Shop Local

Rather than denude the supermarket shelves, and expose yourselves to the risk of COVID19 in an overcrowded supermarket, buy produce from your local shops which are plentifully stocked and are not crowded with people standing cheek by jowl.

Here is a beautiful rolled sirloin of beef that I bought from my good friend Derek Stott of D and D Family Butchers.

It was tender and succulent, and will feed us for many days.

Shop local!

You Can't Beat Home Cooked Roast Beef!

The Joy of Beef

Just cutting these beautiful sides of Aberdeen Angus beef... Amazing quality. Just needs hanging for about 4 weeks. pic.twitter.com/Xyuagf9aGr

— LEE HORSLEY FROST (@frostybutcher) July 29, 2016

Shergar Lasagne

The horse meat scandal refuses to go away, Findus have now been caught up in it with the revelation that their "beef" lasagne contains up to 100% horse meat!

Unsurprisingly they have withdrawn the product from sale, and have issued an apology.

The offending product was made by French food supplier Comigel.

Criminal activity is suspected, and whilst saying that there was no evidence the horsemeat was unsafe, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has ordered it be tested for traces of an equine drug which is harmful to humans (phenylbutazone).

All food companies have now been ordered to test their beef products.

Let's see what comes out of the woodwork!

The solution is simple, stop buying ready made meals produced in factories and use only fresh ingredients from trusted local butchers.

Cloned Beef

Cloned Beef

Despite initial denials by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) it has now been forced into a humiliating admission that meat from the offspring of a cloned bull was slaughtered, sold and eaten last year in Scotland.

Food from a cloned animal, or the offspring of a cloned animal, is illegal, according to the FSA.

The Hanover Pub (Brighton)

The Hanover Pub (Brighton)

Eva and I tried out the Hanover pub yesterday for Sunday lunch. Sadly it was rather disappointing.

The starters (leek and potato soup and chili on nachos) were very good.

However, the roast beef took 1.5 hours to arrive from the time when we placed our order at 1PM.

Additionally, the beef was somewhat tasteless and overcooked, neither was it particularly tender.

It is unlikely we will return, as there are many other pubs in the Hanover area that serve Sunday lunch.

Shepherd's Revisited

Shepherd's Revisited

My compliments to Shepherd's, which I revisited a fortnight ago with a friend.

I wrote in 2003 that the beef was meant to be carved on a trolley, but that I saw no evidence of such a trolley as my beef came ready carved.

Ironically we experienced the very same situation this time around, no sign of the trolley. However, having drawn the attention of the good people of Shepherd's to my 2003 review, I was taken into the kitchen (with good humour) to see said trolley.

It really does exist!

The beef, by the way, was first class!

Taylors and Jones

Taylors and Jones

Those of you who live in Stockholm and hanker after English sausages, pork pies and good cuts of beef should pay a visit to Taylors and Jones at Hantverkargatan 12 in Kungsholmen (www.taylors.se).

Eva and I pooped into their shop last week, where they sell sausages to restaurants, pubs and individuals. They also sell Christmas turkeys, many varieties of meat and British specialities such as sausage rolls, meat pies, haggis and black & white pudding.

The meat is of good quality, the beef is hung for 30 days, and the Lincolnshire and Cumberland sausages that we bought and barbecued were excellent (as was the sausage roll that we munched on the way home).

It is not cheap, but certainly worth a visit if you want to treat yourself.

The Fat is Back

The Fat is Back

Good news:)

Lilla Pakistan

Restaurant

Restaurant Lilla Pakistan
Sankt Eriksgatan 66
113 20 Stockholm
Sweden

Phone (46) (8) 30 56 46

Website www.lillapakistan.com

Overview

Stockholm has a paucity of good quality Indian/Pakistani restaurants, usually the food is too bland or the decor is that of a cold and uninviting cafe. After some considerable searching on the net, for anything resembling quality, Eva and I came across Restaurant Lilla Pakistan which we decided to try out a few weeks ago.

Lilla Pakistan was established in the early 1990's, and specialises in Pakistani food.

Ambience

Lilla Pakistan is a small, intimate restaurant with dark polished wooden tables, mirrors on the walls and a part open kitchen all of which contribute to a pleasant and inviting atmosphere.

Menu

The menu provided a good selection of Pakistani main courses; fish, meat, chicken and vegetables. However, there were only three appetisers to choose from.

Service

The service was professional and friendly, and advice was also on hand should we have needed it in respect of which wine to accompany our meal.

Food

I chose the Mezban Kae Teen Shorbe to start with. This consisted of 3 different types of soups seasoned with fresh herbs. The soups came in miniature bowls and were excellent. However, one was tomato soup and I would question as to what this really has to do with Pakistani cuisine.

Eva chose the Golshan Barre to start with. This is described on the menu as:

"Lentil dumplings soaked in yoghurt served with freshly chopped onions, tomatoes, chilies, herbs and chaat masala."

Quite honestly this was a complete disappointment, the dumplings were minuscule and hard to detect within the mound of chopped onions etc. Eva was not happy with her choice.

To our view, the appetiser section of the menu requires more attention in terms of choices of dishes on offer, and what actually goes into them.

Fortunately our main courses were better!

I chose the Zafrani Pasanda Fruita; which consisted of marinated tender chunks of lamb roast in a saffron gravy, garnished with fried fruits with ginger, roasted Pakistani pine kernels, with marinated cheese. This was first class, the meat was exceptional tender and flavoursome and was well complemented by the fruits and ginger.

Eva chose the Dahi Gosht for her main course. This was beef cooked in garam masala and yoghurt, a fine dish spicy and stimulating.

To accompany our meal we had Sabzi Ka Pakwan vegetables, potatoes baked with raisins,
fresh herbs and mushrooms; together with two nan breads and rice.

The meal, which included a bottle of sweet German wine, came to 1230SEK before tip.

Overall Opinion

A good quality Asian restaurant, one that Stockholm badly needs. However, as noted, we do feel that the appetisers need more work in terms of choice and content.

Sakura

Restaurant

Sakura
Luntmakargatan 59
113 58 Stockholm
Sweden

Phone (46) (8) 673 45 55

Website www.sakura.gastrogate.com

Overview

Eva and I, whilst we were in Stockholm the other week, decided to go Japanese and tried out Sakura.

Sakura is a Japanese restaurant and karaoke bar.

Ambience

Sakura occupies two floors; the ground floor contains the main restaurant and the basement contains the karaoke bar and a smaller function room for private karaoke parties.

It is laid out and decorated in a traditional Japanese manner, with cherry wood tables (each containing a small grill cut into the centre) and wooden fittings. However, chairs are provided so you don't have to sit in the more traditional Japanese manner on the floor.

The restaurant was quite busy, but given its size there was no problem with fitting two more guests in. Although both karaoke bars were in full swing, the noise from downstairs was not intrusive.

Menu

The menu offered an excellent selection of Japanese dishes including; sushi, small grill dishes, sukiyaki and a few Western style grills dishes. The menu was in English and Swedish.

Service

Our waitresses were very friendly, efficient and pleasant. They helped us understand what was what on the menu, and explained how to cook and enjoy our main dish.

Food

We started with two dishes from the small grill menu, scampi and ox tongue; together with salmon, beef and sweet shrimp sushi.

The grill was heated up and we placed our cut pieces of scampi and ox tongue on the grill to cook. These came with soy sauce and some salad. The meat and the scampi were tasty, tender and succulent; it was rather fun to cook them ourselves, and made the meal more enjoyable being able to share the dishes.

The sushi were absolutely first class, my own favourite being the shrimp.

We chose to share the sukiyaki for our main course. This consisted of thin slices of raw beef, fresh mushrooms, cabbage, glass noodles and other vegetables.

All of the ingredients were raw, and needed to be cooked in the sukiyaki sauce that was placed in a stew pot in the grill on the table.

When this had become hot enough we placed various ingredients into the pot, a few at a time, then (when cooked) dipped them into raw egg and ate them with the accompanying boiled rice.

There were ample portions of both meat and vegetables, all of which were fresh and tasty. The sukiyaki sauce was unctuous and did not overpower the flavours of the ingredients.

We thoroughly enjoyed our main course, and would most certainly chose it again.

The bill, which included a bottle of Mateus Rose and a bottle of sake, came to 827SEK before service.

Overall Opinion

A splendid evening in a splendid restaurant, well worth visiting again.

The Roast Beef of Olde England

The Roast Beef of Olde England

I dined at Simpson's in The Strand last Friday, and was moved to publish the following article in Nanny Knows Best.

Read it here The Roast Beef of Olde England.

Mi Burrito y Yo

Restaurant

Mi Burrito y Yo (My Donkey and I)

Paso de la Ensenanza, 2
Barcelona
Spain

Phone 93-318-2742

Overview

Eva and I went to Barcelona last week for a well earned holiday. Despite being on holiday, we managed to continue on our mission to seek out new dining experiences and tried out a number of very enjoyable restaurants and eateries.

One of these being Mi Burrito y Yo (My Donkey and I), a charming steak house near La Rambla.

Ambience

The surroundings were very quaint and rustic, the specialties on the menu were roast meats cooked on an open fire at the entrance level. Downstairs was a small dining room and bar area (with a most sucullent smoked ham sitting atop the bar) upstairs was a larger dining room with a piano for entertainment.

Menu

The menu offered a good selection of steaks, pork, fish and other Spanish dishes.

Service

The service was friendly and efficient, the menu was in English and although our waitress did not speak that much English we had no trouble making ourselves understood.

Food

We were given a large basket of freshly baked bread, two fresh tomatoes, two large fresh garlic cloves and a bottle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar at the outset.

The idea being to cut the tomatoes and garlic up, place them on the bread and drizzle the combination with oil and vinegar (DIY brushetta).

What may seem to be rather simple idea was in fact absolutely glorious on the taste buds, and is something that we are inclined to institute at home for our own meals.

Having munched our way through our "Spanish canape", we then proceeded with the serious business of eating our meal.

Eva started with a hearty bowl of vegetable soup with fried croutons. This was a splendid dish, not too thick but neither was it too watery. The balance of vegetables and potatoes were just right, with the croutons added a crunchy texture to the dish.

I started with the tortilla, a homemade omelette filled with cheese and mushrooms. This was unctuous, the omelette (as it should be) was still a little runny and combined perfectly with the mushrooms and cheese. An ideal starter.

Eva chose a light dish of carpaccio for her main course. This being Spain it was not that "light", and consisted of a good sized dish of thinly sliced beef interspersed with cheese shavings and drizzled with olive oil. She was very happy with this dish, the more so because the soup had been very filling.

I chose the pork fillet for my main course. This consisted of two very generous cuts of pork, seasoned with herbs, which had been cooked on the open barbecue. The taste was superb, and the meat very tender and succulent. In my view it had been cooked to perfection. The dish was accompanied by a baked potato and grilled tomatoes.

The meal, which included a bottle of good bottle of Spanish wine, came to 70Euro before service.

Overall Opinion

A splendid restaurant, we heartily recommend it.

World's Most Expensive Sandwich

World's Most Expensive Sandwich

Those of you who wince at paying £3 or more for a soggy sandwich may care to turn away now.

Selfridge's in London are now selling the world's most expensive sandwich, the McDonald (named after its creator Scott McDonald).

The cost of the McDonald comes it at a whopping £85.

What do you get for your £85?

-fermented sourdough bread
-red pepper confit
-foie gras
-Japanese beef flown in fresh, the cattle that produce it are fed on beer and sake as well as grain and massaged to make their meat tender

The McDonald also packs a calorific punch..2,000 to be precise!

Quite ridiculous, but I am sure there will be people with more money than sense who will buy this unnecessary product.

British Beef Back in Europe

British Beef Back in Europe

British beef can finally return to Europe's shops and restaurants, after the 10 year ban imposed on it as a result of BSE.

EU food safety experts agreed yesterday to lift the export ban, that was imposed during the mad cow crisis.

British beef exports to the European Union were halted in 1996, as brain-wasting Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) spread across the country.

I regularly ate beef on the bone at that time, which I purchased "illegally" from a trusted butcher.

Motorway Service?

Motorway Service?

The consumer magazine, Which?, has taken to the roads and reviewed the food at many of Britain's much lambasted motorway "service" stations.

It is fair to say that many do not come out with flying colours. The Cullompton service station on the M5 near Exeter, was named as the worst in Britain.

It was described as "little more than a McDonald's next to a petrol station".

Quote:

"It provides the bare minimum required but we reckon these days people have the right to expect more when they see a great big sign directing them off the motorway."

Other service stations to be lambasted include; Bothwell on the M74 east of Glasgow ("dreary and cluttered"), Trowell on the M1 near Nottingham ("dull, uninspiring, noisy and gloomy") and Magor on the M4 near Newport ("a truly miserable experience").

However, one station did meet with the approval of Which? Tebay is named the best in Britain.

Which? awarded it five stars.

Quote:

"An attractive wooden building with terrific far-reaching Cumbrian views and a duck pond make a great first impact.

A decent restaurant, well-stocked shop with quality kids' toys and free phone calls to a good local hotel all impressed. But it was the local produce shop that sealed the deal."

Fridges were stocked with local lamb and beef, stuffed pheasants and Cumbrian organic chicken. The deli sold regional chutney and jams, the cakes and sandwiches were freshly made in the kitchens.

So you see, if the service stations bothered to try they could improve. The problem is they don't give a stuff about the customer.

Standing Up For My Rights as a Consumer

Standing Up For My Rights as a Consumer

Those of you who hesitate to complain about poor quality food and substandard service, should take note of this lesson.

Back in October 2005 I wrote about the poor quality service and food that I received from Ixxy's Bagel Shop at Victoria station.

I emailed the company about the article, and heard nothing until now.

Today, out of the blue, I received a letter of apology; together with a full refund, and a voucher for £5 which can be used at many of the food outlets (eg Burger King, Ixxy's etc )at the major railway stations.

The lesson?

If you are on the receiving end of bad service or poor quality food, no matter how modest your purchase; complain like hell!

Roast

Restaurant

Roast
The Floral Hall
Borough Market
Stoney Street
London

Phone:- 0207 940 1300

Website: www.roast-restaurant.com

Overview

Eva and I decided to try out the newly opened Roast restaurant in Borough Market last Friday.

Roast is the brainchild creation of Iqbal Wahhab, who founded The Cinnamon Club in Westminster. Roast has 120 seats, and is constructed on the site of Britain's oldest surviving food market, by London Bridge.

Edward Barry designed the Floral Hall in 1858, to house flowers for resale by the market traders; the upper floor now houses Roast, whilst the ground floor will house market traders.

Roast serves traditional British food in a modern lively setting, and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I would advise you to book, as the restaurant was packed when we went there.

Ambience

Roast is situated on the first floor of the Floral Hall of Borough Market. It consists of a large split level dining room and open fronted spit roast kitchen, together with a bar placed mid centre of the main part of the dining room.

The building has been given a stunning frontage in the form of the portico of the old Covent Garden flower market, which offers diners views onto the market on one side and over into St Paul's Cathedral on the other.

If you like the colour scheme white, then you are in for a treat; white is the order of the day for the walls and high ceilings, together with the linen napkins and tablecloths.

This, coupled with the large glass windows, gives Roast an airy and spacious atmosphere.

The layout of the restaurant means that those diners who are placed on the upper split level by the windows are afforded an excellent view of the market and St Paul's, whilst many of those on the lower level are afforded an excellent view of the bar and kitchen.

I would therefore advise you to specify your preference when booking your table.

As noted the restaurant was very lively, bright and spacious; as such it may not be first choice for a romantic cosy meal for two.

We were given a very good table on the "upper deck" by the window. I was more than pleased to note that, despite the fact the restaurant has a high ceiling and large glass frontage, it was not cold.

Menu

The menu was unashamedly British, and contained a variety of traditional dishes such as; roast pork with black pudding, potted shrimps, roast pheasant, steak and fish.

However, rather bizarrely for a restaurant that calls itself Roast, the one dish that was missing was Roast Beef!

I find this omission to be more than a little daft, and indeed said as much to the staff.

I really would suggest that this dish, that is widely regarded as the national dish of Britain, should be included on Roast's menu as soon as possible.

One other point that I would suggest that Roast address, is the fact that their website does not at the time of writing have a sample menu uploaded. The key feature of any well designed restaurant website is the menu page.

Service

We were warmly greeted, and promptly shown to our table.

The staff were very friendly and efficient. The service and attention to detail was smooth and well co-ordinated as it needed to be, given the number of covers.

Eva's dropped butter knife, was replaced immediately without prompting.

Food

I started with the green split pea soup with salt beef and vegetables. This was a little too thin and watery for my taste; I have been brought up eating yellow split pea soup, which had a much thicker consistency.

I would also suggest that the split peas and vegetables could have benefited from being cooked for a little longer; as they were, to my view/taste, a touch underdone.

I chose the roast suckling pig with black pudding for my main course.

This consisted of several slices of good quality pork, a good cut with just the right amount of fat and crackling, served with a thin slice of black pudding which had been placed atop half an apple.

The pork was very good, the taste and texture was first class.

I would, however, make two observations:

• The majority of the crackling did not crackle



• The pork was luke warm rather than hot, I suspect that it had been left a little too long on the plate before being taken from the kitchen to our table

I chose roast potatoes and roast pumpkin to accompany the dish. These were both excellent, the potatoes had been cooked in dripping and were crunchy on the outside, but soft and yielding within.

Unlike the pork, they were hot.

The slices of roast pumpkin were splendid, and had been roasted to perfection.

Eva started with the potted shrimps, which came with a lemon wedge and a little toast. They were delightfully indulgent, rich, tasty and filling.

Eva then chose the roast pheasant for her main course, she chose mashed potatoes to accompany it.

The pheasant consisted of a generous portion of both breast and leg, served on top of sherry glazed parsnips. The bird had been well, but not over, cooked. It was succulent, tender and had a delicate game flavour. The size of the portion defeated Eva; so we made off with the remainder in a doggy bag, and had it the next day in a sandwich.

The mashed potatoes were smooth and creamy, and had a better taste and consistency than many that we have had elsewhere.

The meal, which included a bottle of Pinot Grigio (unaccountably they had no Chablis on the wine list) and a liqueur, came to £100 including service.

Overall Opinion

We enjoyed our evening; once the few “teething” issues that I have raised above are addressed, Roast will enjoy commercial and culinary success.

Ixxy's Hot Salt Beef Bagel

Ixxy's Hot Salt Beef Bagel

Those of you who fancy a nice hot salt beef bagel, whilst waiting for your train at London's Victoria station, should not bother buying one from Ixxy's Bagel Shop (owned by the Compass Group).

I tried one yesterday:

- The beef was reheated in a microwave, instead of being cut from a joint

- The beef was luke warm and bland, instead of being hot and tasty

- Ixxy's advertise that the hot beef bagel comes with mustard; I had to remind the girl behind the counter to put mustard in, after she had made the bagel. Thus she had to disassemble the bagel

- The bagel itself was dry

- The counter girl forgot the use of the phrases "please" and "thank you", and indeed how to smile

- The cost of this gastronomic disappointment, together with a can of fizzy sugared water, came to £5.99

Bottom line: if you want a tasty hot salt beef bagel, that is good value for money, don't go to Ixxy's.

Pasties Go Mexican

Pasties Go Mexican

It seems that the traditional Cornish Pasty, once the staple diet of Cornish tin miners, has now become the staple diet of Mexican silver miners.

The pasty is now classified as a local delicacy, alongside tacos and beans.

There is of course a Mexican twist to the dish that normally contains meat, potatoes and swede; they have added a few chillis.

Those of you who wish to try out the Mexican version should go to Real del Monte in Mexico, where the pasty was first imported by Cornish tin miners in the 19th century.

Traditional Cornish Pasty Recipe

Cornish Pasties originated in Cornwall as a handy way for miners to take their lunch to work.

Shortcrust pastry encases a mixture of finely chopped meat and vegetables.

Ingredients

10 oz flour
A pinch of salt
4 oz of cold butter
1 to 3 tablespoons of water

8 oz of cubed beef
2 potatoes 1 swede/turnip
1 medium onion
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon of mustard
2 teaspoons of tomato sauce / ketchup (optional)
1 egg

Short Pastry

In a large bowl or food processor sift the flour and salt, cut the cold butter into small cubes and add to the flour.

Rub the butter into the flour with your hands or using the food processor, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the centre and add sufficient water to mix to a firm dough.

Handle as little as possible as this prevents the pastry from becoming hard when it is baked.

Roll into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Filling

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

Put the cubed meat into a large bowl.

Chop the onion finely, and add to the meat.

Peel the potatoes and swede turnip, cut into very small cubes.

Mix thoroughly with the meat, add the seasonings (a little water may be added to moisten) and cover.

On a lightly floured bench or board roll the pastry out to around 1/8 inch thick.

Cut 6 rounds, using a 6 1/2 inch diameter plate as a guide.

Arrange the filling evenly in the centre of each round.

Lightly beat the egg and glaze the edge of each round with a pastry brush.

Lift the two opposite edges of the pastry and pull together over the filling.

Pinch at regular intervals along the edge to form a frill.

Brush each pasty with egg and place on a baking tray.

Bake for 3/4 to 1 hour.

Eat hot or cold.