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Where have you eaten out to today?

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby herbidacious » Fri Jun 17, 2022 9:15 am

Last night we had dinner in an old fashioned and reliable Italian in Crystal Palace. Calzone and tiramisu.
We trawled round two sides of the triangle looking for somewhere suitable (vegetarian rather than one vegan option, non junk food - even Joanna's was offering burgers, and not too noisy.) Sadly a lot of places seem to have been replaced by noisy cocktail bars which clearly aspire to trendiness (but I suspect don't really achieve it). Also lots of vacant shops. This has always been a bit of a problem up there because of greedy landlords who would rather sit on an empty premises than offer lower rents, but I suppose Brexit and Covid have exacerbated the situation.
There is a very active group/committee of made up of people who trade on the Triangle and I imagine they are somewhat dismayed.

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby mistakened » Fri Jun 17, 2022 1:40 pm

We had some lunch at the Bongo Hani in Pissouri. Simone know her clientele so there is Ploughman's Lunch on their short menu. There was a good wedge of cheddar, chutney, two sort of pickle, cole slaw and a large salad. Deb had an excellent Eggs Benedict> Simone says that she is trying to source some decent pate.
She also does some good inventive salads.
The cicadas were very loud

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby PatsyMFagan » Sat Jun 18, 2022 11:08 am

miss mouse wrote:I don't shop in places that do not display prices.


Me neither, but I don't think I have eaten in establishments that don't show the prices, but I get really humpy if I am window shopping or browsing where no prices are evident. :x

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby Binky » Sat Jun 18, 2022 2:54 pm

Wasn't the requirement for outdoor menus one instigated by the EU? Now we're no longer in it, the requirement has gone. Maybe I'm wrong and will be happy to learn if this is not correct.

As for eating out, we don't as I'm self-isolating but OH had a long-awaited meet up one lunch time last week with fellow retired colleagues. It was done for the the social aspect but the meal prices were somewhat eye-watering. OH had sea bass, sauce vierge and boiled new potatoes. Cost £17 plus tip. He re-created this at home for both of us at a cost of approx. £6 (so £3 per head). And he said it tasted much better at home!

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby herbidacious » Sat Jun 18, 2022 11:02 pm

Pub lunch in Beceknham. Not much on offer for me so I ordered a cheese ploughmans. I have an increasingly bad cough and it turned out that the salad dressing and the huge number of gherkins were impossible to eat without triggering it violently, so just cheese and toasted baguette rounds for me :o A bit disappointing.

After this I went to Waitrose and there were a lot of missing prices. Waitrose is the one place where I really do look at prices as I know they can be quite high (especially for vegetables) compared to Sasinburys where I usually do the bulk of my shopping. Annoying.

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby herbidacious » Sun Jun 19, 2022 8:12 pm

We visited Chiddingstone Castle where there was a really rather nice little cafe in a courtyard. Sandwiches, creams teas (including a savoury one - cheese scone with cream cheese etc.) cakes, cheese platters. To be recommended.

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby Gillthepainter » Mon Jun 20, 2022 8:51 am

Pizza Express in Cirencester last night.
Tony had a hankering for american hot with extra pepperoni, and I had a cannelloni. I don't normally mind the chain places, although I'd have preferred somewhere else.
He said the pizza needed a bit more life - I could have told him that, it's been years since we've been, and it's unlikely to have maintained the dream.

But the reason I mention it.
They had calories on the menu. And what a put off that is. Cannelloni = 715 vs lasagne 750. Side rocket 140.
But one dish Tony looked at was 1000 cal. So he didn't order it. I wonder if it made the dish on the menu unpopular?

But Tony admitted he didn't know how much he was supposed to consume a day.
It was just the 1000 that put him right off.

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby Sakkarin » Mon Jun 20, 2022 10:39 am

I think to some people I know, "over 1000 calories" would be a recommendation...

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby Earthmaiden » Mon Jun 20, 2022 10:56 am

I went to a couple of places whilst away where the calories against certain seemingly innocent dishes seemed terribly high. I spent much of my time trying to work out what they'd added to make them so. Obviously some ingredients in pasta and pizza dishes are easier to calculate.

I do think that the calorie listings, although useful to many, just add another thing for others to be judgemental about most of the time (friends, dates etc).

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby Gillthepainter » Mon Jun 20, 2022 11:23 am

"over 1000 calories" would be a recommendation...

Getting your money's worth do you mean ;)

Yeah, I agree with your turn of phrase, EM. Judgmental.
I was looking at dishes in a different light. Not too seriously, but it was a hindrance to choice making, rather than an aid.

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby RockyBVI » Mon Jun 20, 2022 1:00 pm

I hate this new calories thing. I get that they should be available but if I had my way it would be on an asked for basis!

We ate here on Saturday when visiting family near Chichester. I had the burger which was very good.

https://www.idealcollection.co.uk/venue ... hichester/

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby miss mouse » Mon Jun 20, 2022 7:20 pm

RockyBVI wrote:I get that they should be available



Why? What useful purpose does it serve? A gimmick IMO. And useful way of avoiding the real issues.

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby Amyw » Mon Jun 20, 2022 10:02 pm

Because some people use a calorie controlled method of dieting ?

And for some people , if they are torn between two dishes on a menu , one dish being significantly higher in calories might sway it for them .

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby RockyBVI » Mon Jun 20, 2022 10:21 pm

miss mouse wrote:
RockyBVI wrote:I get that they should be available



Why? What useful purpose does it serve? A gimmick IMO. And useful way of avoiding the real issues.


Whilst I also agree with Amy, I actually meant that it has obviously become a legal requirement as suddenly everywhere is showing them.

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby herbidacious » Tue Jun 21, 2022 8:02 am

There are people with food issues - struggling with eating disorders etc. for whom the calorie thing must be very problematic.
It's spoilt the pleasure of a few lunches out for me when I have been guilted into choosing the slightly less calorific thing which is not what I wanted to eat. Some of us find it hard to ignore them.

I too often wonder how they manage to get so many calories into certain things, especially if it's a vegan thing. They must use a lot of oil? Some of these meat subs are pretty calorific though. I think they contain a lot of fat. (Quorn mince does not...)

On the way back from registering my mother's death we went to the cafe at the Chatsworth farm shop. We had filled oatcakes (cheese involved) which were about 550 calories. The cream tea to follow was 1200! (It was an enormous scone, though, I have to say. I coudn't eat it all. But jam and lashings of cream, I supppose... and butter was provided as well.)

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby miss mouse » Tue Jun 21, 2022 8:04 am

RockyBVI wrote:
Whilst I also agree with Amy, I actually meant that it has obviously become a legal requirement as suddenly everywhere is showing them.



It has, the 'tackling obesity' drive.

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby miss mouse » Tue Jun 21, 2022 8:32 am

herbidacious wrote:There are people with food issues - struggling with eating disorders etc. for whom the calorie thing must be very problematic.


There has been a lot of criticism, exactly as you say, from those support groups.

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby Badger's Mate » Tue Jun 21, 2022 10:10 am

I’ve mentioned before that I have avoided certain choices because they were too calorific. We were on a family holiday recently and dined at a number of chain restaurants with calorie info on the menus. On one occasion I ordered a side because I thought the main wouldn’t be sufficiently filling, based upon the calories. In fact it would have been perfectly adequate on its own.

We went into a well-known coffee shop and I tried a Frappuccino. For fun we scanned the little QR code on the label to be informed that the drink contained 360 calories. A quarter of a century ago I reduced my drinking for the main reason of calorie control. The sort of beer I drink is about 180 kcal per pint. It wouldn’t have been obvious that a cold milkshake, largely ice, would be as calorific as two pints of beer, without having the information.

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby herbidacious » Sat Jun 25, 2022 11:51 am

Another nice lunch in Cafe Kick yesterday. Just a mozzarella and various types of tomato including green. But good.
Dinner out. Macaroni (sp?) Siciliana in Sicilian Art Beckenham/Penge.

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Re: Where have you eaten out to today?

Postby aero280 » Sat Jun 25, 2022 12:46 pm

In the immediate recovery period after my heart attack, I had sessions with a dietician. The emphasis was not on calories, it was on reducing sugar and salt. At the time of the heart attack my weight was fine as I has lost 5 st in weight in the 2 years previously.

The rule was overall moderation. A good blow out once in a while was fine, as long as you were aware that it shouldn’t become a habit. The dietician was dismissive of people who ate frugally all the time, in an attempt to lose weight, or keep it down. She said it made life boring and could cause mental health issues. Eating was a matter of balance, including exercise.

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