Rawduck, 23rd January

I’m kind of a fan of masturdating – once I’ve decided I want to get something to eat, and where, I can’t really be bothered to find someone to accompany me. So I’m often a solo diner. Up at the counter is best I find – I feel a bit less like everyone else thinks I’m some oddball loser.

So when I woke up at a half decent time on a Saturday I decided to brunch at Raw Duck, where I have been wanting to brunch for some time. The atmosphere was perfect for a neighborhood joint. There were a lot of people there but it wasn’t so full that people couldn’t just drop in and be assured a seat. I was seated immediately where I had to face the eternal condundrum – do I fancy eggs or something sweet?

I hardly ever have pancakes, often erring towards eggs when I’m out so this time sweet won out and I ordered the buckwheat pancakces with smoked bacon. I balanced it by having a bloody mary, which certainly had some poke! It wasn’t particularly fancy, no odd flavours or elaborate garnishes, but it was probably the strongest bloody mary I’ve ever had.

I busied myself with the loner’s best friend – social media while I waited for my flapjacks. By this time I had forgotten the smoked element of the dish and when I bit into it the flavour hit me like a sledgehammer. This is no regular smoked bacon, like that Danepak crap you get in the supermarket. It is powerful. The smokiness clings to it. It is like sitting next to a wood fire and getting the smoke in your throat. It would have been too overpowering but for the sweetness of the maple syrup. Meanwhile the buckwheat pancakes were crispy and a reasurringly stodgy texture, while not being overly heavy. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

And thus I was reminded of the downsides of solo dining – no other dishes to try.