People aren't eating out so much because of the recession! This would not appear to be the case in this little bit of the UK where pubs and restaurants appear to be packing them in. The question is are they giving good value for money?
Most of our pubs have been gastro ised, ( what a horrible expression the word 'gastro pub' is) and so with gastrification come price hikes. What are the essentials of the gastro pub? Firstly there must be several vases of funeral lilies prominantly displayed. No apirational pub can be without them. Secondly the furniture has to be modern classic, plain wood tables and chairs so heavy that unless you are thinking of entering as a weightlifter in the 2012 Olympics you won't be able to pull them from the table and finally set the price. I vaguely remember that Tony Hawks (or was it Bill Bryson) judged the price of menu's on his travels by the rate charged for Singapore Noodles; you can figure out how upmarket the prices are in gastro pub or restaurant by checking out the price of the steak. £14.95 is good, anything over £20 has to be a laugh. There are quite a few humourous establishements around.
Now why would you want to read my opinions on food or anything else for that matter? Well, I like cooking but I also like eating out and it'll be a bad week if we haven't been out at least twice. I like all sorts of food but probably won't be found in the burger or kebab establishement - not that I don't like either, it's just that I was always told not to eat on the hoof and good food requires you full attention.
Living in South East Wales we are exceptionally well blessed with eateries and never have to travel far to access good food, but we do spread our wings, even venturing over the Severn Bridge. So, if you want to know what is in my restaurant notebook keep an eye on my blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment