Contrasts In Vancouver

The Elbow Room (Davies and Seymour) has been recommended to me by a friend. On arrival I felt it lacked the ambience I had expected perhaps because it was not busy, perhaps because the wall decorations were reminiscent of Ellen's Stardust Diner in New York without the singing. However, we were soon enough treated to some engaging and sassy service, a lesson in how to clean your coffee pot with salt and an undeniably excellent breakfast. I was delighted to use Chip & PIN on payment as they have remained stubbornly resistant to this further south whilst being puzzled at the amount of credit card fraud. Go figure as they say round here.

8.5 out of 10 for quality of food

The following morning, Moneypennies closer to our hotel failed to live up to expectations nor come close to Elbow Room for excellence. It became apparent that it is essentially an omelette restaurant but rather than face the embarrassing search for an alternative, we stayed long enough to spot the breakfast special. Promising in print, its main characteristic was dryness. I was genuinely puzzled as to how I would butter my four pieces of toast with the portion provided, the smallest I have ever seen.

1.5 out of 10 - lack of effort

The Rusty Cutter - Bedhampton

The Rusty Cutter is a Beefeater a chain about which it is easy but unfair to be snobbish. I think the substantial Wednesday lunchtime crowd spoke for itself. Admittedly Beefeater is, like the rest, being aggressively competitive, but any recession on this Bedhampton hill was well hidden.

Our waitress was lively and charming at a busy time. The menu was quite stimulating and featured more new items. Apologies were received for a couple of missing ingredients but the food we ordered was very good. Prices are keen.

8.5 out of 10

Ockham Bites

There is a gem near the junction of the M25 and southbound A3. We used to go there very often and only do not do so now because we moved house.

It was a great pleasure to return today and find the service, it's great strength, to be as pleasant as ever.

The food is great and the sylvan setting incomparable. Go.

10 out of 10

Lee Tandoori

Indian restaurants are I feel a matter of personal taste. Everyone has their favourites. People in Ayr and Glasgow prefer theirs to avoid flavouring the food at all. I like something a little more vigorous which does not actually set me on fire and several visits to Lee Tandoori have left me satisfied.

Tonight, Aloo Chat and Chicken Tikka Dhansak were aromatic and spicy with resoundingly satisfying flavour. My boyfriend was surprised that his Chicken Pasanda also contained Chicken Tikka but that little diminished his overall enjoyment of the meal.

For a virtual teetotaller a half of Kingfisher was a guilty pleasure and the nearby sea afterwards an equal pleasure. Fawley looked quite fetching with the sun behind it.

8.5 out of 10

Two Hits And A Miss

I can not be alone in noticing that my grocery bill seems to be getting smaller and that opportunities for great prices seem to be burgeoning. So ridiculously low are some of the prices that one can only infer a poorly concealed panic amongst even our leading retailers although under precisely what circumstances people would stop buying food I can not really imagine.

However, with some sincerely held reservations about the wellbeing of suppliers, I have been no less than delighted with some of our recent purchases both on price and quality. If you are prepared to manage your kitchen to accommodate some slightly short dates there are some stunning bargains on fruit and vegetables.

We bought two corn on the cob (ASDA £1) and they were delicious. We bought three small courgettes (ASDA £1 and reduced to 40p) and they became the centrepiece of an excellent vegetable medley. It is true that my boyfriend improves anything he lays his hands on in the kitchen but these were good quality products.

Much less successful were the Jan Jac dessert products bought in Tesco also for £1. Diifficult to complain about the price but the rice desserts are vanilla puddings which simply happen to have rice in them and are entirely unremarkable. My mother gave a similar verdict on their fruit jellies. Perhaps a less discerning audience of, say, partying five year olds would be perfectly happy.

Elliotts - Hayling Island

On a sunny Sunday we went in spite of any misgivings to the SE end of Hayling Island. I was in fact far more motivated by railway remains than food but the time of day suggested lunch. Mercifully standing out from nearby grim diners, was Elliotts located according to its self penned history available at the tables, in adjacent converted cottages. There is a pleasant restaurant which does not look especially inviting from the outside but is clean and efficiently run inside. Food from an extensive menu is brought by polite, well presented and well spoken waitresses whose attentiveness does not waver during the meal even as the evidently popular venue fills up.

We both chose specials and left satisfied if slightly overwhelmed by the generous portions. Orders were delivered correctly and quickly. You might find this strange to remark upon but it simply does not happen everywhere these days.

The property includes a chip shop which was very busy. Although I did not sample its fare, the fish dishes which were brought to the restaurant looked impressive with crisp golden batter clearly cooked at the correct (high) temperature. Such was the turnover, no piece of fish ever stood long enough to wilt.

It was not haute cuisine nor did it pretend to be and it deserves at least 8.5 out of 10.

Pavillion Cafe - Buxton

As a pre-theatre venue, The Pavillion Cafe was ideal. The menu was very interesting and good value. My partner's Goat's Cheese Risotto was well received though we thought smaller pieces of cheese might have been more appropriate than one large wheel. My Shepherds Pie was tasty and the accompanying vegetables perfect. Banana and toffee cheesecake was not quite as good as it looked - it was beautifully presented, but my lack of enthusiasm was probably as much as anything to do with not really wanting or needing it. I very much liked the sourcing of local products.

Service was provided by some decent and effective young people. I was worried that we might be cutting it a bit fine for the waiting Lucrezia Borgia but they met our every requirement. There is no need to look any further for our next visit to Festival.

9.5 out of 10.

Oriental Buffet, Grand Buffet Whitworth Street, Manchester

I have no reason to supposed that the Oriental Buffet and Grand Buffet are connected other than by being in the same building and by the fact that we visited them for lunch and dinner respectively on a day so wet that walking to discover more options was not practical.

The Oriental Buffet was, to judge by the growing crowd of patrons happy to sit at its formica tables, well known and certainly good value. There was plenty of choice though it always irritates me to see such incongruous offerings as curly fries for the unadventurous. Shouldn't they just go to some fast food restaurant and eat out of a bucket?

The Grand Buffet offering "authentic" Indian food was neither grand nor authentic, merely adequate. Good value again with reasonable if often watery choices and more of the incongruities found below in their Chinese counterpart. I don't believe I have ever seen such a noodle dish (macaroni in goodness knows what sauce); its parentage reflected an unhappy marriage. Of the accompaniments none seemed to be quite cooked, everything unduly floury but it was a nice touch for a buffet when one of the suspiciously non-Indian staff brought round the freshly prepared "garlic" naan to the tables.

Oriental Buffet 7.5 out of 10 for variety; Grand Buffet 6 out of 10 for cross cultured confusion and lack of effort.

Dilli, Altrincham

In Altrincham in the rain you are likely to hasten to the first culinary haven but I had decided on Indian so we were prepared to get a little wet to attain the chosen cuisine. In a street hovering between prosperity and the sharp end of the recession, Dilli easily enough caught the eye.

Service seemed peremptory and charmless but was undeniably speedy and correctly paced. Our starters were delicious especially my partner’s Jhaal Moori, somewhat like a rather elaborate Bombay Mix mysteriously but subtly glued together by some unknown substance. For my Bijnor ki Pakori (in fact potato and onion bhajis) I would have chosen a mint sauce that looked less as though it had just recently been in Waitrose jar, but the flavour was fine.

At first I thought my Rara Murgh unremarkable but that epithet was more properly reserved for my partner’s Pista aur Badam ki Murgh which appeared to have retained none of the flavours of its ingredients which included pistachios and almonds. There is mild.......and there is flavourless. My own dish grew on me and I had to concede the artful distribution of green chilli in it. I was let down again though by the “spicy potato” filled kulcha which I can only say lacked spice and to some extent lacked potato.


Dilli’s self penned accolades are not fulfilled at this branch. I offer their link so that you might try for yourself but my mark is 6 out of 10 for a meal which satisfied my need for Indian food but was redeemed substantially by its starters.

http://www.dilli.co.uk/

Sparrows, Battlefield 1403

The farm shop at Battlefield 1403 and the adjacent restaurant are very likely to provide something you will want to eat. Visiting only for afternoon tea, we did not closely peruse the menu but our items – chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream for me, teacake for my partner – were delivered swiftly. Both offerings were highly satisfactory.

However, these converted buildings now far more retail than agricultural hosted an unwanted and unexpected accompaniment of flies; I award 7 out of 10 for the constant risk of extra protein in my otherwise nice tea.

Telford Services M54

Earlier this year, I set a precedent for this blog by reviewing a motorway service area. Today I am reviewing another.

We arrived at Telford services at the perfect time for lunch and were pleasantly surprised. There were at first far too few staff performing far too many roles between them. This puts unnecessary pressure on them and is a sign of poor management.

However, my steak pie had an excellent crust and a tasty and plentiful filling. My partner was equally satisfied by his half chicken. Both meals were served with chips, peas and gravy. The chips were generously cut and very fresh and we were consulted as to the placement of our gravy.

As the icing on the cake prices have recently been reduced making these two meals actually pretty good value.

I award 8.5 out of 10 for good food spoiled only slightly by harried service.

Caveat Emptor

Anyone seeking culinary excitement in Britain should beware what they buy whether in a restaurant or shop. Those who know what they want, especially if they have travelled a bit, already know this. Britain is afraid of garlic and spices. The most timid of meals are described as spicy. I have eaten dishes which have had no more acquaintance with garlic than possibly having been in the same room during the last 24hrs.


So perhaps then I was not entirely surprised to taste Piri Piri Chicken by The Genuine Food Company and currently offered at Sainsburys. This was not authentic. It was merely chicken, and not very good chicken at that, in a mildly spicy tomato sauce. I commend their use of wild rice which was attractive and quite nice.


I shall be trying their Corned Beef Hash next and hoping that they have not made, well, a hash of it.

Innocent - Tasty Veg Pots

I need hardly say more than - buy one! They are delicious. I don't believe I've ever had an Innocent smoothie but evidently, reputation established, they have decided to diversify and with considerable success.

I ate Moroccan Squash Tagine; my partner Indian Daal Curry. Wonderful!. Recent retrograde steps in my staff restaurant may see these excellent and filling dishes appear in my meal pack.

L'Oriental - Estepona

One does not choose to eat in a hotel for economy but seeks it elsewhere so I was fairly pleased to find a selection of restaurants within striking distance of the Crowne Plaza, Estepona. Unfortunately at least some of these were characterised by the nearby Robin Hood which serves, amongst other things, Chicken Kiev and Sausage and Mash but where, apparently, "reservations are essential". Such dishes might be warming and welcome at home and may well be excellent in Estepona too but are they really what people leave their East Midlands mining cottages for when they head for the Costa del Sol?

L'Oriental, Lebanese Restaurant looked more promising and I am delighted to report it fulfilled its Middle Eastern promise. One of the joys of a mediterranean holiday is to be able to eat outdoors and the courtyard was a particularly pleasant place to do so. Tabouleh was excellently fresh although our houmous was unduly creamy and seemed to lack garlic. Shujuk were wonderfully infused with green chilli and falafel were near perfect.

My chicken kebab was beautifully marinaded but still benefitted from the chilli sauce I added with caution. My partner's lamb cous cous could, he opined, have used more salt but still pleased.

A delightful meal with cover and multiple non-alcoholic drinks came to only 68 euros, more than bearable even at the current exchange rate.

L'Oriental Restaurante Libanes, Urbanizacion Benamara, Avda. Dos Hermanos, Estepona

Andiamo - Milngavie

I have been coming to Glasgow for 34 years and for many of those I have been coming to Bearsden and Milngavie. It has often been difficult to find somewhere good to eat but, with the passing of time, a culinary sun has begun to shine over southern Scotland.

It shone brightly today in Milngavie both literally and figuratively as we ventured in a party of four to Andiamo. Formerly the Allander bar and club, the building has been transformed beyond recognition. The interior design is immediately striking and you can appreciate the effort and thought even if you don't share the taste.

The conservatory style frontage of the restaurant is a mixed blessing. It afforded an excellent view of arriving patrons so large they perhaps should not eat again this year. The light and warmth were perhaps excessive on an early summer day like this and I would suggest the more conservative and well air conditioned interior to support the ambience.

The food scored highly for presentation, quality and value. Our aunts both had Pollo al Limone with which the chef might have ventured a lemon sauce rather than a citrus slice. Nevertheless the chicken was generously portioned. My partner's Fusilli Pollo Prima Vera satisfied and my own beef medallions with mushroom risotto came close to elating me. Andiamo serves excellent ice cream and this was especially good with the stunning amareno cherry dessert.

Lunch prices brought a bill of well under £15 a head although none of us drank alcohol.

4 1/2 out of 5 for bringing inspiration, value and a lightness of touch to north Glasgow.

Andiamo is also at Hamilton and Giffnock www.andiamo-restaurants.com

Marriott Hotel - Glasgow Argyle Street

Tonight's meal at Source restaurant was a bit of a revelation. Previous Marriott offerings under the Mediterranea brand were frequently pretentious, poorly executed and overpriced. Someone seems to have turned that around.

We were not initially convinced by the £20 table d'hote price for three courses especially as my stomach was still considering lunch and did not really need a dessert.

My pancetta and melon approached minimal quantities but turned out to be well judged in the context of the meal. My partner was not convinced that creme fraiche added much to his green pea and red pepper soup.

My pork medaillons were just about perfect and the jus a sensation of flavour. The pave of duck opposite me was indistinct from some other meats and the garlic mash predictably lacked garlic in much quantity. Nevertheless we were satisfied.

My partner thought his cheese plate probably was a bit overloaded whilst my William Pear was perfectly pleasant. Taking quantity and quality together this was at last good value in a Marriott.

4/5 for putting the past where it belongs

Cafe Andaluz - Glasgow G1

Spanish food is every bit as much a delight as French or Italian but, unfortunately, to experience it authentically and away from the tourist trail you have to commit yourself to the most ridiculous eating hours on the face of the planet. So when an opportunity arises in your own country or at least its neighbour, Scotland, it is worth a dabble.

We were not disappointed with our tapas at Cafe Andaluz in St Vincents Place. The crowds which filled the place only minutes after our arrival spoke eloquently of its reputation. Between us we had six varieties served in portions which were not small. My partner was particularly delighted with his black pudding and onion marmalade. I was surprised my mushrooms on toast were not warmer.

Dessert was a masterpiece of flavour but not strictly a pavlova. Pavlova is not made by putting a meringue near some raspberries. This otherwise successful project seemed to have missed out its construction phase.

With the special offers at lunchtime keeping the price to a remarkably restrained £27 for two including soft drinks it might be worth avoiding the higher evening prices.

4/5 for ambience, quality and the components of a pavlova.

Bombay Blues - Glasgow G2

On a day which had been cold then warmer it was unnecessarily hot in the centrally located Bombay Blues in Glasgow's Hope Street. We chose the buffet which does not allow a particularly worthwhile appraisal of the menu and it did not compare favourably with Cafe Tusk. Being at the other end of the country or as I suppose the Scots would argue, in another country, it perhaps does not need to.

They have done a favour in bringing spice to a country which, at the time of my first Scottish Indian restaurant experience in the early 80s, so assiduously avoided it. So the flavours were not in doubt but the selection and rate of replenishment were poor.

I ate what I wanted but the greedy part of me wanted Movenpick ice cream. I celebrated several notable anniversaries whilst waiting for the attention of the waiter and decided not to be greedy but leave.

2/5 for inattentiveness but proper use of chilli.

KFC - Charnock Richard Services M6(N)

Of all the fast food you can eat KFC is, I think, amongst the best - in moderation.

However, the review today is not about the food which was fine but about the payment method. The Charnock Richard Service Area has two self-order points which incorporate debit/credit card payment facilities. I liked it a lot. No interface with the hard of understanding, pretty quick service and off to scoff. I hope it spreads.

Duo Restaurant - Renaissance Heathrow

The newly rebranded Duo restaurant at Heathrow’s Renaissance hotel has done away with a popular and successful buffet which offered considerable variety, left in place a limited and very expensive à la carte and added an even more limited table d’hôte menu. We had been driven to the restaurant by the bar’s £7.50 soup and £12 sandwiches and found ourselves no better off except for the improved view of departing aircraft.

I could not believe that tandoori chicken was not accompanied by rice – none was available. I thought gratin potato might not be an appropriate side. While I was imparting my opinions to the manager I also pointed out that gateaux is a plural and that if I ordered the black forest variety anachronistically offered on the table d’hôte, then I would expect many or several rather than the more likely one.

We ordered with reluctance and with considerable sympathy for my money. My partner’s delice of salmon was well cooked but the polenta probably had not been acquainted with the promised garlic. My chicken was in fact beautifully prepared and I survived an unexpected encounter with the red chilli hidden in the onion accompaniment.

Tangerine delice even with a free portion (compensation for the lack of rice) was a disappointment. Served at room temperature rather than more appropriately chilled it was no more than an unspectacularly topped sponge.

Good quality food with inconsistent preparation and pretentiously overpriced means 2/5.

Little Chef - Liphook

There was a time when you could enter a Little Chef with confidence about what to expect of both food and service. That certainty was dispelled by successive sales of the franchise and the recent intervention by, I believe, Heston Blumenthal.

The food was always good if predictable and benefitted from being cooked to order. The staff were always under stress at anything over 50% occupancy.

Now the menu is different for every visit and evidence of Heston is sparse. This I deduce from the fact that my chilli was not served with ice cream nor were there lychees with my partner’s rather suspiciously constituted burger.

I was largely satisfied with my dish but my partner reported and I confirmed that the burger had, to say the least, a strange texture not unlike a kebab but mercifully not tasting of lamb.

The staff however plumbed new depths of incompetence. The shared starter was ordered successfully only after I had explained the menu to the server three times! At the end, the heavy rain outside suddenly seemed preferable to the drips inside. I was brought the correct bill but then inexplicably charged for someone else’s (cheaper) meal.

I felt an urge to be honest and pay the larger amount. The other guest was a soldier and might have had concealed weapon. My honesty cost me several minutes at the till and gained me nothing except the tip I did not leave.

1/5 for backchat and incompetence.

Fairly Glorious Too

I tried a second MPW soup and was not disappointed although curry soup probably is more an individual taste than pasta. Glorious! offers Indian Chicken, Spring Onion and Coriander, a description which rather understates the nearly dangerous number of listed ingredients.

The ingredient in common with the first soup tasted is, of course, chicken and that is undoubtedly very good. I could criticise the lentils in tonight's offering for being a little hard but I'd still suggest you buy it and you won't fell you have to have a main course afterwards.

Cafe Tusk - Fareham

Fareham was never in my mind a particularly obvious destination for anything but is does now hold one attraction other than the best hairdresser I could find in the area.

There is no better place to take my new haircut for lunch than Indian restaurant Cafe Tusk which offers lunch buffet at superb value.

There is a very wide choice of starters, main dishes, accompaniments and desserts. The food is really very good and you can pretend to be an American and eat until you die or enjoy a more carefully thought out and balanced meal.

It would be fair to say that some of the food can be warm rather than hot and that one chicken variant is sometimes difficult to distinguish from another but at around £17 for two with non-alcoholic drinks, the value is indisputable. I always leave satisfied and looking forward to the next visit.

http://www.cafetusk.co.uk/

Glorious Indeed

I had not been at all impressed with the Marco Pierre White desserts sold by Sainsburys and so approached with caution his named soup. Actually "fresh real broth".

The contrast could not have been greater. I chose Chicken, Courgette and Orzo Pasta and it could not have been more delicious. The experience went beyond taste and hinged on texture, described on the tub as "light" which indeed it is. This was comfort and luxury food in one, priced reasonably as it turns out at, I think, £1.89.

Marco would have been horrified at my meal choice as I added pepper (my preference and my prerogative) and chose an accompaniment of pate on toast.

But, as it says in my introduction, food is about what you like and I will not be told by some wild eyed old ham whether or not I may use seasoning of my choice. Nevertheless I urge you to try something from the Glorious! range.

Raison d'Etre

You only need to look at me to see that I eat - a little too much. I enjoy food as much as I enjoy reading or sex and, unsurprisingly, with greater frequency than the others.

I haven't much time for food critics especially when their commentary is based on some arcane technical specification or whimsical personal expectation.

The enjoyment of food is about knowing what you like preferably without the hindrance of fad (vegetarian/vegan) or allergy (unfortunate).

My new blog brings you reports of what I like and don't like whether eaten in a restaurant or bought from a shop; reports from around the world, from land, sea and air.

Read, digest (as it were) and make your own mind up.