Posts by Tom Johnston
Tom’s Food! New Year Resolutions for 2022
Happy New Year! As you are probably aware, this column doesn’t make new year resolutions. Well, not for me, but I thought you lot could use a few. Avoid Vegans Part 1 Lift up any packet of ready made, allegedly plant based food and shudder. For starters, if you are eschewing meat (as opposed to…
Read MoreReview of the Year 2021 Part 2: 1 – 14
Dean Banks It’s been a long year. This is article 139. Trust me on two things. Firstly, this is definitely the last in 2021; and secondly there won’t be nearly so many next year. I really really do plan to get out more. It must be said, however, that we ate out to very good…
Read MoreReview of the Year 2021 Part 1: 15 – 27
Tom Eats! in 2021 Another tumultuous year. You may remember that places were shut down on Christmas Eve 2020 (sound familiar?) They were closed for a good few months. Having reopened, with many of them desperate for a decent Christmas trade to get some cash in, they were hammered by Government “advice” to cancel…
Read MoreWhen Restaurant Reviewers Go Bad: Chitra Ramaswamy, J’Accuse
It’s usually quite easy to tell when food has gone off. When restaurant reviewers are downright bad, it’s sometimes harder to notice. Last week was intended to be the last On The Side column of the year; however, a food review appeared on Saturday, which I felt I couldn’t let pass. In the last Tom…
Read MoreWhere Will Tom Eats! Pop Up in 2022? – Part Two: Edinburgh
I had expected to be slagged for last week’s column of non-reviews. Instead some of you were kind enough to praise the resourcefulness. This week should have seen me basking in the Algarve. Not so, alas, though it was fear of the unknown – a possible eight day quarantine just before Christmas – which…
Read MoreChristmas Day Veg
I have bemoaned on many occasions the fact that we Brits are so unimaginative in our veg cookery. Unadorned, often unseasoned, boiled vegetables are not only depressing, they scream of a cook who, quite frankly my dear, doesn’t give a damn. While Christmas Day requires tradition, there’s no reason why old favourites can’t be given…
Read MoreTom’s 3 Fs of Christmas
Those who know me will be aware that much of my life is centred round three Fs. Food, Football and Books. (Ah, you noticed the flaw in the last part of my tricorn rhetoric. Never mind.) I write a fair bit about food books in this column, so perhaps I can justify that as the…
Read MoreWhere Will Tom Eats! Pop Up in 2022? – Part One: London
SARS-CoV-2 (that’s COVID 19 to you) has played havoc for nearly two years now. One of its most insignificant consequences is the impact it’s had on Tom Eats! Writing restaurant reviews avoiding takeaways has been a challenge, though it did give me the opportunity to revive some golden oldies, and it did introduce you…
Read MoreChristopher Trotter Cooking With Kale
Continuing the kale theme from Wednesday’s On The Side column, I’m indebted to the Trotters. To Christopher, without whom I would probably have continued to body swerve its mineral rich loveliness, and who has kindly allowed me to reproduce some of his recipes: and to Caroline, for almost all of the photos. (Observant readers will…
Read MoreThe Food Alphabet: K is for Kale
I know that some friends will be recoiling in horror at the thought of this stuff. Truth be told, cooked without care its coarse bitter leaves are pretty unpalatable, and its reputation as Scottish peasant food hasn’t helped. The original spelling in Scots was kail. It was an important staple, largely because it would grow…
Read MoreMichael Greenlaw’s Portuguese Delights: Pork and Clams, and more
I asked readers for some other Christmas recipes. My good friend, celebrated artist Michael Greenlaw, answered the call. The only problem is that as he is wintering in the Algarve, hearty stews and steamed puddings aren’t on his mind. Still these sound like crackers, so that’s Christmassy enough for me. Coincidentally I was thinking about…
Read MoreDusit Thai, Edinburgh
Dusit Thai 49A Thistle Street, Edinburgh EH2 1DY 0131 220 6846 www.dusit.co.uk The Bill Dusit Banquet £29.50 pp A la carte Appetisers £5.50 – £10.50 | Mains £11.95 – £22.00 The Score Cooking 6.5/10 | Service 4.5/5 | Flavour 4/5 | Value 4.5/5 TOTAL 19.5/25 You are in heaven in Thailand. A masked…
Read MoreChef Watch – Phil White of LeftField, Edinburgh
Chef Watch Featuring Phil White of LeftField, Edinburgh How long have you been a chef? Very long time, Tom. I started when I was 16 at the National Exhibition Centre. It was great. We cooked from 4 people up to 2000. We also got to sneak into the gigs at the arena afterwards. Why did…
Read MoreThe Bay Tree Hotel, Burford, Oxfordshire
The Bay Tree Hotel Sheep Street, Burford, Oxfordshire OX18 4LW 01993 822791 www.cotswold-inns-hotels.co.uk/the-bay-tree-hotel The Bill A la carte Starters £7.50 – £13.50 | Mains £16.00 – £30.00 Puddings £6.50 – £9.00 The Score Cooking 7/10 | Service 4.5/5 | Flavour 4.5/5 Value 4.5/5 TOTAL 20.5/25 Stand at the top of the hill before…
Read MoreThe Best Christmas Pudding Ever – Courtesy of Stephen Harris
Stephen Harris After Stir-up Sunday in this week’s On The Side, what else could I feature today? I am both grateful to, and traumatised by, Stephen Harris of The Sportsman in Kent. For some years I have been making my own Christmas pud, using a recipe which appeared in The Telegraph some years ago. His recipe makes two…
Read MoreStirred by Stir-up Sunday?
For a number of years now I have been making my own Christmas pudding. While I guess my mum did too, at least in the early days, I have no recollection of any great tradition surrounding it, the silver threepenny excepted. I normally get round to it in the latter part of November, but when…
Read MoreTiramisu
Having mentioned tiramisu in Wednesday’s On The Side, it seemed rude to let it pass by today’s column. Sadly, it has become a bit of a cliché. You are unlikely to find many dessert menus in Italian restaurants from which it’s absent. Yet the reason dishes become so ubiquitous is that they sell well. Put…
Read MoreThe Palmerston, Edinburgh
The Palmerston Restaurant & Bakery 1 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh EH12 5AF 0131 220 1794 www.thepalmerstonedinburgh.co.uk The Bill Set Lunch (Wednesday to Friday) 2 courses £16.00 | 3 courses £19.00 A la carte Starters £6.50 – £10.00 | Mains £15.00 – £22.00 Desserts £5.00 – £6.00 The Score Cooking 8.5/10 | Service 5/5 |…
Read MoreWell, Here’s Another Nice Mess…
Were you as shocked as I to read of the recent death of Aldo Campeol owner of Le Beccherie in Treviso in northern Italy? Shock at the passing of a 93 year old man? Hardly, but it was the news that he was credited as the father of tiramisu, which had me shaking my head…
Read MoreRecipes from Coasts & Waters by Christopher Trotter
In On The Side on Wednesday we featured Coasts & Waters, the latest cook book from the prolific pen of Christopher Trotter. Many thanks to Christopher for permission to reproduce these two excerpts. The first is an interesting fish curry; the second is a fine explanation of a skill which many have struggled to master,…
Read MoreThe Crusoe, Lower Largo, Fife
The Crusoe 2 Main Street, Lower Largo, by Leven, Fife KY8 6BT 01333 406775 The Bill Nibbles (excluding oysters) £4.00 – £5.50 | Starters £5.50 – £10.00 Mains £14.00 – £27.50 | Desserts £1.50 – £7.50 The Score Cooking 6.5/10 | Service 5/5 | Flavour 4/5 | Value 4/5 TOTAL 19.5/25 The Kingdom of…
Read MoreBooks As Gifts – Coasts & Waters; Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat – And More
I hesitate to use the C word, but we have now passed Hallowe’en. I find a good bookshop to be the source of a perfect Christmas present for many. If anyone on your gift list is at all interested in food, there is a plethora of suggestions for all levels of expertise, and to suit…
Read MoreAn Ignoramus Does Sourdough
Begin with your Banneton Now, whatever you do, don’t misread the title. It does not say An Idiot’s Guide To Sourdough. Such articles with their condescending titles are produced by experts who have decided to descend from Mount Olympus to impart a little wisdom to mere mortals such as you and me. Armed with their erudition, we will…
Read MoreLand, Birmingham – Guest Reviewer Miranda Heggie
Land 30 Great Western Arcade, Colmore Row, Birmingham B2 5HU 0121 236 2313 www.land.restaurant The Bill 4 courses £30 | 6 courses £39 The Score Cooking 8/10 | Service 4/5 | Flavour 4/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 21/25 When thinking of Birmingham’s architecture, you’d be forgiven for conjuring up a mental image of sprawling…
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