Where have you eaten out today?

[herbidacious]

I forgot to mention the very nice cheesecake I had for breakfast yesterday (feels like aeons ago now!) in the Rose Bakery in the BnF.

[KeenCook]

yum - what more could you want, books and cheesecake

[herbidacious]

Unlike the British LIbrary no laptops allowed in the cafe, so plenty of places to sit.

[Amber]

I had a basic egg mayo sandwich from Starbucks. It was one of the best I’ve ever had .
It had a tiny touch of mustard either in, or part of the mayo. I’ll have to have another to check .
Local Starbucks is opening in about a week or so, I may be an early customer.

[Stokey Sue]

BnF? Not the list of pharmaceutical

Wondering why I’ve never been to Polidor as I was vaguely aware of it but looking at the map that may explain it, just not handy.

Thought I might pop out from the History Festival to a Vietnamese cafe but there was a stall selling simple Turkish Cypriot food at the venue so I had some olive bread and croquettes and sat in the sun. Nice and cheap but oddly under seasoned.

[herbidacious]

Majuscule vs minuscule is essential in this context

tbh while the veggie option at Polidor was fine, and we were grateful for vegetarian options at all (Hurray! Not a pizza, galette or omelette!) it was not the sort of thing I would serve at a dinner party. But it struck me as exactly the sort of thing that fancy French restaurants come up with when faced with the (possibly onorous) task constructing a vegetarian option. They had clearly thought about it, but not come to the conclusions I would have if it were up to me!
I always used to think that there is just a very different mind set, traditionally at least, about what vegetarians want to eat, in France. 'Vegetarians want something healthy and a bit '70s wholefoody, and definitely not things with umami or sophistication.' I could be wrong... but I have never eaten anything in France that was specifically intended for vegetarians (as opposed to things that are coincidentally vegetarian) that suggests otherwise. Ah, maybe at Maceo, but I don't remember. That was a long while ago.

The gazpacho and trimmings in Maison de la Truffe was definitely dinner party suitable and I am pretty sure I could not rustle up anything that good.

The Polidor experience had us wondering just how many places Hemmingway is famous for having frequented He got around a fair bit and drank a fair bit more, by all accounts

[Stokey Sue]

I hadn't appreciated that BnF was still in France

No, in France and Germany I have seen the vegetarian option described as the "diet" option - I think meaning diet as in something your doctor or dietitian would recommend for a convalescent, rather than necessarily for weight loss. You have to take care of your liver you know! In Spain adn Italy you have to argue, although some southern Italian food is vegetarian, they just keep quiet about it

[herbidacious]

I have found Italy really pretty good for vegetarian food - you have to stick with Primi. Last trip to Italy must have been 2018 and restaurants even had vegan options - but it was very touristy Polignano a Mare.

The south of France has always been a bit easier than the north.

In Germany, I have found meat-sub options as well as thins like spaetzle.

I think France is probably the most difficult of all the places I have been to. I was surprised that the west coast of America wasn't easier than it was (back in 2014.) I was surprised how good Barbados was - or at least far better than I expected (back in 2005). Cuba was pretty iffy. Lots of cabbage and rice But at least they usually offered you at least that, whereas in France there is often nothing. Japan - had to eat Wesstern food most of the time. The best pizza I every had was in Tokyo. (I suspect it had fish seasoning in it )

Of course pizza is usually one's friend, if a rather unreliably good one. (Just not a margarita in France!)

Thinking about it, the more touristy a place is, the easier it is, which explains why deepest darkest rural basse Normandie is a bit 'boff'/nul.

[liketocook]

I had the pleasure of having lunch at "111 by Modou" on Sunday. We opted for the "Total Trust - Critics Choice" menu. Very good value at 5 courses for £25. Each course was only a few mouthfuls so we left feeling well fed but not stuffed. I'd go back in a shot as every mouthful was a delight. https://111bymodou.co.uk/total-trust-critics-choice/
DS2 was delegated photo taker and forgot to get a picture of the dessert!

Shitake mushrooms, cream, truffle and mustard sauce, crispy shallot crumb

teak tartare, crouton, smoked garlic aioli, fried spring onions with vinegar powder

Sea bass, shellfish sauce, samphire, mussels (I had mine with a parsley emulsion rather than the shellfish)

[liketocook]

Pork cheek, red wine jus, broccoli, broccoli puree, back pudding and smoked garlic mousse (tasted like a savoury coffee cream - very good)

Dessert was condensed milk ice cream, peanut butter cheesecake filling, candied popcorn and lychee gel.
Would thoroughly recommend if you are in Glasgow.

[Earthmaiden]

Looks very good, ltc! What a treat.

[Stokey Sue]

That does seem like a bargain ltc

[Binky]

What wonderful eating out experiences!

Polidor is one of restaurants for which I have a strong memory. It was a favourite of a French cartoonist (Clare Bretechet?) and we thought if it's good enough for her....sharing a table was a requirement if you hadn't booked but that added to the fun for us. I think it became overly-exposed when Woody Allen used it in one of his films. Maybe that's why it's now full of furriners rather than native French people. Prices look remarkably good for the set menus.

[liketocook]

It was excellent value Sue, I think the location helps, the area it's in is mainly residential and it's in a unit in a row of local shops. They seem to be busy even if there's limited passing trade. Despite booking around 6 weeks ago, we had to opt for an afternoon slot as everything round about it was fully booked and there was no space at all on the Saturday. It has around 24 covers. Definitely one you need to know about rather than stumble across.

[Busybee]

We ate here last night

https://originsocial.co.uk/

Very tasty and good service, we each chose three plates and then shared them. I chose the beef tacos, katsu curry and the roast cauliflower. Devine. But the standout out star was the rhubarb sorbet on the mixed berry tart- perfection!

BB

[WWordsworth]

https://www.motherlandspice.com/

We are staying with friends and ate here last night.
They like to order a sharing platter of mixed starters. It's a bit like spicy chicken nuggets but they enjoy it.

My main course was a really nice mattar paneer.
J had methi gosht which had a nice sour hint to it, I'm guessing it was amchoor.
Pals had a chicken dish and a lamb something, can't remember what, we were talking too much

[Amber]

For those who like Sweden..

We’re in Sweden, near Lidköping, and I’ve just had one of the nicest meals in a long time. I was expecting a cafe type meal, but everything was very fresh, very local, and very tasty. Top notch!

https://www.lackoslott.se/victoriahuset/

[Earthmaiden]

Looks a lovely experience.

[Amber]

The same meal tonight was very different, but equally delicious.
And it is so, so very peaceful.

[RockyBVI]

We ate at Indian restaurant Shiuli in Twickenham this evening. Sensational. https://shiulirestaurant.com/