A Big Soppy Thank You

As you've possibly worked out (or probably not even noticed) we've been on a blogging hiatus for the past month while we've been taking it easy, catching up with friends and family in England.

Some of the highlights of our last month, in no particular order, are:

Going on a shoot in England's south west where it poured with rain, blew its arse off and struggled to get above 5 degrees for the entire day.

An amazing curry feast in Fleet with Jo and Fiona.

<envisage picture of said mouth watering curry feast>

Arriving at a train station called Headcorn.

Finding some of Banksy's work in Bristol, where he honed his skills.

The Manchester Christmas Markets.

Travelling first class on a train between London and Bristol, because it was a third of the price of travelling in second class.  Obviously.

My first ever "frost over".

Drinking in The Nutshell, the UK's smallest pub.

So thank you to Fiona, Jo, Lucy, Linda, Mark, Jessie, Janet, Andy, Grant, Tania, Sophie and Tom for putting us up/putting up with us and giving us something that felt like normal home life again.

Now, onto some European Christmas Markets and that bitterly cold Eastern European winter...

Significant Insight from the Significant Other - Heston, Living the Dream

The second of my foodie dream meals!  Upon realising that making it to The Fat Duck really wasn't within our budget, but certainly not willing to sacrifice a date with Heston, we "compromised" with a booking at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in the fancy end of London.  The restaurant is within the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and we had doormen holding doors open for us with many a sir and madam references, which was very different to what we were used to!  They even insisted that they took our coats...  So we sheepishly handed over our attractive rain jackets to be housed amongst the Gucci and Burberry jackets of the fancy folk.  

Service here was THE best that I think any of us had ever experienced.  Despite it being very obvious that we were not made of money, we weren't treated like second class citizens and had multiple staff members legitimately interested in our travel plans and what we were doing.  Heck, Brim was even assisted with removing his flanno and placing it on the back of the chair! 

So a round of cocktails to begin....  Expensive but the list was too amazing to resist.   Mine was the tall thing which was sake and gingerbeer and lemon grass etc....  A kind of mule spin off.  Brim had the thing with the spoon of jam which was cognac based and Matt was a cherry something and probably the tastiest of the lot.  We also splurged on a bottle of Spanish red which I think was the best wine I've had in my memory...  And even got the tick from non-winelover Matt! 

Starters - I had the meat fruit and would happily live off of this for the rest of my life....  Even better than I had hoped!  A deliciously silky smooth blend of duck liver and foie gras, encased in a slightly sweet, mandarin flavoured gelatine case that melted the second it entered your mouth.  Matt had the octopus, which was super tender in slightly a smoked sea broth.  It came with cockles and samphire, the perfect combination.  Brim went for the bone marrow (after holding onto his meal envy of my starter at St. John) which came filled with snails.  It had a very smooth garlic flavour and looked so beautiful with the baby pickled veg on the side.  The pickled cauliflower was a taste sensation in itself. 

Mains - I had another starter which was lamb broth with a soft hens egg and veal sweetbreads.  It's always fun when the liquid isn't actually in your bowl and is poured from a jug on arrival to the table!  Matt decided on a tender piece of halibut, again coming with more cockles and samfire.  The fish was cooked to perfection and had a deliciously herby sauce.  Brim had the pork chop with a barley ragout and braised veg.  All very good again!  I had a side of kale which was delicious and we managed to get a side of triple cooked chips even though they shouldn't have been available - divine!

Dessert - I had the brown bread icecream which came on a bed of salted caramel and some kind of biscuit.  Matt had the tipsy cake which was a boozy brioche baked to order with spit roasted pineapple.  Brim had quaking pudding which was a pannacotta of sorts with poached pear and a warm spiced syrup poured on at the last minute.  Again all amazing!  Then there was little freebie of chocolate ganache with orange and Earl Grey and a caraway biscuit.

We left feeling extremely satisfied although disgustingly full (I wished that vomitoriums still existed!), and went and played with the squirrels in Hyde Park. 

And a thank you to my lovely parents who funded the dream with some birthday moneys! 

Posh Nosh and Pints in Pommyland

Kerb

From Monday to Friday each week, a handful of interchanging food trucks congregate around the corner from Kings Cross Station and offer up some amazing, tarted up street food.

We went for a beef brisket burrito, fried chicken bap with Korean sauce and a chicken tikka naan.  All bloody delicious.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to enjoy them as much as Nix and Matt after a few too many Guinness and games of pool the night before.  I hit that magical sweet spot between sober and past it and was a man possessed on the pool table.  I was in the sort of form that used to allow me to carry Rick, Tik or Matt in competitions at Miss Q's back in my hey day.

UPDATE* - we've since returned for a salted beef bagel, Indian style lamb rump wrap and doughnut balls drowned in hot salted caramel.  This line of trucks would never disappoint.

Brewdog Camden

Our first beers of London could've been at no other place than Brewdog.

Say what you will, they brew bloody good beer and it was easy to lose a night there after our sixteen hour bus ride from Amsterdam.

We worked or way through the tap list which included the wonderfully tart Blitz Apricot (the poor man's Fou' Foune), their hoppiest beer yet, Jack Hammer, and Dead Metaphor pulled through the Hopinator that held plums and Columbian coffee beans.  All very "drinkable".

We also tucked into a Tex Mex sort of spicy pizza and a meat and cheese sharing board before joining the weekly, Monday night beer tasting.  Merry is a word that sums up our night well.

And this is the moment where Matt agreed not to shave his "moustache" before mid 2015.  Whether he's upheld that deal 'til now even I'm not sure.

Craft Beer Co - Clerkenwell

Whilst offering a fairly good tap last (that was maybe a bit too heavy on low percentage pale ales and IPAs) our general experience at one of London's top rating beer bars was pretty disappointing.  The setting is nice, the service pretty average and as mentioned the tap list is OK.  We have no reason to return.

Cask

Cask is owned by the same people as Craft Beer Co and whilst a slight improvement on CBC Clerkenwell, it's more of the same really.  A better tap and bottle list but once again let down by poor service and a fairly average atmosphere.

However, they did have bacon dusted chips!

I think at this point we were still suffering a bit of a Belgian hangover where even an average bar there is comparatively great elsewhere.

Euston Tap and The Cider Tap

Located on opposite sides of the road from each other are two old Victorian Gatehouses where one is Euston Tap itself, which has a fairly solid beer tap list, and the other houses The Cider Tap which, you wouldn't believe, serves cider.  And what a tap last it has.

Euston Tap is OK but is more of the same really however The Cider Tap is where it's at.  It has a much grungier feel and is a lot more homely and after so much beer over the preceding couple of months, the change to cider was a welcome one.

We had a few rounds at Euston Tap, that didn't really include anything of note, and then headed across the road and had a couple more.  Most interesting were Razberry, a slightly sweet apple cider with raspberry juice added to it, and West Milton, a 7% almost dessert style cider that was absolutely delicious.  Maybe a full pint was a slight bit of overkill though.

UPDATE* - we've also returned to The Cider Tap for more good cider and a quick couple of Calvados before running out the door.

The Queen's Head 

The Queen's Head proved again that the most well renowned and highest rating things, whether you're talking about a bar, restaurant, cup of coffee, whatever, a lot of the time aren't the best or most interesting.  It's quite often the places that you stumble upon when heading somewhere else that prove to be the most enjoyable.

We settled in on a couple of old couches and proceeded to work our way through some exceptionally good English craft beer that included stuff from Kernel and Weird Beard.  The pale ales, IPAs etc. that English craft brewers offer up pretty much deliver what they say on the label but they really hit their straps when it comes to stout.  Give me an English stout by an English brewer any day over any stout that the Americans produce.  Boom.

Sigur Ros

For the second time within a year we were privileged enough to see the world's current greatest band.  Our UK plans were turned on their head when Sigur Ros announced a London gig, hence the updates.

We lost our sh*t and annoyed everyone around us who was only there to hear their most recent album.  It was a great night.

Thanks Matty Brim!

The Beers

Brewdog Punk IPA, Blitz Apricot, Libertine, Jack Hammer, Dead Metaphor, Dead Metaphor with additional plums and coffee beans, Hello, My Name Is Mette Marrit, Matt's Girly "Beer"
Dieu du Ciel Rescousse Alt
Partizan Strong Golden Belgian Ale, Smoked Blonde Ale
Firestone Walker Reserve Porter
The Lost Abbey 10 Commandments
Green Flash Barley Wine
Thornbridge Black Harry, Jaipur, Wild Raven, Otters Tears
Magic Rock Dark Arts
Kernel Citra Galaxy, Export Stout, Pale Ale, Amarillo
Beavertown Black Betty, Smog Rocket
Kuhnhenn Double Nut Brown
Amager Bryghus Sloth
Lervig Rye IPA
Weird Beard Milk Stout, Amarillo
Brooklyn Winter Ale
Cromarty Brewing Co Brewed Awakening
Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout
Buxton Saison, Black Rock
Redemption Fellowship Porter
Arbor Goo Goo G'joop
Lagunitas IPA
Harbour DIPA
Sierra Nevada Belgian Blonde IPA
Thornbridge/Odells RIPA
Camden Gentleman's Wit
Evil Twin Assisten IPA
Siren Big Inflatable Cowboy Hat
Dugges Celebration Ale
Evil Twin/Siren Even More Jesus XIII
Against the Grain Save Ferrous
Tempest Saison du Pomme
Flying Dog Belgian Devil

The Cider

MillWhites Rioja Cask Cider
Sheppys Rasberry
Hogans Dry, Somerset
Somerset Draught
Sandford Bumbleberry
West Milton
Gwatkin Farmhouse Stoke Red
Orchard Pig Cider

Significant Insight from the Significant Other - Meating at St John

This is surprisingly not a rant - well, not a complaint or whine anyway!  This is all about our lunch at St John in London and one of my foodie dreams coming true.

Since realising that I have a slight obsession with food and all things food related, I have started a list of things I must try and places I must eat.  St John is one of those places and has been very high on the list ever since I discovered Fergus Henderson and his philosophy of nose to tail eating.  His use of offal and other neglected cuts of meat is absolutely fascinating and a delight to discover.

St John is located in the premises of a former bacon smoke-house so is full of character and immediately fills you with a lust for meat.  On receipt of the menu we were all immediately salivating and could not wait for the eating to begin!  We started with a bottle of their own St John Rouge, a delicious blend of Cabernet and Syrah, made our menu selections and hoed into the freshly, house baked bread.

Then our starters arrived - boy oh boy!  Matt chose the duck hearts which came on a bed of swede mash and a meaty jus.  They were cooked to perfection and each bite was a heavenly combination of earthy richness combined with the sweetness of the swede.  Brim went for the venison saddle with beetroot and watercress.  Again the meat was perfect and the balsamic on the beetroot pulled the whole thing together.  Both were delicious however I must admit that my choice was the standout!

Roast bone marrow and parsley salad - what I would do for a plate of that right now.  Four pillars of roasted bone marrow with char grilled, freshly baked sourdough, a parsley, onion and caper salad perfectly dressed and a pile of wet sea salt.  It even came with its own little tool for marrow removal to then spread on the toast.  Delightful!

Feeling completely satisfied after the consumption of our starters, it was Mains time.  Matt went for one of the day's specials which was a whole roasted partridge with bread sauce, jus and a whole roasted red onion.  The meat was deliciously gamey and succulent whilst being rather difficult for Matt to dissect.  Brim had lamb kidneys, which came with sautéed chard and were swimming in a juicy reduction.  He was happy with his decision however I have confirmed that kidneys are definitely not my thing.

I decided to try the calf's liver and braised witlof, again with a delightful reduction.  I was worried that I'd made a mistake with my choice, being overwhelmed with the liver to veg ratio, but was quite sad when it was all gone.  Cooked to perfection and so soft and sweet!  We shared sides of sprout tops and welsh rarebit (glorified cheese on toast) .

Last but not least was dessert - this was after our waiter had asked if "we are in the industry", which made us giggle.  Matt picked a chocolate mousse with creme fraiche, which he absolutely loved. Certainly not a sweet dessert and very rich.   Brim chose lemon sorbet with vodka, which was extremely refreshing and clean.  I decided to go one of the signature dishes, an Eccles cake with Lancashire cheese, which was incredibly tasty and the cheese was so good with it.

We left very full and sad that the meal was over.  St John certainly lived up to all expectations and we would have no hesitation in returning again and again.

A special shout out of thanks to my wonderful brother for his very thoughtful birthday gift of a voucher for Brim and I.

And a dishonourable mention to Matt for his shakey photos!