Address:  70 George Street, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia

Telephone number: (03) 6331 9333

Website: www.blackcowbistro.com.au

Date of visit: 25 January 2011

Price guide: About A$50 for 2 courses

Comments on wine and beer: Mainly Australian wine. Certain top Italians are also on the list. Penfols Grange 04 at A$700 a bottle. On the whole, pretty reasonable mark-up.

Cuisine: Tasmanian Beef Steakhouse. Vegetarian and non beef dishes available

Exchange rate: A$1 = £0.65

Summary:

This is a steakhouse and is in most of the guides as THE restaurant for Launceston. They specialise in  Tasmania beef.

The restaurant is sited on a corner and has around 40 covers . The inside has white walls with a modern bistro look. One side of the wall is devoted to words about the cow. On the evening I went, it was fully booked and many walk-in diners were turned away so booking in advance is recommended.

They offered the usual steaks : rump, porterhouse, fillet etc.  The steaks start at $29 and came with a small bake potato covered in a butter and Dijon mustard sauce. Sides are around $7. I started with the local oyster ($17 for 6). This was unusual as you get a creamy taste from the roe as well as the crunchy texture and the sea taste.

I then had the porterhouse (300g at $31) and broccoli ($7) which came as a heavily seared piece of meat. I ordered medium and it was well done. Within 10 minutes, I had another piece steak. This time it was medium.

The steak was a god piece of meat, lean, very little tendons and moist. The crust had a very savory texture which suggests that it had been marinated in a sauce. The meat was certainly fine. I then discovered that the Tasmanian Black Cow has been farmed as Wagyu meat.

The wine list here is very comprehensive. I discovered Ese, an award winning pinot noir for $55 a bottle. Tasmania is considered a cool climate area and so the best grapes are pinot noir, chardonnay, pinot gris and sauvignon blanc. A few places grow cabernet sauvignon but cabinet is not a top wine in Tasmania.

For dessert, I spotted a Turkish delight panna cotta at $15.5. I was too full to eat dessert and I don’t have a sweet tooth.

If you like steak, this is the place! It serves better steak than most of the steakhouses in the USA – Prime, Mortens, Wolfgang etc. Only downside is that they do not do chips.

E

PS went back for a rump steak $29. It was just as tender. They use the centre piece and cut it like a fillet not a slice as in the UK.  I also had bread – ciabatte and olive oil at $4 a portion.

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Address:  Constitution Dock, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Telephone number: (03) 6231 2121

Website: www.mures.com.au

Date of visit: 23 and 24 January 2011

Price guide: A$9.90 for a cooked breakfast at the Lower Deck. A$30 plus for a main course on the Upper Deck.

Comments on wine and beer: Normal Aussie list at normal mark-up (200-300%). Beers around A$7.

Cuisine: Lower Deck, all sorts incl sandwiches, cooked breakfast and various fish dishes. Upper Deck mainly fish (fried, grilled and deep fried), also couple of meat dishes.

Exchange rate: A$1 = £0.65

Summary:

Mures Lower Deck is open from 7.30 am for breakfast. At around $10, you get bacon, eggs and toasts. Tomatoes, bake beans and hash browns are available as side orders from around $3.

On the day I went, the eggs and toasts were great but I found the bacon a big fatty and they have not been cooked long enough for the fat to render but then the portions were big and the prices very reasonable. The location is also great as it is right on the water front.

Outside breakfast hours, they do sandwiches and various fish based dishes including sushi. Think supermarket sushi – however, the fish is very fresh.

Dinner at the Upper Deck was another story. The menu is nearly identical to that at the Drunken Admiral. The difference is the location and the views (Drunken Admiral has an internal view whilst this place offers an external view over the docks).

I had prawns and scallops in panko (a Japanese bread crumb) deep fried with chips ($35.9). The prawns were huge Australian Tiger Prawns and you get 6 on the plate. The scallops were smaller – about the size of a 10 pence coin (5 times as thick). However, they had roes with them. I asked the waitress why lobsters are not on the menu and the answer was that it was out of season and only frozen ones were available – they try not to use frozen fish. They also offer a huge fish platter for one ($110) which include a bit of everything off the deep fried menu.

Well, my conclusion was that this place was just like the Drunken Admiral. The menu is similar – I even had the same wine a bottle of NV 42 degrees sparkling ($38) – fast becoming my favourite Tasmanian sparkling. They are good at what they do but it is just an up market fish fryer!

E

PS They have their own fishing fleet. Most of the fish they sell are from their own catch. They also have a fish retail area at the back.

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Location:Tankerton House, Basingstoke Road, Spencer’s Wood, Reading, RG7 1AE

Web site: www.miahs.co.uk/html/restaurant_spencers_wood.html

Telephone number: 0118 988 8394

Date of visit: 21/1/2011

Approx. cost per head: 30

Comments on wine list/beer: A good selection of wines and beers. The Chardonnay was lovely – fruity with a hint of oak.

Media link:

Review:

Miah’s Spencer’s Wood is one of four restaurants in this local chain that also includes Miah’s Saffron, The Garden of Gulab and Miah’s Pangbourne.

The restaurant provides a welcoming and intimate environment with contemporary styling. It’s always advisable to book a table – essential in fact on a Friday or Saturday evening. Reservations are accepted for either the 7pm or 9pm sitting. Ample car parking space is provided to the rear and nearby road-side parking is also possible. Miah’s is perfect for all occasions – a romantic meal, a business dinner or a family celebration.
The extensive menu includes a mix of classic and contemporary dishes, inspired by owner Jamshed Miah’s regular visits to India. Needless to say it caters well for vegetarians. The starters are excellent and well priced, averaging £4. Alongside the largest (tennis ball sized) onion bhajis we’d ever come across we also opted for the vegetarian-friendly mumta-e-zameen and a delicious sag ponir. Main courses hover between £7-£12. We opted for two of Miah’s own dishes – chicken kofta massala -Minced Chicken with spices and herbs fried and cooked in a medium sauce – and the vegetable kofta malai. Both were superb. Alongside the traditional deserts you will find an inviting collection of Miah’s own creations.

Aside from the mouth watering food, the service at Miah’s sets it apart from rivals. Efficient, polite and welcoming – female guests even receive a fresh red rose at the end of their meal. A popular touch from what I could see. An optional 10% service charge is included in the bill.

Reading and the surrounding area aren’t short of Indian restaurants and having eaten at most of them in recent years I was pleasantly surprised to find that Miah’s comfortably tops them all.

Dave Lamont

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Bollinger Grand Anee 1995 – absolutely superb. Wish I have more!

Corton-Charlemangne 1998 and 2001 (Domaine Charles Thomas) – very light and delicate for Corton-Charlemangne.  Not the right choice for salmon!

Ch Lescombes 1990  -beautiful!

Tignanello 1999 – another great wine!

Pensees de Lafleur 2000 – slightly too woody. Better with beef!

Ornelleia 2000 – surprisingly sweet . Better with cheese.

Dow’s 85 – excellent

and a polypin of Loddon’s Ferryman Gold – wonderful beer - cold!

Smoked wild salmon from Foreman and Field – worst choice. Completely over rated. It was dry and did not ooze omega 3 oil. Better off with Waitrose smokede salmon at 10% of the price!   NOTE: My family thinks that the smoke salmon was wondercful as it is not as oily as the normal ones. OK! Everyone has a different taste.

Bronze Turkey from Peach Croft Farm – pot roasted with breast down. Good taste and not dry. Still eating it.

 Leg of Shropshire Black Ham from Dukeshill – fantastic taste. Well worth getting up at 5 in the morning to roast it. Took 6 hours + 1 plus for resting!

The Christmas pud is Waitrose’s The Carved Angel Pud (suposed to be based on Burton-Race’s recipe) – ok but nothing special!

Cheese from Lightwood (Elgar) – again, not all that impressed. It was mature but doesn’t have the creamy taste or sharp bite – perhaps too mature!

Colston Basset (Stilton) – ok but nothing special!

Have a great New Year !

E

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/8194423/Time-to-pop-the-cork.html

To compare, I am drinking

Bollinger Grand Anee 1995

Corton-Charlemangne 1998 and 2001 (Domaine Charles Thomas)

Ch Lescombes 1990

Tignanello 1999

Pensees de Lafleur 2000

Ornelleia 2000

Dow’s 85

and a polypin of Loddon’s Ferryman Gold

Food wise, I have a side of smoked wild salmon from Foreman and Field, Bronze Turkey from Peach Croft Farm and a leg of Shropshire Black Ham from Dukeshill. The turkey I shall brine (even Heston said so in Waitrose Magazine Dec 2010)  and pot roast – yes, I found this turkey pot in the USA. The Black Ham will be cooked a la Delia. The Christmas pud is Waitrose’s The Carved Angel Pud (suposed to be based on Burton-Race’s recipe) and the cheeses are from Lightwood (Elgar) and Colston Basset (Stilton).  By the way, this is over 2 days – Christmas days and Boxing Day. There will be 6 on Christmas day and 12 on Boxing day.

Have a great Xmas.

E

PS  May be that bottle of 2001 Petrus next year or the year after – on my own.

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Thursday 9th Dec not Friday 13!

I started off for The Old Bell Hotel in Hurley (http://www.theoldebell.co.uk/). When I got there, I discovered that Honda was hosting an event at the hotel. The car park was full, most people doubled parked. I thought :”sod this” and went onto The Black Boy also in Hurley (http://www.blackboysinn.co.uk/).

The Black Boy is more of a restaurant than a pub. It has been recommended by The Michelin Guide for a Bib Gourmet for a few years running – they do a set lunch at £11 for 2 courses. Upon arrival, I was greeted with: ” sorry, we are fully booked”.

I then drove into Henley-on-Thames along the A4130. I stopped at The Little Angel (http://www.thelittleangel.co.uk/) by Henley Bridge and discovered that they were closed for a private party. Well there is always Henley town centre – just across the bridge. Henley has a market day every thursday and there are a few decent places to eat. I managed to find a space in the market place car park but then discovered that I had no change. There was a traffic wardern lurking round the corner ready to pounce.

I then drove along the A4155, passed the Plowden Arms (not sure about their food – have not eaten there for 10 years) until I came across The Flowing Spring (http://flowingspring.readingrestaurants.com/) near Playhatch. I got there at 13.50 but was told by a very pleasant landlord that the kitchen is closed – the web site had said service till 2.30. However, they were happy to do me a sandwich – beef, egg mayo or cheese. I ordered the cheese and tomato sandwich (£4.50) and a pint of Fullers London Pride (£3.20).

The London Pride was pretty good – as I have said before, never had a bad pint of Pride. The sandwich that came was perfectly edible. But it was just buttered brown bread, “normal” cheddar and half a packet of salted crisp. You can get a better sandwich in Boots for less than £2.50.

Maybe I should give up lunch!

E

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Address: Chapel Lane, Blewbury, Oxfoedshire, OX11 9PQ (off A417)

Telephone number: 01235 850403

Website: http://www.redlionblewbury.co.uk/

Date of visit: 22 November 2010

Approximate cost per head: £10 plus.

Comments on wine list/beer: Did not see wine – there were bottles lying behind the bar. Brakspear @ £2.90 a pint was well kept and good value.

Cuisine: English

Summary:

I picked up the 2011 Good Pub Guide and a copy of the latest Sawday’s Guide recently. The Bell at Aldworth was rated highly by both guides and The Bell is listed by The Good Pub Guide as one of the top 10 pubs.

The strange thing about the Bell is that they only do filled rolls and ploughmans (bread, cheese, pickle) and desserts. I could not understand how a pub that serves such basic food can be so highly rated. So, off I went.

As I approached the Pub in Bell Lane, I noticed that it is shut – I should have read the small prints in The Good Pub Guide that clearly stated that The Bell is closed on Mondays. I turned round and went back towards Streatley. At Streatley, I decided to turn towards Wantage on the A417 and try my luck at the first Pub that I come across.

Unfortunately, I went passed 5 miles of open countryside with not a single Pub in sight.

At 1.30pm, I arrived at the village of Blewbury. The first Pub that I came across was the Barley Mow. I went inside and was told that they were not doing food this lunch time. This was despite the fact that they have a huge blackboard facing the road that said lunch served 7 days a week and dinner on 6 nights.

After another few hundred yards, I spotted a little sign that said: Red Lion with a knive and fork symbol. I turned down Chapel Lane and entered the Pub which had 3 rooms – one a restaurant. The restaurant was not used so I took a table in the public bar with highly scrubbed tables. There was a log fire in the room.

The Red Lion offered specials – chalked on a blackboard – and a menu. The menu is fairly “English” offering prawn cocktail, steak, ham egg and chips, fish and chips etc. Most dishes were priced at under £10. I ended up with 2 starters: Deep fried Whitebait (£5.95) from the specials board and Potted Crab (£5.95) from the menu.

When the food came, I was amazed. The portions were on the big side and they were served with a nice mixed salad – dressed.

Let’s start with the potted crab. It was all white meat – tasted fresh not tinned or frozen – in a white pot – no butter or fat on top to seal the food. It came with 4 triangles of wholemeal toass – again, not buttered. Great for me as I don’t do butter or salt. Butter was provided on the side. After I finished the toasts, I still had half a pot of crab meat left which I ate with the salad.

The whitebait was glorious. Crisp, moist and not soggy on the inside. If you deep fried them from frozen, you will get a soggy fish inside the bread crumbs. The slight downside here was that the mayonnaise was bottled – vinegary. However, they added chopped dill to the mayo and it was quite pleasant.

Well, this pub is not in any guide, from the pictures on the wall, it is the heart and soul of the local community. The food is pretty good too. My whole bill including 2 pints came to £17.70.

E

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Location: Latassa 34, Zaragoza 50006, Spain

Telephone number: Spain  976 23 65 03

Website: www.labodegadechema.com

Cost per head: From around €30

Wine list: Good selection of well-priced Spanish wines.

Date of visit: 15 November 2010

Cuisine: Spanish

Summary:

Having been to this restaurant on Friday 11 November, we were not intending to go to this restaurant so soon afterwards despite the fact that we thoroughly enjoyed the meal there. When we were in Zaragoza last summer we visited a restaurant nearby where we had a very good meal and we thought we will try it again this time. This restaurant was the Goyesco and knowing that some restaurants in Zaragoza are closed on Monday night we looked at the website of the restaurant for the opening hours and we were pleased to note that it was closed only on Sunday nights. So despite the cold wind on Monday night we walked the 25 minutes to it but despite the fact that we arrived well after the opening time there was no signs of life as everything was shut and dark! This was disappointing to say the least and we will certainly think twice before making the effort to go to it again!

However, as we were close to La Bodega de Chema we decided to pay it a repeat visit especially since the menus had changed after the end of the I Jornada Gastronomica de las Setas y el Cabrito. As it was a Monday night, the restaurant was very quiet and not like the last Friday night. The owners welcomed us warmly and after a chat we were led to our table. The Menu Especial was is a fixed price menu (36 Euros) with 3 starters, following a selection of main from the 4 dishes on offer and then a choice of one of 2 desserts; local wine, mineral water and bread are also included.

Warm bread and water arrived together with a large dish of marinated enormous green olives which were excellent. Although the wine on offer was a young wine from the Somontano region of Aragon, we were offered the chance to change this if we wished and we opted for the “Azpilicueta”Crianza 2006 from Bodegas Age in the Rioja region which we also had on Friday night; the Somontano Joven would have been fruity, soft and enjoyable but I felt that the Rioja was of a much better quality and we were not disappointed.

The starters arrived one by one with the first one being Ensalada templada de chipirones con setas frescas y vegetales (baby squid salad with fresh leaves, vegetables and mushrooms). The second starter was Hojaldre relleno de gambas al ajillo y habitas en salsa americana (puff pastry filled with prawns in garlic and baby broad beans) and the third one was Delicias de la Bodega rellenas de queso de oveja con salsa de trufa (meatballs containing some goat cheese and served in a truffle sauce). All three starters were excellent.

Of the main dishes we again chose the Cabrito asado al horno con patatas al estilo tradicional (very young local lamb cooked in the oven) which was again excellent. Our second choice was the Cochinillo en dos cocciones con su jugo a la pimienta verde (young piglet slow roasted for 8 hours in the oven before roasting for a short time at high temperatura to dry the skin): this was excellent and, like the lamb dish, very large so we took our time eating all this!

Time for desserts eventually arrived and instead of the two on offer (one was the excellent mushroom ice cream which we had on Friday and the second was a selection of sorbets) we were offered the full choice from the home-made desserts’ menú; we chose the chocolate mousse which was surprisingly light and the duo of cheeses which was excellent and surprisingly generous.

After coffee we chatted to the owner and we promised to visit again when we are back in Zaragoza next summer. We look forward to that visit! All this came to an extremely reasonable 72 Euros (including tax) for the two of us!

The restaurant does of course also offer an extensive a la carte menu and a very good and sensibly priced wine list covering all the main wine-producing regions of Spain but it is strong in Rioja and Aragon wines. The fixed price menus are nevertheless excellent value for money. We remember seeing a comment on a restaurant menu in Barcelona saying that they had no Michelin stars but they knew how to cook and we felt that the same comment applies to La Bodega de Chema.

Demetris Savva

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Hi,

Its that time of the year again. So if you are an eartly bird like me, start planning. Here are a few thoughts – please note that everything we publish are ours views; no sponsorship or third party influence.

As I am based in the UK, the suggestions are limited to UK.

Lets start with smoke salmon. The “best” comes from Foreman and Field – side of smoked wild salmon. However, it is around £100.
(http://www.formanandfield.com/?referer=63)

Try Brown and Forrest (http://www.smokedeel.co.uk/) as an alternative. They do smoked salmon but I recommend the smoked eel, smoked duck or smoke lamb – the best smoke lamb used to come from The Old Smoke House, Brougham. Rona Newsom who ran the place single handed used to sell legs of black face lamb. Sadly, Rona no longer runs the place and I have not be able to drive pass the place and see how the new owners are doing.

For legs of ham, cooked or uncooked, try Dukeshill.

http://www.dukeshillham.co.uk/content.asp?pageID=30001

If you cook it yourself (beware, 6 hours and a large container is needed), you will also have a lovely stock to make soup.

For Turkeys or goose, try Vickers (if you are near Reading). Try to pot roast the turkey, the meat stays juicy.

For cheese, my latest favourite is Lightwood Cheese (http://www.lightwoodcheese.co.uk/cheese.htm).
Around Worcester, they also have Anstys if you porefer a milder cheese (http://www.ansteys.com/).

For wine, go for a 2000 or 1996 claret. They will both be perfect. Try Tanners or Berry Brothers.

http://www.bbr.com/

http://www.tanners-wines.co.uk/TannersSite/pages/home/default.asp

For something different, go to Birmingham and pick up bread, sausages and desserts from the “Frankfurt” Xmas market.

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/frankfurtmarket

When you get fed up with all this, why not celebrate The New Year with Japanese Cuisine. Plenty of good ideas from The Japan Centre

http://www.japancentre.com/

E

November 2010

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Address: Crickley Hill, Birdlip, Gloucestershire, GL4 8JX

Telephone number: 01452 862 541

Website: http://www.airballoon-pub-gloucestershire.co.uk/

Date of visit: 12 November 2010

Price guide:  Less than £15 for 2 courses. Special deals – two for the price of one etc.

Comments on wine and beer: Greene King – Ruddles, IPA, Old Speckle Hen etc from £2.80 a pint. Really cheap wine list with Barolo at under £20.Wine by the bottle starts at £10.95

Cuisine style: traditional British Pub food and steaks.

Summary:

The Air Balloon is strategically positioned at the B4070/A417 roundabout at Birdlip. Great place to have a break between the M4 and M5 motorway.

I have been interested in coming to test this place out for a few years. However, I seemed to be driving past at the wrong times for meals – for me! The Balloon served meals from 12.00 to 22.00.

When I have driven past at lunch time, the car park was so full that I can’t even find a space.

This time, I was there at 14.30 and the car park was half empty. They now charge for parking. However, the ticket price is refunded at the bar against purchases.

Inside the building are cosy enclaves with tables. I estimated that there are over 30 tables. The place is well designed so that there are ample segregations between every few tables.

The menu is essentially British, offering all the normal favourites. There is a special section on burgers (from £6.95)  and steaks (£10.95). You can get sirloin, rib eye or rump cooked in different ways.

The wine list is exceptional for a pub – range and price. If I wasn’t driving, I would certainly have a bottle.

I ordered the scampi and chips with mushy peas (£7.65). The meals here are good size but not huge.

The scampi were presented in a bowl with a pile of chips on a plate and the mushy peas sitting in a mini sauce boat. Everything was as expected – not bad and not exceptional. However, at the price they charge, it was brilliant.

I had a pint of Ruddles with the meal and it tasted weaker than the Ruddles I used to drink. I have to admit, Greene King is not my favourite brewer. In the 80s they were all right but then they were only a local brewer in Essex.

Looking back along the A417, The Five Mile House near Duntisbourne Abbots serves the best food whilst The Air Balloon offers the best value for money and has a menu that is attractive to children.The Golden Heart scores for the best parking and the food is all right. I shall have to visit The Highwayman to complete the set.

E

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