A stylish Italian date ...

Advantages: Great food & fantastic lunch time deals
Disadvantages: Pricey

...Branca is a stylish and sophisticated Italian restaurant situated in the Jericho area of Oxford city. Jericho is the trendy place to be and with uber cool restaurants and bars, Branca is sat in a perfect position. I first heard about Branca a few months after I moved to Oxford from a university friend of mine and I was told that it served a fabulous lunch menu. Without hesitation on our next lunch out together my husband and I headed down to Jericho for a lunch for two. *The restaurant* Situated on Walton street, with its full length windows, Branca is hard to miss. From the outside, the restaurant looks clean, fresh and inviting. When entering the restaurant, a cosmopolitan aura welcomes you. The décor is modern and contemporary whilst stylish and comfortable. With stone walls, polished dark wooden floors and gleaming chandeliers...

kirlykird 12.02.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Branca Restaurant, Oxford

Enjoy a stay in the Manor of the White House

Advantages: Excellent service, nice quite location
Disadvantages: No lifts or ramp for those with walking difficulties

...~Introduction~ During our holiday to Maderia recently we stayed at a very nice little hotel called Quinta da Casa Branca. It is part of the Estalagem hotel chain and is included on a list of small luxury hotels of the world. Our travel agent Expedia had this hotel down as four stars so we were surprised when we turned up to see that the hotel had five stars on the gate. So who was right Expedia or Estalagem? ~Location~ Madeira is off the coast of West Africa, it is an steep sided granite mass sat out in the Atlantic ocean. The capital of this small island is Funchal in a bay on the southern coast. Quinta da Casa Branca (QCB) is located in the relatively quiet holiday apartment area of Casa Branca. QCB is north of the main hotels along the cliffs and west of Funchal's city centre. The hotel is on a crescent shaped parcel of land...

buzzard_cad 17.10.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Quinta da Casa Branca, Funchal

Lethal Liqueur

Advantages: funny, highly entertaining, odd recipes
Disadvantages: none

...The title did it! When I came across it I knew I had to have the book. The synopsis on amazon made it clear that it wasn't a cook book, it said that the main character was a foodie using Fernet Branca for cooking; if I didn't know the vile stuff, I may not have been hooked. It was in 1845 that the Italian Bernardino Branca, a self taught apothecary, brewed a herbal elixir that was reputed to cure many ills, it was even tried on cholera patients (without success, though), the director of a hospital approved of it and so its success story began and hasn't ended yet. Nowadays it's sold as a digestive, made with over 40 different herbs and spices from four continents and aged in oak casks for over a year, it has 42% alcohol; when I drink it, my eyes bulge, I gasp, I splutter. Do you have to know all this in a book review? Yes, you have...

MALU 14.12.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Cooking with Fernet Branca - James Hamilton-Paterson

Saucy Sailorette

Advantages: hilarious
Disadvantages: none

...SHARP SHARK MARITIME MOLL WACKY WATERWOMAN GAY GOURMET NAUTICAL NONSENSE --- Whatever; Gerald Samper is back, the selfsame that jumped onto the literary stage in 2004 when James Hamilton-Paterson published the novel Cooking With Fernet Branca (see my review Lethal Liqueur) and took the reading public by storm, not only the English one, meanwhile the book has been translated into 21 languages. Amazing Disgrace is the sequel, as you may have experienced yourself it's better to be wary of sequels of highly successful books, it has happened more than once that the second book doesn't hold a candle to the first, let's see what is the case here. Amazing Disgrace starts where and when Cooking With Fernet Branca stops, Gerald is still the misanthropic, curmudgeonly British expat living on a lonely hillside in Tuscany raging...

MALU 23.02.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Amazing Disgrace - James Hamilton-Paterson

The Mystery of Punt e Mes

Advantages: Subtle delicious bitter-sweet flavour
Disadvantages: Hard to find - and has it been changed recently?

...out to be the ideal mix, and Carpano took the recipe into volume production. That was in Turin in 1786 and Punt e Mes continued to be produced by the Carpano family business right up to 2002. It was then taken over by the Milan firm of Fratelli Branca, who brew the equally arcane concoction Fernet Branca, best known, if it is known at all, as a cure for hangovers. Punt e Mes seems to have been given a bit of an image makeover by its new owners this year, with the Carpano brand-name being dropped and the label redesigned, having previously been unchanged for decades. To see the difference, compare the traditional bottle, pictured above, with the new version, pictured below. However, since this makeover has been unaccompanied by any publicity, at least in this country, it may only have moved Punt e Mes only from one cloak...

torr 15.12.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Punt e Mes Vermouth

Espirito Santo - Rock solid Brasilian welcome

Advantages: Garden State, Breathtaking Scenery, Stunning beaches, Vibrant Cities
Disadvantages: As with most of Brasil, long distances between places, no rail network

...towns include Guarapari and Guriri, Itaunas for dunes and deserted beaches/open spaces, and Cachoeiro de Itapemirim to the North of the State, similar in size to Vitoria Places of interest - Pedra do Frade (rock shaped like Monk), Santa Teresa (Augusto Ruschi of museum of natural History, waterfall/lagoon for swimming), Nova Venecia (Elephant Rock, Granite products, Gameleira- v.old tree), Medicinal property of black sand at Guarapari to aid joint pain /skin ailments, Travelling - good road network and excellent coach service (Aguia Branca) to all main parts of the State, including overnight /sleeper option. Air travel also possible from Vitoria to some coastal resorts, but unlike the US, Europe and even some of its neighbours, Brasil is yet to offer viable rail travel to just about any part of the country. Scenery - this is...

Cyber-Mark 31.05.2008 (13.06.2008) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Espirito Santo

Fun, love and laughter a Funny Film.

Advantages: The fantastic voice of Streisand
Disadvantages: only if you don't like musicals

...that is under no illusions and will not hold her tongue. Anne Francis as Georgia James she becomes Fanny's best friend when she joins Ziegfelds follies. Walter Pidgeon - plays the famous Florenz Ziegfeld Lee Allen plays Eddie Ryan who convinced Fanny to sing and be the comedienne she is getting her that first break. Gerald Mohr as Tom Branca the manager of a gambling establishment and a good friend to Nick. Frank Faylen as Keeney the club owner that gives Fanny her first job. Others are Gertrude Flynn as Mrs O'Malley Penny Stanton as Mrs Meeker John Harman as Company Manager Mae Questel as Mrs Strakosh Director - William Wyler Producer - Ray Stark Music - Jule Styne Lyrics - Bob Merrill ~~Extras~~ Barbara in Movie land - this is a short documentary lasting about 10 minutes and tells the story...

arnoldhenryrufus 12.09.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Funny Girl

Loquacious Lisbon

Advantages: A Vibrant City with a Cosmopolitan Atmosphere
Disadvantages: A bit hilly for some

...Lisbon or Lisboa is the capital of Portugal and enjoys a marvellous position. To the northeast of the city the River Tagus opens out to form the shining Mar de Palha (sea of straw). The city stands on the northwest bank of this lake just before it narrows and flows out into the Atlantic Ocean. For miles and miles, homes, factories, warehouses and port installations carpet the steep hills and valleys along the estuary. Lisbon is sometimes called the Cidade Branca, the White City but actually its colour is really a matt pastel shade. The best view of the city can be enjoyed from one of the many excellent fish restaurants in Cacilhas on the south bank of the river. Between Alfama (see my review), the labyrinth of narrow alleys on the citadel hill, and the elevated Bairro Alto, lies the flat plain of the city centre, the Cidade Baixa...

Praski 28.09.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Lisbon (Portugal)

You are my Boro

Advantages: Just being part of things
Disadvantages: Just being part of things

...bridesmaids. Usually,people hate successful teams.Liverpool in the 70's and 80's.Man U in the 90's.Arsenal always,just for being a dull boring shower of....well,they were before Wenger took over. The London based press couldn't get over the fact Ravenelli,Juninho,Emerson and Branca came to "unfashionable Middlesbrough" when there were clubs in the capital who would love to have them wearing their shirts. If a team is hated,and its not by a fan from a local team,then its down to envy,jealousy,or simply the fact that they are starting to worry people. Supporting Boro is a way of life,unlike in the South where its just something to do on a Saturday. Anybody can follow a team that wins things. We just live in eternal hope. Its like having a wife.They win,its like great sex,they lose,its like having a domestic,they draw,you aren...

malleye 13.09.2002 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Middlesbrough

Buzzard_cad visits the garden of Madeira

Advantages: Beautiful picturesque island, not too hot in summer
Disadvantages: Hilly, poor restaurants, no sandy beaches

...of an older design, for example 'The Carlton'. It is a large block concrete about four storeys high near from where we stayed, it looked ugly from the outside, but apparently it is a good hotel to stay in with a five star rating. We stayed in a smaller modern hotel called 'Quinta de Casa Branca' which is also reviewed here on Ciao, it was a great hotel to stay in. Apartments in Madeira seemed few and far between, which is why we stayed at the QCB. I felt that generally the hotels in Madeira seemed to be well built and maintained. One thing you should try and make sure your hotel has is a decent swimming pool. The hotels along the front have the biggest and best pools, whilst our hotel had a good pool for the guests. A hotel with out a pool is not a problem if you are within a few minutes walk of the 'Lido' as this gives you good access to...

buzzard_cad 17.06.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Madeira (Portugal)