nimzo's Profile
Dry Sack Sherry - Opinions [Moved from Spirits board]
I am not questioning the fact that sherries were exported, simply that many of the better wines were unavailable to the general public in the seventies and eighties.The smaller almanecistas tended to concentate on the domestic market and and the better soleras from Osborne, Domecq, Byass, etc were not marketed.Vintages rarely made an appearance before Byass released the anadas from the early sixties( unless you count the two coronation bottlings) and companies like Barbadillo and Williams and Humbert reserved theirs for friends and family.Current choice and availability is much greater than 30 years ago.
Dry Sack Sherry - Opinions [Moved from Spirits board]
I meant that wines from many other companies, especially the good vintage wines, were rarely avalable to the UK consumer and that Harveys were the market leader in sweeter wines perhaps with Byass in the drier style.
Dry Sack Sherry - Opinions [Moved from Spirits board]
Harveys have produced some great vintages over the years, sure they are known for Bristol Cream but this was a benchmark product at a time when small production wines were unavailable outside Spain.
Pims ideas?
Traditional to me would involve a good shot of oyster juice or failing that, plenty of borage or extracted borage juice and some cucumber.
Recommendation for dining in Figueres?
Head a couple of miles out of town to Mas Pau .Great Catalan food by a chef with years of experience at ElBulli, worth staying the night too, one of the best cheese boards anywhere.
Marco Pierre White
The photographer is Bob Carlos-Clarke if that is any help, photo looks to be from around 1988, the Harveys years.
Carless trip to El Bulli
Fly to Barcelona, train from BCN to Figueres and stay there, somewhere like Mas Pau, taxi to Bulli and back usually about 100 euros return.Much cheaper staying in Figueres and the longer journey time just serves to heighten the anticipation.
Good Eats Near Heathrow
Don't get a black cab from Heathrow, call AAA on 01628 624446 and get them to meet you, costs about £22 from terminal 1,2,3 and £25 from 4.Also worth phoning the Fat Duck on the day to check cancellations.
La Alqueria - Menus?
yes, it has a regular ALC menu featuring the greatest hits through the years.
Fat Duck - anyone been?
No sense of history?????.Many of the dishes are rooted in dishes which go back more than 100 years. Don't ignore what's on the menu-Best end of Lamb, Sole Veronique, Ballotine of Foie Gras,Tarte Tatin.Even the versions of savoury ice-creams could be said to be based on early Italian recipes.Crab Biscuit with Foie Gras, how many decades since this sort of combination was served on the Atlantic coast of France. Attack Heston for a variety of reasons but lacking a sense of history is missing the point.
Anyone ever go to El Bulli and El Raco de Can Fabes back to back nights?
I it a few years ago after my first Bulli trip.The food was excellent if relatively expensive and I found they service very poor.I have never returned to Can Fabes as a result of the service but go back to Bulli every year. If you are heading anywhere I strongly suggest Can Roca.
good recipes with pimms?
Try the traditional garnish of oyster juice or extract the juice from some borage as well as serving with borage leaves.
Restaurant at Hacienda Benazuza El Bulli (near Seville)
Rafa Morales is the chef, ex Bulli.The ALC consists of hits from ElBulli over the past 10 years or so.There is also a tasting menu of more up to date Bulli dishes.It has 2 stars and is well worth a visit, more formal in many ways than Bulli and with a shorter wine list.The real treat is the breakfast and it is worth staying just for that
Cider Beer
If Dabinett a bit too strawy why not give a DymockRed or a Hagloe a try. The apples are getting hard to get hold of but worth the effort
Chocolate in Bulk for baking/candy
Give Wild Harvest a try for Valrhona, a google search will take you there
Cider Beer
Never sweet? How about the ciders made from Dabinett, Foxwhelp and Slack My Girdle or Katy varieties.They may only be around 6-7% abv but retain a lot of residual sweetness compared to varietals such as Kingston Black
