Prince Blucher, Twickenham: aspiring traditional English Pub

22nd February
To Twickenham for a meeting with the MoJo master (it is true). I had to find some lunch, and there are zero coffee bars along Twickenham Green. There are pubs and a shop that sells Star Wars outfits for serious dudes.The only place I could find was the Prince Blucher.
I found this comment on another review which I reprint here
"It’s unusual to find a British pub named after a German who wasn’t also a British royal, but Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prince of Wahlstatt (1742-1819), enjoyed a fan following here for contributing to the defeat of Napoléon as the commander of the Prussian forces at Waterloo. He had a locomotive named after him as well as pub" http://desdemoor.co.uk/prince-blucher-tw2/

There is a fair selection of bar meals, concentrating on meals rather than sandwiches and bar snacks.Check out their web site www.princeblucher.co.uk . From other reviews that I would agree with they are clearly aiming at the gastropub clientele rather than the local trade, and in fact, another place I tried said curtly that there was no food served at all (almost unheard of these days).

Just needing a small bite, I opted for the soup of the day which was described as wild mushroom with leek and potato with ciabatta bread. Very gastro pub, at the gastro pub price of £4.95 which if pretty much the price that would have been paid in tourist central London.

I have mixed feelings about what came. The soup was very hot (9.5 on the CHOF) scale, but lacked a distinct flavour, being masked by potato content. It was fresh and seemed home made, and the bread was fresh, soft in the middle with a crisp outer. It filled the gap. Interesting to note that for a Friday lunchtime there were only another couple of diners, and it may be that most of the trade is evening trade or weekend trade. According to the web site, it is a traditional 'rugby' pub. Other reviews suggest it is for families and serious beer drinkers. I shan't even attempt to find out.

Marriott Lingfield Park: standard stuff but no surprises

21st February.
A corporate convention took us for an away day to Lingfield Park. It answers the question as to what race courses do when there are no races: they host conferences and other events. Apart from wanting to go somewhere fairly remote, there cannot be many more reasons to go to this hotel, as it is convenient for nothing else except the race course as far as I could work out. Being on a race course has its fascinations but it is a culture that is not part of my mind set.
I like Marriotts  You know where you are, and there are seldom any disappointments. You might not be able to tell where you are from the decor of the room, but that's ok, because the rooms have pretty much everything, and are comfortable. But what of the food? Marriott is not a brand renowned for cutting edge culinary output, but again, that is ok. The organizer told me that there would be nothing challenging: boring was what she wanted, but it turned out to be good boring.
Lunch was in one of the function rooms. I had been misled into thinking it was going to be nothing much more than sandwiches and wraps, but in the event, it was a far more sumptuous spread for the eighty or so people attending:

There was an attractive mixture of hot and cold snack sized foods, and my plate ended up like this:

So, on my plate is a small glass of prawn cocktail, a cold meat wrap, a mini cheeseburger (cold), a sausage roll, some potato wedges, tempura prawns and a pastry parcel with unknown ingredients. The trick with buffets like this is to not hang around and get in there whilst there is some chance of it still being hot, and it was, some of it scoring an 8.5 on the CHOF scale. There was plenty of choice, and the dishes were renewed when seemingly empty. The mini cheese burgers were a bit of a disappointment as they had clearly been allowed to cool down too much, and there had never been any opportunity for the cheese to melt. Otherwise it was quite imaginative, but unfortunately suffered from the uniformity of taste and colour that buffet food can do some times. Well done Marriott, as my expectations were exceeded.

The dinner, which had been subject to menu pre-selection, was based around a carvery. I had a tomato and basil soup to start:

This had all the appearances of a home made-type soup (exact provenance uncertain) but surely stood out from the output of processed soups. It was hot, tasty, piquant and scored a 9 on the CHOF scale proving that they can do it when they want to.

The carvery was good news and bad news. Sensibly people were called up by table, but with ten tables, and staff who were not the fastest, the last table were served well after the first table had cleared their plates.

There is a mixture on my plate of all kinds of things consisting of roast beef, roast turkey, cauliflower cheese, ratatouille, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, and I could also have had other vegetables, stuffing, or alternate meats. The choice was good, but I don't know what the vegetarian or fishatarians did. As you can see, there was an arrangement for heating the chafing dishes, but not surprisingly, the result was  mixture of hotness ( from a 6 to an 8), not helped by being the 7th out of 10 tables. Nevertheless, the quality was excellent, and it exceeded my expectations for hotel mass catering. 

Breakfast was the standard buffet full English.

They have made it look quite attractive, and without any prior planning on my part, I was pleased to note that scrambled egg was not over cooked and was hot enough, and the overhead heating lights kept the dishes adequately hot. I could find no fault with breakfast which was as predictable as one would expect in a Marriott.

Overall, my expectations were exceeded. I have stayed there before and the food has not been as good a quality as on this occasion. Staff were helpful and polite, and bore the corporate influx well. I will definitely being staying loyal to the Marriott brand when predictability is what it required.

foodstagramming part 2

The following caught my attention on the Love Food mailing list. If a restaurant is truly satisfied with the products it produces, and the atmosphere, then they ought to love people remembering and communicating the message. After all, any use of social media is free advertising for them, and many restaurants have a facebook page (I do not like anything on facebook) For me, the digital photo is a way of conveying the reality of what happened to me.
http://www.lovefood.com/journal/opinions/19679/should-cameras-be-banned-in-restaurants
What is more of an issue is the general change in social acceptability of using IT/phones on the tables. Personally, I would never talk on a mobile phone in a restaurant except for anthing other than an emergency: even so, I would leave the table to find a spot where no one was disturbed or knew my business.
Another thing is parents permitting children to play on hand held games at the table, but there again, plenty of family restaurants provide children's distractions.

Friendly Thai, Whetstone: a victim of its own success

Saturday 16th Feb
On the site of what used to be La Tavola restaurant (now resurrected as 36 a couple of miles away) is a relatively recent arrival to the multiple eating opportunities of Whetstone High Road (which is a surprise also). We had heard good reports from friends, and whilst we knew it might be crowded, it was a place we wanted to try.
I went in on Thursday night to book in person, so I saw that at about 10 p.m. on that night, for Saturday, there were only a couple of names in the diary. By the time we arrived on Saturday night, they were full, and remained so. You can check out the restaurant and their menu on www.friendlythai.co.uk/ . The problem with giving your restaurant that sort of name is that it gives a level of expectation that you must live up to.
The menu is fairly extensive, and from what we could tell, meals were freshly cooked. The problem is that when crowded, it seems that they cannot cope with the numbers, and we found (as has been documented in other reviews) that the service is slooooooow.
We ordered a set meal as we thought it should not challenge them too much: this is what it says

"SET MENU MENU FOR 2 @ £16.50 PER PERSON
APPERTIZERS
Chicken Satay, Veggie Spring Rolls, Prawns wrapped in Crispy Pastry,
Marinated Chicken in Pandanus Leaves, Minced Prawns on Toast
MAIN COURSE
Freshwater Prawns or Lamb or Duck with Sweet Tamarind Sauce,Green or Red Curry with Chicken,
Steamed Mixed Vegetables in Oyster Sauce or stir fried chicken in chilli, Steamed Thai Jasmine Rice"

We opted for the lamb with Tamarind, the chicken and red curry.
There was a fairly acceptable house wine at £12.95 per bottle. We had to wait a substantial time for the appetizers, but when they came they were quite impressive:

These were hot, scoring an impressive 9 on the CHOF scale, interesting, and a good quantity for the two of us.It was at this point that something struck me. Despite the assertion on the web site that authentic ingredients whenever possible, the food did not have the aroma and true taste of Thailand. I am basing this comment on a couple of past trips to Thailand, and having been stranded in Bangkok when a plane broke down in recent times when I was taken to the BUA restaurant 

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Thailand/Central_Eastern_Thailand/Bangkok-1445238/Restaurants-Bangkok-Bua_Restaurant-BR-1.html If you want a good restaurant to go to in Bangkok, I would unreservedly recommend that one. The aroma of Thailand is very special and permeates the country and the food especially. This was Thai for for English tastes, which is not exactly a criticism, but don't expect to relive your holiday.(On the other hand there were no visible cockroaches and we did not get diarrhoea which is always a risk on Bangkok).
After a long wait, our main courses came. I have a photo of empty plates, but that is not very interesting.
This is the result of our order:

Once again, the food was hot scoring a 9. Whilst spicy, the curry lacked the kick which it might have. The lamb was a little sweet (something noted by others). Each dish was well cooked, having a distinct flavour and the mix on the set menu gave a good overview of what might be possible. The a la carte menu looks far more exciting, and we look forward to another visit. It looks like Saturday is the big night, as we were offered a coupon for !5% discount on the bill if we came back on Monday through Thursday. Tempting. I get the feeling that the Saturday night rush may not have shown this place to best advantage.

For desert, although we did not need one, I had banana fritter with ice cream. For some bizarre reason, Movenpick Swiss Icecream is the franchise for deserts, and gave the dish a distinctly western flavour.

My wife had the Ramboutan (rather like a large lychee) stuffed with pineapple, which was a bit of a disappointment as it lacked the piquant flavour of both, and may possibly have come from a tin, but on the other hand, there may have been someone in the kitchen stuffing them by hand.

Overall a positive experience which needs a second try mid-week if possible. However, it lacked the authentic taste of Thailand, but where in North London can you find that?: possibly nowhere.

Post script:

Went there a few weeks later on a Sunday night. Much better- quieter and the food was even better. Still got fairly full, but not the mayhem of a Saturday. We suspect that some of the mix ups may be related to one member of staff whose English is not quite up to restaurant standard. No hesitation about recommending a return visit.

Beaumont Estate Conference Center, Windsor. Jesuit Conversion

What do you do with a Jesuit School in Windsor, that seems to be no longer needed: you turn it into a hotel and conference center. Quite an interesting article on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaumont_College . I was only a day delegate, but the accommodation went on for miles, and I think that anyone thinking from the pictures on the web site that they were staying in a historic building may have been a bit disappointed if they were put in one of the distant accommodation blocks.
But what of the food. I was preparing myself for something indifferent, based on a day delegate rate advertised at £29/person, which seems to be below average for the area, but I should not have worried.The fact that coffee at break came out of machines lulled me into a sense of anxiety.
We were directed to a fairly large conference refectory, where a substantial buffet was offered. There was a choice of hot and cold, including vegetarian and fish dishes.

The choice today was tandoori chicken and trimmings, sardines, baked potato, squash with goats cheese or cold meats salad.

I opted for the chicken. 

As a generalization, I am not a great fan of buffet foods, and you know they have been hanging around for some time, and no-one but no-one had figured out that it is a good idea to keep them hot. This was better than average, scoring a 7.2 on the CHOF scale, but the chicken was like a curate's egg equivalent: hot in parts.To call it tandoori chicken was culinary imagination, as it had never been in a tandoori oven, and its acquaintance with tandoori spices had been transient and brief, but they tried: buffet catering for this sort of thing is largely a lowest common denominator affair intended to challenge no-one. Nevertheless, as these things go, it was not to bad at all, but that was as far as it goes.

They had a limited but imaginative cheese board

Not a slice of cheddar in sight, but a mixture of brie, smoked and Danish blue with fruit accompaniment. Choice of bread or biscuits. I thought this was a brave try, as the desert section just had the usual cheese cake.

A functional conference centre with catering, but not memorable.. 

Joe Allens, Exeter Street WC : Burgers for the luvvies but are they worth the wait

After a meeting at Charing Cross, my two companions suggested 'Lets go to Joe Allens'. I have to say that I was unaware of this Covent Garden legend, but I am always up for something new.

They called it a brasserie, but it is a cross between American New York Diner and Cafe Rouge with theatrical decoration, and with a secluded atmosphere that made taking pictures difficult. I was assured that if I came here often enough, I would rub shoulders with the acting fraternity, but I judge eating establishments by the quality and quantity and hotness of what they serve, not their clientele. Again, for a Tuesday afternoon in February, it was full, and we could not get in the main dining room, and ended up (regrettably) near the door. This appears to be a marmite place, and if you check out Tripadvisor, whilst most of the reviews are positive, some say it has run its course.
I did not want a complex lunch, and both I and one of my companions opted for the cheeseburger, which came from the invisible secret burger menu. After about 45 minutes of waiting, not a lot of was happening. The receptionist and waiter mistook my curiosity for the theatrical posters for impatience, and started fussing around asking us if they could bring us a drink and something to nibble on. Even after this had been produced, we were told that we would still have to wait, but the magic had been lost. One of us thought that there appeared to be an excess of staff hanging around outside the kitchen, and whilst I cannot confirm this, it seems that rather than be honest with us, they made their problem our problem.
I had ordered the cheesburger and this is what came:

A basic un-messed with beef burger. Their website http://www.joeallen.co.uk/ attests to the contents being of superior quality, and they would not cook it rawer than medium, which is probably for the best. Once again, it is not on a par with the U.S. products, but I would put it up with the better burgers I have had recently. The quality and taste of the product was very good, but not good enough to warrant their prices. I can only assume I am paying for the possibility of thinking I saw mayo running down Derek Jacobi's chin 8 tables away (which of course I did not,being near the door). I would also give it a 8.5 on the CHOF scale, and it was plenty hot enough. They suggested that it might be the best burger in the country. Well, it is up there, but not a clear winner yet. I don't think it was worth the £10.50 charged with another £3.50 for a small portion of fries. I don't think I am motivated to go running back there again. On that basis, I felt justified in telling them to remove the 12.5% service charge, as no amount of olives and caesar salad (too much anchovy) could repair the angst of waiting, and the damage was done. It was just as well it was not a pre-theatre meal as I would only have made it for the interval.

Strada, Heddon Street, W1: signs that the world economy is recovering.

I have got quite used to places being quiet at lunchtime, so a quick trip to Strada showed that either I had picked the most popular lunchtime venue, or maybe central London is recession-proof.
My colleague, who had taken me for lunch in Rouen, deserved a quick lunch before catching his train back to Paris. We only had a short time, so knowing that some of the lunch places in Heddon Street assume that nothing gets done in the afternoon, I opted for Strada. This is not somewhere I recollect going before. Essentially a formula Italian restaurant with all the usual stuff, but looking a bit upmarket, it attracts a big following. Had I known I was going there, I could have printed off a BOGOF coupon, but clearly this branch did not need them, unless the clientele were very discrete with their pages of A4.
A friendly greeter initially tried to put us next to the door, but we demurred for a more internal seat. By the time we left just after 1.30 (well within the time alloted to them), there was not a seat to be had. It is an attractive venue, easy on the eye, with a smart clientele at lunchtime http://www.strada.co.uk/italian-restaurant/heddon-street
I chose the linguine pescatore.(Linguine tossed with sautéed king prawns, squid, mussels and clams in a tomato, white wine, chilli and garlic sauce, but I asked for the mussels to be removed, because I do not care for them - this was no problem)

This was an attractive mix, enhanced by parmesan and some chilli olive oil which was on the table. No shortage of crustaceans. It was hot enough scoring 7.9 on the CHOF scale.If I had taken the picture more quickly, it might have been an 8.

There is no polite way that I have found to effectively eat prawns in their shells, so fingers are needed at some point. The clams were a little dissapointing, being either empty or very small inside. I should have known better. I would definitely recommend this choice as it was well cooked and very tasty. My colleague had the beef, done as rare as a Frechman would want. He thought it could have been better (and may be he should have know better). This is middle of the road stuff, like Carluccios, but better than Bella Italia. (I think I may have to rank them in good time). Staff were polite and fairly helpful, but I was struggling a bit here without a spoon. I finished with a cappuccino, which I know is not what an Italian would do. It is only the 8th of February but:

It was a small, somewhat powdery tasting brew which left a distinct feeling of lack of satisfaction. I was not fooled by the artistry, which may have been well meant, but I would have preferred them to put their effort into a good cup of hot coffee.