All posts tagged: rated

Kent’s al fresco capital rated as the best place to visit for summer days and evenings

Kent’s al fresco capital rated as the best place to visit for summer days and evenings

Published by Sam Flores

If you love eating and drinking outside, away from traffic, and watching the world go by, this gem in Kent is for you. And it’s a favourite pastime for those who have discovered The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells. The Pantiles is a spectacular part of Tunbridge Wells and the area usually draws gasps of admiration from first-time visitors. It’s a Georgian colonnade which lends itself perfectly to the restaurants, bars, pubs and cafes lining the historic walkway. And the joy of The Pantiles is that on the side where it all happens, there is no road, it’s a perfect enclave, and no pavement with people marching past. It’s true pedestrianisation, where people ‘promenade’ at a stroll, and the most disturbance you are likely to get is the pop of a cork, the clink of glasses or the tinkle of laughter. You would never guess the busy A26 London Road is the other side of the buildings. It’s very family-friendly and you will find many places are geared up for children, and it’s dog friendly too, …

Anne Hathaway Says Films Where Dogs Die Should Be Rated R

Anne Hathaway Says Films Where Dogs Die Should Be Rated R

Published by Daniella Wilson

Anne Hathaway believes that films that include storylines about dogs dying should come with an R rating. In a recent interview with Complex, the Oscar winner admitted she’d seen speculation about the fate of the dog, Starbuck, in The End of Oak Street. “I feel like movies that kill dogs should automatically be rated R. Doesn’t matter if anybody curses, it doesn’t matter if there’s violence, if a dog dies, R-rated,” she said. “Somebody was like, ‘Can you just let the audiences know that, like, it’s all gonna be OK?’ We break rules in this movie, that might not be one of them. Don’t worry,” she continued. “I think everybody’s so traumatized by John Wick, because I’ve been seeing those [comments about The End of Oak Street] too, like, ‘They better not kill the dog.’ She added, “I’m like, which movies are out there killing dogs that everybody’s scared that we’re just casually doing it in movies now?” The End of Oak Street stars Hathaway and Ewan McGregor as parents whose family is suddenly shifted to …

‘Lip-smackingly sour’: the best (and worst) supermarket cottage cheeses, tasted and rated | Cheese

‘Lip-smackingly sour’: the best (and worst) supermarket cottage cheeses, tasted and rated | Cheese

Published by Sam Flores

When I was growing up, cottage cheese was tasteless and mostly only eaten by dieters. Its recent revival in the UK, most likely driven by social media, has similar health reasons at its root – the current protein obsession in gym bros and weight watchers alike – but cottage cheese has become cool. The flavourless squeaky varieties of yesteryear are still around, but a whole new category now exists on supermarket shelves that is unabashedly fatty, rich and full of flavour, with artisanal complexity and a lacto-fermented sour twang. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. I scored these based on flavour; the more complex and sour, the better, especially when balanced with a rich, sweet and creamy suspension. None of these products were bitter. Texture is also key. I find tough, squeaky curds a bit unappetising, but I do enjoy them with a bit of size, and the silkier, the better. Some of the products were less like cottage cheese and more …

‘Intense, salty, foul’: the best (and worst) supermarket anchovies, tasted and rated | Food

‘Intense, salty, foul’: the best (and worst) supermarket anchovies, tasted and rated | Food

Published by Sam Flores

To taste these anchovies, I invited a friend, the food journalist and author Sudi Pigott, to join me. Arriving with a packet of Pujadó Solano anchovies and her new book, Consider the Anchovy, in hand, she and I tasted 10 brands of anchovies straight from the tin or jar with sparkling water and cucumber to cleanse the palate. According to Pigott, the best anchovies are “juicy, plump and velvety, with a sweet, nutty taste of jamón!” The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. The anchovy supply chain has been heavily affected by El Niño, which caused abnormal weather events in Peru, where the most economical anchovies in our test were fished. But premium anchovies sourced from the Bay of Biscay (the Cantabrian Sea) have also faced external pressures. A lack of supply, among other factors, has increased prices and left some supermarket shelves bare. We scored anchovies on appearance, texture (including pin bones), flavour and value. I was shocked at the variation in …

‘Out of this world’: the best supermarket chocolate ice-cream, tasted and rated | Ice-cream and sorbet

‘Out of this world’: the best supermarket chocolate ice-cream, tasted and rated | Ice-cream and sorbet

Published by Sam Flores

There’s been a marked shift towards less-processed ice-cream since I tested vanilla ice-cream for this column last summer. Most ice-cream on the market used to be a cocktail of gums and emulsifiers, but now they’re of much higher quality and with fewer additives. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. All today’s chocolate ice-creams are sophisticated, rich and complex, with deep, dark flavours, and I scored them on taste and texture first (I favour denser, French-style, custard-based ice-creams). I also prioritised smoothness and mouthfeel. I awarded extra marks to products that are rich in cream, as well as for provenance and lower processing. Fewer additives were a plus, too. After all, a short and recognisable ingredients list rarely lies, and usually means more cream, better chocolate and a cleaner finish. The best supermarket chocolate ice-cream Best overall:Waitrose No 1 Santo Domingo chocolate ice-cream £4.50 for 480ml at Waitrose (94p/100ml) ★★★★☆ Voluminous, super-rich, smooth and creamy (35% West Country whipping cream). Dark and deeply …

‘Greasy, flavourless and bland’: the best (and worst) supermarket party cakes, tasted and rated | Cake

‘Greasy, flavourless and bland’: the best (and worst) supermarket party cakes, tasted and rated | Cake

Published by Sam Flores

Some of these taste tests – for instance, the oven chips one from last summer – surprise me with their overall quality and minimal processing. But others, such as today’s party cakes, sit firmly in the ultra-processed category, and often make contradictory claims, “handmade” and “carefully selected high-quality ingredients” being just two. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. I want my children to enjoy treats without food anxiety, but we also owe it both to ourselves and to them to know what we’re actually eating. Unusually, the price of today’s cakes didn’t reflect processing levels. While more expensive products are often less processed, even the premium cakes included an array of emulsifiers (including mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, polyglycerol esters and sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate), preservatives, stabilisers, synthetic raising agents such as diphosphates, and glucose-fructose syrup, a heavily processed industrial sweetener linked to metabolic concerns. I’ve listed the number of additives in each product, excluding natural colours and flavourings, pectin, citric acid, carbonates …

Stop Mowing Your Grass Forever With One of These Highly Rated Robot Mowers On Sale

Stop Mowing Your Grass Forever With One of These Highly Rated Robot Mowers On Sale

Published by skeptic

Take it easy this summer by snagging a Prime Day robot mower deal. Push one button, and you can tick one tedious chore off your list. I’ve tested several robot lawn mowers now, and almost all of my top picks are on sale, plus mowers from my colleague’s favorite brand. You can get up to $800 off, so this is a great time to buy if you were daydreaming about enlisting a little robotic help for your yardwork. As I wrote a few months ago, robot mowers are actually good now. And as the new class of Lidar-enabled mowers is priced just a few hundred bucks above what you’ll pay for a decent manual electric mower, you genuinely have no reason to continue mowing unless you enjoy it. You should also check out our roundup of the Absolute Best Prime Day Deals, or dip into our Amazon Prime Day live blog for real-time updates. TerraMow makes the best robot lawn mower for most people with regular, flat lawns, and it’s down to $1,119 if you …

‘Bright, glossy and rotund’ – the best supermarket strawberries, tasted and rated | Fruit

‘Bright, glossy and rotund’ – the best supermarket strawberries, tasted and rated | Fruit

Published by Sam Flores

Back in 1994, I used to pick strawberries in Dorset to earn extra pocket money. It was gruelling but delicious work. We’d shuffle on our hands and knees down furrowed rows of plants, picking those beautiful, fat red berries and trying not to eat too many along the way. We were paid by the punnet, which at my picking speed amounted to less than £1 an hour, unlike the impressively fast seasonal workers who came to our village every summer. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. I scored the strawberries below on sweetness first, using a Brix refractometer, which measures the sugar content of fruit and veg (each Brix point represents 1% sucrose in the juice by mass). Sweetness isn’t everything, however, and some of these berries had a lovely, complex, honeyed or floral flavour. Tartness is important, too, for bringing balance and a refreshing quality to the eating experience. As a general rule of thumb, go for fruit with a bright …

‘Tastes like I remember from childhood’: the best supermarket double cream, tasted and rated | Food

‘Tastes like I remember from childhood’: the best supermarket double cream, tasted and rated | Food

Published by Sam Flores

This was a tricky taste test, not least because 70% of these creams tasted pretty much exactly the same, which is a clear reflection of how homogeneous our conventional food system has become (much of our cream is made from milk sourced from thousands of farms across the country and mixed together). Even the packaging is more or less identical, with a printed plastic tub and a peelable plastic lid. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. British double cream is about 48% fat, which is higher than whipping cream (35%) and just below clotted (55% plus). This matters in practical terms because that’s why it whips more firmly, holds its shape longer and is less likely to split when added to a hot sauce. Conventional cream does the job well (it’s white, neutral in flavour and whips well), but really good cream is thick, gloopy and wildly fatty, with an unbelievably complex taste and remarkably nourishing effect; it’s also eminently whippable. Scooping …

‘Don’t be fooled by fancy packaging’: the best (and worst) supermarket shortbread, tasted and rated | Biscuits

‘Don’t be fooled by fancy packaging’: the best (and worst) supermarket shortbread, tasted and rated | Biscuits

Published by Sam Flores

At its best and simplest, shortbread is made using a classic 1:2:3 ratio – one part sugar, two parts butter and three parts flour, by weight. Perhaps unsurprisingly, few supermarket shortbreads stick to that golden rule and include other ingredients such as cornflour and raising agents; they’re nothing to worry about – but some cut the butter (and costs) by using rapeseed oil, margarine or worse. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Unlike most manufactured products, however, the price of shortbread doesn’t always reflect the level of processing, and some of the cheapest are also the least processed. Look out for “all-butter” on the label, to make sure the shortbread doesn’t include oil and has that classic, buttery taste. And don’t be fooled by fancy packaging. The best supermarket shortbread Best overall:Walker’s shortbread Highlanders £2.50 for 160g at Morrisons (£1.56/100g) £2.85 for 160g at Waitrose (£1.78/100g) ★★★★☆ A round, characterful shortbread hand-rolled in crunchy demerara sugar. Sweet with a firm bite and …