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?!