Cauliflower

Friday, 29th June. I admit that Cauliflower is not a very exciting topic, and may be abhorrent to some. But this is the difference: this is my cauliflower. I grew it in my new veg patch from a pre-purchased seedling from B and Q. The books said that lots of things could go wrong including club root and bolting of the flower, but I am seeing a crop of retail-worthy caulis, although a bit on the small side. We cooked one on Friday night, and I would give it a 10: a prince among cauliflowers.
Friday lunchtime. Was taken out for a business development lunch by a vendor. Went to Cotes Brasserie in Bluewater.http://www.cote-restaurants.co.uk/
I had been there before for a very satisfying set lunch and it had the advantage of the nearby Carluccio's of not being as noisy or busy. It is not the busiest at lunch. The food is ostensibly French.

I had battered Calamari as a starter. I should stop doing this, as they virtually always disappoint because of being a bit too much on the greasy side. I must have had a superlative experience at some time with fried calamari. Whilst these were adequate, I guess I forgot that they tend to be a bit greasy, and should try something else next time. Nothing wrong with them and a 10 on the CHOF scale.

For main I had the fish parmentier. The menu made this sound more exciting, and again, whilst perfectly satisfactory, more resembled fish pie. I was expecting something with a stronger flavour, and it was a bit bland. However, another 10 on the CHOF scale. My dining partner had meat, and I think when I go back there, because it is a reasonable choice for lunch, I will focus on the meat. The steaks looked good.

The campaign for hot food. (CHOF)

26th June 2012.
Media bash at the Metropolitan Hotel in Mayfair, next to the London Hilton. This smart hotel with somewhat overunctious security that would not leave me alone is fused with the Nobu restaurant. However the meal was distinctly unJapanese, and was marred by the fact that it was served at the same time as speakers spoke and slowly at that. Could have been hotter, and I like my hot food hot. So this blog will incorporate the campaign for hot food (CHOF) when it should be hot.

So for starters, there were hand dived scallops (yummy, but becoming a bit of an anachronism), black trumpet mushrooms, apple puree and truffle oil.
Main course was lamb cutlets, boulangere potatoes with long stemmed  broccoli (looked a bit like asparagus gone wrong) and Summer vegetable jus.

Dessert was Jasmine tea and lime parfait with thyme syrup and citrus segments. Pretty good.

Apart from the desire for a hotter main, I would give this meal an 8/10. There was also a very good house white wine, but can't remember what it was. I think it was a Sauvignon Blanc. However, unlikely to go there again, and the Nobu is not to my taste or wallet. However, if you want a good place for a business meeting, their meeting room held about 30 cabaret style, and the staff were very helpful. Have a look at
http://www.metropolitan.london.como.bz/events/private-dining
You'll get the idea.

more food for thought

Tuesday 19th June

When in Barcelona earlier this month, Ruth had bought a tin of Navaja, which are razor clams. I had previously come across these in a virtually living state in Valencia, and we had them at a restaurant. They were very expensive and tasted of rubber with a consistency of rubber. Never again.
The tin is the same thing, They were not so rubbery, but tasted like non-specific seafood. I won't be bothering again, and would not recommend them for the English taste.
Wednesday 20th June
A meeting was provided with Indian take away

Food  of the gods. Amazing that Indian/Bangladeshi food had penetrated so completely into the society of Britain these past 40 years. It has taken over from more traditional take away food which has become too expensive and a bit bland. This lot came from the Shapla Tandoori in Barnet,
http://www.shaplaindianrestaurant.co.uk/index.php?page_id=3&page_name=menu
and was pretty good. I will definitely have to organise an outing there to try them as a restaurant. Pity that one won't be able to try such a magnificent variety. It was all good. No complaints here.
Thursday 21st June, Manchester.
Went out with my sister to Petra restaurant
http://www.petra2eat.co.uk/
She said it was Lebanese, Petra presumably locates it to Jordan, but website calls it Middle Eastern. From the outside you would not guess exactly apart from the Arabic script. For a Thursday night it was packed with a mixture of private diners and what looked like family parties.

I had the Kibbeh Makli to start (tasty and competent) and we both had mixed kebab for main. It was accompanied by Pitta style bread. I also had (on left) a dish of spinach and yoghourt.. Food was tasty and seemed authentic. Service a little haphazard, but they were busy. Quite reasonable and a full meal for the two of us came to £40. No alcohol, but byo and corkage of £1.

Friday 22nd June.
Return from Manchester. Went with Virgin trains first class. I thought there would be a lunch service but was bitterly disappointed:

Virgin trains idea of lunch in First Class (Not cheap) is a bag of crisps, a sandwich (coronation chicken), a piece of fruit and a chocolate biscuit. Richard, you should be ashamed.

Sunday 17th June 2012, fathers' day in UK.
Lunch at

O Cantinho de Portugal

135-137 Stockwell Road, London, SW9 9TN - View on a map

This is in an area of Stockwell, which is populated by Portuguese ex pats and has many locals who want to eat Portuguese food. About ten minutes walk from Stockwell tube, or less if you walk fast.

The restaurant is well reviewed, and was pretty packed for lunch on the day, but that may have been contributed by the fathers' day factor. Good sign: no special menu.

I had green soup as pictured above. At first sight it looked live a vegetarian dish, but what you can't see is the lurking slices of chorizo like sausage. Pretty good but a bit luke warm for my taste, and the sausage was a little on the 'local' side.

I followed this by suckling pig: I saw this on the menu, and knew I had to have it.

This was very tasty, soft and flavoursome. The accompanying potato crisps were a little of a surprise. Again a little on the luke-warm side for me, but a definite good find. Others in my family group tried the cod with potato (mostly potato and a lot for lunch so it was boxed up and taken home), beef on skewer, squid in white wine, and mixed seafood which were excellent and hot.

We had one bottle of excellent Portuguese red house wine, which was fruity and light and was one of the best house reds I have had for a long time. Lots of food so no need for desert. Bread and olives at the table - good quality, but £4 extra on bill.

Bill came to £93 for five mains, two starters and bottle of wine. Judged to be a hit. Felt authentic and full of ex-pats. Portuguese television and would probably be a bit frantic if football was on television. Definitely will want to go back there again and sample other items from menu.

I heard on Friday night about a schoolgirl who was criticised by a local council in Scotland for blogging about her school dinners and rating them. So I thought it might be a good idea to rate what I eat away from home......................