Food and drink, restaurants in Birmingham & West Midlands

Best Buys

From New Zealand, Marlborough Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (Majestic, £7.49 but down to £4.99 if you buy two), is perfect for spring, with punchy, invigorating, ripe, limey fruit in abundance. Read

Dimples make a great impression

EVERYONE knows dimples are cute. But did you know they can help make sure your chicken is cooked perfectly? Read

Ingredient Of The Week

WINNER of last year's World Cheese Award for Best Italian Cheese, Gorgonzola takes its name from the village of - yes, you've guessed it - Gorgonzola, near Milan. Read

Sutton's Fish Bar, Walmley Road, Sutton Coldfield

NOTHING ever beats service with a smile. Read

The Malt House, 75 King Edwards Road, Brindleyplace, Birmingham

THIS Spirit pub is surely missing the biggest PR trick in the city. Read

Wine tourism has really taken off

THE film Sideways may have given wine tourism a shot in the arm - while not doing very much for sales of merlot. Read

A taste of Italy left a spring in my step

MANY are the Italian restaurants I've tried in this country. Few are those that have left me skipping with joy. Read

Be proud of English wine

IT'S time to raise a toast to all things English this week, what with the Queen's birthday, Charles and Camilla in Brum and then St George's Day to inspire an overflow of national pride. Read

Bells Lane Fish Bar, Druids Heath

CLOSE to the A435 Maypole island gateway to Worcestershire's beautiful countryside, you'll find this chippy behind the Phoenix pub. The grotty row of mostly-shuttered shops scarily resembled the set of a Hollywood zombie movie at sunset. My chatty and bright-eyed server scooped up a 70p bag of deep-yellow chips which crashed through the 500g line on my in-car scales like a bag of cement. They tasted better than expected, but a mere handful was enough for me. Read