward Behr includes The Merchant House as among his "particularly recommended" restaurants, in his feature article on "English Food" in the most recent edition of "The Art of Cooking":

"The best meal I ate in England [note Behr did not eat at, say, any Gordon Ramsay restaurant, La Tante Claire, etc., but ate at The Square], nearly perfect. Shaun Hill, the chef, cooks alone (he also answered the phone the two times I called). His wife, Anja, makes the desserts, and she serves with one helper. . . ."

[Steve Klc]

I'm glad Ed is up on where to go. Of course, Andy Lynes began talking about Shaun Hill here on eGullet back in August, which eventually led to Shaun sitting in for an eGullet Q&A in May.

Cab--was there anything about the Behr piece--and specifically his writing with respect to Shaun Hill--that added significantly to what ground we had already covered here? (Which also pre-dated the above-linked June Burros/Times piece "An Astonishment of Riches in a Tiny English Town" as well.)

[cabrales]

Steve Klc -- With respect to Shaun Hill, no. I didn't learn anything material from Behr's article on British food, with respect to restaurants at least. I also believe that, despite Behr's own caveat, one cannot write an article purporting to assess the state of cuisine in the UK without dining at Gordon Ramsay RHR, La Tante Claire and Waterside Inn, among other places.