All American 4th July

I had my first Edible Experience tonight care of a Monkey and Molasses pop-up:

Deep South (London) hospitality, good ole home style cooking, three lip smacking courses and a pitcher of homemade spiked Tennessee sweet tea to lighten the mood!

Come on down to Blue Mountain Cafe in Penge to celebrate the 4th of July with us Southern Style. Think cornbread, Southern fried chicken....there'll be mountains of food and plenty of Mississippi charm to keep everyone entertained all night....we might even throw a banjo or two in to the mix!

Well I do declare, all this for just £25 and BYOB too!

K was convinced to join me by the delight of a night in Penge. We had a sweet tea to kick the evening off which was a welcome beverage on a warm summer's evening. It put me in the mood for some Long Island ice-tea, but we made do with a nice bottle of red that K had brought along.

The food started with creamed corn and ham hock with a pineapple and chilli chutney and a Parmesan crisp. The corn was incredibly sweet but the ham and Parmesan served as suitable foils. The chilli offering a pleasant kick.

The main event was fried chicken, mac 'n' cheese, collard greens with chilli, and corn bread with onion and jalapeno. The chicken was phenomenally crisp and yet succulent. Simply superb. The macaroni cheese was bit dry for me but that's just my taste; I like it saucy! The collard greens were good (I think they were spring greens, but I could be very wrong) and were a welcome vegetable side. The corn bread was very sweet and dense. The onions and jalapeno went some way to making it more enticing, but ultimately it proved too much for both me and K.

The pudding was sweet potato pie with key lime cream. The best thing about this was the cream. Unfortunately the pie was just a one-note blandness of sweet potato with a bit too much cinnamon. The cream helped invigorate things but neither of us had the enthusiasm to finish our generous slices.

The food did seem to represent what I know of deep South cooking. Plenty of carbs and plenty of sugar. However, the execution was excellent.  The Cafe had bags of character and despite packing the tables in the atmosphere was friendly and hospitable. I'd definitely go back to sample some of the Monkey and Molasses magic.

La Polenteria

Last night we popped into La Polenteria for a quick pre-comedy gig dinner.

I love polenta but even so I  don't make it as often as I could. It is normally compared to mashed potato which is a reasonable comparison but it seems a bit more sophisticated than that to me. The USP of La Polenteria is that every dish contains polenta. I was excited to find out if they could pull off such a menu: would it be too restrictive or would it serve as a platform for unbridled creativity?

We started off with some of the polentini or "polenta bites". Three small slabs of grilled polenta serving as vessels for typically delicious Italian toppings. Our favourite was the gorgonzola and walnut combination.We were off to a good start.

For main there was no way I could resist the wild boar ragu with wet polenta. The wet polenta wasn't as wet I was expecting but it didn't really matter .It was delicious. The ragu had a real depth of flavour and the polenta working in harmony as a comforting partner.

On a dank March evening this was perfect comfort food. Once I had finished, I wanted more even. None of the desserts appealed which was good because I was stuffed.

It's a small restaurant with a rustic wooden and metal interior. The tables are very close together but that can be forgiven in such a small Soho location. By the time we came to pay the bill the place was almost full, mostly it seemed with Italians. Surely a good sign?

Unfortunately, the service was less than to be desired: it was less than attentive. Long gaps between courses and Having asked for the bill we were ignored for what seemed like an eternity especially frustrating when you've got a show to go and see. 

I'd definitely go back. I'll be interesting to see how they develop the menu for the summer months. I'll make sure I've got nowhere to be afterwards though.

Tap Water - know your rights!

I hate having to buy mineral water at restaurants. I'm perfectly satisfied with a glass of tap water.

MoneySavingExpert.com has produced an excellent guide to getting free tap water in restaurants. It seems that

...only licensed establishments (those that serve alcohol) in England, Wales and Scotland must provide free drinking water.

According to Section 136 of the Licensing Act 2003, which came into force in April 2010, all restaurants in England and Wales that serve alcohol are legally required to give customers free tap water (the legislation for Scotland is the same, but it's a different act). Those that don't are under no obligation to do so.

That doesn't mean that they can't charge for the use of a glass!

Pied a Terre

I went for lunch today at Pied à Terre which "...is reportedly one of London's best value lunch menus for Michelin star dining.". Unfortunately, it was so good it didn't actually end up being as bargainous as I thought. Now, I don't mean that in a derogatory way. Far from it. It exceeded my expectations for a lunch by so much we were there for over two hours savouring every bite.

We should have realised this was going to be no ordinary lunch as soon as the fresh truffle croquette (a delightful crispy, earthy mouthful) and scallop ball appeared. Canapés at a lunch? With truffle? My my.

Now gnocchi are one of my (many) weaknesses, so there was simply no chance of me not having the chestnut gnocchi. They were billowy pillows lightly fried anointed with Parmesan. The mushroom vinaigrette and the slivers of spring truffle accompanied them perfectly. It made for quite an autumnal dish but so delicate it was perfect for a mild June afternoon.

I'd had a quick perusal of the menu on-line before going and had decided on the rabbit for the main course. Unfortunately it had been replaced by pork belly, the ubiquity of which is making less of an automatic choice. Instead I had to "make-do" with the perfectly roasted fillet of sea-bream. This came with salt baked celeriac and a silky smooth asparagus and Parmesan cream. Delicious.

Oh and the bread! At least five freshly-baked (as in still-warm-from-the-oven) types continuously offered during the first two courses. Are you sure this is the set lunch?

By now dessert was a foregone conclusion. But first, of course, the pre-dessert, a pair of sublime quenelles: coconut ice cream and mango sorbet. The white chocolate tart with poached rhubarb and a rhubarb sorbet that followed wasn't bad either. The tart was actually a white chocolate custard tart with a brûléed top, not what I was expecting but perfectly executed: thin crisp pastry, a layer of rhubarb purée and a ridiculously smooth and just barely set centre.

Coffee was accompanied by a seemingly never ending selection of petits fours: a mango jelly, lemon tart, white chocolate fudge, fresh cinnamon doughnuts and a coconut truffle. And don't forget this was just lunch. Seriously.

The service throughout was impeccable and friendly. A simply faultless meal exceeding all expectations. What a lunch. I need to find an "excuse to go again". You simply must go if you have any appreciation for good food. But just don't go expecting to have "just" the set lunch...

Cinnamon Kitchen

Tonight, I was going out for dinner with a friend I haven't seen for a while. As it was a Friday I'd suggested a curry down Brick Lane or maybe some kind of "gourmet" fast-food in one of those swanky Shoreditch places that seem to be all the rage at the mo (Could the end of that sentence sound more patronising? (even though I didn't mean it to at all)).

Things didn't quite go to plan as we ended up at the Cinnamon Kitchen. 

Not that I'm complaining, but clearly a cheap night was no longer on the cards especially when I had the £40 meat tasting plate. This had distinct portions of lamb, red deer and Scottish angus beef. Each was spiced and garnished in a complimentary fashion that brought the flavour of the meat to the fore. The lamb was absolutely epic. The deer was nearly as good. Remarkably the beef was bringing up the rear flavour wise.

The excellent gin and tonic beforehand and accompanying red wine may have tarnished my memory of the meal somewhat. Consequently, I can't really remember more details of the meat dish or what I had before (I do remember that there were some perfect examples of three breads). We were both so full that there was no danger of any pudding going down. (Although somehow we did end up in Androuet for cheese and port).

I do know that it our meal at Cinnamon Kitchen was excellent and I would gladly go back.

Norwich delights: The Pigs

I just spent the weekend in Norwich and got taken to a couple of foodie gems.

First up was the most amazing deli: Bakers & Larners.

This place was amazing. It had anything and everything you could think of. High quality local artisan produce aplenty. I just wanted to eat everything there and then. I'm pretty sure if I lived anywhere nearby I would struggle to not spend a lot of money.

That was followed by dinner at renown Norfolk eatery: The Pigs. It did not disappoint.

The Pigs is a countryside pub that place specialises in all things porky. It seemed churlish not to embrace this, so we basically had everything porky on the menu.

We started off with a couple of Iffits which are apparently "the Norfolk version of tapas". Firstly a ham hock scotch egg with piccalilli. It is clear to me that there are few things better than a freshly fried scotch egg. This was a a brilliant example. Beautiful tender hock meat mixed with an occasional cornichon and a soft egg in the middle. All enveloped in a crispy golden breadcrumb coating. Delicious.

To go with the scotch egg we had pigs ears and tartar sauce. What's not to love: crispy bits of pork with a rich yet  pungent dipping sauce. I admit we may have gone a little deep-fried heavy, but, hey, I was on holiday...

We followed these up with a couple more porky iffits (OK so this might have resulted from a slight amount of indecisiveness when ordering as opposed to any great "plan" per se...)

A kilner jar of potted pork was served straight out of the fridge much to its detriment. Once it had warmed a little this was classic rillettes and the accompanying apple chutney was superb: chunky and robust. While we were waiting for the potted pork to warm up we tucked into a plate of honey, marmalade and Colman’s mustard glazed pork ribs. These were excellent, the bones came out clean but the meat still had enough a satisfying bite to it. I wasn't too impressed by the marmalade glaze nevertheless these were good local ribs just don't expect a classic BBQ rib.

By this stage we were getting a little full so decided to share the belly of "Perfick Pork" with smoky bacon beans, apple chutney, black pudding and crackling. This was about as good as pork gets. The belly was perfectly cooked tender and flavoursome. The beans used a mix beans and were absolutely delicious. The black pudding was top-drawer and not too peppery. My only complaint was the cracking - simply not enough of it, only a single crispy shard each.

We didn't have room for pudding despite contemplating it for some time; there was simply no way to fight against the preceding pile of porky protein.

If you're in Norfolk, you should definitely get to The Pigs. I shall be going back for sure.

Burger and Lobster

Much has been written about Burger and Lobster since the first branch opened in late 2011. There are now four restaurants in the chain and I finally got to experience the phenomenon at the newest branch at 1 Bread Street tonight.

The menu choice is simple:

• Burger
• Lobster (steamed or grilled)
• Lobster roll

That's it. Just three things on the menu. £20 each. All come with fries and a salad. In the interests of foodie investigation I had a steamed lobster and a burger. 

The lobster was pretty damn good: tender sweet lumps of crustacean goodness anointed in a bath of garlic butter. Only picking from the shell slowed us down. The fries were good, although saltless and the salad was perfect accompaniment. Well worth £20.

The burger was OK. Not the best burger I've ever had, but definitely the most expensive and not really worth it. The patty was medium-rare and packed a meaty punch, the salad and pickles added a refreshing zing and the bacon and cheese rounded off with an umami hit. Unfortunately the roll wasn't really up tot eh job and had disintegrated by the end. A good burger but not £20 good.

At this newest city outpost there is limited booking. Fortunately for us at 1800 we managed to just walk in and secure a table for four. The place filled up pretty quickly and was buzzing by the time we left. The service was pretty good although once the silver platters are delivered there's not a great deal to be done. Although we did seem to be the only table not to be offered a plastic bib to protect from the lobster juices. I'm not sure if this was simply and over-sight or a conscious snub. I hope the former. Also it's worth mentioning the cocktails. They were good. Definitely worth getting there early and hanging out at the bar for.

I'd go again but just stick to the lobster.

Cantina Laredo

It was my sister's birthday today so in celebration we had dinner at Cantina Laredo on Upper St Martin's Lane.

Now I am a sucker for Mexican food. I love the mix and match appeal of Mexican, you can configure the food anyway you like it. As for nachos, as simple as they are, they are a divine trinity of taste for me. Now I'll hold my hands up and say that just because I like what passes for Mexican in the UK it doesn't mean I know a great deal about authenticity. Although it's not difficult to spot that Wahaca is a great deal better than Chiquito. (I would love to go to Mexico one day but there's part of me that thinks it would be inevitable that I'd never enjoy a "Mexican" in the UK again having had the real deal.)

Now Cantina offers "modern mexican" and it's certainly a world away from anything I've had before. When I got there I was already a margarita down and there were only the scraps of tortilla chips and salsa left. (Quite why they didn't have the nachos is beyond me).

For main I had the "camaron poblano asada":

Grilled carne asada steak wrapped around a fresh poblano pepper filled with sautéed tiger prawns, mushrooms, onions and monterey jack cheese. Served on a bed of chimichurri sauce and Mexican rice 

A steak wrapped around a stuffed pepper: mental. It was a pretty good steak and the pepper was stuffed full of prawns and cheese. Although it was sad waste of prawns as the cheese dominated everything. However, it was good enough for me to happily polish off and temporarily put my aversion to green peppers to one side.

Dessert, however, was something else. I had the biggest, fattest churros I've ever seen. Liberally doused in sugar and cinnamon, they came with orange cream and spiced chocolate sauce which were a perfect compliment. Since I've never been a fan of the orange-chocolate combo, that's really saying something. I don't think my family were quite so enamoured with their mexican apple pie or tequila lime cheesecake with avocado ice-cream. Mind you they were quite a few more margaritas to the good so the plates were sent back spotless anyway.

The service was faultless. The prices for the mains were in the £15-£30 bracket and were bit steep for what we got. I'd gladly go back to try out some other interesting things on the menu but I'd need a "wow" experience to go back again. A slightly reserved thumbs-up.

Jose

There really isn't much to say about Jose other than to tell you to stop reading, gather some mates and go. Go there now.

Jose Pizzaro has transformed a humble little corner of Bermondsey Street into a tapas bar that transports you to Barcelona. If you enjoy good food and good wine you will love Jose.

We ate our way through practically the whole menu, with a few bottles of wine along the way. All of a sudden it was three hours later and time to think about leaving.

Just make sure that you take some cash to tip the waiting staff as you can't do it electronically and they definitely deserve it.

Tramshed

Went for dinner at Tramshed tonight. I nearly didn't make it as it's actually quite difficult to find with a street level sign on the wrong side of the road the only sign of its existence. I guess having to "hunt" for your dinner is all part of the experience in uber-trendy Shoreditch. It's the Mark Hix joint that only serves roast chicken or steak; so not for the non-meat eaters.

The dining room is impressive. A vast cavernous space with exposed metal and white walls filled with plenty of gun-metal and wooden furniture all presided over by Damien Hirst's "Cock and Bull" - a huge tank of formaldehyde preserving a cockerel piggy-backed on a bull. It's actually a welcoming space to eat in, once there are a few people to give a little background ambiance.

The sparse menu is easily accessible, but it does mean everything has to be spot-on. We had all three of the starters on offer. There has been some hubbub about the whipped livers served with Yorkshire pudding. The livers are lighter than a pate but not as substantial as a parfait more of a mousse. It's actually very tasty, definitely the pick of the bunch: the Yorkshire pudding, crisp exterior hiding a billowy inside, the perfect foil to the light livers.

There was a chorizo and butter bean dish which was good more due to the ingredients than a high level of creativity on the kitchen. Who doesn't like chorizo? The artichoke and Cox’s apple salad with celery and walnuts was nothing more than that: the ingredients simply assembled on the plate.

The choice for mains was pretty simple "Roast Swainson House Farm chicken and chips" or "Mighty Marbled sirloin steak and chips". We had both.

The chicken came whole up-ended in a pool of chips with its feet still on (I really don't understand the need for that although it did add some "theatre"). The best thing about it was the chips: thin, crispy and salty. The chicken was pale and nothing special. Far from the greatest chicken I've had. As for the steak, much is made of the dry-ageing in the only Himalayan Salt Chamber in Europe. But I'm not sure I could tell what a difference it made. Again, the steak was OK, not the best I've had. So benign were the mains that I really can't find anything more to say. My over-whelming reaction was "Meh".

My pudding of rhubarb and apple pie with custard ended the meal on a high. Delightful crispy pastry encasing a filling of sour fruit. Lovely.

This place was voted Best Meat Restaurant in the Time Out Eating and Drinking Awards 2012 and I have no idea why. Perhaps I haven't got the taste of other critics, but there's simply nothing special about it part from the imposing surroundings and the art (which do give it some appeal). However, as a gastronomic destination I simply don't get it.

Do yourself a favour book a table at Hawksmoor, dig into a porterhouse and then tell me that The Tram Shed is better. I dare you.

2012 MenuWatching Infographic

Have happened upon this interesting infographic from thefoodpeople, which examines menu trends in 2012.

One thing to bear in mind is clearly that the "popularity" means that the restaurants are offering, not that people are buying it. Although they probably wouldn't offer it if people weren't buying it. Hmmmm, a logical catch-22. I do wonder just who the hell does have ice-cram as pud when eating out though...

Herman...

Today I baked an apple cake. No biggie, you may think. And, indeed, you'd normally be right. But the basis for this cake was a sourdough starter called Herman the German. (Not to be confused with Herman ze German, the excellent wurst shop in Villiers Street, which you simply must go to if you're in the area and in need of some sausage. Anyway, back to the cake.)

Essentially Herman is a chain letter but in cake form: altogether less pointless and irritating and infinitely more satisfying.

The way it works is you receive a portion of the sourdough and then "feed" and keep it "alive" it for 10 days (I find the anthropomorphisation of a yeast-based starter a bit weird). On the last day it's divided it into four portions, one of which you keep and bake and the other three get passed on. There was a little bit of mix up with my donor so I only received it on day nine (yesterday).

No bad thing for me as it meant I got cake sooner rather than later, but it did mean I had to find some recipients pretty quick smart.

The cake first (after all that's all we're interested in really).

Right, first up this cake is very tasty. The yeast gives it a pleasant tang. It had quite a dense crumb but the huge chunks of apple I used meant it was quite crumbly. It was a touch oily on the bottom, but I think this was because of the butter that had worked it's way down from the top. It would have been even better with demerera sugar on top as that would have given a crunch.

I was quite surprised to have to add baking powder. Surely the point of the yeast is that you don't need baking powder?

The fact that the resulting cake was good strengthened my resolve to pass the sourdough on. Fortunately I have a couple of friends who are quite keen on baking and (more importantly) nearby and easily accessible! The remaining portion is in my freezer as an experiment to see if the yeast will survive in a state of suspended animation.

One of my mates, works with a few Germans and so he brought the subject up with them. Obviously they don't know it as a Herman (I wonder if it was called that because it rhymes with German?). Apparently the Germans were waxing lyrical about friendship cakes:

“I remember the special taste.”

"Honestly. I had one for a while at home. You can bake cakes all the time without big effort.”

My favourite:

“I liked it.”

The thing that intrigued us most was just how old and how many people the sourdough has gone through. There's a part of me that would like to keep track of where my Herman goes. In theory it should multiply quicker than rabbits...

So, if you get the chance to make one it's worth it.

Here's the recipe, which is on the website along with everything else you need to know. Mind you, you'll be getting instruction so you shouldn't even need this!

Ingredients:
1 cup of sugar (8oz or 225g)
2 cups plain flour (10oz or 300g)
1/2tsp salt
2/3 cup of cooking oil (5.3oz or 160ml)
2 eggs
2tsp vanilla essence
2 cooking apples cut into chunks
1 cup raisins (7oz or 200g)
2tsp cinnamon
2tsp baking powder
Optional:
2oz demerera sugar
1oz melted butter

Method:
1. Mix everything together and put into a large greased baking tin.
2. Sprinkle with a quarter of a cup of brown sugar and a quarter of a cup of melted butter.
3. Bake for 45 minutes at 170°C. Cover in tin foil and bake for a further 20 minutes to make sure your Herman is cooked properly in the middle.

PS Just as I received this I got a Baking Mad newsletter which featured Herman as the headline recipe. I also found out Herman had been in the Daily Mail. It looks like I'm just a few month behind the game and that Herman is really quite well known. And there was me thinking I'd found out about something not many people know about!

Duck and Waffle

Went for a lunch today at the brand new Duck and Waffle on the 40th floor of Heron Tower, London's third tallest skyscraper (After The Shard and One Canada Square). Now it's been a while since I was up with the latest foodie goings on in old-London-village, but since I was meeting my friend at Liverpool Street Station, which it is just opposite, it seemed an opportunity too good to miss.

It's exciting hurtling up to the restaurant in the super-fast glass lift on the outside of the tower. The sense of anticipation continues as you make you way up further via a spiral stair case all the while surrounded by the great views of London the floor-to-ceiling windows afford. It's actually takes some time to get to the welcoming bar as you can't help but keep stopping and pointing out various landmarks on the way.

The dining room is full of heavy wood: tables, bar and the open kitchen. This all contrasts very well with the otherwise stark modern tower interior. I think it also gives you a sense of being grounded, despite being so far up in the sky.

They're serving up an all day menu in a tapas-esque style i.e. plates to share. It's the sort of fabulous food that you can't help but enjoy. We had, in no particular order,:

bbq-spiced crispy pig ears
These came in a brown paper bag with a wax seal embossed with a duck's head. Crisp shard of porky deliciousness.

rabbit rillettes / sourdough / beer chutney / pistachio
Smooth and delicately rabbit rillettes. Although the chutney was so good I slightly over indulged. Again. And again.

burrata / capers / pickled red onion / parsley

roasted essex beetroot / goat curd / honey / watercress /
Fantastic beets brought to live with the curd. Earthy and packed full of flavour; each component well balanced against the others.

duck & waffle / fried duck egg / mustard maple syrup
Confit duck leg on a billowy waffle topped with a perfect duck egg. Amazing. The maple syrup works very well, but go easy and try and make sure you get some of the mustard seeds out of the jug, otherwise the sweetness will be too much.

I could quite happily have carried on eating for some time, if only I wasn't so damn full. It's the sort of stuff you don't ever want to stop eating. I'd be flabbergasted if I went there with someone and there wasn't at least one thing on the menu that they'd like (to be honest, if that was the case, I think they'd need de-friending).

My lord, the food certainly befits its surrounding. What a contrast to Barbecoa last night!

You simply must go. I've told everyone who'd listen that they have to go. You won't be disappointed.

P.S. This was the view from our table. I've had a pretty scenic 24 hours of meals!

Barbecoa

K and I embarked on another restaurant adventure tonight, this time at Barbecoa in One New Change in the city. This place focuses on serving big lumps of meat cooked in a barbecue fashion using a variety of grills. You know what to expect: big steaks, racks of ribs and pulled pork.

It's a joint venture between Jamie Oliver (sufficient time having passed that my previous experience of Jamie's Italian had receded from my consciousness) and Adam Perry Lang, an American chef specialising in American barbecue who also has a TV career on NBC (thanks Google). So, a pair of popular chefs, each bringing their own style, combined in an alter to seared meat overlooking St Paul's Cathedral. Sounds like a reasonable set-up.

The interior is very modern city chic: dark, leather, metal and glass everywhere. As you walk to your table you walk passed the kitchen which has a window so you can see in apart from the pass which is open directly to the dining room. The restaurant definitely makes the most of its location. One entire side of the place is glazed giving a view of the cathedral from every table. The ambience is good with the buzz that comes from people eating out on a Friday night. This was the view from out table:

But, was the food any good?

***
Pork Scratchings
Apple and Thyme Sauce

A massive board of warm crispy bits of pig skin with a few crispy sage leaves and an apple sauce dip with a wonderful scent of thyme. So good they went down rather quickly. A cracking start.

***
Pit-Smoked Baby Back Ribs
Coriander and Chilli

The ribs were a tender pork-fest. The meat was stripped from the bones with only the slightest tug from my lips. The barbeque sauce was like HP on steroids full. The chilli and spring onion didn't really do it for me. The onion was too harsh and over-loaded the barbecue sauce and pork far too easily (as did the chilli, but I am a massive softy when it come to the Scoville scale). I'd have much preferred these without the garnishes.

The Crispy Calamari K had were good (suitably tender) and accompanied by some creamy avocado.

***
Dry-Aged Rump Steak

Charred Aubergine, Shallots, Tomato, Chilli and Sweet Marjoram

Clearly I was only ever going to have steak (what else would you have at a steak place?). Whenever possible I tend to go for rump as its got more flavour than other cuts. The downside to this is that you need it medium-rare rather than rare to ensure that you don't get a work-out for your jaws, so I was quite surprised when the waiter said I could have it blue. That's a little too far for me. With some caution I went for rare.

The steak was well cooked, perfectly rare with a dark crust and surprisingly tender. A good flavoursome steak served with reasonable salad and relishes. It provided the beef hit with to a good standard. It didn't make me want to jump out of my seat and bellow its praises from the rafters, unfortunately. A distinct case of "hmmm, yeah, nice steak", nothing more.

K's Pulled pork waffle and BBQ sauce was not so good either. The sauce was far too sweet and overpowered everything. On the evidence of this, I'd suggest that "restraint" hasn't entered US English.

Since K had practically already had pudding and there wasn't really anything interesting on the dessert menu, not to say we were both pretty full of protein, we didn't finish with anything sweet.

Overall, I felt a little cheated by Barbecoa. It's in a great location and the service is good and the food perfectly acceptable. I was expecting a riot of meat and American barbecue like you see on Man vs. Food or Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and I just didn't get it. Everything seemed just a little to restraint(!). Maybe it's because Barbecoa is aimed at a the city's slightly posher crowd; the bill certainly is.

On the way out I noticed that Ramsay's recently opened Bread Street Kitchen is just opposite. The media got far too excited about Ramsay and Jamie opening up next-door restaurants when it was first announced. I'd quite like to see what the competition is like.

A private Edinburgh food "fest"

I've just come back from one of my "regular" trips to The Edinburgh Festival Fringe which, as usual, was most excellent. What was not quite so usual was the level of high quality eating that was involved.

The eating started off with a lunch at the Edinburgh institution that is The Dogs. Some pre-trip research made it clear that this place is viewed quite fondly by Edinburghers. And I can see why. As you walk through the big front door and up the stairs, the abundance of dark wood and dog-related decoration is very welcoming in a well-lived (and ever-so-slightly ramshackled) gran's house way, albeit with slightly less chintz and fewer doileys.

The Dogs' popularity was demonstrated by the virtue that there was only one small table left in the main dining room as all the others were already booked for lunch, despite us arriving barely after noon. I had a devilled ox liver, onion, bacon and mushroom on toast. It was good but they certainly held back on the devilling; it took my breath away. I had to quench the fire between each bite either with wine or another mouthful of the delicious fresh warm bread. I was jealous of my companion's Stornoway black pudding hash with fried duck egg. I think it was pretty good given the frequency of the simpering moans of pleasure emanating from her after nearly every fork-full. (There was no point in my trying it as my palette was awash with spicy liver). I also feel like I should have had the haggis, oh well. Definitely a place to go back to and explore a bit more of the menu.

Our next lunch-time treat was at Cucina a rather good Italian restaurant in the Hotel Missoni on the North Bridge. It was very modern restaurant: plenty of light highlighting a minimalist interior whilst remaining suitably plush and without that over-riding feeling of being in a hotel.

I had some great Speck ham to start with which came with some fried polenta (Speck con polenta fritta e bagna cauda) which had an incredibly light and fluffy interior; I could have eaten a plate of that on its own. Next up I had Conchiglie al ragu, which was a perfect example of a pork ragu if ever there was one. The scent of rosemary that finished each mouthful was exquisite. I finished with a tiramisu (well, you just have to don't you?), which was OK. It certainly came packing a boozy punch but was a little too creamy for me. Again the food envy hit when over the table from me when the Lacrima di Morro d'Alba chilled soup, cinnamon crumble and strawberry sorbet arrived. It was a pretty dish oozing elegance and summer berries and it was quite possibly the best fruit soup I've ever tasted.

Still I had made my bed by having the set lunch, which at £18 is an absolute bargain. Cucina is definitely a place to go back to.

On the way down to Leith for our final lunch we stopped off in the Italian deli Valvona & Crolla. And what a place. Packed with fresh produce, tempting meats and cheeses and glorious baked goods. There's even a cafe at the back serving up an array of tempting delights made from the excellent produce at the front. This is the kind of shop I could happily spend plenty of money on a regular basis, if only it wasn't in Edinburgh...

Saving the best to last, on our last day we went to Tom Kitchin's The Kitchin in Leith. Kitchin is one of the best known Scottish chefs. Having worked under Koffman and Ducasse he has an approach grounded in classical French cuisine and is a strong proponent of using local and seasonal produce. Needless to say I was expecting great things from the one-star chef. I'll cut to the chase and tell you that I wasn't disappointed.

The tempo was set with a rather good Edinburgh gin and tonic and crudités, with a frankly outrageously delicious blue cheese dip, in the sun whilst perusing the menu.

I was quite surprised by how small the dining room was, with only ten or so tables. WE were sat opposite the rather large window into the kitchen. It was understated elegance as you'd expect in a quality fine dining establishment.

I started with satueed Perthshire girolles served with crispy lamb sweetbreads and a poached hen's egg. Let's face it the combination of tasty bits like lamb, mushrooms, bacon, egg and a red wine jus is always going to be a winner: a dish which excited my palate with every mouthful. Even if it wasn't quite as subtle as my companion's exquisite langoustine ravioli.

Next up was a seared fillet of North Sea hake served with a herb crust and red pepper piperade. The piperade was a revelation; so strong in pepper and tomato flavour with a real lingering presence. The hake was strong enough to hold its own but the herb crust was lost frankly.

I finished with a custard tart served with Scottish brambles and a bramble sorbet. Now I might have grumbled about the measly slice of tart (barely a finger's worth) if my breath hadn't been taken away by the blackberry sorbet. Simply stunning, bursting with rich blackberry flavour, tart enough to excite but with just enough sugar to prevent a pout. A joyous end to the meal.

Quite frankly £60 for an excellent three course meal with matched wines and a G&T is value you simply can't argue with. A great restaurant that I am determined to go back to.

Pitt Cue Co. Trailer

It being a Friday and me deserving a treat and being in the South Bank area were the major factors which lead me to finally try out the offerings from the Pitt Cue Co. Trailer.

I realise I'm very much behind the curve here. The London foodie world has been going off about street food for at least a year and such is the success of Pitt Cue there's now a bone fide restaurant in Soho.

Anyhoo, I finally got around to having a pulled pork bap.

And what a bloody great thing it is too. Stupidly tender barbecued pork, fresh crunchy coleslaw, piquant slices of pickle, a mild chilli sauce with a bit of a kick topped with a delicious gravy (albeit a little too sweet) in a pillowy bun of loveliness. What more do you want for lunch?

I get what all the fuss is about!

Hand & Flowers

I first saw Tom Kerridge on Great British Menu in 2010 (it was the year he won the main course with his roast duck and duck-fat chips). Not only did he seem like a great bloke but (and this is going to sound clichéd) I was struck by the way he was so innovative in both the dishes and their presentation - the crayfish scotch egg will always stick in my mind. Coupled with the fact that he serves up his food in the (at the time) only Michelin-starred pub in the UK meant that the Hand and Flowers made its way on to my wish list rather easily.

This week I finally got to go to this, now 2 starred (and more on that subject later), gastro-pub with a friend from work.

It really is a delightfully restored old country pub at the end of Marlow high-street. The interior is bare wood aplenty, with risk-of-head-hittingly low beams, and really a touch too dark. Although it's a pub, the bar is only a couple of metres long (if that). The thing that gets people in is obviously the food. This is what we had (apologies in advance for the poor photos).

***

Fried whitebait and bread

I don't normally talk about the nibbles but these whitebait were quite unexpected but light and delightfully crisp. And the bread. Oh, I could have eaten the sour-dough bread slathered with butter till the cows came home.

***

Crispy Pig's Head with Rhubarb, Crackling and Pancetta

This was a brilliant starter. The pig's head was terrifically meaty and porky. Even though I was expecting a rather more solid filling under the golden crisp exterior (I guess I was expecting more of a crubeen), which was a bit disconcerting at first but not to the detriment of the dish. The rhubarb came in a variety of form including puréed and the revelation that was pickled. I think the pickled rhubarb may have been the making of the dish giving an acidic note and real texture. I would love to know how they cooked the pancetta as it was literally melting and almost acted as another sauce (was it just thinly cut and melted by the heat of the plate?). The only mild disappointment was the thin sliver of cracking (surely everyone loves crackling?). Whilst a delightful garnish (how on earth do they get such a thin pencil-lead strip of cracking?), gimme more!

Salt Cod Scotch Egg with chorizo and Red Pepper Sauce

The presentation of this scotch egg made us giggle. It just needs a couple of eyes and there's the head of a Basque man on a plate! Apparently it was tasty, albeit a touch too minimal.

***

Slow Cooked Duck Breast with Peas, Duck Fat Chips and Gravy (GBM 2010)

K had the duck. The meat was well cooked and accompanied by a serious gravy. The side dish of peas with lettuce and lardons were incredibly moreish. The much-vaunted triple fried chips were, to be honest, simply OK. They didn't rock my world or blow my mind. Good chips yes, but nothing to write home about. I'm pretty sure I've had better elsewhere.

Loin of Cotswold Venison with Ox Tongue, Berigoule Mushroom, English Lettuce and Prickly Ash

When this arrived, my first thought was "Good Lord that's a lot of pepper on my meat!". Turns out those chaps in the kitchen know what they're doing as the prickly ash complimented the venison really well. The slab of berigoule mushroom with lardons and puffy crackling "popcorn" was a great accompaniment. As was the lettuce (why don't more people cook lettuce?). This was the first time I'd had ox-tongue and to be completely honest it tasted so like my childhood memory of Spam I was knocked for six.

***

Passion Fruit Soufflé with Kaffir Lime Ice Cream and Warm Toffee

We both had the soufflé to finish. When it came it was suitably impressive with the soufflé imperiously risen. Now, I expecting something comparable to my memory of the passion fruit soufflé I had at Le Gav. It's just a shame it didn't. It simply didn't taste of anything, let alone passion fruit. A disappointing end to an otherwise enjoyable meal.

I can understand why it got it's first Michelin star, but two? The food was just simply not in the same league as that at Le Gav, it's really just sophisticated "meat and two veg" meal. Having said that it is incredibly good value with starters and puds at about £9 and mains at about the £25 mark.

I'll remember my meal because of the overall experience which included being interviewed for a well-known cookery TV competition (a variant of which has professionals competing) about my venison that had been cooked by one of the contestants (never fear, you'll be saved from my musing as they obviously won't let my ugly mug get on the TV) and K's surprise at getting a soufflé for pud.

It's a very good gastro-pub and I'd definitely go again, I'm just not sure that it's "worth a detour".

Wild Food Kitchen

I've just heard about the Wild Food Kitchen restaurant and it sounds pretty good.

It's a supper club that specialises in wild food (who'd a guessed that?). They're first menu featured delights such as wild nettle gazpacho, wild venison and wild rabbit. OK so clearly I'm loving the game.

Still sounds like quite a cool feed.

Maze

Back in January I bought a dinner for four at Maze via a Travelzoo offer and tonight we finally got to go. I really wanted to go to Maze when Jason Atherton was at the helm but didn't manage it before he left in 2010. So, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, I had a hunch that Atherton was the soul of the restaurant and his departure would probably have meant that it would have lost its enticing innovative sheen. The proof would be in the eating.

Maze doesn't follow the usual protocol of Russian serving, but offers "tasting plates". Essentially this meant we had two small starters, a small main and a pudding.

***

Pressed chicken and foie gras, pear and saffron chutney, green tea caramel

Rather predictably I went for the foie gras option. I love the stuff. Any opportunity I get to have some will be taken. Anyhoo, the terrine was OK nothing particularly great or awful. The only noteworthy item was the appalling green tea caramel. It formed a hard and bitter tasting perimeter on the plate adding absolutely nothing.

***

Pork dumplings, radish, aromatic mushroom broth

Pork dumplings are a relatively recent revelation to me. They are delicious. Again, if I'm having Chinese I simply have to have these delicious packets of bliss. I was amazed to see them on this menu so absolutely had to have them. They were the single most delicious thing we had. Beautifully seasoned and savoury pork balls enveloped in delicate thin pasta. Swimming in a clear savoury mushroom liquor. Absolutely wonderful from first tentative nibble to the last slurp of the broth.

***

Braised beef featherblade, pomme puree, shimiji mushroom, tograshi spice

The beef "main" had a lot to live up to after the pork dumplings. It didn't. Yeah, the beef was good but the flavour was swamped by the sauce. The mushrooms didn't particularly add anything. The mash was good (as you'd expect) maybe a touch "claggy" and the tograshi spice was a thin line on top of the potato. The flavour of which only came through if you deliberately tasted it. This was a case of over-complication or addition of "exciting" and "exotic" ingredients just for the sake of it. A disappointment. Something makes me think that Atherton wouldn't have allowed it.

***

Banana and date parfait, butterscotch, walnuts

This was almost the most substantial dish of the night. The advertised flavours were present and correct. A silky smooth parfait with lots of chewy lumps of date, the walnuts came baked into a slice of rather dense banana cake, a lovely butterscotch sauce and a perfectly caramelised banana.

All in all a typical Ramsey affair: luxurious surroundings, good service (in the main) and reasonable food. The thing is that's the problem with the place as well: it just seemed too anodyne and formulaic. I'd go back but there are plenty more places I'd like to go to first where I think I'd have a better time, especially at this high-end side of things. Now, when can I get to Pollen Street Social...

Dinner Chez Bruce

Last night I had a trip to glamorous Wandsworth in deepest sarf London for a (much belated) birthday meal for a friend at Chez Bruce.

We had a most excellent night with plenty of quality food and wine. It may be a reflection of the brilliant standards of this restaurant but I feel it may have had something to do with the fact that my friend's brother is the pastry chef and his fiancée was also having dining with us. Any road, I'm not complaining, we had a most exceptional night, I'm just saying that my experience may not be described as "typical".

Now there aren't any photos, I'm afraid. I have still to get over the sometime awkwardness of taking photos in restaurants and it just didn't seem appropriate last night.

We were greeted with a glass of some bubbly. Once we'd ordered, we had an extra starter of cream of celeriac soup with a warm gougère (which I know now are small cheesy choux pastry pillows) and chanterelles. The soup was sublimely smooth and rich with the delicious mushrooms adding a real earthy note. This boded well for the meal ahead!

My "proper" starter was an oxtail tartlet with garlic purée, snails and red wine. Bit of an odd one this. A slightly untidy pastry case filled with tasty oxtail but I'm lost as to what the snails brought. The other starter on our table was the salad of pig's head with beetroot, mustard, comté and crackling which was a perfect example of a warm meaty salad: full of individual flavours that combined in glorious harmony.

My risotto nero (very salty or "heavily seasoned" as I was corrected!) was accompanied by a perfect slice of sea bass and some chewy squid. There was also a sauté of broccoli and garlic which seemed to have got lost on their way to another dish. An unsatisfying main with mixed highs and lows.

Whilst trying to decide what to have for dessert we were persuaded to have some cheese (mind you we didn't take much convincing). The cheeses were great not least of all a very unusual soft cheese made with a combination of goat's and cow's milk. The port we had to accompany the cheese was sublime.

I was so full, I wasn't even sure if I wanted a pud so I just asked for a "surprise". What I got in return was the booziest rum baba I have ever had. Thankfully the grilled pineapple and chantilly cream offset the booze, just. The apple and custard toasted sandwich was exactly what it says it is. Although slightly more refined that you can make at home with your Breville.

The meal was great (really as it should be when you're out with very good friends) with very well cooked food deeply rooted in classic French cuisine that, on the whole, was hard to fault. It came as little surprise when I later found out that Chez Bruce has one of Michelin's shiny stars. I'd go back in a flash.

I must also make mention of the front of house. Our waitress was brilliant: warm, witty and genuinely welcoming. The sommelier also managed to completely surprise me. As we were discussing our first wine option she declared "I know you". This came as somewhat of a surprise as I was pretty confident that I'd never clapped eyes on here before. Apparently she recognised me when we first arrived but couldn't work out where from. It turns out that over 15 years ago she was on a kids camp that I used to work on. Ridiculous. Apparently "I haven't changed much at all". I think we finally worked out that that was a compliment! Banter like that, from the pair of them, just added to our evening.