Make Your Own Sushi

For the first cook of the post Japan period, it’s surely appropriate to start with what is probably the best known Japanese food, sushi. As we alluded to on Wednesday, there are about five varieties. I exclude sashimi from that, as no rice is involved. Today’s version, makizushi, is so called because you use a…

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Pound Kyoto Ekimae, Kyoto, Japan

  Pound Kyoto Ekimae 185 – 1 Higashi Sakaicho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8217, Japan +81 75-708 8929   website not functioning The Bill (Based on £1 – 181.5 Yen plus 10% Tax) Starters £4.75 – £17.00 |  Steaks £67.00 – £185.00 Desserts £4.00 – £4.50 The Score Cooking  7/10 | Service 1.5/5 Flavour  4/5 | Value 3.5/5…

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Japan: Some Initial Food Thoughts

Sushi Tokyo Fish Market Some of you who noted the absence of Tom’s Food! these past few weeks may have been labouring under the impression that I was on holiday. As if! Those who follow me on social media will have known that L and I have been in Japan, researching frantically to keep these columns…

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Herringbone, Goldenacre, Edinburgh

  Herringbone 2 South Trinity Road, Edinburgh EH5 3NR 0131 552 3292  www.herringbone-goldenacre.co.uk   The Bill Daytime Starters £4.75 – £7.50 | Mains £12.95 – £18.90 Desserts £4.00 – £7.50 Dinner Starters £4.75 – £8.50 | Mains £14.50 – £20.95 Desserts £4.00 – £7.50 The Score Cooking  6/10 | Service 4.5/5 Flavour  4/5 | Value…

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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…

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French 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…

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Hamiltons, 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…

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Spiced 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…

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Coffee 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…

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Zizzi, 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.…

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Andrew 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…

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Can’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…

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Lesley 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.…

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Tipo, 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…

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The 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.…

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Sarah 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…

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Dakota 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 |…

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How 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,…

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Jan 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…

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The 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 …

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Restaurants: When Will There Be Good News?

Boarded up restaurant

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…

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Lime 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…

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Wahaca, 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…

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The 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…

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