Nicholas Restaurant, Lebanese & Mediterranean Cuisine Download Our House Menu Nicholas Menu PDF (4MB)Click the link below. You can download our individual location to go menus from the home pageLamb Stew Recipes Slow CookerCrockpot Lamb StewLamb Crockpot RecipesRecipes LambSlow Cooker Lamb CurryRecipes To TryFood RecipesFood Meat LambFood Red MeatForwardsslow-cooked lamb stew - just fixed this for dinner and it was so good - had to substitute sherry for the red wine but was still greatFiona Beckett is a woman after my own heart – she is very interested in wine and passionate about cheese. When she suggested I might like to write a guest post I did a cartwheel (sadly only in my imagination) and considered the topic; it seemed natural, having been an expat in the Gulf for almost 18 years (five of them in a dry country), to look at some dishes from a typical Middle Eastern meal: Can you remember a time when hummus didn’t fill the end of every supermarket aisle and come in ten different flavours?

Now Middle Eastern influences in food are ubiquitous and restaurants abound, but what should you drink with a Middle Eastern meal? Typically you’ll be served a wide range of mezze to start, from creamy, smoky baba ganoush, lemon-sharp tabouleh with fresh herbs, a fattoush or bread salad dusted with tangy sumac, vine leaves stuffed with rice and herbs, earthy hummus, delicate pastries stuffed with cheese, spinach or meat, spicy chicken livers and fried kibbeh coated in crunchy, cracked wheat with a lamb and pine nut filling. man o war red wineSome restaurants may even serve raw mezze such as finely minced spiced raw lamb kibbeh or cubes of uncooked liver eaten with garlic sauce and mint leaves.best wine in turkey The mezze course is usually followed by grilled meats, cooked over charcoal, which means an array of lamb chops, kebabs both with cubed meats and spicy, minced kofta, chicken and beef. buy french wine map

So given this vast array of flavours, what would be a good choice of wine? To read the full story and explore the most extensive resource online about what to drink with different foods, please visit Fiona Beckett – Food and Wine Matching Which wine or drink would you choose? You might also likeToday I’m thrilled to share a guest post by the travel blogger Liz Carlson. Drawing on her time living in Spain, she shares with us today her top tips for eating in Spain. Liz Carlson called Spain home for three years, always on the hunt for the best tapa and glass of red wine. Temporarily back in the US and suffering from Spanish cured ham withdrawals, she runs Young Adventuress travel blog about life abroad and roaming around the world. What do you think of when you think of Spanish cuisine? Paella, cured ham and chorizo, red wine, Spanish omelets, churros, or heaven forbid, tacos and burritos? Mexican food aside, Spain has so much more to offer in terms of food and drink.

Forget what you think you know about Spanish food and start from scratch when you arrive. Spain is such a culturally diverse country, with 17 distinct regions, each with their own history, foods, and even their own languages. There are few staple dishes to be found in Spain; rather each region has their own specialty, demanding to be tasted. It’s important to familiarize yourself with local staples and ask around for suggestions of traditional dishes to try. Is there anything worse than sitting down to a meal when traveling and being disappointed? With all this variety, deciding what to eat in Spain can be daunting to say the least. But with these tips in mind when ordering, you should be able to avoid dissatisfaction and have much more enjoyable meals. Unless you are in Valencia or at a Valencian restaurant, don’t order the famous yellow paella valenciana. You may think you are getting a truly unique dining experience when in fact, nine times out of ten, it was probably frozen in a bag before it found itself on your plate.

Paella is a regional dish originally from the coastal city of Valencia. It has evolved and become symbolic of Spanish cuisine around the world, though for Spaniards it represents something quite different. In fact, you run the risk of offending people by ordering saffron paella outside of Valencia. Every region is immensely proud of their local dishes, and ordering paella in the Basque Country is equivalent to ordering a burger in Mexico. Paella and most Spanish rice dishes are also festival or picnic foods, usually cooked on enormous skillets over an open flame outside with friends and family in the countryside. Local alternatives: There are many other enjoyable rice dishes to be found in Spain such as arroz con pollo, chicken and rice. In northern Spain, instead of rice you will find more stew and heavy soup dishes on the menu. There is a joke in Spain about how to spot a tourist, they’ll be the only ones in the bar drinking sangria. Sangria is a drink for fiestas, for teenagers to buy and drink cheaply;

it is not the traditional drink in Spain nor is it very common. The only time I have seen Spaniards drink it is when they buy a box of Don Simón sangria for 1 euro to drink in the streets during local festivals. Local alternatives: In northern Spain locals drink calimocho, a mixture of red wine and coke while in the south the popular drinks are tinto de verano, red wine and sparkling water or even lemon Fanta or rebujito during the festivals, white wine and 7-Up or sprite. Stick with one of these choices and you’ll fit right in. I’ve only tried gazpacho once in a restaurant as an appetizer in Seville. Traditionally served only in southern Spain in the hot summer months, gazpacho, a cold tomato soup, is not really a staple dish in the Spanish diet nowadays, at least outside Seville. Most people buy it in cartons at the local grocery store as an easy alternative to dinner but it’s probably not worth whatever price you find for it on a restaurant menu, not to mention it probably came from the local supermarket.

Local alternatives: Salmorejo is a thicker version of gazpacho, originally from Cordoba in the south. Heavier, with more substance and flavor, it’s making its way onto menus around the rest of Spain, served in a variety of ways. I even tried it served in various layers in a shot glass in Logroño. Tapas should never cost more than 3 euros unless it’s served at a fancy gastronomic style bistro bar or you are in San Sebastián; same goes for a glass of wine. Costly tapas or pinchos/pintxos, as they are dubbed in the north, are geared straight for tourists and are not only overpriced but probably bulk cooked and not great quality. Usually tapas cost 1-2 euros or come free with a drink, for example in Granada or Madrid. The whole concept of tapas or pinchos evolved from cheap eats and great variety meaning you should probably be able to down at least 4 or 5 for dinner for 10-15 euros with drinks. Tapas are made to be eaten while standing and chatting, never sitting down in a restaurant.

Avoid tapas at lunch, it’s more of a dinner dish eaten out with friends while having a glass of wine or two. Local alternatives: my best advice for finding good tapas is to ask a local. Usually tapas or pincho bars are grouped together along one street or two in the old quarter of any given city, easily spotted by wine barrels outside the doors for eating, drinking and smoking outside. It’s important to remember the layout of daily meals in Spain. Usually breakfasts are small and simple, lunches are large and extravagant, several courses, and dinners are short and light. The standard breakfast in Spain ranges from toast to healthy cookies to a quick café con leche (espresso and milk) to fruit or mini baguette sandwiches. Rarely are breakfasts served warm and almost never include heavy foods like fried eggs, bacon, potatoes or beans. Because lunch is served later, usually from 2-3 in the afternoon, many people skip breakfast altogether, have a quick noon snack and then tuck in for a big family lunch.