Confessions of a Wino

Compared to London in the best of times and the worst of times, Exeter city is beautiful, but only within a guillotine blade width of the cathedral. And in this tale of two cities, Exeter is almost uninhabited. But like most of provincial England, the restaurant scenery is so familiar and populous it could be Stockport, or Slough,  Scunthorpe or Staines. Desperately avoiding chain store massacres, I chanced upon Coal, which was bucking the trend on a late summer Tuesday evening, in that trade was brisk and I didn’t recognise the name from the FTSE brands directory.

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Raymond Blanc, founder of high profile restaurant with rooms, Le Manoir aux quat’saisons, and currently starring in the latest culinary reality TV show from the BBC, The Restaurant, has another business interest, a chain of eateries.

I showed up at Brasserie Blanc in Manchester only to discover that Monsieur Blanc has not visited the place in two years.  The brasserie looked unloved and was almost completely empty.  Would this be a culinary delight, or should Raymond come and close his own restaurant?

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London restaurants generally have to work harder than in the provinces of the UK.  Standards are higher because competition is fiercer, diners are more sophisticated, more choosy, and every other idiot customer is a critic for the Sunday Times, or some amateur blog.

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Has Ian Simpson finally moved in?  From my bijou pad in Manchester I can see his penthouse apartment atop the Beetham tower, self appointed tallest residential building in Europe.  Recently I have noticed some lights on the top floor for the first time, so maybe it is finally fitted out?

The fact that I can see his penthouse is far from remarkable since most residents of Greater Manchester, the Outer Hebrides, and the caves of Afghanistan can see this proud member of a building.

So some of you may assume that I reside in the forgotten 1970’s part of town.  I beg to differ!  And so must the poor producers of Muscadet when challenged.  Muscadet is sooooooo 1970’s.  Sooooooo much so I wanted to remember it rather than forget it.  Is Sèvre et Maine really a second class citizen compared to the more fashionable and expensive Loire appellations like Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé?

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