Restaurant Reviews – Page 2

Carmel-by-the-sea in California has a Sunday tradition, which is nothing to do with Clint Eastwood, although on the occasions when I have indulged in this ritual, it really has made my day. Brunch at Katy’s Place, Mission Street is an experience not to be missed and definitely rates 5 Kimmy stars. http://www.katysplacecarmel.com/. Any restaurant where they do 16 types of Eggs Benedict has to be amazing in my opinion. They also serve the largest portions I have ever seen in my life, so key advice is to go there extremely hungry. So how do you make a simple Eggs Benedict? A classic combination is toasted muffin, sliced ham or crispy bacon and a poached egg topped with hollandaise sauce.

First put your bacon under the grill, so that it will be cooked and crispy, then make your hollandaise sauce. I have really tried to find a suitable ready-made alternative, but it just doesn’t exist (Let me know if you have found one!!!) Place 2 egg yolks in a food processor, or whisk using a hand blender, with a little salt. In a saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, as soon as it is really hot, switch the processor on again and drizzle the mixture in. Now place 110g/4ozs of salted butter in the saucepan and heat gently until really hot, but make sure it doesn’t brown. Switch your processor on again and drizzle the hot butter in and voila, you have Hollandaise. Delia Smith adds her whisked egg whites to the mixture afterwards, and if you like a light texture this works well. Now, you will need a toasted muffin, actually I prefer crumpets and a poached egg. Poach your egg either by using poaching pods, those clever little silicone ones, or try using the traditional method of boiling a pan of salted water then reducing it to a very gentle simmer (enough to cover the eggs) add a teaspoon of white wine vinegar (this helps the white to set quicker round the edges), break you egg in to a cup first and gently slide in to the water, if your water is too hot, the white will separate. Leave for 1 minute, then put a lid on the pan and turn off the heat. Time for 3 to 5 minutes depending on how firm you like your yolk (delia says leave up to 10 minutes). The key thing to remember is that you MUST use fresh eggs, less than 4 days old or they will not poach properly. Finally, assemble your Eggs Benedict and prepare to indulge, this just cries out for a buck’s fizz on the side. One of my favourite variations, courtesy of Katy’s Place, is to substitute the bacon with sliced turkey breast and add several slices of avocado. Save up the calories, it’s worth it!

A final note, by request was how to cook the perfect boiled egg, because let’s be honest, boiled egg and soldiers is not just for small children. So, place 1 large egg in a pan full of COLD water, enough to cover the egg. Place on high heat and as soon as it starts to boil, set the timer for 3 minutes and 15 seconds, once completed remove from the heat, drain and run under the cold tap to stop it cooking anymore. This is the perfect, runny, but not under-cooked egg. For a small egg, set timer for 3 minutes, for extra large, 3 minutes 30 seconds. Have a great weekend everyone!

P.S. Are you impressed how I’ve resisted all egg-based puns in this blog? It was egg-strordinarily difficult. Ooops.

It was a warm, balmy Saturday night in Windsor, and other than the groups of girls with bright purple hair and “Bride to be” emblazoned on their t-shirts, (who incidentally caused a lot of photographic excitement with a group of Japanese tourists), the members of the 3pm wedding party at the Guildhall, who had obviously been in the pub for the last four hours if their drooping buttonholes were anything to go by, I could have been in the heart of Greece at a local taverna. I genuinely felt like I was on holiday for the evening. Church Street is a delightful cobbled lane next to the Guildhall, famous for the wedding of Charles and Camilla (and Josh and Louise) and due to the lovely warm weather, it was crammed full of tables, to allow the diners to sit in the evening air and enjoy a really fun atmosphere. Latino’s has been in Windsor since 1987 http://www.latinotaverna.co.uk/cms/index.php, but this was the first time I’d been there. Our friend Lee encouraged us to have the mezze, a selection of all things Greek at £22.95 per head, and finding that Mumm champagne was only £34 per bottle and the house wine less than £13 a bottle, we kicked off the evening in good spirits. Inside the party was rocking with lots of “Hupla” and “Zorba the Greek” music and I would imagine that if you came with a large party and wanted a bit of “Big Fat Greek Wedding”-type fun, this would be perfect, as they do have live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Sit outside if you don’t want to be Zorba-ed. The food started to arrive quickly and we were presented with a massive array of 8 starters http://www.latinotaverna.co.uk/cms/index.php?alacartemenu, including as you would expect taramasalata, houmous etc all served with a generous helping of hot pitta bread . Next came a fish course of squid, tiger prawns and mussels, which were really good and then if that wasn’t enough, we were given a Greek salad with grilled halloumi, lamb stew, potatoes, chicken souvlaki and some sort of rissole which was my favourite, the amount of food was amazing. It was sensibly followed by a bowl of fresh watermelon and grapes. The staff were extremely friendly and efficient and made us feel very welcome. We sat for a long time and whilst not completely tempted to join in the karaoke that was going on inside, in a bizarre way, it added to the atmosphere more than a sophisticated style of entertainment might have. So final verdict? For a large group who want to let their hair down, perfect. For a quieter evening, make sure the weather is good so you can sit outside and enjoy vicariously, or avoid Fridays and Saturdays. Value for money was excellent. The food was substantial and whilst not super-amazing – they’re not going to make Heston shake in his shoes – it was honest, well-cooked and I had a great evening. On the Kimmy restaurant scale, I’m going to give Latino Taverna a suprising 4 out of 5, whether it would be the same on a cold night in December, I don’t know, but on this occasion. Hupla! …now what was that about the bazouki player?