Vinoteca

Vinoteca is amongst the plethora of faithful copies of modern French Wine Bars that serve an eclectic range by the glass and a thoughtful one by the bottle along with well cooked bistro food. Amongst them you'll find 28-50 (an offshoot of Texture) and Terroirs (which has since spawned Brawn). This establishment though was the first of it kind, opening in 2005 and offering a selection that veers closer to the new World than either of it's competitors. Terroirs specialises in "natural" wines supplied by Cave du Preneees and so their best selections are francophile whilst the attraction of 28-50 is the list of more than fairly priced mature wines by the bottle. All offer similarly excellent simple food. Vinoteca also boasts two establishments, one in Farringdon and a second in Marble Arch.

Add to this both the Nicolas Canary Wharf Shop and the wine departments of Fortnum and Masons, Selfridges and Waitrose Canary Wharf who have all installed a wine bar in which to crack open a bottle of recently purchased wine and we have on our hands, a veritable wine bar scene.

Trebles all round I say!

Michelin Meandering

January is that time of the year when Chefs across the finer restaurants in the country hold their collective breaths in the hope that their hard work and wallet is rewarded by the gift of a Michelin Star. Yes, the stars were announced today and whilst they maintained some level of tension by managing not to accidentally leak the details as happened last year, the result was ultimately lacking any heavyweight changes. Whilst pundits had highlighted Marcus Wareing and Le Gavroche for a possible third and both Anima and Koffman for a single star, there were no new three star establishments. New one star additions included Kitchen W8, Petersham Nurseries Café, Viajante, Galvin La Chapelle, Petrus, Seven Park Place and Gauthier in London. Hélène Darroze at The Connaught and Restaurant Nathan Outlaw both received a second star.

So perhaps we will have more to look forward in 2012 which, who knows, may include Heston Blumenthal’s new Bistro (Now only days away from opening) and Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social amongst them.

And if you are in search of a silver lining for this culinary deflated souffle of an award event, with so few changes, you won’t need to replace your 2010 editions.

A full List of starred establishments is below.

ENGLAND

The Samling
Michael Wignall at The Latymer (at Pennyhill Park Hotel)
Fischer’s at Baslow Hall
The Park (at Lucknam Park Hotel)
The Terrace (at Montagu Arms Hotel)
The Pipe and Glass Inn
West House
Fraiche
Purnell’s
Simpsons
Turners
Northcote
Morston Hall
Curlew
Burlington (at Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel)
Lords of the Manor
Royal Oak
Casamia
Manor House H. and Golf Club
Simon Radley at The Chester Grosvenor
Pony & Trap
Apicius
Ockenden Manor
Sienna
36 on the Quay
Read’s
L’Enclume
The Neptune
Box Tree
Atlantic
Bohemia (at The Club Hotel and Spa)
The Stagg Inn
La Bécasse
Mr Underhill’s at Dinham Weir
Harrow at Little Bedwyn
Adam Simmonds at Danesfield House
The Hand and Flowers
The Nut Tree
Restaurant Sat Bains
Hambleton Hall
Yorke Arms
JSW
L’Ortolan
Drakes
Mallory Court
Old Vicarage
The Masons Arms
The Olive Branch and Beech House
Room in the Elephant
Sharrow Bay Country House
Auberge du Lac
The Sportsman
Hambrough
5 North St
The Black Rat
Holbeck Ghyll
Paris House

SCOTLAND

Braidwoods
Number One (at Balmoral Hotel)
21212
Kitchin
Martin Wishart
Plumed Horse
Sangster’s
Inverlochy Castle
Champany Inn
Albannach
Boath House
Peat Inn
Knockinaam Lodge
Kinloch Lodge
The Walnut Tree
Tyddyn Llan
Ynyshir Hall
Crown at Whitebrook
House (at Cliff House Hotel)
Chapter One
L’Ecrivain
Thornton’s (at The Fitzwilliam Hotel)
Bon Appétit

LONDON
Chapter One
Hakkasan
Club Gascon
Rhodes Twenty Four
Harwood Arms
River Café
La Trompette
St John
Rasoi
Tom Aikens
Kitchen W8
The Glasshouse
Bingham Restaurant (at Bingham Hotel)
Petersham Nurseries Café
Viajante
Galvin La Chapelle
Chez Bruce
Amaya
Apsleys (at Lanesborough Hotel)
Pétrus
Zafferano
Benares
Galvin at Windows (at London Hilton Hotel)
Greenhouse
Kai
Maze
Murano
Nobu (at The Metropolitan Hotel)
Nobu Berkeley St
Semplice
Sketch (The Lecture Room & Library)
Tamarind
Umu
Wild Honey
L’Autre Pied
Locanda Locatelli
Rhodes W1(Restaurant)
Texture
Seven Park Place (at St James's Hotel and Club)
Arbutus
Gauthier-Soho
Yauatcha
Quilon

2 STAR

Midsummer House
Gidleigh Park
Le Champignon Sauvage
Whatley Manor
Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons
Restaurant Nathan Outlaw

SCOTLAND
Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Patrick Guilbaud

LONDON
Pied à Terre
The Ledbury
Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley
Hélène Darroze at The Connaught
Le Gavroche
Hibiscus
Square
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

3 STAR

ENGLAND
Fat Duck
Waterside Inn

LONDON
Gordon Ramsay
Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester

Hugh's Fish Fight

I finally caught up on the weeks viewing and watched Hughs fish fight today. I thought I was up to speed on discard policy, CFP and the tangle of competing interests that result in what feels like an inevitable failure of our global attempts to manage fish stocks. Seeing some of the impact on television troubled me deeply though.

It is clear that the current policy needs to change and that the public is the best tool to do it. Here's my promise. My next three fish meals will not be cod, haddock or plaice and I will use the most effective short term vote I have, my spending power and food choices, to make a contribution. In the meantime I've added a widget for the duration of the campaign. I know not many people read this blog, but for those that do, I urge you to check it out for yourself and decide what you can do to help.

Cornershop Cake

OK. Picture this. The weather is dreadful. There is snow and we are not talking about the sort of downfall that makes you dream of lightly dusted picture perfect mince pies. This is the triple iced grotty stuff, bane of the commuter and the sort of barrier to travel that means that anyone who would even consider going further than the corner shop is clearly deranged.

The day is long, the sky overcast and you need cake to while away the hours before dinner. Cue a recipe for the lazy foodie.



Ingredients
Tin of peaches (or pears, or any tinned fruit knocking around in the cupboard)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
125gr unsalted butter
125gr caster sugar
2 large eggs
125gr sieved self-raising flour

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Grease and lightly flour your ovenproof dish.
Dump the fruit into the bowl and space it out evenly.
Beat together the butter, caster sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. Add the flour and mix thoroughly. If the mixture is a little dry, add some of the fruit juice from the tin and then spread over the fruit. Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve with any of hot custard, ice-cream or creme fraiche. Whatever you eat it with make sure a large steaming mug of tea is involved.

The above takes all of ten minutes if you have a hand mixer so this leaves you time to flick through your latest copy of Olive, watch Nigel Slater on Iplayer or update your food blog.

With apologies for the poorly lit cake piccies and thanks for the recipe inspiration - adapted from Jamie Olivers "Sheila's Pud".

Murray's

Every so often you watch the Soprano's or the Godfather and you wish you had an authentic Italian restaurant using lemons flown in from Amalfi, vegetables that have been chosen and handled with care and a cracking regional wine list. Well, I have yet to find one, since I live in the fair county of Essex, but if you live near to Weston Super Mare then this restaurant must be visited.

Murray's is principally a delicatessen featuring outstanding Italian produce and the restaurant a few shops down is supplied by them. The Murray family took over this much loved restaurant, then called Olives, seven years ago and renamed it. It is here I was first introduced to wine from Cantine Giacomo Ascheri of Bra, the sort of outstanding local producer whose products they specialise in stocking. The family influence is also about to get interesting as they have recently bought Bordeaux Quay in Bristol so watch out for some interesting changes.

The service is polite in a relaxed local restaurant kind of way, the menu simple, but the output heartwarming and consistent. Canneloni comprised small gently spiced tomato rich mince sausages wrapped in light pasta sheets and a drizzle of melted mozzarella. The pear tart was authentically served with a small glass of Moscato D'Asti, the apple tart pastry was crisp and topped with delightfully crunchy Amaretto biscuits.

The foodies obvious choice for an Italian in the area may be the starred Casamia in Westbury-on-Trym but we were left so satisfied the alternative may have to wait. After all, I haven't made it through to the end of the wine list yet.

Gaucho Grill

I confess the steak bug has not so much bitten as tied a big serviette round its neck and sat down at the dinner table. Gaucho is the daddy of all London steak restaurants and is so succesful it is now a chain owned by a private equity company. The look has not changed. Cow hide covers the walls, the Argentine Parillada feel is maintained by its almost exclusive focus on its main dish and the wine list is primarily Argentinian, a little expensive but helpfully colour coded for those who find the task of choosing stressful rather than a pleasure.

Lighting is still an issue bought on by the heavy wood and shuttered windows. On my first visit some years ago I nearly fell down the stairs it was so dark and every visit since has reminded me why every man can find at least one use for the keyring torch he received last christmas.

Steaks are laid out on a board and introduced at the table. Service is good and the atmosphere is almost exclusively male, enthusiastic and focused on the ubiquitous steak though there is a fair selection of menu choice that differs from the star of the show.

The star in question is excellent. Juicy, a little charred, well tenderised and enthusiastically seasoned before hitting the grill. This is not fine dining, it is civilised carniverosity.

Maze Grill

The cold weather has left me with a primal carnivorous streak which just won't go away so steak has featured large in my diet of late. Medium Rare with chips and a glass of wine, it may be one of the best meals of all time. Now despite what you'd imagine, you can go wrong with steak and chips and a little extra money well spent goes a long way. Take Maze Grill for example. Jason Atherton may have gone the way of most Gordon's protege's, sprinting out of the door whilst the Ramsey empire collapses behind them like an ancient temple from an Indiana Jones sequel but I don't think the lack of a name chef will cause too much pain here.

The meat is displayed on a board that is bought to the table and discussed and no-one is upset if you stick to the set, a fine 3 course set lunch for £21 that usually includes onglet and chips with a solid starter (recently a rather luscious cassoulet) and a decent dessert.

If however you go the whole hog (or cow in this case), a rather larger portion can be yours for the going rate you will pay at any of the restaurants contemporaries.

The formula still works well, a simple grill menu in a slightly habitatish beige room in Mayfair. Service is polite, the wine list and markup is everything you would expect and the lack of trendiness makes for an ideal regular haunt rather than a grand event. The cooking is both good and consistent with a buzzy atmosphere. I last visited in July and looking back I see I was just as enthusiastic. Whilst Goodmans and Hawksmoor with their Josper grills may have stealed something of a march on them, this NY steakhouse inspired eaterie keeps me coming back time and time again. To paraphrase 'ol blue eyes, "A restaurant so good I blogged it twice".