Where: Pho, Farringdon
With whom: Me, Vole and a couple of others
How much?: £20 per head, 2 courses and a couple of beers
A Saturday night treat, prior to a few beers and a slightly embarrassing dad dance at a 90's Indie club in Farringdon...
So it didn't get off to the best of starts... there were a few places I'd like to spend more time at in Farringdon, and while Pho is good, very good, it's not St John (or Vinoteca) and so I was living up to my name before we got there, and very nearly had a rant when the Vole attempted to steer us into a random pizza joint.
It's the kind of chain that you'd be happy seeing more of, and I'm very lucky to work just near one. The quality is usually fairly high, and that was handy, with two 'challenging' eaters (one who doesn't like spicy food, yeah, didn't figure that one out early enough, and the other a vegetarian who lives off cheese) to entertain...
We went for a mixed set of starters, the summer rolls proved slightly pointless without any meat (seriously.. it's shredded lettuce and coriander in a soft rice wrapper), and the veggie spring rolls were crispy and slightly chewy on the outside, with a coating like a Macdonalds apple pie. But I'm a sucker for the special, and there were two to try that don't appear on the daytime menu. The slivers of tofu and mushroom in a sharing (sized) crepe snapped with unami, though the crepe had the texture (and oily touch) of a sheet of grilled cheese on the bottom of an oven tray (the veggie cheesehound was delighted). My main was another evening 'special', a slightly too soupy Cari Ga (chicken curry) served with rice and it wasn't great. A very creamy light sauce with way too much sugar and coconut for me (and way too little chilli heat)... I knew I should have stuck with their simple and clean Bun noodles.
The others adored it, but I've definitely had better from them...
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/568254/restaurant/London/Clerkenwell/Pho-Greater-London"><img alt="Pho on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/568254/biglink.gif" style="border:none;width:200px;height:146px" /></a>
One man, in an unfashionable part of London, eats out more than he should, and talks about it (occasionally)
Monday, 29 March 2010
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Habits start... March 2010
Where: Dean Street Townhouse, The Club at The Ivy, Angels & Gypsies and other usual suspects...
With whom: A veritable parade of reprobates
How much?: Far too much for a man on my salary...
With whom: A veritable parade of reprobates
How much?: Far too much for a man on my salary...
Desperately trying to stop this turning into a temporary project, but I've got some form of new bloggers anxiety about what is worth writing about... I'm sure that Krista, Simon Majumdar, Teh Bus and others I read and enjoy felt (or feel!) exactly the same thing. Still, I have spent March pulling back on the new and reverting to comfortable type... I don't know whether that's in response to the impending trip to NYC or the last vestiges of Winter, but it has to stop.
This month I've mostly been retreading old ground and eating comforting food... What have I to report?
The Ivy (and the Club at The Ivy)
The Club Curry at the Ivy is mild but beautifully flavoured, the pie is (every single time so far) wonderful and the hot dog is a hot dog. Don't go to the Ivy for a hot dog. It will disappoint... what was I expecting though?
Dean Street Townhouse
Just when I thought I'd worked my way through the menu once, they go and tweak it! Still never had my own portion of the mince and potatoes... it's only mince and potatoes. How good can it be? Particularly when they have so many other perfect dishes. Treacle sponge is temporarily ginger sponge though.. not sure...
Angels & Gypsies
Back in a raucous group with Vole, The Ginger Prince (and new squeeze), Science Boy and others for J School and Proud's birthday... We panicked them, i think it's fair to say.. many, many portions, still only £30 per head with a lot of wine and they coped well but boy do they need to work on their attitude!
The Star in Soho
Forgotten about this place... Lovely, quiet, nice couple of small plates over a glass of wine and a career crisis with Drama Queen. No, it's no Dehesa, Barafina or Fino but it's a nice little spot. Won't do a review as we had two things to share, but it's a nice drop of old Soho and worth popping in when you're in the area.
Market Place and the Phoenix
Pub food in W1 prior to work comedy night (watching not performing) did what it needed to, can't remember enough to care about what it was like...
Pho
Again and again and again... Many lunches in here, always makes me feel a little bit healthier than I was when I walked in. Unlike...
Tortilla
the other work favourite. Definitely worth a write up (with pics) soon.. I like it, but I couldn't do a burrito for lunch too often!
The Ivy (and the Club at The Ivy)
The Club Curry at the Ivy is mild but beautifully flavoured, the pie is (every single time so far) wonderful and the hot dog is a hot dog. Don't go to the Ivy for a hot dog. It will disappoint... what was I expecting though?
Dean Street Townhouse
Just when I thought I'd worked my way through the menu once, they go and tweak it! Still never had my own portion of the mince and potatoes... it's only mince and potatoes. How good can it be? Particularly when they have so many other perfect dishes. Treacle sponge is temporarily ginger sponge though.. not sure...
Angels & Gypsies
Back in a raucous group with Vole, The Ginger Prince (and new squeeze), Science Boy and others for J School and Proud's birthday... We panicked them, i think it's fair to say.. many, many portions, still only £30 per head with a lot of wine and they coped well but boy do they need to work on their attitude!
The Star in Soho
Forgotten about this place... Lovely, quiet, nice couple of small plates over a glass of wine and a career crisis with Drama Queen. No, it's no Dehesa, Barafina or Fino but it's a nice little spot. Won't do a review as we had two things to share, but it's a nice drop of old Soho and worth popping in when you're in the area.
Market Place and the Phoenix
Pub food in W1 prior to work comedy night (watching not performing) did what it needed to, can't remember enough to care about what it was like...
Pho
Again and again and again... Many lunches in here, always makes me feel a little bit healthier than I was when I walked in. Unlike...
Tortilla
the other work favourite. Definitely worth a write up (with pics) soon.. I like it, but I couldn't do a burrito for lunch too often!
Cafe Bay - Mar 2010
Where: Cafe Bay, Camberwell With whom: Myself, quick snack before Vole's mum arrives How much?: £3!, only £3... and that for the Cafe Bay Special
The weekly Bahn Mi fix is almost missed...
If you've missed out on the phenomenon that is Bahn Mi (and on this blog, I can and will call it a phenomenon...) I'll pass you over to the definition found at wikipedia and an excellent article from Time Out covering this excellent sarnie in London. Essentially, the bánh mì sandwich is a product of French colonialism in Vietnam, combining ingredients from the French (baguettes, pate and mayonnaise) with native Vietnamese ingredients like coriander, slow roasted pork, chilli and fish sauces, and pickled carrot or cucumber.
The New Yorkers have really taken it on board, with shops such as Nicky's Sandwiches of Brooklyn and Saigon Deli on Broome Street leading the charge.. Sadly we're a little slower here in London with only a couple of hot spots stocking the tasty sandwich snack. I bumped into the guy behind Pho over lunch and he was similarly frustrated. they'd tried stocking it a while ago, but it didn't work in their places, cracking though they are. Definitely more of a street food / deli counter kick...
Anyway, if you find yourself in Camberwell Green of a lunchtime (early mind, they sell out quick...) then go, spend three pounds, and get one. Either the house special - a blend of pate, marinaded pork roll and shredded pork or they do a lovely caramel pork, both on the same base of carrot (not pickled daikon style though) and cucumber, with (possibly a bit too much) coriander and a nice glug of chilli sauce. If you don't like it, I'll buy you a coffee...
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1475321/restaurant/Camberwell/Cafe-Bay-London"><img alt="Cafe Bay on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1475321/biglink.gif" style="border:none;width:200px;height:146px" /></a>
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Yalla Yalla - Feb 2010
Where: Yalla Yalla, Soho
With whom: Me, myself and I
How much?: Just a snack... couple of bits for lunch, only £6.50...
Tucked away on a side street in Soho, it's very easy to miss Yalla Yalla's cheery yellow facade, however it's been packed with local workers, Lebanese and the odd bewildered tourist ever since I've been going there.
Inside it's a small front room with appropriately home styled paintings of a Lebanese nonna preparing flatbreads and rustic wooden furniture it wasn't my plan to eat in, just to grab and go, but the prospect of a table was so rare I had to take advantage. Bowl of good mixed olives and some pickled pepper came with tart strips of a pinkish vegtable, identified by the cheery server as turnip. Unusual and tasty, though definitely an accompaniment rather than an appetiser, they needed to be offset with a softer flavour to balance the powerful pickle.
I went for one of their lamb shwarma wraps and a hallumi flatbread. The latter had an excellent taste, sprinkled with sesame seads, but had been warmed in the microwave and was a little chewy. The lamb wrap is normally excellent, well cooked, well spiced large portions of lamb with a selection of pickled veg and a yogurt sauce in a toasted flatbread. Today however it felt like it'd been there a bit too long and the yogurt had made the inside of the bread soggy.
Ordinarily better, but still street (foods) ahead of similar lunch options both in terms of price, taste and service.
With whom: Me, myself and I
How much?: Just a snack... couple of bits for lunch, only £6.50...
Tucked away on a side street in Soho, it's very easy to miss Yalla Yalla's cheery yellow facade, however it's been packed with local workers, Lebanese and the odd bewildered tourist ever since I've been going there.
Inside it's a small front room with appropriately home styled paintings of a Lebanese nonna preparing flatbreads and rustic wooden furniture it wasn't my plan to eat in, just to grab and go, but the prospect of a table was so rare I had to take advantage. Bowl of good mixed olives and some pickled pepper came with tart strips of a pinkish vegtable, identified by the cheery server as turnip. Unusual and tasty, though definitely an accompaniment rather than an appetiser, they needed to be offset with a softer flavour to balance the powerful pickle.
I went for one of their lamb shwarma wraps and a hallumi flatbread. The latter had an excellent taste, sprinkled with sesame seads, but had been warmed in the microwave and was a little chewy. The lamb wrap is normally excellent, well cooked, well spiced large portions of lamb with a selection of pickled veg and a yogurt sauce in a toasted flatbread. Today however it felt like it'd been there a bit too long and the yogurt had made the inside of the bread soggy.
Ordinarily better, but still street (foods) ahead of similar lunch options both in terms of price, taste and service.
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