Cycling Naturalist
Guru
- Location
- Llangollen
Being middle class and keen on food and drink (yes, Jeeves another packet of scratchings and some more White Lightning would go down a treat) I read the food and drink supplements in the broadsheets. I have come to several conclusions:
1. Many of the foods simply do not exist eg "traditional Norfolk Blue Whammy cheese with capers and vodka."
2. Sweetbreads are much overrated.
3. My local paper (the Daily Post) is at least honest in that it rates restaurants by the size of the steak, the fact that it was cooked for more than an hour, the extra portion of chips, the Black Forest gateaux (the Sara Lee is the critic's favourite) and the availability of Blue Nun on the wine list.
4. Very few people like eating nearly all their food raw. I've read vast amounts of rubbish about rare pigeon breast. It's on a par with reading about rare shin beef from a fast migrating wildebeest. It's as tough as old boots. Cook pigeon slowly and it's delicious, but rare and you might as well chew Ostrich sinew.
5. It's all fashion led. Do you remember how three years ago everything came with polenta? Polenta is East European stodge and considerably less appetising than instant mashed potato.
6. The vast majority of restaurant critics come from backgrounds where they had unutterable food at boarding school and simply haven't got a clue what good food tastes like.
1. Many of the foods simply do not exist eg "traditional Norfolk Blue Whammy cheese with capers and vodka."
2. Sweetbreads are much overrated.
3. My local paper (the Daily Post) is at least honest in that it rates restaurants by the size of the steak, the fact that it was cooked for more than an hour, the extra portion of chips, the Black Forest gateaux (the Sara Lee is the critic's favourite) and the availability of Blue Nun on the wine list.
4. Very few people like eating nearly all their food raw. I've read vast amounts of rubbish about rare pigeon breast. It's on a par with reading about rare shin beef from a fast migrating wildebeest. It's as tough as old boots. Cook pigeon slowly and it's delicious, but rare and you might as well chew Ostrich sinew.
5. It's all fashion led. Do you remember how three years ago everything came with polenta? Polenta is East European stodge and considerably less appetising than instant mashed potato.
6. The vast majority of restaurant critics come from backgrounds where they had unutterable food at boarding school and simply haven't got a clue what good food tastes like.
