tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30353514796461617822024-03-14T03:58:59.353+00:00Eat-Drink-Man-Womanprivate, passionate and independent reviews of restaurants in London, Scotland and elsewhere - with some additional thoughts for foodMan-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.comBlogger262125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-19705120593750999592012-12-09T19:57:00.000+00:002012-12-09T20:44:28.092+00:00We have moved!You should be redirected in 6 seconds - if not please click the link below<a href="https://eatdrinkmanwomanblog.wordpress.com/"></a>:<br />
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<br />Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-82029900145396895172012-11-27T08:20:00.000+00:002012-11-27T08:20:17.141+00:00Do you know Brezeme?<span style="font-size: large;">For us it's a wine discovery, courtesy of the excellent sommelier at <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/lunches-at-ledbury-from-excellent-to.html#.ULR3dKNPJ3w" target="_blank">The Ledbury</a>: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Brezeme is a Northern Rhone appellation, and the sample we tried is from a grape called Serine, a clone of Syrah.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It is quite spicy in fact, and we taste cherries and lots of Summer fruit, as well reminiscences of sun-warmed Mediterranean beaches, and desire of a vacation.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We think it's also biodynamic. If so it would be one of a lengthening list of biodynamic wines we really like, which is funny because we think that what in biodynamics is beyond organic is just biobullshit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Be that as it may, what a lovely discovery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/">Home</a></span>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-28770799001860264212012-11-17T09:48:00.003+00:002012-11-27T08:18:02.665+00:00The Tavern at Strathkinness: Nice pub<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LGkkj4G4Qcc/UHrlrCV5SEI/AAAAAAAAF_M/AM_KzzdaMm0/s1600/interior.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sxmXmkA6P0M/UHrmBnAoXJI/AAAAAAAAF_c/Fcsn9WpXdjI/s1600/savouryscones.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vff5mpVw9gM/UHrlzeO485I/AAAAAAAAF_U/xiPVXxWTswk/s1600/mussels.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ty5K7RJiNz4/UHrmJzwVjTI/AAAAAAAAF_k/FMzdEQbDZTU/s1600/scallopsandblackpudding.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j9DXLyl4tx8/UHrlWq_m9uI/AAAAAAAAF-8/x8i2mwdqgfk/s1600/cajunsalmon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited September 2012).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not sure they would satisfy beer lovers. But we are especially incompetent about beer and we couldn't recognise a good selection from assorted warm water (the many locals looked happy though). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nor is it too likely that they will win any interior design award. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LGkkj4G4Qcc/UHrlrCV5SEI/AAAAAAAAF_M/AM_KzzdaMm0/s1600/interior.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LGkkj4G4Qcc/UHrlrCV5SEI/AAAAAAAAF_M/AM_KzzdaMm0/s640/interior.JPG" width="480" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But on the food front, on the food front... something is going on...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We were immediately pleased by the savoury scones served with the good, soft butter</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sxmXmkA6P0M/UHrmBnAoXJI/AAAAAAAAF_c/Fcsn9WpXdjI/s1600/savouryscones.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sxmXmkA6P0M/UHrmBnAoXJI/AAAAAAAAF_c/Fcsn9WpXdjI/s640/savouryscones.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Then, we delighted in the lovely freshness of the seafood produce, </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vff5mpVw9gM/UHrlzeO485I/AAAAAAAAF_U/xiPVXxWTswk/s1600/mussels.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="502" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vff5mpVw9gM/UHrlzeO485I/AAAAAAAAF_U/xiPVXxWTswk/s640/mussels.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">in the apt cooking, in the balance and assertiveness of flavours. Both these plump mussels and these sweet scallops with black pudding could be proudly served in far more exhalted establishments</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ty5K7RJiNz4/UHrmJzwVjTI/AAAAAAAAF_k/FMzdEQbDZTU/s1600/scallopsandblackpudding.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ty5K7RJiNz4/UHrmJzwVjTI/AAAAAAAAF_k/FMzdEQbDZTU/s640/scallopsandblackpudding.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">When we read the adjective 'tropical' next to 'chicken' and we saw the accompanying rice, we must admit, we feared the worst student kitchen style culinary crimes. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j9DXLyl4tx8/UHrlWq_m9uI/AAAAAAAAF-8/x8i2mwdqgfk/s1600/cajunsalmon.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="464" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j9DXLyl4tx8/UHrlWq_m9uI/AAAAAAAAF-8/x8i2mwdqgfk/s640/cajunsalmon.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But no, the son at the stoves (mum in the front of house, dad everywhere) clearly has that touch that makes dishes pleasing even when they are not elegant and look a little stodgy. This dish was alive, vibrant with herbs and spices, fruit and vegetables.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And then an eternal pub classic:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YW1S4Ohw5Nk/UHrlhF620xI/AAAAAAAAF_E/uWNOwACzQCM/s1600/fishandchips.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YW1S4Ohw5Nk/UHrlhF620xI/AAAAAAAAF_E/uWNOwACzQCM/s640/fishandchips.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">You can see that the chips are home-made, quite well, but what stood out here was the quality of the peas and the tartare sauce, in the stratosphere compared to that of the celebrated and multi-award winner Anstruther fish bar (not too distant in Fife), whose fish to us tastes very good but no better nor fresher nor better battered than this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We stopped at this point that night, satisfied after the very short drive from St Andrews, having paid very fair prices and regretting only that their wine list wasn't more interesting, but we went out already full of desire to come back, and to try other dishes and their desserts. This is one of those little local miracles, simple food low in pretensions and rich in personality, in an atmosphere of kindness and charm (well done mum and assistant).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Home</a></span>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-73832312813291542822012-11-14T11:48:00.000+00:002012-11-14T11:48:29.090+00:00Finally three for CrippaPiazza Duomo, <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/piazza-duomo-alba.html#.UKODFGdi9c8" target="_blank">which blew us away last year</a>, has finally got its third star. For anybody who wants to understand modern Italian cuisine at its highest level, this (together with <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/osteria-francescana-modena.html" target="_blank">Francescana</a>) is the place to go.<br />
Congratulations Crippa!Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-187918468832878522012-11-01T22:33:00.000+00:002012-11-16T20:43:53.500+00:00Diana (Bologna)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u6Ue_fqAnyY/UHBB2s5JJAI/AAAAAAAAF-A/zL_4sH1mJKk/s1600/fettuccinecheinvecesonopappardellone.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZvR8_WVIDh0/UHBAvJodY4I/AAAAAAAAF94/mjjOAVBnkRc/s1600/bollito.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited September 2012)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Continuing our 'tour' of Italian restaurants....</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once upon a time the Bolognesi used to go to Diana when they wanted a good traditional eat with that touch of elegance. Nowadays its reputation is a bit that of a tourist trap, banking on its past and its very central location.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The truth, we suspect, is that maybe Diana was never more than a perfectly decent restaurant, but the world has moved forward while they have remained exactly in the same spot. Neither the cuisine, nor the waiters in their demeanour and attire have adapted one bit to the times. Here you can touch the past, something that may have its charm and interest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But... OK, this is one of the decayed Queens of the Bologna restaurant scene,
but it ain't so bad either. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We stuck with the classics, we had low expectations (that old trick for happiness), and were indeed quite happy. For example, pappardelle with
porcini - right in season - were well made, eggy and generous.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u6Ue_fqAnyY/UHBB2s5JJAI/AAAAAAAAF-A/zL_4sH1mJKk/s1600/fettuccinecheinvecesonopappardellone.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u6Ue_fqAnyY/UHBB2s5JJAI/AAAAAAAAF-A/zL_4sH1mJKk/s640/fettuccinecheinvecesonopappardellone.JPG" width="634" /></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And a bollito misto definitely will not attain <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/osteria-francescana-modena.html" target="_blank">Bottura's heights</a> in nearby Modena (go, go, go); but it was a very honest, varied bollito, neither dry not soggy, with a decent accompanying sauce.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZvR8_WVIDh0/UHBAvJodY4I/AAAAAAAAF94/mjjOAVBnkRc/s1600/bollito.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZvR8_WVIDh0/UHBAvJodY4I/AAAAAAAAF94/mjjOAVBnkRc/s640/bollito.JPG" width="612" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> A
salad of ovoli (Caesar's mushrooms) truffle and parmesan as was to be expected featured
minuscule portions of the delicacies, but otherwise they would have cost
a fortune. At least we got a hint of the flavour. Lacking a microscope, no picture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A final dish of
woodland strawberries (once upon a time there were wild strawberries) with homemade ice-cream was pleasant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R9-fUOKGJ8o/UHBCnESHriI/AAAAAAAAF-I/yYXn8Yxyypc/s1600/gelatoconfragoline.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R9-fUOKGJ8o/UHBCnESHriI/AAAAAAAAF-I/yYXn8Yxyypc/s640/gelatoconfragoline.JPG" width="624" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We saw some
tortellini passing around and they looked a little sad, far too big to be real
thing. Glad we didn't order them.<br /><br />The wine list is quite deficient (severe understatement), yet we managed to pick an acceptable and well priced Pinot Noir from Alto Adige.<br /><br />Service was jovial, old fashioned and efficient. Prices are OK, (perhaps just slightly high) for quality quantity and location, look at around the 100 euro mark for two for three courses, without special ingredients.<br /><br />All
in all, not a destination restaurant, but a passable one if you are in
the area. Believe it or not, Bologna is NOT a gastronomic spotlight. It's hard for a gourmet to get some satisfaction here. In the end, the lukewarm and a bit rough embrace of Diana may not be the most uncomfortable place to have dinner in this city.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Home</a></span>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-89073678544059122742012-10-17T21:36:00.000+00:002012-11-01T20:52:09.380+00:00Osteria Francescana (Modena)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AWBaflRVKac/UHAhEdnzBJI/AAAAAAAAF88/MMe7g6hPXLw/s1600/ambience.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AWBaflRVKac/UHAhEdnzBJI/AAAAAAAAF88/MMe7g6hPXLw/s640/ambience.JPG" width="464" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited October 2012)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A pity that we could only find a spot at this uber-celebrated temple of Italian cuisine at a time that was only a few hours before the return flight to Scotland. A trip just for them, a maximum of three hours at Osteria Francescana: will they vanquish the natural fear of disappointment that always looms when stratospheric expectations are set? Bottura is not allowed to go wrong...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Let's see. Luggage in hand, the first customers of the day, we ring at the bell of the shut door with some trepidation, a few minutes before the opening time. A rule abiding non-Italian couple (a metaphor there?) standing in the vicinities resolves to follows us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When, three hours later, we come out of the same door, we definitely have learned a lot about modern Italian cuisine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We ordered the regulation classics menu at 140 euro that Chef Bottura himself offers to twist and 'integrate', quite substantially as it happens, according to your taste. It may seem common hospitality, but as you may have experienced yourselves there's more than one multistarred venue where instead rigidity reigns supreme. And here in the Osteria they do not care a jot about us taking photos of the food, their food is not too precious (hear, Alajmo?). Or about how you are dressed. It's good to see that the name Osteria is not a mere gimmick, and that some of that spirit survives even in the unavoidable three star formalism.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are the dishes that you must have seen photographed and described one thousand times on the internet. Please bear it the 1001th time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XrRfHOPmvug/UHAVat9gKpI/AAAAAAAAF7s/DaZljJBVLno/s1600/amouse.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="580" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XrRfHOPmvug/UHAVat9gKpI/AAAAAAAAF7s/DaZljJBVLno/s640/amouse.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fFA4lnQRMCs/UHAVocMwsPI/AAAAAAAAF70/148aDi33nB8/s1600/anguilla.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="444" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fFA4lnQRMCs/UHAVocMwsPI/AAAAAAAAF70/148aDi33nB8/s640/anguilla.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DoFqrWlNNCE/UHAhePn_bmI/AAAAAAAAF9E/XtfPHZPyh7E/s1600/crostatarotta.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DoFqrWlNNCE/UHAhePn_bmI/AAAAAAAAF9E/XtfPHZPyh7E/s640/crostatarotta.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We learned, for example, how full avant-garde with eyes on
the future can be rooted in terroir and tradition as firmly as an oak. We learned how Japanese ideas can brush shoulders with our Italian tradition in a subtle, classy way, with, light, clear, harmonious flavours, as in the first three dishes, Aulla tempura with frozen carpione, the Eel glazed with saba ('cooked must') and onion ashes; and the Homage to Thelonius Monk, justly revered as one of the greatest cod lovers in history. He would have loved this sublimely cooked one.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We didn't quite learn, but we had a glamorous revision lesson on how modern technique can put to the service of tradition, as in the bollito non-bollito (head, cheek, tail, belly, trotter and cotechino), evoking, if you are Italian, many memories and beating them all. And even better, perhaps, in the compressione di pasta, the literally multilayered flavours taking you in new sensorial territory, Royale de de foie gras combined with humble beans. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The 'little finger' tortellini (requested by Man) are more solidly traditional, but even here there's that special touch, the lightest of creams (panna d'affioramento) that suddenly makes many controversies on whether cream should be used in tortellini look silly: this is the solution, stupid! (best tortellini, ever, for the record - and Man has been raised on them in Bologna).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And the foie gras lollipop, one of the earliest Bottura creations, must be in the Hall of Fame of modern cuisine: it's hard to top the aged balsamic and foie combination, and the texture contrast.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Think pink is a pre-dessrt that was meant to please women and indeed it seemed to strike Woman more than Man, so Bottura got it right... </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The dessert, called `Oops I dropped the crostata' is simply beautiful, it really is one of the dishes that most compellingly provoke comparisons with visual arts, and has Man looking transfixed at it. It is very well made, with an airy crust, it is good and pleasant, yet Woman doesn't eat with her eyes alone...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">...in terms of flavour, we'd humbly say that it doesn't feel at the pinnacle of the art of patisserie in the same way as the rest of the meal felt at the pinnacle of the art of cooking.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So, while we leave the Osteria in a rush (a mere three hours didn't allow us to eat in a really relaxed way, plan near four hours from entering to exiting if you want to be in total relax), let us mention the service. We've seen complaints that it's stiff and sullen, but for us it was perfect. They graciously accommodated what they probably thought were some idiotic remarks by us on the wine, taking actions they thought unnecessary, and they were efficient, unpompous, relaxed. Some of them even almost smiled sometimes! The great man himself is part of the service as he goes around the tables to discuss and advise on the menu, and he does it smoothly. If he became tired of being a great chef, he might consider a career in the front room :) And we were impressed that he was on duty on a Monday lunch the day after his (50th) birthday.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Prices must the be some of the kindest in the world for a three star restaurant, and with this generosity. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">There is something humble and low key in this glorious Osteria that we find deeply charming. It's hard to imagine Italian cuisine coming better than this. There is a unique combination of creativity and clarity of conception,
perfection in execution, intelligent use of technique, and rootedness in the terroir, that make
Francescana unbeatable in this domain.Returning to try other dishes is not merely a desire, it is essential.</span><br />
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<br />Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-59221411000757200132012-10-10T07:57:00.000+00:002012-10-10T22:04:38.735+00:00Lunching at Briciole (London)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SnOizLKzU28/UG_dgYOnd9I/AAAAAAAAF6A/nUEXJaiDcJc/s1600/fettuccine.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited September 2012)</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oyMz4TH64yw/UG_hAJfQT2I/AAAAAAAAF6o/Swj1vMcW7KU/s1600/porciniparticolare.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oyMz4TH64yw/UG_hAJfQT2I/AAAAAAAAF6o/Swj1vMcW7KU/s640/porciniparticolare.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In this and the next two posts we go back to the real vocation of our blog: Italian food. We want to show you various embodiments of it that we've sampled in recent travels, from the simplest trattoria to a certain 'Osteria' which in fact offers the best high end Italian dining in the world...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our Italian gastronomic mini-trip begins...in London. Briciole, which opened less than a year ago (<a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.com/2012/02/briciole-ristorante-gastronomia-london.html" target="_blank">reviewed here</a>) is now in full flow and continues to serve simple, authentic fare that if you closed your eyes would make you think you are in Italy. Like these tagliolini with broccoli and ricotta</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RCfTQF7xRiA/UG_gQ7LjclI/AAAAAAAAF6Y/rfWvCd8hCyA/s1600/pasta.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="516" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RCfTQF7xRiA/UG_gQ7LjclI/AAAAAAAAF6Y/rfWvCd8hCyA/s640/pasta.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> or these pappardelle with (a very generous amount of!) a succulent ragu'</span>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SnOizLKzU28/UG_dgYOnd9I/AAAAAAAAF6A/nUEXJaiDcJc/s1600/fettuccine.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SnOizLKzU28/UG_dgYOnd9I/AAAAAAAAF6A/nUEXJaiDcJc/s640/fettuccine.JPG" width="638" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Pasta is very well made here - not surprising given that the mothership is Maurizio Morelli's <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.com/2011/12/dinner-at-latium.html" target="_blank">Latium</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The polpette in 'pizzaiola' (featuring great tomatoes) and the sausages continue to be addictive</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EXAi9X-XA8k/UG_gYwkFSzI/AAAAAAAAF6g/SKEIi2gp8OM/s1600/polpette.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EXAi9X-XA8k/UG_gYwkFSzI/AAAAAAAAF6g/SKEIi2gp8OM/s640/polpette.JPG" width="610" /></a> </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SEKREgwvS3A/UG_iNBXGDoI/AAAAAAAAF6w/bM_xTGQnXRM/s1600/salsicce.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="552" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SEKREgwvS3A/UG_iNBXGDoI/AAAAAAAAF6w/bM_xTGQnXRM/s640/salsicce.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is only with an enormous exertion of willpower that you can stop eating them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But just as you do...temptation is behind the corner, this time in the form of more exalted seasonal delicacies: fresh, chunky porcini, playing their earthy magics with a succulent, properly cooked (i.e., little) tagliata of Galloway beef</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J9XdIojS1hE/UG_e65BUGxI/AAAAAAAAF6Q/bbp8A1_l7MM/s1600/porcini.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="552" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J9XdIojS1hE/UG_e65BUGxI/AAAAAAAAF6Q/bbp8A1_l7MM/s640/porcini.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9GnzZw6TfSs/UG_jjJ5Ey1I/AAAAAAAAF64/7qUvEncSxM0/s1600/porciniopening.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9GnzZw6TfSs/UG_jjJ5Ey1I/AAAAAAAAF64/7qUvEncSxM0/s640/porciniopening.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Italian cuisine is strongly produce based and we like the idea of getting the good things that can be sourced where you are, rather than being obsessive in sourcing exclusively Italian products. This Galloway was great and this was one of the best tagliate we've had.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Briciole is fantastic value for money for food, but it is a veritable Heaven for the wine lover. We know of no other place in the UK where wines are so kindly priced. So it happens that you can drink stuff which would break the bank in London fine (and not so fine, too) dining restaurants, while here it just requires that extra effort:</span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pvyk2mvql1s/UG847RgXa_I/AAAAAAAAF3w/RLGWb6Bn0cw/s1600/IMG_1333.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pvyk2mvql1s/UG847RgXa_I/AAAAAAAAF3w/RLGWb6Bn0cw/s640/IMG_1333.JPG" width="480" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> On the alcohol front, there are other interesting temptations. Needless to say, we succumbed. This time it was a Sambuca and a liquorice based concoction where the core aromas leapt at you with marvellous clarity and intensity</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NZcxli-4eFw/UG88TcOU3aI/AAAAAAAAF5A/0_JZwhutCMk/s1600/IMG_1350.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NZcxli-4eFw/UG88TcOU3aI/AAAAAAAAF5A/0_JZwhutCMk/s640/IMG_1350.JPG" width="480" /></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZAiAcQYms3s/UG88pfHi5lI/AAAAAAAAF5I/ii04R_bMVeA/s1600/IMG_1351.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZAiAcQYms3s/UG88pfHi5lI/AAAAAAAAF5I/ii04R_bMVeA/s640/IMG_1351.JPG" width="480" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Briciole is a place that it's easy to love, when you're in the mood for the sheer joy of uncomplicated Italian cuisine, be it a bite from the gastronomy corner or a full meal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And if you want something fancier in terms of cooking and presentation, remember, Latium is still there...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Our usual reminder for posts like this that read a bit like ads: we always pay for the meal - although as also always happens everywhere, loyal custom tends to be acknowledged with some extra "attention" ;-) ).</span><br />
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<br />Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-16881597432688295972012-10-06T06:30:00.000+00:002012-10-06T07:33:43.502+00:00Simple but gorgeous: seafood platter at Ondine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited June 2012)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Saturday lunchtime is the most convenient time for us to forage in
Edinburgh, and this time with a ... ahem.. busy week ahead for our
stomachs we fancied something light yet tempting and rewarding - well,
we are in Scotland, blessed with fantastic seafood, so that had to be
the answer. Ondine was a no-brainer. Our excuse this time was to
compare their seafood platter with the one at the <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.it/2012/04/seafood-platter-at-seafood-restaurant.html" target="_blank">Seafood Restaurant</a>.<br /><br />
As <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.it/2011/07/ondine-edinburghs-seafood-heaven.html" target="_blank">we've showed before</a>, the room is light and airy. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HiDxjjVKMC4/UGhSwVbe4LI/AAAAAAAAF2w/_dbbE0uFgjI/s1600/instrumetns.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HiDxjjVKMC4/UGhSwVbe4LI/AAAAAAAAF2w/_dbbE0uFgjI/s320/instrumetns.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The operating table is ready with all the necessary implements nicely lined up.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">First however we needed to get in the mood, so we started with some oysters and
tempura squid with Vietnamese sauce. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In hindsight, we should have gone
for oysters "nature" instead of the fried version: at the first bite we
realised that the plump, juicy beauties (six of them in a portion) would have been happier if
showcased on their own, especially as both the batter and the
accompanying sweet and spicy sauce were basically the same as for the
excellent calamari. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gYuKnizNbtg/UGhR8w_MLVI/AAAAAAAAF2g/BZmp5_pwZ_Y/s1600/ostriche.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="554" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gYuKnizNbtg/UGhR8w_MLVI/AAAAAAAAF2g/BZmp5_pwZ_Y/s640/ostriche.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Still, pretty good, though unexpectedly the calamari stole the show at this initial stage.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bpa3sls0s70/UGhSbKJpCjI/AAAAAAAAF2o/I6cAATVll1A/s1600/calamari.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="492" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bpa3sls0s70/UGhSbKJpCjI/AAAAAAAAF2o/I6cAATVll1A/s640/calamari.JPG" width="640" /></a> Then, in comes the Roast Shellfish Platter - it is choke full with
seafood, from lobster to crab, mussels, langoustines, cockles, razor
clams, you name it, it's there. The picture don't do justice to the
generosity of the platter, below you have our two views:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C6V5Pms4pYw/UGhS9fiaYpI/AAAAAAAAF24/3csPGUd58ko/s1600/platter1.JPG"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C6V5Pms4pYw/UGhS9fiaYpI/AAAAAAAAF24/3csPGUd58ko/s320/platter1.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nSeIigY0QzA/UGhTEkCqAVI/AAAAAAAAF3A/mUlP36-H4rc/s1600/platter2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="464" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nSeIigY0QzA/UGhTEkCqAVI/AAAAAAAAF3A/mUlP36-H4rc/s640/platter2.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We should not compare this with the <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oYw0quKjpas/T2OxCbKb81I/AAAAAAAAFKI/lK4Z4EHoaOU/s1600/platter1.JPG" target="_blank">seafood platter at the Seafood Restaurant</a>, which is served cold, and is equally sumptuous and generous - yet the hot
version ticks all the boxes for us. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I8LBsXG_hSo/UGhNqkHLwsI/AAAAAAAAF1w/rfPVkExcvRg/s1600/macedonia.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I8LBsXG_hSo/UGhNqkHLwsI/AAAAAAAAF1w/rfPVkExcvRg/s640/macedonia.JPG" width="640" /></a>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A perfectly decent treacle tart with clotted cream and a summery fruit
salad with "rock" honeycomb closed proceedings. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A real a pity that this place is closed on
Sundays, which would make it easier for us to come more often - you lucky Edinburgh dwellers should not miss the
opportunity for a beautiful, and yes, light-ish lunch.</span><br />
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Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-41993664987283482042012-09-30T13:44:00.004+00:002012-11-17T13:09:53.471+00:00Lunch(es) at The Ledbury: from excellent to better<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited July and August 2012)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f8-u4l5pneg/UDfNdNKtWuI/AAAAAAAAFq4/Eilt-9Tm7lA/s1600/IMG_1074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The world hardly needs, let alone from us, an additional review of The Ledbury and Brett Graham, a restaurant and a chef that have (justly) received so much attention and accolades already. So here's just a memory, a celebration, of two great meals, ten days apart, that we had there in the Summer.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The first meal was chosen by us a la carte and was entirely fish (well, not the desserts), while the second was put together by the chef and focussed on meat. The dishes here look like the room and feel like the atmosphere, both elegant and unstuffy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r1US13RTHG8/UDfN3RcV_zI/AAAAAAAAFrA/_G0zLJ08GWI/s1600/IMG_1075.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r1US13RTHG8/UDfN3RcV_zI/AAAAAAAAFrA/_G0zLJ08GWI/s640/IMG_1075.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here they like (for several dishes) the theatre of bringing the just cooked produce at your table before plating, like these roast scallops:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z6peskhIWL8/UDfMCqPbvjI/AAAAAAAAFqY/wjqFLvIsJgo/s1600/IMG_1070.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z6peskhIWL8/UDfMCqPbvjI/AAAAAAAAFqY/wjqFLvIsJgo/s640/IMG_1070.JPG" width="640" /></a></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Already these whole chunky beasts on their seaweed bed would have been just fine as they were...But we are not in a barn, what do you think, so you get elegant plating and lovely brassicas as a bonus</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-masSM3R8nU8/UDfMcPeWnrI/AAAAAAAAFqg/Pz5_JsWLBTE/s1600/IMG_1071.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-masSM3R8nU8/UDfMcPeWnrI/AAAAAAAAFqg/Pz5_JsWLBTE/s640/IMG_1071.JPG" width="640" /></a></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Lobster with fennel and elderflower really tickles and surprises as a combination and is poetic to look at:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-daBk-_qCpdg/UDfNG5kmlRI/AAAAAAAAFqw/TLyni_or1S8/s1600/IMG_1073.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-daBk-_qCpdg/UDfNG5kmlRI/AAAAAAAAFqw/TLyni_or1S8/s640/IMG_1073.JPG" width="640" /></a></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> The cooking of this salmon was just exemplary, dare we say maybe not supported by the flavour of the salmon, perhaps its quality high but not as stellar as that of the scallops</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gWhxeCCPE_M/UDfOM5snbtI/AAAAAAAAFrI/MRAwgm8Hfm0/s1600/IMG_1076.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gWhxeCCPE_M/UDfOM5snbtI/AAAAAAAAFrI/MRAwgm8Hfm0/s640/IMG_1076.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> By the way, the famous flame grilled mackerel (no picture due to the excess of them on the web) is really as simple as it looks, as good as they say, and a piece of genius as you hope. You cannot not try it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This fish meal pleased us, made us feel good and happy with the world
as an excellent meal should, it made us admire the chef's marvellous
skills, but for some reason -probably more to do with us than with the
dishes- it did not take our breath away, which is rationally
inexplicable by looking back at these dishes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">But the
meat meal did it. It almost made us switch to Tripadvisor mode and scream
ohmygod this was the best meal of my life...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Seriously, the best or not, and what does the best mean anyway, it had that rare kind of consistently stunning
quality and inexorable culinary logic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Of all the delicacies above, genius is perhaps most apparent in one of the simplest, the fine green beans with powder of foie gras (i.e. frozen and grated), white peach and raw almonds. This is essentially a vegetarian dish with a non-vegetarian garnish. In this 'inversion' lies the greatness of this most suave offering.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Meat lovers will be happy too (excellent the pigeon with cherries) and so
those with a sweet tooth: both the chocolate pave' with milk puree' and
lovage ice cream, and the brown sugar tart with poached grapes and ginger
ice cream looked and were memorable, a triumph of flavour balance. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Service here adds another gear to the already impressive machine that the Ledbury is. Really great and hard working professionals in the front room, with an evident degree of autonomy and capacity for initiative, a well drilled, well oiled, and pleasant team (Sam was in charge on both days, what a nice chap). </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Not only were we happy because Graham attains extraordinary combinations of flavours while avoiding any infantile ostentation of techniques and 'molecularity'- the technique is all there, but it is at the service of the dish, it's behind it, it's not <i>the</i> dish: this is what we call mature cooking (in this, we were reminded of <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/l20-chicago.html">L20 in Chicago</a>). We were happy also because this is 2* Michelin eating for the modern era: what a satisfaction to eat in a place whose every aspect, from service to cuisine, is at the pinnacle and yet does not subject you to tedious formalisms, conventions, obligations: hurray!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Note: the photos are unedited, 'straight from the table', and AS ALWAYS, unlike some fellow bloggers, we paid for these meal) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.it/">Home </a></span>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-3141857040704554332012-09-23T07:34:00.001+00:002012-09-24T09:48:35.427+00:00Cambio de Tercio: Disappointing return<span style="font-size: large;">Just a short update (and photo-less: this meal wasn't meant to lead to a post...) to temper <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/cambio-de-tercio-london-tapas.html">the glowing report on our first visit at Cambio de Tercio</a>. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It was obviously too good to be true. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The jamon, while having good flavour, was depressingly far from the delicacy the real thing can be (our memories of the real thing, during a recent trip to Spain, still painfully vivid). This was so hard and stringy (and also poorly cut) that we enquired whether maybe it was from a paleta (front leg), which can be a little harder. No, it's jamon, they assured us. So we guess they had just picked the worst bits: thank you.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />A John Dory was presented with its flaccid skin and the accompanying squid wasn't properly cleaned.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />The waiter made a lot of difficulty with our choice of wine (for information, a Quercus 2005 at £63 selling about £20 retail). 'I'm sorry, we have run out, why don't you get this one which is very similar?'. 'How can it be very similar, it's a 2010 vintage?'. 'Ah OK, how about this one?'. 'It's also 2010...'. 'OK, maybe I have the Quercus, let me see'. And indeed, probably after a search that he hadn't relished, he came back with the bottle...whose content arrived only much much later to our uncomfortable table, after the jamon had already been served.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />And so on...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">After this experience, when in a 'Spanish mood' we'll try some of the other choices in London. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Or maybe, we'll use the savings made on wine markups and we'll fly direct to Spain...We noticed a disturbingly excessive £80 price tag on a Crianza Pago de Carraoviejas (a Ribera del Duero), when in Malaga we had the <u>Reserva</u> version of the same for fifty euros (40 pounds)!</span><br />
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<br />Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-15255269722499918042012-09-16T21:48:00.001+00:002012-09-16T21:48:10.880+00:00Istanbul: a few restaurant tips<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited July 2012) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A work trip to Istanbul, the chance to try a few places in the Taksim square area, and one (which was the best) in the old city. Read on.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">First of all, in all cities there's that little joint you go to for basic grub that tastes true and simple and costs little. For us, this was it: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">at the crossing between Cumhryet Cd. and Asker Ocagi Cd., across from the Intercontinental Ceylan and one minute from the Grand Hyatt, though you are more likely to meet the local police force at the end of their shift than the residents of these hotels</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">At <b>Meze by Lemon Tree</b> (<span rel="v:address"><span dir="ltr"><span class="street-address">Mesrutiyet cad No:83)</span></span></span> the meze (which you could choose 'by sight') were undoubtedly of
superior quality and featured interesting variations on the classics, as
well as a nice balance of flavours. But the a la carte starters and the
mains we had (aubergine, calamari and meatballs) tasted ordinary and devoid of good ideas. Given the almost fine
dining prices (for Istanbul), it's not more than average for what money can buy in the area. Should we repeat the experience, we would stick to the meze and we
would be happy. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Thoroughly disappointing, in spite of appearing on some newspaper article, was <b>9 Ece Aksoy</b> (Asmalimescit Oteller Sok. No.9). On this we just want to say that it looks nice but the food is mediocre or worse given the prices. And service far too pushy as well. Avoid. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Better was<b> Pano Saraphanesi </b>(Hamalbasi Cad. No:12/B Taksim). We went to this simple restaurant on the recommendation of a local
friend. As we arrived, we were pointed to a table in
the bustling street, but as soon as we (well, ok, our local friend really!) pronounced some secret magic words, we
were ushered upstairs with the elevator leading to one of those sweet
Istanbul roof terraces, where a few other tables were occupied. <br /><br />We
were told (or our friend was told) that they could buy some fresh fish
from the market, and we agreed. They even came back to report on the
high day price of the red mullet we had asked for, and offering to buy
for us a smaller and cheaper, but still tasty, variety.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And so on...<br /><br />In
sum, we had a great evening of simple fresh food in a very relaxing and
pleasant environment, but we cannot vouch for what it is like for
unaccompanied tourists (the prices, however, were very reasonable also
on the list). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span rel="v:address"><span dir="ltr"><span class="street-address"></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span rel="v:address"><span dir="ltr"><span class="street-address"></span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But the best of them all (and thus the only one deserving photos) was away from Taksim <b>Nar Lokantasi</b> (Nuruosmaniye Caddesi No. 65)<span rel="v:address"><span dir="ltr"></span></span>. </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vfg6AGwWQfk/UFYq3Yg1fjI/AAAAAAAAFyQ/iR-zPpReIco/s1600/IMG_1146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vfg6AGwWQfk/UFYq3Yg1fjI/AAAAAAAAFyQ/iR-zPpReIco/s640/IMG_1146.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> (Believe it or not, the above is a wall with plants.) Don't be put off by the fact that it occupies the fifth
floor of a shopping centre for the wealthy. The restaurant itself, while
elegant (both inside room and terrace) has character. Even more so the
food, which featured much attention to details and some classy cooking,
yet kept that down to earth quality.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jignlGh-tJw/UFYwpNPo2eI/AAAAAAAAF0Q/MsjSwULVVF0/s1600/IMG_1138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jignlGh-tJw/UFYwpNPo2eI/AAAAAAAAF0Q/MsjSwULVVF0/s640/IMG_1138.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s3SUGizNNv4/UFYsCT_EpbI/AAAAAAAAFyg/kYOftNPK8iA/s1600/IMG_1141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br />The style of cooking is
quite original and different from what one finds in the average lokanta,
but without excesses of fancy: to the contrary, the cuisine firmly emphasises
traditional methods.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IHMvZrcogGQ/UFYr3PibfRI/AAAAAAAAFyY/B4dSWf2szf0/s1600/IMG_1140.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IHMvZrcogGQ/UFYr3PibfRI/AAAAAAAAFyY/B4dSWf2szf0/s640/IMG_1140.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Only one dish we found mediocre, and that
was the soup. All the rest made us dream. As Italians, we very much
appreciated the quality of the olive oils used. <br /><br />The sweet
department (you can choose for yourself at the display) is...well, sweet: delightful little treats that stick in the memory. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nIrfMMM6dOI/UFYsqcIKskI/AAAAAAAAFy4/zV4E9wVlShI/s1600/IMG_1144.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nIrfMMM6dOI/UFYsqcIKskI/AAAAAAAAFy4/zV4E9wVlShI/s320/IMG_1144.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EyEgLTIePLA/UFYs5ZTUA6I/AAAAAAAAFzA/WcSMpUT6E-A/s1600/IMG_1145.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EyEgLTIePLA/UFYs5ZTUA6I/AAAAAAAAFzA/WcSMpUT6E-A/s320/IMG_1145.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There is also a pida
oven that made us salivate but it appeared not to function on the (ramadan) night we were
there. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a4xBhwXplMI/UFYtykSxvBI/AAAAAAAAFzY/bQA3qUt5iD8/s1600/IMG_1148.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a4xBhwXplMI/UFYtykSxvBI/AAAAAAAAFzY/bQA3qUt5iD8/s640/IMG_1148.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Most of the customers were local and were having a standard <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FIftar&ei=xEJWUKfiAaGK0AXA1IDoCQ&usg=AFQjCNF0tVPqAnbhYaphmSYN90RZEDpW5g">iftar</a>
series of courses. <br /><br />Service is kind if clumsy, and be prepared to point and mime if you don't speak Turkish, as they don't speak English - but waiters were patient and somehow it worked. Prices will positively
surprise you for such an elegant environment and for the level of the
produce and the cuisine. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ObDf4rOnpm4/UFYsbXvcVKI/AAAAAAAAFyw/pPVAo_0RfZw/s1600/IMG_1143.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ObDf4rOnpm4/UFYsbXvcVKI/AAAAAAAAFyw/pPVAo_0RfZw/s640/IMG_1143.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/">Home</a> </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ObDf4rOnpm4/UFYsbXvcVKI/AAAAAAAAFyw/pPVAo_0RfZw/s1600/IMG_1143.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-67926779829164951812012-09-09T20:42:00.000+00:002012-11-17T13:10:25.666+00:00Esperante (St Andrews): forgettable<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited July 2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">When bread arrives and it is in full supermarket style, that unmistakable feeling of a looming wasted dinner out pervades you. We are in this upscale golf hotel restaurant and all the cliches about hotel restaurants that we always refuse to be put off by seem about to be unleashed upon us.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Then you feel a little guilty because not one but two amuse bouches arrive.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s4T6LEQZRVQ/UEzNN6VW4lI/AAAAAAAAFwU/qNUMNxGWLrU/s1600/amouse+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="492" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s4T6LEQZRVQ/UEzNN6VW4lI/AAAAAAAAFwU/qNUMNxGWLrU/s640/amouse+-+Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Amouse bouche</b></i></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7loT3MQUwVY/UEzNbxVt4kI/AAAAAAAAFws/WP4K0WeOGq8/s1600/miparemaccarello.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="532" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7loT3MQUwVY/UEzNbxVt4kI/AAAAAAAAFws/WP4K0WeOGq8/s640/miparemaccarello.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>And another one </b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mousses, granita, tartare...not bad, not good, you see they are trying, no matter how clumsy the service is, to please you. Pity for the bone in the fish mousse, and for the fact that both amuses feel a little pointless. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ah, here's the bread offering, by the way: </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-brXcjROsiCE/UEzNf7LjXDI/AAAAAAAAFw0/cxmt5iudRss/s1600/trememdnopane.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-brXcjROsiCE/UEzNf7LjXDI/AAAAAAAAFw0/cxmt5iudRss/s640/trememdnopane.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Rather horrible bread</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">this, we have to say, was probably one of the worst breads we have had in quite a long while.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Looking around us, the room is pleasant in spite of that hotel restaurant feel, and the table is comfortable. If only that half drunk idiot celebrating something stopped flashing his camera around, especially in our eyes. Cameras are meant to be pointed just at food, doesn't he know? And please no flash!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A dish<i><b> of Crab, cucumber, watermelon, basil and vodka</b></i> <i><b> </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qTNf39hj6Oo/UEzNSj7aPjI/AAAAAAAAFwc/9yfAQNK3CAY/s1600/cocomero+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="382" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qTNf39hj6Oo/UEzNSj7aPjI/AAAAAAAAFwc/9yfAQNK3CAY/s640/cocomero+-+Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">contained many ingredients </span><span style="font-size: large;">and some technique, but it would have been nice instead to have focussed on the main ingredient, which was bland, and overwhelmed by the imperious watermelon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another starter of <i><b>Langoustine, cous cous, pimentos and rose pepper</b></i> gave us the impression that the chef had completely run out of ideas. This is a dish that can work, perhaps, in a rustic version and with larger quantities, not in the disjointed tiny amounts served here where no ingredient could shine and the cous cous seemed like an afterthought.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LWoqNp6DZtU/UEzNYUlRgwI/AAAAAAAAFwk/mRSuFHyyUug/s1600/couscous+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LWoqNp6DZtU/UEzNYUlRgwI/AAAAAAAAFwk/mRSuFHyyUug/s640/couscous+-+Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The mains were decidedly better, both a <i><b>Lamb loin, ratatouille, herb crust, sweetbreads, potato, Madeira</b></i></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i37uZtRuCzA/UEzO9vJiUDI/AAAAAAAAFw8/QdEp-80oQfg/s1600/lamb.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i37uZtRuCzA/UEzO9vJiUDI/AAAAAAAAFw8/QdEp-80oQfg/s640/lamb.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and the even longer named <i><b>Rabbit loin, chicken mousse, Serrano ham, liver and rack, potato fondant, cauliflower, baby mushrooms</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FXeXGUam1io/UEzPHsL9GeI/AAAAAAAAFxM/Y6DMqBJN8o8/s1600/rabbit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FXeXGUam1io/UEzPHsL9GeI/AAAAAAAAFxM/Y6DMqBJN8o8/s640/rabbit.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Come on, do those microbits of cauliflower really need to feature in the long laundry list of ingredients? This was competent, if unexciting, cooking, with very little sparkle of imagination or flavours (compare e.g. with the far more interesting <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.com/2012/02/rocca-grill-st-andrews-fife-pleasant.html">Rocca Grill</a> </span><span style="font-size: large;">nearby).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The desserts, a<i><b> Carrot cake, walnut caramel, toffee icecream and cream cheese icing</b></i> and a <i><b>Blue cheese pannacotta, pear and sweet chilli chutney, honey and cashew icecream,</b></i></span><span style="font-size: large;"> and the petit fours</span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gOV97_eRB-Y/UEzROv56mEI/AAAAAAAAFxc/ehpDID_lcwQ/s1600/dessert2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gOV97_eRB-Y/UEzROv56mEI/AAAAAAAAFxc/ehpDID_lcwQ/s640/dessert2.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zLdAody0LrY/UEzRIgNY1KI/AAAAAAAAFxU/gkk_jPTem6g/s1600/dessert1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zLdAody0LrY/UEzRIgNY1KI/AAAAAAAAFxU/gkk_jPTem6g/s640/dessert1.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iAEgVoqUB-U/UEzRTb8P-pI/AAAAAAAAFxk/HjQGZ0mOlN0/s1600/piccoli4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="434" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iAEgVoqUB-U/UEzRTb8P-pI/AAAAAAAAFxk/HjQGZ0mOlN0/s640/piccoli4.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">were probably the best part of the meal. Although, this is not to say much, as the ice creams were all rather bland, the carrot cake being really the only element which made itself noticed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Service is smiling, but really basic mistakes (cutlery all over the place, distraction) make it look unprofessional. The only professional on the night was the Spanish sommelier. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Three courses will set you back in the forties. We also note that, strangely, the three course market menu costs more than the same dishes a la carte. Are they testing our arithmetic?<br /><br />When it pulls it off, and it not always does, the cuisine at Esperante is very straight, school-like Modern British. This is a ceiling they do not seem able to surpass. This means that, unless you use exceptional ingredients or have exceptional culinary flair (like e.g. <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.com/2011/09/peat-inn-fife.html">here</a>), your dishes always run the risk of being a little dull. While we didn't eat badly, that's the feeling we come out with, and given the alternatives around, it's hard to see reasons to drive out to the Fairmont.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/">Home</a></span>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-21669650831142638532012-09-02T06:39:00.000+00:002012-09-02T06:39:48.241+00:00El Molin (Trento): enter a magic world<span style="font-size: large;"> (Visited July 2012)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When you enter El Molin, a restructured old mill with a weird architecture and unusual spaces for a restaurant, you already feel you are abandoning reality to enter a different, fairy-like world.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BlnL4RhmHKg/UCdhsNcYCvI/AAAAAAAAFh4/TWhfc8ghFv4/s1600/IMG_1035.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BlnL4RhmHKg/UCdhsNcYCvI/AAAAAAAAFh4/TWhfc8ghFv4/s640/IMG_1035.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And indeed you're in for a unique experience, sometimes a great one, not always a perfect one, this place is not about perfection: but a unique one. Gilmozzi is an excellent chef who has has a style - a 'philosophy' as many a pompous restaurant website (but not he) would say. He creates menus that it would be impossible to have anywhere else. And that, it has to be said, sometimes even seem to be out of commercial logic and really meant to fulfill his creative needs more than anything else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not that there is anything 'molecular' or overly strange going on here. The menu looks in part very straightforward and traditional, but even the traditional dishes will surprise you, sometimes in subtle ways. And tonight we mostly skipped the most adventurous items.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Be assured, for example, that when you see that <i>Char coaled Grigia Alpina (Alpine Gray, a local cow breed) </i></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>with rhubarb and horseradish</i></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i>is on the menu, it's not going to be just an anonymous slab of grilled beef. </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ylJKGROii-s/UC1K1fVwuGI/AAAAAAAAFow/hbrGA5M3AO0/s1600/beef.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="564" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ylJKGROii-s/UC1K1fVwuGI/AAAAAAAAFow/hbrGA5M3AO0/s640/beef.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Unless you've been in the mountainous North East of Italy you've never tried this beef (this robust cow is deeply adapted to the local terrain), and even so you are far more likely to have had it at the table of a farmer than in a restaurant (we've never seen it in several years of restaurant/trattoria going in Trentino). The beef is intensely flavoured (in itself and thanks to the expert charcoaling, perhaps the real secret of this dish), with a marvelous texture, the crispy horseradish and the rhubarb, ingredients, especially the first, that definitely look to Central and Northern Europe more than to the Mediteranean, providing a gentle, apt accompaniment. This is a dish that not only is good, but that also tells a story, the story of a territory and of culinary influences.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This came after a pasta with local Fontal cheese and truffles from the Lessini mountains, which was OK but surprised us in being more forgettable than the rest of the meal. And a long sequence of breads, butters, nibbles and amuses made with skill and love (notable a potato bread). The pasta just below is an amuse, not the primo:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wBmMoImI8Gk/UCdq1FzXzDI/AAAAAAAAFjE/KXV2J1x2iHI/s1600/IMG_1038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wBmMoImI8Gk/UCdq1FzXzDI/AAAAAAAAFjE/KXV2J1x2iHI/s640/IMG_1038.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The breads came first in a nice basket:<i></i></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kcMn7yhKZ7g/UCdrJ03mISI/AAAAAAAAFjM/tcFBrYW8z8U/s1600/IMG_1039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kcMn7yhKZ7g/UCdrJ03mISI/AAAAAAAAFjM/tcFBrYW8z8U/s640/IMG_1039.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">... and then just kept coming, in a variety of flavours and cooking styles<i>:</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-orUHr6Mrgc0/UCds6bTETLI/AAAAAAAAFkA/r_9bjsdA1XU/s1600/IMG_1045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-orUHr6Mrgc0/UCds6bTETLI/AAAAAAAAFkA/r_9bjsdA1XU/s640/IMG_1045.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a-a9tO4z-dY/UCdtNHXHJKI/AAAAAAAAFkI/4FM2u3KjeAs/s1600/IMG_1046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a-a9tO4z-dY/UCdtNHXHJKI/AAAAAAAAFkI/4FM2u3KjeAs/s640/IMG_1046.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A <i>Krapfen with seaweed mayonnaise, sea lettuce and braised eel</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ONO7FomgUu8/UC1NLH2Dm4I/AAAAAAAAFpA/-i_AlpJ-KN0/s1600/paninetti.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="544" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ONO7FomgUu8/UC1NLH2Dm4I/AAAAAAAAFpA/-i_AlpJ-KN0/s640/paninetti.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uCFyvKbkbjw/UC1NQPuSNjI/AAAAAAAAFpI/MtMnLf26nxM/s1600/pasta.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">speaks, in flavour and presentation, of the more modernist side of the cuisine. It is elegant and playful, it is rich and light and delicious. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A very clean dish of</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Roe deer loin in extra virgin olive oil with vegetable chips and Moscato sauce</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MJLY9JjKKog/UCrOZGt2V1I/AAAAAAAAFmA/BSV6pe9ONaI/s1600/deer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MJLY9JjKKog/UCrOZGt2V1I/AAAAAAAAFmA/BSV6pe9ONaI/s640/deer.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">brings back again the primordial pleasure of a great piece of meat simply cooked (pink) with utmost care, yielding the flavours of the wood.<i> </i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But a dessert called '<i>Borderline</i>', stark-looking and dense with incredibly tight aromatic and bitter notes REALLY pushed the boat out, too much for more dessert-conservative Woman, but sending Man, who always found very sweet desserts ultimately immature, into Paradise. He would eat this again, and again, and again (oh we can't quite remember what it was: roots, herbs... gotta go back and find out!). </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J1U6_15bg70/UCdyGdOn0gI/AAAAAAAAFlM/w5jHfWkhHk4/s1600/IMG_1053.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J1U6_15bg70/UCdyGdOn0gI/AAAAAAAAFlM/w5jHfWkhHk4/s640/IMG_1053.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i>Woman is more content, very content in fact, with this <i>milk torte, hay and violet</i>. Remarkable: the milk transformed into a sponge soaking up the sauce below, and the ethereally crunchy wafer - delicious!</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jDq9KKFX5Vc/UC1LoaQHWJI/AAAAAAAAFo4/69S2TUDXqZo/s1600/latte.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jDq9KKFX5Vc/UC1LoaQHWJI/AAAAAAAAFo4/69S2TUDXqZo/s640/latte.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> And we both still remember with delight the <i>Variation's of creme brulee, </i>a kind of signature dessert which we've had on previous visits and is a lecture in flavour extraction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Price wise, as we mentioned before, so great is the disparity between the quality and elaboration (and also quantity) of what you eat and what you pay (consider also that we are in Michelin starred venue), that we worry about the economics of this restaurant! Service was very friendly and correct, and the chef often comes out himself to introduce his dishes </span><span style="font-size: large;">(to each table)</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Eogd_zLNIxM/UCdyRqlAgCI/AAAAAAAAFlU/5R4JkKz1ks4/s1600/IMG_1054.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Eogd_zLNIxM/UCdyRqlAgCI/AAAAAAAAFlU/5R4JkKz1ks4/s640/IMG_1054.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Chef Gilmozzi may not pull off only perfect dishes, and not all dishes are for all tastes, but he dares and thinks and researches, he creates a magic world in his </span><span style="font-size: large;">unique restaurant</span><span style="font-size: large;">, an experience that is strange and fascinating precisely because it is so firmly based on the local produce and tradition, where the flavours of the surrounding woods and mountains are assembled and disassembled according to his unlimited fancy. A must go place in Trentino, and the perfect complement to the not distant, more traditional <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/malga-panna-moena-trento-it-pure-comfort.html">Malga Panna</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/">Home</a></span>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-20768884778245097022012-08-24T20:57:00.001+00:002012-08-24T20:59:20.454+00:00Grouse and more at the Peat Inn<span style="font-size: large;">(August 2012)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our second grouse of the season (yes
yes, we are fanatics) had a tough act to follow after <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/first-grouse-2012.html">Koffmann's</a>...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">...but it came out with flying colours
in being so good and also so different:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;">
<tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h058mHvau2U/UDfkHimViaI/AAAAAAAAFu0/dh9sdXjVh5g/s1600/grouse.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="536" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h058mHvau2U/UDfkHimViaI/AAAAAAAAFu0/dh9sdXjVh5g/s640/grouse.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Grouse with peaches & broad beans</b></i></td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The peach and broad beans combination is a
dress of Summer and grace for the protagonist, roasted and (as you can see) finished
admirably.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Before this there was something of a rather different nature: a Lobster
Thermidore, that here at the Peat Inn is (like many other classic
dishes) an endless and always new variation on the
theme. Have it after a while and you'll find that a little, or not so
little, something has changed, maybe the type of cheese (currently
Anster we think), maybe the way it's cut. Woman declares herself officially addicted.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--7mZ2TfZdkM/UDfkM3zOAfI/AAAAAAAAFu8/s7IDbnVZ5IM/s1600/lobster.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="502" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--7mZ2TfZdkM/UDfkM3zOAfI/AAAAAAAAFu8/s7IDbnVZ5IM/s640/lobster.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> <br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<i><b>Addictive Lobster Thermidor</b></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<i><b> </b></i>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> And to finish there is only one way to
avoid the temptation of the almost irresistible dessert list: lose
your head in the perfume/smell of this large trolley stocked entirely with Scottish
cheese (some from not farther than a couple of miles away). Where
else in a starred restaurant?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ebGNGjraess/UDfj9vkmQDI/AAAAAAAAFus/SwxVjP0KJo4/s1600/cheeses.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ebGNGjraess/UDfj9vkmQDI/AAAAAAAAFus/SwxVjP0KJo4/s640/cheeses.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Scottish Cheese Trolley</b></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Peat Inn is a bit of 'our local'. Not
exactly your cheap corner Inn, but the nearest to home of the great
UK restaurants we like best. And for its category and quality, it
will make your wallet happy as well as yourselves, when you enter the
warm ante-room with the fireplace, greeted by one of the most
charming service teams in the world.</span></div>
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Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-60846227607796484892012-08-16T20:01:00.002+00:002012-08-16T20:04:41.194+00:00First grouse 2012...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4lOeUezwqKE/UC1Qud1jyoI/AAAAAAAAFpU/6fVHLI99hYU/s1600/IMG_1211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">...being in London, at Koffmann's: where else?</span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EHmMBiOZTNY/UC1JW_XptWI/AAAAAAAAFoo/NR0bgxxohL0/s1600/due.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="564" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EHmMBiOZTNY/UC1JW_XptWI/AAAAAAAAFoo/NR0bgxxohL0/s640/due.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">In this year of the glorious thirteenth we were quick off the mark. We enquired whether Koffmann's was stocked with grouses. They were due on the 15th morning from Scotland, and so there we were, ready for lunch service.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We were served their first two grouses of this season (pity they don't have a 'first item sold is free' policy, like in some old shops in Rome). </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5jYTi07T77w/UC1H2wLy6xI/AAAAAAAAFoY/CwFbuD_MYtI/s1600/bottigliainbicchiere.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5jYTi07T77w/UC1H2wLy6xI/AAAAAAAAFoY/CwFbuD_MYtI/s640/bottigliainbicchiere.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It was just spectacular. No, really, spectacular. We don't know what they do to it to obtain that wonderful texture in the pink roasted breast and legs. By the way, never forget the kitchen brigade beside the great man (who was still in Scotland that day): an applause for execution.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4lOeUezwqKE/UC1Qud1jyoI/AAAAAAAAFpU/6fVHLI99hYU/s1600/IMG_1211.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4lOeUezwqKE/UC1Qud1jyoI/AAAAAAAAFpU/6fVHLI99hYU/s640/IMG_1211.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As you can see, the animal is resting on a slice of bread that is soaking the sticky, flavour-packed innards and the trademark dark lovely jus, that perfect match for the other potent flavours.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Definitely not baby food. This is food that strikes with force at the heart of your gustatory senses, so be prepared if you haven't had it before.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A glimpse at the final treats...the dough of this baba' was remarkable (Man, obviously not content with his La Peche Abusee 2004, would have liked more booze in it though):</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-upXmF7g5FLc/UC1Ge90DrTI/AAAAAAAAFoQ/mVQBKzOtMvY/s1600/baba.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-upXmF7g5FLc/UC1Ge90DrTI/AAAAAAAAFoQ/mVQBKzOtMvY/s640/baba.JPG" width="582" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> and the same for these superb madeleines, and butter free!!!</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y5AUTktyVfs/UC1H7Rzcl-I/AAAAAAAAFog/dYOANCLt0sU/s1600/madeleines.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="558" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y5AUTktyVfs/UC1H7Rzcl-I/AAAAAAAAFog/dYOANCLt0sU/s640/madeleines.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Oh come on, you didn't believe that, did you? Of course they are not butter free. Actually they might define the opposite of butter free. Butter freeness is the one thing you definitely cannot ask at Koffman's. But culinary bliss is worth a little sacrifice, every now and then.</span><br />
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<br />Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-74731764438745334692012-08-11T12:59:00.003+00:002012-09-23T07:38:54.840+00:00Cambio de Tercio (London): Tapas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited July 2012)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4xGXz78FKWU/UCZUfI-JIfI/AAAAAAAAFhQ/ZTBPU9_GOe4/s1600/IMG_1103.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4xGXz78FKWU/UCZUfI-JIfI/AAAAAAAAFhQ/ZTBPU9_GOe4/s640/IMG_1103.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">(Added 23/09/12: see our <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/cambio-de-tercio-disappointing-return.html">much more negative more recent experience</a>)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Trying to liven up a grey London Summer day with some Spanish fire...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here we are at Cambio de Tercio, for an all-tapas lunch that was pleasant, in a relaxed and straightforward
way, a series of colorful and balanced dishes, dishes with a clear personality that also showed culinary
skill and interest in presentation. Like these beetroots:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iFecqIY0v98/UCZS7RSI9VI/AAAAAAAAFgo/c-2KgGtSt4E/s1600/IMG_1096.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iFecqIY0v98/UCZS7RSI9VI/AAAAAAAAFgo/c-2KgGtSt4E/s640/IMG_1096.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And there were some particularly striking dishes that went beyond pleasant: the Gazpacho Andaluz, vividly coloured, fresh and intense, refined by the presence of a lovely bogavante (lobster),</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dEfx2sAAts8/UCZSWbh4jFI/AAAAAAAAFgM/XoSLvs4pe8U/s1600/IMG_1093.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dEfx2sAAts8/UCZSWbh4jFI/AAAAAAAAFgM/XoSLvs4pe8U/s640/IMG_1093.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">the pulpo a la Gallega, very soft, plump, in a luscious potato cream (we've had far rougher versions in Galicia: this was classy cooking),</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Sb2bBJitdE/UCZT-iIejQI/AAAAAAAAFg4/yzzlsXCVCaE/s1600/IMG_1099.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Sb2bBJitdE/UCZT-iIejQI/AAAAAAAAFg4/yzzlsXCVCaE/s640/IMG_1099.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">and the tomatoes 8-hour cooked in Pedro Ximenes with a basil 'tartare', the tomatoes a delicious concentration of sweet flavour, the tartare (spherified basil) once again providing the touch that elevates this dish far above rustic or home-made</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1dvDo3ZTjZM/UCZUJKtq8fI/AAAAAAAAFhA/4ULStWQfYFk/s1600/IMG_1100.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1dvDo3ZTjZM/UCZUJKtq8fI/AAAAAAAAFhA/4ULStWQfYFk/s640/IMG_1100.JPG" width="480" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We accompanied the meal with an excellent fino,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C3YCFXMzDsU/UCZSiO0EynI/AAAAAAAAFgU/XBiUtbEiiiI/s1600/IMG_1094.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C3YCFXMzDsU/UCZSiO0EynI/AAAAAAAAFgU/XBiUtbEiiiI/s640/IMG_1094.JPG" width="480" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">at the same time rounder and more structured than the most popular supermarket brands (which we also find perfectly pleasant, by the way).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ahwOHC4bS3g/UCZUUs8ZFcI/AAAAAAAAFhI/cl94YeOfi9M/s1600/IMG_1101.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ahwOHC4bS3g/UCZUUs8ZFcI/AAAAAAAAFhI/cl94YeOfi9M/s640/IMG_1101.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The prices are very reasonable, with pretty large tapas from £6-7 to £12 for the most luxurious ingredients, and mains (which we didn't have) in the £15-£20 range. You can easily have a satisfactory lunch for £30 or so if you choose well. We are told that it can get very busy here at dinner or in certain periods, but on this occasion there were just a few tables, well attended to by an efficient and attentive waitress.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Spanish cuisine is one of the most appealing in the world and London is lucky to have such a good representation of it at Cambio de Tercio, a place where there is evident care for ingredient quality and expert treatment of them. If we lived at reasonable distance, we'd be there often. </span><br />
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<br />Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-76636125245751305962012-08-01T20:44:00.002+00:002012-08-02T18:45:34.125+00:00Malga Panna (Moena, Trento, IT): Pure comfort<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited July 2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Look ye not for daring culinary innovations here, o traveller, but for the comfort of tradition interpreted in a modern way.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Malga Panna (reviewed last time five years ago <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.com/2007/03/ristorante-malga-panna.html">here</a>)
is in the location of dreams: just abandon yourself to the comfortable
embrace of the warm environment, the stupendous mountain views, and the
capable professionalism of chef Donei and Maitre d' /sommelier Michele.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">From the impressive breads and herb butter:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kr-WLMPkGro/UBmGTerfZaI/AAAAAAAAFd8/Ngje68Xc3yU/s1600/pane.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kr-WLMPkGro/UBmGTerfZaI/AAAAAAAAFd8/Ngje68Xc3yU/s640/pane.JPG" width="568" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">to a lovely (and substantial! we're in the mountains here...) amuse of smoked trout</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rGZrIaNzR7o/UBmJF6lJKzI/AAAAAAAAFeU/d6WFSYb1jhA/s1600/amuse.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="460" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rGZrIaNzR7o/UBmJF6lJKzI/AAAAAAAAFeU/d6WFSYb1jhA/s640/amuse.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">to a deer tartare, accompanied by watercress, goat cheese and rustic bread, that has true 'raw power' in spite of the lesser fattiness compared to beef. And also, what a jolly presentation:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oDoKpYC8IAE/UBmJy7NgZ5I/AAAAAAAAFec/Qr7xB7noaoM/s1600/deer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="496" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oDoKpYC8IAE/UBmJy7NgZ5I/AAAAAAAAFec/Qr7xB7noaoM/s640/deer.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes the cuisine rises into higher fine dining territory, as in this very balanced, very intense, original, heavenly really, capelli d'angelo (very fine pasta) with hazelnuts, smoked trout and a touch of caviar</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kneRTH2r4rg/UBmHJ6RdGoI/AAAAAAAAFeE/-iNdgc736Xk/s1600/capelli.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="570" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kneRTH2r4rg/UBmHJ6RdGoI/AAAAAAAAFeE/-iNdgc736Xk/s640/capelli.JPG" width="640" /></a>a prodigious dish in terms of flavour.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The mains are back to delightful solidity, the protagonists firmly in the center and top class in their category. A wild turbot with chanterelles salad and beetroot</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DSpGJA2VkmE/UBmL0VFSSHI/AAAAAAAAFes/X8e4VcLUIhs/s1600/turbot.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DSpGJA2VkmE/UBmL0VFSSHI/AAAAAAAAFes/X8e4VcLUIhs/s640/turbot.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">in which not only the fish (what a pity to present it hidden from view), but also the mushrooms and the condiment (an emulsion made with the cooking juices) sang. On a minor negative note, we like everything that is in the plate to be meant to be eaten (with necessary exceptions such as bones..), and for this reason we think turbot should be served skinless. Just saying.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And another stunner, after the pasta: a Lamb from Val di Fiemme (the nearby valley) from a very selected farm, one of those pieces of meat that make you think you'll never find a better one (an equally and differently good one, yes, like one from Val di Pejo we had <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/consorzio-torino-pure-simple-pleasure.html">here</a> , but not a better one), and generally very nicely cooked too, except one piece which was a little drier than we would have liked:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sO-EVdI7VGQ/UBmLuLd_U0I/AAAAAAAAFek/xQMSJd8ztKk/s1600/lamb.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sO-EVdI7VGQ/UBmLuLd_U0I/AAAAAAAAFek/xQMSJd8ztKk/s640/lamb.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">(the crispy bit on top is an aubergine, and there were ceps - surprisingly just good but not stunning- as a garnish).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We concluded the blissful lunch with a Caramelised millefeuile of toasted hazelnuts with dried apricots sorbet</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P-R_4N7YD0M/UBmP6XFZAQI/AAAAAAAAFfY/rxVgregkUjk/s1600/millefoglie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="470" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P-R_4N7YD0M/UBmP6XFZAQI/AAAAAAAAFfY/rxVgregkUjk/s640/millefoglie.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">in which the dried apricot sorbet was for Man the most impressive bit, and a salad of candied strawberries with coffee ice-cream and lemon crisp: a terrific coffee icecream, and the interplay of the various different textures and flavours made it a delight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E4rhqnEet8A/UBmP2k95cZI/AAAAAAAAFfQ/HpTfuOgC4D8/s1600/fragole.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="554" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E4rhqnEet8A/UBmP2k95cZI/AAAAAAAAFfQ/HpTfuOgC4D8/s640/fragole.JPG" width="640" /></a></span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The prices are in line with 1* Michelin in the area (say 15-20 euro for a primo and 30 euro for a main), and the mark-ups on wine in the interesting list are very sympathetic to the customer, even for an area in which wine prices are kinder than elsewhere - and monstrously kinder than in London/Edinburgh. Sommelier Michele's passion and intelligence are for all to read in the list he has constructed (and Man is a happy man...).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The petit four leave a very pleasant memory of a very pleasant lunch in a very pleasant place. Well done Malga Panna.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/">Home</a></span>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-43141739422819127592012-07-23T06:00:00.000+00:002012-07-23T06:00:13.822+00:00L20 (Chicago)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited: July 2012) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After a week of OK to mediocre to frankly quite vile eating in Evanston, IL, for work, we decided that on our last night we deserved something with that je ne sais quoi... so off we go to Chicago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As soon as you enter L20 (of illustrious multi-starred fame, currently holding 1* Michelin under chef Matthew Kirkley) you realise you are not in an ordinary place. The low lighted room is modern, cool and grand, yielding a sense of oriental calm, open yet affording a multitude of environments at the large, well spaced tables (there also an inviting separate tatami room).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There's a four course a la carte selection ($120) and two tasting menus, one 'basic' (a manner of speaking as we shall see) at $150 and one luxury (called 'Singular') at $180. Not in the mood for choosing tonight, we go for both.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This time we won't comment on each individual dish and let some photos do most of the talking, but here are the menus we had: they deserve reading because they make clear the interest for seafood ingredients that characterises L20:</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--_yPTNdwru4/UAMZsBuwG1I/AAAAAAAAFcs/y15AIPgEN-E/s1600/turbot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="562" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--_yPTNdwru4/UAMZsBuwG1I/AAAAAAAAFcs/y15AIPgEN-E/s640/turbot.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">turbot • ceps, champagne, brown butter, parsley</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">'Basic' tasting menu</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">ahi tuna tartare • avocado, caviar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">mussels • clams, corn, zucchini, lardo</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">agnolotti • artichoke, ricotta, clarified barigoule</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">bouillabaisse • scorpion fish, daurade, mussels, fennel,
tomato confit</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">lamb loin • zucchini lattice, sweetbreads, squash blossom</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">lemon tart • rhubarb, basil</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">grand marnier soufflé • orange</span></li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RM6CEXYI3gQ/UAMaVLHSliI/AAAAAAAAFc0/TsaAOD9SrJU/s1600/beef.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="442" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RM6CEXYI3gQ/UAMaVLHSliI/AAAAAAAAFc0/TsaAOD9SrJU/s640/beef.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">lamb loin • zucchini lattice, sweetbreads, squash blossom</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Singular Tasting menu</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Maryland blue crab en gelée • fennel cream, basil</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">grilled abalone • royale of sweet corn, black truffle, chorizo</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">turbot • cepes, champagne, brown butter, parsley</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">st. pierre • foie gras, cabbage, matelote </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">28-day dry aged ribeye • lobster, spring onion, brioche, civet</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">fromage blanc • apple, calvados caramel</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">praline soufflé • hazelnut anglaise</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sy0FONGpmLE/UAMbzL6ItPI/AAAAAAAAFdE/w0VKqa4qJ2Y/s1600/coltartufo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="550" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sy0FONGpmLE/UAMbzL6ItPI/AAAAAAAAFdE/w0VKqa4qJ2Y/s640/coltartufo.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">grilled abalone • royale of sweet corn, black truffle, chorizo</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Every dish was a pretty composition, executed with great precision, on a foundation of classical techniques and little space for all-too-obvious modern pyrotechnics, the flavours complex but clean, tending to the subtle and restrained rather than 'in your face': real class.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NUsEhF3pdgw/UAMdNK5_n9I/AAAAAAAAFdM/0ykx368VVT4/s1600/bicolore.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="558" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NUsEhF3pdgw/UAMdNK5_n9I/AAAAAAAAFdM/0ykx368VVT4/s640/bicolore.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Maryland blue crab en gelée • fennel cream, basil</span></b></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hard to choose in that feast, but two dishes especially will stand out in our memory. The ahi tuna tartare, </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GFrmCt766rA/UAMbvjyja9I/AAAAAAAAFc8/6_andxS3v14/s1600/avocado.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="510" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GFrmCt766rA/UAMbvjyja9I/AAAAAAAAFc8/6_andxS3v14/s640/avocado.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">ahi tuna tartare • avocado, caviar</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">the first item from the basic menu, made us understand early on how modestly described the dishes are, concealing the amount of work they embody: the tartare was encased in a beautiful and minutely constructed avocado sphere, the feel on the palate luscious, the caviar not merely a thrown in standard addition but a fundamental element to elevate the dish. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And the ribeye with lobster from the luxury menu, with the ribeye glazed with soy and the stunning combination of flavours from the excellent produce, took our breath away.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MPEdK2vJAdU/UAMdTKsYXBI/AAAAAAAAFdU/1RkgOFteoZI/s1600/langoustines.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="576" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MPEdK2vJAdU/UAMdTKsYXBI/AAAAAAAAFdU/1RkgOFteoZI/s640/langoustines.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">28-day dry aged ribeye • lobster, spring onion, brioche, civet</span></b></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But tonight, really, everything was masterful. And judging from the quality of the beef and lamb, the impression is that if this seafood specializing venue transformed itself into a meat restaurant it would be no less impressive.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ez63vs8qGKE/UAMeaRGUN2I/AAAAAAAAFdo/qYAFJuTxJmk/s1600/tortaciccio.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="554" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ez63vs8qGKE/UAMeaRGUN2I/AAAAAAAAFdo/qYAFJuTxJmk/s640/tortaciccio.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">lemon tart • rhubarb, basil</span></b></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The only minor negative was that, for our taste, the meal lasted too long. This is a bit of a place for special occasions (and they see themselves in that way), given the complexity of the experience and the investment in time and money needed - the wine list is expensive too (how lucky we could have no alcohol that night....). It would be nice if they also gave food lovers the chance of returning for multiple visits of a less demanding nature.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tmAqJCt_z14/UAMeNEw0I5I/AAAAAAAAFdg/BSBFNnWwPNg/s1600/piccoli4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tmAqJCt_z14/UAMeNEw0I5I/AAAAAAAAFdg/BSBFNnWwPNg/s400/piccoli4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Service was, from booking to final greetings, one of the most professional we've seen (only margin for improvement is in the description of the dishes, which should be slightly less rushed). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What struck us in the cooking style tonight was how thoroughly logical it was, every element in the dish having a clear function, and the lack of pointless, childish gimmicks despite the high techniques used. A sober style that we very much appreciated. After dinner we had the chance of seeing the lengths they go to to source top quality seafood: in the enormous kitchen they have huge tanks with live Abalone clams and Brittany lobsters, and the fridge was full of fantastic FedExed fish from Europe. This was very impressive, mature top level cooking, that makes L20 an obligatory stop for gourmets in </span><span style="font-size: large;">Chicago and beyond</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/">Home</a></span>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-83705107847803111922012-07-16T07:45:00.001+00:002012-07-16T07:45:09.380+00:00Kai of Mayfair (London)<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited: April 2012)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Venturing in money-oozing Mayfair, here are some quick comments from memory about a recent lunch at one of the local institutions, the upscale Chinese Kai. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2lQdIwLYqxk/UALBxFhwbuI/AAAAAAAAFa4/z6C5mHbDYJ8/s1600/IMG_0716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2lQdIwLYqxk/UALBxFhwbuI/AAAAAAAAFa4/z6C5mHbDYJ8/s640/IMG_0716.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This an expensive restaurant for dinner, and we are not sure whether the experience justifies the prices, but the lunch option is very approachable and very good value at £27 for three courses (£39 with matching wines). <br /><br />
For some reason (perhaps some negative review read and forgotten but lingering in the subconscious) we didn't have high expectations, but we were positively surprised by the quality of the produce and of the cuisine. </span>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Slow
cooked pork belly in particular was impressive for the elegant presentation, apt cooking and deep flavour lightened and lifted up by the condiment (ginger, cinnamon, soy...) by someone who clearly knows how to treat pork, oh yes he/she does, look at that sticky glistening dark colour:</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sapGHvnBTqo/UAMSl_SghfI/AAAAAAAAFbk/N3Z9_ueH2zg/s1600/porkbelly.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sapGHvnBTqo/UAMSl_SghfI/AAAAAAAAFbk/N3Z9_ueH2zg/s640/porkbelly.JPG" width="618" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps even more impressive was a 'spice
route' lobster (£12 supplement, deserved), the spices a a complex affair that yet respected, and indeed formed an elegant flavour robe for, the good produce:</span><br />
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Whoever the chef is, he/she can strike several chords, not only powerful grand flavours: a starter of Loh Bak Goh Turnip cake was ever so airily crispy and fresh and cleanly presented, a delight to eat.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V72CwIKc5U4/UAMUrAOb9MI/AAAAAAAAFcA/nDvczeQ_PsU/s1600/vegetariano.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V72CwIKc5U4/UAMUrAOb9MI/AAAAAAAAFcA/nDvczeQ_PsU/s640/vegetariano.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So was the other starter, a crispy duck that is definitely not your local Chinese version (well, unless you live in Mayfair, that is):</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZndyWTIxNkc/UAMVoUnROXI/AAAAAAAAFcI/YFPoIyddVmI/s1600/crispyduck.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="550" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZndyWTIxNkc/UAMVoUnROXI/AAAAAAAAFcI/YFPoIyddVmI/s640/crispyduck.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Desserts were quite good too, with an intriguing 6 textures of chocolate and peanuts </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ps-hLNQpvD0/UAMWVgHWafI/AAAAAAAAFcU/Ya6qkS29Ujs/s1600/chocolate.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="502" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ps-hLNQpvD0/UAMWVgHWafI/AAAAAAAAFcU/Ya6qkS29Ujs/s640/chocolate.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and a not earth-shattering, but pleasant and waistline-friendly almond curd with fresh fruit:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A69W7FLfzw4/UAMXTkL3hdI/AAAAAAAAFcc/GmfMHsldoUo/s1600/almondcurd.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="580" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A69W7FLfzw4/UAMXTkL3hdI/AAAAAAAAFcc/GmfMHsldoUo/s640/almondcurd.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Service varied from charming to uninterested to poor. Houston, you've got a serious problem in this department. The wine waitress (an Italian) was particularly incompetent. She didn't know, or didn't want to tell us, the optional matching wines. She only assured us that she would tell us at some point before serving. This was already quite incredible and bad enough, but after a few minutes she was trying to fill Man's glass, without showing the wine bottle, and with no word of explanation. We'll spare you the tense exchange that ensued... the conclusion is that no blood was spilled but we had tea, which was excellent. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And aside from the matching wines, the prices of wine on the list really go too far in their aiming at the superwealthy Mayfairites: tea looks like a better option.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Well, no single dud dish today, and a couple of impressive ones. And at £27 in Mayfair! We were satisfied with the food at Kai. Compared with <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.com/2012/01/yauatcha-london-impressive.html">Yauatcha</a>, for example, this is a more stayed, less hip but also more elegant experience. Mayfair vs Soho, you understand. So satisfied were we in fact that we left with the intention of trying, at some point, the more wallet-busting, but also even more ambitious, dinner menu.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/">Home </a></span>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-14594489924194287472012-07-09T08:06:00.000+00:002012-09-12T10:46:56.668+00:00The Kitchin (Ediburgh): Force of Nature<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hvykyYhtyU8/T-cUxI8wj2I/AAAAAAAAFX0/g13SPE3srh8/s1600/IMG_0913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: large;">(Visited: June 2012) </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We generally tend to dislike chefs who are too media-savvy... but we'll make an exception for Tom Kitchin by virtue of a recent stunning lunch at his restaurant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Away from media fluffiness, when he commands his kitchen, there's an admirable substance and power to his cooking style.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After a promising, fresh and vegetable-dense amuse...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ck8glesPYE/T-cTLGSQd6I/AAAAAAAAFWs/BK_ELXKzkow/s1600/IMG_0905.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ck8glesPYE/T-cTLGSQd6I/AAAAAAAAFWs/BK_ELXKzkow/s640/IMG_0905.JPG" width="480" /></a> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">...it will be hard to forget the sumptuously greasy, both moist and crisp,
deep-flavoured pig's head that forms a pair with the langoustine tail in
one of Kitchin's signature dishes (including a picturesquely vertical and shadow-casting crispy pig's ear):</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-372iOVpW47g/T_IH_a6L_nI/AAAAAAAAFYY/Soh-m5vMESE/s1600/pigsear.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="633" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-372iOVpW47g/T_IH_a6L_nI/AAAAAAAAFYY/Soh-m5vMESE/s640/pigsear.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">
A
truly majestic lobster
a la plancha (special of the day) with an ever so fine cuttlefish
garnish and a fantastic condiment made us think it would be hard to have a
better lobster (only a Thermidore had at the <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.com/2011/09/peat-inn-fife.html">Peat Inn</a> is a match in our memory):</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hQolhzH_J1g/T_IJSVjDPdI/AAAAAAAAFYo/6fH_QZHm_tQ/s1600/lobster.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hQolhzH_J1g/T_IJSVjDPdI/AAAAAAAAFYo/6fH_QZHm_tQ/s640/lobster.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In a starter of scallops and asparagus, what lovely,
lovely ingredients, what a graceful presentation: </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LHTvorVcFAA/T_IIliYdS8I/AAAAAAAAFYg/4aywdSMF1cM/s1600/scallops.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="441" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LHTvorVcFAA/T_IIliYdS8I/AAAAAAAAFYg/4aywdSMF1cM/s640/scallops.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dMSUjc660JQ/T-cTyCkf8DI/AAAAAAAAFXI/1rMnWGFRh5E/s1600/IMG_0908.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And a stuffed rabbit with crispy legs and the
kidneys in ragout on the side, again, featured a rich harmony of flavours and texture: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vBsHU4HWTLU/T-cUKpLrzSI/AAAAAAAAFXY/03cfZggnRhM/s1600/IMG_0910.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vBsHU4HWTLU/T-cUKpLrzSI/AAAAAAAAFXY/03cfZggnRhM/s640/IMG_0910.JPG" width="640" /></a><br /><br />
A previously weaker point in our (very) modest opinion were the desserts. Now we are left without gripes, as even those are excellent. Here is a delicious and supremely airy oat and cherry souffle' (inclusive of a well-made ice-cream), care of the dedicated pastry chefs:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UnTlXZvmWtU/T_IKfh87iBI/AAAAAAAAFY0/zZJtKAkBJOw/s1600/souffle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="508" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UnTlXZvmWtU/T_IKfh87iBI/AAAAAAAAFY0/zZJtKAkBJOw/s640/souffle.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hvykyYhtyU8/T-cUxI8wj2I/AAAAAAAAFX0/g13SPE3srh8/s640/IMG_0913.JPG" width="640" /> </span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The previously uncomfortable chairs
have been replaced by comfortable upholstered ones, with other
improvements to the furnishing: larger tables, new curtains etc. Also gone is the bread trolley (last year's innovation, but apparently they
decided they have too many trolleys in the room). Talking of bread, if one<i> really</i> nitpicks, well the crust could have been better: on the day, probably due to the horrible
weather and high humidity, the bought-in bread lacked the perfect crust we remembered from a previous visit. We wish one day they
will accompany their splendid dishes with the splendid home made bread we're sure they're capable of.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We had the coffee and (very good) petit fours while slouching on the comfortable sofa of the bar area at the entrance:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MnrsyU1OJug/T-cVUEtncAI/AAAAAAAAFYM/Ord-x7dk1hw/s1600/IMG_0916.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MnrsyU1OJug/T-cVUEtncAI/AAAAAAAAFYM/Ord-x7dk1hw/s640/IMG_0916.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Prices are high, true, but in line with Edinburgh Michelin starred dining. Look at the £200 mark for three courses for two with acceptable wine. </span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Given the very positive words we're using, just remember that unlike some fellow bloggers we are <i>always</i> paying customers...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Kitchin is a force of nature in the kitchen. Dishes of great power and clarity encapsulate minute attention not
only to flavours but also to textures. His direct, muscular style, so
different from that of his starred (and also excellent) Leith Neighbour
<a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.com/2011/06/martin-wishart-edinburgh.html">Martin Wishart</a>, reminds us a bit of the great <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.com/2011/08/koffmans-london.html">Koffmann</a>, albeit with more
elaborate dishes than in Koffmann's current bistro style. A great
restaurant with a chef at the heights of its powers; we're so happy for the positive tweaks, and we'll definitely
return. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.u/">Home</a> </span>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-72986267654675459352012-07-02T18:25:00.002+00:002012-07-02T18:27:59.194+00:00Apsleys: to pamper yourselves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited: April 2012)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Previous review <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.com/2009/12/apsleys.html">here</a>) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Oh go on: pamper yourselves. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Apsleys is the place where to do it. Everything is luxurious here. The grand bright room:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yJWZcjvxmIc/T5QepOu8aiI/AAAAAAAAFS4/6TfuzKEtn10/s1600/interior.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yJWZcjvxmIc/T5QepOu8aiI/AAAAAAAAFS4/6TfuzKEtn10/s640/interior.JPG" width="480" /></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The ingredients: foie gras of the highest quality is never far off:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WlCHFv-ejFs/T5Qee3Kl6YI/AAAAAAAAFSw/9NKslKhOZhI/s1600/foie.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WlCHFv-ejFs/T5Qee3Kl6YI/AAAAAAAAFSw/9NKslKhOZhI/s400/foie.JPG" width="380" /> </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bread is one of the best in London:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0-LNCoiEERM/T5QetxYoN_I/AAAAAAAAFTA/k47RVje3zu4/s1600/pane.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="604" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0-LNCoiEERM/T5QetxYoN_I/AAAAAAAAFTA/k47RVje3zu4/s640/pane.JPG" width="640" /></a></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We hadn't been here for quite a while, and we wanted to remind ourselves of that most clever of Heinz Beck's creations, fagottelli carbonara. Yes, they still have us drooling, that explosion in the mouth feel, those rustic flavours of old trattoria memories so refined and sublimated here:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yN4Nik_e3lA/T5QffGx0-NI/AAAAAAAAFTw/9hBPotfWQWo/s1600/fagottelli.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="402" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yN4Nik_e3lA/T5QffGx0-NI/AAAAAAAAFTw/9hBPotfWQWo/s640/fagottelli.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The other primo, pheasant tortelli with black truffle and pumpkin, was also a sublimely made pasta dish, rich and sweet on the palate, though to be honest the truffle, even by black truffle standard, was not the best we've ever had</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5gtMQzclB1U/T5Qey1n57CI/AAAAAAAAFTI/9hCe0XKD-uI/s1600/ravioli.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="412" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5gtMQzclB1U/T5Qey1n57CI/AAAAAAAAFTI/9hCe0XKD-uI/s640/ravioli.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Conversely, a pork thigh, presented theatrically thus</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cQUkYyzYqIk/T5Qfqs3uNWI/AAAAAAAAFUA/nhHtqoN_hGo/s1600/lamb_before_carving.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="406" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cQUkYyzYqIk/T5Qfqs3uNWI/AAAAAAAAFUA/nhHtqoN_hGo/s640/lamb_before_carving.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">before being cut at your table and served with a myriad of supervegetables, was among the most glorious and succulent and best cooked ever:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GfX6wAOpyHQ/T5QflV-uAvI/AAAAAAAAFT4/RurvX0-k91U/s1600/lamb.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="518" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GfX6wAOpyHQ/T5QflV-uAvI/AAAAAAAAFT4/RurvX0-k91U/s640/lamb.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> We weren't in the mood for desserts, and we even had no wine, but classy petit-fours were generously brought all the same in spite of our diet-induced remonstrations:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KuqtJmY5N38/T5QfuCyrl1I/AAAAAAAAFUI/qCsN96Z1BKo/s1600/piccoli4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="630" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KuqtJmY5N38/T5QfuCyrl1I/AAAAAAAAFUI/qCsN96Z1BKo/s640/piccoli4.JPG" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We've been several time at Apsleys, and this was the first without the excellent Max Blasone at the stoves. We can witness that the new chef is as capable and continuing the tradition of all the attractive features we love here: top ingredients whose clear flavours take firmly centre stage, cuisine that is only apparently simple but hides enormous technique, a sense of great generosity, impeccable service. Prices are high as you'd expect in such a luxurious environment (say well above £200 for three courses for two with reasonable wine). Especially the wine list is clearly targeted at people who don't much care about money. But there's also a modestly priced set lunch of great value. And anyway, even without a corporate account, once in a while, it's nice to be pampered. And if you ARE on a corporate account: what are you waiting for?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/">Home </a></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cQUkYyzYqIk/T5Qfqs3uNWI/AAAAAAAAFUA/nhHtqoN_hGo/s1600/lamb_before_carving.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5gtMQzclB1U/T5Qey1n57CI/AAAAAAAAFTI/9hCe0XKD-uI/s1600/ravioli.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> <br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KuqtJmY5N38/T5QfuCyrl1I/AAAAAAAAFUI/qCsN96Z1BKo/s1600/piccoli4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-40263843178825407812012-04-24T16:12:00.000+00:002012-04-24T16:12:00.564+00:00La Parmigiana (Glasgow): Fine old school Italian<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited: early April 2012)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our first time in Glasgow. Anticipating a hearty meal, we take a longish zig-zag, up and down walk through the urban hills from Queen Street train station to the West End. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Step in La Parmigiana and step back in time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is an old school feel here, from the waiters to the decor to the menu. Strangely, we have good vibes.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0dRN01kgcO4/T5QmUGFd--I/AAAAAAAAFUw/LvgQkKCK5FA/s1600/interior.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0dRN01kgcO4/T5QmUGFd--I/AAAAAAAAFUw/LvgQkKCK5FA/s640/interior.JPG" width="534" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The bread is simple and well made, and above all its taste is very decent - and freely re-supplied.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">No amuse bouche, what's that?, we are immediately in <i>medias res</i> with <i style="font-family: inherit;">Chargrilled Minch Scallops, with Lime & Olive Oil and Salad</i>: served with their vivid orange coral attached, one feels really, really stupid never eating this perfectly good and beautiful part of the animal in fine dining restaurants - ok, the coral's texture is somewhat grainy, but it is the flavour that matters.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-apxKFp93XtQ/T5QkZmt7LKI/AAAAAAAAFUg/PDbtex_d4qM/s1600/scallops.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-apxKFp93XtQ/T5QkZmt7LKI/AAAAAAAAFUg/PDbtex_d4qM/s640/scallops.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The scallops are fresh, they are precisely cooked, they are big plump and sweet, and the condiment strikes the right balance between oiliness, tanginess and a hint of bitterness from the rocket. This is simple but real cooking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The other primo is a <i style="font-family: inherit;">Tagliolini with Dublin Bay Prawns, Courgettes and Fresh Tomatoes</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Aan1UAuWUeQ/T5QkUadrvII/AAAAAAAAFUY/z6UyTf-Ui-o/s1600/pasta.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="460" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Aan1UAuWUeQ/T5QkUadrvII/AAAAAAAAFUY/z6UyTf-Ui-o/s640/pasta.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You can see from the tomatoes and the cutting of the courgettes that we are not in fine dining territory here, but hey, the pasta is well made, very eggy, just lacking a bit of bite (in the sense of not being as elastic as it should be), in its rich tomatoey sauce that strikes and delights your nose even before your palate, deeply flavoured by the seafood, present in copious amount - at least ten prawns: how much should we pay to have this quantity in a fine dining London or Edinburgh venue? (Here, just a very fair £11).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">For our first main, we go for a 'classicissimo', here described as <i><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: SheerElegance;">Brodetto Di Pesce Alla Sambenedettese</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: SheerElegance;">, </span></span></i></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: SheerElegance;">a</span></span><i><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: SheerElegance;"> </span></span></i>fish broth in other words, one of its infinite variations (the name suggests a recipe from the East coast of central Italy)</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mOih5kTIbyM/T5QkfnWCKFI/AAAAAAAAFUo/CoNtcHHXbrw/s1600/zuppa.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mOih5kTIbyM/T5QkfnWCKFI/AAAAAAAAFUo/CoNtcHHXbrw/s640/zuppa.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The seafood has given its soul to the broth and some of it is naturally exhausted and less soft than ideal. But what a feast of flavours! Cuttlefish, lobster, mussles and vegetables: soaking the crispy bread in the strongly aromatic zuppa is pure messy joy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And from the rustic <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CC8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FCacciucco&ei=bryTT4ycM8LO8QO768nNDA&usg=AFQjCNFyv_h4SRBpdZ6_qLYiPYPcy1YShg">cacciucco</a> to one of the classiest fishes on earth: a <i>Turbot </i>(the fish of the day from the market):</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nLGYBwRVo6I/T5Qocxz79WI/AAAAAAAAFWA/2nZGVlCDdb4/s1600/pesce.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nLGYBwRVo6I/T5Qocxz79WI/AAAAAAAAFWA/2nZGVlCDdb4/s640/pesce.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The fillet of turbot is fresh, if not from today then probably from yesterday, and also very nicely cooked, we guess pan-fried (the waiter could not help on this). At £22, what stonking value for such a lovely piece of fish.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The mains were served with separate potatoes and vegetables, quite good (even the potatoes, that from the look of it seemed of the "prefab" kind). </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KKTy-uoc35I/T5QpDtRKwEI/AAAAAAAAFWQ/dTmgqUI2ynU/s1600/verdure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KKTy-uoc35I/T5QpDtRKwEI/AAAAAAAAFWQ/dTmgqUI2ynU/s640/verdure.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E1hzZHjZXJo/T5QpGiNClnI/AAAAAAAAFWY/WMWmZFtRRhc/s1600/zanajone.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> For desserts (around £6 each), we go for real classics, a <i>Zabaione with Marsala</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E1hzZHjZXJo/T5QpGiNClnI/AAAAAAAAFWY/WMWmZFtRRhc/s1600/zanajone.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E1hzZHjZXJo/T5QpGiNClnI/AAAAAAAAFWY/WMWmZFtRRhc/s640/zanajone.JPG" width="566" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">and a <i>Tiramisu</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ihn9JqR2sYc/T5Qo9k6TB0I/AAAAAAAAFWI/8UBqyKJA9zI/s1600/tiramisu.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="506" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ihn9JqR2sYc/T5Qo9k6TB0I/AAAAAAAAFWI/8UBqyKJA9zI/s640/tiramisu.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The zabaione definitely has the boozy kick and goes down a treat, while the tiramisu, in a "sliceable" version - not as luscious and creamy as we would have preferred, but good, and there is a real show-stopper in the plate: the suavely intense cappuccino ice-cream (which would not have made much sense with a "cream galore" tiramisu version).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The coffee deserves a special mention. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uVGbwxbD-Gk/T5QqHCSJ1eI/AAAAAAAAFWg/rfnJ-IS0z1w/s1600/caffe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uVGbwxbD-Gk/T5QqHCSJ1eI/AAAAAAAAFWg/rfnJ-IS0z1w/s320/caffe.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">They made one of the few proper espressos we've had in a public place in the UK, including the top fine dining venues. We aren't talking about the quality of the coffee itself, which was merely good, but about the actual <i>making</i> of the espresso, with its proper thick foam that is so hard to get elsewhere. Man liked it so much that he accepted the kind offer of a second one.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Service, like the food, is old school Italian: very attentive and obliging, even though a bit disconnected from the kitchen operations. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The bill on food is very reasonable: for our pair of three (generous) course meals with coffees the total was £82. The drinks however are generally steeply priced (with some exceptions), with London/Edinburgh style markups on wines, especially the lower priced ones, and a meagre 0.75 litre of water at £4.20. The coffees themselves don't come cheap at £2.80. So with a £63 drink part of the bill we ended up paying quite a bit, but at least drinking a nice and expensive but not overpriced (one of the exceptions we spotted) Cervaro della Sala 2009, a lovely blend of Chardonnay and Grechetto.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">La Parmigiana does nothing fancy, its recipes are simply the time-tested recipes of Italian tradition, but well made - how good trattorias used to be (though these are admittedly not trattoria prices). Even without special finesse to the preparations, the ability of the cooks to bring out very neat flavours and to keep the ensemble balanced and not too heavy really shines here. It looks so simple, yet why is it so rarely seen? How many mediocre, pretentious, stilted Italian meals have we endured in supposedly fancier, more modern places? This is certainly very far from a <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.com/2011/12/dinner-at-latium.html" target="_blank">Morelli</a> level of refinement, yet we thoroughly enjoyed our simple lunch. This would be a perfect Italian </span><span style="font-size: large;">local </span><span style="font-size: large;">if we lived in the Glasgow West End (and we'd also try their lunch offer at £15.50).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Home</a></span>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-60841862044616541052012-04-16T16:02:00.000+00:002012-04-18T19:07:12.586+00:00Locanda Margon (Trento): Love and genius<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited March 2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We know Locanda Margon very well. We had gotten quite friendly, due to or long custom, with previous chef <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/menu-bollicine-locanda-margon.html" target="_blank">Walter Miori</a> (read there if you want to know about the Lunelli (= Italian champagne Ferrari) connection), who will always stay in our memory for the many culinary emotions he gave us. Thanks Walter.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Since a few years ago the time of Alfio Ghezzi (previously sous chef of Andrea Berton's of renowned Trussardi alla Scala) has come, and, OK, maybe we are just culinary whores, but in truth we have enjoyed some memorable dinners at the 'new' Locanda as well. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But <i>truly</i> memorable.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uwdBS69obBo/T4C2OtavDfI/AAAAAAAAFQY/dLIGl17fjd0/s1600/amouse1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></span></div>
<div class="entry">
<span style="font-size: large;">Once you get over the rather sombre lighting of the room in the 'salotto
gourmet', it's a feast. The seats are so very comfortable, the tables wide
and very well spaced. It is indeed a 'salotto'. This is pure, almost embarrassing, comfort. The room, though, is dark as we said, so unfortunately the pictures are particularly grainy, and do not make justice to the food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TaN6z4Vb1bI/T4C2WZENYGI/AAAAAAAAFQo/w4m2SAp5I8E/s1600/interior.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TaN6z4Vb1bI/T4C2WZENYGI/AAAAAAAAFQo/w4m2SAp5I8E/s640/interior.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Even before you
choose, and then while you wait, you are treated to a dizzying selection of amuse bouches that
span an incredible range of flavours, textures and produce - here we only post a couple, but the number and variety will bowl you over.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uwdBS69obBo/T4C2OtavDfI/AAAAAAAAFQY/dLIGl17fjd0/s1600/amouse1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="409" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uwdBS69obBo/T4C2OtavDfI/AAAAAAAAFQY/dLIGl17fjd0/s640/amouse1.JPG" width="640" /> left - trout roe crostini; right: liver bonbons</a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>left - trout roe crostini; right: liver bonbons</b></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wbMliHTLlY0/T4C2RRZbwBI/AAAAAAAAFQg/2DTGc7roYFc/s1600/amouse2.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wbMliHTLlY0/T4C2RRZbwBI/AAAAAAAAFQg/2DTGc7roYFc/s640/amouse2.JPG" width="604" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>top: carambola "alpine star" with casoulet cheese; bottom: trentigrana nests with asparagus</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">There are too many to detail. There are terroir based crunchy polenta with goat 'robiola' cheese, and a 'stella alpina' with casulet cheese . There's an ingenious tempura mortadella with apples and Perle' (one of the house champagnes). There's a deeply impressive crispy Trentingrana cheese with warm asparagus. There's a truly punchy liver (of what? can't remember) bonbons. And some more delicate crostini with trout roe.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">You think that was all we had before the meal proper? Naah.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There are also the lighter snacks, like the trade mark multicoloured crispy rings in various flavours, and the breads. This is almost overwhelming, and you know you are in for an extraordinary experience, as beside being pretty and catchy, you can already see there's real substance to this food.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So many dishes a la carte are attractive that the first decision you make is that you need at least three visits to get a complete picture.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">At two extremes of conception, we had an ethereal <i>ziti pasta with capelonghe (razor
clams)</i>, </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fk32j49IIhg/T4C5RxJmILI/AAAAAAAAFRg/gvCOfJml7cY/s1600/triglie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JrjfFrEO9CU/T4C4pIQWzZI/AAAAAAAAFQ4/wbt7EMxzS2c/s1600/capelonghe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="594" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JrjfFrEO9CU/T4C4pIQWzZI/AAAAAAAAFQ4/wbt7EMxzS2c/s640/capelonghe.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> which was stunningly clean, sharp and clear in flavour (lemon and a very special oregano from Sicily), a true geometry of pleasure; and a powerful, earthy main of <i>hare</i> <i>Royale with rosemary parsnip</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aMxiuCc4FYA/T4C4rt3jDzI/AAAAAAAAFRA/r1MoXcW3sOU/s1600/coniglio.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="492" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aMxiuCc4FYA/T4C4rt3jDzI/AAAAAAAAFRA/r1MoXcW3sOU/s640/coniglio.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">that was prepared in the classic Royale style but in a way we'd never quite seen before, the moist 'polpettone' enclosing the supremely well cooked saddle, achieving pinnacles of deep flavour thanks to the foie gras and the innards. This is <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.com/2011/12/game-at-koffmans.html" target="_blank">Koffmann's level stuff</a>...and we don't mention the name of the master in vain...The parsnip and rosemary though (and this is the only negative note for this dish) were blandish and thus overwhelmed, a pity.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We also had a <i>potato</i> <i>cannelloni, crema di salmerino (local trout), ginger and liquorice</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z8WU2l5kRU0/T4C4lgYkROI/AAAAAAAAFQw/8sacgIm5kYU/s1600/cannelloni.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="562" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z8WU2l5kRU0/T4C4lgYkROI/AAAAAAAAFQw/8sacgIm5kYU/s640/cannelloni.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">a complex dish, a difficult dish in a sense, with cutting edge, daring flavours, that first startles you, has you suspended as if from a cliff of the surrounding mountains, but ends up in total harmony and peace. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Oh my god, will we have to use the word 'genius'?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The other main was a <i>mullet</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fk32j49IIhg/T4C5RxJmILI/AAAAAAAAFRg/gvCOfJml7cY/s1600/triglie.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fk32j49IIhg/T4C5RxJmILI/AAAAAAAAFRg/gvCOfJml7cY/s640/triglie.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">pretty as a picture (prettier than OUR picture!)<i>,</i> with an exceptional bisque<i>, </i>simply a great dish<i>.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The petit fours arrive in French style before the desserts, and like the amuses, they overwhelm you:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8UD6jJ-g_sQ/T4C5OAznoQI/AAAAAAAAFRY/35apBsbF6Gw/s1600/piccoli4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8UD6jJ-g_sQ/T4C5OAznoQI/AAAAAAAAFRY/35apBsbF6Gw/s640/piccoli4.JPG" width="578" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The oh so amusing trademark pizza macaroon, the tarte tatin. the tiramisu, the torroncino, the hazelnut pralines...Is there no end to plasure?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">No, for the deserts are on their way:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Biscotto foresta nera (black forest), liquorice and fiordilatte icecream </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Rhubarb icecream and beetroot with "uliva 1111" olive oil and mini pop-corn</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yseOr2kOG9A/T4C5Iu5IDCI/AAAAAAAAFRI/JbzW4PiiuWc/s1600/allolio.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yseOr2kOG9A/T4C5Iu5IDCI/AAAAAAAAFRI/JbzW4PiiuWc/s320/allolio.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">1111 oil being poured </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_23CB6M1OjU/T4C5Lpgsm9I/AAAAAAAAFRQ/kORYxogtMJ4/s1600/allolio2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="610" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_23CB6M1OjU/T4C5Lpgsm9I/AAAAAAAAFRQ/kORYxogtMJ4/s640/allolio2.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The desserts are just perfect for our complementary tastes, Man loves fruit and veg based desserts without too much sweetness and with some sharpness. He thoroughly loved the balance of flavours and the imagination achieved in this one, with the excellent olive oil poured on the spot (even, ever the cynical and gimmick-allergic one, overcoming the mild irritation for an olive oil called 1111 because it is produced in this number of bottles: who T F cares?).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Get over the gimmicky oil name, this dish did deliver - the playfulness of the popcorn, the acidity of the
rhubarb and the sweetness of the beetroot all came together. But for the stuff of comfort move over to the Black Forest.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OzirI2UXgZk/T4C8HVgn1WI/AAAAAAAAFRw/Fy1pBfSkcq8/s1600/biscotto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OzirI2UXgZk/T4C8HVgn1WI/AAAAAAAAFRw/Fy1pBfSkcq8/s640/biscotto.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Woman plunged into the chocolate emerging from it only quite a while later and looking blissful. The licorice was perfectly balanced, the sponge fluffy but firm, the morello cherries just perfect, and the creamy parfait linking all the flavours: really good.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The service, formal but not too much, strikes all the right keys. The sommelier accompanies you with grace whether you want to spend like a cheap bastard or like a Russian oligarch (the only negative, at least for us, was the champagne trolley at the beginning, which we find too pushy). Everybody is well briefed on the dishes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The bill stayed within the 200 euro with a bottle of wine at 50 euro and a bottle of water, which is a very good price for this quality (and quantity!).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Despite being fans of the previous chef as we said, and also a bit suspicious in the beginning, Alfio Ghezzi's cuisine has completely convinced us over the years: He is not a youngster (listen who's talking...) and there is real maturity in what he does, there is a real depth of culinary
culture in his dishes, a deep respect for local tradition and for
classical, mostly French, techniques combined with an equal mastery of all modern contrivances
and an exuberant creativity. He can also carve a chicken...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MeZybQ7XxWE/T4C7eY3iH9I/AAAAAAAAFRo/unrS1783BpE/s1600/chefcarving.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MeZybQ7XxWE/T4C7eY3iH9I/AAAAAAAAFRo/unrS1783BpE/s640/chefcarving.JPG" width="472" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">If there is a
restaurant that could be the first to obtain two Michelin stars in
Trento, this is it, so superior it is to its starred nearby competitors,
and so comparable in quality to other two-starred places we've visited. Ghezzi has found a perfect local niche where to shine and become a beacon well beyond the confines of Trentino.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Home </a></span></div>
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<br />Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-27429538766630391052012-04-12T19:45:00.000+00:002012-04-12T19:45:00.748+00:00Maisha (St Andrews): Coming crashing down to earth<span style="font-size: large;">(Visited March 2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">After a great sequence of seafood eats (<a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/one-o-one-london-fine-seafood.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/egana-ortiza-seville-finest-seafood.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/casa-robles-sevilla.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://eat-drink-man-woman-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/seafood-platter-at-seafood-restaurant.html" target="_blank">here</a>), we felt we had enough in the bag that we could risk it, and enter this Indian eatery offering some suspiciously low priced set menus, and specialising in seafood, that we had passed and ignored many times in a little St Andrews alley.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It wasn't grotesquely bad. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">While the initial chutneys were a little tired, we had some edible fish dishes. Even if definitely far from exciting, at least they were original, reflecting
local influence: it's not so usual to find haddock tandoori</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7JBJQ382hSw/T3eA-QO7v2I/AAAAAAAAFQI/y3Arz1DTdD0/s1600/skillett.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7JBJQ382hSw/T3eA-QO7v2I/AAAAAAAAFQI/y3Arz1DTdD0/s640/skillett.JPG" width="620" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and crab
curry</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-focEAXeYNZI/T3eA6vH3dKI/AAAAAAAAFQA/IznDxbrGGro/s1600/forsepesce2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="404" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-focEAXeYNZI/T3eA6vH3dKI/AAAAAAAAFQA/IznDxbrGGro/s640/forsepesce2.JPG" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">on an Indian restaurant menu.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A spinach and a cauliflower bhaji
were extremely greasy but overall well above acceptable.So was the rice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3OP7kCk-gw4/T3eAr8kdGRI/AAAAAAAAFP4/9d5cPMavFtw/s1600/sides2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="450" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3OP7kCk-gw4/T3eAr8kdGRI/AAAAAAAAFP4/9d5cPMavFtw/s640/sides2.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Service was polite and efficient and the price (around the £50 mark with two beers for what you've seen) is adequate for the quality, while nobody could ever complain about the quantity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3035351479646161782#allposts" target="_blank">Home </a></span>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3035351479646161782.post-16884421670763739812012-04-10T08:00:00.000+00:002012-04-10T08:00:02.998+00:00Salice Salentino Candido Riserva, I Satiri, 2006<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes one hits on a really interesting everyday wine. Here's a recent discovery:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PgSWX2m84LE/T384rQHgdtI/AAAAAAAAFQQ/6r0hxYHItIE/s1600/salice+salentino.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PgSWX2m84LE/T384rQHgdtI/AAAAAAAAFQQ/6r0hxYHItIE/s320/salice+salentino.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">A beautiful hearty Negroamaro, with morello cherries, smoky notes and a kind of bittery chocolatey finish in evidence, it seems to us a real bargain for 7.99 at Majestic Scotland.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Suggested pairing: Barcelona 3 - Milan 1 (it works both for the jubilant and for the desparing).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3035351479646161782#allposts" target="_blank">Home</a></span>Man-Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17176122074785410205noreply@blogger.com0