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Friday, July 24, 2009

fed up with the vagaries of monte carlo models of various guises, i am taking the cromer air for a week. with luck i shall start the pickwick papers and have some delicious food and update you on my return.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

today, some home cooking. delicious and artfully plated poussin made by e a week or so ago, and then duck with cherries and crouton made by me last night.




 








Sunday, July 12, 2009

i have been in the office all weekend running a model and i was as sick as hell and i was not going to take it any more. so i went to tayyabs for tikka (mutton, chicken) with nan, excellent dry meat and toothsome bhindi. to be honest this may not have been my wisest move given e and i had just under 2 kilos of ginger pig steak for dinner last night, but no matter - i am happy.

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

today a relatively rare mid week post to discuss restaurant and though this one is operating some way below the sportsman, a good resto none the less. on monday night, having finished work uncharacteristically early, i met e at 7 and we went for some tasty fg with a glass of toro at fernandez and wells by way of preprandial. then on to the giaconda dining rooms which you may recall from pretty much every major paper's resto review section circa october 2008. i shall certainly be returning, as the lamb rack with gnocci was not only delicious, but stopped me from slipping into utter drunkeness as i continued my current project of pickling myself with burgundy. the perils of finishing work early indeed.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

have had a lovely day today in west london - e and i walked from putney to wimbledon and back in the sun and i caught a bit of colour. i made some tandoori chicken on the barbecue which was rather tasty (if a little under seasoned) with it's yogurt, cucumber and onion salad. i have read almost all of the ft weekend.

Friday, July 03, 2009

e and i spent today beside the sea, mostly having lunch at the sportsman. this was by some distance the best restaurant meal i have had in 2009 (and perhaps the best since ledoyen), i would recommend going as soon as you can as they seem to have few covers and a full book. we had a few nibbles (oysters 2 ways, herring, pork scratchings) before the fireworks. salmagundi was kitchen gestalt: vegetables grown round the back of the restaurant, squash puree, foraged flowers and a poached egg. then a crab risotto, and some home made ham (both great) before turbot with salt pork, asparagus and a miraculous vin jaune sauce. the last savoury dish was pork belly, pork tenderloin served rare, achingly fresh broad beans and a slice of yellow beetroot which i will probably remember forever. pudding was nice, mostly fruit as one might hope at this time of year, but nothing was a patch on the beet. the menu is a steal, and the staff are friendly. i will be going back soon.