Paul's Picadilly

Just been to the Bronzes exhibition at the Royal Academy: a truly impressive experience if you get the chance. We were on our way to South Ken, and wanted refreshment - a coffee and a snack. On Picadilly in that area, you can choose from almost any of the major chains of coffee and snack outlets and some of the less common ones. It is prime tourist territory, so we knew that we were going to be sandwiched between those that did not know and those that did not care. I am not a great lover of Starbucks (a bit too corporate), and for no good reasons entered into Paul's. Although I did not know it at the time, Paul's is a chain of French inspired cafes across London. Check out their web site on http://www.paul-uk.com/content/whats-news.php . There seem to be about 25 branches around central and trendy London
It was busy with Sunday afternoon tourists, many of whom clearly did not get out much and had a poor command of English Language and Currency. The staff were only a couple of steps ahead of this.
The shop looks good, but possibly errs on the wrong side of pretentious. The staff may have taken Gallic indifference as a style statement, but once engaged, the deal came through

With that amount of choice in the middle of a Sunday afternoon, it is not surprising that things did not move quickly. The picture belies the fact that this is on the way out, and on the way in, the queue was about 6 deep. There is a good choice of cakes, savouries and baguettes but not classic sliced bread British Sandwiches.We preferred to ignore the baguettes which looked as if they could have benefited from a change in the bread/filling ratio (a universal problem these days)  I chose a Tourte Sauman Epinard. This was heated for me in a small oven and not a microwave, scoring a CHOF score of 7.5 This is what we got:

It was almost the same as the picture on the website:

This is clearly not one of the uniform objects that you might get from a supermarket or other bakery chains, and sat in the back of the cafe, looking out on to one of the Picadilly arcades, you could almost believe you were in Paris. The tart was tasty, crisp on the top, and the puff pastry was not soggy. A small tart was big enough for one, and we had no problem splitting it two ways. The ingredients were tasty and did not achieve the homogeneous taste that a factory-born quiche might have left. In deed it had the taste and look of France. A decent cup of coffee with milk on the side was also served in proper cups or mugs. So two good sized coffees and the tourte came to £8.65, which for the location was only a little above average. The surroundings were much more pleasant that a typical coffee shop and one felt as if one were not in a corporate shell. I think I will be going there again, but only if I have the time, as this is not to be thought of as fast food.
I kept the receipt, and it says that if I leave feedback on their web site, it will entitle me to a free croissant (if I buy a drink)!
So, Paul, you may be seeing me again. You have got as far North as Hampstead, but that is probably as far as pretentious London stretches. I see that breads and cakes are sold as take away, so that may be worth trying. The British seem to have a virtually unlimited appetite for cafes and take away snacks at the moment so I am sure the brand will spread.

Bella Italia, Picadilly Gardens, Manchester.

Bella Italia as you probably know, is a chain of Italian middle of the road restaurants. Nothing clever, nothing risky, or so I thought.http://www.bellaitalia.co.uk/italian-restaurant/manchester-piccadilly
Went there with my work mates for a post meeting lunch. The menu is pretty predictable, and there is nothing to distinguish it from anywhere else, be it Spaghetti house or Pizza Express or any of the other chains. It ought to be foolproof.
I ordered a quattro stagione pizza at £8.95. In retrospect, I should have realised when it was delivered that things might not be as expected.

I only got as far as the first mouthful. This somewhat insipid-looking specimen, not enhanced by photoshop,turned out to undercooked to the point where the dough was doughy, and was cold at the bottom. No crispy crust etc etc, It was almost inedible, and was returned. Now this place must do thousands of Pizzas each year. It is their bread and butter, and to serve one up like this bordered, in my opinion, on negligence. It achieved a 1 on the CHOF scale, barely making out of stone cold.

It was replaced without argument (they probably knew there was a problem with their oven) and no charge was made for either.The replacement was fine, but this sort of occurrence simply should not happen.

Euston Station - Millie's Cookies

24th September.

If you ever have to use Euston Station, may I commend Millie's Cookies. I had to go to Manchester again on the Virgin Train, and went economy class this time. Remembering the somewhat poor quality of Richard's catering on the last trip, I decided to top up with coffee and a bun before boarding the train. Random choice here for me, and I have never used them before. It looks as if it might be American franchise, but apparently it is not. I have to say that the chocolate muffin and coffee I took away from there for the excellent price of £2.99 exceeded my expectations. I will definitely be using them again if in the same place before a train. Did not try the cookies. They have many offers, including a year's supply. However the offer is not as good as it sounds as you only get a box of 12 every month. Hardly enough for a year.

Kilworth House Hotel

Lovely rooms, well appointed and good attention to detail. Food uninspiring, and largely not very hot (CHOF score of 4).
In the middle of nowhere.Good for business meetings, but only of interest for a very secluded stay. Easy access from M1

The Regents Street Food district.

My employer has rented office space just off Regents Street, and we always seem to eat out when we go there as there is no catering possibilities.
Today it was the turn of Piccolino http://www.piccolinorestaurants.co.uk/ , part of a chain of restaurants serving Italian food. For this date it was remarkably warm in London, and warm enough to eat outside (not a good idea in this country most of the time). As there is only pedestrian footfall, there is no issue of fumes or traffic noise except that off Regent's Street.
This was supposed to be a quickish lunch, and so it was main courses only. I somewhat ambitiously chose fegato, as it is something I like, and quite often have it at Angelo's (see entry).
This is what I got:

That with a side of spinach looks and sounds pretty good. But appearances can be deceptive, and not only was it not hot (scored a 2 on the CHOF scale), but it turn out that most of it was inedibly raw. I know that the current fashion is not to overcook offal, and my wife says 'as cooked as the chef will permit' , but the majority of  this was frankly raw. No amount of pretentious posing would convince me that it was how it was supposed to be. I sent it back, and a small portion of hot thinly sliced liver came to replace it.

I can only assume from the speed with which the restaurant manager replaced it and  offered us free coffees for a group of six in recompense that he knew there was a real problem. So the question remains 'how raw can cooked liver be before it is inedible'.

I would also rethink eating al fresco in September in London, as things cool a bit too quickly. Suffice it to say that my companions had no problem, but did not view my pickiness as unfair.

Dorchester Grill

4th September
A birthday treat. A top table booking at the Dorchester Grill. I had tried to go her earlier this year, but had an accident when someone jumped a red light crossing Mile End Road. The menu is short, and the extras are expensive. The hotel is full of American travelers and visitors from the middle east (see later). The grill is decorated in what I can only describe as an excess of Caledonian. There are tartan decorated seats, and imaginary or caricatures of over life size clansmen and women on the walls. If you do not have a love of Scotland, it can be a little trying, and for my part, I was unhappy the day Hadrian's Wall fell.
To begin with there are five different kinds of bread with three different kinds of butter: caramelized, ordinary cows' milk and blackened with Charcoal. You can't actually taste the burntness of the charcoal, but the breads have lots of flavor

There is an amuse bouche for absolute beginning and a glass of champagneFor starter, I have sour (consomme rather) with cep mushrooms:

The portions are not big, and the fact that the consomme comes as a liquid in a steel boat that is ostentatiously poured means that it can never be hot.
The main course option is belly of pork with strange trimmings. I we had not ordered sides of chips (only 9 had crafted wedges) and cauliflower au gratin, one might have felt under supplied..

Wine is too expensive to contemplate and Ruth buys a couple of glasses of nothing special at £9 for a 125ml glass.
Deserts are excellent, but the picture I took of mine is blurred. but the petit fours are very photogenic

It was a good night, and they gave us a little birthday cake to go home with. It was very expensive, but our kids paid. The food was good, but small portions and very rich. I think I would think of other places to go first rather than do a return visit.
On the way out, I spotted an interesting car. A Bugatti with Saudi plates. Anyone know who this is?

Iberica

Monday 28th August.
As part of an end of project get together our hosts arranged a table at Iberica in Great Portland Street.
Great Portland street was part of the Rag Trade district when I was a student and had some fairly boring frontages and a few book shops. Now it is alive with restaurants and this one was new to me but I have not been to GPS for many years.
See http://www.ibericalondon.co.uk/ibericalondon/iberica_marylebone.html

The appearance is fake Spain, and owes more to the imagination than reality. The menu also bears little relationship to the tapas that I have eaten when in Spain (admittedly mainly in Madrid and the south but not always at tourist venues) nor in tapas establishments in the UK.Here is what it looked like

A little on the pretentious side, and I have mainly experienced tapas as the everyday dish of the everyday restaurant bar, and this was a cut above. I would say nothing to criticize how it tasted and it was as hot as tapas might be expected to be. None of the typical things like pulpo or calamaris or those funny little meat balls. So it was ok, and smart, and tasted fine, but it was not Spain. Would I recommend it - yes, but I think you need a fat wallet.(check out the menu on the web site). I will not be going there under my own steam.

Viking River Cruises

19th to 26th August
For the second time in a year, we have been on a Viking river cruise, on this occasion travelling down and up the rivers Rhone and Saone (France).

The boat has a german flag, is an American company and the chef is Austrian. Last time the food was great and this time is no disappointment. There were so many good meals, that the simplest thing to do is show some pictures and the occasional caption.

The last one above is sushi filled with foie gras. Works better than you would think

One thing they did well was buying local cheeses each day, and a cheese course was available each night, and also a good choice at breakfast

I seem to remember that the last one is a vodka tasting. All wine, beer and soft drink were included, and there were so many other drinks proferred that I never needed to buy one from the bar.

A lunchtime 'tast of Provence' provides the above.

We purchased an optional trip to Chateauneuf du Pape, and here are some of the grapes.
Hundreds more images. I am a big fan of the Viking river cruise, and am already contemplating the next one. Not every one is, and those seeking the facilities of a big cruise liner will be disappointed. Similarly not everyone enjoyed the food as much as us, and on one occasion an lady from the US was heard to say that she thought she could teach the chef how to cook.