As you are well aware I didn’t get where I am today by being a fan of
restaurants disguised as pubs.
I’m not against some food being served in a pub if it is away from the
main business of the establishment – the serving beer and drinking of beer.
But more and more pubs are describing themselves as Gastro Pubs.
Gastro Pub?
It sounds like something you'd want to get surgically removed from your
small intestine but in fact, according to the Oxford English dictionary the definition
of gastropub is:
A pub that specialises in serving high-quality food.
In other words small portions of over-priced poncy
food served on a wooden board accompanied by a grey roof slate covered with
strange leaves and seven dots of slimy green sauce which make you want to ask
whether the chef has a cold!
And why does adding a honey-glazed sauce on a
beefburger turn it into a “gourmet” burger?
It’s a bloody beefburger for Gods sake!
It’s a bloody beefburger for Gods sake!
Also I don’t need need to know that the chips have
been cut by hand or what kind of potato they are made of – they’re just chips!
And finally, if I was drunk enough to order a goat’s
cheese salad I’m not bloody interested in what kind of breed and what exotic
country the goats came from!
I came across this on the wall of the Gents toilet
in the Park Tavern , Chichester.
Here is the author, Anthony Bourdain, a.k.a. bad-ass chef and TV personality, host of the Travel Channel show “No Reservations” and one of the best shows that the Food Network had, “A Cook’s Tour” reading the full passage from his book, "The Nasty Bits".
Sadly more and more so called pubs are climbing on the gastro pub band wagon and true drinking establishments are rapidly disappearing.
All very depressing and on that note I'm off to The Lifeboat in Selsey Bill for a couple of well deserved pints!
Hey Ho!
