They sell things apart from cake? I've been frequenting PV for over 20 years and I had no idea...

Camisa used to be fantastic for fresh mushrooms and hams other than Palma.

It was their winter menu, apparently.

It arrived with a garnish of a solitary and rather flaccid leaf of parsley. The pasta was cooked, but the dish was far from being hot. And weirdest of all was the bacon. The cook had apparently run out of lardons or pancetta and just chucked in some pieces of the sort of bacon you'd expect in a butty – not even having made the effort to dice it.



I'll bear that in mind. Lina Stores is great too – the most amazing dried porcini I've ever found.

Lina Stores has been there all my life ... well, all the time since I first visited London and probably much longer.
It's appeared in films too when they want a bit of "real" Soho (Mike Leigh's "Naked" comes to mind).
Back in the day, it was cheek by jowl with strip joints (virtually next door was The Raymond Revuebar), dodgy cinemas, porn magazine shops and unlicensed "secret" bars etc but in and among was a rich vein of the sort of gems you're talking about.
Aye, them were t'days.

This week's investigation into retro aperitifs involved Campari.
I made the same mistake again by mixing with tonic, way too oddly sour.
I really must get some soda water.

The drinks cupboard, as I now call it and which used to be just "a cupboard" before I embarked on this quest, looks like something from a 1950's film set.

Next up ... "Bitterol" from Lidl.
I may regret this.

I thought a Mint Julep was made with whiskey (specifically bourbon whiskey), not whisky?

Right.

Ta for that.

Got a couple of racks of ribs to do tomorrow and looking for recommendations if anybody has any for them. Have looked at most of the obvious sights for them but nothing is appealing. I don't like anything too hot but open to suggestions for chinese/bbq styles etc. Got plenty of time to prepare and slow cook them if needs be.

Just about to eat my second curry of the evening. Interspersed with a few crumpets, a snack of cream crackers and a few glasses of milk.

Rub them with course salt ASAP. Rinse when ready to cook and pat dry.

Pre-heat oven to 150˚C.

Quarter and core some sharp dessert apples (Granny Smith are ideal). Place in a roasting dish that just large enough for the meat. Add a peeled and sliced onion and a couple of sprigs of thyme. Pop the pork belly on top, cover with foil and cook in the oven for three hours.

Remove from the oven and lift off the skin. Cover the rest of the meat in foil and leave in a warm place.

Increase the oven to 180˚C. Place the pork skin on a baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes until crisp. Slice the crackling into pieces and serve with the pork belly.

Remove the thyme and any large amounts of fat from the roasting tray; transfer the apples, onion and cooking liquid to a blender and blend until smooth

Check and adjust seasoning. Serve on the side of the meat.

Christ, I'm feeling horny after reading that.