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I like everything about Tavi - the town itself is beautiful with pretty streets, an enormous park which the children love and a river running through it.
There is a lovely indoor market selling everything from homemade pencils to olives but the real draw for us is the small, but perfectly formed, farmers' market which is held in front of the town hall on Saturdays.
I bought the most delicious bag of home-grown organic salad from one of the stalls (stall owner was also the grower) which we had for lunch with homemade bread and tangy sheep's milk cheese also from the market.
There is a wonderful cheese shop around the corner for a larger range of cheeses too.
And the man on the bread stall is gorgeous.
Tavistock, Devon
A lovely inn/hotel nestled in the above hamlet, a few hundred yards from the edge of Dartmoor proper. The food is exquisite, service friendly and fantastic, with a beautifully tranquil beer garden to soothe those aching legs after a hike on the moor.
I got up early one morning in April and walked through the woods below the hotel which were stunning in the light of early dawn. And sitting atop Hay Tor at 7am is simply breathtaking.
www.rock-inn.co.uk
01364 661305
A beautiful Australian restaurant, very central. Delicious dishes and a wonderful dessert called 'death by chocolate'.
Jernbaegade 4, 1608 Copenhagen
www.reefnbeef.dk/
A relaxed and friendly bistro run by a husband and wife team.
The food is tasty, coastal fair and the ambience is delightful. Additional plus is there is only one sitting making it ideal for an evening meal with family and friends.
A simple Southern soul sood restaurant on the edge of Centre City Charlotte, this place as been bringing generations of diners in for its favourites such as Skillet Fried Chicken, Collard Greens and Mac & Cheese.
One of the first integrated restaurants in the South, this place still packs them in for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
You could be sitting next to a construction worker, or the CEO of Bank of America, but everyone gets the same service, and some very true atmosphere.
Come early for lunch during the week or after church.
Don't miss the banana pudding.
914 S Clarkson Street
Charlotte, North Carolina
Two Blocks South of Bank of America Stadium off Morehead Street
Tel: 1-704 375 8855
It is an family-run Chinese supermarket. Stocks a wide range of Asian and Oriental food.
A great new Indian restaurant at 90 Luntmakargatan. We had more than we could eat for about £12 each and the daily house recommendations are good value. The food was freshly prepared and delicious and the staff very friendly.
This is the first pub to open its doors in Chiang Mai and was voted one of the best bars in the world. It is an olde worlde English pub in the true tradition. Has a great selection of food and drinks including roast dinners on Sundays.
It recently had a makeover and extended the bar and the restaurant but has kept its old charm. There is also an outside area where you can sit and enjoy the tranquility of a tropical garden. And now has new bungalows added for those wishing to linger a while. A must to visit when in Chiang Mai.
Make like the Spanish and enjoy a beer and tapa in the bars in Granada. Most places give you a free tapa when you buy a drink - spend an evening wandering from bar to bar in this beautiful city and you won't need to find a restaurant for dinner.
Restaurant Istanbul serves delicious traditional Ottoman kitchen and is one of the few really high quality places in Marmaris harbour. They serve everything from cocktails over traditional Turkish meals to cigars.
The restaurant is designed with much attention to detail and particularly beautiful are the fish tanks. A highly recommended place to sample traditional Ottoman cuisine in a stylish environment.
Barbaros cad No 155 Yat Limani (in the harbour of Marmaris towards the Bar Street rather than the Ataturk Statue)
Tel 0090 252 412 0097
El Porton is the bullfighters' favourite tapas bar and an example of traditional Andalucian food, very macho but lovely staff. Try the prawns sizzling in garlic.
Tragabuches serves modern, high quality food with panache in a stylish setting. Expensive for Andalucia but worth it.
El Porton: Calle Pedro Romero 7
Tragabuches:Calle Jose Aparicio 1
Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla? Of course. But try Almeria, a city with friendly people, wide avenues, an impressive alcazaba, a fortified cathedral and a long beach.
And, if you don't know where to stay or eat, look no further than the Plaza de las Flores, a Torreluz hegemony. In this tiny square (no flowers I'm afraid) Torreluz gives its name to a four-star hotel, a two-star hotel (which we thought very good value for money, but try and get a room overlooking the square), a separate block of apartments, an upmarket restaurant, a very acceptable modern cafeteria where guests of the two-star hotel take their breakfasts (which were very good) and, best of all, a traditional bodega full of atmosphere and people, who spilled out onto the square, serving good value and good quality dishes. All you want in one square right in the centre of town.
Plaza de las Torres, near Puerta de Purchena, the main square, Almeria. Torreluz enterprises etc
I find the trouble with anyone recommending curry places is that they tend to think the one that they go to is the best and rarely venture anywhere else.
I've been right up and down Rusholme numerous times and have found some favourites - but if you want to avoid the generic 'curry' you've got to order the right thing as well as go to the right place - traditional Karahi Gosht at Darbar, for instance.
Most places have their cons too. (Some greatly outweigh their pros as mentioned by other reviewers). But I don't think the curry mile has had it's day in general. As for the northern quarter cafes: they are indeed great value - particularly for town centre but are they really the best places around as some claim? Probably not. Are they tasty, great value great additions to the town centre? Definitely. I'd agree that all those mentioned above are good places.
Shalimar (formerly Chandni) wasn't so great last time I went - however again it's ordering the right thing that counts. Play to a place's strengths and you'll invariably get better food. I always avoid exotic ingredients when trying out budget places because one of the reasons they're cheap is that they're not throwing out £100s worth of shellfish every evening that nobody ordered. So if you do have exotic items they may well have been recently frozen.
Similarly the 'made from base sauce' issue is usually there in all curry places - does one place's lamb bhuna, jalfrezi, karahi or balti really taste that different from the next dish? Or is it 90% base sauce and a few trimmings? In most cases it's the latter. I try to find traditional Pakistani and Indian cuisine but it's not that easy. Often you're better off going with the speciality of the house, whatever it may be. And really there's not much can beat lamb/chicken, lentils, naan and/rice in whatever fashion that comes most naturally to the chef.
I've tried various other places around and about -the Didsbury places mentioned by others, Asian fusian in Chorlton, EastZEast in the city centre. Every place seems to have somebody who thinks it's the best in the city but it's rare I find one that's really exceptional in anything other than presentation - maybe I'm looking for the wrong thing in traditional home cooking - meat on the bone etc.
They still all just serve meat or veg in a preprepared sauce tarted up with a few bits of this and that (pun not intended). Or marinaded and grilled (the quality and 'redness' of these marinades varies somewhat - I'm not a fan of food colouring). Unfortunately 'good' often means well presented these days and some people recommend curry places on matters such as décor or how loudly their plate's sizzling when it arrives.
I'd try anywhere at least once - and most places numerous times. Try and check out the menu - if they've got lamb on the bone it's a good sign. Off to Hhunter's for lunch tomorrow... See how we get on.
One more thing, outstanding value at £2.70 for a chicken kebab at Kashmir King in Whalley Range. Fresh meat, naan, good sauces - just don't bother with the lamb tikka - reheated in the back room.
Around Manchester
On a recent trip to Thailand, I finally made my way north and on a visit to the night bazaar in Chiang Mai, I found a good English pub - the originally named Red Lion.
They had a great range of beers (Strongbow and Blackthorn Cider) and I was quite surprised that they had draught Kilkenny and Guinness. Despite that, I went for the local brew - Singha.
They had a big screen showing the Premiership and my team was on, so I was well happy. I love Thai food but after a week in Thailand I was ready for some old-fashioned English stodge. They had steaks, and the likes, but I tried the chicken pie and chips and I was not disappointed.
The staff were very friendly and the service was good. Well worth a visit.
A bit shabby on the outside, but go through to the non-smoking restaurant at the back.
Modern, interesting and tasteful decor, the menu not the largest but has a good choice and lovely vegetarian dishes. The best food we have eaten anywhere in the last year, great service and cool music. Excellent wine and all very cheap.
Our meal for two, two courses each, with one large wine and one soft drink came to £24.
ul. Jozefa 14
The Jewish quarter
One of the oldest brasseries in Rouen, right in the centre, facing the Cathedral. Very good value lunchtime menus for less than 20€ feature classic dishes and house specialities e.g. Chausson de Madame Paul au Camembert et aux Pommes.
Booking recommended. Open 10.00-23.00 Sun-Thurs and 10.00-midnight Friday-Saturday.
1, place de la Cathédrale 76000 Rouen Tel. (33)02 35 71 86 07 brasseriepaul@wanadoo.fr
www.brasserie-paul.com/index.php
Cosy holiday cottage in the beautiful fishing village of Gardenstown, Abderdeenshire. My partner and I enjoyed fabulous food (courtesy of the Harbour Cafe) and wonderful walks along rugged, and unspoilt coastline.
Feels like a million miles away, well I guess it is nearly!
Gardenstown, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
www.uncletomscottage.com
I've been to Nexxt twice and the food is great. The menu is huge, the portions are huge. Meal for two for between $40 and $80.
Note: check your bill carefully because our waiter added charges for things we didn't order. Despite that I went back and would return again.
700 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, Florida 33139
Tel:(305) 532-6643
The new Cafeteria Castelo located in Panteli, the picturesque fisherman's village. It is right on the beach with an excellent view, the place serves coffees, ice creams, various drinks, light meals, pizza and breakfast.
Panteli Leros 85400 Greece
casteloleros.wordpress.com/
This restaurant is a (not so) hidden gem where where the chef, the lovely Nathalie, cooks beautiful and original dishes using fresh local ingredients. Her husband runs the dining room and will give you tips on which wine will suit your meal better.
Their cooking book "trop mad" has recently won the first prize in the "Best local cookbook in the world" competition in Beijing.
Go there and you're in for a real treat.
46, rue Jules-Simon
56100 LORIENT
Tel: 02 97 64 17 24
Open 12h15-13h30 and 19h30-21h30. Closed on sundays and mondays.
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