tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52576150607819468562024-02-07T09:33:55.479+00:007 thumbs upMe + Food, the unholy alliance.steampiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564136252930578515noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257615060781946856.post-53655872996137360052012-05-25T12:40:00.002+01:002012-05-25T12:40:10.456+01:00Sloppy Joe Burger, Wenlock & Essex<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A word of advice: don't get the burger at Wenlock & Essex. This is not to say that it isn't good - in fact, as you'll soon read, it's much better than good - but there are many other great options on the menu. The burger is by far their best seller though, much to the disappointment of the lovely pork fillets, the fish and chips, and the wild salmon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But then I'm not part of the solution; rather, I'm part of the problem. Just another lemming with tunnel vision for the burger. But then, this isn't an ordinary burger, or even a slightly different burger. This is its own beast, and a marvelous one at that.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/#/headchefwenlock" target="_blank">James Morgan</a>, the head chef at Wenlock & Essex, is most definitely a driven young man, and like many of us, he has a special enthusiasm for burgers. His creations skew more towards the Hawksmoor/Ad Cod end of the spectrum as opposed to the MEATenterprise or Lucky Chip. I headed up to the W&E for a weekday lunch with a couple of coworkers in order to sample his latest creation, the Sloppy Joe Burger.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back in the old country, I grew up eating many a <a href="http://www.manwich.com/" target="_blank">sloppy joe</a>, and whilst tasty (to my 12-year old palate), they weren't exactly fine dining. I was prepared to have my perceptions shifted slightly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First hurdle cleared easily; this burger looked fantastic. In terms of components, working our way down, the burger consisted of: thinly sliced gherkins and tomatoes, the latter covered in thyme and other spices and slow roasted; Montgomery cheddar; a thick layer of sloppy joe; the burger itself; shredded lettuce; and finally some burger sauce consisting of mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise. This glorious combination was coddled in a delicious, squashy egg-glazed bap from Rinkoff's Bakery which proved a worthy opponent to the subsequent onslaught of juices.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I truly loved this burger. To make the sloppy joe,<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">pork and fore rib (I believe) had been simmered in tomatoes, stock and other assorted ingredients for over 9 hours.</span>The sloppy joe was reminiscent of a Texas-style chili (no beans) minus the heat, and I could've eaten a pile of that thick, rich concoction on its own. The gherkins did a fine job of providing just a touch of acidity to cut through some of the heaviness, with the lettuce playing the part of a firmer-textured component. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every bite yielded a traverse through the flavours, but as with every good burger, the end taste was always beef -- perfectly cooked, aggressively juicy, delicious beef. Silence reigned for a good 5 minutes punctuated by small outbursts of inarticulate pleasure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Skin-on, hand cut chips were lovely - and plentiful - in their own right, but they were overshadowed by their beefy friend (and rightly so). Of course I finished them, eschewing the ketchup for the cup of burger sauce on the plate. Did I mention that this dish only costs £10? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love what's happening in London at the moment - burger obsessives, street food mania, American food(!), all of it. I realise we've reached the point where some people feel that these things have become overexposed, and to them it's become fashionable to rail against those who queue, dream nonstop about burgers or serve cocktails in slightly eccentric glassware. There are no shortage of articles complaining about the latest food trends. And that's a bit sad isn't it? But then I suppose some people just love a good moan. Anyhow, digression aside, here is a chef who really</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> loves what he does and works virtually nonstop trying out new things that are innovative without being outlandish.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It doesn't seem like he does things just for the sake of being different - the focus is always on the most important element, the taste.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And with the sloppy joe burger, I believe he has accomplished his goal in spades.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now when's the next creation coming? </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Wenlock & Essex</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">18-26 Essex Road</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Islingon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">N1 8LN (<a href="http://bit.ly/KZgYFp" target="_blank">map</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.wenlockandessex.com/">http://www.wenlockandessex.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mon - Wed: 12:00 pm - 11:30 pm</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thu: 12:00 pm - 12:00 am</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fri - Sat: 12:00 pm - 2:00 am</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sun: 12:00 pm - 11:30 pm</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>steampiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564136252930578515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257615060781946856.post-84344382373535070602012-03-12T13:29:00.000+00:002012-03-12T20:29:50.840+00:00#BlogEATblog at Vibe Bar with Big Apple Hot Dogs<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you've undoubtedly heard all about London's famous <a href="http://www.bigapplehotdogs.com/" target="_blank">Big Apple Hot Dogs</a> and their equally famous purveyor Abiye Cole, I'll keep the intro short. Abiye has been selling a variety of naturally-encased torpedos of meaty bliss for a little over a year and a half now, and he has gained a well-deserved substantial following. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To accompany his new Sunday pitch at the Vibe Bar on Brick Lane, he came up with an idea: invite food-obsessives of all backgrounds to make a topping for these ethereal dogs. Thus <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/blogeatblog" target="_blank">#blogEATblog</a> was born. I was fortunate enough to grab a slot on Sunday, March 11 alongside Rosie (<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/_RosieT" target="_blank">@_RosieT</a>), Chris (<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/chrisgreen" target="_blank">@chrisgreen</a>) and Paul (<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/paullomax" target="_blank">@PaulLomax</a>).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Based on the reports of the previous weekend's 1-2 punch of cold and wet, we were incredibly fortunate to have the polar opposite in terms of weather, with temperatures hovering above 15 and the late winter sun shining brightly, unencumbered by any typical thick grey cloud. We brushed away the cobwebs with a beer or two whilst the hot dog cooking began in earnest. By 1pm, it was time to sample and serve.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pictured below are the four entries (clockwise from top left): My bourbon-bacon marmalade with crispy fried leeks, Rosie's chilli & cheese, Chris's which he artfully tweeted as a "relish of onions, red & green chillis, gherkins, damson sauce & 10yr old Ardbeg scotch" topped with crispy bacon</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> bits and Paul's poutine (cheese curds, gravy and crushed crackers). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The chilli was made with minced beef and had a sweetish edge to it that the salty cheese balanced out very well. The damson relish was also quite sweet with a nice hint of acidity from the gherkins, and yet again it had a perfect counterbalance in the form of Jebus's</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> greatest creation, bacon. And finally, Paul had declared that his untested poutine would either be "really fucking good or really fucking bad." Ladies and gents, it fell firmly in the former category. <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>[Edited: Thanks to Paul for pointing out my idiotic error!]</i></span> The cheese curds had a flavour reminiscent of mozzarella, with a firm consistency and a lovely salty finish. Add some gravy and crunchy cracker bits, and you've got yourself a damn fine topping that worked very well with the Big Frank I tasted it on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So yes, in all honesty, I really enjoyed them all. Including mine, if I do humbly say so myself. I had done a small test batch a couple of weeks ago and managed to test a little in situ at the Old Street stand; so I knew that it wasn't too rotten a combo. The leeks were a last-minute addition for a bit of texture, but damn if they weren't a touch moreish on their own. I thought if even one person enjoyed it, then I'd consider it a success....and I think there were in fact two.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I managed to pull myself away about 6 hours later, having enjoyed an absolutely fantastic afternoon. So many thanks go to Abiye for thinking it up and organising the whole thing, and to my fellow contestants as well as everyone who came down for a dog, a drink and a bit of discourse. I can highly recommend it as an ideal Sunday afternoon, although any time you are able to get one of those dogs you should seize the opportunity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bourbon-bacon marmalade</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>(I made 4x this recipe, and it was a massive amount - probably 2.5 litres worth).</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Ingredients:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 lb smoked streaky bacon, chopped into 3/4" pieces</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 medium onion, chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 garlic cloves, chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">¼ cup bourbon (I'm partial to Jack, but if you can go higher end then by all means)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">¼ cup pure maple syrup</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">¼ cup cider vinegar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 tablespoons dark brown sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup brewed coffee</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">fresh ground black pepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Fry the bacon in small batches until it's crisp (don't overdo it). Drain the pieces on a plate or tray lined with paper towel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Using the same pan/pot, fry the onion and garlic in the rendered bacon fat over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to low, keeping it at a steady gentle simmer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Continue to simmer for 2-2½</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> hours, giving it a good stir every 20 minutes or so. If it starts to dry out too much, add a splash of water. If it's too wet, simmer it a bit longer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Let it sit off of the heat for a little while, and then transfer the contents to a food processor with the standard blade fitted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. Give it a few short pulses to standardise the consistency, but don't overdo it - this should be a bit chunky, not smooth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8. Add some hot sauce (I used a touch of <a href="http://www.theribman.co.uk/menu.php" target="_blank">The Ribman's HF</a>) and lots of black pepper. Taste. Taste again. Taste a 3rd time on a dog with the leeks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Crispy Fried Leeks</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ingredients:</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Leeks - use the white and pale green parts only</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">plain flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">pepper </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prep:</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Cut the leeks into 2-inch sections, then halve them lengthwise. Cut the sections into thin strips.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Put the strips in a colander and rinse them well under hot water (this takes a bit of the harshness of the flavour away).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Dry them well, either with paper towels or in a salad spinner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Add the spices to the flour, mix it up with a fork and toss the leeks in the mixture. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Shake off any excess flour and deep (or shallow) fry the leeks in 180°C vegetable oil for about 3-4 minutes until they reach a deep brown colour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Remove them from the oil to a plate/tray lined with paper towels, season well with salt, and then commence stuffing them uncontrollably into your mouth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Big Apple Hot Dogs</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">239 Old Street</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">London EC1V 9EY (<a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=EC1V+9EY&hl=en&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=16.764146,39.199219&hnear=London+EC1V+9EY,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=16" target="_blank">map</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bigapplehotdogs.com/">http://www.bigapplehotdogs.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">T: 07989 387 441</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tues - Fri: 12-6pm</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sun @ Vibe Bar: 12ish onwards</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">91 Brick Lane</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">London E1 6QL </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(</span><a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=vibe+bar&hl=en&ll=51.521575,-0.07184&spn=0.008598,0.01914&safe=off&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=vibe+bar&hnear=0x47d8a00baf21de75:0x52963a5addd52a99,London&cid=0,0,825190448257645827&t=m&z=16&iwloc=A" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">map</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">T: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; white-space: nowrap;">020 7247 3479</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; white-space: nowrap;">Also usually 1 day/week at <a href="http://eat.st/kings-cross/" target="_blank">Eat St., King's Cross</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>edit: added a better description of Chris's relish from his own words instead of my inadequate ones.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>steampiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564136252930578515noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257615060781946856.post-66617823125390701712012-02-17T12:55:00.001+00:002012-02-17T12:55:04.640+00:00The Crooked Well, Camberwell<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can certainly see the allure of being a proper food critic (i.e., stringing proper sentences together, getting paid to do this, free meals), but sometimes it appears as though some of that ilk decide to nitpick just for the sake of being contrary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Example: when I think of comfort food, I imagine the more butter-enabled, fat-laden, <i>meatful</i> end of the spectrum. So when John Walsh wrote his <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/reviews/the-crooked-well-16-grove-lane-london-se5-6294293.html" target="_blank">review</a> of the <a href="http://thecrookedwell.com/" target="_blank">Crooked Well</a> in Camberwell, I was a bit confused. He went in "...looking for comfort, and, more to the point, comfort food." He then proceeded to turn his nose up at nearly all of the mains, proclaiming the steak or venison with red cabbage and white pudding as being "too rich." And really, isn't duck with chorizo quite a common dish, despite his reservations about the seemingly exotic-sounding combination? Ok, enough about that (although judging by the article's comments, I wasn't alone in finding it all a bit churlish).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I made my second trip to the Crooked Well last month with a friend visiting from San Francisco. He's over quite frequently on business, and as we weren't venturing into the heart of the City, I thought this a perfect alternative to our usual haunt, the <a href="http://thepalmerston.net/" target="_blank">Palmerston</a>. It was a Sunday night, and when we arrived at 7.30, the place was nearly empty, as opposed to the heaving atmosphere when we departed a bit after 10.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I found it to be quite warm and inviting: muted lighting with the obligatory candles on tables, lots of wood furniture slightly distressed but still attractive and comfortable. Being that I didn't note them down, I'm sorry to say I can't recall my companion's cocktails, although I had a couple of stellar whiskey sours. The staff are very relaxed and friendly, but make no mistake: it is a tightly run ship indeed. Service throughout was attentive, knowledgeable and unobtrusive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not long after we had sat down, a jazz band struck up in the far corner of the room. They were quite talented to be fair, but they started out far too loud. Conversation was not an option, and it didn't set the tone for the evening very well. However, we had a word with the staff who informed us that they'd already mentioned it to the band. Things got a bit better, although it still was a bit loud for 8pm on a Sunday night (probably just I showing my advanced years).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The menu reads as a fairly standard British-gastro-with-French-roots offering, but each of the dishes has its own character and unique touches. I opted for the Warm pigs head terrine whilst companion guy had the Crisp salt & pepper baby squid. The terrine's soft breaded exterior surrounded large, fleshy chunks of slowly cooked pork. Caramelised apple offered the perfect sweet and slightly acidic complement to the meat. And perfectly cooked scratchings....as my teacher at culinary school would say, "What's not to like?" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A crisp, delicate and perfectly seasoned batter ensconced lovely soft pieces of squid, all within a large salad of rocket, baby spinach, walnuts and some other bits. Good start indeed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mains followed in pretty much the same vein. A large disc of braised venison was wrapped in cabbage and placed atop a similarly generous blini. Small pieces of parsnip, carrot and swede were dotted around the edges with a venison jus. The meat had been braised all right - my knife never got near it. So tender, delicate; it was truly fantastic. The jus had been reduced to the point where it eventually started to solidify on the plate, and it was smooth, rich and generously portioned. The blini acted as a sponge for all of the juices although it was a bit burnt on the bottom. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I only had a small taste of the Calf liver, as the guy across the table wolfed it down - crisp exterior, soft melting liver-y insides<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>, excellent flavour and texture of the ham....you get the picture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sides of Pommes frites and Seasonal greens - in this case, kale cooked simply with some olive oil and salt - were summarily inhaled in the most delicate manner possible. I can normally identify straight away whether chips are fresh or frozen, although these had me on the fence. But If they're well cooked, hot and taste fresh, them I'm generally satisfied. These ticked the boxes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had a bottle of Tabali 2010 Pinot Noir which was young but complex with soft tannins and a buttery feel to it. Markup was probably just nudging above the top end of what's standard (£27.50 as opposed to £10.50 in the shop).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had just about enough room for the Rhubarb mousse; it was smooth and not too sweet, allowing the fruit flavour to take centre stage. It was topped with a thin disc of rhubarb jelly, a curly rhubarb tuile and a mini chocolate log. A biscuit base held up the ensemble, strongly reminiscent of that on a cheesecake. It provided the majority of the sweetness, along with a crunchy texture to offset the smoothness atop it all. Broken record here - it was delicious. The cinnamon ice cream on the other side of the table was refreshing and - here's a surprise - tasted overwhelmingly of cinnamon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And back to the paid food critics: I would probably eat a couple of meals at a mediocre place in order to give it a proper - as objective as possible - review. But as the above prose more than details, I sadly am not. So it should come as no surprise that I've returned to a place I absolutely love. Many in the food writing / blogging / tweeting world cringe at the term "gastropub," feeling it to be in turns pretentious, asinine, nonsensical, and so on. But if it has a more benign definition, encompassing a pub that aims to provide truly special food not traditionally found on a pub menu, then the Crooked Well hits the mark. Quite spectacularly as well I might add.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Crooked Well</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">16 Grove Lane</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Camberwell</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SE5 8SY (<a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=16+grove+lane,+se5+8sy&hl=en&sll=51.473398,-0.090425&sspn=0.008607,0.021844&hnear=16+Grove+Ln,+London+SE5+8SY,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=16" target="_blank">map</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://thecrookedwell.com/">http://thecrookedwell.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Phone: 020 7252 7798</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mon: 17:00—00:00</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tues-Thurs: 12:00—00:00</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fri-Sat: 12:00—01:00</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sun: 12:00—23:00</span></div>
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<br />steampiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564136252930578515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257615060781946856.post-23245627471341588362012-01-31T13:38:00.001+00:002012-01-31T13:38:42.368+00:00Burger Monday w/ Ben Spalding, Andrew's Café<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The man can cook. It's safe to say that when the Mrs. and I went to <a href="http://roganic.co.uk/Roganic/Welcome.html" target="_blank">Roganic</a> over 8 months ago, we were suitably blown away by nearly all of the dishes placed in front of us. Ben Spalding's cooking most definitely belies his years, incorporating a multitude of ingredients, many of them unknown to me, in his dishes. However, despite the exotic sounding plant names and dizzying stylish presentation, he always seems to put flavour first. My kind of guy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So when the email announcing him manning the helm for a <a href="http://youngandfoodish.com/events/" target="_blank">Burger Monday</a> hit my inbox, I didn't hesitate in booking a couple of spots. And as many of you know, Burger Monday tickets don't last long (understatement); I'm sure Daniel can give the exact figure, but I'd be shocked if they lasted 10 minutes. And we were well up for this one.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjekuL8yovhuVe5bPzlrFYr5_rUCnlq0DAT9NNhH_7DcBq3W05LWZwXdbD52FCbn9lMzLvpPI3RRsfUfn_Ay-6ZzCTceoIYQmM-jyZSUgB668-blVDFmKP5fLhaY7927hM5Ju9A0EhJlWc/s1600/IMG_0582.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjekuL8yovhuVe5bPzlrFYr5_rUCnlq0DAT9NNhH_7DcBq3W05LWZwXdbD52FCbn9lMzLvpPI3RRsfUfn_Ay-6ZzCTceoIYQmM-jyZSUgB668-blVDFmKP5fLhaY7927hM5Ju9A0EhJlWc/s400/IMG_0582.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love Andrew's café - it's around the corner from my office and the go-to spot for a proper Bacon sandwich -- white bread, lots of butter, fatty bacon and brown sauce. Might just pop out in a minute. Anyhow, as usual, Andrew's is always a bright, warm, buzzy refuge during Daniel's events, and this night was no different. I really enjoy the group seatings as we've met some lovely people, and the two sisters we broke bread with last night were great company indeed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not long after we sat down, we were presented with what the menu called "Nibbles." These turned out to be Pig skin; Veal breast; and Salt beef, horseradish mayonnaise & sourdough. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I gobbled the pig skin far too quickly to take a photo, but I think the table was unanimous in agreement that we could've eaten a meal of just that. Imagine the lightest pork flavoured prawn cracker with a touch of salt that literally melts in your mouth, and you're there. <i>Aside: among my litany of grammar grumbles, near the top of my list is a hatred for the misuse of "literally;" so, yes, I mean it when I say it.</i> Ben was not permitted to have his entire FOH staff, but he was allowed one gentleman who informed us that the skin was simply dried for 16 hours or so and then quickly deep fried in olive oil. I am going to try this at home. Oh yes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The almost gamey salt beef was perfectly complemented by some smoked horseradish, with the crisp sourdough adding more texture than flavour. Again, a success.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWinpkxrunY6ThoZ2mxggWe6pU1T4tsO4J70JpidZGbXfMjhRoybJ9qNEb0mvlxZyxDRi528pO5j6z4dZ7MiG_F6x1kD-Vaw6BVOhq5klsuT-hjA1HTKnnkvgDj1oQyROwCI5mau2dpZM/s1600/IMG_0586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWinpkxrunY6ThoZ2mxggWe6pU1T4tsO4J70JpidZGbXfMjhRoybJ9qNEb0mvlxZyxDRi528pO5j6z4dZ7MiG_F6x1kD-Vaw6BVOhq5klsuT-hjA1HTKnnkvgDj1oQyROwCI5mau2dpZM/s400/IMG_0586.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The veal breast was breaded and deep fried and then topped with pickled shallots and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matricaria_discoidea" target="_blank">mayweed</a> (no, I'd never heard of it either). The flavour of the meat was lovely and deep, although it was a bit dry. I loved the acidity of the shallots and the crunch of the breading (although who doesn't?), and the mayweed was attractive if not overwhelmingly flavourful.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhncv0bjH1eY_PtZgyLrmGNghKV-yYsAfTBAk3KEv6CV8WOgSLDfkiJCIYc0_SmTyQhDh557a02YAHe3WDG67sNtOZzYdRVFZVAfU0am-Fp5vwoi2F7nICrqal2suviSq6NBTpEZ3o1ppo/s1600/IMG_0590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhncv0bjH1eY_PtZgyLrmGNghKV-yYsAfTBAk3KEv6CV8WOgSLDfkiJCIYc0_SmTyQhDh557a02YAHe3WDG67sNtOZzYdRVFZVAfU0am-Fp5vwoi2F7nICrqal2suviSq6NBTpEZ3o1ppo/s400/IMG_0590.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Appetites sufficiently whetted, it was on to the proper first course, "Soup & burnt toast." Ben was kind enough to provide a detailed list of ingredients for each course at the end of the meal, hence my actual descriptions of what we ate. This course was a cauliflower soup with pickled cauliflower, roasted cauliflower cream, pearl barley and chervil. The burnt toast was squid toast -- presumably, squid ink had been mixed in during the dough formulation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Picture Homer Simpson on a mountain of donuts, and you'll see my face whilst eating this. Before last night, I certainly would never have said, "I could live on this pickled cauliflower," but what a difference a dish makes. The bread was crumbly and crisp, more suited to dropping in the soup than mopping up bits, but it worked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By this time I was very eagerly awaiting what the menu described quite thoroughly as "Burger & Chips." We had caught a glance of some at the adjoining tables; so we knew what to expect in terms of presentation:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPK541GG5FSuhOR8Lu9XWD-iBs2oNWLfim_yksFzojZLfkzkF9wbywaM3uhrNZkB9JTl0MLzPdlI-BbU-vpbxX-doYxREgjfTPKp1zPz-gpxywu5lizb3I6sBn9hLaHobVrOeNompmo0M/s1600/IMG_0598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPK541GG5FSuhOR8Lu9XWD-iBs2oNWLfim_yksFzojZLfkzkF9wbywaM3uhrNZkB9JTl0MLzPdlI-BbU-vpbxX-doYxREgjfTPKp1zPz-gpxywu5lizb3I6sBn9hLaHobVrOeNompmo0M/s400/IMG_0598.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quite humorous. I loved the fact that he rigged the burger boxes with a rubber band to give them a spring-loaded effect when opened. All of the chips bags had messages scrawled on them....well, all but mine. I said that I wasn't hurt, but perhaps I just buried my feelings.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5l6MMZXKrYr5OwdgOjkjmDlGxn0kEzz6ExXdr1VwLmRBYg9udS_sPqkb8lgrBewbzaeMqTEjZoHlpxH6jxogu2ByxVfiIhzOZ2gzcLKNXOyUq6n06H5GVO0RYj8YnNYl9HH9SRTSjRA/s1600/IMG_0599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5l6MMZXKrYr5OwdgOjkjmDlGxn0kEzz6ExXdr1VwLmRBYg9udS_sPqkb8lgrBewbzaeMqTEjZoHlpxH6jxogu2ByxVfiIhzOZ2gzcLKNXOyUq6n06H5GVO0RYj8YnNYl9HH9SRTSjRA/s400/IMG_0599.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The chips themselves were hot, crisp, fluffy and well-seasoned, but if I'm being honest, I did feel that at £41 a pop, getting only 7 chips was a bit mean.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganm7wmwhusywkuRIh8UizbnCXVwqiS-5wRfBzAqWo1nay2rKg5A_gpXApGGplW0lJxcM7Am98K9NGz4zkcGnc7hXY187HA9kPVJ6lMlfHtNN-AhL_MzWTxqYdXDelO2YkqFW7A-1hMq4/s1600/IMG_0601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganm7wmwhusywkuRIh8UizbnCXVwqiS-5wRfBzAqWo1nay2rKg5A_gpXApGGplW0lJxcM7Am98K9NGz4zkcGnc7hXY187HA9kPVJ6lMlfHtNN-AhL_MzWTxqYdXDelO2YkqFW7A-1hMq4/s400/IMG_0601.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On to the main event: the final menu described the burger's elements as chuck steak & 45 day aged rib fat burger, iceberg lettuce, onion jam, cucumber pickle, mild cheddar and a granary seed bun. The patty, replete with well-melted cheese, sat atop the other ingredients. The thin slice of pickle was very tasty and quite reminiscent of a typical USA deli pickle style. I usually enjoy the crunch of iceberg on a burger, and this was no different. The onion jam was sweet, perhaps a bit too much so, but they had a bit of firmness to them which was good.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7C4L0IBryJFmcS1RJesjMcudXUXgF8_B3AQfJqqkUjKBD4DcHtyTZkIRCMVP5zQjCsOdaM8fi3i5DzwLTE0jRtFBZAfHjcZGTZrY69cmfIWUmgh4SEhstiHYJZZfSlKgv9I9iBFt_r0U/s1600/IMG_0600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7C4L0IBryJFmcS1RJesjMcudXUXgF8_B3AQfJqqkUjKBD4DcHtyTZkIRCMVP5zQjCsOdaM8fi3i5DzwLTE0jRtFBZAfHjcZGTZrY69cmfIWUmgh4SEhstiHYJZZfSlKgv9I9iBFt_r0U/s400/IMG_0600.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bun: we were told that it was air dried to hold up to the juice of the burger, but I didn't enjoy it at all. I'm sure some of it is a personal bias, as I'm generally not fond of buns encrusted with a variety of seeds. I like sesame seeds on a burger bun, or poppy seeds on a deli kaiser roll, but when they're tossed together with sunflower seeds thrown in, I'm not usually thrilled. And to me, it was far too firm. I feel that burger buns should be soft and yielding but able to stand up to any juice onslaught.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps I was also less than impressed with the bready wrapper due to the fact that it didn't have many juices to stand up to. My burger was overcooked. It didn't have the pinkish interior of those in my fellow diners' clutches, and the overall package suffered sorely as a result. The flavour of the meat itself was deep and pleasant, but my enthusiasm was sorely dampened by the lack of juices. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsBr4Agb8YT-JvJidcxMlzmf-tn-U_CGob87NElqXfK_UK6TmjmYinr7Dplk27fHhUwA50CshyDDRfNi7ul11ABiWD8a9U5WVzgQI2MlrsGXW8ilkhdN5DhqvK0uoZyjURrD2fUnR6VY/s1600/IMG_0604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsBr4Agb8YT-JvJidcxMlzmf-tn-U_CGob87NElqXfK_UK6TmjmYinr7Dplk27fHhUwA50CshyDDRfNi7ul11ABiWD8a9U5WVzgQI2MlrsGXW8ilkhdN5DhqvK0uoZyjURrD2fUnR6VY/s400/IMG_0604.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The dessert had yet another dizzying array of ingredients: salted caramel; mint & lemon granita; toasted hazelnuts; white chocolate rocks; iced milk mousse; lingon berries; cloudberries; coffee tequila, amaretto & maple syrup soaked sponge; classic wafers and half baked cookies. With that many elements you'd never be able to taste each one completely distinctly, but it also meant that each bite offered up a different flavour. With the exception of the slightly-too-powerful mint in the granita, I thought it was fantastic: a wide variety of textures, lots of memory-triggering flavours, and not too thick or cloying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So was it a success? I left mostly satisfied, as I'd had some very tasty dishes and bites, but I couldn't help feeling let down by the main event. I know that it's tough to sling a whole mess of burgers simultaneously and get them all right, but I was pretty disappointed with the burger itself. That said, I can't wait to have a bit saved up for a return trip to Roganic.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Andrews Café</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">160 Gray's Inn Road</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">WC1X 8ED (<a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=wc1x+8ed&hl=en&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=16.764146,38.759766&vpsrc=0&hnear=London+WC1X+8ED,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=16" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">map</a>)<br /><a href="http://youngandfoodish.com/events/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">http://youngandfoodish.com/events/</a></span></div>steampiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564136252930578515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257615060781946856.post-13652243512762105492012-01-18T18:09:00.005+00:002012-01-19T10:40:44.698+00:00Grab Burger, the Diner Soho<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When it comes to food, I think that I can be easily satisfied but not easily impressed. I'm not averse to trying, well, just about anything; as long as it lives up to expectations, then I'm happy. Pizza almost always falls into this category - I've been experimenting with different dough formulations for quite a number of years now, but even so, I love a dirty street slice at the proper time. There's only one place near Leicester Square (shock) where I couldn't actually finish my slice, and this was post-many-a-tipple. Shame on them, putting melted plastic on top of a sponge -- that's what it tasted like.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can you digress before even starting? Well it appears as though I have. I was very lucky to be invited, along with other much more established burger enthusiasts, bloggers, etc. to sample a new limited run burger from <a href="http://www.goodlifediner.com/" target="_blank">The Diner</a>, the grab burger. In the invite, the burger was described as:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 x 3oz USDA short rib patties heartily seasoned and cooked medium rare</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each topped with a melted slice of US cheese</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Served in a Harvey Rinkoff “big slider” bun http://www.rinkoffbakery.co.uk/</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With shredded lettuce, dill pickles and USA sauce</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Presented in your grab bag with fries and topper</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A no frills celebration of the good old American cheeseburger</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sounds good to me. We tasters were ushered to a cluster of booths in the corner, and a bourbon sour was promptly placed in front of me. Now, there is a fast lane to my heart (and liver), and it is via aged-in-charred-oak-barrels-American-corn-whiskey. The night was already a success. Not long after that, the very attentive staff started bringing out fistfuls of grab bags.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxuANbHndDYPjFfseIHs3omVp50EVt_Kkwb_dPyBQXthgKwpsrKo-uHax0ziq2-EDj4kS8ahN4iddjVRBo54oCi7WFO9LmXVYEPqrvbMG96IOUTItQMFM6qR9qQDyHOHS-xusEY-qBB7g/s1600/bag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxuANbHndDYPjFfseIHs3omVp50EVt_Kkwb_dPyBQXthgKwpsrKo-uHax0ziq2-EDj4kS8ahN4iddjVRBo54oCi7WFO9LmXVYEPqrvbMG96IOUTItQMFM6qR9qQDyHOHS-xusEY-qBB7g/s400/bag.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inside was a massive cup of chips sitting alongside the main event. First impressions were good: I saw meat and lots of oozing cheese. So how did it taste?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmvNFRftibjYTvVtbP2c3ChsyOHok4rd7owQsY4T934osKqmlhOaqlwC2SGw8RXvCMetf9-b8Nqyv8WXn19UelW1dKiSl5P1tOue9JwEzrNMN7-Z7N6zoo1nhkV4-kQ4_DzUfs9Woh5AE/s1600/spread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmvNFRftibjYTvVtbP2c3ChsyOHok4rd7owQsY4T934osKqmlhOaqlwC2SGw8RXvCMetf9-b8Nqyv8WXn19UelW1dKiSl5P1tOue9JwEzrNMN7-Z7N6zoo1nhkV4-kQ4_DzUfs9Woh5AE/s400/spread.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, I was definitely satisfied. Not blown out of the water, and there were obvious bits that could've been improved straight away, but it wasn't bad. Immediate negative impressions: patties weren't heartily seasoned enough for my taste, resulting in no real crust on the meat, and they had hurtled passed medium rare a while ago. As a result, there was a decided lack of juice to the patties, and I imagine that some of the short rib flavour was left on the flattop as well.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIBgms-iRylMlsbiyhmNVHpnuLbwwQJ6jP3-5sayr9_RSGXXP1oVNUh5cQORIEHMxUkL6vqu_GhLKVn8cV4dmre3sk_Ur1nfgd59gHw-3ryywlL1BbAmK3pPwY6PBe7dmTNfJjmaS35Y/s1600/burger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIBgms-iRylMlsbiyhmNVHpnuLbwwQJ6jP3-5sayr9_RSGXXP1oVNUh5cQORIEHMxUkL6vqu_GhLKVn8cV4dmre3sk_Ur1nfgd59gHw-3ryywlL1BbAmK3pPwY6PBe7dmTNfJjmaS35Y/s400/burger.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That said, I thought that the cut of beef still retained a good amount of meaty flavour, and the cheese, lettuce, pickles and sauce complemented each other quite well. There was a good bit of sauciness from the ketchup and sauce, which was a clear Thousand Island derivative. The bun was soft, yielded easily to my mastication efforts and had a light, open crumb. It remains to be seen how it would stand up to a seriously juicy burger, but it fit the bill here very well indeed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I lived in California for over 8 years, and as such was fortunate enough to eat a Mini Cooper's worth of In-N-Out (both in weight and cost, I imagine). And this burger definitely was reminiscent of that -- not the same, and it certainly didn't reach that level, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Fries were crisp and plentiful - again, not mind-blowing, but I'm much more easily satisfied by most types of hot potato sides.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so I had a few more drinks (also on the house!), chatted with the burger crème de la crème, and made my way home. Great bourbon, great company, and a tasty burger. That's me happy. They're on the menu from 31/1 for 10 days; so a very limited run indeed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Diner</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5 Locations</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodlifediner.com/">http://www.goodlifediner.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grab burger available from 31/01 - 09/02</span></div>
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<br /></div>steampiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564136252930578515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257615060781946856.post-29224799686503983472011-12-22T14:38:00.001+00:002011-12-22T14:57:42.889+00:00Mother Flipper, Brockley Market<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I haven't been to Borough Market on a Saturday (or Friday for that matter) for ages. It's a shame, really, as there are some fantastic foods on offer. But with two mini-me's it's just a nightmare to navigate - mostly attempting to push by weekend photographers with horribly loud American accents, me all the while saying to myself, "Do I sound like that too? No, please say I don't." </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I've retreated to other markets on the weekends; the vendors at <a href="http://www.maltbystreet.com/" target="_blank">Maltby Street</a> are absolutely amazing, the queue at the Monmouth there takes but a few minutes, and there are St. John doughnuts. If you have never had one, then you don't know how life-changing they can be. The custard is almost a slightly thickened crème anglaise, and it's heaven (I'm drooling Homer-style as I type this).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back to the burger trail: I have also recently discovered <a href="http://www.brockleymarket.com/" target="_blank">Brockley Market</a>, another great market near me. It's not massive by any means, but the selection is top-notch, and even all of the posh produce is very reasonably priced. And this past Saturday, 17/12, saw the debut of London's newest street burger purveyor, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MotherFlipper" target="_blank">Mother Flipper Burgers</a>. Naturally, I was there.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first thing that I saw as I approached the stall was unsurprisingly the menu, and it appeared to tick most of my burger boxes - decent sounding beef which has been "course"ly [sic] minced, light brioche bun, and the obligatory clever burger names. What is it with burger joints and odd names for the sandwiches? Not a complaint, just a query.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLDdvHUiF9fo_5C-fadVDffVIEVbYj406HbS6R2Wb0z0w8QxZ8jbYKzWbru__31MAom4F3oERvBAu05XfjXX3bIbnIKwpuVOUB5WXjlLmG7skuqGPaFAjf0e-cs_B4URd4t5bKf88XVU/s1600/IMG_0183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLDdvHUiF9fo_5C-fadVDffVIEVbYj406HbS6R2Wb0z0w8QxZ8jbYKzWbru__31MAom4F3oERvBAu05XfjXX3bIbnIKwpuVOUB5WXjlLmG7skuqGPaFAjf0e-cs_B4URd4t5bKf88XVU/s400/IMG_0183.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The buns were out on display, and I must admit that they looked quite shiny and lovely; I'm often wary of brioche buns, as I fear that they might be too sweet, but let's just wait and see. The presence of multiple cloches to melt the cheese also warmed the burger-shaped cockles of my heart.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdGIfK2S0vPzI2_BHpPDPVmiFikOA0617qpeunDxhpYL3QvndrNP2DpQ8s5iiY6wP_4Ti25KWhyhMcOZcR_oiv0torg4iEA_LYFhUHmp4DpBz4lkr96gyZWn0hJWGYcK-YLfAsRX1qfU/s1600/IMG_0184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdGIfK2S0vPzI2_BHpPDPVmiFikOA0617qpeunDxhpYL3QvndrNP2DpQ8s5iiY6wP_4Ti25KWhyhMcOZcR_oiv0torg4iEA_LYFhUHmp4DpBz4lkr96gyZWn0hJWGYcK-YLfAsRX1qfU/s400/IMG_0184.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The gentleman behind the counter did tell me that the chuck contained somewhere around the industry-standard 20% fat mark, and that their burgers were served with American (hooray!) cheese. As it was my first time, I thought I'd have a plain cheeseburger, but there was a Chilli Flipper ready to go, so my decision was made for me. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I popped down on one of the benches in the market and took it out of its plain brown wrapper. First impressions were quite favourable: coarsely ground, loosely packed meat covered in an oozing layer of American cheese. Nice.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggCKl94rWWikn9d3UMwha4lKAwb5rYY4vK-eTbrpKKNGGgXtgNb3bv8XoqeiuxAa2YaKVV_p0gsD4lsBYer-p-4jpKRtfh89gevwdubwS6u5tp57Wf5VjQZ49hQZptKpY3BOvnOwzofPQ/s1600/IMG_0179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggCKl94rWWikn9d3UMwha4lKAwb5rYY4vK-eTbrpKKNGGgXtgNb3bv8XoqeiuxAa2YaKVV_p0gsD4lsBYer-p-4jpKRtfh89gevwdubwS6u5tp57Wf5VjQZ49hQZptKpY3BOvnOwzofPQ/s400/IMG_0179.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Atop the patty was the "chilli" element of the burger; he had described it as onions and hot peppers (I forgot to ask which kind) slow cooked to produce a sort of relish. It hadn't been cooked long enough to achieve that; it was comprised of larger slices of the aforementioned ingredients that still had a bit of bite to them. Underneath the burger were some pickles, red onion slices, lettuce and some ketchup.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The chilli portion was tasty, if unspectacular. It had the slightest hint of heat, but along with the onions they had been cooked long enough to release a lot of their sweetness to complement the meat/cheese combination.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And as for the main event: it was a very good meat patty indeed. The depth of the beef flavour betrayed its 28 days of ageing, bordering on that almost steak-like taste. The meat was packed quite loosely, and although it wasn't a river of juices like a <a href="http://steampie.blogspot.com/2011/11/meatliqour.html" target="_blank">MEATliquor</a> burger, it was far from dry. The raw elements underneath provided a crunchy texture to counteract the meaty softness, and the American cheese was generously applied, properly molten, and wholly dirty-delicious.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bun had only the slightest element of sweetness on its top, and it yielded easily to my gaping jaw. I suppose that it was good, if unremarkable, but it did its job, stayed out of the way of the meat flavour and didn't break down; so in my book that's a success.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As mentioned, the chilli was nice, but I'd probably go straight burger next time. I'm still having trouble accepting that a "chilli burger" isn't covered with a mountain of Tex-Mex chili con carne, but again, that's my issue.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So altogether it was a very competent effort with just a few small adjustments required to make it amazing. But it was still quite delicious, and at a fiver it more than washed the taste of <a href="http://steampie.blogspot.com/2011/12/bukowski-shoreditch.html" target="_blank">last Monday's burger</a> from my mouth. And given that I've never had a good burger at Borough Market (although I haven't yet been to <a href="http://www.elliotscafe.com/" target="_blank">Elliot's Café</a>), I am probably not going to be going there too often thanks to the vendors of Brockley Market and Mother Flipper.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Mother Flipper</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brockley Market</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lewisham College Car Park</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lewisham Way</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SE4 1UT (<a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=se4+1ut&hl=en&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=13.962144,38.71582&vpsrc=0&hnear=SE4+1UT,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=16" target="_blank">map</a>)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MotherFlipper">https://www.facebook.com/MotherFlipper</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturdays, 10.00-14.00</span></div>
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</div>steampiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564136252930578515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257615060781946856.post-3089402221788949752011-12-16T11:53:00.005+00:002011-12-16T11:53:46.777+00:00SpagWednesday, Andrew's Café<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ah, the humble food cliché. It seems that a day doesn't go by without another lovely turn of gastronomic phrase being thrust into our lexicon. All you need to do is watch an episode or two of Masterchef to suffer an aural assault of tired terminology: "source everything locally," "let the ingredients speak for themselves," "artisanal endangered organic napkin rings," to name but a few. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, some of these are used in actual, earnest, wonderful situations where they are surprisingly accurate, in this case the tried and true duo of <i>just a few simple, fresh ingredients cooked well</i> coupled with the aforementioned <i>let the ingredients speak for themselves.</i> The occasion for trotting out these phrases was the <a href="http://youngandfoodish.com/events/spagwednesday/spagwednesday-made-in-sicily-pop-up-with-giorgio-locatelli/" target="_blank">SpagWednesday</a> "Made-In-Sicily Pop-up" with Giorgio Locatelli. I have never had the pleasure of dining in Mr. Locatelli's <a href="http://www.locandalocatelli.com/" target="_blank">eponymous restaurant</a> - on the occasions where I've been looking for a place a bit special, they generally have nothing available within my 15-day window. And as I am a huge fan of all of the <a href="http://youngandfoodish.com/events/" target="_blank">events</a> I've been to run by Young & Foodish aka Daniel Young, I snapped up tickets for this as soon as I got the announcement email.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Mrs. and I took our seats with 4 others at our table, the communal element of these events always being a fun bonus (we have yet to meet any unpleasant people, generally like-minded eaters on the whole). Wine was already poured, and a few minutes later our starter of <i>Arancini, Panelle e Insalata di Mare </i>(Rice balls, Chickpea Fritters & Seafood Salad) appeared. The small square panelle had a delightfully flaky texture and retained the chickpea flavour quite well; I thought that the oil they were cooked in tasted a bit old, and that gave the slightest hint of bitterness to them. Not that this stopped me from scoffing them all. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rice in the arancini was just right: soft saffron-infused grains sticking together gently as day-old rice will do, but the centres still retained a hint of bite. This surrounded a healthy dollop of ragù with a handful of peas in there as well. The ball was covered in a light breadcrumb coating and fried. Not a revelation, but a very competent effort that tasted very good indeed.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rounding out the opening course was the <i>Insalata di Mare</i>. Unfortunately my lexicon is currently bereft of many (or indeed any) Italian superlatives. So feel free to insert your own here. This dish was absolutely outstanding, and I was highly impressed. Mussels, prawns, octopus and squid had all been boiled to perfection and then tossed with thin slices of celery and chopped parsley. A squeeze of lemon on top added the perfect hint of acidity. But nothing got in the way of the freshest flavours imaginable from all of the seafood; I honestly didn't have one imperfect bite. It was highly pleasing to have one of those "eyes closed" moments so early on.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bear with me, because it's a bit of a recurring theme. We had a couple of minutes of reflection and wine drinking before the pasta course arrived, <i>Busiate al pesto trapanese</i>, which isn't easily translatable. <i><a href="http://www.gourmantineblog.com/?p=1265" target="_blank">Busiate</a></i> is usually a hollow corkscrew pasta made from durum wheat and water - no eggs. I didn't ask, but given the colour of last night's pasta I suspect this might've been an egg-based variation (please correct me if I'm wrong). <i>Pesto trapanese</i> is a sauce from the Trapani province in Northwest Sicily. It usually consists of almonds, fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic, a bit of pecorino and some oil and seasoning. In this case, mint was substituted for basil, and I didn't taste much garlic. The tomatoes were puréed raw and tossed with the pasta, mint and oil, and then a healthy handful of almond bits topped the pile. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was special. Expertly made pasta, which is then cooked correctly, will always make me inordinately happy, and this was no exception. Add to this just a few ingredients that are all perfect indicators of just how good each individual bit can be and you've got a damn fine dish indeed. The extra virgin olive oil had a deep, earthy flavour to it, and we agreed that we could've drunk it by the glass. So far, so damn good - my comment at the time was "annoyingly revelatory."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a bit of a pause in between courses for us to steel ourselves for the second half of the meal. The meat course was a sea-bound variety, <i>Braciolette di pesce spada </i>(Swordfish steaks with breadcrumbs, capers and cheese). 3 thin slices of swordfish had been seasoned, breaded, rolled and fried with some whole bay leaves, and they were served on a bed of couscous that contained capers, tomatoes, fresh parsley and cucumber. A lightly dressed green salad filled out the other side of the plate/bowl.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fish was incredibly fresh and delicate, but I found it a tad overcooked. I realise that swordfish won't have the firmness of other standard, fish-and-chips-type white fish, but it was quite mushy if I'm honest. The breadcrumb coating was a touch on the greasy side, but the flavour was still overall highly enjoyable. The couscous salad was fresh and complemented the fish well, although there were a good number of clumps suggesting that it hadn't been fully fork fluffed during preparation. Green salad was unremarkable if tasty. The cucumber added a bit of a contrasting texture to the rest of the dish, although I personally would've liked a bit more of it. Overall though it was a tasty success.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On to the final course, which was <i>La cassata della Locanda</i>. Cassata is essentially a layered cake, with sponge, ricotta, candied peel and a cream similar to that found in cannoli. Daniel described Chef Locatelli's version as "his own interpretation;" he retained all of these ingredients with the addition of some other elements. Candied peel, squares of pistchio-infused sponge and nibs of chocolate were mixed into a combination of the cream and ricotta - imagine a delicate, airy semi-sweet whipped cream with a salty edge from the cheese. Atop the pile lay a glistening quenelle of silky smooth pistachio ice cream. An absolutely heavenly combination, and I was happy that the word "deconstructed" never made an appearance.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whilst enjoying a perfectly made <a href="http://www2.illy.com/wps/wcm/connect/us/illy/" target="_blank">Illy</a> macchiato, Daniel brought Chef Locatelli out of the kitchen briefly to allow us to express our thanks. The Chef spoke of how </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">he would frequent Ferraris Snack Bar in Smithfield </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">when he came to London in the mid-80's, and that he loved the "English Cafe" as an eating and gathering spot. He truly enjoys running his Michelin- starred restaurant, but he also loved the idea of running a simple </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">trattoria</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, and this was a great experience for him to cook for eager punters outside of his normal white tablecloth-ed realm.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And thus ended another special night from Daniel where we felt truly privileged to be eating splendid food from a very talented chef. I continue to be highly impressed with all of the Young & Foodish events I've been fortunate enough to attend, and this one was no different. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was some fresh, simple ingredients cooked perfectly, allowing the individual flavours to truly shine through....now THAT is one clichéd sentence. (*<i>whispers</i>* but it's true)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Andrews Café</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">160 Gray's Inn Road</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">WC1X 8ED (<a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=wc1x+8ed&hl=en&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=16.764146,38.759766&vpsrc=0&hnear=London+WC1X+8ED,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=16" target="_blank">map</a>)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://youngandfoodish.com/events/">http://youngandfoodish.com/events/</a></span></div>steampiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564136252930578515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257615060781946856.post-76121693053837895672011-12-13T10:10:00.000+00:002011-12-13T10:10:24.333+00:00Bukowski, Shoreditch<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the best of times, I'm a cynic. So perhaps I should've been more wary of a burger place naming itself after a German-American hipster icon. With Spanish touches to the menu. It didn't raise alarm bells to the likes of a place offering "Chinese-Thai-Fish & Chips," but shame on me for going in so eager.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyhow. <a href="http://www.boxpark.co.uk/" target="_blank">Boxpark Shoreditch</a> bills itself as the "world's first popup mall;" is this supposed to be a good thing? Don't get me wrong, I hail from the country that has a mall with a <a href="http://nickelodeonuniverse.com/rides-thrill.html" target="_blank">roller coaster</a> in it; so I'm not a stranger to retail-related hyperbole. But even in an ideal situation I hate malls....so perhaps the advertisement of its own inevitable mortality is a good thing? Meh, who knows. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do know that the original intention was to have small independent retailers selling their goods in The Land Where Movember Never Ends. What ended up there? Oh, little niche players such as Nike, Puma and Levi's. Yawn. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But onto the burger spot - from the outside, it's what I expected of a converted shipping container: narrow. An innocuous entrance to what was obviously a space lacking width. I found the interior to be mainly inoffensive - some decent large photos on the walls, faux-wood booths (which were quite comfortable), and it wasn't cold inside, despite the door being open and it being December and all. We were greeted with a smile and shown to a table.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Onto the menu. Prices seemed to be quite reasonable for the offerings, a standard burger - or "Purist" on their menu - setting you back £5.50 with an extra quid for the cheese. Of course, due to my preferences, my heart sank a touch when I saw that said dairy offerings were limited to Double Gloucester or Stilton. Sigh. And perhaps I'm just an old grouch (well, probably not <i>just</i> that), but the whole 'cutesy' phrasing on menus works exactly 0.1% of the time - "add some of our homemade condiments and call your GP." Indeed.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I decided on a Purist, medium rare, with Double Gloucester. Whilst awaiting our food I sampled the homemade condiments on offer. (no, I didn't just jam my finger into the communal offerings) The mayo that came out was passable, but tasted too eggy and didn't have enough acidity. The scotch bonnet relish had the smallest hint of kick, but the taste of the peppers came through quite well. The organic horseraddish [sic] mustard tasted of mild English mustard with a dab of horseradish from a jar.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then there's the ketchup. I won't go on a massive diatribe, as it has already been done <a href="http://cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.com/2011/12/bukowski-shoreditch.html" target="_blank">very well indeed</a> by Chris @ <a href="http://cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cheese and Biscuits</a>, but suffice to say that I feel he was nearly too kind. I truly love ketchup with all my being, and yes, Hawksmoor do a fantastic homemade version, but otherwise I'm Heinz all the way. Back when I was in Uni, during the Iron Age, there were so few people using email that we could choose our own email address. My first ever one was ketchup@blah. True story. So their watery, listless version really did hurt my soul.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDF4JpdwwGzw3FBJeZ2F1cBCTrUo9gmCwxKUa1G7a6TUz1HJs6saEvlftLqnBzvIek0iHjmQRIv5HyE0ACqq-HXPaCCbtlUTYZJdaT2dBgQeeLW_rPC8QxmUQFl1R_xjHIIDPqn_7QaE/s1600/IMG_0139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDF4JpdwwGzw3FBJeZ2F1cBCTrUo9gmCwxKUa1G7a6TUz1HJs6saEvlftLqnBzvIek0iHjmQRIv5HyE0ACqq-HXPaCCbtlUTYZJdaT2dBgQeeLW_rPC8QxmUQFl1R_xjHIIDPqn_7QaE/s400/IMG_0139.jpg" width="300" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for the main event, when it arrived, let's just say my heart didn't soar. Quite the opposite. One look at the bun, and I knew that this leavened product's best days had come and gone. The top had that dry, flaky consistency that only comes with a good bit of bread ageing. Flavour-wise, it was quite sweet, bordering on a breakfast-brioche taste. Not ideal.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Under the hood, things didn't fare much better. The patty itself sat on top of a swipe of their HOMEMADE™ mayo and a few pieces of lettuce, guaranteeing that they were limp beyond edibility upon reaching the table. There was a healthy slab of cheese on the top, and a bit of it had clearly been melted. But observe the cut-through pic:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look at that enormous chunk of 100% unmelted cheese astride my burger. Sadness personified. This, children, is why cheddar belongs in many many places, but not on a burger. It had the dual pleasure of being both unmelted and unremarkable in taste. There were some oven-dried tomatoes on the burger as well, and the oven had successfully removed their flavour.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for the burger....well, it was cooked to order. I've found a good thing to say about it. Otherwise, it lacked seasoning, a slight that I just can't understand; salt is a burger's best friend. I caught a glimpse of their super-hip Josper in the back, but is it the best for cooking a burger? Not if this one is anything to go by. But what I was sure of was the fact that I couldn't taste much beefy flavour in their oh-so-carefully-sourced meat. It might've ticked all of the boxes as far as the best suppliers and what not, but the proof is in the (meaty) pudding. No evidence was offered of the quality of their suppliers.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I added the gherkins from the side of the plate to the burger and this improved it immeasurably. That's not a compliment by the way. It just helped the situation a bit.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fries were not as bad as some others' experiences -- they were mostly crisp, although still bordering on the too-greasy side. I finished them; so they weren't terrible, but they weren't very good either. Our starchy friends seem to be an afterthought to many, even my <a href="http://www.meatliquor.com/" target="_blank">favourite</a> burger joint.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, not exactly a ringing endorsement, in fact, quite the opposite. I didn't go in with the highest of hopes, but I also didn't expect them to be dashed so severely, especially seeing as I went in before the aforementioned review came out, as well as <a href="http://www.burgerac.com/2011/12/bukowski-cheese-bacon-burger.html" target="_blank">Burgerac's</a> hot off the press. I might've still gone anyhow to see for myself. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now I have. And I can tell you that this review was specially curated in my bedroom, atop my John Lewis duvet cover and Land's End sheets, to ensure that you could indulge in a spot of reading that would whisk you away from the hustle and bustle of your ordinary existence to a land of whimsy and damn depressing burgers.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bukowski Grill</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Unit 61 BOXPARK</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Bethnal Green Road</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">E1 6GY</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bukowski-grill.co.uk/">http://www.bukowski-grill.co.uk/</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Monday - Sunday</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">from 11:00 - 20:00</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Late Thursdays open until 22:00</span></span></div>steampiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564136252930578515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257615060781946856.post-65440118247905135362011-12-05T13:16:00.001+00:002011-12-13T09:05:41.555+00:005 Napkin Burger, Boston, USAmerica<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This mini-chain boasts quite the reputation. Because I have what some might consider an unhealthy obsession with burgers (the aforementioned people now referred to as "ex-friends"), I read about these life-changing meat discs....a lot. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And despite the incredibly strong competition in NYC, 5 Napkin Burgers has been fêted quite a bit, even in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/nov/08/new-york-top-10-burger-joints" target="_blank">an article</a> by Tom Byng, the founder of the highly enjoyable and always-tasty-if-not-mindblowing local chain <a href="http://www.byronhamburgers.com/" target="_blank">Byron Hamburgers</a>. Alas, multiple forces have conspired to keep me away from NYC for the last couple of years, but I happened to find myself just up the Northeast Corridor in Boston last week. When meeting up with friends for dinner, I stipulated a 'killer burger,' and the suggestion of 5 Napkin was proffered and promptly accepted.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 5 of us showed up at around 8pm on a Tuesday evening; not exactly prime dining time in Boston. (the place was probably 25% full) No worries, I hadn't seen everyone for at least a year, and we were eager to share a collective moan about our child-rearing troubles peppered with reminisces about when we thought we were cool. Anyhow.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The space is open and semi-spare without feeling cold: picture white tiling, exposed bulbs dangling from the ceiling, booths with whitewashed wooden sides -- no, really, picture them, because I forgot my camera, and it was far too dark to take any interior shots with my phone. One big plus in their favour was the 200+ bottles of <a href="http://www.makersmark.com/" target="_blank">Maker's Mark</a> on the top shelf behind the bar -- my bourbon-flavoured Achilles' heel. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWX3NVr5uYKRFzhJjKZGFUguHeDZcwjOnwWbhA9Bsabjmdf7QnvE-w_UZLpUD1ntpFhenX0m4fGFH5yVkjjD9Kik1W2Tm2ud0eXBKoMrx3X51cBjOpp0Jkd7QHPoQhgo-TmB2gjXhOlyk/s1600/MG_1867-640x426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWX3NVr5uYKRFzhJjKZGFUguHeDZcwjOnwWbhA9Bsabjmdf7QnvE-w_UZLpUD1ntpFhenX0m4fGFH5yVkjjD9Kik1W2Tm2ud0eXBKoMrx3X51cBjOpp0Jkd7QHPoQhgo-TmB2gjXhOlyk/s400/MG_1867-640x426.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Photo courtesy of Tina from <a href="http://carrotsncake.com/" target="_blank">Carrots 'n' Cake</a>; her review is <a href="http://carrotsncake.com/2011/03/5-napkins-burger.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</i></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We settled into our booth and perused the <a href="http://5napkinburger.com/back-bay-boston#dinner" target="_blank">menu</a>. Apparently their signature burger is shockingly titled the 5 Napkin -- "10 oz. fresh ground beef, gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, rosemary aioli, soft white roll." As it was my first visit, I wanted to keep it a bit more simple and see how they did the classic, which in my book is a cheeseburger. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">And much to my delight, when listing off the cheeses available, the waiter finally delivered that magic word (at least when imagining said dairy product atop a burger): "American." And thus my mind was made up - 1 cheeseburger, with American, cooked medium rare.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">We had a couple of starters to kick things off. The Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip was pleasant. I've intentionally kept that short and sweet, as I feel it sums it up quite well. But just in case it doesn't, I'll add that there was plenty of the titled vegetables, the artichoke chunks were just a bit firm (in a good way), and it was held together by a blandish cream cheese concoction. Pleasant. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">I would imagine that the Hell's Kitchen Wings are named thus solely because the recipe originated from that region of Manhattan (?). I'm hopeful that there isn't an implication of spice or kick in the name. These followed the previous dish in the Pleasant Starters category: the slightly undersized flappers were juicy and well cooked with what was a fairly bog standard Buffalo wing sauce atop them. Blue cheese dip on the side was, well, you get the idea.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">And finally the main event. When the burger was placed in front of me, I felt a slight twinge of apprehension. First off, observe the size of that lettuce leaf. Comical. It and its tomato partner were unceremoniously flung aside. Second issue was the charred American cheese betraying its time under the salamander. Sigh. I know that there are success stories of melting the cheese this way -- </span><a href="https://oauth.twitter.com/#!/FredSmith_" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Fred Smith</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"> at the </span><a href="http://www.theadmiralcodrington.co.uk/" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Admiral Codrington</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"> springs to mind -- but I definitely have a bias toward cloche + steam.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcB_CxuDYXVrXGjZALf3_8iqOVAo2JXgpNzLIvx31hj2zUKIl_IWgUx2GJ5T68w1YQJq-HYt91TZNpZYW4U49GahBvgj1M_6m19DaLk3OtjSdtav_aOrZlBfCnGCTgaMJBxLOAU_d_dw/s1600/burger1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcB_CxuDYXVrXGjZALf3_8iqOVAo2JXgpNzLIvx31hj2zUKIl_IWgUx2GJ5T68w1YQJq-HYt91TZNpZYW4U49GahBvgj1M_6m19DaLk3OtjSdtav_aOrZlBfCnGCTgaMJBxLOAU_d_dw/s400/burger1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">On to the meat. As you might be able to discern from the horribly blurred cut through, the burger was cooked precisely to order, and the texture of the meat was fantastic. It was loosely packed, peppered with pockets of juicy goodness. I believe it was 100% chuck and would hazard a guess that the fat content was closer to 20% than 15%. The top and bottom of the patty both had a decent char on them as well. The meat itself tasted as though it had aged a bit, and whilst not mind-blowing, it was fairly - yep, you guessed it - pleasant.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">Can you hear my disappointment? Surely I've just described a pretty good burger, right? Well, here's the thing: I couldn't taste a speck of seasoning. None. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RXzf0hXOlUbao7lbrju7HSRT7f3ywTeTnEXqXWA84DzHHZ6M5ypbJryZA42jEW8maJHUt9c4yu9aWuQaxf_X72QwY_1n7cqr6iiNKHOddweVMql_fZBrjA5QMP-KC1AFoc2VxRB68LM/s1600/burger2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RXzf0hXOlUbao7lbrju7HSRT7f3ywTeTnEXqXWA84DzHHZ6M5ypbJryZA42jEW8maJHUt9c4yu9aWuQaxf_X72QwY_1n7cqr6iiNKHOddweVMql_fZBrjA5QMP-KC1AFoc2VxRB68LM/s400/burger2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">I'm sure I don't have to tell you that a burger needs a shit ton of salt on its top & bottom, added just before cooking, to create that unmistakable, dizzying, life-affirming crust. This had none of that; in fact, the taste buds on the tip of my tongue went home unfulfilled and sad. What a shame. At least this pushed the disintegrating bottom bun into the shadowy recesses of my already disappointed soul.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">So what could've been a pretty damn good burger just left me with a lingering sense of sodium-free disappointment. Part of me is tempted to give one of the NYC branches a try - or perhaps someone wants to send me to Miami to test theirs - but until then, I'd rather read about other burgers than try another one of theirs*.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><b>5 Napkin Burger</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">105 Huntington Avenue (Prudential Center)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">Boston, MA 02199 (<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=105+Huntington+Avenue,+Boston,+MA,+United+States&hl=en&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.630055,77.519531&vpsrc=0&hnear=105+Huntington+Ave,+Boston,+Massachusetts+02199&t=m&z=16" target="_blank">map</a>)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://5napkinburger.com/back-bay-boston" target="_blank">http://5napkinburger.com/back-bay-boston</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">Monday through Thursday from 11:30AM – 11PM</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">Friday 11:30AM – Midnight</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;">Saturday 11AM – Midnight</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;">Sunday 11AM – 11PM</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">*This is 100% untrue. I will eat almost any burger put in front of me. I have issues.</span></i></span></div>
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</div>steampiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564136252930578515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257615060781946856.post-19866648121023539712011-11-28T02:58:00.001+00:002011-11-28T16:14:30.821+00:00Thanksgiving in Americatown<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There may be quite a few things about my home country of which I'm not proud, but I find that many of these are offset by the 4th Thursday in November, more commonly called Thanksgiving. I'll not go into the <a href="http://www.rumela.com/events/thanks_origin.htm">fairly ignominious origins</a> of the holiday and its 400 year old history, but rest assured that these days its focus is firmly on the 4 F's: Food, Family, Friends, and (American) Football. No other distractions such as religion or its ilk to get in the way. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And as is the tradition, we always come back to my home country for the ultimate in food indulgence. The other, newer custom is that I cook nearly everything given <a href="http://www.leiths.com/professional-courses/leiths-two-term-diploma-in-food-and-wine/">my background</a>. It's unsurprisingly something that I love to do, not least of all because I don't pay for ingredients. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ahhh, turkey. Here in Britain we don't eat nearly as much of it as in the USA, but that's probably because it's not exactly the juiciest, most flavourful bird. I tried brining the beast last year and found the results to be distinctly <i>meh</i>. So this time around I took a more straightforward approach: rub about 8 tablespoons of butter under the breast skin, cover the entire breast in foil for the first 2 hours, and leave it in the oven for about 4.5 hours of total roasting time at 160°c. (Mr. Turkey tipped the scales at 8.1kg) Oh and I gave it one obligatory basting. Finally, and I'm sure this is filed under the "news to no one" category, but I rested my fowl friend for 45 minutes once out of the oven to let all them glorious juices ingratiate themselves from tip to tail.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjVrDaIxyUyQ0mhdVU0FG2kkY9NMQaYVIDNJZ0a-boUNjP2m1DVgfOo7yFoIWRpdNee-yekrxuKzhjxirpEjcCICeh5Qjj5y-99akT8OcMOf-lbZdW2LlIIEgP7dyjQkmD7WE-6eg2veQ/s1600/turkey1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjVrDaIxyUyQ0mhdVU0FG2kkY9NMQaYVIDNJZ0a-boUNjP2m1DVgfOo7yFoIWRpdNee-yekrxuKzhjxirpEjcCICeh5Qjj5y-99akT8OcMOf-lbZdW2LlIIEgP7dyjQkmD7WE-6eg2veQ/s320/turkey1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And when it came time to carve the bird, it was still very hot all the way through. And much to my pleasant surprise, the first slice through the breast unleashed a lovely rivulet of clear juice, a theme that repeated itself throughout the carving. I suppose there IS something to this whole local, free range, fresh bird thing ;) Instead of the traditional slices along the breastbone, I prefer to remove the whole thing in one go and then make thicker slices along its width (thank you, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Waldegrave">Caroline Waldegrave</a>) - always seems to look nicer this way. Carving complete. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I lamented the fact that my frame wouldn't fit in the roasting pan, otherwise I would've bathed in the leftover juices. (file that under "Too much information" perhaps) Despite the fact that the bird was full of moisture, there was still enough juicy goodness to go around to ensure that it, combined with the butter of course, lay nearly an inch deep in the pan. A quick deglaze to remove all of the lovely scrapings still stuck to the bottom and I was ready for Operation Gravy. I feel that simple is best when it comes to this dish; so I started with a quick roux using the turkey/butter fat instead of fresh butter and then slowly added all of the drippings plus some extra (and yes, I admit store-bought) turkey stock. Seasoning, and we're done. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stuffing was semi-prepared a day earlier: onions and celery (with leaves) slowly sautéed in a healthy dose of butter, combined with bread crumbs, stock, parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage, salt, pepper, and put straight into the oven once the turkey came out.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8aUNFljzUJkEaFaLudBesDjD6Oe5pK5dPvG558Wlv6rSfaEC1TlwnNh9UJetGgf0ZwKrBjX0_crvVhTEJVyzC2OOPUgk5pVDjSkeGB0Wk0yA5MwkJs3SUwNT9hz5egzzuGdiPcPqsuNc/s1600/stuffing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8aUNFljzUJkEaFaLudBesDjD6Oe5pK5dPvG558Wlv6rSfaEC1TlwnNh9UJetGgf0ZwKrBjX0_crvVhTEJVyzC2OOPUgk5pVDjSkeGB0Wk0yA5MwkJs3SUwNT9hz5egzzuGdiPcPqsuNc/s320/stuffing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqPqDPtIaRl7ghoiuDBlE8VU_-VmBIjsA8ThD3V6EULwwXMuE0NX_XQF0sxxVT13pklK1g5FwdemQHRQI3Bvh0DdcekvW8WXODfy989ID71gdMn1GTO4PMTx090G61KGNMm-jQG87aGRo/s1600/spuds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqPqDPtIaRl7ghoiuDBlE8VU_-VmBIjsA8ThD3V6EULwwXMuE0NX_XQF0sxxVT13pklK1g5FwdemQHRQI3Bvh0DdcekvW8WXODfy989ID71gdMn1GTO4PMTx090G61KGNMm-jQG87aGRo/s320/spuds.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps the most labour intensive dish was the mash - nothing complicated about it, just some nice Yukon Gold spuds boiled correctly, but I have an issue with lumpy mash. I abhor it. Even when cooking for my 1- and 3-year olds, I can't abide by non-smooth mash. Cue me pushing nearly 5kg of steaming starch through a fine sieve. Ugh...oh, hello sweaty face. Butter, milk, salt and pepper complete the dish, but if I throw my humility to the side for one sentence, I can say that they were fantastic and truly worth the effort. However I might ask Fat Xmas Man for a drum sieve. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, some homemade cranberry sauce, as well as some store bought cran (gotta have both), maple glazed carrots and freshly baked cornbread completed the feast. I ate too much.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forgot to take snaps of the blueberry bread pudding, the pumpkin cheesecake and the chocolate chip cookies (see, I told you I was in the USA!); was that due to the Thanksgiving cocktails? Perhaps we'll never know. But it was a lovely day with family and friends, and I believe that the leftovers the next day might have been even better.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd love for Thanksgiving to come over to the UK - it wouldn't be the same, but I am confident the Brits could do a great adaptation of it. Perhaps that would start to make up for us heaving insufferable celebs upon you (I'm looking at you, Madge & Gwyneth), and yes, I could go on... </span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanksgiving</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">USA (<a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Williamstown,+MA,+United+States&hl=en&ll=42.714732,-73.201904&spn=5.198165,9.689941&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=16.764146,38.759766&vpsrc=6&hnear=Williamstown,+Berkshire,+Massachusetts,+United+States&t=m&z=7" target="_blank">map</a>) </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fourth Thursday of November, yearly</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">website:</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">geek note: other than the image upload, which I was unable to do, and some minor reformatting, I was very excited to do this entire post on my new iPad. Thanks google.</span></i>steampiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564136252930578515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257615060781946856.post-72570798912344171352011-11-16T16:33:00.001+00:002011-12-05T14:31:59.666+00:00MEATliqour<div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I openly acknowledge that my carnivorous street cred -- if such a thing exists, and I sort of hope it does -- has taken a beating lately. Prior commitments and poor timing have conspired against me, and it was only today that I made it to MEATliquor. Now those who don't fit into the aforementioned category will say, "Umm, what? First of all, wtf kind of name is that, and second, didn't it just open officially last Friday?" </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To which I will reply, "Yes, it did, although there was a private opening, plus it unofficially opened the middle of last week, and, well, I like the name so consider us no longer friends."</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5sPKZUwJvCxce2Chj3KbUOHtcbmuKe8wOrReLKLtSSqx3faMmD4r-iw_vfHVFaNLwbub7kzSR2lMCkfDVqh6uZcWWKt8hyphenhyphenSc7jA7iBXQCFQKNTEMszpmL6YOTC-T7jq4djsHysgUNHQ/s1600/meat_header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5sPKZUwJvCxce2Chj3KbUOHtcbmuKe8wOrReLKLtSSqx3faMmD4r-iw_vfHVFaNLwbub7kzSR2lMCkfDVqh6uZcWWKt8hyphenhyphenSc7jA7iBXQCFQKNTEMszpmL6YOTC-T7jq4djsHysgUNHQ/s320/meat_header.jpg" width="316" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, there are those people, most probably the 3 of you reading this now, who are thinking, "Sucker, I've been 5x already....you're slow and pathetic." No argument there. But I made it, I did!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And man was it worth the wait. It was slightly disconcerting upon entering, as there was sunlight (!) streaming through the windows, and the volume of the music was probably not even halfway to eleven. As Yianni said to me when I ambled up to the bar, "You need to come back at night for the full experience." And come back I shall.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The space strikes a clever balance between chaos and order: vivid, exciting and insane imagery paper the walls and ceiling (including the domed centrepiece); even the delicate arches have been splashed with black, red and white paint. But the layout is very comfortable, with big booths lining 3 walls, and the rest of the seating is comprised of small round tables and high rectangular wooden blocks with stools scattered on their edges.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyhow, on to the business end: I had a quick chat with Yianni about the liquor menu, and seeing as I'd read multiple accounts of the English Breakfast Martini, I decided on that. He informed me that they make their own vermouth, and when I enquired about the coating on the quail's egg, he said it was a sort of "bacon dust." The martini itself was splendid; I'm not sure what recipe they used for the vermouth, as I've seen them contain anywhere from 2 to 25 herbs/berries....but this one definitely had some fruity/earthy aromatics, and it was lovely. I was much less impressed with the quail's egg, as the coating tasted much more of dust than bacon sadly.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, the main event: based (again) on the many write-ups I've already drooled over, my menu was decided well before I stepped through the door: fried pickles, buffalo chicken burger, and a cheeseburger. The pickles came first, and they were no disappointment: impossibly light and crisp batter gave way to a lovely thin slice of pickle, the taste of which reminded me very much indeed of the American brand <a href="http://kraft.us/rr8Nhn" target="_blank">Claussen</a> -- not that it's a bad thing. I grew up on those pickles, among many others. But that batter: such a light coating - much more tempura than fish & chips - and perfectly seasoned. Once dipped in the blue cheese sauce, it was the perfect combination of salt, vinegar, batter, cheese and involuntary low groans.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They were served on a bed of insipid, slightly browning chopped iceberg lettuce, which was a shame, as I would've used it to shuttle even more of the blue cheese sauce into my mouth. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvJ6W2EIlGzj699cSoWAOLQGZ97XdLEr7XrhMzMPbBHMgvt1ZawTpxSYDZc-t16Q5CEhVcygK9RNnLGD7FO04Z17N7bDeIyyQ61z2R-L6jXybAVZ1XZmuD6RFvxbPYaoFjR8X43eyYK0/s1600/both.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvJ6W2EIlGzj699cSoWAOLQGZ97XdLEr7XrhMzMPbBHMgvt1ZawTpxSYDZc-t16Q5CEhVcygK9RNnLGD7FO04Z17N7bDeIyyQ61z2R-L6jXybAVZ1XZmuD6RFvxbPYaoFjR8X43eyYK0/s320/both.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With that palate teaser out of the way, the burgers arrived shortly after, perched on a plastic tray covered in red/white patterned wax paper. As the burgerer (what's the male equivalent of burgerette?) slid it onto my table, he said, "You made a very good decision." Soon after, I couldn't agree more. I've had the cheeseburger many times before, and I knew what to expect, but even so, that first bite was heavenly. I love all sorts of burgers (as long as there's no egg, breadcrumbs, etc. involved), but these are my ideal. I haven't yet made it up to <a href="http://www.luckychipuk.com/" target="_blank">Lucky Chip</a>, so I can't make the side-by-side comparison that most do, but damn this was delicious - perfectly cooked with a glistening pink centre, and the salty crust on the top and bottom complementing the fatty meat well. And this was a lovely coarse grind with a fantastic beefy flavour. Atop the patty oozed a slather of melted American cheese goodness whilst below it lay some pickles, lettuce and red onion. Yellow mustard and ketchup completed the innards, all delicately placed inside the signature bun - soft and yielding while somehow refusing to completely yield to the collective juices conspiring to tear it apart.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then there's our friend the buffalo chicken burger - if that sounds even the least bit appealing to you, then I implore you, GO. Actually, scratch that, the queues are growing exponentially day by day as it is. But this is truly <i>une révélation de poulet</i>. The chicken breast is the antithesis of the ubiquitous cottage/shack varieties that sponge up liquor at 2a.m. Oh no, this is a plump, juicy number coated in a lovely breading, slightly thicker than that on the pickles, and then covered in a tangy buffalo sauce. A slather of mayo and a bed of lettuce top the chicken, all of which are stuck inside that same perfect bun. The vinegar in the sauce gives it acidity, there's a peppery element (sadly not spicy) to it as well, and then the mayo balances it out. And what a poor description that is of such a spectacular sandwich. To sum up: I sort of loved it.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So there we go: tons of food, all delicious, a good stiff drink, and I find myself £24.50 lighter -- that's without tip, and I most definitely added a deserved gratuity for the quick, friendly service. I will be returning shortly, and often, and in the process I hope to (re)gain some of that precious meat cred that I so cravenly covet. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Apologies for the rubbish pics; my camera battery was flashing "I'm dying!," and I snapped these clearly in haste and darkness.</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>MEATliquor</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Henrietta & Welbeck</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">W1G 0BA (<a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=W1G+0BA&hl=en&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=16.764146,38.759766&vpsrc=0&hnear=London+W1G+0BA,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=16" target="_blank">map</a>)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.meatliquor.com/">http://www.meatliquor.com/</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tues - Sat, 12.00pm - 2.00am</span></div>
</div>steampiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564136252930578515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257615060781946856.post-69798324163682666092011-11-11T11:03:00.001+00:002011-11-15T16:18:10.132+00:00WichThursday, Andrew's Café<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Six years ago I was lunching with a bunch of my relatives in a posh hotel restaurant in Palm Beach, Florida. We were discussing food options in London, and I moaned that "I have yet to find a good deli sandwich in London." An elderly gentleman passing our table leaned in slightly, and without breaking stride, said sadly, "And you won't." </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hilariously well-timed as his response was, it rang (mostly) true for me for my 7+ years here. It would appear, however, that the tide is turning. The recently opened <a href="http://www.thedelilondon.com/" target="_blank">The Deli West One</a> appears to have some promise (a mixed review here), and it's safe to say that everyone and his food blogging brother are eager for the imminent opening of <a href="http://www.mishkins.co.uk/" target="_blank">Mishkins</a> -- and based on the constant tweeting of <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/tomolpo" target="_blank">menu-testing images</a> from their kitchen, it looks damn good indeed.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Which brings me to last night. Daniel Young, of <a href="http://youngandfoodish.com/">youngandfoodish.com</a>, organises some of the most fantastic one-off food events, most notably his Burger Mondays (some great reviews of which can be found <a href="http://www.burgerac.com/2011/05/richard-turner-burgermonday-grays-inn.html" target="_blank">here</a> (Burgerac), <a href="http://theforkandcorset.blogspot.com/2011/06/burger-monday.html" target="_blank">here</a> (the fork & corset), and <a href="http://www.hamburger-me.com/2011/06/burgermat-show-burgermonday-with-burger.html" target="_blank">here</a> (Burgerme). These sell out ridiculously fast; you snooze, etc. etc. He has other events, CoffeeSaturday, PizzaTuesday, and SpaghettiWednesday, but this was the inaugural WichThursday. The rundown was the following: get Dan from <a href="http://www.degustibus.co.uk/" target="_blank">De Gustibus</a> bakery to come and serve his amazing (and house-brined, not store-brought pre-brined rubbish) salt beef. Daniel's other specs:</span></div>
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<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I asked that his crusty, twice-baked sourdough rye be used instead of ciabatta</span></i></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wanted authentic New York-style deli mustard in place of English, Dijon or grain mustard</span></i></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I requested that Andrea, De Gustibus’ best carver, set up a pop-up carvery in the middle of Andrew’s and hand-carve all the hot salt beef sandwiches to order.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I demanded that Andrea leave all the fat on the salt beef. No unnecessary trimming.</span></i></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(from: <a href="http://youngandfoodish.com/events/wichthursday/wichthursday-pops-up-with-de-gustibus-salt-beef/">http://youngandfoodish.com/events/wichthursday/wichthursday-pops-up-with-de-gustibus-salt-beef/</a> )</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Note that everything is a request up until the last one -- kudos, Daniel for standing firm on that one, for as we know, fat = flavour.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHWk-km1FMIfG5oduL8AjnubSGzUJBFVFM00ed-GuahOF6a8UGL7C1g_lDh7FGnrhRJaf1c2kYh7fvGZenO6qZU8kvedNl2LexytzqFjBtp6nzZ1M8P7XoOg5GLLxnWNGwvg8N_4p5x6U/s1600/IMG_5115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHWk-km1FMIfG5oduL8AjnubSGzUJBFVFM00ed-GuahOF6a8UGL7C1g_lDh7FGnrhRJaf1c2kYh7fvGZenO6qZU8kvedNl2LexytzqFjBtp6nzZ1M8P7XoOg5GLLxnWNGwvg8N_4p5x6U/s320/IMG_5115.JPG" width="240" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We hadn't even removed our coats before chilled Pale Ales from <a href="http://thekernelbrewery.com/" target="_blank">The Kernel</a> brewery appeared on our table. As I'm much more partial to bourbon than beer, I can't offer you an in-depth description of how its palate was redolent of a south facing hilltop meadow, but I will say that it had a slightly fruity taste, but not unpleasantly so, and that the 7.5% ABV became, err, more noticeable.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Starters were listed as "pork sliders" - there were 2 of these little fellas, one of which was a porchetta & salsa verde slider on a whole wheat bun, and the other was a chorizo version with a red cabbage salsa on a white bun. These provided a couple of tasty bites each - the porchetta was very tender and porky, and the salsa verde, whilst not the strictly traditional version with anchovies and capers, was fresh and a good counterbalance to the fatty little pig piece. The chorizo was also much closer to an Italian version, subtly spiced and almost pillowy soft. Cabbage salsa went with it quite well, although the salsa on its own could've used perhaps a touch more seasoning.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD-agnCMufMwDTvYW0d8bw8kScyH32JtJjAxDecejI52_FeU-SqNkZG1H5I3Xi1ohKTzeOmhx9HSrUUg3dTthkYws7uIy0BF9KAmtqCkBK1nxC8RhvY1iGMEqX5TF0xzd6aYqu65gs8EA/s1600/IMG_5120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD-agnCMufMwDTvYW0d8bw8kScyH32JtJjAxDecejI52_FeU-SqNkZG1H5I3Xi1ohKTzeOmhx9HSrUUg3dTthkYws7uIy0BF9KAmtqCkBK1nxC8RhvY1iGMEqX5TF0xzd6aYqu65gs8EA/s320/IMG_5120.JPG" width="240" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On to the main event. The carving station was in fact set up amongst the tables out front, and sadly I was not invited to pull up a chair and just have a go at eating it all myself. Andrea clearly had been around a brisket or two before, his knife flashing through the tender meat, a mound of near-identical slices piling up rapidly.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's where prose (well, mine, at least) fail to deliver. The rye, holding its own before finally yielding to my bite, the first hit of the subtly spiced mustard, and finally the soft, moist, unreal-oh-man-this-is-ridiculously-good meat....holy mother of jebus it was fantastic. No need for a pile of garnishes, this was a perfect balance of 3 ingredients having a very jolly time together indeed. There were some tasty bread & butter-style pickle slices on the side, and a plate of forgotten chips completed the lineup.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally we were served a brioche & butter pudding.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My dining companion for the evening is not a cinnamon fan, and despite the liberal presence of said spice in the dish, he, too finished his.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The brioche was very well made, light and airy and not suffering from the heaviness that afflicts those prepared with less care.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was surprisingly </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">not</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> heavy, and it proved to be a very tasty end to the night.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We sat for a bit longer finishing our beers before finally waddling out, sated and happy but not too full at all. I easily could've had another sandwich, but that's down solely to the fact that it was so damn good. I eagerly await the next WichThursday, and I am happy to alert the gentleman from Florida that he is in fact mistaken.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>WichThursday</i></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Andrews Café</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>160 Gray's Inn Road</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>WC1X 8ED (<a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=wc1x+8ed&hl=en&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=16.764146,38.759766&vpsrc=0&hnear=London+WC1X+8ED,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=16" target="_blank">map</a>)</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://youngandfoodish.com/events/">http://youngandfoodish.com/events/</a></i></span></div>steampiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564136252930578515noreply@blogger.com2