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Galvin at Windows, Oysters and Champagne

Galvin at Windows
London Hilton
22 Park Lane
W1K 1BE

Date of Last Visit: Friday, March 6th, 2008

The Victims: Many

The Damage: Another freebie.

The Background: The folks over at TrustedPlaces have invited me and many of my blogging colleagues to a fantastic event at Galvin at Windows. The goal of the event is to get all of us eating oysters (courtesy of Wright Brothers) and drinking champagne (courtesy of London wine merchant Bibendum), while we Twitter and live-blog away.

There's only one problem. I've got two devices with me--my Blackberry Pearl and my Nokia e71--and neither of them are picking up a GPRS signal "this" high up. (High by London standards, I suppose.) Luckily, Chris from Cheese & Biscuits hooks me up with Galvin's wireless network. (If anyone knows how to connect a Blackberry Pearl to a wireless network, please let me know as I could not figure it out. The e71 was fine, but it was a bit low on batteries.)

The Oysters: We're given eight different oysters. The first four are raw and luscious--and all different. The next four is a mix of two cooked and two uncooked oysters. We vote for our favorites and settle into the Champagne.

The Sparkling Stuff: Eight different sparkling wines. They rattle off the names of all of them, but I'm going to have to watch the video because I can't remember what was what. It would have been great to get some follow-up notes with the specific details of what we tasted.

The Social Media Bit: Streamed online with Ustream by WorldTV.com with Nigel Barden presenting.

The Verdict: Galvin is lovely for the view, and this was truly a lovely, lovely event. I would really, really like to get some follow-up notes with what we sampled...I asked for some, but have yet to receive anything...

Michelin: Foliage

Foliage
The Mandarin Oriental
66 Knightsbridge London
SW1X 7LA
Tel: 020 7201 3723

Date of Last Visit: Wednesday, June 11

The Victim: Douglas of Intoxicating Prose and winner of my Guest Blogger contest

The Damage: £275, if you must know!

The Background: Douglas won my Guest Blogger contest back in April with his review of Galvin at Windows. The prize was dinner with me, so the date has finally arrived and I've chosen Foliage partially influenced by its Michelin-ness and its great review over on Cheese & Biscuits.

Douglas is already in the bar when I arrive, sipping pink Moet and holding a present for me! It's a bottle of txacoli, my new favorite wine. The evening is off to a good start--I like a man who can quaff pink champagne--and we haven't even eaten anything. Except the bar snacks, which aren't as nice as those at Claridge's.

The Entrance: I can't forget I'm in a hotel restaurant. I have a fondness for hotel bars, but there's just something about the decor of hotel restaurants...all that beige. We are shown our table--by a window--with what would be a great view of the park at sunset if not for all the construction out back. The staff are sweet about the awful mess and apologise in a funny and good way and we settle in to watch the sun set over the work-in-progress.

The Food: I could walk you through everything we ate, word-by-word. But that would assume I had taken notes, which I didn't. (Douglas wisely asked for a copy of the menu before we left.) But I DID take photos of everything for a change, so perhaps a few photos will speak a thousand words. Douglas and I made quite the pair as we whipped out our blogging equipment as each course arrived, I with my Canon, he with his LG camera phone (5 Megapixels, no less!) It reminded me that I should really organize a London food bloggers meet-up at some point. Dining out with like-minded souls is a good thing. What the other diners thought of us with all our snapping, we don't know. I'll come back to the food in a sec, but let me talk about the service first.

The Service: When we were first shown to our table, they seemed to kinda forget about us. No menus, no "Hello," no nothing. And it's not like we could enjoy the view while we were sitting there. Very odd. They recovered splendidly after this, but it was a slip up, for sure.

Our main waiter was a young Spaniard, and he was very enthusiastic in his service. Part of me wanted to ask how old he was because he just looked so youthful and fresh-skinned. Well done to him, once he got us started. The sommelier (German? Austrian?) seemed quite personable, which I liked. No stuffiness. Poor guy though...I didn't really see any table take advantage of his services all night, and with a half-full room....I would have been bored to tears.

Back to The Food: I caught photos of everything except the little snacks that arrived once the staff remembered that we were sitting there. Hummous with lime and twisty little bread sticks. I am forgetting the other dip, but hopefully Douglas can shed some light.

Now, off we go...

Firstly, a lovely chilled melon soup. Douglas displayed his great manners by eating his soup away from him, which is very very proper. (You should also pass the salt and pepper together, you know.)

Then a trio of scallops...I wanted to lick the plate clean.

And two preparations of foie gras, one lovelier than the other...and I must apologize but the photos are going to get darker and darker in a bit. The sun was setting...

The ubiquitous sea bass. This was probably my least favorte dish. Hmmm.

A bit of steak done to a perfect medium rare...lovely...

The first dessert...and I completely forget what this tasted like so obviously forgettable...

But this was very American (which is a compliment, skeptics!) in its peanut-butteriness and chocolate...

And then some olive oil chocolates with balsamic vinegar, which I thought were really interesting and different and delicious.

And then, four hours later, it was all over.

The Verdict: I would love to eat this way every night. But that would mean running a marathon on a weekly basis, which ain't gonna happen. But yes, a nice treat.

Guest Blog: Galvin at Windows

Galvin at Windows
22 Park Lane
W1K 1BE
Tel: 020 7208 4021

Guest Review by Douglas of Intoxicating Prose. Check back on Monday, May 6th to vote for your favorite guest blogger.

London looks beautiful from above. More precisely, through immaculate windows, 28 floors up, the Queen’s garden looks green, the main streets are cleared of traffic for the marathon, and staccato spring rainstorms reinforce the cosy isolation. Up here it seems that God sieves through a giant scola pasta rather than weeps on the population.

This is my third visit. The first occured before Galvin took the helm. I was six, staying at the hotel below with my parents. I remember being mesmerised by an aqualine, Russian Princess, shoehorned into a mini skirt, shuffling towards the bar, tightly escorted by her elderly, fattened ‘uncle’. Last year was my second, working as a sommelier at a private gastronomic event for hedge fund managers. I watched the affluently be-suited shun glasses of ’96 Dom Pérignon in favour of ’90 Lafite. Ah, the pain of decisions…

During today’s reconaissance, we sit in soft, capacious seats, strong enough to support Dawn French and bolstered with fussily offered cushions. Beaded flutes of Pommery Springtime Rosé gently land. Soothing. The tiny, explosive bubbles echo the patter on the panes. A helicopter dragging a ‘Flora’ banner whirs by. Tomato and multigrain bread is brought in abundance, warmed just enough to melt the beaten butter, and almost too tasty. In fact we greedily partake of in total three servings, followed by crostini with the starters, snugly embalmed in a linen eiderdown.

The Head Chef is Roux Scholar, André Garret, formerly of The Orrery (where Chris Galvin was mentor). Despite the Gallic name, he comes from Bath. His mother was a fan of pianist, conductor, and composer, André Previn apparently. This André continues to carve his culinary career, admitting cravings for the luminosity a Michelin star will bring (and Windows is on the ‘Rising Star’ scoreboard).

Thankfully the old adage, ‘the better the view, the worse the food’ proves untrue amongst the panorama. In fact, despite arriving via a Top Table offer, the food I tried positively distracted me from the world outside. A trio of lightly cooked Duchy of Cornwall rock oysters with seaweed butter, served on a coarse salt landscape, tantalised, surprisingly an improvement on serving them naked. A simple, fruity butternut bisque arrived in a sauce boat, elegantly decanted around the beach of a ravioli island sporting a parsley palm.

Two glasses of Vouvray followed the Champagne. This distinct, off-dry Loire white from a one horse town with voluminous cellars had a distinct, deep aroma tally of undercooked apple crumble and a taught palate evoking damp cashmere. Curiously, but to my favour, the Sommelier filled our glasses unevenly. The wine list has, expectedly, some unbearably lofty mark-ups, but offers reasonable value around £20-£30, particularly with white bottles. My guess is that most corporate charge-card diners don’t pause for financial concern, patting the vinous celebrities at whatever cost.

For the main courses, I enjoyed hearty, braised lamb shank, which was extroadinarily succulent, the meat meltily flaking into satisfying fronds. I sucked the soft marrow from the protein bagpipes afterwards, feeling illicit, savouring the pleasurable grey goo. It could have been caviar. My companion had “perfect” Pollack fillet, soft, flocculent, in genre fitting somewhere in between haddock and halibut. This was served with very green broccoli florets.

Puddings were artistically crafted, particularly my cool dark chocolate tower with brittle cocoa shard sail and river of pureed pistachio. This was bisected by alcoholic cherry stepping stones. My companion was pampered with a shivering pannacotta with aromatic Earl Grey sorbet and raspberry jam. A huge pot of cleansing fresh mint tea followed, poured through a gimbled strainer from New York which I was very tempted to steal (I have a thing for tea time accoutrements). Then, a silver raft of petits fours, including pulverised Madagascan vanilla truffle. A clear bonbon jar of coconut flavoured marshmallows came in time to sweeten a bill just below £100.

Service, by aesthetically diverse staff, occasionally veers from attentive to obtrusive; in fact we resorted to whispers early on (there is no ambient music, not even a Previn melody). The chairs are unergonomic, being a little low, with high arms. And the décor, whilst smart, could be described as drab, especially the entrance, which feels a stuck in the ‘80’s. The designer obviously has a love of brown.

Overall, however, watching clouds disperse then reappear, then sunshine blink through, Galvin provides an enduring, luxury vantage with really enjoyably edible food.

Many thanks again to Douglas of Intoxicating Prose for providing this guest review while I take some time off. Check back on Tuesday, May 6th to vote for your favorite guest blogger!

Sunday Buck's Fizz: Launceston Place

1a Launceston Place
W8 5RL
Tel: 020 7937 6912

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, May 7, 2006

The Victims: Al, Louise, Michael

Al & Louise are fantastic at organizing Sunday brunch, and it's funny because just the day before, I had walked by Launceston Place and thought, "That looks like a nice place."

Indeed, it is a nice place. And it was their anniversary, so we all got free Bloody Mary's. Problem is, I HATE Bloody Mary's. Uggh. Yuk. Yuk!!! I tried to swap it for a Buck's Fizz (aka Mimosa) but no luck. I could have OJ, so I did. And ordered some sparkling wine on the side. :)

So the Launceston is where you should take your grandparents. And I don't mean this in a bad way. But we were definitely some of the youngest folks in the place. Everyone there was deliciously well-dressed and wealthy looking. I was in jeans and trainers.

I started with the potato and leek soup, only my favorite soup ever. It was really, really good. For my entree, I had the duck with chorizo. Oh my was it delicious. But there was so much of it, there was no way I could finish it. And this made me, as usual, very very sad.

We drank some wine, we enjoyed the sun coming through the windows. We were the last people left in the restaurant in that lull between lunch and dinner. And it was good.

The Verdict: Bring grandma here.

Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's

Claridge's Hotel, Brook Street
W1S 1EY 
Tel: 020 7499 0099

Date of Last Visit: February 23, 2006

The Victims: Julie, Feathers, Canadia Boy

The Damage: 170 quid pro nase. Yes, you read that correctly. You only live once, right?

One of my New Year's resolutions was to eat at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. Check it off the list! It is done. And it was really, really nice.

Firstly, we arrived at the hotel and were shown to the bar area which was very cute and intimate and the bartender was just the sweetest guy ever. At one point, we think he offered to let us wear his jacket. There was a slight language barrier, so not entirely sure. I enjoyed a Kir Royale and then something peach-y and champagne-y, which was lovely. Julie went for her dry white and Feathers for a mixed drink which escapes me and then a vodka gimlet which she was very pleased with. We were all entirely pleased with the bar snacks. Three different little salty snacky types. Very nice.

We were then shown to our table, and Canadia Boy joined us soon afterwards. We put him in charge of ordering for us, and he chose a balanced Bordeux that was just lovely.

Service was discreet and unobtrusive. You almost forgot they were there. There was one point where they delivered one of our courses without explanation (more about the courses in a sec) and we had to flag them down, but that was one slight mishap in an entire evening of loveliness.

The restaurant was very dark. Very, very dark. However, now that I am so used to spending time in my company's Paris office, I am used to dark French spaces. (For whatever reason, my French colleagues refuse to turn on the lights in our Paris office. I just heard that nPower is raising rates 13% in the UK, so assuming rates move in the same direction in France, this is not a bad thing. I suppose.)

Our courses...first we were brought some crispy flatbreads with some little toppings. I'm going to forget what the toppings were, but one was berry-ish and the other might have been foie-gras-esque.

When at Claridge's, order the chef's menu, so that's what we did. Six courses of Gordon. By the way, we did not see him, but we did see the French guy that's been on Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. The guy that's in charge of all the waiters.

Oh, I am going to be so terrible and forget what we had, but let me try to remember...
Safron and cauliflower soup: Very nice. Nothing bad about it. Not as good as the lovely little starter soup at The Bowler, but nice nonetheless.
Foie gras: Very tasty. I allowed foie gras in 2006 because it was, after all, Gordon.
Scallops: Personally, I thought the portion was overly small, and it was too salty.
Duck (it was either this or sea bass): DELICIOUS. Super-tender. Lovely. This as my absolute favorite part.
Cheese plate: No, wait, this was my favorite part. The cheese cart at Claridge's is HUGE. And very comprehensive. I asked for Comte and they had it. I love Comte. However, I feel that the Cheese Dude, while very knowledgeable, really needs to sell the cheese a bit more. I felt like I was in one of those restaurants where you say, "What do you recommend?" and they say, "Uh well, everything is good. It depends on what you like." Cheese dude should have announced some of the cheeses, unasked. All in all though, a beautiful experience
Peanut butter parfait: A nice little surprise at the end. We forgot about it. It was almost like it was full of marshmallow fluff. Very tasty. I love peanut butter.

But the absolute best part of the evening was when they asked us if we wanted to retire to the bar area for petit fours. Of course we said yes and relocated. They brought us these beautiful little pistachio ice cream balls and these other little fruity chocolate pearls. Quite lovely. And well, there was a little more Kir Royale.

The weird part: Using the ladies. It's very beautiful, but when you came out of the toilet (I went twice), the lady in there filled the sink up with water with the drain closed and you had to immerse your hands in the water. That was weird. And actually, quite drying to the skin. They should have offered me some hand lotion or something.

The Verdict: A once in a lifetime experience. It was lovely. The food was very, very good. It wasn't excellent (man, my first meal at The Bowler keeps getting better and better), but it was definitely high quality.

Date Place: Julie's

135 Portland Road
London W11 4LW8
Tel: 020 7229 8331

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, January 8

The Victims: Al, Louise, Michael

The Damage: 50 quid per person!

I hadn't seen Al & Louise in ages--since that Thai restaurant that got me sick ages ago. I left it up to them to choose our brunch locale, and they chose Julie's, which I was excited about because I'd heard good things.

I ended up running into Michael at the lift in Holland Park Station, which was funny because I totally thought it was a coincidence and he played along with it until he finally admitted that he too was coming to brunch. That was pretty funny.

We were shown downstairs to the waiting area at Julie's and it was fantastic. I felt like I was in a spa and someone was going to come get me soon to take me in for a facial or something. The lighting was very dim and romantic and the music was very chill. Michael and I ordered champagne cocktails and settled in in a little nook off the main waiting area.

Al & Louise were running a bit late, which was totally fine because we were so comfortable. Eventually, we were shown to a table in another little nook. One of the chair's looked like it should be the pope's chair. The space was a bit hard to get in and out of, but it was nice to have our own little spot.

Michael and I started with the smoked mackeral pate, and it was lovely. (Although some might argue that this goes against my "No foie gras in 2006" rule, I'd respectfully disagree. Foie gras to me is duck or chicken, not fish.) Louise went with the goat's cheese terrine and it looked lovely. Al had the vegetable soup and he said it was spicy and different.

For mains, I skipped the salmon because of my last experience at Vic Naylor's, and instead opted for the chicken which was very nice, albeit nothing to write home about. The stuffing, on the other hand, was fantastic and they should have provided more of it! Also, the potatoes were very nice. Al & Michael ordered the lamb with mint sauce, which came without any mint sauce. That was bad. I think it was because our waitress was French. Louise went for the beef with yorkshire pudding, which she gobbled all up.

Service throughout was very friendly, albeit not always with great English. We had to explain things a couple of times. But that was okay.

On our way out, there were a bunch of kids running around upstairs and damn if they all weren't the cutest things and super well-behaved. Apparently, Julie's operates a creche in the restaurant somewhere so parents can take a breather during their meal. Nice idea. (But also something to bear in mind if little people aren't your thing.)

The Verdict: A great date place. Great atmosphere. Good food.

I Am So Fancy: Tea at the Ritz

150 Piccadilly
W1J 9BR
Tel: 020 7493 8181

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, September 18th, 2005

The Victims: MOM!!! Mom's friend Mary, Julie

The Damage: 37.50ish each (GBP)

Mom came for a quick visit and brought her friend Mary along. I wanted to do tea at The Ritz, so we did! First, we went to Buckingham Palace and did the State Rooms tour, which was very classy. Then we took a taxi to Jermyn street, which was even classier. Of course, it was a Sunday at noon so nothing was open, which was bad. But eventually, we made our way to The Ritz for our tea and everything was solved.

Firstly, we were greeted PERFECTLY upon arrival. A distinguished gentleman asked if he could help us, to which I responded that we had a booking for tea. He asked, in all seriousness, "You're not very hungry, are you?" It was sweet. Then he pointed us in the right direction. We headed straight for the ladies. I have a feeling had I left Mom and Mary there, he would have married one of them!

I will deduct some points for stairs. Stairs suck. Going to the bathroom shouldn't be work. But the ladies was delightful and had very pretty murals and all that. The biggest plus were the complimentary beverages in the corner--okay, just water, but still.

Back upstairs, we were shown to a quiet and comfortable table in the corner. Having (what seem to be) quirky tastes, I asked for the Lapsong Souchong tea. Our waiter warned me that it would be very different. I was ready for it. It was delicious...smoky and interesting. Mom and Mary went for the Ritz tea and Julie went for the Darjeling tea, which I can never have again after having it at an Indian restaurant in South Bend Indiana and drinking the most delicious thing ever.

Then came our little silver tray. Three stories tall. First story...ham and salmon sandwiches, cream cheese sandwiches,  egg salad sanwiches (which I don't usually like, but which were mucho deliciouso), and one other which escapes me, but which was not prawn and avocado, surprise, surprise! Second story...scones, and clotted cream and preserves. Now, nothing compares to a Chicago Starbucks scone which aren't scones at all but rather bastardized donuts. But these were quite tasty. Lastly--the delicious assortment of desserts. Perfect ending.

OK, well, I can't just end with dessert. Julie and I went for the glass of champagne. A nice touch. Our waiter was kind enough to take our photo, which was very sweet of him. He must get tired of that. He kept checking in with us, which was nice. Good customer service, that Ritz. Love it. They've got it right. I wonder how they do it?  Oh yes, and just when we thought it was all over and we'd paid the bill and everything, they brought us some more clotted cream and berries!

The Verdict: Lovely. Well done. Would go again in a heartbeat.

How do I love thee?: Bibdendum

81 Fulham Road
SW3 6RD
Tel: 020 7581 5817

The Victim: Boss

Date of Last Visit: Thursday, July 14, 2005. (Sorry, still catching up after all that salmon in Alaska!)

The Damage: Unknown

I needed a venue close to a couple of key locations. Firstly, a tube, as I was wearing pretty impossible heels. Secondly, a parking garage. Thirdly, a hotel. Also, I needed something business-like with good service and good food. And of course, if it was available via Toptable.co.uk, even better.

So Bibendum, it was. I still haven't gotten over my anger towards a different Conrad property--Le Pont de la Tour. A long story, but in May of 2004, they insisted they were fully booked and wouldn't seat us, but yet remained empty the entire evening--oh yes, we watched. My father isn't a Private Investigator for nothing. But I tried to not bias myself.

So we chanced a visit to another Conrad--but this time, with a booking. Bibendum was empty upstairs when we we were seated. But I was intrigued by the downstairs Oyster bar--looked like a nice place to while away a Saturday afternoon--and it was sufficiently packed. Also, the tile work was a nice touch. (After spending 10 days with Uncles George and Bob, I am very sensitive to good tile work.) As usual in English restaurants, I feel like a million different people waited on us, and the sommelier looked weird--kinda like a guy from Revenge of the Nerds--and he wasn't overly helpful. (Then again, Boss knew what he wanted.)

Perhaps getting ready for my sojurn in Alaska, I ordered the scallops to start and they were super-delicious; they were accompanied by risotto, which after my stay in Croatia, has me forever a fan. And the Bibendum stained glass was just so pretty...all in all, I was settling in very nicely. I went for the Breen for my main, with a side of spinach. The spinach was also super-delicious; I swear they laced it with anisette or something. Boss also enjoyed his food tremendously...if I remember correctly, it was the roasted chicken. After we left, he said it was one of the best meals he'd had in the UK...good stuff.

For dessert, I had the warm strawberries with iced lavender parfait and Champagne. The champagne was a pink champagne, and it was presented in a tall shot glass...lovely. The iced lavender was like nothing I've ever had before...it was creamy, but solid. I wish I knew what the ingredients were. Fantastic.

I used the Ladies' and remember that it was nice, but nothing to write home about.

The Verdict: A delightful experience with wonderful food and attentive (if not very personal) service. I'd go again. Definitely.

Fancy Schmancy: Oxo Tower Brasserie

Barge House Street
SE1 9PH
Tel: 020 7803 3888

The Victims: Toby, Xiaohua, Marc, Alex, and a very ill me

Date of Last Visit: February 7

I was very tired, and I was not very merry. I was probably also running a temperature. But Xiaohua was in town and Toby had made us dinner reservations at the Oxo Tower Brasserie, and I've always wanted to go so I did.

The views are spectacular, so if you're looking for a place to take visiting dignitaries or, well, mom and dad, this is a great choice. Our service was a bit spacey; the appetizers came before the bread, the wine didn't show up until the bread showed up, and the water took forever to appear. It was cheerfully spacey service though, I will give them credit for that.

I got the fried tofu as a starter and it was delicious. I believe it came with eggplant, and you know I'm a sucker for eggplant. The only starter that looked less than impressive was the chicken soup, but hey, Alex should have known that. Who orders chicken soup as a starter?

Things get a bit hazy after this because my cold medicine kicked in. My meal came with kimchee, which cleared my sinuses right up for about 10 minutes. Need to remember that next time I am at death's door! I believe there was some duck involved--always order duck in a restaurant because you (unless you are spectacular) will never make duck for yourself. I must have been channeling the Chinese person inside of me because Xiaohua and I again shared the same entree.

The lemon sorbet was perfect for my cold, as was the red wine Marc and I split.

The Verdict: Go for the views. Be wary of the prices. All in all, a nice evening. This was a Monday evening, though, so I do worry what happens on the weekeneds--potentially utter chaos!

Outdoor Garden, French: Coq d'Argent

Coq d'Argent
No.1 Poultry
London EC2R 8EJ
020 7395 5000

Date of Visit: Twice in June!

The Victims: Keith on Visit 1; Rutton, Ashley, Fredrik, Sophia Hakan, TJ on Visit 2

So I was invited to this party at Coq d'Argent. It was fantastic. It was free. We took the glass elevator up to the restaurant, which has a rooftop deck and decent views of the surrounding area if you get up close to the edge. There was champagne everywhere. Wine too. Alas, little to no food. I had one shrimp. It was good, but not good enough. The vibe was "Hotel Bar" cool. There were little to no women there.

So I had a fabulous time, but all I did was drink and hang out around the bar area. Then on Friday, my friend Rutton called and said, "Hey we're at this place called C-O-Q something" and I was like "No way! I was just there!" So I dragged Ashley out of All Bar One on Cannon (love those olives!) and we ran over to Coq. The unfortunate part was that we were dressed very casually, so I felt very unfancy.

We met the boys, and they were drinking white wine on the outdoor patio. I love men who drink white wine on a summer's day. That's fabulous. They have free party nuts, which are also quite nice. And you're sitting outside, so all is good with the world. The crowd is "Hey, it's Friday and I just got out of work but I'm tired of All Bar One." Youngish, fancy. Ashley and I were the most under-dressed people there.

The Verdict: Go for a business lunch or dinner on a nice day when you can enjoy the outdoor terrace. It's fantastic. Ah yes, and the ladies' toilet it nice too!