John Talbott's Paris

Forced tipping in Boston: A new cute trick for sure.

Here's a cute one.

While coming in on a cab from Logan to central Boston, we asked if the cabbie took Visa; "Of course."  The kicker, however, was that one was forced to add a tip, calculated at 20% (even though $3.50 of the total on which the tip was calculated was the tunnel fee).

Later at Legal Seafood, the handheld Visa credit card machine also forced me to tip and suggested pricey choices.  What does one do when there's lousy service?  I guess pay in cash.

The Waterfront Wharf in New Bedford (MA); many memories, few fireworks.

The Waterfront Grille on Homers Wharf in New Bedford is a huge success; packed to the gills with young and not so young, big seafoodish menu and beautiful setting.  Ah, ah, ah, John, you're hiding something.

Back story: I spent many a happy summer on the beaches and grand houses from Buzzard's Bay to Newport where my Mother's very successful family ran a bunch of elegant department stores in the glory days.  Now of course, much of the inner city areas are blighted but the beaches and posh communities remain and this restaurant serves the latter population.  Thus I was thrilled to have an old friend suggest we eat on a wharf in a charming place.

However, but, ah, the trouble is the food and service and kitchen didn't match the setting and clientele.  It was deafeningly loud, it was impossible to order or get dishes in a timely manner and gaffs such as taking silverware off one dish to use with another, or "forgetting" that main courses came with salads, spoiled it further.

The food: well, my buddy who lives 10 minutes away said "I'm never coming back," but I must say I rather liked my crispy crusted cod and Colette's seabass with chorizo was dry but interesting.

Our bill before tip with a bottle of wine but no coffee or dessert was $71.19 a couple.

Duckfat in Portland (ME); a true one-of-a-kind.

Duckfat on Middle St in Portland is a one-of-a-kind; funky, moderately quick, great simple chow and reasonably priced.  We've been dropping in for a couple of years as we either go up to the Maine woods or on return. 

Colette had the ratatouille panini last year which she thought lacked pizzaz but I thought didn't; this year she had some duckfat fries with Thai Chili mayo and a bowl of beet soup with untasteable orange (by both our lights.)

I once again had the duck confit panini - this year spread on black mission fig mostarda, much better than the blueberry base I had last year but still not adding much value (I cannot figure why they don't just let it go with the confit?)

With a half bottle of wine our bill was $42.27.  Terrific.

Paul & Elizabeth in Northampton MA: Fine food, faulty friendliness.

Paul and Elizabeth off Main Street in Northampton Mass was a place my wonderful, usually spot-on wife Colette and her friend from adolescence B. decided was more interesting than the Green Street Cafe*, rec'd by Smith Prof vivremanger when we dined at Frenchie a few weeks ago.  I resisted but lost, as usual.

Northampton was clogged with folks buying junque in their annual sidewalk sale; with diversity in full flower.  The resto is in the old Thorne's Dept Store (a nice revival), the menu at lunch is too replete with eggs, soups and salads, but hey, this is the heart of chunchy granola land.

I defied the tone set by our friends and Colette ordering salads, wraps and omelettes with froufrou iced tea by having tilapia with a glazed ginger sauce aside brown rice (I told you), preceded by a mixed salad with a misu dressing with no ginger - both terrific, and a bottle of their house blanc Herault wine for $16, equally good.

So John, what's the problem?  Oh yah, I forget to mention that we were on our way to a wedding and had a daughter and grandson in tow, the latter of whom had a despirate need for ice cream, which obligingly was in plenty just a floor away, run by old Steve's of Manhattan.  So he brought it back to the table and they got the boot, before allowing my daughter to order.

It would have been easy to transfer the ice cream to a "house" bowl, but no, rules are rules, "if we allow you, pretty soon everyone will try to," so out you go.  By the way, the bosslady, I assume Elizabeth herself, offered us desserts we could take out (presumably to eat in our hands with our grandchild), but we demured.  Enough was enough.

Our bill was a most reasonable $50.10 for four.

PS Our male friend (a local) said because of what happened he'll never go again nor recommend it to others.  So they lost the income from two meals and future custom, because of rigidity.  Sad, because I had a nice meal.

* That day's Daily Hampshire Gazette had an artcle about Smith College's long campaign to boot the Cafe out of its present quarters; apparently it's still operating though.

Marie Louise Bistro in Baltimore: Nice enough to try again some evening.

The Marie Louise Bistro (named after the owner not the Empress) at 904 N. Charles St in Baltimore opened a few months ago and was recommended to me by several people.  And it was open on a Saturday and convenient to the Walters where I was taking my eldest grand-daughter to an art exhibition.

It's unpreposessing, with a few tables on the sidewalk and two levels inside for eating.  The lunch menu is largely soups, salads and sandwiches; the weekend has brunches but with regular items as well.

My G-d had the chicken and pesto sauce sandwich and I the tenderloin one which was properly undercooked.  (NB, I was joyfully eating my sandwich with a knife and fork when she said/asked: "You're eating it with a knife and fork?"  I guess I'm more French than I'd thought.)

Note too: the French fries were a cut above any I've had in a long time; a real treat.

For dessert, she had a chocolate-raspberrry pastry from a named place which she loved and I the gelati (chocolate and pistacchio) whose flavors were so unassertive that except for their color, yah coulda fooled me.

With two glasses of Merlot and two of Sprite, plus tip, our bill was $56.81.

Cotswold Dining Summary

These generalizations may not hold for the gastropubs of the Cotswolds or for that matter anything there or in the UK, but here they are:

Five Good Points:
1. There is a wonderful emphasis on fresh, seasonal, local products that is consonant with the “Slow Food,” “Local 80 miles” and “Support your farms” movements instead of mass-produced tined, boxed and processed stuff.
2. There is much more pride and improvement in the range and quality of food served instead of “take it or leave it.”
3. There is an impressive improvement in cooking in “English” places, thus less urgency to seek spicier Indian sub-continent alternatives.
4. The ban on smoking is wonderful.
5. The emphasis on world wines rather than chain brewery beers, etc., is heartening.

Five Disappointing Points:
1. There’s a puzzling lack of inventiveness despite creative sounding names of dishes.
2. There’s a sameness to the menus.
3. Service is approaching the ineptness in the US rather than emulating the professionalism in France.
4. Ditto for portion sizes; eschew American, go French!
5. Gastro-pubs are often not “gastro” and often produce uneven results.

Cotswolds Culture: Houses and Gardens etc.

Sezincote House and Gardens

 

Upton House

 

Castleton house

 

Hidcote Manor Gardens

 

Chipping Campden Church area

and surround

Kiftsgate Court Gardens

 

Chedworth Roman Villa

 

Miserden Gardens

New Cerney Gardens

 

Rousham Gardens

 

 

 

Blenheim Palace and Gardens

Our last day exiting the Cotswolds: The Red Lion and Gordon’s Devonshire Pub

 

The Red Lion in Steeple Aston is just a spit and a whistle from the Rousham Gardens where the gang was visiting. We were told by our amiable host that it used to be a small pub but had added a restaurant that was quite small (it sits about 28 covers). There’s a full menu and we had a good carrot soup, mushrooms with cream and garlic and a wonderful and intriguing dish of scallops, crisp bacon and blood sausage. Mains were three “warm salads” each prepared on the bed of lettuce; crisp, fully cooked slices of duck breast (that were fine but not what I was expecting), salmon that was tasteless despite the ginger sauce on top, beef and a serving of a cheese and onion tart that was declared good but too much. With a glass of local cider, a bottle of wine and no desserts, our bill was 92.35 ₤.

 

Since we were leaving Heathrow relatively early, we decided to stay and eat nearby. I have enjoyed Gordon Ramsay’s eating essays for a number of years in London and Paris and was interested to find that he had a pub not too far away, called The Devonshire. It was in Chiswick, a Bobo heaven I suspect, and parking was nigh impossible. There is a 2-course menu for 18.50 and 3-courses for 22.50, both with a glass of wine. We started with tasty fishcakes with tartar, soup and poached salmon. For mains I had the pork cutlet and it was ample but not terribly impressive tasting despite the lentil “sauce,” indeed none of the food was, including the asparagus and root vegetables. The “banoffee” pie and lemon sponge with clotted cream were acceptable. The service as well as timing between dishes was horrible. Our bill with a bottle and glass of wine was 101.59 ₤ before the imposed 12% service (which I would for the first time this week not have paid.)

Day 6: Pretty darn good: The Bell and Old Butchers

 

The Bell in Sapperton was listed as a triple (food, wine & beer) winner in The Good Pub Guide, it accomadtes all including horses (see above) and we were in the area for gardens again (Miserden + North Cerney) and the Roman Villa at Chedworth.

Three of us had the crayfish soup special - that was a mistake - it always is a mistake to order the same thing, but this soup seemed to be unique on pub menus this trip, so we broke our rule. It was pretty watery and lacked oomph; luckily though, one daughter had ordered a tapenade with great bread, and she found it “too assertive,” so being inventive, Colette and I put some in the soup with ground salt and pepper et voila, it was terrific!

Our other daughter had a microherb (whatever that is) salad that she enjoyed. For mains we had a confit de canard served on a very (terrifically) spicy aubergine ratatouille-type bed (with too generous veggie and potato sides); two others had the appetizer portion of a lightly grilled filet of sea bass and the fourth had a filet of sole. All were quite good.

Desserts were a raspberry bakewell tart and the sticky toffee pudding (#4 on this trip, pretty good stacked up against the rest).

With 125 cl of wine, a Coke, and four coffees (again one Irish), our bill was 112.65 ₤.

 

Old Butchers in Stow. This may have been the best meal so far. It’s a Miche Bibendum in the heart of touristland, sited in an old butcher shop, but you wouldn’t know it, being only ½ full and totally occupied by locals (some of whose plumage and piercings were really weird, even to a hardened metropolitan).

We had the lentil soup with spinach and cumin with a dollop of yogurt (delicious), scallops (perfectly cooked with their coral), and baby gems (ah ha, gotcha there) and avocado salad.

Then after much Jack Nicolson "Five Easy Pieces"-type negotiations about a meat sans slabber and rare, I had the sirloin with butter which was, as it is in the UK, tough but tasty, not tender and tasteless. Others had the salad of peas, asparagus and parmesan (so so) and more scallops.

Desserts were a chocolate fondant (aka moelleux), had by my daughter who makes the Platinum Standard of this dish for us at home, and a rhubarb-oatmeal crumble which was really great.

The bread was great, the music was dreadful and too loud and the service was mixed: Madame very thoughtfully provided a print-out that answered our question about the difference between a single and a double Gloucester cheese, but the sub altern who brought our bill asked for photo ID to verify my cleverly scribbled doctor/French signature.

Our bill with two bottles of wine, no coffees and no frou-frou was 103.50 ₤.

5th day dining in the Cotswolds – Eight Bells Inn and the Lower Farm House

 

As part of a day of seeing gardens off the Cotswold chart (the Hidcote Manor & Kiftsgate Court) we ate in nearby Chipping Campden at the Eight Bells Manor.

We had a number of firsts and sides: a nice mixed salad (this time, by my lights, properly dressed), a wonderful mushroom soup, a great home smoked trout and horseradish “pate” and very tasty fried onion rings; all of which I liked.

The ladies then had fine home-smoked salmon and prawn salads and lemon sole and I had a funny looking fried lamb chop smothered with a sauce that escaped my appreciation meter.

The desserts were mixed though; an apple cobbler was great but the toffee pudding was not among the best of breed.

With a bottle of wine, a Coke, a tea and four coffees (of which, one was Irish), our bill was 100.25 ₤.

 

Our dinner was once again a home-cooked affair, tonight at the Lower Farm House, a very lovely and comfortable B&B where we were staying this week. Zelie and Nicholas Mason cooked and wined up another fine experience.

The first course, offered in their lovely living room along with wine, included quail eggs dipped into celery salt along with a toast topped with a zippy guacamole and shrimp; both terrific.

Ǻ table, there was local roast loin of spotted pork (including the wonderful crisped rind) with a citron sauce, mange-touts, roasted red peppers with feta-like cheese, anchovies and baby tomatoes as well as new potatoes.

For dessert there was a crème brûlée with berries (in my case specially prepared).

What a delicious dinner and the company was delightful. Hats off to our hosts – Zelie and Nicholas.