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The Utong Thai resturant on Westgate Road, Newcastle.

Utong Thai Restaurant, Newcastle

DID you know that lots of people from the Far East are alcohol intolerant? For someone running a licensed restaurant this is like being a landscape gardener with hay fever or a pilot with vertigo. Read

A Taste of Persia, Marlborough Crescent, Newcastle

A Taste of Persia, Newcastle

PERSIA sounds so exotic to me. My boyhood notion of what it was like came from images from the Arabian Nights merged in a luscious blend with camel caravans, date palm oases and the mysteries of the harem, best viewed through a gauzy film. Read

Gods Kitchen, Chester-le-Street, County Durham

Gods Kitchen, Chester-le-Street

IT’S the nature of life that we all go through changes. Buildings too have a life and they go through similar transitions. Read

The Angel of Corbridge

The Angel of Corbridge, Main Street, Corbridge

THE cult of the gastropub is developing apace. The combination of restaurant quality food with the informality of a pub reduces any dress-code starchiness, while offering potentially fine dining experiences. Read

Arami restaurant in Leazes Park Road, Newcastle

Arami, Leazes Park Road, Newcastle

YOU can’t blame climate change for every seasonal shake-up. For example, the timing of Easter results from mysterious calculations relating to the number of full moons after a certain date. Read

The Grafton Hotel, Durham

The Grafton Hotel, Durham

DURHAM City is one of the most picturesque around. Whether it’s the cobbled marketplace, the winding streets with bijoux houses or leafy riverside walks, it’s a city of great character. Read

The Rat Inn, Anick

The Rat Inn, Anick, Northumberland

THE Green Room was a top-notch restaurant. When I heard it had closed, I regretted not going there more often. Read

Chris Jewitt, one of the partners at The Open Kitchen

The Open Kitchen, Gosforth, Newcastle

THEY say that travel broadens the mind, which is a good thing. The down- side is what it does to the ozone layer. Every journey we make punctures yet another hole in the protection it affords us from global warming. Read

Henri's restaurant in Morpeth

Henri’s, 59 Bridge Street

WHAT’S in a name? Apparently a rose smells as sweet no matter what it’s called. The same thing can be said of Henri’s. The last time I dined there the food flowed from one excellent course to another, until only a delicious memory remained. Read

Unit 91, North Tyne Industrial Estate

Unit 91, North Tyne Industrial Estate

CHEFS and waiters don’t appear overnight like a gooseberry bush miracle. It takes years of training to make the transition from beans on toast for one to a roast dinner for many, which is where Barnardo’s comes in. Read

Adriano's, 90 High Street, Gosforth

Adriano’s, 90 High Street, Gosforth

THESE months, when nights are barely shorter than days and days can be as gloomy as their counterparts, do drag on. Read

The Pavillion at Alnwick Garden

The Pavilion, Alnwick Garden, Northumberland

CHILDREN – at least my two – seem to have bottomless pits for stomachs. Breakfast has barely passed into history before the eldest is asking when lunch is. Read

Flatbread Cafe

Flatbread Cafe, High Bridge, Newcastle

THE flatbread takes us back to times when bread was the plate that soaked up all the juices and finally was eaten. Read

Beamish Hall Country House Hotel, County Durham

Beamish Hall Country House Hotel, Stanley

THE weather at this time of year is so unpredictable. One day warm and calm, the next lashing it down. Sometimes it gets even more ridiculous. For example, I booked a table at Beamish Hall in County Durham a couple of weeks ago and set off from Newcastle in misty rain. Read

La Gabbia restaurant, Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle

La Gabbia, Boyd Street, Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle

AMAZINGLY, La Gabbia is the only Italian restaurant in Newcastle with no licence – yet. Read

Wagamama

Wagamama, Old Eldon Square, Newcastle

NOBODY could call me a stick in the mud. I’ve always tried something at least once before deciding on its value. Read

Raval

Raval, Church Street, Gateshead Quays

LAST year, our friend Brendan ‘The Spice King’ conquered Indian cuisine. He demonstrated his supreme talents in variously wonderful meals and graciously invited us sometimes to savour the delights of his newly acquired skills. Read

Bazil Brasserie

Bazil Brasserie, South Parade, Whitley Bay

AS a reviewer, I sometimes find myself returning to places I visited a few years ago. When I go back, it’s always in hope of another good meal. Read

Valley Junction

The Valley Junction, Archbold Terrace, Jesmond

CHRISTMAS is the season of goodwill, good wine and good food. This last one was particularly good, but the New Year rolls around and the scales tell their bitter truth. Read

Sky Apple Cafe

Sky Apple Cafe, Heaton, Newcastle

OUR daughter, Anna, became a vegetarian as she hit adolescence. In the years that followed, her meat-free diet came with just a hint of moral high ground. Read

Culture

Culture magazine May 2008

Culture - May

The May edition of Culture magazine is out now, packed with all the latest arts, theatre and music highlights.Read

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North East Exclusive

North East Exclusive

Read the latest on key people and places in the region, to find the perfect restaurant or simply to indulge those designer shopping habits. Click here to visit the Exclusive website. Read

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