Welcome to Ask Mario's March 06 Newsletter
It turns out there are as many people as passionate about food and drink as we'd hoped. When Marina O'Loughlin plugged Ask Mario's restaurant information service in London's Metro last month, we were flooded with requests for places to eat, not just in London, but all over the country. And the feedback has been tremendous - everyone loves what we are doing. So whether you're tucking into the best pub grub, or trying to lip-read the French wait staff at a Michelin-starred restaurant, you're not alone. Now that Britain is being seen as one of the best places to eat out in the world, you shouldn't want for a decent meal anywhere in the UK. Just Ask Mario where to go.
Elizabeth Carter, Editor
The Story of Wensleydale Cheese
A curd strainer dug up at the Roman fort above Bainbridge in the Yorkshire Dales is the earliest evidence of cheese making in Wensleydale and by extension the starting point of all Yorkshire cheese. Jill Turton digs further.
Read The Story of Wensleydale Cheese
The top 100 UK restaurant wine lists
Imagine this situation. You are hosting a lunch or dinner at a well-known restaurant in the area and you are confronted with the wine list. You want to get on with enjoying your time, be it with family, friends or business colleagues, and you find that you may have to plough through a hundred, two hundred, three hundred or even more wines (sometimes many more)... Neville Blech's new book provides a valuable insight.
Read more from 'The Top 100 UK restaurant wine lists'
Read Neville Blech's evaluation of the Tate Restaurant's fabulous wine list, which came 2nd overall in his Top 100
Shoreditch's Canteen is a big hit (London)
This Spitalfields Market newcomer has had an ecstatically favourable press, and having gone there for dinner very recently, we just have to add to the chorus. This is our current London hot spot, if you fancy uncomplicated comfort food, prepared from well-sourced ingredients. On the down side, it's a bit of a glass box looking out (in the evening at least) on the deserted covered market and unless you book for a booth, tables are communal trestles with wooden benches, which can cause bum ache. But as a place where you can enjoy proper home-style British cooking like Cumberland sausage and roast onion sandwich, gammon with potatoes and parsley sauce, chicken ham and mushroom pie, or even macaroni cheese, it's second to none. Pre-book 48 hours in advance and share something like rolled rib of beef with Yorkshire pudding and horseradish sauce (min serving 6). Then, of course, there are the puds: gingerbread with quinces, vanilla rice pudding and a perfect apple crumble with creamy custard. Note that they serve an all day breakfast, but it's only from 11am during the week, as we discovered, but 9am Sat & Sun. Nearby St John Bread and Wine on Commercial St. do a terrific Old Spot bacon sandwich from 9am, served with homemade tomato ketchup.
Canteen, Unit 2, Crispin Place, E1, tel: 0845 686 1122 www.canteen.co.uk
Stand up for the National Dining Rooms (London)
Opened only a few days, so still early days, and with a name that sounds like something the Civil Service might set up, we hope and expect this to be an improvement on the rather lacklustre Crivelli's Garden with its impossibly narrow tables. This is a quintessentially British restaurant and bakery, the brainchild of Oliver Peyton, who also has Inn the Park in nearby St James's Park. Open throughout the day from breakfast, the menu will echo the current trend of using produce sourced from specialist suppliers working to artisan methods. Among the dishes offered are: oxtail soup with bone marrow dumplings, crisp pork belly with pease pudding and mead, and steamed chocolate pudding with custard. Afternoon tea from 3pm £12. Childrens' menu. About £70 for 2.
The National Dining Rooms, Sainsbury Wing, The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, WC2,
tel: 020 7747 2525
Greenhouse has a change of chefs (London)
The charming, quietly-spoken and very talented Bjorn van der Horst has left the restaurant that established Gary Rhodes and launched Paul Merrett. In his place sees the return of Antonin Bonnet who had taken over briefly when Merrett left and who has been for the past two years executive chef at Morton's restaurant and private club (both establishments are owned by Marlon Abela). We wonder if Bonnet's appointment is yet another stop gap measure.
The Greenhouse, 27a Hays Mews, W1, tel: 020 7499 3331 www.greenhouserestaurant.co.uk
Wheeler's of St James's shuts (London)
Wheeler's of St James's has recently closed its doors. The historic fish restaurant was rescued from obscurity by Marco Pierre White, but even his magic touch doesn't appear to have worked this time. Let's hope it's not really the end for this great London address.
Olympia's Italian show (London)
From 17-19 March the Italian Festival at Olympia will offer consumers, what the organisers term, ‘the ultimate Italian experience in the UK'. This follows the success of the 2005 show, and among the events this year will be celebrity chefs Giorgio Locatelli, Aldo Zilli, and Gennaro Contaldo (Jamie O's mentor) whipping up a selection of mouthwatering dishes. Tickets £12 pre-booked, £15 on the door.
La Dolce Vita, Grand hall, Olympia
www.ladolcevitaevent.co.uk
A first for Birmingham
The city now has its first Malaysian restaurant, though it also offers Thai and Chinese cooking. To this end the owners, and one also co-owns London's excellent Mango Tree, have employed chefs from top establishments including leading hotels in Malaya, Hakkasan in London, and Thai Edge in this city. The sophisticated atmosphere and modern up-beat style of the décor matches what for Birmingham is an interesting new venture. The long, mainly Malaysian menu mixes the different styles of cooking which, we think, can cause confusion and might not always lead to a balanced, well-structured meal. We hope the staff will rise to the challenge and be able to advise appropriately. About £60 for 2. Set meals from £22.95
The Oriental Bar and Restaurant, 128-130 Wharfside Street, The Mailbox, Birmingham, tel: 0121 633 9988 www.theoriental.uk.com
Nottingham's Mashpea
The unusual name is that of a North American Indian Reservation that brothers David and John Barnicoat visited and remember from their childhood days. The cooking style they offer is, however, simple modern European, with a menu that ranges from a bacon sandwich for breakfast (from 7.30am) to a full lunch or dinner. Typical dishes are: three cheese and spring onion potato cakes; chicken liver parfait with rich grape chutney and toasted brioche; grilled fillet of sea bass on a sesame and ginger risotto; roast rack of lamb on minted couscous with red wine and rosemary jus; glazed lemon tart; profiteroles. About £60 for 2.
Mashpea, 13 St Peter's Gate, Nottingham, tel: 0115 947 3715
Sandgate's Kitchen Nightmare (Kent)
This week's edition of Kitchen Nightmares focused on the troubles at The Sandgate Hotel, The Esplanade, Sandgate, Folkestone. This once lovely seaside hotel's La Terrasse Restaurant rose to starry prominence under the previous owners, Sammy Gicqueau and his partner Zara Jackson. They sold up and moved to Tours, and opened a brasserie, La Choppe. The new owners appear to have been struggling as they called in Mr Ramsay to try and help. However, the programme obviously didn't succeed in its intentions as the business has now closed.
New Welsh home for ex-Savoy chef (Wales)
What has happened to the Savoy Hotel in London? Under Marcus Wareing's new regime they've transformed the Grill into a shadow of its former self - we had a truly dreadful lunch there and when Maitre Chef des Cuisines Anton Edelmann departed, they appointed Georg Fuchs as his worthy replacement, but only a short while later the hotel decided to close the beautiful River Room Restaurant, and Georg left not long after. Thankfully, Sir Rocco Forte has come to his rescue and Georg is now happily once more in charge of a top hotel's kitchens. The move has also been a revelation for him, discovering the wealth of untapped local Welsh produce which he's introducing on his menus.
St David's Hotel & Spa, Havannah Street, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, tel: 029 2045 4045 www.thestdavidshotel.com
South Wales Restaurant of the Year (Wales)
The South Wales Echo recently named this their Restaurant of the Year. The trio of owners, all in their early 20s, have prior experience in some of the UK‘s top establishments, and the choice ranges from a traditional menu that includes beef and ale pie to a carte with more unusual dishes like pork loin lasagne with baby toffee apples and sultana jus. We suggest you stay with the simpler more familiar dishes and the traditional menu. About £50 for 2.
Coast, 2-4 Dock Street, Porthcawl, Mid-Glamorgan,
tel: 01656 782025 www.coastrestaurants.co.uk
Fish and Chips 2005
The finals of the Fish and Chip Shop of the Year Competition 2005 was held recently in London, and among the winners we have to applaud Stephen Wilding of Saxon's Traditional British Fish and Chips, 8 Kingsfield Road, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, tel: 01767 318409 for his determination and dedication that even extends to mixing his own batter when many of the others bought in a ready mix. Also noteworthy was George Constantinou of Andy's Fish Bar, 53-55 Market Street, Church Gresley, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, tel: 01283 224761 for his 12-14oz gargantuan portions of fish. Rather worryingly one contestant, who we shan't name, actually cooked in hydrogenated vegetable fat anathema to us at Ask Mario!
| Subscribe. If you like the Ask Mario newsletter, why not pass this email to a friend. Unsubscribe Want to unsubscribe? Click on the link. Ask Mario. Ask Mario for restaurant, café, gastro pub (and more!) recommendations |