[MadIvan]

Roast beef at Simpsons on the Strand was dry and tough.

I wouldn't recommend eating there, myself. My favourite is Rowley's on Jermyn Street.

I never found anything in the UK like the whole Italian-style tenderloin of beef that I make at home - rolled in pepper and rock salt, then roasted very briefly (20 min.) at 550 degrees or as hot as your oven with go without putting it on "clean", then sliced ultra-thin and served hot or cold. Simple and delicious, served with a fresh romaine salad and rice pilaf or polenta, but you have to start with a prime grade, well marbled cut.

You can get all those ingredients, it's just a matter of finding them. I live alone, so I have to cook without poisoning myself and found this to be true. ;)

Regards, Ivan

[AnAmericanMother]

I think the basic problem is lack of local knowledge.

As a tourista, I would gravitate to places like Simpson's or Rule's that I have actually heard of. While the nice little place around the corner that the locals frequent goes unnoticed because it isn't in the guidebooks.

Similarly, some poor sap who comes to Atlanta GA and eats at the overpriced tourist traps downtown that catch the unwary . . . will never know about either the down-home barbeque joints like Harold's or the tiny little 10-table restaurants with exquisite French cuisine like Violette's.