Guest Blog Post from Lee: Electrik, Chorlton, Manchester, M21 0AE

Many thanks to Lee for this guest blog post...

Yesterday I found myself in the right place mentally for a certain experience. I was not hungover, yet my insides betrayed a certain post-alcohol delicateness. I was in that right place where it's too late for breakfast but not yet time for dinner.*

And I found myself in the right place physically, for there are only 4 institutions where you can sample this wonder of culinary engineering.

I found myself in Electrik in Chorlton, a convenient stumble from my flat. It's Danish inspired cafe by day and bar by night, with a free jukebox that only has good music on it. It's the kind of place that has worked very hard to look very low key; lots of bare wood and smatterings of bold orange.

And on its food menu, in the light bites section, is the Manchester Egg. The Manchester Egg has its own website on which it describes itself as "a hearty commodity worthy of a gentleman". It's a pickled egg wrapped in Bury Black Pudding and premium sausage meat with a golden crumb. It's a Scotch Egg, but better. It will make you look upon Scotch Eggs in sorrow for their blandness; lacking in the warmth and gentle spiciness of the Mancunian version.

I'm biased of course. I live in Manchester and I hail from Bury. Bury only has two things to be proud of: firstly it was the birthplace of Prime Minister, Corn Law Repealer and founder of the police force Sir Robert Peel and second, of course, the Bury Black Pudding. The Peel family soon moved away from the mills and soot that brought their fortune - the pudding at least stayed put and two companies fight it out on Bury Market with a third elbowing in on the trade.

Pictures of this wonder are here:

Needless to say it did the trick and set me up for the day. I sat in Electrik for a while longer and enjoyed a mint and chilli tea from Mr Scruff's range. Good times!

*a.k.a. lunch

Astrid's Recommendation: Antoine, 10 Avenue de New York. 75116, Paris

Astrid's recommendation for an exquisite Parisian Fish Restaurant, is Antoine, located on the banks of the Seine with a brilliant view of the Effel Tower. Pictured above is the St. Peter fish with mushrooms and Topinambur potato. Truly luxurious!

Antoine, 10 Avenue de New York. 75116, Paris

Guest Food Photos - Leandri's Duck and Egg Salad

Leandri's garlic bread

Beautiful egg and duck salad

Guest Blog Post from Stefan - Lunch at Mangiare in Rotterdam

Sometimes you run into a little place that looks a bit scruffy on the outside, but their menu looks very tempting. That’s how we found ourselves in a tiny Italian deli in Rotterdam - Mangiare - and we couldn't wait to try their food.

Once we sat down (and luckily we were early) we saw the reason for the mess outside - they are in a temporary location whilst renovating.

The restaurant was full 15 minutes after we arrived and there was even a Dutch celebrity having lunch (Antonie Kamerling), but we were there for the food!

The restaurant does not have a set menu as they use only fresh produce and create something new every morning when the vegetables arrive.

We decided to go for the antipasti with some meat and a nice glass of wine. As the products are fresh it takes a while before they serve you but once they put it in front of you it tastes absolutely delicious. All the flavors are amazing and as everything is cooked to perfection, the dish is gone before you know it.

This is a restaurant I will definitely visit again when they are in their new building.

Overall

Atmosphere - Scruffy but authentically Italian.
Service - Very laid back and friendly staff, although it took a while to get our lunch.
Food Quality - Great although the portions could be slightly bigger and some more bread would be good.
Value for money - Good price for good food.

Overall – 8/10

Stefan

Guest food pictures - Astrid's Manhattan Lunch Recommendation

Beef Fillet with truffle mash and spinach

Dover Sole with Saffron and Chicory

Cheeseburger with Russian Dressing

Should you find yourself in Central Park, and find yourself in need of the poshest cheeseburger ever, or any of the amazing looking dishes Astrid has so kindly photographed for me, you need to visit Jean-Georges. Described as a 'temple of fine dining' on this review site you can actually get an amazingly priced lunch for $26!

Guest blog entry from Lee - Holden's Ice Cream, Edgeworth, Lancashire

Sometimes, you can taste tradition; the elusive flavours that can only be passed down from generation to generation whose brilliance would, if written down, evaporate. Such unwritten perfection is found in the village of Edgworth amidst the moorland between Bury, Bolton and Blackburn. Drive past on any sunny day and you shall see a queue stretching down the otherwise unremarkable street, as people come from far and wide for Holden's traditional vanilla ice cream. Holden's ice cream is lovingly charmed out of the little fridge behind the counter by an old woman who is almost certainly the kind of granny who arrives bearing a bag of assorted sweeties when she comes to visit. She probably gets them from the shelf that eager customers queue in front of, as Holden's is also the village shop, selling everything from bread and eggs to washing up liquid and tea bags. Be assured though that most people will be queuing for the ice cream. It comes in only one flavour, but what a flavour! It's the taste of childhood glee and friendship and sunny summers. The best way to enjoy it is to take your cornet with its captured cloud of ice creamous wonder down to the Wayoh reservoir (take the public footpath down the side of the Black Bull pub) and reflect on how good to you life is sometimes. Address: Holden's Ice Cream Blackburn Road Edgworth Lancashire
Open Mon-Sat (I assume it's not open on Sundays. Beware the lunch hour when the shop closes).

Lee

Parisian Guest Blog Entry from Pam, '14 juillet', 14th arrondissement. Paris.

It is often said, and not entirely unjustifiably, that French waiters, and in particular Parisian waiters, are snooty at best and downright rude at worst. But the 14 juillet is an example of quite the opposite. Right down in the south of Paris, there is none of the touristy unpleasantness of bad food and rushed atmosphere here. The manager takes great pride in the number of regular customers (indeed, the couple that introduced me to the place eat here about once a week), and now greets me as an old friend when I turn up, and knows exactly what wine I’ll enjoy.

The food is as French as it comes – free saucisson on arrival, then very decent sized starters, followed by a good selection of fabulously rare meat options (they will serve it to you well-done, but only with a bit of a shudder, and the result is still what most Brits would consider medium rare) with plenty of rich creamy sauces. There are always a couple of lighter fish options, but this is a restaurant that doesn’t cater to hardcore vegetarians. But perhaps the real reason people come here is for the desserts, and to be more precise, the profiterole (singular form is deliberate). The biggest profiterole you have ever seen arrives at your table, and just when you’re asking yourself where the chocolate sauce is, you see (or usually smell first) the giant pot of chocolate sauce coming your way, to be ladled on until you say stop. Good news is that you are more than welcome to share starters and desserts (I have what has been referred to as a “wholesome” appetite and yet I have never managed a full three courses here all to myself). Drinks are a very important part of your meal here, with an aperitif suggested to go with the free saucisson, then a wonderful selection of wines, and why not a little digestif at the end of the night?

This is a restaurant in which to spend an evening, rather than a place for a quick bite, and its popularity means that you may well need to book ahead.

Atmosphere: laid-back and friendly. Can be quite lively depending on the manager’s mood and how many birthdays there are (the whole restaurant is expected to sing!). Service: chatty and relaxed.

Value for money: prices are a deservedly a little higher than some of the more standard brasseries in the city, but still reasonable given the quality and quantity of food on offer.

99 rue Didot

tel 0033 (0)1 40 44 91 19

Pam

Guest Food Blog: International Edition. Nostra Lunch Lounge, Rotterdam

One of the hidden secrets in Rotterdam has to be Nostra. It is far away from the shopping and fast food crowds and as soon as you spot this you know it is something special.

As soon as you walk through the door you will see the unique style of the interior: elements of Art Deco in combination with a modern lounge area with a plush red sofa. Here you can drink a fine espresso out of a cup from the Illy collection, freshly squeezed orange or grape fruit juice or an outstanding Italian or Spanish wine.

The menu is especially designed for a big lunch and offers many different sorts of salads, soup and assorted luxury bread rolls. The dishes are based on the Italian kitchen with healthy and fresh ingredients and when the sun is shining they have a small but cozy garden.

The salads and luxury bread rolls are full of fresh products and are positioned on the plate as if you are looking at a real painting. It is hard to even cut into this perfect composition but at the first bite you can't stop.

They have crammed in a few too many tables into this small room but they have a couple of round ones for bigger groups. Don’t expect any fancy cutlery or serviettes but it is all practical and does the job. There is even a little candle and a flower on the table.

This time we ordered a very nice and cold glass of Spanish white wine that would be accompanied by a goat cheese salad for Yvonne and a turkey salad for myself. The service is good and they deliver the food in a timely manner. You almost feel like sitting at home as there is playing nice music in the background and the atmosphere is such that you can talk to each other without having to shout.

The salads were very fresh and tasted amazing and with every bite you can taste a different fresh flavor in your mouth. The wine makes the whole lunch complete. As the salads are pretty big it takes a while before you have eaten it all (if you can get it all in) but due to the freshness you don’t feel stuffed.

Overall:
Atmosphere: Calm and intimate and a lovely romantic place
Service: Friendly young students who treat every customer as if they are at home having a Birthday party
Value for money: You pay a bit more as all ingredients are fresh and the wine could be a bit adding to the bill but in the end it is all worth it.
Overall I would rate the entire place as a 8.5

Stefan

Guest Blog Entry: Heaven in a Plastic Cup: Banana Custard at Sutton Village Hall

There is something often overlooked in any food review: context. How critical one can be when eating is a nicety not a necessity. Many diners might feel they deserve outrageously expensive food after a hard day at the office. Similarly, reviewers might expect their meal to be more art than food, given the ubiquitous cliché that we eat with our eyes. Lavish, delicious, exotic, exquisite etc – choose your adjective.

I would like to add a slightly different perspective.

At various points on Saturday night and Sunday morning I ate the finest food known to man. The highlight of these assorted mini-feasts was cold banana custard served in a plastic cup and eaten with a plastic spoon. Sheer liquid wonderment.

Perhaps I should add some context. This weekend I was participating in the Wessex100, an annual event during which competitors aim to walk 100 miles in 48 hours. At various intervals along the route, checkpoints served a variety of food and drink to keep the walkers fed. At least, that was their outward appearance. In fact, I found their role to be far more: to give walkers respite, morale-boost, confidence and encouragement to keep going. And what better way to do that than through the gloriously simply, yet tasty and nutritious delight that is banana custard? (I should another element to the context: custard seems to appeal to long distance walkers more than any other group I have met. I have even heard walkers suggesting filling their water bottles with it.)

Each checkpoint was run by a different regional walking club and so featured a different culinary delight. Offerings included sandwiches, beans on toast, quiche and potato salad, soup and bread, full cooked breakfast. Most stops also had fruit as well as chocolate in some form such as Jaffa Cakes and Swiss Roll. While the nutrition value of these can be debated, the psychological boost factor can not.

And this is the point I wanted to make: when you have been walking over 12 hours and covered 35 miles, your feet hurt, it’s cold and dark outside, the simplest food is wonderful. When you are in this condition and you still have another 65 miles to walk, you want comfort food that will give you a boost. For me, it was that banana custard. Served in fine bone china or a plastic cup, no-one really cares at this stage; it’s the food that counts.

In normal circumstances, I enjoy what the majority of the population describes as ‘good’ food. I try to eat out in different places and experience different cuisine. However, I doubt I will ever have another dessert that I will enjoy more than the banana custard at Sutton Village Hall at 1.30am last Sunday morning.

G.