Goodbye to a good restaurant

It's happened again. The curse of Jenny's favourite restaurants has, sadly but inevitably, struck.

I discovered Bar Battu a couple of months ago - a cutesy little French bar and bistro near the Guildhall in London. I was charmed by its simple menu, reasonably-priced delicious food, great wine list and comforting interior. An old-fashioned place, this - proper tables and chairs, old-world wine, things on matching plates, courteous serving staff. Y'know - a restaurant.

But we already know this story has a sad ending. Bar Battu has ceased trading, and again I feel unaccountably guilty. It's going to be replaced by a bland, ten-a-penny chain wine bar (yawn) which I won't be visiting.

Perhaps it was too old-fashioned or even too cheap. Perhaps the city crowd just didn't notice its shy, classy front window. Perhaps it didn't move with the times. Because 'the times' demand a gimmick, it seems. For every decent, old-style, 'normal' restaurant that closes down, it feels as if two 'on trend' places open up.

You know the ones - they only sell hot dogs, or everything is liquidised, or you have to eat in the dark, or there's one big vat and you all share. I'm not really into all that stuff. I'm a little tired of magazines telling me that 'stuffy' dining is out, and I won't enjoy myself until I'm sitting in a replica Mini with mis-matched crockery eating a Venezuelan-street-food-inspired sharing platter with my fingers. They've got a brilliant 'vibe' apparently, and the food is unpretentious (really?). No more starched tablecloths or silver service for us - food is better spilled all over the place as we reach in front of each other's faces to dip into the sharing dish.

Meanwhile, those of us who like to sit upright with our well-cooked food on our well-polished plates sigh wistfully as our favourites close down. It's a hard life being off trend.

A Carluccio's convert

I've been sitting on the fence about Carluccio's for quite some time.

Sure, it's a good idea - decent Italian food for a reasonable price with not so many frills. Antonio Carluccio is a fantastic ambassador and I like the idea of being able to shop for ingredients in the restaruant too. On the other hand, national chains always make me feel as if I'm eating in an airport or shopping centre. And I'd prefer them to change the menu more with the seasons.

But recently the branch near my office has started a takeaway lunch bar. Right inside the door there's a bubbling vat of soup, tempting salads, fresh bread and heaps of pretty cakes. Just behind there's hearty hot dishes - freshly-made pizza, risotto and smells-to-heaven lasagne. And, in the grand scheme of Smithfield eateries, it's not at all badly priced.

The cauliflower soup with parmesan and black pepper is wonderfully comforting on a cold day. Mozzarella and tomato salad is bursting with spring-like freshness. Focaccia crunches with chunky salt.

I'm a convert - can you tell?

Yummy sausage-based discovery

I'm always after new food ideas and I scour delicious magazine avidly each month. I fold over the corners for anything I fancy trying; I judge the success of each issue by how many foldy corners wadge together at the top.

Of course, many corners represent foolish pipe dreams - sashimi plates I'll never dare to make and ice cream for which I don't have the requisite equipment. But, each issue, there will be a gem. Usually noodly, sometimes salmony, but increasingly sausagey.

A couple of months back I found this: sausages with creamy lentils. It takes around 40 minutes to make, so it's just about achieveable as a quick mid-week meal. And, boy, is it easy! Minimal chopping, hardly any stirring, plenty of leave-it-and-see time. I pimped it slightly, of course - I didn't bother twisting the sausages into smaller versions (because that's just weird), I left out the garlic and fresh coriander and used creme fraiche rather than yoghurt. But whatever - do what you will. That's the joy of food, as far as I'm concerned - we all know how to make things for our own taste.

Anyway - go and try it. Get the recipe here: http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/sausages-with-creamy-lentils

PS: makes good leftovers too.

Sake it to them

I'm back: stop talking about me.

So, you'll be glad to hear that I found out what Honami is doing (remember, she was the wonderful sommelier at Cocoon).


She's now the wonderful sommelier at NOPI, Ottolenghi's latest place. I haven't been yet, but the menus and wine list look perritty good, so it's surely just a matter of time, eh?