Results tagged “wine” from Birmingham Mail - Restaurant Spy

Mutton's an old fashioned sort of meat that disappeared from the shelves for years but now seems to have become very fashionable.

So I was interested when Simon - a Herefordshire farmer from whom I buy my meat - said he had some to sell. Trouble was, I hadn't got a clue how best to cook it.

By a strange twist of faith, Simpson's head chef Luke Tipping has provided a recipe for a fabulously rich and spicy stew for the Food + Drink section of Thursday's Birmingham Mail so I'm going to give it a go.

Watch out, too, for the case of wine that can be won in F+D this week. Just the stuff to wash down a bowl of mutton.

Hands up anyone who can name a restaurant on mainland Europe that doesn't serve alcoholic drinks and expects you to take your own.

Me neither. I've yet to encounter such a place in France, Italy, Greece, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Spain or anywhere else I've visited abroad.

It's our outdated licensing laws that put constraints on whether restaurants can sell you booze. And behind these laws lies an equally antiquated, nannying attitude that somehow we'll become hopeless alcoholics if things are relaxed.