I love this article as I am goung to write about Shepherd’s pie (same thing, I believe) re the Shoulder of Mutton.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/oct/21/make-perfect-cottage-pie

E

Oct 2010

http://www.japancentre.com/recipes/73

If you like tofu, you may be interested. I hate the stuff.

E

Address: Pound Lane, Little Marlow, Bucks SL7 3SR

Telephone number: 01628 482927

Website: www.marlowslittlesecret.co.uk

Date of visit: 19 October 2010

Approximate cost per head: £20

Comments on wine list/beer: Fullers London Pride and Brakspear on tap at £3.20 a pint. A simple wine list that has Pouilly Fuissee (£26.95), Cissac 2004 (£44.95) and Dom Perignon (£175) as its top wines.

Summary:
This a pub hidden away in a narrow lane as you enter Little Marlow (A4155). The A404 has Marlow on one side and Little Marlow on the other side. In 2010, this pub was listed in the Michelin Pub Guide and The Good Pub Guide.

The pub is around 200 years old. Although it has the obligatory exposed beams, the wooden floor boards rather than flagstone suggest that the building is not that old.

On the day I went, there were 3 menus. A quickie lunch menu with sandwiches around £5. Specials on a blackboard and the printed menu. The starters are priced around £5-£8 and mains £11.50-£16.35. Typical starters are, oxtail and barley broth with stilton dumplings (£4.95), pan fried scallops with bacon and pea puree. Examples of main courses are: ribeye steak with hand cut chips (£16.35), Pheasant with savoy parcel, potato fondant (£14.50), Grey mullet, onion and beetroot mash, braised leeks, etc. So the menu is modern British.

I had the specials of the day – fish and chips and a pint of London Pride. The total bill came to £13.15.

The beer was as I expected. The fish came as an elongated piece of Haddock sitting on a pile of hand cut fat chips with two small tubs – mashed peas and tarter sauce. The fish was crisp and moist and the sauce was home made. The chips came with the skin on and were ok but not fantastic. The outside could have been crisper and the inside “softer. The mash peas were exactly that with some of the peas still lumpy. I really don’t get it. What is the point in mashing fresh peas? To add sugar?

My conclusion was that the food here is fine but not some where that I would want to specially visit.

E

Address: 80 Spring Street, Soho, New York, NY 10012, USA

Telephone number: +1 212 965 1414

Website: www.balthazarny.com

Date of visit: 14 October 2010

Price guide: $30 per head. Main courses from $15 (lunch). They have different menus for different meals – see website.

Comments on wine and beer: An extensive list with interesting beers on tap ($8 for 16oz), Wines go from around $50 to well over $500. Some very interesting French drinks e.g. Vin Jaune available as well as a large range of sherry, madeira and port.

Summary:

This is supposed to be a French Bistro re-incarnated in Lower Manhattan. I have always wanted to visit the place as I have the cookbook.

The restaurant is open from dawn till well past midnight serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We went for lunch. As I walked in, I noticed that it is done out as a large hall with tilled floor and bottles of wines and bric-a-brac on the sides. The place has a very high ceiling and as there is hardly any soft furnishing, it is very noisy.

The food on offer is French with an American take and American dishes added. For example, there are burgers (from $15) and chicken club sandwiches on offer.

I tried the German sounding larger which was pleasant and then the pumpkin beer. Now, I have had pumpkin beer before, they are almost like a fruity brown ale. This one tasted spicy.

My father had the onion soup n($10) and I ordered the lardon salad ($14) to start with. The onion soup came in a deep stoneware tub and was so thick with cheese that you can stand a spoon in it. The salad was full of leaves and green beans but I can hardly any lardons. I subsequently checked the menu and discovered that the lardon salad has no lardons in it!

Next we ordered the burger ($15) and my favourite, steak tartare ($14) and a side order of fries. The steak tartare was disappointing as it was very plainly flavoured. Being New York, everyone seems to be scared about adding salt to their cooking – blood pressure. But then, they serve such huge portions – obesity! The steak tartare at the Traeth (New Quay) and AWT’s Greyhound are still the best around.

The whole bill came to just over $80 so this place is not cheap nor is it expensive by New York standards. To be frank, I was disappointed. The cookbook is better!

E

PS Excellent fries – as good as you can get.

PPS Recipe from the Balthazar cookbook

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/27/braised-thin-rib-beef-recipe

E

Address: 455 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10022-8100, USA (Inside New York Palace Hotel, previously Helmsley Palace Hotel)

Telephone number: + 1 212 891 8100

Website: www.giltnewyork.com

Date of visit: 13 October 2010

Price guide: $100 plus per head

Comments on wine and beer: Another amazing wine list. There are some decent wines at a reasonable price. There were also wines at thousands of dollars a bottle.

Summary:

Another top notch New York Restaurant, another tasting menu.

Guilt is housed with the New York Palace Hotel – opposite St Patrick’s Cathedral. The inside of this place is amazing – all wood and carvings. If they have stained glass windows,  it would look like an Abbey.

As we entered via Madison, I noticed a highly vibrant outdoor bar. All the New York “want to be seen” sets were here drinking cocktails at $20 plus a glass.

Inside was another bar, again totally packed.

The restaurant is situated in a long room overlooking 47 street. There can’t be more than 20 tables in it.

The menu is very interesting; it offered 10 starters and 10 main courses. Its fixed price for 3, 5 or 7 courses at $89, $110 and $140 respectively. Wine pairing for the 5 courses is another $75 and $90 for the 7 courses.

For the 7 course tasting menu, the chef chooses the dishes based on your requirement (allergy, taste preference etc).

We had the 7 course tasting menu and a bottle of Joh. Jos.Prum cabinett ($75) and a 1994 Rioja Reserva ($110).

There were 2 amuse broche to start with. The first was a beef flavour marsh mellow which actually tasted like borscht but I am not too sure as it was the size of a sugar cube. Similar to Per Se, these things are far too small to allow the diner to taste properly. Next was a soup of apple and cranberry. There were too much cold cream sitting at the top of the cup so you get the hot and cold feel similar to an Irish Coffee. I am afraid that I am lost on this hot and cold concept – why can’t they warm the cream up?

Onto the main dishes:

First up was a slice of  hamachi shashimi with preserved lemon and zaatar. The hamachi was marinated so it was more like a ceviche. The dish was slightly sour and had a chilli hit to it. By now, it is quite clear that the chef is into bold tastes and textures.

Next was a dish of shrimp and salmon cavier with turnip, pear and nori. It was very pretty and again, it offers a mixed taste and texture. By the way, the turnip was mashed and this works well with the shrimp.

We were then offered a dish of curried baby octopus. It was a sweet and creamy curry – very much like a Japanese Curry rather than a SE Asian or Indian curry.

The next course was Spanish mackerel with squid ink and crispy chick peas, melon, chorizo and cauliflower.

The main course was a thick piece of “red” beef fillet (called loin of beef on the menu). This was served with onion and tomatoes treated in several ways.

I have to say that everything was very tasty but the dishes were too clever and there were too many ingredients so you do not taste the ingredients but rather a summation of the flavours.

As everything was arranged in a pretty pattern, the overall position of this (and any tasting or degustation menu) is that you ended up with very little carbohydrates and vegetables on the plate.

Next up was the sorbet. After that, desserts. Instead of two desserts, I was offered two plates of cheeses as the next two courses. I have to admit that I found US Restaurant cheeses very bland. As this chef was into flavours, I was hoping for strongly flavoured cheeses. But, no! The cheeses were served in very small portions of triangular wedges  arranged with fruit and nuts. The cheeses were different for each course and there were two types of cheeses on each plate. They all tasted very mild, like a mild monterrey jack or a weak brie/camembert.

Throughout the meal, we were offered bread rolls – apple, cheese, sour dough and brioche. The breads were tip top and in my view was one of the highlights of the meal. I enjoyed everything but nothing stood out for me. By the way, the Maître’D – Stefen was excellent.

Well, compared with Per Se, this was half the price and just as enjoyable.

E

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/8065442/Watermelon-lowers-blood-pressure.html

Well, another one but at least it is cheap and tasty.

E

Address: 10 East 38^th Street, New York, NY 10016

Telephone number: +1 212 448 1199

Website:

Date of visit:

Price Guide : lunch special starts at $6.95

Comments on wine and beer: $4 for a Chinese beer, $5 for a glass of wine. There is a wine list with one or two interesting bottles at the high end.

Summary:

I have been here several times over the past decade. It is a reliable Shanghainese Chinese in mid town Manhatten between Maidison and 5^th Avenue. My last visit was just over 3 years ago. Since then, the restaurant has been de-listed from the Zagat Guide.

The place was quite full as the lunch offer is really good value for money. From $6.95 (plus tax), you can have main course, rice and a bowl of soup.

The main menu offers some of the classics such as Scallion Pancake,  smoked fish, pickeled and preserved vegetables with various dishes but no eels or yellow fish. The food here is best described as Shanghainese Chinese aimed towards the Western Palate. I’ll be generous and call it 90% authentic – unlike Joe’s Shanghainese which is 100% authentic.

I had the stirred fried string beans with chicken, boiled rice and hot and sour soup and a side order of steamed dumplings.

The soup was a bit weak and jellified. It tasted strongly of consommé but did not have enough chillies(hot) or vinegar (sour). The dumplings were steamed pot stickers. This is highly unusual as pot stickers are usually fried or boiled. The dumplings were fine but the thick dumpling skin wasn’t cooked properly in the steamer.

The string beans with chicken were also unusual. Traditionally, the beans are dry cooked in a frying pan with or without minced pork. Here, I had strips of chicken and the dish was coated with a sweetish soy sauce.

So, this place is not quite authentic nor is it fusion. But, at $6.95, you can’t complain.

E

Address: 141 East 48^th Street, New York, NY10017

Telephone number: +1 212 759 8550

Website: www.avrany.com

Date of visit: 13 October 2010

Price guide: Around $30 per head  for lunch and $50 for dinner. More if you have fresh fish

Comments on wine and beer: Mythos (Greek beer) is $8 a bottle. Good wine list, slightly pricy.

Summary:

The  (Greek) restaurant is located in the mid town business district. There are around 20 outside tables. Inside, the place goes on forever and would take close to 200 covers with tables fairly close together. The decor is Greek Tavern style with white washed walls. They have a huge fresh fish counter in the middle of the restaurant and the kitchen is visible to the diners.

I am not sure that New York dining scene is experiencing a recession. I have been here 4 days and the restaurants are always full – lunch and dinner. This place was no exception.

We went for the mezze menu which had only 10 items on it. The dishes were priced from around $10 – $20. They6 offered a set lunch (2 courses with choices) for under $30.

We have grilled sardines ($17.95 for 4 fishes), gigantes ( baked beans @ $9.95), Kolokithi (courgette/ Zucchini  fries @ $18.95) and a side order of asparagus ($9.50). The gigantes and courgettes  came in portions easily for 2 or more people. They were both very good – the beans melt in the mouth, the frites thin and crispy. The sardines were disappointing – they were soggy. I am sure that they have been were frozen. The menu said Portuguese Sardines and I suppose that meant frozen.

The meal came to $78.77 including tax but excluding service – add another 20%. So, it’s not cheap. Ok you can still get a decent meal in China Town for $10 and the sandwich and burger joints will do lunch for $5.

Address: 85 Tenth Ave, (16^th Street), New York, NY, USA

Telephone number: +1 212497 8090

Website: http://www.delposto.com

Date of visit: 12 October 2010

Price guide : $70 for 2 courses

Comments on wine and beer: Huge list, good selection of decent Italian and US wines. You can just about get a reasonable bottle from $70

Summary:

This is another “top end” NY (Italain) restaurant from the Batali-Bastianich team.

The architecture of this place is amazing. In the Zagat guide, it is described as a marble and mahogany palazzo. Like Per Se, the place was packed out. However, this is a much larger venue and is able to accommodate over a hundred diners in the main dining room.

The service was fine but not great. For example, we had to wait ages for our bread. When it arrived, it was a basket of warm bread served with butter and “pork fat”. We had to ask for olive oil as a dip.

The menu was an interesting one offering “degustation” of 5 courses at $95 or 7 courses at $125. Pairing of food and wine was also on offer at $105 plus. However, if you simply want a starter and/or a main course, it is $30 for any of the starters/antipasti/pasta and $40 for a main course.

The  freebie from the chef consisted of 3 parts – a ball of chopped prosciutto mixed in some sauce and covered in bread crumbs, crispy wafer thin oven dried salmon and a gazpecho. It was a strange combination for an Italian but then very few restaurants serve authentic native food any more. The Gazpacho was slightly on the salty vinegary side because of a dose of capers.

For starters I had the deep fried squid whilst my family had the crab pasta. My sister told me the pasta was fantastic. I tasted a bit and found that it was crunchy because of the addition of finely chopped raw onions to the pasta. To me, it was a bit on the mild side as I would have added more chillies and seafood oil (heat crab shells and or prawn shells and or lobster shells covered in olive oil with a clove of garlic at 70 degrees centigrade for 20 minutes, filter and use ) to the pasta. My squid was fine. It was coated with polenta which makes it crunchier and less oily than bread crumbs. It was served with a mild oil infused with chillies and capers.

For main course, the family had the turbot and the Italian sea food stew. I had the gnocchi with shaven truffles.

My dish was a story on its own. The waiter advised early on, that the day’s special was fresh white truffles at $10 a gram on risotto or pasta. They serve 5 grams for a starter and 10 grams for a main course. I asked for it on spaghetti or rigatoni. After negotiating with the kitchen, the waiter informed me that the chef is only prepared to serve it over gnocchi, stuffed pasta (with ricotta) or risotto. I had to settle for gnocchi.

When it came, the gnocchi was tossed in butter and the waiter had a lump of truffle about the size of a small potato. He proceeded to shave the truffle and then asked me if that was enough. As I have no clue of what 10 grams of shaven truffle looks like, I said a bit more. When the bill came, apparently, I had 20 grams of truffle and we were charged $200. The gnocchi was priced at $40. So, the whole dish came to $240 – easily by a significant margin as the most expensive food I have ever eaten in the World. The previous record was €158 for Besse Chicken cooked in a pig’s bladder with truffles at Paul Bucouse’s restaurant in Lyon (2004). Someone else paid!

Being ungrateful, I have to say that it wasn’t that wonderful. When I had truffles before, I never had enough to pass judgement. My conclusion is that it is over rated. In fact, you get a far better deal using truffle oil and porcini mushrooms.  Apparently the other two dishes ordered by my family were pretty good.

We had a bottle of Antinori  Chianti Classical Reserva 2005 with the meal. At $75, it was apparently too cheap for them to offer to decant the wine. This was a mistake as the wine improved significantly when it was down to the last third. We would have enjoyed the wine better if it was allowed to air.

Well, I have to say that I thought that it was a rip off. If they serve 10grams with the main course, then offer 10 grams rather than their current approach. I didn’t get it with regards to the pasta. Why was I offered plain gnocchi and not plain pasta? You can buy fresh gnocchi for less than $5 in a supermarket – it was $40! Was there some secret and ultra expensive ingredient that I missed?

I think my family enjoyed their meal. My poor sister paid and I am not going to buy any more Mario Batali cookware or cookbooks.

E

New York is a wonderful place to shop for food and cooking equipment.

Name: Crate and Barrel

Website: www.crateandbarrel.com

Location: Various outlets through USA

Recommended for: pots and pans

Description: Sells the whole basic range of cooking equipment and a few oils, bottled sauces and dry food such as cake mix etc. Nothing really special but when in season – around Thanksgiving, they do a turkey pot for pot roasting turkey. This is a seriously big pot and will easily take a 20lb turkey. As turkey is a fairly dry meat, pot roasting brings out the best. However, the downside is that you will need to have a “double oven”. Do not attempt to use this on top of the stove as a “Dutch Oven”. It will not work. However, it can be used to cook stew for 20-30 people. You can get similar pots in the UK but the pots are too thin.

Name: Dean and Deluca

Website: www.deananddeluca.com

Location: 560 Broadway, New York

Recommended for: herbs and spices especially Mexican and Italian ones. Cooking equipment.

Description: A sort of up market foodie store. Sells all the basic ranges of food and cooking equipment. Their own bland of spices and herbs comes in an air tight silver tin and will keep for ages. There is also a green grocer section, bakery and meat counter.

Name: Eataly

Location: 200 Fifth Avenue  923^rd Street), New York

Website: www.Eataly.com

Recommended for: anything to do with Italian food but not good on cooking equipment

Description: A huge warehouse style outlet combining various restaurants/bars and groceries. The best way to describe this place is that it’s an Italian Supermarket combined with a food court. It is operated by the Batali/Bastianich team.

Name: Kalustyan’s

Location: 123 Lexington Ave (29 street), New York

Website: www.kalustyans.com

Recommendation: Anything to do with Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi food. Spices

Description: This is easily the impressive place for spices. For example they have 5 versions of Zaatar – from Israeli to Lebanese, 15 types of paprika etc. They even have the whole range of chillies from mild to ones that will take your head off. They also have 3 foot long skewers for kebabs but no tandoori ovens. This place has been in business since 1944 and the owner also owns the Curry Leave Restaurant one block away – rated by Zagat as the top Indian in New York. They also carry over 30 varieties of rice including low GIs for diabetics.

Name: Zabar’s

Location: 2245 Broadway (80^th street), New York

Website: www.zabars.com

Recommendation: Any deli products (sausages, cheese, bread etc), cooking equipment

Description: This is New York’s premier deli and has been in operation for around 100 years. The range of food on sale is unparallel. At weekends, you can’t even get through the door without a fight. Upstairs sells the most complete range of cooking equipment that you can imagine. For example, I bought my turbot fish kettle here ten years ago. On this trip, I acquired a spatzle cutter. To give you an idea of the huge range they carry – they have over 30 different types of knife sharpening equipment (manual and electrical).

Name: Beekman Liquors

Location: 500 Lexington Ave (47 Street), New York

Website: www.beekmanliquors.com

Recommendation: wine and spirit

Description: Another of my favourite in NY. This place will sell you wines from under $10 a bottle to over $500 a bottle. Their collection of Sake is only second to a proper Japanese Sake outlet. The place is managed by a lady who knows her stuff. She is permanently on the floor (not at the till). You can’t miss her as she looks like the lady in Adams Family (long dark hair, white face). Please note that I apologise if this description is taken out of context.

Name: Whole Foods Market

Location: Several outlets but the biggest one is located at 95 East Houston St (Bowery).

Website: www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Recommendation: beer, wet fish, vegetables, meat, coffee, nuts etc

Description: Another huge warehouse. Sells nearly everything that are popular but not obscure items (for example, they only had 5 types of dried chillies but they have over 50 types of coffee beans). I was able to obtain dried corn husk there for tamales. The beer room is impressive and it is the only place in New York that will sell you a home brew kit.

Name: The market at Grand Central

Location: Grand Central Station, 42^nd Street/ Lexington Ave.

Recommendation: Fresh food

Description: The Grand Central is full of various retail outlets but on the Lexington side, there is an amazing market that can easily rival any of the bid food outlets. They are particularly good on fresh meat, fruit, vegetables and seafood. Good selection of coffee and tea too.

E

October 2010