pecandanish's Profile
Ramps Harvesting [split from Manhattan]
if ramps are wild garlic leaves then there are lots at the bollin valley in cheshire. and more every year. I would recommend everyone goes and picks and handful because they are delicious and food should not be an elitist pasttime
Anyone heard of 'peddled parmesan cheese'??
i wonder if the parmigiano reggiano consortium will allow mcd to use the word 'parmesan' if the product is not real italian parm reg ?
[Manchester] ostara restaurant chorlton
great food great wine great ambience. and now great service.
funny location with a roaring bus stop right outside and a big dirty road sign for longsight
well appointed high quality interior sets the mood for serious eating.
the wine list is extensive and interesting.
the menu is based on fresh. local organic produce treated simply. good cooking is when food tastes of what it is.
of the starters the venison scotch egg is perhaps the most interesting [although the accomopanying pickle is a bit sour]
pick of the mains have to be the wild trout and the chicken asparagus steamed pudding. both are generous and superb. the veg is always perfectly and simply cooked
desserts are uniformly good, the choclate brownie is particularly lush.
eat there soon.
although the menu is quite simple the specials are starting to look really attractive. its everything that the jockey on the green isnt .
unfortunately they arent open all day, just form 5 during weekdays and all day at weekends but you should go. and you should make the effort to og
[lymm] church green.
not a review more a recommendation.
on the A50 next to Lymm Damm.
go now whilst you can still get in, the chef will be on Great British Menu soon and has previously held a star. i think he was head chef at the Dorchester at some point as well.
great chef, great service, great food & wine
pub food; pork belly mash & greens £12
restaurant food; duck breast & leg truffle potatoes, morel sauce £19
good wine list
excellent desserts.
the only thing i didnt like was the glass ware which is heavy duty for pub drinking
the fish and chips looked lovely
Best curries in NW England/N Wales
dilli certainly isnt cheap.
the original eastzeast in manchester near the paradise factoyr is consistently excellent. otherwise the cafes n the northern quarter are cheap cheerful and delicious. Kabana at the back of turner street was always my fave, i never managed to spend more than £6 and the channa masala was lush.
In Praise of Blade
hangar steaks also cost little [at least in england], are quick cook and taste absolutely superb.
I know them by their french names onglet and bavette and both are outrageously good , both straight up and as primary proteins in more particular recipes such the one below.
http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/616949
[manchester] the modern restaurant review
just a quick note to say how delicious the modern food was last night.
really excellent interpretation of modern british, locally sourced food and a nod towards nost to tail eating.
braised veal tongue, potted mackerel, good scallops leading into perfectly constructed mains; lemon sole, roasted cod, decent steak and ending with moreish choclate whisky tart and quirky eccels cake with lancashire.
just like the URBIS building; each dish had clean, simple lines.
unfussy service, good wine, friendly knowledgable staff.
i might even start eating out again.
long may it continue to dance on the grave of Le Mont. eat my kloche you stupid french ponce food. in your face robert kisby.
[Manchester] Restaurant recommendations
stick with the red chilli is the number 1 recommendatioon i can make. there is plenty for everyone with lamb chilli claypot, pork belly caabage, anything with eel.
stock is extremely variable.
the modern has got better, the grill on the alley does ok steaks but steaks are better cooked at home using meat from a farmers market.
some ok curry on burton road in didsbury; the gurkha grill, the kathmandu (paneer chilli for eye weatering hilarity). the lime tree on lapwing lane is a safe bet.
earle in hale is okish, dee thai is usually good.
altrincham has dilli whaich is a nice if slightly pricey indian.
eating out in the manchester is pretty rubbish and its very rare to get exceptional food.
Secret to great roasted potatoes
parboil, fluff up, roll into and around a tray of smoking goose fat flavoured with rosemary and skin on garlic cloves.
job done.
Cucina povera
i was in cattolica recently and an argument raged over vongole verace. i was lead to believe that the distinction is as follows;
Vongole Verace - the true carpetshell clams with a heavily lined shell, Tapes decussatus (Linneo)
rather than the more common Vongole - carpetshell clams with a smoother shell, Chamelea gallina (Linneo, 1758).
Pork Pies
savin hill pork pies are often very good (occasionally minced too finely for my liking). they are at more of the northwest farmers markets and food fairs.
they use middle white pigs (the greatest utility pig of all ?) and their pork pie with apple topping is superb. they have a website and you can vist them.
they also do british white beef and fabulous mutton.
the other fruit yopped varieties varieties are ok depending on your own personal taste. im not fond of the pie with pate in the bottom, unecessary overkill masking the pig flavour.
heretic that i am i always have my pie with organic heinz baked beans, my lovely wife with peas and helmans mayonnaise.
Side with Grilled Pork
how about vietnamese coleslaw ? leave out the chicken and its a great side.
1 Chili, seeded and minced
1 fat garlic clove
1 tbsp sugar (I left that out as well)
1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1 1/2 Thai fish sauce
1 1/2 tbsp oil (I left that out)
half a medium onion, finely sliced
black pepper
200g white cabbage, shredded
1 medium carrot, grated
200g cooked chicken breast
fat bunch of mint, about 40g
In a bowl, combine the chili, garlic, sugar, vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, oil, onion and black pepper to taste and put aside for 1/2 hour. Then toss everything together and add more mint on top.
Sunday night in Leeds
the claypot lamb, any eel dish and the pork belly with cabbage are all outstanding red chilli standards. delicious.
simple mutton shoulder (& pork belly & brisket) recipes
do we have any outstanding, simple, 1 pot lamb shoulder recipes.
i have tried a few with the best mutton i can source andrew fairlies 7 hour lamb (boring average not as good as lancashire hotpot), jamie olivers garlic rosemary lamb shoulder with caper mint sauce (ok) but i have yet to find a toe curling, taste heaven, angels cying on my tongue recipe for either cut of meat.
pork belly is less urgent as i am only at the start of the long and winding road; striking out tomorrow with 5 spice slow roast belly and oyster pak choy.
i havent even got my hands on a decent brisket yet but thought i would add this cut.
as its spring into summer i would be grateful for lighter recipes if possible and also anything thrifty as i love using leftovers
thanks
London - Which is the best Italian Restaurant? No budget
theo randall at the intercontinental. ex-head chef of the river cafe. very simple, verry very good
Best Culinary Shows On Television?
jamie at home. every recipe is a winner yet benefits from being shown on telly.
the pork and pepper stew is the best way to use pork shoulder.
Ramsey vs. Colicchio??
i believe the ramsAy empire has around 12 michelin stars. he certainly was a great chef with an amazing pedigree and some astounding mentors (notably the genius marco pierre white).
he has a real eye for a market opprtunity, from Maze under jason atherton to the gastropub chain overseen by mark sergeant.
the F word should be flushed down the toilet as its an hour of onanism
what do you expect from fox ? his american tv shows give the audience what the deserve. edited pap. its sensationalist rubbish.
uk kitchen nightmares is a slightly more honest attempt to provide an insight into ramsAys talents at commercialisation.
from what ive seen toms whatisname seems like a pretty average cook without any great insight.
marco pierre white puts them both to shame; he ran a proper hells kitchen filled with respect and positivity.
Best Culinary Shows On Television?
'Yan can Cook' is the most hilarious and enjoyable tv cookery programn ever. ever. find it and watch it. and laugh yourself silly.
bills food and any nigella program are smugfests and should be cancelled and all tapes ever made erased from history
Should he stay or should he go?
the meaning is more exaggerate or extrapolate rather than to lie outright.
for goodness sake, who cares what he said if he cooks like an angel.
not everyone has good fortune or privilege in life and most people have to make their own luck. well done him until i try his food, if he cant cook then to the gallows he should go.
everyone lies even if only kidding themselves, its just a matter of degree.
Should he stay or should he go?
i think the bottom line should be the quality of the coooking and the food.
i am forever eating at places where the chef has worked with gordon blahblah and trained under michel doodah and the food is pants. if this guy can cook i dont care if he pretends to be the reincarnation of escoffier.
almost everyone is creative with their CV
UK - What's With the Price of Lettuce?
make a pilgrimage to the unicorn in chorlton and enjoy seasonal organic produce at fair prices.
the current sicilian agricoop red peppers are absolutely phenomenal; incredibly sweet, crispy full of sugar, no seeds for some reason, odd shapes and deep, deep irregular red. virtually a fruit. unbelievable.
and not a stupid iceberg in sight although they do seem to like their red & green batavias which taste of nothing. far more satisfying are the loose mixed leaves and flowers with a real variety of leaves which i cant begin to identify including a superb mustard flavoured red green variegated leaf.
the loose french rocket is the best i have ever eaten.
[Cheshire, Wilmslow] Cheshire Smokehouse
its a bit pricey and not particularly inventive.
the wine is well overpriced.
whilst the bacon is OK its not as far as i am aware outdoor reared, unlike Sainsbury Taste the Difference
the chicken is farm assured which means intensive production, better to visit wild at heart
the fruit and veg in neither organic or particularly good , better to visit the unicorn
the chocolate is expensive and nearly out of date, better to eat Divine.
i would suggest a visit to chorlton where you can buy the smokehouse bacon in the barbakan, the chicken at wild at heart or even out of the blue which has french corn fed birds. and then shop the other chorlton delis & the unicorn much better and genuinely part of a local community.
amazingly, ASDA have an extra special wild alaskan salmon which is MSC certified and 2 x 120g for £5. and tastes really good.
Mai Bai in Manchester shut
bummer. and yo sushi and tampopo still open to supply the general public with overpriced slime on a colouerd plate. no thanks.
it has been said that only the good die young and thats why you never see an old estate agent.
Rasa Samundra: quick impression
i had the fish banquet with lovely wife and mother in law and ate so much i could not walk to see the elgin marbles for fear of vomiting. i had to sit on a bench rubbing my enormous belly and groaning for almost 30 mins.
the food was ok, innovative but not spectacular.
more quantity than quality and all rather samey, coconut and curry leaves almost ad nauseum.
wouldnt go again.
London Real Food Festival
the last 2 years of the taste festival have been a bit of a let down. most of the food is little better than average and i can hardly remember most of the dishes
rowley leighs kensington place scallop was the highlight of last year. low lights include john torode pork, aldo zilli full stop (the worst cook on britain ?) and me stupdily burning my mouth on a boiling ROKA scallop.
the year before michel roux made a fine pigeon pie and david thompson that was a total let down
if the sun shines regents park is lovely but its a bit like celeb chef slobbering and paper plastic plates. better to hit a decent market (i know bourough is rammed but there are others) or high street (such as marylebone), have a proper lunch at a good restaurant. go home have a snooze, and then cook something with the ingredients you purchased, crack open the vino and get some friends over. thats a festival of taste.
bavette & onglet
whats the difference between a bavette and an onglet ?
as far as i am aware the onglet is the skirt steak which hangs from the diaphragm. i recently saw oliver rowe on tv explaining that an onglet can come from two differenmt parts of the animal ?
i have been told the bavette is an extension of the flank which i have presumed is the thick flank found on the indside of the front of the back leg.
thanks
UK pizza chains - best of the bunch?
Croma provide a good value (quality, price) offer with a pleasant environment. the one in chorlton is particularly relaxing.
Piccolinos in Manchester has a lovely buzz.
Danillos in hale is the most fun of all.
for the big boys, it has to be strada because they have the best pizzas; best bases and ovens and they arent stingy with the toppings. Pizza Express pizzas are either getting smaller or im getting bigger and fatter.
"Ethnic" restaurants in the UK - the end is nigh? [Moved from U.K./Ireland board]
the curry mile is a joke.
to the best of my knowledge there isnt a single decent curry available in rushholme, its a sight to drive through because it has a piontless plastic vegas cruddiness about it. the food is appaling and all form the same slop bucket.
it is fun to wander through during ede as there is a boisterousness and levity permeating the atmosphere but dont eat there unless you want your bowels working over.
there arent many true ethnic restaurants because the demand doesnt really exist, certainly not outside london. take the example of the patak family owned place with the delhi oberoi hilton chef which opened in hale and promptly sank without a trace. with all the money sloshing round hale. its name eludes me because it was only open for the blink of an eye.
we get what we deserve and we obviously deserve cr@p.
Urgently need help with non-foodie visitors! [London]
as the Chowhound police have removed my previous comments i politely suggest the magificent golden arches in the hope that this will not offend the censors.
"Ethnic" restaurants in the UK - the end is nigh? [Moved from U.K./Ireland board]
"chefs" ?? ha. "food" ?? ha.
most so called 'indian' restaurants serve rancid oil bolied cr@p to drunken idiots. for every decent curry i can think of 100 rubbish plates of slop.
'chinese' food is as bad or worse, generic fried MSG loaded battered everything. close them all down (red chilli on portland street excepted)
and dont get me started on so called kebab shops. maybe if these emporiums of filth closed down it would be a step towards controlling the obesity epidemic.
there are of course notable exceptions serving fine ethnic food. in the manchester area for example we have in no particular order - turkish delight, aladdins, dilli, gurkha grill (just gets in) and i am sure many others. (red chilli of course).
99% are awful and our lives would be enriched by their absence, they cater to a demand and this serves to demonstrates just how far we need to climb out of the gastronomic gutter.
P.S some of the best food i have ever eaten was during a 3 month tour of india (all vegetarian). what a country, what cuisine.
