+Learned Gerbil Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 (edited) Today Gerbil Queen and myself set out for some Surrey Caching. We did an easy one on the North Downs, then popped into the very busy Newlands Corner Car park for some refreshment before tackling a few more cahces. I ordered a Chicken Burger and a coffee. The Coffee was OK, but the thing that was served to me as a Chicken Burger defies meaningful discription. The bun was fine, the salad was fine, but the grey smelly slimy thing inside certainly had little to do with chicken. I took one bite - it was all I could manage - it tasted like the grey slime it looked like. The flavour and aroma reminded me of the grease that you have left in the tray after you have roasted a chicken - but a day or two later when it is cold andfd congealed. The whole thing went in the bin. It was definitly the most disgusting thing I have ever been served, including the dreadful 1960's school dinners I suffered. GQ's burger wasn't much better. I didn't feel too well after this, so we never did the other caches we had planned. Anyone got other places near clusters of caches that are definitly worth a miss? Edited August 21, 2005 by Learned Gerbil Quote Link to comment
+The Hokesters Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 (edited) Take a picnic next time - I assume you were too British to complain? I doubt I would have shouted out either, it sounds like a horrible experience. I hope it doesn't put you off doing those caches you had lined up. Edited August 21, 2005 by The Hokesters Quote Link to comment
+third-degree-witch Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 That burger sounds delightful.......NOT.. Quote Link to comment
+Learned Gerbil Posted August 21, 2005 Author Share Posted August 21, 2005 Take a picnic next time That's exactly what we said! Quote Link to comment
+wildlifewriter Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Anyone got other places near clusters of caches that are definitly worth a miss? On my recent, fairly well-publicised trip to dust off some of the more remote and inaccessible caches off the west coast of Ireland, I was foolish enough to stay at the luxurious Station House Hotel in Clifden. The room accommodation was fine, but the restaurant that evening was like a 30-year trip backwards in time... The whole dinner menu was composed in a sort of corrupted Irfranglais, with even recognisable words mis-spelled. Some of the dishes on offer were so baffling that I was forced to consult the head waiter about them... “... and is this really what it says?” Grilled lambs' liver pate, with confitt of Sevile marmalade “Yes Sir, grilled liver pate it is all right, very nice too Sir.” Well, I'd never heard of anyone grilling pate before, so I had to order it, out of curiosity. Once served, it appeared that the Chef's idea had been: to cover slices of liver with pate, and toast the whole lot under a grill. Those of you who can cook will realise at once what the outcome of this insane recipe would be. Having sent back the plateful of raw sliced liver, surrounded by melted fat with bits of floating mince in it, I ordered the “Soup du Joure” instead. (Vegetable.) This was quite good – and would have been even better if it hadn't been stone cold. At this point I ordered a second bottle of red wine, as it was becoming obvious that this was one of those meals which is best consumed while blind drunk. The main course (selected as being eatable with one hand as my left arm was still in a sling) had been described on the menu as “Lentil curry”. In my innocence, I assumed that this would (i) have lentils in it, and (ii) be a curry. No such luck. I don't know what it was, and I hope never to find out. The only things I do know are: it looked revolting, and smelled even worse than it looked. There was (of course) no question of eating it. By this stage, remember, more than an hour had passed and my entire meal had been half a plate of cold soup and some bread. I finished the bottle of wine and staggered out into the streets of Clifden to search for some kind of sustenance. There didn't seem to be anywhere serving food at that time of night, but there were plenty of pubs serving drink. With peanuts. It was a going to be a long night... -Wlw. Quote Link to comment
+sTeamTraen Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 There must be something about Surrey - after narrowly escaping with my innocence intact at Ockham Common, I was probably too shocked at the time to mention in the write-up that I then had a truly shocking hamburger at the café in the car park. On another tack, it sounds like WLW encountered a chef who had perhaps misheard a description of a truly magnificent dish (pan-fried foie gras) and tried to make it based solely on an incorrect description. It should be made with a slice of whole foie gras (about four times the price of fillet steak per kilo), not the greatly inferior "pâté de foie gras", which is then pan-fried for a couple of nanoseconds. You could perhaps grill it, but you'd have to use a blowtorch to get the temperature hot enough, quick enough. If you cook it for any length of time, it starts to melt, and you get WLW's "melted pâté on liver" effect. Quote Link to comment
+Pengy&Tigger Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 On another tack, it sounds like WLW encountered a chef who had perhaps misheard a description of a truly magnificent dish (pan-fried foie gras) Truely Magnificent !!! Pengy Quote Link to comment
+mongoose39uk Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 On another tack, it sounds like WLW encountered a chef who had perhaps misheard a description of a truly magnificent dish (pan-fried foie gras) Truely Magnificent !!! Pengy That and veal Quote Link to comment
+derrylynne Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Glad I never go through that. Lynne makes a great snack to take with us, cost effective too. Quote Link to comment
+paul_and_judith Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 truly magnificent dish (pan-fried foie gras) Oooh yes! There is nothing quite so soft and gorgeous as foie gras. As with any liver, it only needs very delicate cooking. Decent bread and some good wine. Mmm! Quote Link to comment
nobby.nobbs Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 always take picnic, then can take as long as want hunting and stop when hungry. not either give up te search or go hungry. plus tend to have a 7 year old in tow. so a way to make her eat fairly well because we'd only end up in mcd's otherwise. too many scare stories about what some sick individuals will do to food they are cooking. just remember one thing, it's not theft or deception to not pay the full amount just what you think it's worth. they can then take you to court to try and recover the rest. Quote Link to comment
+Alibags Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 too many scare stories about what some sick individuals will do to food they are cooking. err, yes, I have read 'Trainspotting', which has a bit about this sort of thing in it. Why don't we Brits like to complain? I certainly do if I get served up with a plate of inedible muck. More often than not the problem then gets sorted. Having been served up with a stone cold meal recently and complained, I got a replacement meal (not merely the original heated up) and I also did not have to pay for it and we got a round of free drinks. There is certainly no need to be rude or shouty, but merely to bothered to firmly and politely state your case. Mind you, it doesn't always work. On being asked "is everything alright for you" at another establishment, I then replied in the negative (as the meal was dreadful) and was told "Well I ate that dish myself at lunchtime, and it was perfectly okay". So why bother to ask, I wonder? Mind you, if the waitress has already eaten it, that could explain things... Quote Link to comment
nobby.nobbs Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 so it's been hanging around since lunchtime? that's meant to be a recommendation is it? could i have something made fresh please. just a little paranoid of extra special sauce being added if the food goes back to the kitchen! not that i'd eat anything that i din't like just because... one slight advantage with the likes of mcd's you can see it being prpeared and it's freshly made. Quote Link to comment
+klaus23 Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 Quite near to Skirrid Fawr (which I didn't get to attempt due to bad weather, you'll find the Skirrid Mountain Inn. Reputedly the oldest pub in Wales is not bad for starters. Lots of Ghosts? Public Executions? Surely a must. It's an example of a pub resting on it's laurels. The menu on the website is no longer accurate, and I paid £8 for a Ploughman's Sandwich (perhaps expecting it might feed two?) which was worth £3.50 at best. It's not the cleanest either and the beer (£2.40 for Cask Ale) isn't exactly cheap either. Give it a miss. However, the farmer with the stall on the other side of the road, should he still be there, sells cheap and tasty duck eggs. I'll leave you with a recommendation for those of you heading down south on the M5. A stone's throw from Jct.19 (Portishead) you'll find the tiny village of Portbury, and a pub called The Priory. It serves excellent and reasonable food. The A369 will take you close to many caches in Clifton, Ashton Court and Leigh Woods, and there's two caches in Portishead. Quote Link to comment
nobby.nobbs Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 personally i prefer to find a local superstore and buy a nice picnic. better value more choice and better service most of the time. Quote Link to comment
JackiePenn Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 (edited) Quite near to Skirrid Fawr (which I didn't get to attempt due to bad weather, you'll find the Skirrid Mountain Inn. Reputedly the oldest pub in Wales is not bad for starters. Lots of Ghosts? Public Executions? Surely a must. ah, where the baked beans had been mixed with peas because "the son of the cleaning lady likes them that way...." Edited August 24, 2005 by stonefisk Quote Link to comment
+aRRKS Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Fould this a while ago but not tried it yet The Good Pub Mobile Guide "Just send an SMS text from your mobile phone anywhere in the UK, and you will immediately receive details of your nearest pub" It must use the cell information from your mobile to work out where you are and the nearest pub from the guide. Nice Quote Link to comment
+lathama Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 I will always use the Good beer guide to find a pub to eat at, the beer will be good and the facilities excelent so the food should be good too Quote Link to comment
+The Hokesters Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 There is also a TomTom list of good pubs here. Not tested these mind you Quote Link to comment
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