So, tonights tea was..........................

[J.R.]

900 grammes of meat between 2 people, that is obscene!

 

But then so are the prices to me, is that what eating out costs in the UK these days?

 

The £95 that Mac mentioned for his inclusive meal astounded me.

[Colin170CR]

Just now, J.R. said:

900 grammes of meat between 2 people, that is obscene!

 

But then so are the prices to me, is that what eating out costs in the UK these days?

 

The £95 that Mac mentioned for his inclusive meal astounded me.

Those prices are somewhat higher than normal & it is a a bit of fancy restaurant.

I guess it depends where you go but, just like everything else, eating out has got more expense in the last few years in the UK.

Eating out is not some we do very often & if we do it's a bit more down market!!

[mac11irl]

56 minutes ago, J.R. said:

The £95 that Mac mentioned

 

that was euros JR, but yup, cost of living and eating out is expensive here in Ireland. that said, it was in a Hilton Hotel Bar/Restaurant.. so a higher end establishment, with a hotel premium.

generally, eating out ex drinks/ wine would be about 30e/person for 2 courses in a reasonably decent restaurant.

 

[J.R.]

The meals I have bought in decent restos to repay friends here have cost €30-35 a head, 2 courses and drinks, my favorite place is a fixed priced 3 course menu with 25cl of wine for €16, no wine for me though as I'm teetotal.

 

In Picardie I took friends who I really owe a lot to a resto that would merit a Michelin star in Dublin according to my pal from there, he said it was the best meal he had ever had and he is the National Sales Director for Wacker Neuson so his standards are high.

 

It was a decade ago that I ate there with him, it was the most expensive place then and you had to book in advance, when I took my friends recently I felt the prices had not gone up nearly as much as other eateries anywhere in France, maybe as a result of the post Covid economy but the quality was as good as ever.

 

2 courses with apéro drinks and wine by the glass for 4 people (only é for the wine) came to only €140, in the past they did not sell wine by the glass and a bottle was usually one or two times the price of the meal, but they only stock excellent wines.

[Colin170CR]

2 hours ago, Colin170CR said:

Those prices are somewhat higher than normal & it is a a bit of fancy restaurant.

I guess it depends where you go but, just like everything else, eating out has got more expense in the last few years in the UK.

Eating out is not some we do very often & if we do it's a bit more down market!!

I also just realised that there is some live music on tonight which is all included. 

 

Weather permitting, I'm also tempted to go there & sit outside on Sun 25th June because Muse are playing at the National Bowl which is an open air venue just across the road. Won't be able to see them but free live Muse audio all night for the price of a pizza & beer!!  

[J.R.]

Here we are just coming into the season where every Friday and Saturda night there will be often very good live music played in one Bastide town square or another, you can sit all evening outside the bars and restos taking in the atmosphere, also Marchés de Producteurs with the same live music, you go along with a picnic bag containing plates, cutlery and glasses and select the components of your meal from the various local producers stands also from the bar or the wine producers stands. Needless to say everything is great value, no entry charge, the organisers cover the cost of the event & the setting up of chairs, tables, awnings etc by selling bottled water and disposable glasses on the night, both very cheap.

 

A couple of friends are musicians (ex Eurovision entrants) and work most of the summer doing events like these. Another couple are DJ's & do likewise.

Edited 13 June, 2023 by J.R.

[Colin170CR]

59 minutes ago, J.R. said:

The meals I have bought in decent restos to repay friends here have cost €30-35 a head, 2 courses and drinks, my favorite place is a fixed priced 3 course menu with 25cl of wine for €16, no wine for me though as I'm teetotal.

 

In Picardie I took friends who I really owe a lot to a resto that would merit a Michelin star in Dublin according to my pal from there, he said it was the best meal he had ever had and he is the National Sales Director for Wacker Neuson so his standards are high.

 

It was a decade ago that I ate there with him, it was the most expensive place then and you had to book in advance, when I took my friends recently I felt the prices had not gone up nearly as much as other eateries anywhere in France, maybe as a result of the post Covid economy but the quality was as good as ever.

 

2 courses with apéro drinks and wine by the glass for 4 people (only é for the wine) came to only €140, in the past they did not sell wine by the glass and a bottle was usually one or two times the price of the meal, but they only stock excellent wines.

 

I used to travel to France quite a bit for work back in the 70's, 80's & 90's. The company I worked for (Carrier) had a big manufacturing plant in the south at Montluel near Lyon (still there) & another one up north at a little place called Gravigny just North of Evreux which I believe has closed since.

 

We did loads of customer witness test visits to both sites but my favourite was the smaller Gravigny factory because the sales director (Antoine) was a foodie & always took us out to some fantastic restaurants. One visit in particular I remember because the restaurant was in the middle of nowhere (it looked like someone's house) & when we arrived with our party of 10 people there was nobody else in the place. There were no menus & the chef gave us what he had prepared & cooked on the night. Everything from the drinks & the 6 courses that were served. We didn't know what we were getting until each course & pared wine arrived. Fabulous food & apparently mega expensive. Antoine paid the bill but he didn't care because he was booking everything including the taxis on expenses. Later that week our customer placed an order for over £1m which back then was probably equivalent to 2,000,000 FFr for Air Con terminal units for a big project in London. 

Many other happy visits to France camping with our kids when they were younger but we never visited any expensive restaurants 

[J.R.]

My favorite resto, the €16 one has a choice of 3 or 4 entrées, as they go the choice gets reduced, same deal for the desserts, a good practice that ensures most diners arrive promptly at 19.30.

 

The main course is the dish of the day with a choice of accompaniments, frites légumes, salade etc or une pièce de bœuf which (like the dish of the day) will be whatever cut of steak the chef chose that day at the market, everything is fresh, usually locally produced home made on the day. 

 

No vegeterrorist option!!!

[Colin170CR]

7 minutes ago, J.R. said:

My favorite resto, the €16 one has a choice of 3 or 4 entrées, as they go the choice gets reduced, same deal for the desserts, a good practice that ensures most diners arrive promptly at 19.30.

 

The main course is the dish of the day with a choice of accompaniments, frites légumes, salade etc or une pièce de bœuf which (like the dish of the day) will be whatever cut of steak the chef chose that day at the market, everything is fresh, usually locally produced home made on the day. 

 

No vegeterrorist option!!!

Haha. I'll use that Vegeterrorist quote if I may. Yes you are right, France & even more so Spain do not seem to want to embrace the Vegetarian movement. We went to Seville a few years ago & my wife ordered a Vegetarian salad (that's what it said on the menu) which came with ham as a garnish 😂

I wet myself laughing so hard. 

[J.R.]

I adopted the phrase when I heard it while travelling in South Africa nearly 20 years ago now.

[Lady Elanore]

So for tea tonight I had a bit of a pick n' mix. I fancied lamb, but the only lambie thing I had were some seekh kebabs. So pressing on I thought, perhaps some veggies and/or a salad. Trouble is I haven't been shopping for a while (been visiting my folks) so all I had was some red onion and a bit of soggy lettuce. No fresh food in at all.... but I wanted something lambie!

 

I rummaged around the drawers of my freezer, going into the dark back crevices that I normally don't dare to venture (not a euphemism) and found a bottle of half drunk vodka.  WIN! Perhaps a bit early, but I became distracted and realised that I have ginger beer and lime juice in the fridge. MOSCOW MULE!! BIG WIN!! 

 

After consuming some of this delicious cocktail (it's amazing how cold a bottle feels when it's at -18C). I went back into the freezer...

 

Cola flavoured Callipo! The wins were coming thick and fast. But what about the lambie thing you ask...or perhaps don't? I move over to my overflow emergency mini freezer (it's a long story as to why I have a second freezer) and continue to rummage. Wine Ice Cubes! Can today get any better? Wine spritzer with wine ice cubes, although I have no idea what type of grape the cubes derived from. 

 

By now I was less hungry, or was I more hungry, I can't remember, but I thought I had better do something as the kebabs had thoroughly warmed up on my kitchen counter by now. Back in I went, I probably should have informed friends and relatives of my intention, just in case I didn't come out of it alive, potato and sueeeeedy mash, hmmm - yumm, I'll have a bit of that action. Ooh peas and carrots, yes, and what's this? A small pot of mashed potato. Left over from a cottage pie experiment sometime in the early 90s I think? 

 

So for tea, I had...

 

• Enough alcohol to incinerate several Christmas puddings - or at least start a decent sized bonfire
• Mashed potato (with extra butter)
• sort of crushed potato and sueeeedy stuff
• Peas and carrots
• Lamb Seekhkebabs
• Red onion cut into lumps
• a soggy lettuce leaf
• and a huge mug of tea. 

I am full and slightly hammered. Good night and God save all those who sail in her.....

 

 

 

 

 

[@Lee]

I'd have just got ****ed and ordered a kebab on Just Eat but whadoo I know

 

[Lady Elanore]

43 minutes ago, @Lee said:

I'd have just got ****ed and ordered a kebab on Just Eat but whadoo I know

 

 

 

It's catching 

[Lady Elanore]

I wish I had made this for tea, although it is a bit off piste - but it's a great foodie shot anyhoo

 

[Paws4Thot]

12 minutes ago, Lady Elanore said:

I wish I had made this for tea, although it is a bit off piste - but it's a great foodie shot anyhoo

 

Now that's a real sub!

[olduns]

Bleddy weather....back now and its still Rabbit food...come on Winter 😀

 

[Lady Elanore]

hopefully the beer was chilled 

 

[olduns]

 

Even managed to find a Continental style glass 😀

[Lady Elanore]

I like the retirement card in the background  

[Colin170CR]

Not specifically for tea but to nibble on all day. Fathers Day pressy from kids.

[olduns]

I had a packet of Shrimp sweets....from the OH as all 5 kiddies couldn't be arsed 😋

[Ootohere]

No food after 7pm till the next morning. (early)

Restart of my old regime as back biking (well e-biking) so not really exercise but some fuelling & rest and recuperation for a few months of getting fit again..

 

So a just a we stop at Starbucks for a coffee and sweet bite.  Need to start just cycling past KFC, McD, Greggs as i head out on rides,

Now back on the Protein Shake, fruit and nuts, tuna & other stuff that i ate for years pre covid.

(Oatcakes and water as snacking food.)

 

[olduns]

[Colin170CR]

I finally decided on a Steak from the local Coop with last night's leftover watercress, radish, spring onion & tomato salad in a balsamic & olive oil dressing. 

The Rump Steak (rare) was a bit gristly & I think I overdid the pepper sauce somewhat. No starch tonight after I pigged out on homemade chicken kebabs in pitta bread last night (3 large ones).  

[Lady Elanore]

I think you might need wellies with that tea!