My husband and I were introduced to The Pelican Inn, Pacific Way, Muir Beach, California, USA by friends who live locally and we were delighted by the appearance of the building and the beautiful grounds.

We had just spent time in the incomparable Muir Woods and were pleased to be lunching in such lovely surroundings.

The Pelican Inn was able to seat our large group of seven people together comfortably at a rustic wooden table. The cool, shaded surroundings were a great place to spend the heat of the day.

Many of those in our party chose the traditional British fish and chips and enjoyed it thoroughly. i chose the ploughman’s lunch, which was not served in the traditional way, but that did not stop it from being delicious.

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch and time to chat. At no time did we feel rushed or as if we were in the way. it was a lovely afternoon.

The Pelican Inn provides easy access for those with mobility issues and the staff are extremely polite and helpful. I enjoyed the ambiance of the restaurant, the style of decoration and the attitude of the staff. I would highly recommend The Pelican Inn, near Muir Beach, California, USA.

Val Penny

My husband and I had booked theatre tickets in Glasgow. We live a train journey away and so we booked an apartment at City Centre Bath Street in Glasgoe for the one night. The cost was half of that for a reasonable hotel in the city centre. We had not realised that the building was quite so far from Central Station or we would probably have taken a cab rather tha walked. However, it was directly across the road from the King’s Theatre, so getiing back after the show was very quick.

The apartment was clean, with the exception of a glob of chewimg gum stuck to the waste bin. My feeling was, if that had been overlooked, what else had? So I washed cups and glasses before we used them. There was also a small rug over the vinyl leading into the kitchen area. The floor under this required repair.

The accomodation comprised a hall, livingroom/kitchen, double bedroom and bathroom. The apartment was only booked for the two of us, but the sofas in the livingroom had been made up into beds, although there was a double bedroom. Clean towels, hand towels and bath towels were out for each of the possible guests and there was a little tray of teas, coffees milks and sugars. The bathroom was clean and bright. The kitchen was well appointed but the surfaces were so clear, it was obvious this was not a home.

In the bedroom, unfortunately, the bulbs in one of the bedside lights did not have a bulb in it and the bed was a tight double bed. However, the bedding was clean and the bed was comfortable.

There were dvds and books on the wndow sill near the television set. My guess is those had been left by previous occupants, but it was a nice gesture and we would probably have watched a couple of the movies if we had been there for longer.

We were not sure where the King’s Theatre was in relation to the apartment block, but when my husband looked out of the window, there it was! We went out for dinner and had breakfast in Central station before we got the train home. Even the show we went to see was excellent.

Despite my reservations, I would use this apartment again if I were going to a show at The Kings Theatre, because it is so conveniently situated.

Val Penny

My husband and I had just arrived back in Denver. It is always good to be back in the mile high city. We were met at the airport by three close friends and there was no time like the present to go out to dinner and have a good old catch-up.

Our friends are local and they decided on DiCicco’s Italian Resturant near Denver International Airport. What a good choice! DiCicco’s has been Family owned and operated since 1956. They serve classic and contemporary Italian dishes of which many are handed down from generation to generation within the family.

DiCicco’s has traditionally decorated murals around the walls and a large screen showing scenes while relaxing music plays in the background. The serving staff are polite and attentive. If anything, slightly too attentive: two of the waiters had an argument in front of us about who was going to be our server. I did think that could have been better handled in private.

However, the food we ordered was excellent. The salads were fresh and the mains tasty and satisfying. We chose not to have alcohol: we were jet lagged and our friends were driving but we did check out the wine list and DiCicco’s seems to keep a good cellar. I had a vegetarian pasta as did one of our friends. My husband and another of our friends had a combination dish of spaghetti and meatballs, canneloni and ravioli and the last member of the group tucked into an egg plant (aubergine) parmasan.

Unfortunately none of us had room for a dessert because the cakes and puddings sounded fabulous. I was surprised that the bill was acceptably modest at just over $20.00 a head. DiCicco’s has easy access for those with mobility issues. I highly recommed this restaurant and will certainly visit here again.

Val Penny

I was pleased to be able to attend the Crime Writers’ Association Scottish lunch recently. The inimitable Wendy H Jones found time not only to organise the event, but also to prepare a quiz, wrap a gift for each attendee and generally be a fabulous host. Prices in Edinburgh and Glasgow have risen so greatly in the last few years that this event was booked for the Victoria & Albert Museum, Tatha Bar & Kitchen, 1 Riverside Esplanade, Dundee. There could certainly not have been a more excellent setting for the gathering.

V&A Dundee is an international centre of design museum in Dundee, Scotland. It presents the brilliance of Scottish creativity and the best of design from around the world. It opened on 15 September 2018. The V&A Dundee is the first design museum in Scotland and the first Victoria and Albert museum outside London. V&A Dundee provides a place of inspiration, discovery and learning. The V&A Dundee is also the first building in the United Kingdom that has been designed by Kengo Kuma.

I arrived a little late due to problems with the trains, so climbed the steps to the Tatha Bar & Kitchen which is located upstairs in the new museum with a balcony overlooking the River Tay. I had excellent company as I sat at a table with Mac Logan and the Mulgrew twins who, apparently, mamnged to write cosy crime novels together without ripping each others heads off. Apparently diners can normally expect a true taste of Tayside, with brewers, fishmongers and farmers from Dundee and Perth all being brought on board as suppliers and Dundee brewery 71 Brewing will be providing two main beers – Mandarina Sky and 71 Lager. However, we chose from the more limited festive menu.

Now here I must declare an interest in that I am vegetarian. There was a vegetarian choice for each course and for last course the cheese was vegetarian. The fig, pear and walnut salad that I had for my first course was delicious but the serving was very tiny. Nouvelle cuisine rules at the V & A Dundee! My companions also enjoyed thier first course of salmon but agreed that the offerings were small.

There was then over an hour to wait before the main courses arrived. Wendy had to chase up the servers. The vegetarian choice was pollenta served with a predictably small serving of vegetables. My meal was very poorly seasoned, dull and dry. I sent it back. I got no apology nor explanation. I see no reason why vegetarians should receive food that is not tasty. Having said that, my fellow diners said their meals, duck, were not warm enough and rather chewy. Not only vegetarians were being targetted with poor quality food. Having taken an hour to provide the main courses, it was disappointing that they were not perfect.

The last course took so long to arrive that some of our group thought they would have to leave before it arrived. Again, Wendy was disturbed because she went to speak to the restaurant manager about this too. When the desrts arrived, they were delicious. My table companions all chose a sweet. Again, the serving was small but I chose the cheese: a vegatarian brie with bread. It was an enormous portion and beautifully ripened cheese.

The Tatha Bar and Kitchen has such spectacular views across the River Tay and is set in a fascinating and unique building, so it is a shame that the quality of our meal and the service were both so very poor. I cannot recommend the restaurant but luckily for me, the company I was in was fine.

Val Penny

This article was first published on 10.10.2017 at https://epicures.wordpress.com/2017/10/10/the-grill-nyc/, written by Michael on The Wandering Epicures that reports on restuarant meals.

The Grill describes itself as “a historically based American chophouse set in midcentury New York.”  It occupies half of the venerable space in the Seagram Building that was The Four Seasons from 1959 to 2016. Blair and I went for lunch on August 18, 2017.

The renovation of the Four Season’s Grill Room has left it rather stark with rich wooden walls on three sides and the old shimmering curtains on the fourth. But the ceilings are very high and the acoustics are good. By contrast, as one emerges from the stairs up to the dining level, there is the old open bar and a buffet for the evening appetizers.

We started with glasses of Roederer Champagne. Lunch rolls with chive butter arrived.

We made our choices from the fairly limited lunch menu and ordered a bottle of 2007 Louis Boillet 1er Cru “Les Angles” Volnay.

Blair wrote: The wine was delicate, the nose was nice, but the palate left you wanting more. Against the chicken dish it actually went well, if we had ordered steak I would have been disappointed.

Lettuce leaves were served to go with the first courses.

Blair started with
THE SEAGRAM CRAB CAKE

The crab cake was very good. It is a holdover from The Four Seasons where it was the most ordered dish. The disks were potatoes that had been crisped providing contrast to the creamy crab underneath. They resembled a small,  single layer of pommes Anna. The sauce was slightly vinegary and mustardy.

I had
STEAK and ANCHOVY TARTARE

The beef was obviously top quality. It had been minced and so the texture was right. There was anchovy in the spicing of the beef as well as the little pieces alongside. Very good.

Blair’s main course was
SPRING CHICKEN A LA QUEEN

The chicken was cooked perfectly. Crunchy skin with a nappe of sauce and moist tender meat. The red pepper was pimento and therefore not hot.

Mine was
Curried LAMB CHOPS


The lamb was first rate and flavorful. The sauce underneath was aromatic with Indian spices without being too hot. Alongside was a bowl of yoghurt sauce and a mound of mint jelly. It all work together perfectly.

We had a side of grilled zucchini.

This was a good match with the lamb and its curry.

For dessert we each had a
German Chocolate Cake

This slice of cake was rich and delicious. The light layers were coconut. The scoop was whipped cream.

This lunch was an excellent example of straightforward fine dining cuisine. It never got lost in complications. The ingredients were top quality. The combinations were not inventive; they were familiar and good without being boring. Really upscale comfort food, I guess.

http://thegrillnewyork.com/index.html

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