WOMEN give a lot of airtime to men - the ones who bugged them, ditched them or simply disappeared. But guys aren't the only topic of girly conversation - there's also the subject of food.
Where once we lusted after George Clooney, Jimmy Choo shoes and Kate Moss's wardrobe, now fresh ingredients, farmers markets and chocolate puddings have become the new temptations.
Organic, you may have heard, is like, so over. These days, if you want to cut it in fashionable circles, you've got to buy British and love intimate restaurants. And that's how the discussion turned to Locus.
I'd heard of the place before. After all, news of a hip enclave on the outskirts of Chester is always going to spread faster than black coffee on white Prada. But despite the hushed plaudits of urban sophisticates, I remained suspicious of its fringe location and resisted the urge to book, preferring old favourites like The Living Room, Bollicini and Chez Jules. But when curiosity triumphed, my friends and I were pleasantly surprised.
Nestled between some unprepossessing buildings in the hub of Boughton, we found the discreet eatery with its caramel coloured frontage and handy side parking - which by the way was a bit of a squeeze - and no, it wasn't just a matter of bad driving.
On arrival, we were immediately confronted with a bar area featuring a series of leather sofas and an uberkitsch drinks counter. But just when we thought the evening was going to be one of those cramped but trendy affairs, a friendly if not over-efficient server promptly ushered us into one of two fairly well proportioned dining rooms where the chocolate box inspired décor was deliciously chic.
Despite our mid-week booking, the place was fairly packed with young couples, families and a rather loud American. But the lone waiter coped admirably, making sure we had menus within seconds of sitting down.
Dishes on offer from their seasonally themed a la carte menu included starters such as pork and herb terrine wrapped in smoked streaky bacon served with gooseberry compote as well as a hot salad of white pudding and Guinness sausage with red onion marmalade and a sour dough croute.
The mains were equally creative with delights such as Welsh rib-eye of beef served on braised red cabbage with a Madeira sauce.
