Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Showing posts with label restaurants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label restaurants. Show all posts

Tuesday, 19 May 2020

Adegga's 50 best takeaway restaurants in Portugal

50 takeaways

From the Adegga site:

'50 Restaurantes para Comer em Casa

Do melhor hambúrguer de Lisboa ao melhor leitão da Bairrada, apresentamos sugestões imperdíveis para encomendar e partilhar com os amigos e a família

Diz o ditado que ‘mudam-se os tempos, mudam-se as vontades’, mas nós temos de discordar. Se há coisa que não dispensamos à mesa é boa comida, capaz de despertar os sentidos e confortar a alma e, à volta dela, a melhor companhia.

Por isso preparámos uma seleção de alguns dos melhores Restaurantes para Comer em Casa, que não pode deixar de consultar da próxima vez que encomendar comida para partilhar com amigos ou em família.

A lista é tão diversificada quanto tentadora: da Feijoada à Transmontana da Taberna das Flores, ao Arroz de Polvo do Gaveto, sem esquecer o Leitão à Bairrada – porque há desvios de Rota impossíveis de contornar-, difícil vai ser decidir por onde começar.'

Responding the closure of restaurants in Portugal due to Coronavirus, Adegga has produced a very useful guide to the 50 best restaurants in Portugal now offering takeaways. The selection doesn't cover the whole country instead it concentrates on restaurants in Lisbon and Porto and those within an hour of each of these cities.


Tasca d'Esquina

Tasca d'Esquina-text

As the entry for Tasca Da Esquina in Lisbon's Campo d'Ourique shows each of the 50 entries lists some of the available dishes, an indication of price, whether they also sell takeaway wine, the delivery zone, contact details and whether you can order through UberEats and Glovo. 
Unfortunately there are some minor drawbacks to this guide. Firstly, it could be financially crippling as I discover more interesting and tempting restaurants in Lisbon, in particular, that I should try. Secondly due to current air-traffic restrictions you can't order from these restaurants from outside Portugal.......

From yesterday (18th May) restaurants in Portugal have been allowed to reopen. This is an indication of Portugal's success in dealing with coronavirus.  As of Sunday 17th May Portugal had recorded 29,036 cases with 1218 deaths. This compares very favourably with its nearby countries – Spain, France, Italy and the UK.

The Portuguese love to eat out, so it will be interesting to see how they react to restaurants reopening. Will they be scared/ reluctant to go back? A question I put yesterday to André Ribeirinho, the CEO of Adegga: 

'Only time will tell. Lots of questions at the moment. Restaurants can open today at maximum 50% capacity, mandatory 2 meter distance between clients and strict cleaning measures.
'Taberna da Rua das Flores opens today and have said they will do takeaway/ delivery until 2021 at least.

'I think many people will continue to order from home for fear of eating out but also because they got used to to it. Uber Eats and Glovo have grown tremendously in the number of registered restaurants in the last two months. Some people will start this phase by staying at home and eating with friends. We will be updating the takeaway guide once a month at least until September.

Tourism is out until god knows when. Looming in the horizon is a massive crisis which is probably the biggest question for many of the restaurants. '

Although takeaways help a restaurant to keep going and retain at least some if not all of their staff, it does mean a significant cut in profits. Restaurants tend to make more of their money on drinks and extras sold than their food. People ordering takeaways will have whatever they intend to drink with their meal already at home. No possibility of customers' after thoughts – a dessert, some cheese, a fancy coffee or any after-dinner drink.
Coming out of lockdown is likely to be a particular challenge for small restaurants like Taberna, who for the first time are taking bookings  for specified times. Previously you queued outside in the street for a table.  

Porto


O Gaveto

O Gaveto - details

Great to see O Gaveto, one of Portugal's restaurants heading the Porto selection. As they have a very good wine list it is unsurprising that they are also offering to sell customers wine to go with their takeaway meal.


Bom apetite!


Coronavirus-mask

Monday, 25 June 2012

Restaurants and wine in France

Poor glass on left, good glass on right

David Cobbold has a good post on Les 5 du Vin about wine in restaurants in France. He gives an example of exemplary wine choice and service but also castigates a large number of establishments for the poor way that they treat wine. 

In tomorrow's post on Les 5 du Vin I will be following this up with some examples of restaurants where wine is valued as well as citing some woeful and slovenly practices that need to be changed. 

Wednesday, 12 November 2008

Recommended eating places in Eastern Touraine (part 3)

L’Aubinière

Tulip tree in garden@L'Aubinière

This is a charming restaurant and certainly one of my favourites. It also has six rooms, in the pretty village of Saint-Ouen-les-Vignes, which is about 10 kilometres north east of Amboise. Run by Jacques and Odile Arrayet, the food is excellent and very reasonably priced and the service excellent – attentive but relaxed. Fine wine list including a good selection of Loire wines with at times some old vintages of Huet’s Vouvray. In the summer you can eat outside on the terrace overlooking the pretty and well-tended garden. Menus: Menus: €24 (Tuesday to Friday lunchtime only – €48. Restaurant is closed on Monday.

29 Rue Jules-Gautier, 37530 Saint-Ouen-les-Vignes
Tel: 02.47.30.15.29
Email: restaurant-laubiniere@wanadoo.fr

Web: www.aubiniere.com

Tuesday, 11 November 2008

Recommended eating places in Eastern Touraine (part 2)

Mareuil-sur-Cher and Bléré

Ferme Auberge de la Lionnière
This lovely ferme auberge offers a warm welcome, simple good food, great value and is particularly recommended.

Run by Frédéric and Françoise Bouland the cost of the menu varies between €19 and €23 depending upon what main courses are available on the day. This brings you a salad to start, an entrée, main course, cheese and dessert. On public holidays the menu is €24. Since they are producers of goats’ cheese, goat and their cheese features on the menu. Since they are producers of goats’ cheese, goat and their cheese features on the menu. Their repetoire includes chèvres braisées au sauvignon, chevreau ail et moutard, canard aux rutabagas, agneau en côtes ou en gigots, navarin d'agneau aux petits legumes, poulet grand-mère aux champignons de Mareuil and coq au Sauvignon.

Three local wine producers – Clos Roche Blanche, Domaine de la Mechinière and Jean-Christophe Mandard – feature on the short wine list. They have two chambres d’hôtes and you can also buy their delicious goats’ cheese to take away with you. Booking advised as this restaurant is deservedly popular.

La Lionnière is open every day in July and August. During the winter only Saturday and Sunday lunchtime, otherwise during the ‘middle season’ open every day except for Sunday night and Monday. Open for groups every day throughout the year. Access is off the road from Cére-le-Ronde and St Aignan. Be warned that they don’t take credit cards, payment by cheque or cash – the nearest ATM machine is in Saint-Aignan around five miles away.

1 Rue de la Lionnière, 41110 Mareuil-sur-Cher
Tel: 02.54 75.24.99; fax: 02.54.75.44.74
Email: fa-lionniere@wanadoo.fr
Web: http://pagesperso-orange.fr/frederic.bouland

Carnival time in Bléré April 2007: musicians
in front of the Cheval Blanc


Le Cheval Blanc, Bléré
This hotel/restaurant has recently changed hands with the long-serving Blériots retiring. The rooms are reasonably priced and the cooking has always been good (Michelin star) but Mme Blériot’s habitual glacial welcome deterred me from going back. No matter how many times we went it was always as though it was our first visit. I’m not looking for a fawning welcome but some recognition that you have already eaten in the restaurant and welcome when you arrive is surely part of being a restaurateur. Also the service wasn’t up to a Michelin star standard.

Now, under the new owners, (Hélène et Fabrice Tavernier) smiles are back and the service is much more efficient. During the week (Tuesday to Friday) two courses (entrée and main dish) are €22 with a €7 supplement for dessert.

Place de l'Eglise - 37150 Bléré
Tel. 02.47.30.30.14
Email: le.cheval.blanc.blere@wanadoo.fr
Web: www.lechevalblancblere.com

Monday, 10 November 2008

Recommended places to eat in Eastern Touraine (part 1)

Château de Chenonceau

Chenonceaux

Auberge du Bon Laboureur
The Bon Laboureur is both a very comfortable place to stay and one of the best restaurants in Touraine with impeccable service. The wine list, particularly the Loire, is very good and the staff really know both their wines and how to serve them. It is possible to eat outside in the garden during the summer. Founded in 1786 as a Relais de Poste, Antoine Jeudi took it over in 1902 and now his great grandson, also called Antoine, runs it. The American writer Henry James stayed here and he mentioned his visit in A Little Tour in France.

We had one very amusing incident here in the middle of August 2003 – the year of the great heat wave. When we booked we tried to get a table outside but this wasn’t possible so we were promised one by the window, which we were duly given. However, it was so hot (probably around 35˚C) that even without moving we were soon all pouring with sweat. By coincidence we had an electric fan in the car and were given permission to set it up by our table, which made the prospect of having a meal bearable. During the evening it was noticeable that the staff did as much of their preparation as possible close to the fan. At the end of the meal as we disconnected the fan we could see that our fellow diners were aghast and surprised at what we were doing as we had been the first to arrive and the rest of the diners arrived after we had plugged the fan in.

Nowadays this should not be a problem as the restaurant now has an efficient air conditioning system.

Menus: €30 lunch – except Sunday and public holidays. Evening €48 and €85 (€72 with one course less).

Auberge du Bon Laboureur
37150 Chenonceaux

Tel: 02.47.23.90.02
Email: laboureur@wanadoo.fr
Web: www.bonlaboureur.com

Sadly the other restaurants in Chenonceaux are nowhere near this standard. The Relais Chenonceaux, 10 Rue Docteur Bretenneau (02.47.23.98.11) is one to avoid – the food is mediocre and the service is poor.