themags's Profile
Fresh tomatillos in London?
I've seen tinned but if I'm going to substitute then maybe just use the dozens of green san marzanos in the garden? Also fresh Anaheim chilis - reckon the mild green long Turkish chilis will be OK? It's for a chicken chili verde recipe, thanks!
Where do people buy bread to make tea sandwiches? Not Hovis, etc? [London]
You need to find a bakery where the signage looks like it hasn't changed since the 1950s and get a white loaf and have them put it in the slicing machine. If they sell sourdough run away! Raabs on Essex Road N1 and Robertson's on Lea Bridge Road E17 both bake on the premises every morning or the family-owned Percy Ingle chain which is all over East London into Essex due to their Hackney roots. You want the kind of place that does a good homemade sausage roll.
Moving to London - Where to live for a die-hard foodie?
Oh - didn't know the Store St. Korean was gone. Went there every day when I was studying across the street but that was a few years back. I guess there's still the Korean shop in the shadow of Centrepoint? I'm not in the West End/Soho anywhere near as much as I used to be as I'm now self-employed and living in Walthamstow - E17 is London's best-kept secret - but I wouldn't begin to recommend it to someone with £400/week as you could buy the entire borough of Waltham Forest on that budget ;-)
Moving to London - Where to live for a die-hard foodie?
Clerkenwell and walk to work! I would love to live in Clerkenwell but it's way out of my price range. Honestly - if you are working on the Strand there's so many nice areas within walking distance which is a luxury most of us don't have - if you can avoid London public transport for work and just use it for fun times out on evenings and weekends to explore further afield you will really enjoy London. Plus you will get to know London a lot better than looking at a tube map which bears no resemblance to what's actually happening at street level. Walking is the best! Commuting in London is dire and expensive. The strikes, the engineering works, the signal faults, general unexplained delays... Or if not Clerkenwell you could live quite centrally (Bloomsbury?) and shop at say the Korean on Store Street, Berwick Street Market, Chinatown, the Japanese shop on Brewer Street and also on Brewer Street is Lina Stores a wonderful Italian deli. To me £400/week rent for a 1-bed sounds like a lot. I would think you could live centrally for that.
Forget Dalston no matter how "trendy" it has become (I lived in Dalston/Hackney/Shoreditch from 1994-2005 and still have to go there often - it just seems like some big joke)
Islington is an uneasy (and often dangerous - lots of muggings) mix of rich and estates and boring chain restaurants. The farmers market is not very good and very overpriced - "I saw you coming!" (from a "funny 'cause it's true" comedy sketch)
Healthy Food in Paris?
For lunch http://www.lebarasoupes.com/
Soup in the 11th which is next to the 10th but on the far side of the 11th arrondissement
London: Seafood-free restaurants?
That may be true but it's also supposed to be terrible? I've never been tempted.
London: Seafood-free restaurants?
Yes, sorry. I was at an ocakbasi in E17 lat week and they had fish. I just couldn't stop staring at the lamb perhaps I was blinded!
More importantly I just remembered that a girlfriend of an old colleague couldn't eat chicken due to an extreme fish allergy - they feed fish pellets to chickens and even this was too much for her. TBH if travelling with that kind of severe reaction I would go vegan unless the restaurant could completely trace their meat and its diet
St Johns doughnuts, eccles cakes and bread, the best in London?
Maybe you are thinking about Le Pain Quotidien (which did start in Belgium)?
London: Seafood-free restaurants?
Meat without fish on the menu is difficult - steakhouses like Hawksmoor always have fish on the menu - I can only think of Turkish ocakbasi like Mangal on Arcola St Dalston E8. There are lots of Turkish grill restaurants in Dalston/.Stoke Newington & Green Lanes - I don't remember ever seeing fish in an ocakbasi - however these Turkish places are not really central. Vegetarian restaurants: Rasa (Stoke Newington High Street - the original Rasa on the south side of the street - the sister restaurant nearby Rasa Travancore has fish - not central tho'), Mildred's (Lexington Street Soho), Vanilla Black (Holborn) and Saf and Itadaki as previously mentioned
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Hawksmoor
157 Commercial St, Poplar, Greater London E1 6, GB
Saf Restaurant
152-154 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3AT, GB
Ireland MUST visit locations that the locals love - not looking for tourist favorites, but great local food and flair
Dublin pubs - Long Hall and Kehoes
Can't afford River Cafe London, where should I go?
Small bit of advice - don't compare NYC-London menu prices like for like you'll just end up unhappy. Search the board for what London does best if you are on a budget - so maybe not higher-end Italian like River Cafe. Also - remember that the service charge here is more like 12.5% (and sometimes included and never more than 15%) and there's no sales tax (VAT is included in price so may make menu look expensive at first glance). Drinking at a pub where you get your drinks yourself from the bar = no tips.
Vegetarian Main dish for meal share with neighbors?
Broccoli, cauliflower and (elbow? fusilli?) pasta bake with a bechamel sauce with a spinach and orange segment salad
Tofu pot pie with all your veg diced small (inc. frozen corn and peas) - assuming you have flour for pastry?
Cost of London dining
The health food cafe in Manchester is the 8th Day Cafe - it's great. http://www.eighth-day.co.uk/
What do I do with...?
Padron peppers Spanish tapas style sauteed in olive oil with sea salt crystals
French breakfast radishes with butter and sea salt crystals
I likes me fats and sea salts :-)
What is your "perfect breakfast"? [moved from Home Cooking]
A pain au chocolat or almond croissant with some freshly squeezed orange juice and a crossword puzzle
How do you Okra?
Bhindi Bhaji/Sabzi - a gorgeous dry curry as a vegetable side dish for an Indian meal. I can dig out a recipe but to be honest there's so many different versions out there it really depends on your personal spice and ingredient preferences - I'm not really talking about heat/chilli - it's also the other spices - turmeric/coriander/cumin/fenugreek (any/all/some) also how many (if any) tomatoes. I do like Madhur Jaffrey's recipes so that would be a good place to start
Found a jar of Harissa at TJ Maxx...
Oh I agree - harissa and yoghurt with a grilled lamb chop is divine. Last night I mixed some harissa with olive oil and coated some chicken thighs and drumsticks and baked - simple and yummy.
Andouille Sausage [London]
Never seen it here, sorry - this is similar http://www.natoora.co.uk/shop/deli/saucisson-salami-and-whole-pieces/nduja-calabra-in-natural-skin/prod13357.html
Favourite vegetarian main dish?
If it's called Parmigiano-Reggiano then it's protected under EU law (protected designation of origin) and has to be traditionally made which includes animal stomach rennet. I am an omnivore now but was a vegetarian for 20 years and did not eat cheese that was made with animal rennet. Similarly true Parmesan cannot be kosher. I just think it shows guests with religious or ethical preferences respect when a host/ess is clued up about these things. It would just be helpful when recommending vegetarian dishes if a recipe said "parmesan-style-vegetarian/kosher-hard-italian-grating-cheese". Of course this does not have the same "ring" as simply "Parmesan" but it does raise awareness of what is actually in what one eats.
Anti Valentine's Day
I went to a great anti-valentine's day dinner where *everything* was garlic heavy. Roast garlic with toasted baguette. Artichokes with garlic butter. There was also garlicky shrimp and 40 clove chicken but those aren't appropriate for your party. Bloody marys?
Emergency Dublin help!
Mulligan's? http://www.stay.com/dublin/bar-pub/4495/john-mulligan/
Apologies tho' it's been many years (20+) since I studied at Trinity! Locals please weigh in
Last trip to Dublin (2009) had nice late pint in Long Hall + two in afternoon in Stag's Head (wouldn't go near Temple Bar now in evening - crappy hen parties galore)
Someone mentioned the Bailey - it was considered "poncey" in 1987 dunno what it's like now - yes of course it's in Ulysseys
Kehoe's prob remains my favourite then and now
Suriname food in London?
I've only ever eaten Surinamese in Holland - not just Amsterdam - I think the best I ever had was in Nijmegen but it was like 20 years ago so can't remember the name of the place. Had a spicy tempeh at that place - rdeman do that at Spitalfields and you'll make a mint
Gee questions
It's just butter that has been reduced which allows storage w/o refrigeration. Make it yourself if you're concerned about store-bought! Quicker than going to the grocery. I've NEVER heard of ghee making anyone sick. The only objection would be if you're vegan (a vegetarian who doesn't eat any dairy products) so would rather use vegetable oil rather than ghee in Indian cooking.
Do you eat, and enjoy, your steak rare?
This is what a gastropub chef friend said to me - order your steak well done and you will get the crappiest cut they've got. Me personally I like it blue - walk it by the grill!
Favourite vegetarian main dish?
Gotta pipe up and say if you're a strict vegetarian than parmesan is no-go (about half the above suggestions use parm!) - made with animal rennet (= stomach enzymes). There are other "hard italian cheeses" that can sub
ISO Your Most Tried-and-True Healthy Vegetarian Weeknight Staples
vegan:
penne arrabiata and a green salad - on the table within minutes of coming in from work
more labour intensive (but leftovers are great and bring them in your lunchbox too) - indian - chana masala, tarka dahl, turmeric & mustard seed spiced new potatoes, raita (made with soy yoghurt)
Vegan Cookbook
The Vegan Gourmet by Susan Geiskopf-Hadler and Mindy Toomay http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Gourmet-Expanded-2nd-Delicious/dp/0761516263/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294845634&sr=8-1
Islington (London) Gastro/ Real Ale Pubs
There's also The House - v short walk (downhill!) from Highbury and Islington tube - I've had a few lovely meals there http://www.thehouseislington.com/ Years ago used to be an old man's boozer called the Belinda Castle my how things change!
Spectacular vegetarian Christmas entree?
An individual plate sized yorkshire pudding filled with roast veg smothered in a vegetable gravy - yum
