Thought the food at the RC was pretty good. I’ve also had canapes there. But then they have a tradition for that. And hot plates too! Makes all the difference. And thanks for your kind comment. Vodka Bullshots for Guy Fawkes up next...

And p.s. It’s possible that the Facebook ban might be something to do with a Gin Review I did- with links to various gin distillers websites. I might try removing it- and see if that makes a difference.

Too kind! Thank you. Delighted to return. Well, I could never let the old Spoon die, could I?

Thank you. Email subscribers should have had a notification of this post? I may need to look into it, if this hasn’t arrived? For the next post: let’s do something on Reform Club cutlets. In Reform Sauce.

I like the chili you get in American bars. The bowl of chili you get with a cracker. It’s an American thing. We get it in the UK- but it never, somehow, tastes the same. And I’ve often wondered- is it because it’s frozen beforehand? Which dries out the sauce, and breaks up the mince?

Long gone. Directly opposite the Red Lion, just off Jermyn Street.

Hi David, I just pulled the image of the net and tidied it up a bit on photoshop. You might be able to find the original printed ad for sale on the net. Best wishes, Luke.

Have a look on Amazon UK. There are decent reproduction baskets for sale. Otherwise, for a genuine French vintage example, I would get in touch with Mikki at The Antique Kitchen: https: www.theantiquekitchen.co.uk And please tell her I sent you. Good luck! Best wishes, Luke

Personally, I would go for the silver tankard- Romantic that I am....

Yes. Oh yes. Idiot, Covid-brained Luke. I should have mentioned that. It’s funny how certain drinks tend to taste better in chilled metal. Ale-tastes infinitely preferable in a polished pewter tankard. Having said that, I’m not convinced that the original Brooks’s Club version was served in a tankard, as- I think- you’re supposed to be able to see the black armband effect- which, logically, has to mean a glass.

I believe- I may be wrong- that it was first published in The Good Food Guide Dinner Party Book in 1971. That recipe included Campbell's Consomme Soup. The problem is that modern Campbell's isn't gelatinous enough, so none other than Simon Hopkinson updated the recipe with a leaf of gelatine.

Down with the Roundheads! Long live the Cavaliers!

Many thanks for the correction. Important to get these things right...

Hi David, and thank you for your kind words. Funnily enough I've been on instagram for a few years now (please find me!), and getting a much better response from it. But my Facebook ban has been carried through to instagram by default, so I'm blocked from putting up a direct link to The Greasy Spoon. All I can do is to point readers in the direction of the blog. It's slightly frustrating. I'm kinda fascinated by the Cradock's Georgian Dower House near Watford, of all places. Rather pretty countryside on the fringes of suburbia. You can see it from the road. Whereabouts in outer West London did you live? Outer-outer, semi-rural London has a strange captivation- we're very much in Iain Sinclair territory, I think. I've had a few comments about Dan Farson- another 20th century character. I've just discovered his autobiography on amazon. With best wishes, Luke

Dunno. But it's just occurred to me that "Fanny" has an unsavoury connotation in the world of the internet. Facebook's wretched- loathe the thing, so I'm not especially bothered- although I did have a small, perhaps older, readership through it. I'm also banned from linking the GS on instagram by default, as of course, instagram is owned by Facebook. I like instagram, although, I do sometimes wonder if it's really just a more sophisticated version of Facebook, and actually is just as tiresome as the rest. You realise, of course, that they take all our quirks and habits- and then sell them on- Big Brother style- to advertisers. We give them content for free- and they make money from it. Perhaps I should just carry on with the good old fashioned blog, enjoy writing it for its own sake: ignore the lack of comments, and ditch the rest.