Went to a fab gig last night with the wife, her sister Colleen and brother-in-law Josh who’s been spearheading the Seattle Theatre Group’s revival of the Neptune Theatre in the U District.

I first came across the Irish band The Script back in 2008 after hearing them on a BBC Radio 2 session. Give they’re so good, I was surprised they had to downsize from the 3000 seater Paramount to a smaller venue, but the crowd wasn’t bothered one bit!

They whooped and screamed their way through the band’s excellent hour-plus long set as lead singer Danny O’Donaghue strutted around the stage with Gaelic charm.

The venue is tremendous. For gigs like this, you can get as close to the action as you like or sit upstairs and get a birds-eye view. Look skyward and ornate plaster Neptunes are keeping their eye on you!

They’ve even done a “grand opening video” to create a bit of buzz as the season-proper starts on 25th September with a week of FREE events – so get booking!

Well done to the band and well done to STG for an excellent addition to the Seattle arts scene!

We had a fantastic evening at Seattle’s Seafair Torchlight Parade last night.

Thousands lined 4th Avenue from The Seattle Center to Qwest Field and we found a spot on Washington that saw a lot of action from the 100 groups of participants that had come from from all over the Pacific Northwest.Above we caught the Alaska Airlines Cabin Crew strutting their stuff in a tongue-in-cheek dance routine that would look just as at home in a Virgin Atlantic commercial as it did towards the end of the 3 mile route.

Then we caught the Seattle Sounder’s Brass Band “getting on down” and blowing their horns right in front of us – it’s worth watching all 90 seconds, especially for the animated tuba players at the end!

There were loads of other really fab floats and bands – the Seahawks Cheerleaders were a highlight!

Seafair’s yet another reason to applaud the people that run Seattle. Great, clean and community-driven family fun that had everyone going to bed with a big smile on their face, determined to enter a group next year!

Were you there? What were your favourite entries?

Check out the videos on my YouTube Channel…

Last month, I took Ashley to the Cave B Inn on the Columbia River Gorge in Eastern Washington. I was determined we’d have one last hurrah (Ashley called it a baby-moon) before our child was born, so what better destination for a pregnant lady but a famous winery!

Actually, it wasn’t just about the wine. The inn has an excellent spa attached to it, and Ashley was going to full advantage of that over the 3 nights we spent there.

There are a number of ways to stay on the property. They have rooms, cool yurts (luxury tents) or the private cliff houses you see above. I took a deal on the cliff house but not all started well.

The houses are large and with incredible views, but when we arrived we found the door blinds broken, the taps in the bathroom were coming off, the fridge was filthy and there were cobwebs in all corners of the room.

Now, if you check out their site, you’ll see they aren’t cheap and, although I’m English, I wasn’t going to brush these kind of faults under the carpet.

I wrote down a list of all the problems and quietly gave them to the front desk. By the time we’d got back from a brilliant massage at the spa, all the issues were resolved with apologies and they even threw in a free bottle of wine to say sorry.

The rest of the trip was faultless. The Tendrils Restaurant served up scrumptious breakfasts, classy lunches and awesome dinners.

Fresh ingredients and an emphasis on seasonal dishes, Chef Bear Ullman serves up delights such as pan-seared duck breast with scallops wrapped in prosciutto and hand-made pasta – both pictured above.

Over 3 days, we pretty much polished off everything on the menu, including a dreamy roasted quail with squash and asparagus which didn’t last long after this photo was taken.

A short walk up through the vineyard and past the chef’s garden is the Cave B wine tasting room. Now we’ve been wine tasting in France, South Africa, Italy and the US, and never before have we had the opportunity to sample ten wines for just $5.

Clint and his team were very knowledgeable about the wines, good humoured and in no way pushy – probably why we went back on our last day and bought a case.

They’ve won a bucket-load of awards, and rightly so. Bottles range from just $15 for the new Caveman Red to $45 for the big, juicy Cuvee du Soleil.

It’s easy to over-do it on the food and wine in this part of the world, but there are other activities like the swimming pool and hiking trails to dissuade the calories from having their way with you.

Despite the rocky start, we had a great time soaking up the sun (and wine) at this fantastic oasis just a 2 1/2 hr drive from Seattle.

They’re child-friendly too…….so we’ll be back soon!

Pretty Chop from The Standard Hotel

Have a few Taste posts backed up now because of all the hectic travelling, but this was one of the best meals I had in NYC this month with the fabulous Kristen and Jamie from MediaVest.

New York’s Standard Hotel, Restaurant and Beer Garden down near Soho House does these enormous chops, with a delightful fruity (mango I think) accompaniment.

Look at the size of it!

Seriously the more I eat out in America, the more I realise how stingy UK eateries can be with their portions, especially when it comes to meat and seafood.

Thoroughly recommend going there. Don’t expect to be able to get the draft beer the beer garden patrons are sipping though,  because they don’t serve it in the restaurant……which was the only shame about the place!

One thing lacking in the UK are decent Vietnamese restaurants….

Ashley and I had a fantastic trip to Ho Chi Minh City, The Mekong and Phu Quoc last year and savoured every bite of their fresh tasting cuisine.

One thing American streets are not lacking are eateries from that part of the world, specifically selling Pho – pronounced “fuh”.

On Saturday we ventured into Capitol Hill and Broadway in Seattle to visit the famous Pho Than Brothers.

Greeted with a plate of fresh herbs, bean sprouts and a cream puff (!) we browsed an extensive menu with included chicken, meatballs (see photo) and about 13 different cuts and selections of beef.

Essentially Pho is a noodle soup made with rice vermicelli bathed in a scrumptious broth and fresh veggies adorned with whatever meat takes your fancy.

Quick, delicious and cheap, we left (with some extra cream puffs that a preggers Ashers was craving) having imparted with way less than $20 including tip.

Thoroughly recommend it and would love to hear your favourite Vietnamese restaurants so we can check them off if we’re in your part of the world.

My favourite named Pho place is in Bellevue who have (amazingly for America) got away with calling themselves “What The Pho?”

Saturday night was an all singing, all dancing affair for me and Ashley as we were treated to tickets to Mary Poppins at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle.

I had the LP (remember those?) as a child so was looking forward to reliving some happy memories of precociously performing chimchimminy and supercala (not even going to try and spell it) etc for my family.

The mammoth set – 27 trucks were used in the “get in” – “load in” in America – was simply staggering for a touring production as buildings transformed into streets that transformed into parks – made me a little homesick too.

I’m writing this in a New York hotel room and don’t have the exact cast list with me, but I did have to ask how many of the Mary Poppins cast were English and I think we only counted one! So thumbs up for fooling everyone with the crisp cockney and received pronunciation.

Did you know the writer – P. L. Travers – actually wrote a series of books about the gifted nanny? That’s apparently where the musical drifts off script from the film and adds in a few more twists and turns.

The 2 1/2 hours simply flies by like an umbrella in the wind and we’ve been humming the tunes ever since.

If you’re thinking of heading downtown for a bit of foot-tapping nostalgia for all the family, then do. Mary Poppins is just the tonic for cheering Seattle up after the coldest April on record.

No spoonful of sugar for me though. I have the Paramount Club to thanks for my latest tipple. They were serving Mary Poppins-themed cocktails and I devoured two “Chim Chim Cheeroos” which are simply Jim Bean and ginger ale deliciousness.

A man has dreams…..

Yesterday was Julia’s 1st birthday, so we made the trip to Smokin’ Pete’s BBQ in Ballard to celebrate and listen to the fabulous bluegrass band Dysfunction Junction play, as my sister-in-law has booked them for her wedding this summer.

We hired BBQ from Armadillo’s at our Seattle wedding in 2009, so I was interested to see how they compared.

We went for the family platter which included ribs, brisket and pulled pork on the gargantuan plates you see above, PLUS mac ‘n’ cheese, coleslaw, broccoli and a fresh-from-the-oven corn bread.

Add three pints of beer and a soft drink for Ashley, and the whole feast came to just $60!

The meat was delicious, tender and oozed terrific flavour, especially when married with their hot BBQ sauce.

(Plenty left over for lunch today, although I’ve accidently left it in the fridge. Breakfast tomorrow?)

The entertainment was very cool too. I’d only ever heard bluegrass sung by Seasick Steve, so to see a whole band up there was brilliant.

Can’t wait for the wedding………although chances are Ashley will be in labour!

There are some very fancy and lush restaurants in New York. I’m normally here for conferences and what not, so have ended up in a few over the years.

But I’m not so precious that I won’t eat in what might look like a dive to some.

I’m in NYC now for SES New York, and last night found Sapporo at 152 West 49th Street, just down from the Hilton Hotel where I’m staying.

For $20, including tip, I sat at the bar and watched the chefs do their thing while I munched on pork kare age, noodles and veg, while happily quaffing a bottle of Sapporo beer.

From the slurping to my right and behind me, this place was popular with local Japanese too which is always a good sign.

Every time I read about restaurants in New York, locals always say stay clear of Times Square because it’s too touristy.

Well in Sapporo last night, it looked like I was the only tourist in sight enjoying a quick, delicious meal that didn’t shatter my expense account!

Hurrah for cheap eats which turn out to be great experiences too!

Sunset at the Beach – which is not 50 yards from the Pallagino

Reposting our Tripadvisor review of Rajen and Sandy Daswani’s B&B FeastOfMauritius.com as we believe it’s a bit of a health hazard. Our fellow guests felt the same and more recently someone has posted about the filthy rooms and sick children.

It’s a real shame when businesses try and game the internet with false promises, attracting people from miles away only to deliver far below expectations when they’ve taken all your money.

Guess we should have known better. Would love to know if you’ve been duped by shonky reviews, misleading descriptions and had a less than fantastic holiday experience?

From our review:

My wife and I have just returned from a 2 week stay in Mauritius and we opted for the half board bed, breakfast and dinner deal at the Pallagino having read all the very positive reviews and being avid foodies ourselves.

Maybe they were having a bit of an off period, but we came away quite disappointed overall with our experience at Pallagino.

The family is perfectly nice, and they were very accommodating and sensitive to my wife who wasn’t feeling very well due to being pregnant.

But before you commit to flying for 12 hours from Europe to stay there, there are some things you need to know.

Communication – when you email Sandy at the email address on their website you are not communicating with her. It is her husband Rajen who spends much of the day drumming up business on the internet. We thought this a little misleading as the emails are signed “Sandy” and there is a big difference in perception of who you’re dealing with. We thought we were communicating with Sandy the celebrity chef, not Rajen the part-time marketing consultant. I think they need to be more honest here.

Location – the guest house is NOT “beachside” or 50 meters from the beach at Flic en Flac as some of their marketing and reviews suggest. It is 2 and 1/2 blocks from the road you have to cross to get to the beach. To be exact (I took my GPS with me) it is a 240 meter walk. Don’t expect landscaped gardens either. Mauritius is peppered with a lot of building work and half built houses and the road Pallagino is on has quite a bit going on including a building site opposite and next door, scrub which was dangerously set alight while we were there prompting the fire brigade to be called! The villa is secure but don’t expect awesome views from the balconies.

The pool – we didn’t use it once as it appeared not to be cleaned very regularly. The automatic cleaner was sometimes on but the filter and pump were often switched off. As a result the water was left stagnant and unappealing.

Cleanliness – on arrival we found quite a lot of stray hair on the floor and mats around the bed and the bed sheet did not fit properly. To our amazement we discovered the rooms were only cleaned every 3 days excluding weekends and holidays. We had to remind Rajen and Sandy it was cleaning day and found out fellow guests only had their room cleaned twice in a 9 day stay! The literature says it’s for “environmental reasons” but it smacked of cost cutting to us. We didn’t expect sheets or towels changed every day, but it would have been nice to have the room swept and freshened every day.

Water – we only had hot water for about 4 to 5 days of our stay as there were problems with the boiler. No explanation was offered until we asked. No real apology either. We had to go down on multiple occasions to ask for the pump to be turned on in order to shower. The shower was shabby and the shower tray was cracked and about to burst. We had to straddle it to avert disaster!

Food – the dinners were good and sometimes very good. Every evening we sat down to “cocktails” – I passed mostly on those and stuck with beer – dinner was then served buffet-style and included a different thing every night – Indian, creole, Chinese and even spag bol one night. There were no real howlers but we were disappointed by the lack of fresh seafood. Some appetisers were dished up while we discussed our days, but the prawns and calamari tasted like they’d be frozen prior to being heated up. There were no desserts as such other than the odd bit of cake or ice cream. One night we were told there was no dessert but my wife asked for some ice cream which was promptly served up. Rajen’s after dinner liquors were a highlight and came in a variety of flavours including chocolate, hazelnut and kiwi.

Breakfast was a huge disappointment. It consisted of cereal, watered down juice, sliced bread, yoghurts, plastic wrapped orange burger cheese, processed meat and instant coffee. We got a fried egg if we asked for one, but after a week started going to the patisserie down the road and buying our own food for a bit of variety. Meats were served up days on end; even though it was obvious no one wanted it. Sliced bread went hard after a couple of days and had to be toasted.

Very sad given we were sold on the culinary aspect of the guest house. We expected more given their tagline is “5 star holidays at 1 star prices.” If I was promoting gourmet cuisine in a former French colony that makes its own coffee, I’d be serving fresh French bread, real coffee, pain au chocolate, croissants, fresh fruit salad, and offering a different cooked option every morning.

On another note we asked to put the nice cheese we’d bought for breakfast in their fridge and it was put in the drinks fridge where Rajen kept the beer and wine. At lunchtime one day I asked to have a beer and discovered they turn the fridge off at night, obviously to save money, so our cheese temperature had been going up and down like a yo yo. A possible health risk, it could have had devastating results for my wife if I hadn’t found this out.

Tours – Rajen will organise tours around the island for you. But you can get much cheaper – although not private – options in town from any number of operators. They recommend TiCabo for diving but I used Sea Urchin in town who were £4 cheaper for each dive and quite brilliant!

Some reading this might ask why we didn’t complain while we were there. When we arrived we were exhausted after a 12 hour flight so ignored the hairy room and cleaned it up ourselves. Also before we had even put our suitcases down we were asked for the other 50% of the money we owed, having paid a huge deposit a few weeks earlier. It meant it was difficult to say too much as we had little recourse as we’d already paid for the whole stay. Also as we ate with the family every night, we did not want to sully the atmosphere.

As I said at the start of this review; the place is affordable and the family perfectly congenial, but you need to be aware that it isn’t anything like 5 stars. More like 3 at best.
We hope the family will take this feedback as constructive criticism and make a little more invest in the whole operation to live up to the expectations they set.

All in all we had a great time in Mauritius; the people are very friendly, the beaches lovely, the diving excellent and the weather divine.

With a hearty Christmas over and done with friends, it was off down to the West Country to visit family in Devon and Somerset.

The route from Richmond towards where the famous Cornish Pasty was invented is easiest via the M3 motorway and the long and winding A303 road that takes you through Hampshire, past Stonehenge in Wiltshire and beyond.

A typical trip might take 4 hours, so we decided to venture off the melting track and try and discover a local hostelry which served a decent lunch and, more importantly, a decent pint of real ale.

A couple of searches pointed to The Boot Inn, a beautiful pub snow-nestled in a quaintly named village called Berwick St James, just 7 miles from Salisbury.

We had booked a table as it was the holidays, and we did call twice on the way to say we were going to be late because of the damn traffic.

Fortunately they held the table, a snug one for the two of us right next to a crackling fire adorned with pottery beer mugs, and set about serving some cracking Wadworth 6X beer and pointing out all the different food choices they had on.

We could either choose from an extensive bar menu, or opt for a smorgasbord of British a la carte dishes all cooked to order.

Ashley went for the steak and cheese sarnie, while I plumped (literally) for the devilled chicken livers with mushrooms on toast AND slow-roasted duck and new potatoes with a glazed orange and watercress salad drizzled with truffle oil.

The liver and mushrooms was a kicksome creamy concoction; a pink-in-the-middle delight that simply oozed decadence (and I’m sure a large dollop of cholesterol too)!

I should have stopped there, but I had been intrigued as to what a glazed orange salad might turn out to be, and I wasn’t disappointed.

It appears the chef could be bothered to sprinkle the semi-tart orange slices with sugar and blow-torch them into a crispy sweet toffee that mixed with the duck, zesty orange and divine truffle flavour, created a taste bud sensation that I’m still fondly savouring 4 days later!

Ashley’s steak sandwich was gobbled up with some crispy potato wedges – consumed by way of defence from the cold I was told – and they even happily wrapped up half of the meaty/cheesy goo to be finished off by me the next day for lunch.

A quick double espresso set me up for the 2 hour drive ahead, and when Ashley paid the bill, the damage was a paltry £40 including tip.

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I picked Berwick St James off the map, but I was not expecting the best pub lunch I’ve had in years.

Now I kind of wish it was Christmas once a month so I’d have an excuse to visit family via The Boot Inn more often.

Well……I did say kind of….