Paprikaboy's Profile
Briciole ,Homer St , Marylebone , London W1
Just got back from a good lunch at this newish Italian small plate place.
The Bruschetta with grilled aubergines, olives and Burrata cheese came on two small dics of well grilled bruschetta. It was a little doughy for my taste and the aubergine was little underdone but good creamy Burrata and small dab of nice olive tapenade.
The salad with goats cheese, beetroot and walnuts came on lollo rosso and gem lettuce simply dressed. The goats cheese was very creamy and quite punchy, just as I like it. The beetroot still has a little crunch , needed more walnuts though IMHO.
The stand out was the porchetta. A few slices of thin almost translucent pork with good ribbons of fat.
This had proper porky flavour and melted in the mouth.
It's nothing revolutionary but good solid cooking and the prices are fairly reasonable.
London restaurant rec to celebrate engagement?
I would definitely second Roganic.
I went a couple of weeks ago and the food was incredibly good.
We were made to feel welcome and relaxed from start to finish and we also got a tour of the kitchen.
Indonesia Mini Market - Indonesian Home Cooking in Central London
Went here for lunch on Friday.
My better half asked why I schlepped from Paddington to Charing Cross during my lunch hour.
I simply said Indonesian meat ball soup and she understood.
The broth was really good and as others have said I found the meatballs spongy, but hey that's how they come.
Two types of noodles too.
I had a chat and he's open till 9pm during the week. He also mentioned Ram or Nam something
at the w/ends but didn't quite catch it. Apologies but until Friday by knowledge of Indonesian food was zero.
We need more places like this in London hopefully the eagle eyed JF and Limster can find some more.
solo dining options
If I'm ever dining alone I like to sit at the bar in Terroirs.
The staff are always willing to have a chat about the wines and there's usually a space.
It's very handy for the National Gallery and the food and wine are excellent.
US Craft Beer influence on British Beer Styles.
Caught a very interesting programme about the US Craft Beer scene and how it is influencing British micro breweries. Especially the use of new hops and ageing in wine and whisky casks for flavour rather than just using them as a storage vessel.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01gf4l0
any restaurants in London serving gull's eggs?
St John do them on the bar menu. I'm not sure it's all the time so I'd check first.
Good breakfast near Edgware Road, London
There is a patisserie valerie on the corner of Chapel Street and a Pret on Praed st which is opposite Chapel St across the other side of Edgware Road.
Further up Praed St towards Paddington station there's Maderia cafe who do quite good coffee and Pasteis de natas.
If you fancy it you could get Lebanese sausage and eggs from one of the many Lebanese places on Edgware Road. One of the Maroush's is probably a good bet but I've only had lunch not Breakfast.
"to the tooth" is way over used.
For me it depends on the pasta.
For penne, spagehetti, linguine and conchigilie I prefer it firmer.
But for tagliatelle and pappardelle I prefer it softer.
As long as it's cooked well and the sauce is good I don't care how you describe the texture of the pasta.
London Real/Cask Ales
The Harp does very good beer but is tiny and gets very packed.
You're staying very close to the Blackfriars pub which is a fantastic arts and crafts pub and a must see if you want to visit pubs in London.
The ale and service can be a bit hit and miss but they do carry a good range of real ales.
Scotch Egg curry rice @ Tsuru, South Bank, London
I caught an interview with Kensuke Yamada on the Radio 4 food programme "In Praise of Stock".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01dtgbj
Apparently he wants to create a regional London ramen stock and is testing these out.
They are testing a tonkotsu at Bishopgate on the 28th April.
I would go but according to my better half our friend's wedding takes presidence.
There's still tickets available for the 3 o'clock sitting.
Would be good to hear feedback if anyone goes.
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/158953
Nine Cuisines, One Dish Each
1. Italian: linguine alla vongole
2. Indian: puri masala
3. Mexican: pork pibil
4. Chinese: braised pork bellly with bok choy
5. Thai: kua gling
6. French: cassoulet
7. American: pastrami on rye with pickles
8. Middle Eastern: baba ganoush
9. Eastern European/Russian: Goose and red cabbage.
Ceviche, Soho, London
I went a couple of weeks ago and was somewhat underwhelmed.
The don ceviche had great texture but was fairly bland
.The pulpo olivio was very tender and the olive sauce was a good idea but it was far too punchy and totally overwhelmed the octopus.
The salmon ceviche was ok.
We had three of the antichucos. The chicken was very well cooked and succulent as was the salmon. The stand though out was the beef heart which I thought was very good, as tender as you like.
All three came with different sauces but apart from the different colour I couldn't discern any real difference-they were pleasant enough but not memorable.
I had the chocolate 002 mousse and said at the time that it was quite powdery which you've mentioned about the Suspriso. Also the soursop cream didn't work at all with the bitter chocolate.
We also had Encanelado de Pisco, the booze on the sponge was somewhat overpowering but the dulce de leche ice cream that accompanied it was very good.
We had 7 plates , 2 desserts ,a passable bottle of sauvignon blanc & a pisco sour for £110, including service, which give the way the bill can rack up in small plate places in Soho wasn't too bad.
If in Soho would I rush back? No it was perfectly pleasant but no more than that.
Any vegetarian recipes for a meat eater?
I've been eating less meat of late.
I think the secret is to make dishes that celebrate vegetables rather than trying to mimic meat dishes.
If I had to pick cuisines where I could go completely vegetarian they would be South Indian or Lebanese.
I've been cooking a lot from Plenty by Yotam Ottolengi.
You will find a lot of his recipes on here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/series/thenewvegetarian?INTCMP=SRCH
Why no Schadenfreude, Chowhound-style, over Bruni's announcement he has gout?
Being English I wasn't aware of Mr Bruni but having read the article I like his candour.
I also like his writing and obviously this is no consolation but it will make me check out more of his stuff,
Belgian beer for Carbonnade à la Flamande
I'd use a Chimay , probably the blue or something similarly dark and rich.
I've had it in a Belgian restaurant in London with Gueueze beer but nor sure how easy it is to get hold of.
Brick Lane (London) Indian Restaurants
There is a great deal of choice re good Indian food in London, but Brick Lane aint it.
This post may help or there are quite a number of others
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/778729.
JFores has posted a lot , especially on East Ham and he knows of what he speaks.
It's worth going a little bit further East believe me.
Marmite Shortage Shakes New Zealanders
Too right I wont touch Vegemite.
Also I would characterize Vegemite as the wayward son of British Marmite rather than Marmite being the cousin of Vegemite as the OP stated.
Scotch Eggs
Will, if you ever find yourself in London then I think this is the place for you.
ttps://foursquare.com/v/the-duchess-of-kent-geronimo/4ad3c191f964a52027e620e3
Any comments on Sweetings, City of London?
Looking at the menu I can see why Fergus recommended it.
It wasn't really on my radar and I'm all for old fashioned English grub and I love St. Johns but have to agree with Abbey D it does look "very particular" and at the prices they're charging Bentleys or J Sheekey might be a better bet for a less (ahem) "London" experience.
rome vs istanbul?? from a foodie standpoint
To my mind there are two kinds of food, bad food and good food regardless of geography.
I'm quite sure it's possible to get both in either city.
For me i would go to Istanbul, only because I have been to Italy many times and have a far greater familiarity with Italian food in terms of both eating and cooking.
Vegetarian cookbooks
I've not used either of these but as a non vegetarian I can heartily recommend Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi.
Especially the lemon and aubergine risotto.
Good Drinking Pub/Bar near Paddington [London]
The Euston Tap is good but mainly bottled beer iirc and not a great deal of seating inside.
If you're in the area you may want to consider the Bree Louise about 2 mins from Euston Station.
Always a large selection of ales on.
http://fancyapint.com/Pub/london/the-bree-louise/1285
Good Drinking Pub/Bar near Paddington [London]
The best pub by far is the Victoria up towards Hyde Park and Lancaster Gate Tube.
It's a proper old fashioned pub with well kept beers and a good landlord.
It is a Fullers pub though and not sure whether you'd consider that a good thing or not?
http://fancyapint.com/Pub/london/the-victoria/1359
Another good pub for ale is the Chapel on Chapel St, which is a 5 minute walk up Praed St then directly across Edgware Rd onto Chapel St and it is down the end on the right hand side.
It is all stripped floors and wooden tables. It always has guest beers on sometimes meh sometimes fantastic.
What am I doing with this cheese?
Cougar cheese.
Is that attracted to younger fresher cheeses like ricotta?
I'm being intimidated by a rabbit...
Does DH hatred of stews extend to a ragu.
This looks fairly straightforward if v. time consuming at 12 hours.
http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes...
Seeking the perfect make-ahead drunk food
In the UK we keep it simple.
Go to pub.
Leave pub.
Go to kebab shop.
Eat Kebab (whilst dropping salad and wiping extra hot chili sauce off your mouth)
Failing that here's a link on home made doner kebabs that I saw the other day.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/feb/08/the-diy-doner-kebab
Need one more Italian dish please
Lentil and tomato stew with pancetta or fennel sausage.
Or maybe fennel baked with cream, garlic and parmesan.
Advice for central London eating (with 2 kids) Feb 3-6
Agree Dishoom would be good for kids but they only take reservations for breakfast and lunch, not for dinner unless it's for a table of six or more.
Weird/Bad Food Related Dates
I used to work with a guy who did a lot of internet dating and he would always pay on the first date and book the restaurant.
However he would book two restaurants, one cheap and one expensive.
Then depending on how attractive he found the date he would cancel one or the other.
Abundance of Green Peppers
Sorry forgot to post the recipe link.
http://www.eattherightstuff.com/blog/2011/10/8/moro-top-ten-poor-mans-potatoes.html
