Cheapskate... Where to eat out for under £15

The Red Rose, Lindsey, Suffolk. Tel: 01449 741424

The footwear says it all about the boozers and eaters here: wellies, riding boots and hiking shoes rub along happily with the broguey refinement of well-heeled locals in the cosy interior. Outside, grazing horses and the gentle thwack and hum of cricket on the green. Oh, to be in England. The menu is pleasantly metropolitan - jambon persille and roast plum cherry tomatoes, seafood pancakes, and fennel and sweetcorn risotto. Local produce is used where possible. But it's the lazy breakfasts and Sunday roasts, not to mention the idiosyncratic bar menu - eg chilli, chips and cheese - that really pull in the country punters. Lollipops in the bar testify to laid-back child-friendliness.

Quick bites... Where to eat out in 15 minutes

The Secret Garden Tea Room, 21 Friars Street, Sudbury, Suffolk. Tel: 01787 372030

At first sight it looks like a faintly shambolic antiques shop. Once lured inside by that lovely straw trug and ornate French mirror, you find out that there's a cafe, too. But the genial smells drifting from the kitchen hint that this is more than a tea and cake place. Here is as good a fish soup as you will find anywhere - never mind France, let alone London - and a tarte au framboise that is sublime. Couldn't be done by an Englishman, and it isn't. The owner is a modest Frenchman, whose motivation seems to be to bring joy into the world rather than financial reward or self-promotion. The service is quick and friendly. But browsing over the bric-a-brac may take you past the quick bite mark.

On the menu

Tanche

Pronounced how?

Tornche.

So it's something French?

Certainly is.

Animal, vegetable or mineral?

Vegetable; a fruit, to be exact.

A fruit of what, cher ami?

An olive tree.

So a tanche is an olive?

The main olive of the olive capital of France, Nyons.

Distinguished by?

The exceptional richness, fruitiness and balance of its oil.

Can you eat them, too?

Certainly, when fully ripe and black, and wrinkled from their dry salt cure.

Not to be mistaken for?

Picholines or Lucques.

On the net

Last week we were waxing lyrical over all things French. This week, in the interests of impartiality, we turn our gluttonous thoughts to Italy. What with the G8 summit, perhaps we should be recommending Genoa cake this weekend, but no - we'd rather talk about olive oils. www.oliveoil-uk.com has a dazzling array of olive oils from all over Italy - Puglia, Basilicata, Lazio, Liguria - and boasts oils such as Tenuta di Valgiano alongside trufflier and flavoured versions.www.morel.co.uk is home to the Morel Brothers' supreme gastronomic knowledge. Here you will find oils such as Azienda Ravida from the south coast of Sicily. This oil was the winner of the Orciolo D'Oro - the oily equivalent of the Oscars - in 1993 and 1996. The Morels say it is "unusual", with the taste of "mown grass".

Just out

Dina Foods Mediterranean Wraps

Form: A very thin, very large - 30cm diameter - chamois leather.

Flavour: Pretty neutral; wheat and water with a slight mushroomy/muesli finish; fabulously floppy.

Verdict: It's a metropolitan version of a traditional bread (the original markouk would be up to 60cm in diameter) less associated with the Med than it is with the Middle East. Made with a mixture of wholemeal and white flour with no yeast. Ah, but what do you do with it? Mop up hummus or taramasalata, it is this year's barbie and picnic accessory. Stuff it, smear it, pack it, wrap it around things, toast it. Use double thickness. Wraps go soggy at the drop of anything liquid.

Price: 85p for a packet of three at Sainsbury's, Safeway and Waitrose.