Last London Leftovers

My my my… my last entry on London food. As silly as it sounds, I’ve avoided writing this entry for about two weeks despite having all the photos ready because I thought that once this is written, it means that London is really over (yes, I know it’s over but I’m still going through withdrawals and hanging onto my experience… I listen to Matilda the Musical songs every day… “We are revolting children, living in revolting times...”).

Okay, okay enough of me being all depressed about leaving London, let’s talk about FOOD. I mentioned in the last entry about Propstore. Sadly, I didn’t get the opportunity to wine or dine there, but it nevertheless was awesome! This is a little pop-up restaurant National Theatre opens every summer and it’s made out of… PROPS! How fantastic is that?! They take some old parts of sets from the past year or two and build this joint outside of the theatre. Food and drinks are also decently priced and it’s just a fun place to be. I saw the white silhouettes of the city skyline from The Magistrate (designed by the fabulous Katrina Lindsay), lights from Frankenstein (Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance gave me goose bumps, but then again his performances always do!), the floor was from Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (I saw that twice!), and there were some props from War Horse as well. It was so cool. Londonners, get your butt to South Bank for me! When I thought I couldn’t love National Theatre even more (I legitly want to work for them), Prophouse made me head-over-heels in love.

Moving on: welcome to Comptoir Libanais! This Lebanese food heaven was in my eat.shop london book and the colors and pictures were so vibrant, that I had to take a peak. The first time I tried to eat there they were closed (apparently the hours they list online are wrong), but I did get to eat here once and it was sooo good! I got the Chicken and Green Olives Tagine. I had no idea what it was and hoped it tasted good, and it did! Shredded chicken and olives and a bit of lemon zest on top of a bed of some type of rice or couscous-like grain. Yeah, this description needs some work, but I loved it. Light and filling. I also had a Roomana, which is a pomegranate and orange blossom lemonade, which was just the right about sweetness and tart. Oh, and the restaurant’s environment is so fun! So many colors! There were Lebanese canned goods and accessories on shelves, this wonderful mural of a woman in the back, and fun colored chairs. There was a sense of culture and vibrancy that I really enjoyed about Comptoir Libanais. I wish I got to go more often, ‘cause it is someplace I’d frequent if I lived in London.

Ooh! Now I get to write about a restaurant that I wish I opened myself! Hello Muriel’s Kitchen! Located right outside of the South Kensington station, this wonderful oasis is the cutest thing ever. I love the decoration of this place… it’s how I would decorate my own home. I’m talking light blue accents with a rustic homey vibe. Some decorations were also baking tools, which made this place even more loveable; some lights were made out of cake tins and there were baking tins just hanging on the wall! The food was quite tasty as well. I had their lasagna and I was so happy it was meaty. One thing I learned about lasagna in Europe is that it’s creamy compared the meaty U.S. lasagna. Although not shown here, I also had their grilled salmon that came with a delicious pesto-like sauce. The only thing that would make Muriel’s Kitchen more awesome is if it was cheap. It ain’t cheap. I’m a firm believer in the phrase, “Treat yourself once in a while” and Muriel’s Kitchen is just the place for that.

Riding House Café was a total random finding when I was looking for Attendant (the café I mentioned in my previous post). I was walking towards Attendant when I saw Riding House and it looked all hipster and lovely inside. It was pretty packed, so it had to be good. After getting coffee with my lovely friend Thalia, we went to Riding House for a nibble. We got seated in this lovely long family table and the chairs were vintage theatre seats. How cool is that?! They’re a bit difficult to squeeze into (‘cause they’re bolted to the floor), but I still dug them. I just had their lamb soup and I was floored. I’m not a fan of lamb because of its gamey taste, but this wasn’t gamey at all! The meat was so tender and the soup was a simple clear broth yet bursting with flavor. The herb garnish was a necessary touch too because the bits of herbs added a fresh zing that played on your taste buds. Everything in Riding House is a bit on the pricier side, but I would (if I could… sob) just go back for a small bowl of lamb soup anyways.

As with a handful of restaurants I visited, I found out about J+A Café via eat.shop london. I had my last dinner in London here actually and ate a wonderful steak pie. Perfectly cooked. As yummy as it was, I can’t say I totally loved J+A. It’s in a weird location (a little hard to find) and has weird hours. The café was near closing when my friends and I got there and then we got moved to the J+A Bar—the café and bar are next to each other, but in separate buildings. The waitress was kind and tried to explain how they did things, but I still thought it was a bit weird that we had to move.

And lastly, but surely not least: Jamie Oliver’s Diner. I mean, I had to eat at a famous English chef’s restaurant while I was in London right (and there was no way I could afford a Gordon Ramsay meal)?! This fun diner is a pop-up restaurant meaning that it will only be in Piccadilly Circus for a limited time! The restaurant was super fun and there were dinosaurs EVERYWHERE. Pretty awesome. Now Jamie is all about health, but he lets his customers indulge here (he listed items there were especially fatty with devil horns and healthy dishes with halos… cute right?). I’m talking ribs and savory waffles. I shared the ribs with a friend and then the group of us ate a slice of chocolate cake at the end (great way to finish off). The diner also serves boozy milkshakes, but they weren’t offering it at the time we ate there (my question is: why put it on the menu if you’re not serving it yet?! Such a tease). I wish I got to try one of their milkshakes and would of gone back for it if it wasn’t for my flight. Really, this is a great restaurant with a great environment. The bathrooms were even cute (well I can say that for the lady’s at least). Jamie actually goes all out when it comes to his restaurants and so he even had nice wooden vintage-like toilet seats! Man knows how to open a restaurant and cook.

And so this chapter of London eats has come to an end. When people say the English aren’t known for their food, I’d like to say they are wrong indeed! I’ve had great food experiences in London. Yes, you might have to pay a pretty penny once and a while, but that’s the cost of quality, awesome food. The only thing the English haven’t nailed down yet is Mexican food, but we can’t all be perfect. Cheers and farewell to London, my love. I hope to be back soon.

Food Festivities

Well I’m back in the States and as lovely as it is to have sunshine all day err-day I miss the biting cold of London (weird I know). It almost seems too cheerful here… it’s eerie Maybe I’m being a bit dramatic, but I really miss London and aim to be back there in the future. It’s summer time and seeing as I did not land any internships that I really wanted, I’ll be spending the summer working. I expect to have lots of free time, so I’ll be doing lots of reading and baking. After watching The Great British Bake Off, I want to attempt more challenging recipes and make things like profiteroles and play with caramel. Luckily I have a lot of friends who like to be my guinea pigs, so I won’t get too round this summer! Anywho, this entry and the next will be my last entries on London food (sob). I got to eat some great food in the last month and went to a few food festivals (one entirely on accident!). I have been so blessed to have gotten to study abroad in London and I hope you get to go to London sometime in the future because, frankly, it’s the best city in the world!

There are so many great things about London… I can go on and on and on… but one great aspect about the UK’s capital is its festivals! Festivals seem to pop up especially in the summer (woe is me! I wish I was there to experience more of them!) and one popular place for festivals is South Bank. South Bank is one of my favorite areas of London just ‘cause of National Theatre, Borough Market, and various small design shops. Now, three months ago South Bank hosted the Chocolate Festival and last month they hosted the Cheese and Wine Festival. All in all it was pretty fun and enjoyed a rich raclette that had bacon and onion bits with a white wine and cream sauce. I also had my first sip of hot alcoholic cider and I have to say I prefer my drinks cold.

I also stumbled upon another food festival entirely by accident! I had no idea about the Realfood Festival until my friend and I went to South Bank to check out the Propstore (which I will write about next time). Apparently Realfood is about “great tasting, sustainably and ethically produced food” and they also hold a weekly market at South Bank. I had a pulled pork sandwich from the Barbacoa booth, which is from Jamie Oliver’s restaurant near St. Paul’s Cathedral. Although the barbecue was a bit sweeter than I’m use to, it was a lovely sandwich and the pork was oozing with goodness. The cabbage added a bit of crunch and helped cut the heavy sauce. Oh, and I can’t forget the buns: they were fluffy wings of delight that hugged the juicy pork. Best pulled pork sandwich I had in London by far (I had one at Borough Market and it was too dry and tough). 

My friend Cassie actually told me about Street Feast London and it’s a cute summer foodie affair in East London (you have to take the Overground to get there). Each week there’s a different theme and we so happened to go when the theme was BBQ, though we didn’t have anything of the sort. I got a lovely light flatbread that was topped with beetroot, parmesan, greens, and nuts while my other friends had a vegetarian burrito filled with plantains and sweet potatoes and an egg poached in a tomato-based sauce. The Street Feast is definitely a place for the young and hip who love food and I really dug the neighborhood atmosphere. There was also a bar, but frankly the drinks were overpriced. If you’re in London right now or will be there in the summer, make sure to check this place out!

Next is Beigel Bake, which is also located in East London. I’ve heard of this place ever since I got to London, but I’ve never been until I almost had to leave. Not only does Beigel Bake make great simple food, but it’s also incredibly cheap. And… it’s open 24 hours. At first I just had a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel (which was a bit oily, but nevertheless delicious), but then I saw so many people eating the salted beef sandwich and I had to try it. I figured I probably wouldn’t be back, so I might as well go big. The salted beef was delicious! I also loved how they just slammed a pickle and mustard into the sandwich. The bagels are soft and chewy and just wonderful to eat. Now the one thing about this place that I can’t say I loved was the service. Lots of people know of this joint, so there are always customers flowing in and out and the workers don’t really have much patience. Let’s just say I wasn’t treated in the friendliest manner when they forgot I paid and I had to wait on the sidelines awkwardly. I’d still go back though!

One place that had lovely customer service was the Attendant. Now, that’s probably ‘cause it’s TINY and there aren’t that many customers, but I still liked it a lot. My bro-in-law told me about this place and how it was an old public toilet refurbished into a café. I loved how they kept as much of the old toilet fixtures as possible. There’s a little nook that probably can seat about nine people and a couple of bar areas where the urinals use to be that seats more people. It’s cozy! Luckily I got there before all the seats were taken (‘cause it would have sucked to have to leave just ‘cause you couldn’t find a seat). I kind of felt like I was part of a hidden club ‘cause of the hole-in-the-wall aspect of this café. Ironically, this café doesn’t have its own bathroom!

And I thought I would end this entry on a happy note: I had BUTTERBEER! I went to the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour (which was fabulous!) and got my first and only taste of Butterbeer. They only sell it in this one outside area in the middle of the tour (I tried to get seconds at the café in the front, but they said they don’t serve it there). Gosh it was delicious. It tasted like fizzy creamy butterscotch. Apparently some people have posted the recipe online, so I plan to make it for myself in the near future. Maybe I’ll have a Harry Potter party this summer. Who knows?!