merkin's Profile
Lunch near Tate modern? [London]
Looking for some fantastic British fare near the Tate modern or an easy tube ride away. Thanks!
Where to lunch?
So I have on my itinerary st. John and Dinner and Quo Vardis. I'm stuck on where to book lunch (on a Monday so some choices like rorganic are closed). Help me decide between Tom Aikens, Hibiscus, and Arbetus.
Is Hibiscus very French? Ii suppose I really want 'modern British'
Thanks for you help!
Late night dinner in Kensington?
Problem solved, I'll check into hotel, hop in a cab to st John hotel and feast!
Late night dinner in Kensington?
I have such a short time in London, I don't want to miss a meal! My flight lands at heathrow at 9pm then I have to make it to my hotel in Kensington. Should I just call it a night or is to possible to find a late bite somewhere nearby? I'm only really interested in British food. Thanks!
processing jam?
I poured the paraffin on to the hot jam, and then sealed with canning lids. When they cooled the I heard the lids seal when they cooled down.
processing jam?
I made jam, poured it hot into sterilized jars, sealed it with paraffin wax, and the jars made a pinging noise when they cooled down.
Will these keep outside the refridgerator?
Shelling beans?
I can't believe I am so removed from where my food comes from that I have to ask this question.
I grew some green beans this summer, I think the seeds were labeled 'filet beans'. After a few harvests, I got lazy and the seeds started plumping up- so can I shell them and cook them like cranberry beans? I think the answer is obvious, but would hate to poison anyone!
Waterbar report
I can't believe you thought the bone marrow was great- I thought it was awfull. If I had know truffle glacage meant "drowned in cheap truffle oil" I never would have ordered it!
Waterbar- so lame.
dined here last night, Mother's day and was amazed at how bad this place was, on how many different levels. I happen to be very obviously 40+ weeks pregnant. I asked the waitress if the cured meat in one of the dishes was also then cooked to make it safe for pregnant women. She didn't how how it was prepared and went to ask the chef. His response was it is warmed up, but cured with salt so okay for pregnant women. Umm, so why does my doctor and every authority on the matter say that cured meats are not advised during pregnancy and for those with compromised immune systems? Come on, if you don't know what you are taking about, don't offer up dining advice that could end up killing my unborn baby on mother's day! Okay, maybe that's just my pregnancy hormones over-reacting. On to the food.
I decided to spurge on the most expensive app. thinking it must be great at these prices. Bone marrow with crab gratin and truffle glacage. What it turned out to be was an ill-conceived app of a split bone, crusted with mushed up crab, doused with truffle oil, jammed under the salamander for awhile, then served. The amount to truffle oil was offensive, and I wondered if anyone ever tasted the dish before putting it on the menu? The sardines some of ordered were overwhelmed by the burnt char on the skin, my husbands cerviche of bass with uni would have been good, if there had been more than one tiny piece of uni in it. The whole table at this point is thinking that not only is the place super expensive, but the food sucks. On to the entrees.
The server really talked up how great the whole fish were, so three split the triggerfish, on her advice. The menu says it serves three. So the entrees come out, and two guys have their hands full and try to give me the wrong dish, and I point out where it goes, then one of them returns to the kithcen, because he couldn't figure out who got what, we had to flag him back down to explain where to put the plate (we were used to the confusing, having seen it with the first course). A trio of sauces is put in front of me, with no explanation. Again I flag someone and ask what they are. One ,of course, is an an aioli and I ask if it has raw egg in it (remember I'm preggers? and voiced my food safety issues earlier?) and the waiter says "yeah, you know, like a mayo?" As if I'm a little stupid. Again, small point, but if they were in tune with our needs, they would not serve me something harmful to my health.
So we are about to dig in, but where is the third portion of the triggerfish, we were told to split three ways? One of us has no food and none of the service staff notices! We have to flag someone down, and they do not seem to think it is a big deal that one of our party of six has no food in front of them. They non-chalantly explain that they must have portioned the fish incorrectly (duh), and the fastest way to fix it, is to take away our plates and then divide the two plates into three and re-serve them. We explain that is stupid and unacceptable our food-less third just orders something else and sits and waits. The kicker is the serve comes back and explains that they used to serve that fish for two, and that's why they made the mistake. Did they think we cared about their dumb excuse? Back to the food-the split fish came with choice of sides, only one choice mind you. We went with the pea gratin. I just don't see how the kitchen felt that 2oz of starchy peas cooked in some cream would complement three or even two plates. At 98$ for the dish, they couldn't even give us some starch, or enough veg to round out the plate? Our entree was basically some fish on a plate. Again, did any body try this dish before deciding it was a good idea to put it on the menu and charge nearly 100$ for it?
So lame, on so many levels.
Where to get Fatback?
My mom is making some rillettes for my baby shower and we cant find fat back. I'd prefer a source in Marin. Thanks!
The baby will be here in May, what should I be cooking?
I don't want to resort to mac and cheese and pizza everynight, but with the arrival of my first child I don't think I'll be spending much time at the stove. So far I am planning on making some ravioli, maybe rilletttes, a couple of long simmered pasta sauces. I need other ideas to stuff the freezer!
saigon restaurants
I know- don't go to restaurants- eat on the street! And that is what I'll be doing all day! But I'm there with my hubby and his work associates, so we need some restaurants for dinner. I'm looking for great food as #1 priority, but hopefully not to fancy or high end. Thanks!
Bar Crudo Query
I was just there and was a little bummed. First they served us swawing oysters then the mussels were a little 'funky'. I work in restaurants, so I understand how sometimes sub-par food sneaks out, but if all you serve is raw fish- your oysters should be pristine.
Pimms Cup - please, bartender, please
I just had a pimms cup at A cote. Man, was it yummy.
Carvel [split from San Franscisco board]
Yucky? Cookie Puss and Fudgie the Whale? C'mon, they're frosted in somethng called 'whip', what could be bad about that?
