Tasting Menus.
Tasting menus are a recent concoction of resturants who seem to have gotten a little too big for their boots. I really resent restaurants who only do tasting menus, as they seem to be forgetting which way the relationship works. In a restaurant I find a lot of the fun is ordering what you want, then looking at whate everyone else has and sharing stuff round, everyone having the same this is dull. It's also a little patronising to the customer, it says "I know what you want to eat, I will cook as I see fit, and you will like it or lump it for the next seven/eight courses".
In addition, these tasting menus are also stunningly overpriced most of the time. Of course, there are usually some complete cookery revelations somewhere down the lines, but there's usually at least something which is disappointing, if not woefully inadequate. The portions are also tiny, so if you find something you really like, its probably gone in two mouthfuls. Pretentious, overbearing and generally poor value; tasting menus are usually accompanied by a smug sommelier who wants to tell you what to drink as well, offering wine matches for each course. They're not just telling you what they want you to eat, but what you should drink as well, and how much of it.
People praise tasting menus as a chef can show off their repertoire over the course of the menu, but chefs have done without tasting menus and have fared equally well (if not better). Personally, I would rather be cooked for by a chef who has the conviction to stick to the traditional 3/4 courses and show off a focused, wel thought out menu which caters to a variety of tastes, rather than be splattered by a misfire from a tasting menu, which by its nature has to 'crowd please' as it is all that is on offer. Everyone has different tastes, so why limit them?
So why do I bother with them at all? I try not to, especially after recieving some dreadful service in some of these places (including being asked for a deposit on a table for two on a weekday lunchtime. I mean really, who is serving who?) I have had some fantastic food on tasting menus, but its never been a surprise, I've never thought 'Oh, I'd have never ordered that from the menu'.
Sunday, 1 June 2008
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Food Allergy Blogging
Jay Rayner's adolescent rant on food intolerences irritated me. I can't believe I didn't read the article sooner, but it seemed to me to be inflammatory for the sake of it. I normally quite like Rayner, his restaurant criticism tends to be entertaining to read, though not as much as Giles Coren or Adrian Gill.
Though I don't have serious allergies, I have allergies which mean that if I don't avoid wheat and cow's milk I am in great discomfort, and in the case of cow's milk (depending on the amount consumed), extremely unwell. I do not demand that other people cater for me, I just simply ignore what I cannot have on the table. When eating out I try to let the place know in advance, but otherwise order wisely and try to be discreet about it, after all you're out to have a relaxed meal.
Incidentally, the bloke at Planet Lactose had an interesting response to all of this.
Though I don't have serious allergies, I have allergies which mean that if I don't avoid wheat and cow's milk I am in great discomfort, and in the case of cow's milk (depending on the amount consumed), extremely unwell. I do not demand that other people cater for me, I just simply ignore what I cannot have on the table. When eating out I try to let the place know in advance, but otherwise order wisely and try to be discreet about it, after all you're out to have a relaxed meal.
Incidentally, the bloke at Planet Lactose had an interesting response to all of this.
Saturday, 5 April 2008
Cafe Marlayne
Cafe Marlayne - Thursday 1st February.
76 Thistle Street
Edinburgh
2262230
Cafe Marlayne is situated opposite the famous Cafe St Honore. I had originally intended to go to Cafe St Honore, but one bad experience whilst in their making my booking led to me cancelling it. Recounting my bad experience with the staff in there, a friend recommended Cafe Marlayne to me, and I booked knowing very little about it, other than it was 'small, very french and very friendly'.
They weren't joking. The restaurant seems to have about 8 tables, some of which shouldn't really be there, but I guess revenue dictates they shove tables uncomfortably close to the toilets and the front door. My table for two was right next to the bar, so close that when the waitress went to cut the bread I was showered in breadcrumbs (ironic considering my wheat allergy). Ordinarily I may have been really bothered by this, but the atmosphere in the restaurant supercedes all this - it is wonderful, even on a weekday night at a relatively early dining hour.
I alerted the staff to my allergies at the beginning of the meal, and they coudln't have been more helpful. The restaurant appears to be owned by a husband/wife team - the husband chefs and the wife is the maitre'd, at course changes the chef came out to consult me on what I could and couldn't have and seriously could not have been more helpful, polite and generally genial about the whole affair - which I know is a tremendous faff for him to attend to at a not particuarly quiet time.
My starter was a rabbit terrine - clearly home made as the chef could detail to me the exact processes and ingredients when asked as to what was in it. The consistency was wonderful, the seasoning perfect and the temperature it was served at was good.( One of my pet hates is being served pates and terrines at what seems below freezing.) My dining partner enjoyed mussels, which were not too buttery and the portion was generously sized.
Monkfish had caught my eye on the mains list, and I'd been told the fish here was good. Though served with disappointing vegetables (I could see the chef reheating them from where I sat - more than a little offputting), the fish flaked beautifully and was meaty and flavourful. It hadn't been cooked to death as you sometimes find with fish of this sort and the sauce (which I must confess I haven't a clue what it was - it seemed pesto-ey, but wasn't pesto) didn't overpower it. My companion's veal wasn't as good as Rhubarb (unsurprising), but this was aspiring to French Bistro rather than Den of Iniquity and they were very pleased with it.
Pudding I had to skip completely due to dairy allergies - but they all looked FABULOUS - they also said if I gave notice of a return they would probably be able to prepare something. I consoled myself with an Amaretto and a coffee, full and happy. During the meal I had ordered a bottle of Macon Lugny. The wine list is sadly a little uninspired at Cafe Marlayne as it sticks to very safe french wines, but doesn't go to the more interesting or exceptional regions of any of the key French areas. It sticks to generic, standard bottles, which seems surprising when the food was so good. Had more exctiting stuff been on offer, I could have easily been persuaded to spend more on the wine. Cafe Marlayne could make a lot of money on wine, and it is baffling as to why they are not offering more - maybe they haven't the space, the stockist or the interest - in any case they need to wise up pretty sharpish.
Two starters, two mains, a bottle of wine, two coffees and an amaretto came to around £75 excluding service.
76 Thistle Street
Edinburgh
2262230
Cafe Marlayne is situated opposite the famous Cafe St Honore. I had originally intended to go to Cafe St Honore, but one bad experience whilst in their making my booking led to me cancelling it. Recounting my bad experience with the staff in there, a friend recommended Cafe Marlayne to me, and I booked knowing very little about it, other than it was 'small, very french and very friendly'.
They weren't joking. The restaurant seems to have about 8 tables, some of which shouldn't really be there, but I guess revenue dictates they shove tables uncomfortably close to the toilets and the front door. My table for two was right next to the bar, so close that when the waitress went to cut the bread I was showered in breadcrumbs (ironic considering my wheat allergy). Ordinarily I may have been really bothered by this, but the atmosphere in the restaurant supercedes all this - it is wonderful, even on a weekday night at a relatively early dining hour.
I alerted the staff to my allergies at the beginning of the meal, and they coudln't have been more helpful. The restaurant appears to be owned by a husband/wife team - the husband chefs and the wife is the maitre'd, at course changes the chef came out to consult me on what I could and couldn't have and seriously could not have been more helpful, polite and generally genial about the whole affair - which I know is a tremendous faff for him to attend to at a not particuarly quiet time.
My starter was a rabbit terrine - clearly home made as the chef could detail to me the exact processes and ingredients when asked as to what was in it. The consistency was wonderful, the seasoning perfect and the temperature it was served at was good.( One of my pet hates is being served pates and terrines at what seems below freezing.) My dining partner enjoyed mussels, which were not too buttery and the portion was generously sized.
Monkfish had caught my eye on the mains list, and I'd been told the fish here was good. Though served with disappointing vegetables (I could see the chef reheating them from where I sat - more than a little offputting), the fish flaked beautifully and was meaty and flavourful. It hadn't been cooked to death as you sometimes find with fish of this sort and the sauce (which I must confess I haven't a clue what it was - it seemed pesto-ey, but wasn't pesto) didn't overpower it. My companion's veal wasn't as good as Rhubarb (unsurprising), but this was aspiring to French Bistro rather than Den of Iniquity and they were very pleased with it.
Pudding I had to skip completely due to dairy allergies - but they all looked FABULOUS - they also said if I gave notice of a return they would probably be able to prepare something. I consoled myself with an Amaretto and a coffee, full and happy. During the meal I had ordered a bottle of Macon Lugny. The wine list is sadly a little uninspired at Cafe Marlayne as it sticks to very safe french wines, but doesn't go to the more interesting or exceptional regions of any of the key French areas. It sticks to generic, standard bottles, which seems surprising when the food was so good. Had more exctiting stuff been on offer, I could have easily been persuaded to spend more on the wine. Cafe Marlayne could make a lot of money on wine, and it is baffling as to why they are not offering more - maybe they haven't the space, the stockist or the interest - in any case they need to wise up pretty sharpish.
Two starters, two mains, a bottle of wine, two coffees and an amaretto came to around £75 excluding service.
BarRioja
BarRioja
Jeffrey St
Edinburgh
4th April 2008
BarRioja is the tapas outfit of the Iggs establishment next door, catering for simpler Spanish tastes. I went there with my Spanish friend who was visiting from Manchester, (he's from Madrid and has lived there most of his life). He was very much up for investigating the authenticity of the cities Spanish places, and I had no idea who authentic BarRioja was so of course, for the sake of food writing, we had to go. The interior is very Spanish apparetly, it's not done up, but it's not this faux Spanish back street nonsense you get at La Tasca and the Tapas Tree on Broughton St (which is terrible incidentally, but that's another story and another review). It's slick, but a little rough at the edges still, and very very busy. We had possibly the wost table in the restaurant, as it's in the gangway by the door so we got knocked about by the (lovely) staff and gusts of cold air, but you stop caring after glass number 2.
I ordered the wine a tempranillo from Castilla (thumbs up, nice and juicy and a whack of spice, not too heavy making it pretty adapatable and therefore perfect for tapas) and let my friend order the tapas as he's the expert and I'm a bit of a novice with spanish food - i told him I wasn't leaving without some black pudding and calamares though, and he agreed that this was the way forward. The black pudding was one of the stars, it was just the right side of crumbly and superbly and innovatively spiced - I've never had black pudding like it, and I wish I knew how they did it. We also had a plate of cured meats, the calamares, patatas bravas (extremely firey) and a bean salad. Cacaphonous mish mash of flavours and textures aside, it was superb. Tapas is supposed to be a bit chaotic and this is a large part of its charm and appeal. The food was very enjoyable and, my friend claims, the best Spanish meal he's had in the UK. High praise indeed knowing that Evuna in Manchester is like.
I finished the meal on a Pedro Ximinez, as I can't end a spanish meal without a glass of sherry and we paid. £45 for a bottle of wine, 5 dishes, olives, a decent bottle and a glass of PX. I thought that was excellent value and will certainly go again. Highly recommended.
Jeffrey St
Edinburgh
4th April 2008
BarRioja is the tapas outfit of the Iggs establishment next door, catering for simpler Spanish tastes. I went there with my Spanish friend who was visiting from Manchester, (he's from Madrid and has lived there most of his life). He was very much up for investigating the authenticity of the cities Spanish places, and I had no idea who authentic BarRioja was so of course, for the sake of food writing, we had to go. The interior is very Spanish apparetly, it's not done up, but it's not this faux Spanish back street nonsense you get at La Tasca and the Tapas Tree on Broughton St (which is terrible incidentally, but that's another story and another review). It's slick, but a little rough at the edges still, and very very busy. We had possibly the wost table in the restaurant, as it's in the gangway by the door so we got knocked about by the (lovely) staff and gusts of cold air, but you stop caring after glass number 2.
I ordered the wine a tempranillo from Castilla (thumbs up, nice and juicy and a whack of spice, not too heavy making it pretty adapatable and therefore perfect for tapas) and let my friend order the tapas as he's the expert and I'm a bit of a novice with spanish food - i told him I wasn't leaving without some black pudding and calamares though, and he agreed that this was the way forward. The black pudding was one of the stars, it was just the right side of crumbly and superbly and innovatively spiced - I've never had black pudding like it, and I wish I knew how they did it. We also had a plate of cured meats, the calamares, patatas bravas (extremely firey) and a bean salad. Cacaphonous mish mash of flavours and textures aside, it was superb. Tapas is supposed to be a bit chaotic and this is a large part of its charm and appeal. The food was very enjoyable and, my friend claims, the best Spanish meal he's had in the UK. High praise indeed knowing that Evuna in Manchester is like.
I finished the meal on a Pedro Ximinez, as I can't end a spanish meal without a glass of sherry and we paid. £45 for a bottle of wine, 5 dishes, olives, a decent bottle and a glass of PX. I thought that was excellent value and will certainly go again. Highly recommended.
Friday, 4 April 2008
Dusit - Restaurant Review
Dusit.
Thistle Street.
Twice in March.
My first visit to Dusit was with my mother. The conversation and the company was painful, but thankully the food made up for it. Dusit is tucked down Thistle Street, an odd little alley in Edinburgh's new town which seems to be a burgeoning gastronimic road - it's also home to Cafe Marlayne and Cafe St Honore as well as the new premises of Plaisir du Chocolat. The brisk service (which borders on so abrupt its rude) means this place runs very efficiently. Sadly, it's still doing that annoying thing of having 2 sittings in order to milk it for all its worth as Dusit is very popular. But never mind, as I say - the food makes up for a lot here. My second time to Dusit was for a freinds birthday where 8 of us squeezed into their private dining room in the basement. The one complaint I would have here, was that every time we ordered a bottle of wine, they automatically brought two without me asking for two and we weren't actually left alone by the staff, so it felt like we were being watched a lot.
Anyway, the food - the starters offer a huge variety of flavours, meats and intensity of heat. Koo Saneha - scallops and king prawns with garlic and chilli sounds basic, but the sear on the scallops was so beautifully done (and the scallops were rather large) that the quality of the fish did most of the talking. Gai Haw Bai-Toey, my other favourite, was chicken marinated in whisky and sesame and bound in a large leaf. There is also the usual selection of dumpling style starters and spring rolls, but if you're adventurous you are centrainly rewarded.
Main courses range from the standard Thai dishes (Pad Thai, Pad Krapaow, Panag curry etc) to the more strange and elaborate. Gaeng Luk Gua Ong Yang - Venison with artichoke anyone? This sounded postively European, until you encounter the delicate and fragrant spices. Pla Si-iew - the crispy sea bass was probably my favourite however, with shaosing, soy and ginger as a beautifully balanced and delicate dressing.
As is the case with the minefield of flavours that asian food is, we went for Alsatian Gewurztraminer. Thankfully whoever put the Dusit wine list together has had some experience of asian dining with wine pairings. The range of aromatic wines were good whilst the usual suspects were there as crowd pleasers.
Dusit isn't cheap - on both occasions I forked out between £25-35, but I'd certainly rather go here than to any other Thai in the city.
(Though you might me able to tempt me with a RickShaws.)
Thistle Street.
Twice in March.
My first visit to Dusit was with my mother. The conversation and the company was painful, but thankully the food made up for it. Dusit is tucked down Thistle Street, an odd little alley in Edinburgh's new town which seems to be a burgeoning gastronimic road - it's also home to Cafe Marlayne and Cafe St Honore as well as the new premises of Plaisir du Chocolat. The brisk service (which borders on so abrupt its rude) means this place runs very efficiently. Sadly, it's still doing that annoying thing of having 2 sittings in order to milk it for all its worth as Dusit is very popular. But never mind, as I say - the food makes up for a lot here. My second time to Dusit was for a freinds birthday where 8 of us squeezed into their private dining room in the basement. The one complaint I would have here, was that every time we ordered a bottle of wine, they automatically brought two without me asking for two and we weren't actually left alone by the staff, so it felt like we were being watched a lot.
Anyway, the food - the starters offer a huge variety of flavours, meats and intensity of heat. Koo Saneha - scallops and king prawns with garlic and chilli sounds basic, but the sear on the scallops was so beautifully done (and the scallops were rather large) that the quality of the fish did most of the talking. Gai Haw Bai-Toey, my other favourite, was chicken marinated in whisky and sesame and bound in a large leaf. There is also the usual selection of dumpling style starters and spring rolls, but if you're adventurous you are centrainly rewarded.
Main courses range from the standard Thai dishes (Pad Thai, Pad Krapaow, Panag curry etc) to the more strange and elaborate. Gaeng Luk Gua Ong Yang - Venison with artichoke anyone? This sounded postively European, until you encounter the delicate and fragrant spices. Pla Si-iew - the crispy sea bass was probably my favourite however, with shaosing, soy and ginger as a beautifully balanced and delicate dressing.
As is the case with the minefield of flavours that asian food is, we went for Alsatian Gewurztraminer. Thankfully whoever put the Dusit wine list together has had some experience of asian dining with wine pairings. The range of aromatic wines were good whilst the usual suspects were there as crowd pleasers.
Dusit isn't cheap - on both occasions I forked out between £25-35, but I'd certainly rather go here than to any other Thai in the city.
(Though you might me able to tempt me with a RickShaws.)
Saturday, 15 March 2008
Iain Mellis Cheesemonger
Today I stopped in once more to Iain Mellis on Victoria Street in Edinburgh.
I bought:
Bruckley - a Ewe's cheese which has a lovely crumbly texture, and isn't overly 'goaty' just very mild and gorgeous with fig jam.
Goat Gouda - a cheese I am obsessed with. Fabulously creamy yet very very firm, nice sweet citrus note on the aftertaste, but nothing overcomplicated or fussy. Just very very good cheese indeed.
I also got one of the little goats cheeses, but haven't opened the parcel yet. I'm a little excited though. It's good to see that Mellis is still good so many years on. Granted, I've only lived in the city for 3 years, but everyone seems to agree that the standard has been maintained for a long time now, and the staff are always so knowledgable, friendly and very willing to help. Especially when it comes to helping you pick out exactly what you're looking for.
In other news, I have just ordered a new Cookery Book. It's been recommended by various fun websites (read, boring dietry blogs) and should be good in teaching me how to make proper wheaty-type things in order to fill in the gaps.
A full review of it will be posted when it's arrived and I've had time to play with some of the recipes, but in the meantime you can order it from here.
I bought:
Bruckley - a Ewe's cheese which has a lovely crumbly texture, and isn't overly 'goaty' just very mild and gorgeous with fig jam.
Goat Gouda - a cheese I am obsessed with. Fabulously creamy yet very very firm, nice sweet citrus note on the aftertaste, but nothing overcomplicated or fussy. Just very very good cheese indeed.
I also got one of the little goats cheeses, but haven't opened the parcel yet. I'm a little excited though. It's good to see that Mellis is still good so many years on. Granted, I've only lived in the city for 3 years, but everyone seems to agree that the standard has been maintained for a long time now, and the staff are always so knowledgable, friendly and very willing to help. Especially when it comes to helping you pick out exactly what you're looking for.
In other news, I have just ordered a new Cookery Book. It's been recommended by various fun websites (read, boring dietry blogs) and should be good in teaching me how to make proper wheaty-type things in order to fill in the gaps.
A full review of it will be posted when it's arrived and I've had time to play with some of the recipes, but in the meantime you can order it from here.
Friday, 14 March 2008
Old Raj Gin
A recent discovery:
Cadenhead's Old Raj Gin (the 55%) is the superb gin martini gin. Fact. And we test a lot of gin. It contains a small amount of saffron giving it a very distinct, yet subtle spice and turning it a slightly off-white colour (which shoudln't therefore put you off it.) Those of you who don't live in Edinburgh and therefore cannot go to the wonderous shop that is Cadenheads (bottom of the Royal Mile) can purchase it here (if you live in Edinburgh, you MUST go to Cadenheads, mainly because it is a fantastic whisky shop.
Cadenhead's Old Raj Gin (the 55%) is the superb gin martini gin. Fact. And we test a lot of gin. It contains a small amount of saffron giving it a very distinct, yet subtle spice and turning it a slightly off-white colour (which shoudln't therefore put you off it.) Those of you who don't live in Edinburgh and therefore cannot go to the wonderous shop that is Cadenheads (bottom of the Royal Mile) can purchase it here (if you live in Edinburgh, you MUST go to Cadenheads, mainly because it is a fantastic whisky shop.
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