johnnypd's Profile
Handsome Coffee Roasters -I really liked it.
Visited Handsome at the weekend -
very impressed by the espresso - one of the best i've ever tasted, smooth with rich crema - flavours of salt and citrus. wonderful. blend of columbian and rwandan apparently.
espresso with milk - pretty good flavour, liquorice tones. could do with a smoother, more silky and denser micro-foam rather than the frothier cappucino style on the 3 oz, otherwise the froth just fills the cup. as a nice extra they give you the left-over espresso in a spare cup tho.
filter coffee - underwhelming. most places pour over to order these days so not sure why HCR think they can get away with filter coffee that's been sitting around for hours. have been using their beans over past few weeks - really clean flavours of blueberry pie, lime peel, strawberry. but tossed the bag after a few days as it turned to crap for some reason (had it shipped so not the freshest i suppose).
forget camembert, take up tunworth instead
nothing can replace my beloved camembert, but i shall check this out. when i lived in california i used to eat stuff that had been smuggled in, but you had to know the right people to get the good stuff. ;)
Honeymoon in London April 2-4th
if you like alembic i assume you are an offal fan? in which case go to st john bread and wine.
also try brawn - in-house and carefully selected charcuterie, along with small plates, constantly changing menu with big emphasis on seasonal meat, fish and veg.
another place i like is elliott's by borough market - market produce cooked simply but very, very well. also try 40 maltby street in same area - wine bar in converted railway arch - simple british food on the light side, good atmosphere too. in similar vein to these is rochelle canteen - owned by the wife of the guy behind st john i believe? check them out on google images to get a feel for the dishes.
I would not bother with Mexican food in London at all, and Japanese cuisine is better in California. However as limster says some of the fish here can be superior, in particular cornish mackerel or scottish shell-fish. A lot of places with a bit of buzz behind them atm are US-themed or influenced, and again i imagine you can get better at home so why bother in the UK? saying that from someone who lived in southern california In-n-Out isn't all that special!
places like copita, barrafina, jose etc do good tapas - not stodgy or oily as can often be the case - and far better than anything you can get in california.
nice breakfast spots include st ali, caravan and providores - all with an antipodean influence and obviously great coffee (which believe me will be better than nearly anything you can find in LA or SF).
Edinburgh -- Salad??
AWaiting has covered the best two options IMO -
Urban Angel - the one on Forth Street - always has 5 or 6 salad options available that change every day - you can ask for a selection of them on one big plate. great quality, really fresh, nice and light and quite inventive flavour matches. pretty cheap as well, especially if you get a take-out box - can feed 2 people for under £4. they also do delicious smoothies and great cakes that you will see on the counter as you walk in.
then just around the corner is Broughton Street Deli - my favourite - bit more rustic than urban angel perhaps, but some of the salad and veggie options here are delicious. If you like Ottolenghi style salads go here - they basically copy half their stuff. Again the best option is to go for a mixed plate of all the different salads. One thing I would beware here is the pricing - it always ends up costing a fair bit more than the advertised prices, which leaves a sour taste in the mouth. it's quite underhand, imo. however i keep going back for the delicious food. best thing ive had there is there roasted eggplant and pomegranite slathered in yoghurt, and the veggie lasagne.
elsewhere leo's beanery in stockbridge tends to be decent-ish food with salad options.
Cocktails (+ poss. Bistro/brasserie) in London? like Balthazar (NYC) or Eastern Standard (Boston)
some good recommendations already - i'd second Colebrook Row (and the Zetter Townhouse branch for a cosier, more eccentric version), Hix Soho, Nightjar and Hawksmoor, in particular the 7 dials branch which offers good food like lobster rolls that you can eat while primarily enjoying cocktails at the bar.
To add to this i'd recommend Purl and Worship Street Whistling Stop - inventive but revivalist cocktails, a sort of fusion between victorian vintage and modern cutting edge, If you want to pay a bit extra head to the bar at Rules. Not as good as it was but still decent enough if you ask for the classics which tend to be served with a slight twist to the recipe.
Could also try the likes of Spuntino - pretty sure they serve cocktails, but i've not been so don't know about quality.
Chicory coffee
could try some Camp, delicious chicory syrup. not personally used it to make hot chicory coffee but was addicted to iced lattes with this stuff when i was a kid.
Question about Scotch
plenty of Whiskey purveyors in Edinburgh - Royal Mile Whiskies have a good selection, as does the Bon Vivant's Companion on Thistle Street - the staff there will go the extra mile to pick something out for you. if you want to try some for yourself, go to Raconteur bar in Stockbridge - excellent scotch selection including some old and expensive bottles, they will even mix you up a cocktail or two.
What's a cheap cut of meat just now?
i often get pork shoulder - cut up into rough steaks rather than the whole joint - just easier to work with as i use it for pulled pork or carnitas taco filling (drooool). works out at £4.33 per kilo from Tesco atm.
Best supermarket xmas buys
Anyone have opinions on the various mince pies and mulled wines on offer?
Tried the M&S and Tesco pies and really like the latter - can taste the cognac in the mincemeat, and the cherries add a bit of sweetness, very, very rich. unfortunately the pastry is just too sugary. M&S are good, though they only had the one type for sale when i went in last week.
Loose leaf tea
Jing Tea has some great chinese tea, check out their website. based in brixton i think but they don't have a shop as such.
Leaf do some good herbal infusions - linden, olive leaf etc. the quality of their leaves is really good. thisisleaf.co.uk
Tea Palace have a shop in covent garden. used to like their place on westbourne grove but it shut sadly. pretty decent wide selection.
last time i was at fortnum and mason they had a big shelf full of teas behind a counter, lots of choice.
these could be worth checking out: http://www.rareteacompany.com/
as for Postcard - they do a coffee blossom tea that is worth trying.
Craft cocktail bars in the OC
Visited 320 Main Yesterday - very impressed. Hospitality is great - i told one of the guys I was heading up to SF and he recommended me a bunch of great places to visit when up there. Also got nerdy about great spirits and recipes.
Had a Negroni's Loss, sweeter than a typical Negroni and a tad less bitter due to replacing Campari with Gran Classico. Extra citrus oils balanced it out perfectly. My favourite of the afternoon.
Also an oaky Tequila Sazerac with absinthe spray instead of rinse, a wet Martini with Plymouth gin and Dolin vermouth, a sample of their old tom gins (for free!) and a Zaya rum on ice. Only quibble would be too much ice with the rum diluted the flavour too quickly. I also think that rum is sweet enough to mean that sipping it neat brings out the best.
Also sampled my drinking companion's Earl Grey Martinez - so so good, will certainly order that next time. Old Fashioned was just okay, and a couple of the happy hour cocktails were decent, especially considering the $4 pricetag but i don't think i'd order them again.
We also got a plate of spicy chicken tenders with a blue cheese dressing, on the house. really nice, with not too much of a kick, so ideal for pairing up with drinks.
Thanks for the rec Ubergeek and gph2os!
Edinburgh Dining
if you are still looking for a good bar to visit - try out Raconteur in Stockbridge. The owner has just won the UK World Class cocktail competition down in London, they make really excellent drinks.
Tipping
For me it depends what type of bar you are in. an anonymous bar - no. a pub - no. a loud nightclub venue - no. someplace where you are getting personal, attentive service with a lot of effort being put into every drink, such as Purl - yes.
Craft cocktail bars in the OC
i used to live on the same street as Mesa, but never visited. the cocktail menu doesn't look fantastic, though, too many bog standard spirits and over use of juices.
Craft cocktail bars in the OC
that sounds perfectly located, and seems to have a nice vibe and food menu judging from the website.
Craft cocktail bars in the OC
i know about varnish, roger room and others in LA, but i don't know of any craft cocktail bars using high end spirits, house-made bitters, tinctures etc in Orange County. Does such a thing exist? If not, where would be the nearest place in LA? i'll be staying around the north part of Santa Ana over the summer, so the closer to that area the better, or maybe somewhere around Long Beach.
thanksgiving in Edinburgh!
redwood are doing a thanksgiving dinner this year - it's fully booked but you can add your name to the list in case of cancellations.
London Brunch
I think Providores has the best brunch in london and is central on marylebone high street. unfortunately it gets rammed on a sunday and the cramped eating space (well the high chairs anyway) isn't the most comfortable when it gets busy. So i'd recommend caravan for weekends.
Buying Uni (Sea Urchin) and Ikura (Salmon Roe Eggs) in UK?
depends where you are, but my local fishmongers here in Edinburgh, George Armstrong, gets sea urchin in once a week.
Truffle Cheese in Paris
I am currently in Paris and wonder if it is possible to get any kind of Truffle cheese in town? Truffles are out of season, of course, so it will make any kind of truffled cheese harder to find. Elsewhere I find Italian truffle cheeses easier to come by, but I imagine this will be more difficult in france. Anyone know of anywhere which will be guaranteed to stock it atm?
LA Hound Coming to LONDON for 2 Weeks... Critique My List!
good point greedy, i kind of guessed that since the OP had a separate section for cocktails that young chower had perhaps put aside some money for that particular luxury...
I'd also point out that bus travel in London should not be scoffed at, it's a reasonable way to get around, the buses are clean, get to where you want and have much the same passengers as the Tube, save for more unruly kids the further out of the centre you go. It's not really like LA where the bus will have crazy folk, homeless people and a man who smells like/drinks his own urine.
LA Hound Coming to LONDON for 2 Weeks... Critique My List!
Sunday Upmarket is worth a look, if just for the general vibe and people watching opportunities. there's plenty of food stalls, here's a photo thread that sums the market up pretty well and has some good shots of and talk about food - http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1144231
LA Hound Coming to LONDON for 2 Weeks... Critique My List!
I would 2nd Mark's Bar underneath Hix Soho. Skip M&H and go there instead. you have to order bar snacks, like the lovely fish fingers with peas, but they are seriously delicious, fairly cheap and quite 'british'. the cocktail list is incredible and will have plenty of libations you simply wouldn't find in the US, or anywhere else in the UK for that matter. they've really done their homework with one or two drinks harking back to the 17th century even.
Colebrook row is a winner, but i'd also see if you can get reservations at Lounge Bohemia too, ran by a czech guy i think, who makes what you might call deconstructed cocktails - table service which is welcoming, informal and cool (no suits allowed).
not your typical birthday lunch or dinner in Edinburgh
IJ Mellis would be a fine place to go for cheeses, there's a branch in the old town. they also sell iberico ham, shoulder and leg varieties, cut from the bone in the store. though their version is not the very best of its kind, but i think the best youd find in edinburgh. i believe they sell imported polaine bread alongside their cheese selection.
i'd also recommend henri's in morningside, as they sell some excellent terrines, rillettes etc and also have cheese from small french producers that you might not find elsewhere. the french guy who owns the place goes on regular buying trips to france and visits the producers on site. it's a 10-15 min bus ride away, though you could probably walk it too if you fancied to make a trip out of it. there's also an IJ Mellis next to Henri's in morningside, so two birds with one stone.
Iceladic skyr in London
the scandinavian kitchen on great titchfield sells it -
http://scandikitchen.typepad.com/scandikitchen/2010/02/welcome-caroline-and-skyr.html
Ba Shan London Must Try Dishes
does this place have different menus for lunch and dinner, or has the menu simply changed drastically after the original chef left?
I went there for dinner not long ago and the menu didn't offer too many 'small dishes' such as dumplings or buns, but mainly huge pots of szechuan food. looks like a completely different place to the blog reviews of 2009.
Salted caramels [London]
Paul A Young, Melt and L'Artisan definitely use salt caramel. i can't verify the others as i haven't tried them. L'artisan were the first to create these bonbons in London iirc, though theirs are a lot smaller than the others and i think the guy even started making them for M&S. Melt's are of a very generous size and come in a thin ball of chocolate that has been dusted with cocoa powder, and are my favourite. paul a young's are encased in a thicker layer of chocolate which, for me, detracts from the caramel a bit. his caramel has more of a slightly burnt or rich taste to it than melt's, which is a bit sweeter.
Calling London Sushi Buffs
Thanks for the suggestion, traveller. I looked it up on your blog and i'll keep it in mind for next time.
I ended up going to Saki - which was decent. Was bit disappointed on learning that there was no extra fish on that day. that is one thing London needs to improve on. in, say, LA, the sushi places will have a dozen or so specials for sashimi each day, depending on what is fresh and good that time of year - maybe better air trade with tokyo fish market is needed?
Anyway, the quality of the toro was very, very high, and i was also very impressed by the scallop nigiri. The Uni was really delicious, but in a ridiculously small portion. One burst of flavour and it was over. The mackerel nigiri was poor, i felt, as though it had been marinated in vinegar too long. i find only the best sushi places serve good mackerel due to the preparation involved to stop it spoiling, and saki fell short here. I can't remember everything else we ordered, though i recall some cucumber and soy concoction with was pretty bland, and a decent carpaccio in yuzu. Overall, it did some things very well, but you get tiny bits of fish when ordering sushi (tho the otoro sashimi was pleasingly generous), and a couple of dishes disappointed. I did love the ambience and the room though, very cool place.
