food blogging ...

I nearly forgot that last weekend was so great - and it's already this weekend. It makes me reflect, y'know, on the passing of time and, like, how it's so ... um ... fast ... Yea. That's it. Or something like.

The weeks are a bit packed - and I meant to post about last weekend but Monday got eaten up by Tuesday and so forth. So I find myself at Friday again, on the cusp of another weekend, having passed unreflectingly through five whole days.

Last weekend I finally had lunch at Anthony's - a gustatory ambition from a-way back. And it really did live up - for the most part. It was a celebratory lunch: the end of a promise between a good friend and I to treat ourselves if we ever finished the PhD. I had pork belly - it's my new thing - I had it in London at Bistroteque as well. For starters, we both had cauliflower veloute with Wensleydale and hazelnut oil. To be completely honest, it was caulifrower cheese redux. But hey, my usual dictum when dining out is to eat things that I wouldn't/couldn't make at home. Pretty much anything on Anthony's menus fulfill that! The pork belly was lean and the crackling crackling. To be honest, the crackling could have been improved - I'm not sure how - but then surely that is why I pay them the largish amounts of money for: to figure these things out. Wonderful stuff, crackling - but difficult, particularly in a formal setting, to eat without getting down-home about it all and using fingers and teeth. And I could have done with more than a smear of the lovely pureed sweet potato - though on a side-note pureeing is a bit naff in general. I mean, I have teeth. But hey, they are (as mentioned) clearly doing something right as I was willing to part with my (very very very) hard earned moneys ... Dessert: raspberry and basil sorbet - amazing. And, properly, left me wanting more but very pleasantly full. Ooh and we did splash on the wine: a deeeelightful and deeeeelucious chablis ...

But food bereft of company is a cold meal indeed - and the company was exactly the sort such a meal needed to keep it from being overly-formal and uncomfortably stuffy.

Then, that very night, we went over to our good friends' for food and cards (oh, and more wine!) ... And Sunday, with the help of new allotment mates, we got started on the garden - pictures will follow!

I'm pretty sure I had more to say. And it all sounded much more exciting in my head than written out like this ... Huh.