Welcome to Ask Mario's September 06 Newsletter
The tan’s fading, the nights are drawing in – and I found myself thinking of Heston Blumenthal’s oxtail and kidney pudding the other day. And judging by the upsurge of email requests for restaurant recommendations, I’m not the only one looking to food to console myself as summer starts to fade away. It’s a good thing then that September is such a foodie month – the crop of 2007 restaurant guides start appearing (you may even get the chance to edit one as the current editor of the Good Food Guide is handing in his knife and fork – see below), the great food festivals such as York and Ludlow are on, and there’s a few high profile restaurant openings to look forward to. This month it’s the much anticipated L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. When I’m not dreaming of oxtail and kidney pudding I dream of Joël Robuchon’s potato purée – so look out for me there, I’ll be the one ordering a little pot of the stuff with every dish.
Elizabeth Carter, Editor
The Essentials of Good Service by Annie Schwab
Annie Schwab gives her very informed opinion on what is and isn’t good service….
Read Annie Schwab's opinion about service
The York Festival of Food
and Drink by Jill Turton The York Festival of Food and Drink is quietly establishing itself as the most significant food festival in the country. It runs from 22nd September to 1st October in historic locations across the city. This year it will feature celebrity chefs Nick Nairn, Paul Rankin and Rosemary Shrager. There will be dinners, lunches and demonstrations from top chefs: Robert Thompson of Winteringham Fields, Frances Atkins of the Yorke Arms at Ramsgill and Andrew Pern of the Star at Harome. With markets, tastings and much more it promises to be a ten day celebration of all that’s best in Yorkshire Food and Drink.
Read Jill Turton's feature about The York festival of Food and Drink
Stratford goes gastro (London)
A winning team that includes the talented Kerwin Browne, as head chef, have opened in this way-off-the-beaten-track location. The very traditional 19th century Grade II listed pub features low ceilings and open fires, but more importantly, it has a menu of British produce that’s fashioned into simple wholesome dishes like goats’ cheese fritter with avocado mousse and plum tomatoes and roast chicken oysters on toast with girolles and port to start, followed by poached hake with cockles, bacon and mashed potato, devilled kidneys with fresh peas, and hay-roasted English lop rabbit, for two, with turnip gratin. Dessert could be elderflower sorbet with lavender honey shortbread, English strawberries with clotted cream and black pepper ice cream. About £50 for 2.
King Eddie’s, King Edward VII, 47 Broadway, Stratford, E15, tel: 020 8534 2313 www.kingeddie.co.uk
Joël Robuchon opens in London (London)
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon opens in London this month, the third in a global roll out that includes Paris and Tokyo. But will it work here? There are worrying signs that the successful Atelier formula has been changed to accommodate London’s celeb culture and possibly overlarge site. Unlike Paris and Tokyo there will be some restaurant-style seating alongside the trademark high counters and (admittedly rather uncomfortable) bar stools, with La Cuisine de Joël Robuchon, a restaurant-style dining room arranged around an open-to-view kitchen on the first floor. Ask Mario had lunch at the Paris original recently and found an intimate and personal place with welcoming staff and a multigenerational crowd of whom many were regulars. Peerless pigeon with cabbage and foie gras was only one element of a menu that ran to lobster carpaccio with aromatic herbs, confit leg of lamb with cumin and spiced couscous, and quail with caramelized foie gras and truffled pomme purée. We loved the atmosphere, the clientele, the food and, despite the unforgiving stools, didn’t want to leave. Will we feel the same about the London branch – watch this space.
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, 13 West Street, WC2, tel: 020 7010 8600
Three new happenings at Borough Market (London)
Black and Blue have opened their 5th steakhouse featuring meat that’s fully traceable and selected from traditionally reared and grass-fed beef dry-aged for 28 days. There’s also chicken, fish and lamb dishes, and burgers with toppings from cheese to foie gras. About £85 for 2.
Black and Blue, 1-2 Rochester Walk, SE1, tel: 020 7357 9922
www.blackandblueb.iz
Diners can now choose to eat in the original fish! restaurant opposite the cathedral, or opt to eat on the go, from nearby fish!kitchen. The stripped down menu focuses simply on doing one thing: beer battered fish and chips, from a choice of plaice, cod, haddock, and halibut (all from sustainable sources), which can be accompanied by a tub of mushy peas.
fish!kitchen, Cathedral Street, Borough Market, SE1, tel: 020 7407 3801
Roast,
the spectacular traditional British restaurant has launched Roast to go,
a luxury sandwich stall right next to the restaurant entrance. Bacon and
sausages from Sillfield Farm, pastrami made from Galloway Beef from Farmer
Sharp, Loch Etive smoked trout, and bread baked in Borough Market by Flour
Power go to make some of the best butties in town. Maple cured bacon butty
£2.95, Hot salt beef sandwich from £4.50Roast to go, Stoney Street, SE1 www.roastrestaurant.com/roasttogo
Chiswick’s new brasserie (London)
The owner of a string of high profile venues including Soho House (London/New York), Babington House (Somerset) and The Electric (Notting Hill) has moved into west London. Though, essentially, a private membership club, High Road House has an open-to-the-public brasserie with terrace where you can breakfast on grilled kippers on toast, brunch on corned beef hash and poached egg, or eat rib steak on the bone (with béarnaise and chips) from the All Day menu. Open daily from 7am (8am Sat, Sun), till midnight (Mon-Thu), 1am (Fri, Sat), and 11pm (Sun). About £70 for 2, set L from £12 (Mon-Fri).
High Road Brasserie, High Road House, 162 Chiswick High Road, W4, tel: 020 8742 7474 www.highroadhouse.co.uk
Time Out London Eating and Drinking Awards 2006
The winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held at Roast, Borough Market, SE1 on Mon 18 Sep. Our favourites among this year’s shortlisted finalists are:
Best New: Arbutus, W1
Best Family: Inn the Park, SW1
Best Cheap Eats: Imli, W1
Best Gastropub: Charles Lamb, N1
Best Patisserie: Ladurée, SW1
Best Steak Restaurant: Santa Maria del Buen Ayre, E8
Best Bar: Gilgamesh, NW1
We wish these and all the other finalists the Best of Luck.
Australia at the Tate (London)
This is a date for next month’s diary, when on 5 October Tate Modern will be hosting an evening of wine, art and food. Thirty wines highlighting the cream of Australia will be on show at an informal pre-dinner tasting and there’s also the opportunity to have a relaxed look around part of the Tate Modern collection. A glass of fizz will be served prior to moving upstairs for a 3-course dinner featuring 7 wines including Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2001, Leasingham Classic Clare Riesling 2002, Penfolds Grange 1997, and Yering Station Reserve Pinot Noir 2003. The pre-dinner tasting starts at 6.45, followed by dinner at 8pm. Single tickets £140, or tables of 10 for £1300. To book tickets or find out more contact Abigail.Turner@tate.org.uk or 020 7887 8824
Tate Modern, Sumner Street, SE1 www.tate.org.uk/modern/
Michael Caines in Canterbury (Kent)
The former County Hotel in the heart of the city has been completely transformed into a stunning modern 72-bedroom hotel and joins the two other Abode Hotels in Exeter and Glasgow. Award-winning chef Michael Caines (Gidleigh Park, Devon) oversees the kitchen, which is headed by Mark Rossi. Joel Fricoteaux (ex Le Manoir and the much-missed La Terrasse at the Sandgate Hotel, Folkestone) is Operations Manager. The menu offers multiple options including one for vegetarians. Typical of the main carte are galantine of quail with leeks and summer truffle, raviolo of Kent lobster with Savoy cabbage and lobster bisque to begin, followed by pan-fried Hythe-caught wild sea trout with braised fennel, white and green asparagus and chive butter sauce, or roast best end of Romney Marsh lamb with creamed diced vegetables and a brochette of lamb‘s saddle and kidneys. Desserts include a trio of cherries with Valrhona chocolate and raspberry ripple soufflé with vanilla ice cream. About £90 for 2, 7-course tasting menu £55. The Old Brewery Tavern, offering bar food and simpler menus, also devised by Michael Caines, opens at the end of the month.
ABode Canterbury, High Street, Canterbury, Kent, tel: 01227 766266 www.abodehotels.co.uk
Monkman’s Ilkley Monkfish (West Yorshire)
Chris Monkman has branched out from his fantastic Fleece in nearby Addingham (154 Main Street, tel: 01943 830491) and has opened a small (32 covers) café-restaurant right in the centre of town. There’s a wet fish counter at the front, and the choice is fish only to eat in the restaurant, too. The daily changing menu board could include monkfish chowder with chilli oil, Dorset crab and avocado salad or Morecambe Bay potted shrimps with Melba toast to begin. Mains could be whole grilled lemon sole with béarnaise sauce, battered Whitby haddock with chips and mushy peas or platters of fruits de mer to share (from £30). After puds like summer fruit pudding with mint crème fraiche, glazed lemon tart or homemade ices, a stroll on Ilkley moors would be no bad thing. About £65 for 2.
Monkfish, 3-5 Cunlisse Road, Ilkley, West Yorkshire LS29 9DZ, tel: 01943 817485
Last
orders for dinner at Crossmichael (Scotland)Tony Borthwick tells us he’ll be serving dinner at the famed Plumed Horse for the last time on 16th September. After some 8 years he has decided to move, along with key members of his team, to Edinburgh, and plans to open there in mid October offering much the same style of imaginative modern European food that has won him many accolades. This may be sad news for the inhabitants of Crossmichael, but thrilling stuff for anyone who lives in or plans to visit Scotland’s capital.
The Plumed Horse, 50-54 Henderson Street, Leith, Edinburgh, tel: 0131 554 5556 www.plumedhorse.co.uk
Restaurants
Against Hunger 2006Each year, the charity Action Against Hunger runs a Restaurants Against Hunger campaign during October. The campaign has been supported over the years by many celebrity chefs including Rick Stein, Giorgio Locatelli, and Aldo Zilli – as well as, more recently, by that excruciatingly awful band 'Bake That' (Ross Burden, Jean-Christophe Novelli, Paul Rankin and Aldo Zilli) who sang on X Factor, Battle of the Stars, in support of the charity. During the October campaign, participating restaurants will add £1 to diners' bills and the money raised goes directly to the charity's various projects around the world. Some 300 restaurants will be participating this year including, in London: Aubergine, SW10; Club Gascon EC1, Latium, W1; Morgan M, N7; Tom Aikens, SW3. Outside London: Bath Priory Hotel, Bath; Riverside, Bridport; Due South, Brighton; Dartmoor Inn, Lydford; French Living, Nottingham; Abbey, Penzance; Yorke Arms, Ramsgill; La Barbe, Reigate; Witchery by the Castle, Edinburgh; Y Polyn, Nantgaredig www.aahuk.org
Good luck to our longstanding friend Andrew Turvil, who is leaving the Which? Good Food Guide after 17 years the last three as editor to work on new projects. He has announced his departure before the publication of the new 2007 Guide to give the company time to recruit a new editor to take on the 2008 edition. Could that be you? CVs to recruitment@which.co.uk if you think you have what it takes.
'Lovely Stilton'the Robot Said
TSU, Japan -- The ability to discern good wine from bad, name the specific brand from a tiny sip and recommend a complementary cheese would seem to be about as human a skill as there is. In Japan, robots are doing it. Researchers at NEC System Technologies and Mie University have designed a robot that can taste -- an electromechanical sommelier able to identify dozens of different wines, cheeses and hors d'oeuvres.
"There are all kinds of robots out there doing many different things," said Hideo Shimazu, director of the NEC System Technology Research Laboratory and a joint-leader of the robot project. "But we decided to focus on wine because that seemed like a real challenge."
Last month, they unveiled the fruits of their two-year effort -- a green-and-white prototype with eyes, a head that swivels and a mouth that lights up whenever the robot talks.
The "tasting" is done elsewhere, however.
At the end of the robot's left arm is an infrared spectrometer. When objects are placed against the sensor, the robot fires off a beam of infrared light. The reflected light is then analyzed in real time to determine the object's chemical composition.
"All foods have a unique fingerprint," Shimazu said. "The robot uses that data to identify what it is inspecting right there on the spot." When it has identified a wine, the robot speaks up in a childlike voice. It names the brand and adds a comment or two on the taste, such as whether it is a buttery chardonnay or a full-bodied shiraz, and what kind of foods might go well on the side. Shimazu said the robots could be "personalized," or programmed to recognize the kinds of wines its owner prefers and recommend new varieties to fit its owner's taste. Because it is analyzing the chemical composition of the wine or food placed before it, it can also alert its owner to possible health issues, gently warning against fatty or salty products. That capability has other useful applications. Given three ripe, identical-looking apples to analyze, the robot was able without taking a bite to correctly single out one as sweet and the other two as a bit sour.
But sommeliers need not fear for their jobs just yet. Of the thousands of wines on the market, the robot can be programmed to accurately identify only a few dozen at most. It also has more trouble with the task after the bottle has been opened and the wine begins to breathe and thus transform chemically.
"Wines are notoriously similar in their spectral fingerprints," Shimazu said. "The variation this robot detects is very subtle." Some of the mistakes it makes would get a human sommelier fired -- or worse. When a reporter's hand was placed against the robot's taste sensor, it was identified as prosciutto. A cameraman was mistaken for bacon.
The 2-foot-tall robot also is expensive.
"Buying one of these would cost about as much as a new car," Shimazu said. "We'd like to bring that down to 100,000 yen ($1,000) or less for the tasting sensor if we were to put it on the market." He said there is no plan yet to actually market the robot, though the sensor could be available as early as next year.
"We are getting a lot of business offers and a lot of interest," he said. "But we see this more as a symbol of our technological ability than as a profitable product right now." Mie University engineering professor Atsushi Hashimoto, the project's other co-leader, acknowledged there is much room for improvement. But he said the robot could be used in the near future at wineries to test the taste of each bottle without actually unscrewing any corks.
"It's still like a child," he said. "But not a completely ignorant one." Industry experts note the shortcomings but agree on the robot's possibilities.
"I see the potential to analyze expensive and old wine to say whether it is authentic or not," said Philippe Bramaz of the Italian winemaker Calzaluga. "Auction houses such as Sotheby's and Christie's could use this technology to test wine without opening it."
Source: Associated Press.
Bernice Hurst visits Anthony Worrall Thompson’s latest venture (England, Oxfordshire)
The Lamb, should best be visited when the weather gets cold and wintry, when the substantial comfort food, billed as ‘world in a stew’, will be more enjoyable, than during the summer. A tasty lamb tagine with a dark, intense sauce, thickened with melting strands of meat was as flavoursome as I could have asked, but somehow not suited to a warm evening in the garden. Even the jewelled couscous, full of brightly coloured fruit and nuts, failed to turn an Oxfordshire sunset into an Arabian night. Specials such as Hungarian goulash or oxtail stew, with a mash of the day, were simply inappropriate. With a no booking policy, sitting in the confined space of the dining room during the winter may be easier said than done, but at least the warmth of the food will be welcome. And perhaps with fewer diners, the flapping staff might be better able to cope. About £40 for 2.
The Lamb Freehouse and Kitchen, Rotherfield, Satwell, Henley, Oxfordshire, tel: 01491 628482
| 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 |