CHATTERBOX

[Badger's Mate Profile]

I suppose it's always a gamble if a top chef or restaurateur opens a chain of establishments. Clearly they are trading on the celebrity status, but for the most part has little else in common with the name.

We've never been to any JO establishment, apart from the Cricketers if that counts, but there are plenty of other pubs around here that we prefer. We've been to Carluccio's in Cambridge a few times, never had a bad meal but nothing exceptional. Mrs B has been to Brasserie Blanc once or twice, ditto I think. All the Padstow outlets we've been to seemed quite good. They don't charge as much as the Seafood restaurant, and perhaps expectations should be managed accordingly. The Bistro was nice, at high street prices but with proper bread and home made sauces where they would be bought in on the high street. The fish shop was cheaper to eat in than fish and chips in the local pubs. Maybe RS has got more control as they are all local, but how often is he in Padstow I wonder?

Whilst not a celebrity endorsement, I hope they shut the local Prezzo's! There's already one in Hertford a couple of miles away and the opened one here, to the detriment of the 3 (now 2) perfectly good family-run places.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Funny your mentioning Prezzo.
We've got 2 within spitting distance. Who needs 2?

But my husband was saying it's under pressure too.

I'm usually fine with chain style. So long as it's fairly decent I don't care. But they aren't performing very well these days.
Ditto Zizzi's - my friend went and said her pizza with olives had one half piece of an olive on it. Hmmmmm - I spy cut backs.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

There are IMO too many chains
You go anywhere and it's a case of rounding up the usual suspects
I tend not to go to Prezzo as there usually an Ask on the same strip, similar but better IMO

I've been to Brasserie Blanc, perfectly OK but little niggles, I ordered steak frites and not only did they not bring me mustard I had some trouble getting hold of it

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Sue, our Brasserie Blanc is beautiful.

But my problem there was a terrine, where they'd ground gristle into it by mistake.
Bones and knuckle aint that nice.
And has totally put me off, considering the price too.

Gotta have mustard with steak freets!

[Suffs Profile]

Morning folks
Thought I'd pop my head out of a snowdrift and say hello .......... hope you're all snug and toasty

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Helllooooo Suffs.

Just slogged to Waitrose, and lugged back my shop for the weekend.
Veg and flours are heavy right?

And Tony has changed his mind, and only wants a soup tonight.
Hmmmm.

[Suffs Profile]

Helllooooo Suffs.

..... Veg and flours are heavy right? ....

So OH tells me

The silver lining to his redundancy is that he's free to go to the shops in the snow

[Pampy Profile]

Prezzo has just announced that it going to close over 90 of its restaurants (including all of the Chimichanga brand). Apparently, they're also having financial problems and the closures are an attempt to broker a deal with which to rescue the rest of their outlets.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Sorry to hear that, Suffs.
Handy having the man of the house at home though. You bet.

Never been to a chimichanga.
Although I read the other day that Nandos buys in frozen McCain chips - there's a shocker!

[Renée Profile]

It makes me smile when I go into a restaurant and hand cut chips are mentioned on the menu! It makes them sound quite posh!

[Suffs Profile]

It's occurred to me that it seems that the more specific the cuisine of the restaurant, the more likely they are to close ... or at least that's what's happening around here ............. particularly smoke house/craft burger type operations are crashing into a heap in Norfolk

[Lusciouslush Profile]

Hello Suffs...................!

Can only say that the JO around here that's been open for quite a few years now was thumbs down for me from the beginning - no way was I going to queue to get into a resto, regardless of the food - I can well imagine his empire falling!

Haven't noticed too many places closing here - in fact the opposite - you can't move for them, every few feet & increasing - & all of 'em full - I often wonder where all this 'woe is me' comes from yet still they manage to eat out.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Huge turnover round here, especially independent coffee shops. They open, they sell coffee to people who sit on their laptops all day and they close
I don't use them much as most of my coffee is drunk in my dressing gown in the morning and if I fancy a snack they only ever seem to have a surfeit of dull brown cakes. We now have Costa which is among the most popular - cheaper and good sandwiches. I do use the coffee shops at the nature resreves

We also have a lot of pizza joints, but they seem to do well, and new Chinese place which I'm told is good, a few tapas places, and a brand new wine bar which I intend to try soon. Only chain apart from Costa is Franco Manca pizza

[Pampy Profile]

Although I read the other day that Nandos buys in frozen McCain chips - there's a shocker!

After the news broke, Nando's said that the McCain chips were a special recipe developed and made just for them!

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Ha! nice attempt at a cop out, Pampy.

Hand cut chips, gourmet burgers. I roll my eyes at it.
Gourmet chips! What a gem.

Our restaurants here are very chain orientated. So we are seeing it hard.
Mind you, we have got a new Ivy to try.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Why is it a problem if Nandos buy their chips from McCain?

Most catereres buy in prepared potato products, often from McCain, it's cost effective. The suppliers do a whole range of products exclusively for caterers, of course they aren't the same as the packets of oven chips you can buy in the corner store

The journalist who wrote the original article "exposing" the normal commercial practice of buying in supplies should have done their research properly before rushing in

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Well, Nandos prides itself on its "famous" chips.
So when they come from what most people buy at the supermarket, it's a bit much to big them up.

Having said that, we've been to Nandos once, we thought we'd try it.
(Twice actually, one time we couldn't get a table it was so popular).
And they were extremely helpful .... to the novices who didn't quite understand what you had to do.
I was at first a bit disappointed that you could only eat chicken there pretty much - I thought it would have portuguese stuff, prawns, cod etc.

Nevertheless, it was rather good.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

They aren't the ones you buy though, I don't see how outsourcing to a comperent manufacturer invalidates them

Nando's isn't actually Portuguese, the chain was founded in South Africa by Fernando (Nando) from Mozambique. They go in for these short menu specialist eateries there.

[smitch Profile]

I went on a Christmas do to Jamie’s Italian, was awful and totally overpriced. My main was butternut and spinach pasta, no seasoning at all, was like eating baby food. I’ve made the dish at home and with a few tweaks to add herbs and spices, it is lovely http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/squash-and-spinach-pasta-rotolo/13776/

We have two branches of Gino’s right opposite each other. One is in a lovely old building that was converted into a posh food court type place that sadly is pretty much full of mediocre chains The other is in a refurbished branch of Next. They’re meant to be awful so I’ve never been, we have far better places for pizza and pasta. Jay Rayner certainly didn’t enjoy the Euston one https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/oct/09/gino-dacampo-my-restaurant-review-jay-rayner

[Sakkarin Profile]

Why have they got two branches of Gino's opposite each other?!?


On the McCain issue: Personally I look on McCain as a brand. If they said "Nandos buy their chips from the same company that make McCain chips", it would have been less inflammatory.

It also depends how you regard the brand. If McCains were regarded as a luxury brand, then it could add value to the brand that it is associated with.

Unfortunately I associated McCain with convenience products, and not particularly good ones at that (even if it is the best of a bad bunch), and as such for me the connection degrades the Nandos brand, and also makes it appear it has a dependency on McCain, if they have made that pronouncement.

I stress this is my own view, and I am sure there are people out there who hold both Nandos and McCain in extremely high regard. And I didn't see the original article either, so quoting second hand...