22 replies to this topic

[The Scream]

So, it looks like we're going to Oxford next year for a few days. I'm planning way ahead. We might spend a day or two in London since we're taking the Eurostar in from Paris.

Budget isn't terribly modest, but we will have already spent time in France and Italy, so we might be feeling a little tight.

Recommendations for hotels or B&B, places to eat with children and things to do with children are appreciated. The girl will be going on 9 and she is pretty mature for her age, which doesn't really matter since her little brother will only be 4 1/2 and he is setting the bar for dining out. He can be pretty well behaved in restaurants but I prefer not to take him anywhere to eat where he is expected to be a perfect little boy for more than 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

Throw in a few London recs if you like. I'll check out the other threads, but I don't remember anyone that included children.

[Lippy]

I'm pretty sure that the restaurants in London's Chinatown are kid-friendly.

We had good fish and chips at Rock, & Sole Plaice, Endell St., near Covent Garden. Very casual, outdoor tables.

Depending on what day you're there, you may be able to have a casual lunch at Borough Market.

The children will enjoy a visit to the Tower of London and a ride on the London Eye if the wait isn't too long.

[foodie52]

I have a really good friend in Oxford. I'll get info to you when you need it if you like.

[The Scream]

Great! Does your friend also know a reliable babysitter? I'd love to go with my husband to some meetings and lectures, but I don't think the kids are interested in food history and probably won't even be allowed in.

We'll probably be meeting some friends in London. I'll post about what they recommend too.

[foodie52]

She has lots of friends there: I bet she'll be able to help you guys out a lot.

[The Scream]

She has lots of friends there: I bet she'll be able to help you guys out a lot.

Hey, it's sounding even better. Maybe she has friends who have children? My kids are really social and love meeting other children. They're seeing their cousins in France and will meet a little girl in the Piedmonte who gives little culinary tours for kids. If there are some kids to meet in Oxford they'd get more excited about that leg of the trip.

[Adam Lawrence]

I think the nicest place to stay in Oxford is Bath Place - http://www.bathplace.co.uk/. Before we moved back here, that's where we stayed when we were in town for our wedding. The really cool thing about Bath Place is that it's fairly quiet, yet you're right in the middle of the ancient part of the city. You can walk anywhere in a couple of minutes.

The old castle and prison have just been redeveloped, the latter into a boutique hotel - http://www.malmaison...rd.com/main.asp. It looks cool and the restaurant is good. For me it is not that great a location becuase you are surrounded by the modern shopping part of the city, rather than the old university buildings. But a hotel in a prison - hey, what's not to like?

The University Museum is a must for kids - http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/. The Museum of History of Science is fun too, though it depends on what's on in terms of special exhibitions - http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/. Maybe nine and four are a bit young for that. I generally take guests who don't know the town on a brief walking tour of the city. With kids, if they're Harry Potter fans, they'll appreciate some of the locations used in the movies - notably parts of the Bodleian Library and Christ Church, whose dining hall features as the school hall in the films - http://www.bbc.co.uk...locations.shtml.

The Ashmolean, the big museum, has a pretty stunning collection of paintings and artifacts - http://www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/. A hidden treasury is the Christ Church Picture Gallery, entry not by the main gate of the college, rather the back gate in Oriel Square. It's free on Mondays. Christ Church has educated most of the British establishment since the sixteenth century, and the gallery's collection comes from a couple of very large C19th bequests. Loads of really good Old Masters.

Oxford is not a great restaurant town. There is a nice little Japanese cafe called Edamame on Holywell Street, a stone's throw from Bath Place, good for lunches or light early suppers. Their opening hours are a bit eccentric. Chiang Mai Kitchen is a very good Thai restaurant in a wonderful old building off the High Street. G&Ds - http://www.gdcafe.co...e/frontPage.htm - is a brilliant pair of ice cream parlours, one opposite Christ Church and the other in North Oxford. Pistachio particularly recommended. A really good place to have lunch is the Vaults and Garden cafe in the crypt of the University Church. Food is good - the owner runs a very good sandwich bar in the Covered Market and his father runs the Oxford Cheese Company in the same location. But the real draw is that you can - if it's dry - sit out in Radcliffe Square, surrounded by some of the most wonderful buildings anywhere, and watch the world go by. Mention of the Covered Market is important, if you're in a hotel/b&b you mightn't have much opportunity for preparing your own food, but it's a vital part of the city's foodie culture. Aforementioned cheese shop very good; Feller's butchers is brilliant, and if you're here during game season kids will either be excited or horrified at all the critters hanging outside in the fur/feather. Haymans fishmonger is pretty good too - we had a superb wild sea bass from them last weekend. They seem to have restaffed recently with a load of young Eastern Europeans, which made for some amusement when I bought a John Dory (St Pierre) there a while back. The girl who served us clearly wasn't totally sure how to fillet it, so she asked her boss - I overheard her say (affects Polish accent) 'But I can do Gurnard'. Ben's Cookies is a special treat, the cookies are usually still warm from the oven and very good indeed. Try the double chocolate.

Indian food is OK. The best Indian has always been Aziz, on the Cowley Road, but they have opened two new branches elsewhere in the county recently and I have heard that quality is off as a result.

Avoid Le Petit Blanc, part of the small chain formerly owned by Raymond Blanc of Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons. On the subject of the Manoir - http://www.manoir.co...em_a2a_home.jsp - I haven't been for years, but it retains its 2* status. For me it is beyond the pale pricewise - when we want a posh meal I would rather drive to Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham, about 40 miles away, also 2* and truly magnificent.

There are a couple of OK noodle bars that we use for a quick lunch now and again, or a bite before a movie, but coming from LA I can't imagine they'd excite. Similarly there are a number of decent Lebanese restaurants, the best of which is Al-Shami in Jericho, but they are nothing out of the ordinary unless you like drinking Musar at pretty low prices. A much more English experience is The Big Bang - http://www.thebigbangoxford.co.uk/ - a small place that specialises in sausage and mash. Probably worth a try but last time I was there they managed to cook the sausages until they were dry.

There's loads more, and when you get nearer your trip feel free to give me a shout.

[The Scream]

WOW, Adam thank you so much for all of that. It helps tremendously.

With kids, if they're Harry Potter fans, they'll appreciate some of the locations used in the movies - notably parts of the Bodleian Library and Christ Church, whose dining hall features as the school hall in the films - http://www.bbc.co.uk...locations.shtml.

Yes, they are. When I mentioned this to them... well it looks like this leg of the Europe trip will be their favorite.

Generally speaking they are very easily entertained and engaged, just walking around a new city will be exciting for them.

There are a couple of OK noodle bars that we use for a quick lunch now and again, or a bite before a movie, but coming from LA I can't imagine they'd excite.

That sounds great actually. My kids seem to go for the most basic carb dishes when they try different cuisines. They like Lebanese style rice, couscous, noodles in a plain broth, buttered pasta, basmati rice, chips, etc...

There's loads more, and when you get nearer your trip feel free to give me a shout.

Will do!

[24k]

Can you share what the theme of the 2007 symposium will be, if you know? There is nothing on their website yet...

[The Scream]

Can you share what the theme of the 2007 symposium will be, if you know? There is nothing on their website yet...

Food and morality

[The Scream]

PDF File of this year's proposals for the topic which was eggs.

Take a quick look, it's pretty fun reading the wide ranging approaches to a topic like "eggs".

[The Scream]

Can you share what the theme of the 2007 symposium will be, if you know? There is nothing on their website yet...

Food and morality

I'm thinking of submitting a proposal about the Slave trade and food.

[The Scream]

So, what's the weather like in early September?

[tanabutler]

Can you share what the theme of the 2007 symposium will be, if you know? There is nothing on their website yet...

Food and morality

Is Bourdain invited? Will there be gauvage?

[The Scream]

Dunno.

If you think he's interested in submitting a paper send him this link.


http://www.oxfordsym...guidelines.html

Guidelines for Authors of Symposium Papers 2007