tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post1335309750621884896..comments2024-03-25T18:49:00.608+00:00Comments on The Pub Curmudgeon: We are all gastro nowCurmudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-19153175113286606962011-09-22T22:57:33.446+01:002011-09-22T22:57:33.446+01:00Mmmm...steak and ale pie!
Only thing is, wtf is t...Mmmm...steak and ale pie!<br /><br />Only thing is, wtf is the lettuce and tomato thing all about? Seems to be standard garnish whatever you order.<br /><br />I once ordered scampi and chips in a pub....it was served up with a generous portion of boiled cabbage.prognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-80327057573371764752011-09-21T10:32:01.910+01:002011-09-21T10:32:01.910+01:00Sadly in London it's becoming even more common...Sadly in London it's becoming even more common for gastro "pubs" to actively discourage anyone coming in for just a pint. I've been to a few places now where the drinkers area is just a small corner in the back with a couple of tables. Drinkers are not welcome to sit at the regular tables, even if there are few diners in. Even if you do stay for a pint it's expensive and not always well kept. These places should just give up the charade and call themselves restaurants, it would make things much less confusing for me!David - A Bitter Blokehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13019157610485435510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-71998596534637080222011-09-19T19:52:20.978+01:002011-09-19T19:52:20.978+01:00Braised lamb shanks tend to come in vacuum packs, ...Braised lamb shanks tend to come in vacuum packs, ready to microwave! You see them in all the cash & carries. Personally, I have nothing against the licensed premises formerly known as gastropubs provided you can still staqnd at the bar and have a decent pint. There are two or three here in Bristol which fit this description and where the food isn't too expensive. I can, however, think of at least one where the beer, although good, is so expensive that I can only believe that they are trying to discourage people from just coming in for a pint. Fine, they've discouraged me to the extent that I can walk up the road and drink the same beer cheaper in congenial surroundings in another pub.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-76916557065428568072011-09-19T19:10:28.960+01:002011-09-19T19:10:28.960+01:00If the food I was served in a pub actually looked ...If the food I was served in a pub actually looked like it does in your photo, I think I'd be a very large man - that looks like my kind of meal!!Ghost Drinkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00753576955816756710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-3544276645664329062011-09-19T15:38:33.260+01:002011-09-19T15:38:33.260+01:00Exactly, Martin - a variety of simple pub food, of...Exactly, Martin - a variety of simple pub food, often varying dramatically between different pubs.<br /><br />You never see cold buffets in pubs now, which were once quite common. As a picky eater I like that kind of thing as I can choose the things I like and ignore those I don't. That's why I often seek out Chinese buffets now. <br /><br />The Bull's Head in Kings Norton used to have a particularly fine one when I was at university in Birmingham. Now it's a "Sizzling Pub" :-(<br /><br />And I too remember having an excellent pizza in the Swan at Holmes Chapel. I called in there last year - it was keg-only and no longer seemed to serve food. You never seem to see pizzas in pubs nowadays despite smart restaurant chains like Pizza Express and Ask seemingly doing very well out of them.<br /><br />Incidentally, Sams' seem to have largely relented on their "pies and puddings" menu now.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-68978423866650711292011-09-19T15:24:48.755+01:002011-09-19T15:24:48.755+01:00I suspect that what we've lost is the variety ...I suspect that what we've lost is the variety of simple pub food, in gaining a very standardised menu in the vast majority of pubs.<br /><br />I can recall cheap and excellent pizza in a Sam Smiths pub in Holmes Chapel,oysters, cold buffets in Aberdeen, stews and bread and dripping in a number of pubs 20 years ago.(NB I recall you commenting on Sams standardising their catering recently).<br /><br />That said, I'd prefer home-made fish and chips or burger to an anglicised curry or lasagne.Martin, Cambridgenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-27743537907062349502011-09-19T15:12:37.018+01:002011-09-19T15:12:37.018+01:00I have to say that my recollection of pub grub (as...I have to say that my recollection of pub grub (as it was usually called) 30 years ago is that it was mostly very basic stuff: pickled eggs and a few elderly sandwiches behind the bar in many cases. But perhaps this reflects the type of pub I prefer to drink in.Neville Grundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10923209266005338452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-36572048539948795372011-09-19T12:39:44.572+01:002011-09-19T12:39:44.572+01:00"This perhaps merits a more detailed post, bu..."This perhaps merits a more detailed post, but it is certainly my recollection that, thirty years ago, there was much more variety and experimentation in pub food than there is now."<br />Blimey! I remember the choice as plaice and chips at lunch time and just gallons of booze in the evening! I remember being amazed in the early 90's when a pubs sold pizzas! But I suppose it depends on the area and what pubs you go to.Fredrik Eichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09985306468872702882noreply@blogger.com