The Daily Telegraph, 28 July
Mark Palmer visits La Bécasse, Ludlow, Shropshire

No one quite knows how many butchers, bakers and dedicated cheese-makers there are in Ludlow. Rather a lot, though - in fact more per head of population than anywhere in the country. "Foodie capital of Britain" is an easily digestible headline on the Welsh Marches and one of which locals are mighty proud. There's a Food and Drink Festival every September and last year Ludlow became the headquarters of something called Slow Food, which was set up in Italy as an "organised resistance to the unchecked growth of fast-food culture and to promote diversity in food production". No posthumous gong heading Colonel Sanders's way from this lot, then. Such earnestness could one day lead to a counter-revolution to halt the unchecked growth of Ludlow food outlets listed in the Michelin Guide and to promote diversity in the town's method of self-promotion.

The Times, 28 July
Giles Coren visits The Frontline, London W2

I was doing a charity wine debate thing for the British Heart Foundation the other day when Malcolm Gluck, the Superplonk fellow, suddenly asked me, "Why do restaurant critics never write about the wine?" "If you read my reviews," I replied, "you'd know I don't write about the food, either." Ha ha. What a witty fellow I am. So self-deprecating. So at ease with my mastery of my trade that I will happily mock myself in order to bring the house down with a top gag. But then I thought, "Hmm, the man may have a point" (I didn't say this, of course; that's not how debates work). I do tell you if there's a good (by which I usually mean "long") list of wines by the glass, I've applauded the introduction of 250ml carafes, which allow you to drink something better than average without spunking a heap of cash and getting boggle-eyed hammered (although I usually do both), and I sometimes mention a good-value bottle I've had pointed out by a sommelier. But that's about it.
The Frontline – The Times review in full >>
 
The Independent, 28 July
Tracey Macleod visits La Petite Maison, London

Dateline: July 2007. Location: a Mayfair cul-de-sac so discreet that our driver has to be blindfolded before taking us there. Our mission: to infiltrate La Petite Maison, the latest celebrity restaurant, modelled on a famous Nice institution where the élite meet to eat. Our cab pulls up before an undistinguished frontage. "This can't be it! It looks awful," protests Helen Fielding, one of my guests, who has been promised something glamorous. I whip out my press release. "No, this is definitely the right place..." At which point the man sitting outside interjects, "The entrance is around the corner." We thank the owner, for it is he, and slink in. Gah! as Bridget Jones would say. For a restaurant critic and someone who has written a spy novel, it shouldn't have been that difficult. Still, we needn't have worried too much about blowing our cover. The scurrying staff were much too focused on their heartland clientele, a spread of grand old Mayfair types, big-haired blondes, trustfund twentysomethings and Max Clifford, to make a fuss over the likes of us.
La Petite Maison – The Independent review in full >>

The Guardian, 28 July
Matthew Norman visits Itihaas, Birmingham

It seems a long time, quite possibly because it is, since the great city of Birmingham was an indolent comic's cheap laugh and its culinary image rested entirely on whether that queenly cook, Shughie McFee, was having a good day in the kitchens of the Crossroads Motel. Crossroads has come, gone, come again and gone again since then, and for the past decade a resurgent centre that always strikes me as a giant amusement park for the nation's cranes has seen all the redevelopment accompanied by a slew of fancy restaurants, several with Michelin stars. Yet, for all that, and old prejudices dying hard, the palatial splendour of Itihaas came as quite a surprise to me
Itihaas - The Guardian review in full >>

Are You Ready To Order?
Jan Moir visits Trattoria del Pesce Fresco, Palmer, Sicily

There are a lot of crummy restaurants in Palermo, but Trattoria del Pesce Fresco isn’t one of them. Situated down near the port, on a breezy avenue that offers a tantalising glimpse of sea over lanes of traffic, it tenders a respite from the clamour and grime of the ancient centre. More importantly, this particular Trattoria is refreshing and notable in other ways, particularly for being an honest and straightforward enterprise in a city known for the fiscal rapaciousness of many of its catering outlets - especially those intended to appeal to visitors.
Trattoria del Tesce Fresco – Are You Ready to Order? review in full >>