The last meal of the year - Honest Burger, Brixton - Dec 2012

The last review of the year. It could only really be a burger right? And this one was a long shot. I've tried and failed to get a seat here before (and I really can't queue, especially not for fast food...) Luckily enough, I found myself with a hunger, in Brixton Market, at just the right time...

Rough and ready doesn't come close to describing the friendly little hole in the wall, at 12:10 it's already on the way to fullness, before my meat materialises it's standing room only. Interior decor is minimal, and that's being kind, though they've got the fundamentals - a scattering of tables, a small grill and a beer fridge... What more do you need? They don't have a lot on the menu after all. As you'd expect from the name, it begins, and ends, with burgers.

Alongside a portion of triple cooked rosemary salted chips, lunch arrives served in 40's enamel trays, a nod to the austerity of the design perhaps. I was briefly tempted by the festive special, venison sausage topped, but feel I have to go for the trademark Honest Burger, served a recommended medium. The dark beef aged chuck patties, flecked with fat, are pressed onto the grill to order, tiny cloches added at the last to steam the cheese into the meat. In a space this small, the smell is mildly intoxicating and certainly enough to have me salivating before it arrives.

The burger is good. Very good. A well formed cricket ball of chopped steak nearer to med-rare than medium - certainly not something I have a problem with. The glazed brioche bun gives the right amount of support, iceburg lettuce adds a welcome crunch and the tangy cheese, a cheddar in this instance, is (correctly) sparingly applied and combines well with the sweetness of the meat. The chips were a little over cooked for me, too much cooking for thin chips, it made them feel like they could have been reheated. My only other gripe was with the sliced gherkin served inside the bun, something I'm really not a fan of, but hardly enough to call for a boycott.

Don't come with any hope of getting a table for more than 2, it's almost impossible to wrangle a spot for larger groups in the packed lunchtime session. Still, there are plenty of other food options in the buzzy market hall community that's gradually opening up in Brixton Market. Is it a competitor to the big boys of Byron and Meatliquor's burger king Yannis? It's difficult to say. The burger is excellent, (if not quite up there with the Meatwagon's legendary Dead Hippie) but it feels like a labour of love, very much suited for the tiny space.. They're doing well at the moment though, and if they keep their standards up, long may it continue.
 

The Real Man Pizza Company - One for goodfellas, not for tough guys... Dec 2011

"Home of the hottest pizza in the United Kingdom". I'd assumed that the 'Real Man' referred to the cojones needed by anyone sampling the aforementioned Diablo, but there's allegedly a Manx connection at this newish Farringdon pizzeria just down from the Eagle. The small island, better known for TT racing and tail-less cats hasn't on the surface anything significant to add to the pizza story, but the kitchen gamely attempt to inveigle the local queenies - a small, sweet scallop found in the waters off the island - into a couple of the dishes.

The special one, a tricked up margarita, delivers its kick though a ferociously spicy tomato sauce. It's sweeter than expected, with a residual heat that builds after initial impact. To be honest, it could have done with a modicum more texture. Chunks of spicy sausage or ham would have given a little welcome variation.

It's not an expensive meal, nor an overly salubrious location, though it works well for the local lunchtime and post work crowd of office workers and creatives who don't want to fight through the crowds of Exmouth Street Market.


Other pizza related reviews and links:
A brief history of pizza - "when the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that's the most popular fast food in the world..."
A tale of two pizzas - Reviews of Firezza and The Gowlett

The Sea Cow - Dec 2011

If there's an acceptable face of gentrification then the Sea Cow must surely qualify. A little local fish and chip shop in East Dulwich with the wet fish laid on a shop slab at the front. Bright and cheery, with rough hewn oak communal tables, it's got a design idea behind it, but it doesn't get in the way of the plates and plates of solid reliable meals they churn out. The fish kept fresh by the turnaround, it's a popular spot with the Dulwich mums and a tad noisy early evening and on weekends, crowd control not being a known strength of the middle class parents round here.

Aside from the slightly too clever mushy peas, a rough purée overburdened with mint and oddly sweet, everything here is as you'd expect. Coley and haddock feature on the menu instead of cod, and there are grilled prawns and sea bass for those who don't need their fish encased in batter. Those of us who do will be pleased to know that the batter is excellent, as are the chips. Not in a travel for miles kind of way, but certainly in a best in the vicinity way. There's a short but pleasingly priced wine list, though it's also worth noting that Green & Blue, the excellent little wine bar and shop across the road runs a 'chippage' scheme. The combination of excellent fish and chips alongside some very, very good wines helps you make more of a night out of it, and all of a sudden, it's a reason to travel.

A short review of Copita - D'Arblay Street tapas - Dec 2011

(Relatively) unannounced,  there's another new no reservations tapas-style restaurant in Soho, and what's more shocking is that it isn't part of Russell Norman's Polpo empire. It's got the hallmarks; an 'interesting' space full of nooks, crannies and pillars,  rough and ready 'found' design, low lighting, short interesting menus and ultra cool staff with tattoos,  (caveat, the last one may not be true).   

Spying a window seat and in need of a stomach liner before the first Christmas party of the year, I pop in for a couple of plates. The menu offers around 15 plates, nothing more than £6.  

I go for lightly cooked purple sprouting broccoli, the meat-eaters equivalent to nicorette, its iron tang here matched by soft and gooey blue cheese and a bite of lemon. This was followed by a tiny plate of venison. Beautifully served with Jerusalem artichoke, ceps and spinach, a plate with Michelin aspirations, pushed through a miniaturising machine. Beautifully distinct flavours that combined to form an exquisite whole, focused around the tender, gamey deer, albeit one so small a Liliputian could have brought it down. 

    

There's an interesting wine list too, suggested grape varieties offered in both 'young' and 'mature' forms, leading the caual oenophile to explore. They focus on appropriately pairing many of the lead dishes on the menu too. 

  

It doesn't have the same destination potential as Dehesa or Fino, and lacks the buzzy bar of Barrafina (some would say that's a good thing). For a low key local to pop into for a bottle of wine and a few nibbles however, it's an excellent addition to the neighbourhood.