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Il Molino

If you can’t get to the Colombe d’Or in St Paul de Vence come to the Molino in Spello some six clicks south of Assisi.

The hallway is full of awards and on a warm day in the quiet street it is perfection. We started with fruit and cheese toasties. Then pasta with wild mushrooms. Then pork tenderloin with fresh pear sauce. Then tiramisu and coffee. Two bottles of house wine ( jolly good) and each €40.

You stumble outside and look at the superb Pintoriccio fresco suite in the Santa Maria church and loaf about the village and look at the views.

Really a perfect afternoon.

Next time you go to Paris try the Brasserie de L’Ile St Louis 55 Quai de Bourbon ( closed Wednesday): 0143540259.

The speciality is Alsace so it’s pigs knuckles and sauerkraut ( choucroute) plus veal and flying things in fruit sauces.

You can drink half litres of draft or plenty of robust wines in pichets.

The waiters are professional and dressed up for the part.

 The Avion bar sits on the cliff top overlooking the Pacific Ocean near the town of Quepos in Costa Rica . The border with Nicaragua is some 200 miles to the north and this Fairchild C-123 was one of five aircraft commissioned by the CIA to run arms to the Contras. Of course this was a part of one of the biggest scandals of the1980's.

 Whilst our trip to Istanbul with MyChumsClub was primarily to see the great architectural sites and catch up with old Turkish friends, I spent an enjoyable day attending a course on Ottoman cookery. This was hosted by a local Istanbul cooking school in a bright, well-equipped kitchen in the Etiler district some 10 minutes north of Taksim Square.

Under the direction of a woman chef, Cigdem I was soon put to work. Cigdem learned her craft in Italy , so we were soon exchanging ideas, pleasantries and clarifying lists of ingredients in Italian.  Her English was also flawless, learned during years of work at the British Consulate.   She was assisted by a man, Ahmed, who was the most dedicated and perfect assistant, keeping everything around the kitchen well ordered and spotless as we were working. 

“Today, picking up a fork is as much a historical act  and as potentially illuminating, as picking up a spade at a Middle Eastern archaeological site.” Claudia Roden, food writer

The basics of Turkish cooking today are relatively unchanged from that of the Ottoman era.  Rice and wheat based goods are still the staples.  Kofte, kebabs and pilavs made either with rice or bulgur, are popular dishes as are yogurt salads, fish and stuffed vine leaves and vegetables. There is great regional diversity in Turkey , but the classic cooking we know abroad belongs to Istanbul . 

Tango is more than a dance in Buenos Aires – it defines the city along with steak on the grill.

Bar Sur San Telmo