FOOD
REVIEWS
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Dine
Online
www.limitless.co.uk/dine/welcome.htm |
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| This
site sounds very grand - it's described as the 'independent wining,
dining
and international travel review'. You'll find more than just restaurant
reviews here, it's also a great source of the latest restaurant news
and
gossip on the big name chefs. Of course restaurants are tested and
rated,
and not just in the UK but internationally. The reviews are well
written
and detailed. The selection of eating guides is also impressive, take
your
pick from guides to dining out in London, dining in the country,
recommended
restaurants abroad, recommended Asian restaurants, great pub food and
child
friendly London restaurants. |
AA
Restaurant Guide
www.theaa.co.uk |
|
Better
known for patching up your car when it breaks down, the Automobile
Association
also do a nice sideline in listing places where motorists can get a
bite
to eat. Based on their renowned star rating system, you get a clear and
simple idea of what to expect from a restaurant.
The
downside is that restaurants
pay for their ratings, so don't expect everything to be in there. With
competition from other ratings bodies, few places bother to be rated by
them all. |
The
Curry House
www.curryhouse.co.uk |
|
| This
is the ultimate online magazine for curry fans. As well as featuring
numerous
curry recipes there's an excellent guide to Indian restaurants around
the
UK. You'll find links to Curry House web sites where their available;
unsurprisingly
Bradford has the longest list of Indian restaurants. However it's only
in the Oxford, Reading and Central London areas that you'll find
independent
reviews of Indian restaurants. The good news is that these reviews are
well written, honest and comprehensive; speciality dishes are
recommended
for each restaurant. |
Restaurants
www.restaurants.co.uk |
|
| This
guide to UK restaurants is kept well up to date and it covers the whole
gamut of culinary delights - from takeaway fish and chips through to
stylish
French restaurants. To find a suitable eating-place for your night out
you just search by geographical area. Although you can add your own
restaurant
reviews to the site the pages are short on independent guides; you just
get the contact details and the genre of food served and that's yer
lot.
The Sizzler tag is attached to some of the restaurants and that's meant
to signify a quality restaurant but even then the reviews are written
by
the restaurants themselves and so are hardly impartial. |
Edinburgh
and Glasgow Dining Guide
www.royalmile.com/diningguide |
|
| The
design of this site is simple and clean which makes it a doddle to
select
a suitable restaurant. Within each city you can search for all
restaurants
specialising in a certain type of food or you could search for those
within
a specific price range (for example you could pull up all those
restaurants
or cafes that serve food for under a tenner a head). The listings are
hugely
comprehensive and include cafes, bars, delis and arts venues as well as
restaurants. The reviews are extensive and you're given an idea of how
much your meal is likely to cost. |
Fodor's
Restaurant Index
www.fodors.com/ri.cgi |
|
| This
is not a huge directory of restaurants but the site does list all of
those
eating-places around the world that meet Fodor's exacting standards of
quality, service and value. You can search by geographical area, by
price
or by style of cuisine. The directory of restaurants is small but
perfect
formed and you can trust Fodor's recommendations. A useful resource if
you do a lot of travelling abroad. |
London
Food
www.london-food.com |
|
| Now
London Food reckon that they 'tell it like it is', so you can look
forward
to a bit of honest restaurant reviewing here. The design of the site
can
only be described as grim but the content will win you over. The listed
restaurants are rated on everything from the cleanliness of the loos
through
to the quality of the food and service. The readers' restaurant review
section is also worth a look if you want some no holds barred comments. |
Traditional
English Restaurants in London
www.english-restaurants.com |
|
| Before
we get too far we have to say that the creator of this site, the Earl
of
Bradford, has a vested interest - he owns the traditional English
restaurant
Porters. However this classic site is an excellent guide to the few
good
English restaurants in the capital. Handily you can select your
restaurant
by price or by geographic area. The reviews are well written and you're
told the average cost per head; visitors to the site are invited to add
their own ratings to the restaurants listed. |
|
RECIPES
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| Before
you start using these
lovely recipes you should order the food that michelin * chefs do.
Seriously
Fine Food operate a mail order service from headquarters in
Herefordshire.
Yes it's a cheat's delight...er...French Custard Powder actually,
technically
creme patissiere powder, or the griottines, little pitted cherries in
booze
seldom seen in the UK. They also have verjus - the latest thing as well
as superb stocks,vinegars,oils,caviar,cheese and much much more. No
wonder
4 of the restaurants they supply locally have michelin stars.
Interactively
.Coming on line soon. Call or send for their catalogue |
Cooking
for Kids
www.learnfree.co.uk/cookingforkids/html/index.asp |
|
| This
UK-based site looks great and gives you lots of recipes and healthy
eating
tips for kids on the go. The recipes are fun and it's the kind of stuff
kids will want to eat. The recipes are split into three main sections -
breakfast, lunchboxes and recipes that kids can make themselves. The
step
by step instructions mean the recipes are all easy to follow and the
accompanying
photos will make your mouth water. Some of the recipes are particularly
clever such as the Hidden Vegetable pasta, you hide the veg under the
pasta
and before you know it your kids are eating healthily. |
All
Recipes
www.allrecipes.com |
|
| You
would not believe how many recipes there are on this site. Sub sections
of the site deal with all manner of cooking from cakes and bread
through
to soup and pies - just take a browse through the A to Z recipe guide
to
get an indication of the size of this fabulous resource for foodies.
Recipes
are contributed by visitors to the site and the All Recipes editors
pick
out a recipe of the day. You can even print out the recipes on card so
you can refer to them easily when you're in the midst of creating a
gorgeous
meal. |
Betty
Crocker
www.bettycrocker.com |
|
| Betty
writes a column on cookery that's syndicated in newspapers around the
States
and she's the woman behind this wholesome, all-American recipe site.
The
site is well organised - you choose recipes suitable to your style of
cooking.
For example if you're in a hurry you'd check out the meals in the
Express
section, if you've got to keep the family happy you'd plump for the
Kids
option, while gourmets might head straight for the Love to Cook or
Adventure
areas. Betty gives you a whole week's worth of recipes, which is a
blessed
relief when it comes to planning family dinners. The What's On Hand
section
of the site is highly recommended - you just tell Betty what
ingredients
you've got in your kitchen and she comes up with a list of suitable
recipes
using those products. |
World
Wide Recipes
wwrecipes.com |
|
| Sign
up with this service and you'll get new recipes delivered direct to
your
email inbox every morning. By the end of the week these recipes will
have
built up into a gourmet menu. The recipes are not for the unadventurous
or the cooking beginner - they assume a certain level of cookery
expertise.
All the recipes have an international flavour and range from classics
served
in the world's finest restaurants to more unusual ideas. Check out the
example menu on the site to see if it's worth signing up. |
Cooking.com
www.cooking.com |
|
| This
site looks mouth wateringly good and is a very professional endeavour.
It is a commercial site, so you'll find you can buy cooking utensils
direct
from the pages - the only problem is you'll have to get them shipped
from
the US. Thankfully the site is also home to lots of tasty recipes; you
just choose the course, do you want a yummy appetizer or a gooey
pudding
and all the relevant recipes pop up. The cooking instructions are clear
and the recipes are accompanied by some inspiring photos. If a
particular
recipe takes your fancy you can even email it direct to a friend - a
nice
touch. Anybody who's concerned about healthy eating will be glad to see
you're given a calorie and cholesterol breakdown for each recipe. |
Meals
for you
www.mealsforyou.com |
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| Another
massive collection of recipes, this site can take all the stress out of
cooking and shopping. If you have a big dinner party approaching,
choose
your recipe from the thousands on display here and add it to your
personalised
list of favourites. Once you have your entire meal, you can print off a
shopping list of everything you need - very handy for planning purposes. |
Veggie
Heaven
www.veggieheaven.com |
|
| Veggie
Heaven is home to over 200 vegetarian and vegan recipes as well as a
handy
guide to vegetarian restaurants in the UK. The site is the work of the
vegetarian cookery writer Rosamond Richardson and is simple and fast
but
low on glossy photos. However the recipes are all easy to follow and
you
get handy tips on various cooking techniques. |
YumYum's
Kitchen
www.yumyumskitchen.com |
|
| Children
love to cook nice things almost as much as they love to eat them.
YumYum's
Kitchen is full of fun things to cook and eat that are still quite good
for them. There's nothing too complicated either, though some age
guidelines
for different recipes might have been nice - you'll have to decide how
much help your children are likely to need depending on how skilled
they
are in the kitchen. |
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