Posts by Tom Johnston
Boeuf à la Ficelle (Poached Beef with Vegetables)
With Wednesday’s French influences still ringing in my ears, we had to go to France for today’s recipe. In fact, to France via New York. There are many versions of this classic, but this one comes from Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook. Brasserie Les Halles in New York City was where Bourdain was Executive Chef…
Read MoreFrench Food is the World’s Finest? Discuss
The only food magazine to which I subscribe is delicious. While the adjective is one I do my best to avoid in Tom Eats! columns, I very much enjoy the periodical, with a good range of columnists and recipes. It is enthusiastic and entertaining without being condescending or patronising. The September issue was dedicated to France, and contained…
Read MoreHamiltons, Edinburgh
Hamiltons 16 – 18 Hamilton Place, Edinburgh EH3 5AU 0131 226 4199 www.hamiltonsedinburgh.co.uk The Bill Lunch (Mon – Fri) Sandwiches £11.00 – £13.00 | Mains £14.00 – £22.00 Desserts £8.00 Dinner Starters £5.00 – £8.00 | Sharing Plates £10.00 – £15.00 Mains £14.00 – £22.00 | Desserts £8.00 The Score Cooking 4.5/10 | Service…
Read MoreSpiced Apple Cake
Well, if Wednesday’s On The Side column got you in the mood for coffee, I thought you might like a slice of cake to go with it. With apples coming into season, why not try this terrific recipe from the celebrated Sarah Mellersh of the late lamented Let’s Cook Scotland? Thanks as ever to Sarah…
Read MoreCoffee Overtakes Tea in the UK
According to a report in The Times this week, coffee has overtaken tea as Britain’s favourite drink. I wasn’t entirely blown away by the statistical evidence which was quoted. To say, as the article does, that shoppers bought more than 533 million packs of coffee compared to 287 million packs of tea, is meaningless. From a…
Read MoreZizzi, Edinburgh
Zizzi 42 Queensferry Street, Edinburgh EH2 4RA 0131 225 6937 www.zizzi.co.uk/italian/restaurants/edinburgh-queensferry-street The Bill Starters £4.65 – £9.00 | Pasta £14.95 – £17.45 Pizza £14.00 – £17.45 | Mains £14.45 – £17.45 Desserts £6.75 – £8.00 The Score Cooking 6.5/10 | Service 4.5/5 Flavour 4/5 | Value 2/5 TOTAL 17/25 Breathtaking. Jawdroppingly awesome.…
Read MoreAndrew McCall’s Apple Chutney
Yes, I know we had a chutney recipe a week or two ago; however, this is the first batch we’ve made here this season. Since word got around that we make the stuff, kind souls have taken to donating apples. Two large bags in the space of a few days. Not only did nephew Andrew…
Read MoreCan’t Cook? Can’t Even Boil An Egg
Can’t even boil an egg. The ultimate culinary put down. But why, one wonders? Can’t even make toast, or can’t even open a tin might surely be more damning. The topic came up the other day in The Knowledge, a daily newsletter which has interesting features on politics, society, arts and miscellaneous trivia. Twenty years…
Read MoreLesley Johnston’s Chicken Liver Pâté
In today’s review of Tipo (don’t miss it, the restaurant, that is, not the review – oh come to think of it, sample both) I expressed surprise that a top chef would be featuring pâté. My, how food snobbery seeps into our bone marrow. Once, of course, it featured on every menu, hence the backlash.…
Read MoreTipo, Edinburgh
Tipo 110 Hanover Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4DR 0131 226 4545 www.tipoedinburgh.co.uk/ The Bill snacks and breads £6.00 – £8.00 small plates £12.00 – £14.00 pasta £13.00 – £15.00 | main dishes £22.00 – £35.00 dessert £6.00 – £7.00 The Score Cooking 8/10 | Service 4.5/5 Flavour 5/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 22.5/25 Restaurant…
Read MoreThe Pepperpot Diaries; Rice Table; Upgrade
Confused by the title? Well, come and have a look at my (overflowing) book shelves. For a good number of years I tried to operate a one in, one out policy when it came to cookery books. Now, however, I can’t think of a single one in my collection I could bear to part with.…
Read MoreSarah Mellersh’s Crème Fraîche Ice Cream
Even by their standards, Scottish raspberries have been superb this year. If you are pondering the relevance of this thought in an ice cream recipe, allow me to enlighten you. I often serve this with rasps and coulis and balsamic, and truly wonderful it is too. I wrote about that combo three years ago. You…
Read MoreDakota Grill, Dakota Hotel, Glasgow
Dakota Grill Dakota Hotel Glasgow 179 West Regent Street, Glasgow G2 4DP 0141 404 3680 www.dakotahotels.co.uk The Bill Set Lunch 2 courses £30.00 | 3 courses £35.00 A la carte Starters £10.00 – £16.00 | Mains £20.00 – £37.50 Desserts £9.00 – £10.00 The Score Cooking 6.5/10 | Service 4/5 Flavour 4.5/5 |…
Read MoreHow Well Do You Treat Your Suppliers? A Fine Tale for August
Tina and Ross Coventry While I’m thinking about the food and drink industry in particular, it’s quite a wide ranging question to anyone who is in business. The butchers, bakers and wholesale merchants who supply the food that you cook or sell on; the fishermen and farmers who labour, often in arduous and dangerous conditions,…
Read MoreJan Bentley’s Old Doverhouse Chutney
I laugh more than I used to. A thing called retirement was largely instrumental. One thing which does make me chuckle is when someone asks me for my chutney recipe. Since I let it be known that I was in the market for unwanted apples in the season, I usually make at least one batch each…
Read MoreThe Kirklands Hotel, Kinross
The Kirklands Hotel 20 High Street, Kinross, KY13 8AN 01577 863313 www.thekirklandshotel.com The Bill A la carte Small Bites £7.00 (3 for £19.00) Mains £13.95 – £21.95 (Small portions are available for some dishes) Desserts £5.50 – £6.95 The Score Cooking 4.5/10 | Service 3.5/5 Flavour 3.5/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 16.5/25 …
Read MoreRestaurants: When Will There Be Good News?
It seems to be a gloomy day. I’m not just referring to wildfires and strikes and global warming. On one of this column’s favourite subjects, restaurants, the news seems to be worse than usual. Now I’m not shedding any tears over the impending closure of Noma. Rene Redzepi has declared that the model for his…
Read MoreLime Chicken Part 2 (Thai Style)
After last week’s classical Claire Macdonald recipe, I thought you might like a change, This is a Thai style recipe of which I’ve picked up various versions. It seems to have been made famous by the blessed Delia, but at heart it’s a Thai go to. Very simple, but first, a few pointers. Don’t get…
Read MoreWahaca, Edinburgh
Wahaca 16 South St Andrew Street, Edinburgh EH2 2AU 0131 564 3850 www.wahacaco.uk The Bill A la carte Nibbles £5.75 – £7.95 | Street Food £6.95 – £7.50 Bigger Plates £10.75 – £13.50 | Sides £1.95 – £5.75 Desserts £6.50 – £6.75 The Score Cooking 5/10 | Service (Visit 1 – 5/5: Visit…
Read MoreThe Air Fryer Chronicles Part 1
Air Fryers. Didn’t have one; didn’t have a view for or against, though a few friends are keen devotees. Life changed last week in the shape of a large box as a birthday present. Indian giving, possibly. Anyway, have beast, will fry. For experiment 1 below, I had no clue what to do and nothing…
Read MoreLime Chicken Part 1
As I wrote on Wednesday, inspiration can come from strange sources: but sometimes it doesn’t come at all. Struggling a little for this week’s Tom Cooks! I remembered a lemon chicken recipe sent to me by my excellent friend, licensing lawyer extraordinaire, JH. Rereading it, I remembered why I had left it to one side. I…
Read MoreLa Lanterna West End, Glasgow
La Lanterna West End 447 Great Western Road, Glasgow G12 8HH 0141 3340686 www.lalanternawestend.co.uk The Bill Set Lunch 2 courses £17.95 | 3 courses £22.95 Starters £5.95 – £13.50 | Pasta £15.95 – £18.95 Mains £17.95 – £35.95 | Desserts £6.50 – £6.90 The Score Cooking 5.5/10 | Service 4/5 Flavour 4/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 18.5/25 …
Read MoreWhat’s In A Name? I’ll Drink To That
Dionysus NOT Dionysios Dionysios, I said to myself. Are you sure? Is it not Dionysus? Sad, I suppose, that the idea for a column can materialise when you’re taking your best girl out for a hot date. Early evening at the flickers followed by some leftover chicken stew. Don’t tell me that I can’t show…
Read MoreLobster Bisque from Leftovers
Professionals, look away now. Serious cooks who have created this lovingly from a classic text, do likewise. This is a true mongrel of a recipe, born of improvisation on my part, and vague memories of seeing folk on the telly doing bisque-y type stuff. All I will say in my defence is that the end…
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