In article , Martin Kurrein
Someone wrote:
Not forgetting (:-)) Il Castello at the Elephant & Castle - probably the best in London.
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Martin Kurrein | No brilliance is needed in the law. [email removed] | Nothing but common sense, http://www.mkurrein.co.uk/ | and relatively clean finger nails.
John Mortimer
From [email removed] Thu Aug 22 06:01 EDT 1996
To: all members
Subject: I NEED YOUR HELP
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Dear BBQ'ers,
I guess you might call me a lurker - I subscribe to the digest but haven't ever written anything to you all. Truth is, I'm ill equipped to say anything. You guys are the experts, I'm just an enthusiast.
But you can't blame me too much, I hope, because I live in a place where true BBQ is hard to come by: London, England. There is just one decent place, and I warmly recommend it if any of you ever get over here. The place is called Arkansas Cafe (also known as Bubbas Pit BBQ), and it's in Spitalfields Market E1. Phone number: 0171 377 6999. The chef/owner was brought up in Arkansas but learned his art in Maryland, and ran a pit BBQ there for some years. Won prize for best ribs in the state in 1987. Imports Prime or Choice beef from the USA. Good stuff.
But that's not why I'm writing.
I'm a writer and broadcaster specialising in food, and I'm working on a series for BBC Radio called (provisionally) Real Junk Food. Wait, don't scream, I know: BBQ is not "junk food." We've given the series this working title as a way of getting across the idea: great American cooking gets taken up by corporations and sold overseas as "real American food" when we all know it's nothing of the kind. My series will find the good stuff, and explain how it's made and who makes it.
I'm in the research phase now and am asking for your help. What I need is sources - anywhere in the country - for the good stuff. One programme will be on BBQ, and that's my first question to you: where can I go to eat well and record behind the scenes?
Second question: the other five progs. will be in the following categories, and I'll be grateful for suggestions in them as well:
ice cream
burgers
chili
fried chicken
pizza
I can't offer any financial reward for your help, but I can offer undying gratitude - plus maybe the pleasure of getting your favourite place on the radio. I've sent a similar message to people on the FOODWINE and CHILI-HEADS lists, and they've been incredibly helpful.
If you want, you can send mail direct to me on Compuserve. My ID is 100621,2143. Or post to the list and I'll read it on the digest. Either way, I look forward to hearing from you.
And hell, why not pitch my 2 cents worth on a recent topic: membrane on ribs. Sure they're a pain, but not that much of a pain. Better to have well cooked ribs with a chewy membrane that you have to dig out of your teeth than smooth-eating ribs with no taste.
That's it. Hope to hear from you.
Richard Ehrlich
London UKLondon, United Kingdom