My local pub, The Lord D’Arcy in Alwoodley, has had a few changes over the years. Formerly it was appropriately called The Jester, a sage green joke that almost lived up to its name but nothing’s that funny and a change of brewery saw it renamed about 10 years ago.

In line with the brewery trade in general, the pub has had many ups and downs but the last landlords did a great job in making The Lord D’Arcy a friendly neighbourhood place again. So successful were they, in fact, that the brewery has shipped them off to another pub in Wales to work their magic.



Five of us grown ups plus 2 kids turned up for Sunday lunch, it is a carvery style operation with a choice of roasts (choose any 2) with big home made Yorkshire puds, help yourself to fresh vegetables, potatoes and all the trimmings and sauces; this will set you back £5.99.
The place was heaving but everything went smoothly, the beef was medium rare, the kids were welcome and the beer was good. The front of house staff seem very young and inexperienced but so helpful and quick to bring you more beer and desserts for the kids. Fifty quid for 7 of us including a well cooked lunch, drinks and 2 puddings – wow, just like a local trattoria in Salerno – good work fellas.



They serve food every day till 9p.m and my neighbours report that the food is always good and incredible value for money; they have done exactly the right thing in these fragile times and stepped up their game. I hope their well deserved popularity continues and the beer is always as well kept.

The Salumeria hosted its first Cabaret Sauvignon evening last Friday with some great grub and music. The vibe was very much like the tiny New York jazz clubs like The Village Vanguard.
First we all ate; char grilled veg with garlic and mint, pancetta coppata and salame Napoli, buffalo mozzarella and roast olives for antipasti. Orecchiette with cima di rapa, anchovies, red chilli and pecorino followed, then beef shin in nebbiolo wine with truffled potato cake – blimmin’ marvellous. As we polished of panna cotta with caramel The meanies, our band for the night took to the stage.



Starting off with a spine tingling arrangement of Little Wing the band played homage to the music of guitar hero Jimi Hendrix and sax icon Rashaan Roland Kirk; the trio (Tony Birkhill saxes, Neil Innes double bass, Bob Birch keys) thrilled us all for an hour or so of musical magic with Tony emulating one of his heroes (Kirk) by playing soprano and tenor saxes at the same time while Neil’s growling scrubbed intro to Voodoo Chile coupled with the red wine got some of us very excited indeed! A top night and already I am anticipating next months gig of scurrilous ancient blues and 20’s jazz from The Devil’s jukebox.

October and November went by in a flash!

We found a great restaurant in Marbella; Messina is another modern Spanish restaurant run by a young enthusiastic team intent on doing a good job, what a different experience compared to some of the awful tired places with ignorant staff fleecing tourists on the Coast. It seems like the Spanish cuisine renaissance is finally making its way to the Costa del Sol. Restaurante Messina is found by the El Fuerte Miramar hotel in the centre opposite the Old Town.

In October we also hosted a dinner in the salumeria, 6 courses followed by an hour of fun and laughter featuring Mik Artistik and his band. Dinner was splendid (even if I say so myself) but having some entertainment for an hour afterwards over coffee and liquor was a perfect way to finish an evening.

Chef Mark recently hosted a rootsical dinner party in the Salu celebrating the cooking of his Grandma and the Caribbean Islands of his ancestors. Ackee and Saltfish, Jerk chicken, rice and peas, coconut bread and a whole bunch of other fiery treats were served up with much laughter, rum punch and rocksteady music.

We have decided that, next year, we shall start a monthly dinner and entertainment evening on a Friday which we shall grandly call 'Cabaret Sauvignon' on account of all the p**s artists we seem to attract amongst the gourmands, bon viveurs, gluttons, thrill seekers and foodies that come to these gigs.

So………no shopping music, McJazz or Britain's got Talent comedy but some entertaining diversions to digest to. From burlesque accordion trios to cowpunk crooners and tall poets with small notebooks we shall scrape every barrel in the land in our quest for cheap laughs, tall stories and esoteric music combos.


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Luigi Secchi of the Pane,Vino e San Daniele restaurant in Venice dropped in to the Salumeria to cook a dinner from the Friuli Venezia Giulia region and talk about prosciutto San Daniele and a good time was had by all. Many diners tugged on his coat pumping him for info on places to eat in Venice. One diner, Carolina, was telling him about a book she had enjoyed reading that was set in Venice called Miss Garnet’s Angel by Sally Vickers, Luigi pulled out a publicity brochure from his bag with a photo of him and the author in his restaurant explaining that she dined in his place almost daily for a year, writing her book at the table! To say Carolina was gobsmacked is an understatement – a strange and lovely restaurant moment. If you go to Venice check him out, he speaks English and can turn you on to recommended places to eat or drink and lunch in his charming restaurant is delicious too.

Well I finally made it to the Fat Duck in Bray to check out Heston Blumenthal’s celebrated snail porridge and bacon and egg ice cream. Our party of 6 had the tasting menu (£125 plus service) which is a kind of Heston’s Greatest Hits, I’m sure everyone has heard about the innovative razzmatazz and dry ice moments and sometimes it can lead you to forget it is undisputedly 3 star cooking to a very high standard. The experience was certainly memorable, delicious and exciting with faultless service and timing. I would love to try the A la Carte menu which has more recognisable dishes available (approx £90) but maybe not this year!

The gang travelled to York this week to see the grizzly but simpatico Zucchero ‘Sugar’ Fornacari, the Italian star who has had No1 hits around Europe including ‘Senza una Donna’ the duet with Paul Young,.

Before the show we booked into Jeff Baker’s Bistro Moderne which I can highly recommend. Chef/owner Jeff was Head Chef at Pool Court in Leeds and became the youngest chef (after Marco Pierre White – go on you Yorkshire boys) to gain a Michelin star when he was there.

The food was all delicious and, at less than £30 for 3 courses, a steal. They also do a 7 course Tastes and Textures menu for £37.50. Modern British cooking by a passionate professional with good portions in informal and comfortable surroundings... Yes please.

After the gig we dropped in again for some pudding, cheese and a few beers in the cool bar upstairs, this place is worth travelling for so if you are seeing the sights in York you’d be mad not to take advantage.

Indeed, summer was the nearly man this year, a suspicion of sunshine, a promise of lazy, hazy days laying on the grass with groovy sounds, a hint of a glint of the tint on a shiny bikini top strap under a summer blouse and a sniff of barbecued grub.
Now September is looming we’ve no chance…….what a con.

I took a quick trip to Pescara for a bit of sun and I invited my pal and fellow cook Franca to come over to Leeds next year when we have our Regional dinners featuring the specialities of her area, Abbruzzo. She has introduced me to some lovely old recipes and ingredients from the area and hopefully we shall see her in Salvo’s next September, commitments permitting.

I took my first ever cruise this summer with my wife, son and my auntie - Zia Pina. I approached the holiday with a bit of trepidation as my taste in entertainment, food and people can be a little ‘particolare’ as they say ‘round our parts.

Well, much to my surprise we all had a ball with much fun and laughter. There were people from all walks of life who immediately became your neighbours so lots of salutations and how’s your fathers like we had all been living together on the same estate since the 60’s which gave off a real feelgood factor. Nearly everybody was polite to one another; I forgot how good manners, conviviality and consideration for others around you can raise your spirits and put you in that warm fuzzy place .

The food and service was of a surprisingly good standard, every night we would put on our gladrags then make our way to one of the more formal dining rooms to join other diners on large tables. After a week or so you tend to meet people you enjoy spending time with for a few cocktails before joining them for a long boozy languorous dinner.

The entertainment was very mainstream but strangely enjoyable even when naff! The Star Turn Comedian (I’m too embarrassed to mention his name told a story that we had already heard twice before by two other ‘turns’!

We rediscovered the joy of arriving slowly on foreign shores, it was really great sailing towards the lovely sunny coastline of Ajaccio, Corsica, and waking up at 7a.m, drawing the curtains and seeing magnificent Napoli in its sprawling splendour was also a bit of a moment for me.

All in all a relaxing and enjoyable holiday was had by all, except for our arrival in Southampton when the company, Princess Cruises, made a real pig’s ear of handling the ship’s late arrival and managed to antagonise 100’s of customers in an easily avoidable episode. The family want to cruise again but whether it will be with Princess remains to be seen, I have written to them with my complaint and I’m looking forward to hearing their comments on the fiasco.

With the Big City Jazz event going on in Leeds over the Bank Holiday weekend along with the Chapletown Carnival and Leedsfest we held our own little music events at the restaurant which we presumptuously called ‘The Sound of the Suburbs’.





On Sunday afternoon we had tables running all down the shop parade and over by the grass verges with a little jazz combo ‘Destrio’ playing on the street through the afternoon. All the tables were taken, the sun shone for once and we all enjoyed lunch to the music of Chet Baker, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and the like. Nice!





We also hosted our first micro gig in the Enoteca above the restaurant on Bank holiday Monday. With a capacity of 30 people, the bar provided an intimate and perfect venue for local band ‘the Devil’s Jukebox’ who wheezed through a set of creaky ancient blues, vaudevillian tango’s and 20’s jazz with broken legs and a venereal disease. You really had to be there. The line up of harmonium, ukulele/banjo, stringed bathtub bass, and clarinet provided the backing for singer Dr Ezekiel Bordello, blues shouter ordinaire and part time travelling snake oil salesman who shimmied, leered and stripped his way through the one hour set, finishing the evening in his socks n suspenders, nipple tassels and decorated codpiece. Now that’s Entertainment.
http://www.myspace.com/thedevilsjukeboxuk