mmwwah's Profile
Borough Market [London]
I wouldn't worry about what not to miss. Wander around and you'll be fine. If you're staying in a self-catering flat, be prepared for great temptation -- and you might want to plan on getting things for a lovely picnic that evening or the next day.
Neal's Yard Cheese Shop (not the body shop around the corner -- I forget what it's called) is generally considered a must-see, but I'm not that impressed. Good cheeses, yes, but there are good cheeses in the market. And, of course, now that Neal's Yard has gotten in bed with Whole Foods, you can get the same stuff back home.
London: Perseverance pie
Oof, wish I'd known that! Everything I'd read said that the Lamb's food was pretty bleah. I'll try it next time (off to Paris this morning, back to London only briefly next week).
London Pies?
I've only had breakfast at Roast, but I imagine it's just as good the rest of the day.
Porter House has one horrible drawback: Trying to decide between all those beautiful brews. Other than that, it's superb.
Big Brekkie at Little Chef
Are you sure you didn't stop by the Little Chef just to outdo my Strada confession? ;-)
The only time I ate at a Little Chef it was utterly appalling in every way, but with your (tepid) endorsement, the next time I'm stranded at a flyover, I'll take refuge there.
London: A Corn House
I too love the PSB. Actually, the best PSB I've had, ever, was at Fino on Charlotte Street. That was beyond "stunning" and straight on to "swooning."
In the case of Acorn House's PSB, I'm guessing it was steamed, not stir-fried or sauteed. The endive was individual leaves of the cigar stuff, split in half vertically, so that the plate was scattered with 10cm ribbons of the stuff.
The dressing tasted of herbes de provence and a little orange peel, plus lots of oil -- a little too much. I'm guessing grapeseed oil, but I could be wrong.
Good luck with the experiments!
Making the UK/Ireland board more relevent to residents throughout the two countries [from UK/Ireland board]
Lest my previous post suggest otherwise, I'm not complaining about Chowhound. It's very clear about logging ideas for where to eat in specific places, and it's quite popular.
I speak only for myself in saying that I prefer a higher degree of community because I can't tell whose tastes align with mine otherwise. We used Chowhound for a few weeks when we first moved to LA in 2004, and we had a series of terrible meals at restaurants that came highly recommended -- from people who like different things than we do.
I've been scoring a lot better on the UK board, thank heavens!
London: A Corn House
Friends had recommended Acorn House, on Gray's Inn Road, and I read the somewhat mixed reviews here as well before heading over there tonight after work. I concur with the gist of previous reports: food excellent, service anything but.
I had the purple sprouting broccoli/ carmelized red onion/ endive/ kalamata olive starter, which was tasty. I've been pretty hungry for green veg lately, and I dithered about whether to get the starter at £7 or the broccoli-only side for £4. Although the salad was delightful, the table next to me order the side order, and it looked like more broc in the same light dressing, just without the onion, olive, and endive. Oh well.
For my main, I had another starter, the duck confit with apple, prune, and spring leaf. I would have appreciated being warned that it came in the same dressing as my starter, frankly. Good thing I liked it. The confit was very good, and the prunes were absolutely stunning. What does "stunning" mean? Stunning is when the first bite makes me start scheming about how I can reproduce the effect at home, to the exclusion of all other thought processes. In this case, I think the prunes had gone as far as a polite kiss with some Armagnac, but absolutely NO further. You have to concentrate to taste the Armagnac; it's not strong enough to detect immediately.
With a glass of the cheapest red and a capuccino to finish, it came to £26 -- the most expensive meal I've eaten alone this trip. It was almost worth it, and it would definitely have been worth it if the service had been good. With the exception of one besuited fellow who seemed to be both running the pass and seating the customers (huh?), none of the floor employees seemed to give a damn. Food sat at the pass until the Suit grabbed it; glasses were left empty until the Suit caught sight of them; dessert possibilities went unoffered, full stop. I had to fight to get a coffee, and the couple next to me only managed to pay by pretending to dine and dash (at which point the Suit ran to the rescue).
Basically, it's all about the management of expectations. If you plan for bad service, you can get a great meal, but if you plan for a great meal, you'll have a bad surprise.
Making the UK/Ireland board more relevent to residents throughout the two countries [from UK/Ireland board]
Good points, Phil.
Back in the US, I don't participate on or read Chowhound because there are other food-discussion sites that allow a tiny bit more rambling in the interest of promoting community. If those types of sites exist for London, I don't know about them, so here I am.
I gather that recommendations for travellers/newcomers is more the purpose of Chowhound all over the world than forming a community of foodies. And that's just fine; it serves a very useful purpose. But there is (the geek speaks!) a ton of research showing that tight moderation works against community formation, as does too much anything-goes.
Now, back to the main board to report back on tonight's dinner....
Delia [from UK/Ireland]
Yeah, I lived out of *One Is Fun* my first long trip to the UK. When I brought it home, my partner saw the spine of the book and assumed I'd used it for other purposes.
I consult the *Complete Delia* or whatever it's called (*Complete Cookery Course*?) when I'm doing something major, but I almost never cook one of the recipes as written.
Good call on the Sainsbury's connection. It doesn't make me think any better of Nigel Slater, though.
London: Italy in chains
I embarrass myself nearly every day, and today's sheepish confession is that I was so utterly exhausted after work that I ate at a chain. My hotel is within reading distance of the Brunswick Centre, and I just stumbled into Strada, fell into a chair, and waited for them to shovel hay in my maw.
It wasn't an awful meal. I had the polenta-mushroom starter, which was okay, and for my main the mixed-veg salad with warm little logs (mmm!) of mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto. The salad was even very good, and I think I can make it even better at home (although I'm not sure how to warm the prosciutto-cheese logs without crisping the ham or melting the cheese).
I do feel guilty about patronizing Strada, but it was the best I could do. I ate at Carluccio's the night I came down from Cambridge (I didn't know it was a chain, despite there being one in Ely), so I couldn't go back; Nando's is vile (and there was a line, if you can believe it); Hare & Tortoise was packed to the gunwales; Giraffe looks dire; and Yo Sushi, well, I embarrass myself just uttering the name.
But what interests me most is that every Italian restaurant in the UK appears to be chock-full of Americans (and if it isn't abundantly clear, I am one, so physician heal thyself and all that), and that goes double for the chain Italian places. I'm guessing that more than half the diners at Strada were American, and a couple of the waiters were Canadian.
I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm guessing that the ristorante Italiano vibe, especially when smoothed out and blandified chain-style, is particularly recognizable and comforting to the American diner. But maybe that's unfair. I don't think that Italian food is that much better than any other cuisine, but could its mediocre setting be higher than that of others? That wouldn't account for a preponderance of Americans. Any other theories out there?
Delia [from UK/Ireland]
Emphasis on "purport," in case it needs to be said. Or thaid.
London: Bloomsbury suggestions
It's on my list, for sure. Not only due to recs on Chowhound, but also because an honest-to-god friend (like, real life and everything!) likes it a lot.
In finding the address (friend was unclear), I did discover a lot of negative reviews, mostly about extremely rude service. I will report back.
Delia [from UK/Ireland]
Agreed about even worse than Titsella Express.
I was struck by how defensive she was about the whole thing (and I count Nigel Slater's presence as part of that -- I guess Hugh Fearlessly Eats-All was out on a boat somewhere).
That said, having never seen a Delia show before, I found her more likable than I expected. John Peel was a pal of hers (I'll pause while you pick your teeth up off the floor) and he claimed that she was good fun, so who knows?
But I have to say: I've heard about the so-called grocer's apostrophe (using an apostrophe to form the plural, as in [banana's]), but I'm formulating a theory about the cook's lisp. Jamie, check; Emily on the recent Masterchef, check; Delia, check. Is it required for anyone purporting to cook for Real People (TM)?
London: Perseverance pie
Following conversation here, I hit the Perseverance last night, on Lamb's Conduit. Everything I'd read suggested that the beer was poor but the food superlative.
I agree about the beer being poor. Aside from Guinness, the darkest beer was ordinary Leffe (which, if you haven't had it, isn't saying much). At home we call this the Los Angeles Beer Curse: 20 lagers and a Guinness. The Perseverance did have Old Speckled Hen in a bottle, though (along with some other odd bottles -- Heineken, Bud, Sapporo).
I was expecting the food to be more ambitious than it was, frankly. The menu was pretty basic: Spag bol, bangers & mash, lasagna, plaice & peas, that kind of thing. Plus a whole selection of sarnies (although they spelled it "sarnries" -- a sandwich made by Sanrio?) that were essentially the mains on bread. They did have bacon butties, but no chip butty.
On special were pies -- beef, mushroom & Guinness or chicken, leek, & Guinness. I wasn't sure what Guinness would do to a leek, so I had the beef. It was perfectly fine, if a little indifferent. But the chips were excellent!
I think next time I eat on Lamb's Conduit, it will be at the Lamb, where I'll get top-notch beers. The food's unlikely to be more than a half-step down from the Perseverance's.
Oh, ambience: Just right. A nice mix of people, not too crowded, not too empty, no "Look, a stranger" vibe.
London: Cigala, cigalado
Per recommendations, I went to Cigala last night. I arrived about 7:15pm, and the place was empty -- and no one else entered the entire time I was there.
That's usually a very bad sign, but in this case I think it can be construed merely as bad luck (for them, not for me -- although service was worse than usual, because they kept forgetting I was there).
I had the pan con tomate, the gambas a la brasa, and the curly kale. The pan con tomate wasn't the best I've ever had (needed more salt and garlic), but it was tasty enough. The prawns were cooked perfectly, and the accompanying romesco was good, although it wasn't a classic romesco. The curly kale was superb, and I could have happily eaten another bowlful (to the good of my iron values, no doubt). Everything was washed down with a glass of Santa Anita rosado, which was okay.
All told, it was a £16 meal, which was just fine with me. It was a perfectly good meal, but I imagine going with several other people is the way to see Cigala at its best.
Would like some London advice
For a FEB, Roast's Full Borough Breakfast is pretty impressive -- although I'd split it, unless you're a premier-league eater. Roast is in the Borough Market (an interesting destination in itself, if you go on a thurs/fri/sat), and you'll get a good view of the going-on while you eat.
London: my Balfour declaration
An actual Balfour declaration based on the demographics of London would put us all off our feed, so -- no.
I still haven't tried the places that babybat recommended a few days ago, but I will soon -- and I'll report back.
London: my Balfour declaration
Last night's dinner was at the Balfour, at the corner of Tavistock Place and Marchmont Street. I was wandering around looking for a meal, it looked salubrious, so in I went.
The verdict is short and sweet: It's fine. Nothing great, nothing terrible. I had a glass of Nero d'Avola, a rocket-and-parmesan salad, and the calamari-chorizo-purple potato starter, and they were all shoveled up without hesitation.
The salad was quite large for £3. Ordinarily as a starter, it could serve two easily, but it just as easily served one person very hungry for green veg. It was a bit overdressed, and I would have preferred a French-style dressing rather than balsamic, but those are minor quibbles.
For my main, the calamari-chorizo-purple potato "salad" was fairly tasty. I ordered the small (£5.50, if memory serves), and it was plenty.
The atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable. All the other diners were couples of a certain age (if you know what I mean) and singletons like myself. I have a no-returns policy for my three weeks here, but if I lived round the corner, I would certainly pop into the Balfour when I was too tired to cook.
Last Running Footman or Great Queen Street?
Over the years, I have had much better luck with gastropubs outside of the big urban centers (with the help of the Good Food Guide). Whenever I seek out anything calling itself a gastropub in London, Manchester, etc., I end up wishing I'd just gone to a restaurant.
In the countryside, however, there are some stunning meals to be had at gastropubs. The last one I had was the Hare & Hounds in Bigglewade (or maybe it's Old Warden) -- fantastic.
Have to change my original London plans
I agree with monkeytennis -- don't abandon Tayyabs.
oh hai. i need your help.
London House, part of Goodenough College, might work. I know they can, and do, offer all of these things, but I haven't experienced the quality firsthand.
London: from Fino to Tayyabs
Two fantastic meals this weekend, thanks to friends.
First up, Fino. Officially at 33 Charlotte St. (near Goodge St. Tube station), but the entrance is on Rathbone, around the corner. Reservations are a must (and they'll tell you beforehand when you need to clear the table).
We started with drinks in the bar. I had a Barcelona cocktail, which sounded better than it was. More to the point, the bartender had a panic attack when I ordered it, despite its being a signature cocktail with pride of place on the drinks menu. He had no idea how to make it, and there was much running around and consulting random people. Okay, maybe not *random* people, but he did ask me if I knew what the Peychaud's bitters bottle looked like. Utter chaos. (Oh, and my friend's Belvedere martini ended up costing £20. Is that normal?)
If the bar didn't immediately win our hearts, the food did. We had the bunuelos de bacalao (essentially salt-cod hush puppies); the chickpea-spinach-chorizo stew; the pork belly; and the purple broccoli. All were top notch, especially the broccoli (which was worth all seven quid they charged for it, truly). It was a bit too much food for the two of us, but I would solve that by ordering not fewer dishes but a lighter one instead of the stew (which was very filling and strummed some of the same chords as the pork belly).
To drink we had the Rivola cab/shiraz blend, and it was just spicy enough to complement the pork belly, and not too full-bodied. (We also had the Romate Solera brandy after -- excellent, and well priced).
Today it was off to Tayyabs (no apostrophe, to my surprise) after seeing a gallery show. The line was insane at 4pm, but it moved very quickly.
We let the South Asian scholar do most of the ordering, and it certainly seemed to me that he ordered way too much food. And if he weren't a bottomless pit, I would have been right, but luckily he devoured all the superfluity.
He ordered, and we ate: Samosas; chicken tikka; paneer tikka; lamb skewers; sag aloo; bhindi something; lamb curry; and one more dish I'm forgetting. It was all phenomenal, every bit of it. And all that food, which fed three humans and one bottomless pit, ended up being almost exactly £40. I was stunned.
A stiff march up Brick Lane to the Bhangra (is that the name?) Supermarket was required after a meal of that ambitiousness. My friends intervened to prevent me from buying a 7-kilo bag of turmeric that caught my fancy.
London: Bloomsbury suggestions
I'm spending three weeks in the Bloomsbury/King's Cross/Grays Inn area, and while my hotel has a wee fridge (yes, I've already been to the Borough Market today, and it's not even noon yet), there are no self-catering facilities.
Lunches will be taken care of (I'm here for my job), but I'm eager for recommendations of places that offer good food in an environment that's reasonably good for dining alone. Price not a particular consideration.
Last night I went to Carluccio's, despite my general dislike of the Brunswick Center. Friends of mine know Antonio Carluccio (who apparently used to be involved with Slow Food), and they vouched for the chain (except for the one in Ely -- they say it's worse than the rest).
Chain or not, it was a nice meal. The glass of Montepulciano D'Abruzzo was drinkable; the green bean contorno was tasty; and the bowl of mushroom-pancetta soup was an amazement -- I kept spooning up more cepes, morels, and field mushrooms than should fit into the bowl, cornucopia-style.
Tonight I've got a booking for Fino, near Goodge Street Tube station. I've had recommendations for Konaki, Asadal, Roku, and Navarros as well -- any thoughts on those?
