Clark,
While my views are not representative of the board as a whole - don't go near Arbutus.

Oh; I'd forgotten The Merchant! Bert's jazz bar is worth a visit.

http://www.belfastmusic.org/tradition...

What sort of music are you after and what days of the week is it?

My favourites would probably be Thursday and Friday in the John Hewitt, pretty solid cover band on Thurs and 6ish piece jazz on Fridays.
The Garrick is good on a Sunday for a younger crowd.

Black Box may also be worth considering, not a food place but good live music from up and coming folk,

Pubs;
The Garrick
The John Hewitt
The Spaniard

Restaurants;
The Morning Star
Ginger Bistro
James Street South

-----
James Street South
21 James Street South, Belfast BT2 7GA, GB

Taylors?

Yes, but I expect it will not have the same brightness of aroma and flavour as when it was bottled.

I'm heading over to London in a few weeks and I have a lunch free that needs filling; it's a toss-up between Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester and Pied a Terre. It would be a lunch menu with ~2gls wine. Any thoughts appreciated!

I wouldn't touch it for at least 10 years. I had a 1996 Chateau Chalon Vin Jaune a few weeks ago and it was a baby.

Kummel?

Some sort of Breville, I can;t see a model number. It's very easy to do - the thermostatic controller just turns the power off when it reaches a certain temperature and on when it falls below it. Just wire it in series with the live OR neutral line.

Confit chicken wings are good - pull the bones out so it still looks like a wing, dredge in seasoned flour and fry till crispy =)

The first time I wanted to make confit I bought all the fat, but I have never had to top it up as fat renders off the legs while it cooks.
I've never done it in an oven or gas burner - I use an electric slow-cooker with digital thermostat wired into the power lead (DIY sous vide machine, essentially). Pop it all in and turn on before I go to bed, it's ready in the morning. Hardly a recipe, but you can't overcook like this. A few hours at 65-75C should do it.

No problem at all.

I can think of nothing better than Grenache Blanc. Look around the Languedoc whites, Rene Rostaing makes some good examples. Also, white Priorat; I've had 2007 Cal Pla and 2004 Mas d'en Compte recently and they would work great if you can get your hands on them!

Failing that, a Greco di Tuffo or Falanghina.

Interesting thread. I have no interest in vodka whatsoever, however working in the restaurant trade it is evident that people have "their" brands. It's all marketing over substance and, at the end of the day, who actually tries them blind? People will drink what they are used to, or what they have been influenced toward by marketing.
I stock Stoli, Ketel One and Grey Goose (not because I want to, but for demand; this stuff is awful for the price. Kind of like the Cloudy Bay Sauv Blanc of the vodka world)

The only vodka I would ever buy for myself is Idol, and then only in single 50ml bottles. Never used in a mixed drink, only neat like a brandy. At the end of the day, vodka based cocktails are really just for people who don't like the taste of alcohol but still want to feel the effect.

Any clean container with a larger surface area exposed to air than a bottle - bowl, jug, vase, whatever.

Ramos Pinto 10 Year Tawny would be my pick of them.

Fully drinkable and with full blown fresh fruit, not dried and nutty like a mature one.

I totally agree that opening a 2007 now is 'infanticidal', but it suits what has been asked for much better than a mature vintage. All the 07s I tried were explosively fruity, thick, rich.
"Too young" yes, but only if you like them old.

For rich, dark and deep 2007 springs to mind. I tried Dow's, Warre's and Graham's against each other a few weeks ago; Dow's was my favourite, but none of them would disappoint. As you go back, vintage port mellows and the ripe fruit fades to dried fruit and nuts which doesn't sound like his cup of tea.

1 - Not usually an issue, but you could make a paste in a bowl and then add it if you're concerned about lumps

2 - No

3 - No, I rarely mash for less than 90 mins; 30 seems too short to extract all the sugar to me.

A few months should be fine before you start to see a decline. I'd keep it with a vacuvin on too...

Both The Ledbury(**) and Texture Restaurant(*) spring to mind.

It all rather depends what temperature you regard "cellar temperature" to be. Guinness state that their draught should be enjoyed at 43.8 F, 6.5 C. So if your bar serves it colder, order one and wait a bit.

I was always taught that nobody ordering Guinness is in a hurry.

<Also, I would guess that serving room temperature draught beer via the typical nitrogen "gas mix" required for Guinness would be make for a very difficult pour and waste a LOT of beer.>

A rise of even 1-2 Celsius in the multicert does indeed cause huge levels of waste with Guinness, much more than non nitrogen gassed beers. I can't see any bar with a viable business model serving Guinness at room temp directly from tap, unless they use Suremix 50 or whatever the US equivalent is instead of Nitrogen (Suremix 25 in the UK)

+1 on Moran's in Kilcolgan

What is the digestif? Generally speaking, the alcohol and sugar level inhibit life.

I had a look at Koffman's menu a few weeks back and it just didn't excite me at all I'm afraid! I know a few people who've been and say it is right up my street; all seems a bit 'bistro' (not that there's anything wrong with that, but I go to London to get away from that for a few days)

Nobu?