VINOTECA MARYLEBONE – A LITTLE WINE? EEEEEEEEE.....

Somebody asked me the other day why I hadn’t written a post for a while.

Well, there was Christmas and New Year when many places closed down for the holidays. There were the visits to old favourites that wouldn’t necessarily have blog-worthiness, the right blogicity if you will; but mainly it was down to that ennui with the London dining scene that strikes me de temps en temps.

Sure, there have been shedloads of new openings and the law of averages probably guarantees that some of them might have been adequate (almost), but merely reading the offerings of the majority just sent my feet to sleep.

Looky-likey, me-too menus are the last refuge of the lazy restaurateur. I mean, I like charcuterie as much as the next diner but it’s hardly the world’s most onerous task to buy some decent cured meat and cut it. As HS once said to the chef at a famous Wandsworth restaurant "Well sourced and sliced". In most cases very, very thinly indeed.

Luckily on a recent visit to the brand spanking new outpost of the rather wonderful and very successful Vinoteca I didn’t have to endure the heart-attack inducing excitement of Beer-Battered Fish and Chips or Rib Eye Steak with faux Triple-cooked chips on the menu.

To be honest I was a little worried about my prospective meal. Dos Hermanos have been frequent visitors to the original in Clerkenwell since it opened and despite a few changes in personnel it has kept the quality of its food and wine and the warmth of its welcome at pleasingly high levels.

The owners have always talked about not rolling out the 'concept' but happily in the case of this new branch they've managed to succeed with that difficult second restaurant.

Hidden away in a side street off the Edgware Road the setup at the new gaff will be familiar to anyone who's visited the mothership. Open kitchen, bar and a dining area with some tables so restricted of width my legs wouldn't fit. I spent most of the meal with my limbs akimbo (and if that ain't enough to put you off your Sauvignon Blanc nothing is).

Toytown tables aside, the experience at Vinoteca W1 continues to be a good one. Staff are friendly and enthusiastic, there's a great selection of wines by the glass and the range of food is interesting and prepared with care.

Pork Cracklings came as long strips which were dense and crisp. They gave my choppers a good workout but in an era where a lot of food has become very soft this is a good thing.

A big bowl of mussels and clams was notable for a particularly good broth that was devoid of the grit that plagues lesser examples and had me wishing their good bread wasn't served in such parsimonious portions. The mussels and clams were sweet and fresh which is all you could ask of bivalves.

Crubeens are made from Pigs Trotter which have been cooked, shredded, breaded and deep-fried. A serving of three of these blighters were excellent: hot and porky and with a satisfying crunch. A chunky sauce gribiche and a few leaves made a starter that would make grander places look very silly indeed. Intelligent wine pairings too: the suggested Sicilian white to go with this dish just made things better.

When I go for a meal I appreciate the little twists that show there’s someone with a brain and imagination in the kitchen. A big hunk of roasted Brill came on top of some decent greens with a sauce made from minced anchovy and chilli oil.

Sounds de trop, right? Wrong. Although it pushed the envelope of what would be a reasonable match for a non-oily fish it worked very, very well adding a hot, savoury (oh ok, umami) dimension to the dish.

Only a meanie would complain that the (unadvertised) potatoes were a prosaic and unnecessary addition and that the fish could have done with a little less cooking…so I won’t.

Pudding was a little game of let's investigate geometric solids with a Sphere of Vanilla Ice Cream atop a cube of Sticky Toffee Pudding. Light, not too sweet, it did exactly what it said on the tin.

I liked the Coffee too and in place of the usual Grappa I had a rather lovely, chocolately, dusky, Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva to help the chocolate truffles down and which had me walking down the road about a foot above the pavement, happy with the start to the new blogging year.

Oh and Vinoteca also do charcuterie. But I won’t hold that against them.

VILLANDRY KITCHEN: ROLL OUT THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL

Chains are rarely good things. If you don’t believe me, just ask Jacob Marley.

They are even worse when it comes to restaurants and, over the three years DH have been running this blog, we have seen perfectly decent initial concepts rolled out with inevitable diminishing returns.

Some are obviously headed that way from the get-go and it comes as no great surprise to us that Bodeans, once a rather fun if ersatz barbecue place in Soho, now has branches littered across the capital or that the FISH! chain puffed up like a fugu until it burst with a loud “pop”.

Some however, are more unlikely and when we heard that Villandry, that over priced but harmless grocer with restaurant in Fitzrovia, was opening a new branch called Villandry Kitchen in Holborn, we were intrigued enough to give it a try. Well, in fact we were drunk enough to give it a try, because the much needed fortification supplied by two excellent cocktails at The East Room was what it took to make us walk through the door after spending a good five minutes looking at the menu outside to see if there was anything we might actually want to eat.

Villandry Kitchen occupies a space most recently taken by a pizza/pasta chain and before that it housed one of the most lamented restaurant in DH memory, High Holborn. The emphasis in the large room is on the casual with long communal tables in the centre and rather optimistically, seats by the bar for solo diners. The menu is kept simple too with a small list of starters, a limited range of pizzas and an equally short list of “classics”

None of this suggested that any chefs might be challenged in the making of our meal, but given that the ingredients on sale and used at the mothership have always been excellent if alarmingly priced, we assumed that the same would be the case here.

Such silliness on our part was quickly removed when we were presented with our shared starter plate of charcuterie. For £7.95, I was not expecting half a pig, but three, yes count ‘em, three small slices of not great ham with a blob of under seasoned duck rillettes and some slightly nasty fig jam placed this very much in the removal of urine camp. Added insult it came with three slices of industrial baguette, the real bread costing another £2.95, and the fears we had before walking into the restaurant were confirmed.

If we had needed further proof that roll outs are no more than efficient methods of money extraction, it came with the wine. I did not dislike the light Loire Pinot as much as HP but we both disliked the £18.50 price for a wine that later I found cost them £6.75 from Bibendum. A 2.75 times mark up reminds me of a phrase I heard recently about molecular gastronomy “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”

While we mithered about the cost of the wine, our main courses arrived. Mine had been described as “chargrilled butterflied chicken” implying I would receive slightly more than a piece of chicken breast even if the £8.95 price tag may have made that assumption as optimistic as them having bar seating. In any event, it could and should have been more inspiring that the dry and dull poultry with which I was presented, topped with a decent pepper relish and rocket doused by someone with too heavy hand with the oil. A hand also used to good effect on a side order of beans.

HP, almost inevitably ordered steak, which, at £14.50 the most expensive thing on the menu, came presented on a board, with a fridge fresh slab of parsley butter and a mini bucket of fries. The steak, though messy, was cooked rare to order but should have been rested for longer, the fries had that uniform catering pack look and a small pile of watercress at the side was already beginning to blacken as, if like both of us, it had seen better days.

Like so many roll out restaurants, the food at Villandry, to all intents and purposes a fast food joint for those who think they are too middle class to go to Mickey D’s, is competent enough to avoid howls of complaint but not good enough to pass closer inspection. The ingredients, so much a part of the main restaurant’s offering, struck us as being sourced to provide food at a price for people who have other things on their mind than what they are eating and although the service was very friendly, it was not enough to make us want to linger.

Our bill, including a tip, came to just shy of £60 for two courses of food that will do little to add to the reputation of the Villandry brand even if, as I am sure the owners hope, it will attract tourists from the surrounding hotels and folks with more lunch time on their hands than they know what to do with.

We decided to have dessert elsewhere and as if to make a perfect contrast, headed to the bar at Vinoteca for a glass of dessert wine along with as good examples of buttermilk pudding and apricot ice cream as you are ever likely to find. It reminded me of when I spoke to one of its owners, Brett shortly after it opened and asked him if they were likely to open more branches.

“Why?” he replied “We just want to make sure we run this one as well as possible”

It’s a refreshing attitude and places like Villandry should take note that one is not always the loneliest number

DINE WITH DOS HERMANOS: VIVA VINOTECA

Well, it hardly seems like it, but it was a little over three years ago that, one Sunday afternoon after a large rib of beef, a bottle of something red and a few too many Yorkshire’s, I turned to HP and said “I am going to start a blog” and DOS HERMANOS was born.

It took HP a few months to get his head around it and begin posting, but once he did, after a meal at The Anchor & Hope, there was no stopping him. Here we are with well over 700 posts behind us and a readership that has grown from the 10’s a day to the 00’s a day and now, god bless ‘em to a few thousand souls every day who seem to have a bizarre and slightly scary interest in what we are shoving down our throats and what we think about it.

Well, in celebration, it would have been good to invite the whole readership (freaks excluded, of course) to join us for a meal. But, instead, we decided on the relatively more exclusive environs of the private dining room of the splendid Vinoteca, where Caitlin Ferguson, Head Chef Ross Goodall and the fantastic chefs went far out of the way to make it a special evening for thirty lucky people.

First up, a wine tasting courtesy of Casa Leal, importers of some really delicious wines from Portugal. They had kindly agreed to provide the wines for the event for which I know everyone was very, very grateful.

Then to the food itself with a splendid selection of shared starters including platters of cured meat, tea smoked duck, blood orange salads and, for me at least, best of all deep fried squid with harrisa.

Main courses provided a choice of belly pork with a crisp cracking and a clove rich apple sauce, a deep and rich mutton pie and large chunks of achingly fresh Pollack on lentils all of which received rave reviews from their various recipients.

Vinoteca were kind enough to include a complimentary cheese course, which came in the form of a slice of nettle crusted Mayfield cheese with some splendid house made oatcakes.

We then turned our attention to drawing lots for a selection of prizes, which ranged from the very first copy of EAT MY GLOBE hot off the presses, to a selection of chocolates from Paul A Young and brownies from Petra of Choc star, to a superb hamper of gold star winners from The Real Food Festival. All very much appreciated.

Pre-dessert came courtesy of Henrietta Lovell at The Rare Tea Company where a perfect parfait was accompanied by a glass of smoky oolong (er, I think. I was in my cups by then) and then desserts arrived where the choice was rice pudding oven baked in Vin Santo, buttermilk sponge with forced rhubarb and brownie ice cream.

As if that were not enough, we were able to make sure that no one, not even those who came up blank in the prize draw, left empty handed. Over the last few weeks, I had been in touch with a few chums in the food world to beg for some goodies to place in the bags and have to tip my cap to the good folks at

Gonzalez Byass for their hugely generous supply of bottles of Oloroso
Beefeater gin
Graze
Biona Pomegranate Juice
Jelly Bellys
Trees Can’t Dance
Galaxy Hot Chocolate

Everyone appreciated your generosity very much indeed.

Given the success of the evening, HP and I have decided that we should lend the DH name to a few more such shindigs along the way and we have started a

DINE WITH DOS HERMANOS group on Facebook, where we will announce all future events.

So, if you want to come along, head over there and join up.

DINE WITH DOS HERMANOS: EARLY EDITION 2009

Well, believe it or not, by the time February 2009 wheels around, the beloved catologue of middle aged dining that is DOS HERMANOS will be three years old. There have been laughs, there have been tears and there has been projectile vomiting (and that was just at El Gordo's places)

So, as ever, it is time to invite one and all to join us as we celebrate with some fine food, astonishing wines and good company at one of those all too rare eateries that get the DH "two thumbs up" This time, our mind has turned towards Vinoteca, the splendid little joint at the bottom of St John St and, although they don't know it yet, we plan to take over their private dining room for an evening.

Last time, for our meal at Tayyabs we were over subscribed, but I hope that the twenty people who came along had as much fun as we did. This time, we have space for thirty. So, if you want to come along, please drop me an e-mail to the blog mail address (see "contact us" sidebar ) and I'll add you to the list.

We are looking at a date towards the end of Ferbruary and, as ever, there will be a few surprises and maybe if you are really good, some more of those much coveted Dos Hermanos T-shirts.

LMNT2

Times are hard
You're afraid to pay the fee

The first rule of eating out is, always trust your instincts.

Hermano Segundo loves his Mac. Wherever he goes it’s never far away. Indeed, on the occasions when he brings one of his latest chums home, I’m sure I can hear, punctuating the debates about Uganda (or possibly the role of stemless Riedel glassware in the fine dining arena) the tippy-tappy of his notebook as he checks out how many hits Dos Hermanos have racked up. He also has a preternatural nose for WiFi connections. So it wasn’t really a surprise that when I thought he was safely on his way to Oz (watch out for the Wicked Witch, Hermano) I got an email from him suggesting a visit to a new place he had passed by the previous evening. I think the basis for his enthusiasm was the fact there was Rabbit on the menu.

Alarms bells started ringing when HS said he thought the place was called LMNT. I’d not heard great things about a restaurant with the same name in Hackney. Could this be connected ? Unfortunately it was.

For those who wish to avoid this er..eating establishment (and believe me you will) it’s in what was a dodgy old boozer called The Shakespeare’s Head located just off the Goswell Road which used to churn out, so I am told, unfeasibly large pizzas. The only external signs anything had changed was a small board scrawled with the new name. I entered into a largish restaurant completely empty save for a couple of friendly Italian waitresses, a few bored looking chefs and the James Bond theme (in a big-band stylee) blasting out of the PA. Nothing much changed over the next hour or so apart from the fact the music segued awkwardly to sad songs of the Seventies. Sung with feeling. In Italian (“Non posso vivere, se vivere è senza voi” if the Google translator is to be believed).

Everything was at a level of awfulness I have seldom come across in London (although St. Germain came close) from overcooked wood pigeon breast in a stale tasting jus through the tranche of pork belly, which had seen better days, reheated then served crackling side down (so that was the subject of all the debate in the kitchen) in the same sauce to the crappy wines. It was so bad I actually felt a bit sorry for them. I did try to point out some of the deficiencies in a helpful manner but no one seemed particularly interested. Tant Pis as our Gallic friends might say.

I politely declined a pudding and made a break for the door almost getting cut off by the sinister looking restaurant manager (think main baddie in BHC) who had suddenly appeared and seemed somewhat put out that a punter had actually come in.

The one good thing about LMNT2 is that it is just a short, run-like-the-wind-before-the MBIBHC(work it out)-gets-you, distance from the ever fantastic Vinoteca. Here you can get an interesting glass of wine, some terrific terrine (or in my case the best-ever potted shrimps) and still have change left over for a omnibus home. It’s your choice – I know which one I’m going for.

VINOTECA

I AM A VINOTECA BOY

Ah, how many bloggers do you know who would reference an obscure Pet Shop Boy's track for the heading of their daily, er, entry?

After the normal training at 6.30am/chores/shopping/shaving bonce routine that is the norm for my free Saturdays, I decided that I deserved some lunch and a nice glass of wine.

Beguiled, as I had been by Vinoteca on my brief visit pre the disappointing meal at St John, I decided that it might just fit the bill. So, Boxing News in hand, I sauntered in there a little before 1pm.

The place was entirely empty and, I suspect, stays that way until later in the evening. All the better for me. I was able to spend a very happy 45 mins sitting with a glass of Rueda in front of me while munching on a plate of cold meats and cheeses with oatcakes, olives, almonds and chutney.

Vinoteca has been open for a few months. The three owners, Brett, Helena and Charlie are all incredibly amiable and welcoming and really know their stuff. The wine list is serious, extensive, well priced and accessible ( my wine cost a mere £3.85 which is practically giving it away for a wine like that ) the food I saw being prepared the other night looked suitably rustic and hearty. During the daytime at weekends the food options are limited to cold cuts. That was fine by me and I chose a small plate of mixed meat and cheese for £6.00.

Eschewing the normal suppliers of Spanish meats in London, Brindisa etc, Vinoteca imports all of its cuts direct from Huelva via a link that is Helena's friend's boyfriend's father's butcher's supplier ( I kid you not ) but however "six degrees of Spanish Bacon" it may be, it is well worth the effort. The chorizo, lomo and salsichon was all splendid absolutely top quality. They are also, they told me, one of the few to offer Jabugo in the UK.

With the cold cuts some british cheeses ( Monty's and some others, I did not recognise ) good bread ( from St J, I suspect ) served with a suitably lawny olive oil, pickles and biscuits. For £10 including the glass of wine, a very reasonable price for a simple lunch.

Vinoteca does not take reservations in the evening which normally brings me out in hives. However, with friendly people like this and food/wine of this quality, I can see myself happily propping up the bar area waiting for a table.

Well worth a visit

Afterwards, as I pottered home, I realised that Liverpool Vs Everton was on the box. So, a quick pint in The Artillery Arms kept me company while I watched the boys in red beat the boys in blue not really caring either way really.