Wazen, 7th October

As you walk to King’s Cross from Farringdon, Wazen sits unassumingly on a corner in what looks like an old pub. Inside it is understated but warm. They have only just opened and I was invited along to sample some of their dishes and sake. What an absolute treat for me that was.

As with any event involing free food you had to be pretty quick off the mark to actually get any and there were definitely several dishes I didn’t even see until they were half eaten by other people, let along get to try. But what I did try was mostly exquisite. The highlights were far and away the cubes of ever so rare wagyu beef and the spoons of thinly sliced salmon served doused in truffle oil. Simply amazing. I also tried some further cubes of delicate, rare salmon, a cute little ball of rice with a layer of tuna draped over it and a carpaccio of yellowfin with a zingy dressing. Everything practically dissolved in your mouth.

There was also a light and moreish salad, and some fried chicken balls which were my least favourite as, without being able to eat it with the salad and dressing it was served with it was a little dry. However, this was thanks to eating standing up without a plate I think. Served the way it was intended I would give it the benefit of the doubt.

I also tried sake for the first time and I can say that I am a fan! The one they served was quite sweet and very smooth – it sort of reminded me of sherry although not as cloying or heavy. I had two of those, and it worked really well with the fresh fish.

I have to say, the staff serving the food and drinks were very lovely, and I’m not sure if we spoke to the owner or front of house manager at the beginning but he was really helpful in explaining the dishes we managed to try and told us about the different types of sake and which one we were trying (premier made in only a handful of ‘breweries’ in Japan.

An utter delight. I really wish I could have eaten more of their food but that just means I will have to go back! 

Drink Shop Do Birthday, 12th August

I am no stranger to Drink Shop Do. I used to work around the corner from the place and on my first visit went there for lunch and was back again for drinks that night. When I wanted to celebrate my birthday, they had by that time opened Drink Shop Dance in the old sex shop below so this is where we ended up and had an excellent night. I found myself there again for a vintage hen do, where we all had our hair and makeup done while having afternoon tea. But I had never been to one of their ‘Doing’ events so when I was invited for their fifth birthday party I was quite excited.

They’re famed for nights involving arts and crafts or just being silly – such as Doodle Shop, making Lionel Richies out of Rich tea biscuits, and also having lunchtime discos. On their birthday we had a round of Lego robots and then some Musical bingo. I’ve played musical bingo before (though not with Jess Indeedy) so I knew what to expect and it was just as fun as the original night – she played mostly 90s hits that were as fun to dance in your seat to as playing the game of bingo itself. Prizes were such things as pom poms and fake mohawks – what more could you want?

For lego robots the rules were simple – it had to have a name, a special power, and limbs of some sort I seem to recall. I was quite pleased with my half-truck-half-oven creation but didn’t end up submitting it as it kept falling apart.

We had been treated to some delicious cocktails throughout the evening (as well as some delightful cakes and sandwiches to soak it up) and also, rather magically, bubbles of gin and tonic! Actually catching these was quite difficult but I managed to get a couple in my mouth. 

At the end of the bingo everyone made a conga line to the basement where the party continued and I started sipping on some frozen slushie margaritas and dancing around. Hell of a birthday party. And the perfect excuse to draw your attention to my previous post about Drink Shop Do. Here’s to another five years at least!

Keystone Crescent, 7th June

Ok, Keystone Crescent on a Sunday night is not exactly the place to be. But if you're really looking to impress someone with your under-the-radar knowledge then the fact no one else seems to be there could actually work in your favour!

I have to say, I kind of enjoyed having the place practically to myself and it didn't spoil our enjoyment. The vibe that I believe they're going for is '70s lounge'. At least, that's what sprang to mind from the stylised furniture and colour palette they have used.

The menu is simple, yet clever. They had about five different cocktails. I ordered the Dash Reviver (cold coffee, rum, vanilla, apricot) but our waiter told us they'd only put the cold press on that day and didn't think it would be at its best yet. I deferred to his advice and instead got an old fashioned. It was a little sweeter than most old fashioneds I've had, but that suits my preferences to a T and I loved it. One of the best I've had. My friend had the El Jimador which was a much lighter drink but just as easy to sip. He was a bit surprised at its potency but I pointed out that every single ingredient in it was alcoholic! The fact they still made it so delicious shows they're good at their craft.

Then, the clever bit. You can mix and match your own drinks to create whatever suits your mood, or favourite flavour profiles. You can have vodka, gin, rum, whisky or tequila and you can then choose sour, spice, fresh, bitter, tart and tiki as your mixer. The bartender is happy to suggest combinations he thinks go well together but it's really up to you to choose whatever you like. I loved this idea - so many permutations! And I could easily have spent the rest of the night working through them all. Instead I started with a bourbon and spice (ginger, cayenne pepper, tincture and sparkling and followed it up with a gin and tart (apple, apricot jam, basil and lemon). I'm happy to say both worked a treat. 

Dishoom, 21st November

I don't really know how to say this but, well, I thought Dishoom was... just... okay... I know, what is wrong with me? Wasn't I supposed to absolutely fall in love with it? I mean, I liked it, but that's as far as it went. If it were a beau, I'd probably go on a second date, but I'm not sitting by the phone on edge, waiting for it to ring.

Dishoom has been on my list for a long, long time. So long in fact, that in that time they have opened a third branch in King's Cross. I assumed, for the sake of speedy seating, that the best option would be to go to one of their more established branches to avoid any queues. But on twitter they assured me that their new branch had been pretty quiet since the 50% soft launch opening. And they were right. When we got there at six we were shown to a table straight away, and although the place did fill out a bit while we were there, there was no sign of any hour-and-a-half waits. (That's how long we were told we'd have to wait when we tried to get into the one in Shoreditch once.)

Dishoom sits comfortably between high-end Indian and eat-at-2-am curry. And the prices somewhat reflect that, although the portions are on the diminutive side, meaning it's not quite as good value for money as it would at first appear.

Trying to be reasonably healthy and not spend too much, Stephen and I just got one small plate, one grill and one main between us, as well as the requisite sides of a nan (garlic) and rice (they offer only one type – steamed basmati).

We ordered the okra small plate as our nibbles, which was as good move as we needed something to dip in the chutneys and dips that we were given for the table. These were delicious and it would have been nice to have some complimentary poppadoms to make the most of them. One was minty and cool, one was basically just chilli, so rather fiery, and the tamarind sauce was also surprisingly spicy.

Our lady fingers were great - most likely coated in something and lightly fried, they were a more than acceptable alternative to a bowl of chips. I easily could have eaten a portion on my own.

For the main event we ordered the plainspoken ‘chicken ruby’ and the lamb boti kabab. The ruby murray came in a thick, tomatoey sauce which was a little too tomatoey and sweet, not quite enough spice for the both of us. Perfectly nice to eat but didn’t make me swoon, and I was very much expecting to. We much preferred the chunks of lamb that had been marinated in red chili, garlic and ginger, although they seemed to get cold quite quickly.

To drink I had an East India Gimlet which was so nice I had another one. A very light, but strong drink, the celery bitters tempering any sweetness from the lime cordial.

Unusually, we had a dessert at Dishoom - we split the pineapple and black pepper crumble with custard, which was a good note to end on. Warm pineapple is a wonderful taste and the custard and crumble made it suitable stodgy and indulgent. 

In all it was a perfectly pleasant meal and I was only a bit disappointed because I'd had such high expectations. I’d be happy enough to return if someone suggested going (especially this branch - the setting is rather beautiful), but I’m not going to rush back. 

See the menu and more reviews of this restaurant on Zomato. 

Simmons and Shenanigans, 18th October

Goths have a secret. Emos, kinksters and other members of alternative subcultures, too. And I shall tell you what it is. They like cheesy music. But they can't just rock up to Club de Fromage or Guilty Pleasures in the garb they are wont to wear without getting a few weird looks. So they've created their own night where they can listen to all the music they like, wearing what they like, among likeminded people.

And this night is Shenanigans. I thought it sounded good with a list as long as my arm of music they play. The night was divided into different DJs and I assumed each DJ would play their preferred genre of music, and that the order of the DJs would have some bearing on how the night would go - maybe some indie to start easing into more poppy stuff as people got drunk, peaking with some 'EDM' (how I hate that term) or other harder stuff.

But it didn't go this way. We arrived at about 10 and people were already on the dance floor. You could tell the crowd was really up for it and that there were a lot of regulars there who knew each other. They were playing some harder rock stuff I didn't know, but that soon segued into the Kylie/New Order mashup. And then some Erasure. And then Boney M. Luckily this also included some Green Day and Violent Femms but I couldn't get my head round it, couldn't get settled into a groove. The music was all over the place. You can see their full setlists here. 

It was a loosely Halloween themed night but I got the feeling that most of the people there were just dressed how they would for any regular night of their choosing. There was a bit of a mixup of countercultures and while there was no nudity as far as I remember, there were definitely a few people who fell into the polyamorous category, all getting it on in a corner.

I felt like the night for me never really gelled. I couldn't get with the cheesier music or the way the genres hopped around. Maybe I just should have drunk more. It was certainly a popular night, but not my cup of tea.

Simmons

Speaking of tea cups, if you go to Simmons, that's exactly what you're likely to be drinking out of. They advertise a happy hour Sun-Fri until 9 pm, which has to be the longest happy hour I've come across. And, in addition the Happy Hour advertised, they seem to have it on a Saturday as well! I went to order a cocktail and was told it wasn't on the happy hour list so I should get something else, which I duly did - two Cosmopolitans in tea cups for £10. Not bad at all.

Simmons is quite a cutesy, eclectic place - you wouldn't expect a place that serves its cocktails in china to also have a huge skull disco ball but it does. From the outside it looks like some grubby old second hand furniture store - I didn't realise it was a bar until my friend told me it was. Inside, on a Saturday night it was heaving (which isn't hard - it's pretty small) and plays a pretty crowd-pleasing mix of danceable pop and RnB. Makes a pretty good pre-drinking spot if there are few of you enough to squeeze in.

Coffee Dogs, 1st April

I don't really like burgers. While the rest of my family embraced them, I grew up eating hot dogs. And not the weird, slimy kind you get in cans over here, nor the banger in a bun that used to double as a hot dog. No, the real kind. The American kind. And I love 'em.

So even though there are more than a handful of places in London serving pretty good dogs, I will never say another one is a band one. If we had a hot dog cart on each corner, like they do in NYC, I'd be happy.

So it was with an open heart that I wanted to embrace CoffeeDogs to the scene. I had half a mind to get there over the weekend to enjoy a 10% discount but was too busy. Instead I made a pit stop there after work. They've just got a shack outside King's Cross station with a few stools to perch on - already feeling closer to your average hot dog in the States than the gourmet hot dogs a lot of places are serving. And there ain't nothin' wrong with that.

I ordered the Chicago beef pulled through the garden - beef frankfurter, chopped onion, jalapeno sport peppers, strip of gherkin, green relish and then the weird bits - cucumber, tomato and celery salt. All served in a poppy seed bun.

They also do burgers and frozen custards and concretes (oh - and coffee) but I spied a zebra cronut from Dum Dum Donutterie and had one of them for dessert instead.

So, the hot dog. Priced at £5.00 I thought it was just a touch more expensive than it should have been given the toppings. The other hot dogs were all cheaper than this, and I don't think the toppings you're given warrant the extra. Yes, the toppings - most were great - classic toppings for hot dogs that work well with the slightly smokey, briney flavour. Relish - check. Onions - check. Dill pickle - check ('tis what relish is made of after all). Jalapeno sport peppers - double check - they were great. And the celery salt - delicious. The cucumber and tomato? For me, a big no. I don't really want my hot dog to seem like a salad. The tomato was just about ok, but the cucumber? Just weird.

The bread was pretty good - soft like a hot dog bun should be and the poppy seeds were nice. It was just the wrong side of soft (or perhaps not quite wide enough) and tore a little in the middle as I was eating, making the last few bites a bit more awkward. Also, why have buns that aren't as long as the frank? Or, conversely, why make sausages too long for the bun?

Anyway, after having picked it apart, my final verdict is that actually, this was pretty good, capturing the essence of what a hot dog is all about - some simple but ever so satisfying fast food. I'll be back and I'll be giving the Concretes a go next time too. 

Find the menu & restaurant information on Zomato

Caravan King's Cross, 24th August

Those Kiwis sure as hell know how to do brunch right. After working up an appetite by visiting the El Bulli exhibition my friend and I headed over to Caravan for one hell of a brunch. There was a bit of a wait so we had a drink next door in The Grain Store. They'd said possibly 40 minutes but it was actually only about 15 in the end. 

I had eaten there before but only for lunch, which was very nice, but brunch really seemed to be the star of the show judging by the menu. I was a little worried how I was going to ever decide what to have though secretly suspected I'd go for the salt beef bubble, even though I'd had a salt beef bagel the night before. But when we got there, it wasn't even on the menu! Oh no - cue paroxysms of indecision!  

Finally, the raclette and spinach french toast leaped out at me. I hadn't had savoury French toast, and I like to be a little adventurous with my choices. With difficulty, I turned my back on the equally delicious-sounding jalapeno cornbread with eggs, black beans and quadrillo peppers. My friend, finally managed to decide on the Caravan Fry. We both got some avocado on the side.

This was silly, and wasteful. We thought we'd get a few slices of avocado on the plate, instead we got two plentiful bowls of mashed up avocado drizzled with olive oil, with lemon and chili. Basically two things of quacamole. It was fabulous, but with our mains being sizable themselves we couldn't in all conscious eat all that avocado as well. So shamed they went to waste. So badly could eat some right now!

Anyway, it was brunch so of course we had to get some alcohol. I got one of the special bloody maries. I can't remember what it was called but it had beef in it. It was delicious. Smoky, and yes, beefy but in a good way, it was both peppery and had a good kick at the back of the throat of spice. They used proper peppercorns and I enjoyed getting the odd one to crunch on.

Alison ordered a glass of prosecco and a coffee. I'm not much of a coffee drinker but even I could appreciate how rich and smooth this one was.

We made many, many groans of pleasure as we ate our brunch. My french toast was basically an over the top toastie, with extra luxury/decadence/full fat?? from using egged-up bread. The salty bacon was perfect with this, as well as the tangy bitterness of the watercress. And of course that fabulous avocado which was a genius addition on our part. 

Alison chose poached eggs for her Carvan Fry which were perfectly done - not overcooked or too wibbly. It also came with mushrooms, some slow roasted tomatoes which I think she said were the highlight and some bacon which had nice crispy bits on the edge (as did mine). Her whole dish sat upon a massive slab of sourdough toast.

We were too stuffed to partake of any more food, more's the pity. That meal will stay with me for a while though... And Alison and I have tabled it as possibly 'our' brunch place in the future being easy to get to for both of us. I'm already looking forward to my return!

Shrimpy's, 2nd November

If there’s one thing I like about possibly being made redundant (admittedly there are few but maybe more than you’d think) it’s the excuse to indulge in order to cheer yourself. And so, in honour of pay day on Wednesday and to commiserate the possibility of never having any money again, me and a couple of fellow soon-to-be-ex colleagues went to Shrimpy’s for lunch.

Shrimpy’s as you probably know is tucked into the Filling Station round where Eat Street (otherwise known as Kerb) is situated. There used to be a bar with prosecco on tap and Homeslice pizzas being served but sadly that was only for the summer. Now there is only Shrimpy’s. We walked in without a reservation and were seated at the bar.

Shrimpy’s is a little odd inside. It reminded me of being on a 1920s cruise ship with the pale pink and sort of art deco feel. Something about the pineapples, and the chunky crystal-like glasses for water.

But then, on each side wall there were images that were in a graffiti/stencil style of sort of pop culture, and then on the back walls there were two giant canvasses of giraffes – one normal, one weirdly contorted. The different looks don't gel well and I can see how it would lead to people saying it's trying too hard to be cool.  Much has been made about how it is filled with hipsters in the evening, but on a weekday lunchtime nothing could be further from the truth. The place seems too understated for the kooky side walls and just full of the people who work in its environs. 

The food was also a little understated but mostly worked. It took me a long time to decide what to order but eventually I went for the duck breast, which I can so seldom resist, especially when coupled with one of my favourites – sweet potato. It also came with grapes and sliced pear. One of my friends ordered the fried chicken and red peppers, with fries as a side, and my other friend got the famed soft shell crab burger which came with fries.

We may have had a naughty glass of wine as well. It was only small.

I liked my duck – the skin on the top was crispy with some lovely salt sprinkled on it and it was cooked well. It possibly could have done with being rested a little longer as a lot of the juice (or blood) was running out of it and mingling with my pureed sweet potato which didn’t look too appealing. The grapes and sliced pear scattered among the sweet potato didn’t work too well. The sweet potato was nice with the duck. The grapes and pear were nice with the duck. They weren’t all that nice when combined all together.

I must admit I totally had food envy when the fried chicken came out and I’m pleased my friend let me have a taste. It was far bigger than I expected – a log of breaded and fried chicken sliced and then festooned with tiny, tiny cubes of red pepper. It was really juicy and the coating was lovely. The red pepper bits were pretty good too. Absolutely nothing wrong with that dish in my opinion.

I can’t comment on the soft shell crab burger as I can’t really bring myself to eat whole soft shell crab. So I have had to ask my friend what she thought of it and she said “
Crab burger was excellent - it's hard to go wrong with fried crab though.” It's never a bad thing to pick something good and do it well though.

I did nick a few fries and they were rather good. They were proper fries, not chips, nicely seasoned, not too greasy.

I was pretty pleased by this place on the whole. It’s maybe not somewhere that I’d go gushing about to all and sundry but it did make for a pleasant, slightly upmarket luncheon treat. Service was friendly and attentive, though not overly so – they were especially good at keeping the water glasses topped up. Our mains and glass of wine came to £22 each more or less.

Oh, and how could I forget? As a pre-meal snack they served corn nuts! They’re basically puffed out, deep fried corn kernels and I don’t know what they’re called over here, but take my word for it – they’re delicious, and I rather hope they start a trend for them.






Find the menu & restaurant information on Zomato

The Black Door, August 3rd

This is a rather odd complaint to make of a bar, but the The Black Door was entirely too popular. I guess it has been a long time since I went to a cocktail bar that is more like just a bar, and not the kind of place where you make sit-down reservations. I was ill-prepared for the masses and just didn’t warm to the place, and neither did my party. When I suggested we move on after one drink, everyone was very enthusiastic about this idea. Perhaps it was because there was a sizable group of us and too many people in the way for us to be able to mingle as we would like. I had made arrangements ahead to reserve an area, which was waiting for me when I arrived, and throughout the email exchange they were very professional and accommodated me, but I must admit, they did come across as a bit cold in email. I had a nagging impression they didn’t really care if they got our custom or not (understandable once we got there and saw how full it was). This is in contrast to the Star of Kings who I also emailed about reserving an area and who seemed somehow to exude cheeriness over email, even though, in the end they hadn’t actually set aside an area for me. That didn’t really matter though, as when we got there we pretty much had our pick of places to sit.

After a very enjoyable few hours at the Star of Kings (which was markedly busier than the first time I went there), we moved on to the Black Door. I was firstly disappointed that you couldn’t actually get to the cocktail bar through the black door down the side street. Instead we had to go in through The Fellow, which definitely ruined some of its mystique. Then, there were the aforementioned crowds. So, we found our table, but it was so crowded that not everyone could fit near those of us who were sat down. My friend and I ordered a julep and this was nicely strong and tasty. I have no complaints about the drinks. But the music they were playing wasn’t at all what I was expecting – I thought they stuck to retro 50s and 60s but apart from one Talking Heads song (which doesn't fit that brief anyway), I didn’t know or care for what they were playing. In some ways, this didn’t really matter as there wasn’t any room to dance like I’d hoped there would be anyway. It was a shame though as I am very fond of The Fellow, the pub downstairs. I’ve had a few drinks in there on more than one occasion and think its lovely with a menu that I plan on trying one day. As you’d expect from the sister pub of the Owl and the Pussycat. So I was expecting more of the same charm from the Black Door, and it didn’t deliver.

So, we moved on. To the downstairs part of Drink, Shop and Do, which is called Drink, Shop and Dance. This was MUCH better. Busy, with an atmosphere, but not crowded – there was enough room to start dancing by the bar, but they also had a dedicated dance area at the back which we made much use of. The music policy was commercial but eclectic. Perfect for people who had been drinking for about 5 hours, then.

And, the cherry on the cake, was when we spotted John Torode dancing away in there. So far Stephen and I have seen Michel Roux, Monica Galetti, and now John Torode. Only a matter of time before we see Gregg Wallace chowing down on a pud somewhere and we'll have spotted the full deck.

Regent's Canal, 26th May

I believe the word to describe the weather this weekend is ‘glorious’. And I, like the rest of London, wanted to make the most of it. We decided to walk Regent’s Canal, both because it is on my List, and because Stephen and I live opposite it and wondered if it would make a feasible cycle route for getting to work in Angel and King’s Cross respectively, knowing that it takes you all the way there.

In actual fact, it doesn’t exactly take you all the way there, as you get booted off at Angel and would have to go via real roads for a bit to get to King’s Cross. Not viable for me as I have sworn to myself never to risk life and limb on London’s roads, but potential for Stephen, especially during the Olympics.

But I digress. We joined Regent’s Canal from Victoria Park and walked along it until we could literally walk no more. I didn’t really know the route it took other than it ended up at King’s Cross somehow and of course went past Regent’s Park. The most popular stretch according to Time Out is the bit between Camden and Little Venice, which we strolled along at the end of the day at around 5:30. 

Random Chinese looking building at the start or the Camden leg

It was very serene, with hardly any people going in our direction or coming the other way. It was actually the quietest part of the canal for the part that is supposed to be the most popular but the time of day probably had something to do with that. This stretch takes you along Regent’s Park and past London Zoo, which is pretty cool. You go past the bird enclosure on one side and, I think, the giraffe pen on the other. We didn’t see any giraffes but there was a stork(?)-like bird close to us on our near side.

This section also takes you past some formidably grand houses. We came up to the first one and wondered what the special-looking building was. When we passed it and realised they were all like this, we knew we were in rich person territory and that these were actual houses, the likes of which I wouldn’t even bother dreaming about owning, knowing how unrealistic that dream would be. We weren’t the only ones awestruck enough to take pictures. 

The walk to Little Venice is about 2 miles from where we rejoined the path at Regent’s Park. I thought that once we got to Little Venice there would be ... I don’t know... More, to warrant having a name for the area. Regent’s Canal ends here and turns into Paddington Branch so there is more than one canal, and that must be the only (slightly poor) reason behind the moniker. There was a little park and an area with Zizzi’s and Starbucks etc but that was all.I had no idea where Little Venice was in the grand scheme of things, so Paddington being the nearest tube was a bit of a surprise. I felt quite proud to have walked from East London to West and to be able to compare practically the entire path. I personally preferred the earlier part of our walk through East London. There were varying degrees of busyness and you could get a feel for where you were by the buildings and people that populated the path. For instance, when being deluged by one speed bikes and all manner of bicycle ‘bells’ (including people saying ‘ring ring’) you knew you were in hipsterville. It was busier here, as you veered through areas such as London Fields and Hackney. We passed a couple of food outlets that opened up onto the canal and looked very tempting though we didn’t stop. We saw some fish swimming in the canal and enjoyed the plethora of houseboats lining the canal, some of which were toting their wares.

I love walking around London and have walked so much of it I sometimes feel I’ve run out of areas to explore. It was nice to find a different way to walk through London, and on such a hot day, it was a good way to spend some time outdoors. Definitely recommend East for people watching, West for romance and calm.

The Star of Kings, 9th February

If I was being generous, I would say, maybe Thursday just isn't the night to go to Star of King's. But this is quite damning really, because isn't Thursday the new Friday? So if a place isn't heaving on a Thursday, it's a little worrying. But it did also snow quite a bit so maybe that's what was putting people off...

I slightly inebriatedly asked the girl we'd befriended behind the bar if it gets busy at weekends. Her response was lukewarm so I suspect it doesn't really. It seems a shame. The Star of Kings is the sister pub of the Star of Bethnal Green, so I was expecting a fairly buzzy place go for my friend 'blind date'. Somewhere we could chat, but with a bit of an atmosphere. 

We could definitely chat, but the atmosphere was a little lacking. I liked the set up. The 'front room' was a big rectangle which had a hodge podge of different comfy chairs, including even a chaise longue, and the bar. Then there was a larger room at the back with normal tables and chairs, and even a downstairs where any dancing happens. Unfortunately only half the chairs in the front room were full, and none in the back. They played some good music - reminding me of their sister Star by playing retro 60s stuff but it wasn't enough.

The staff are also very friendly. They have happy hour from 5 - 9 in which they offer two for one cocktails. My friend turned up a little later than me, so we weren't in sync when it came to our rounds for a couple of drinks. She ordered a cocktail, but didn't really want them both at the same time. They let her order her one cocktail with other 'in the bank' as it were, so she could still capitalise on the deal. Not only that, but when she had finished her first cocktail, the guy came over and asked her if she was ready for her second one now. I could be mean and say with a dearth of customers they could afford to be so attentive, but let's pretend I didn't say that. They were fairly chatty - the bar girl even getting in on my drinkmate's attempts to coax me out longer, suggesting we go to Camden up the road where things were open longer. I was not drawn in though. 

So yeah, it was a nice pub, just not very lively. It's not exactly in the hub of things - it's all the way up York Road, past even King's place so people probably just don't really know it's there. Having said that, it is right next to the Guardian's offices, so there should be throngs of journos in there, not just the three I couldn't help but overheard when I first went in there. Disappointing.

DrinkShopDo x 2, 13th January

It so happened that the first time I went to Drink Shop Do, I went twice in one day. I had already organised to go for drinks with some friends there on the evening, and then my colleagues decided to lunch there. As Drink Shop Do is a café/shop by day and bar by night, I thought it would be good to see it in both its guises. 

Everything in Drink Shop Do is for sale – there is a little shop of craft type stuff at the front, including some wry cards that I particularly found amusing, and then you go into the back where they serve the food and drinks. They also hold different arts and crafts type evenings. Hence the name. They have some specials on every day and we asked the waitress to tell us what they were. We all ended up ordering one of them. I had the spinach and ricotta quiche, which I asked to be warmed. It was very nice and came with an assortment of salad which I wasn’t expecting. However, I must admit I had food envy when I saw what the others had ordered. The soup special was thai coconut and sweet potato, with a bit of chili, which I didn’t go for because I don’t like coconut. To my chagrin I was informed that it didn’t taste coconutty at all, and also came with some lovely crusty tiger bread and a clump of butter. The other order making me see green was the special of beef and ale stew. This too came with some bread and butter and was served in a cute stew pot from which you could see the great hunks of beef and veggies poking out. It looked delicious and I am told it was. And all very reasonably priced. They have a selection of home made cakes on the shelf which looked amazing, but as no one else was indulging, I wasn’t tempted to. Not this time round anyway.

At the end of the working day back I went to DrinkShopDo. While it wasn’t exactly transformed, the ambience was definitely different. There seemed to be more tables and the lights had been dimmed. The cakes had been removed from the bar, and though I think you may still have been able to order them, by the time I got into drinking, the tasty bar snacks of vegetable crisps and chilli wasabi peas and cashews they serve seemed more appropriate. They have a selection of cocktails, as well as wine, beer and cider. The prices are fairly average for London. A cocktail will set you back £7.50, which is actually less than what I have been paying at other cocktail-oriented places. I must highly recommend the Gorgy Porgy. If you have a sweet tooth, this is the drink to go for, like liquid creme brulee.

I was at the venue by 5:45 and the place was already quite busy. I’d say by 6:30 there wasn’t a free table. But luckily, for anyone arriving later, there is a downstairs area with a bar, playing music. You would be forgiven for thinking there wasn’t, as the sign advertises a toilet down the stairs and nothing else, but if you do go to the loo you will discover it. It used to be part of the sex shop next door, which explains the multicoloured streamers at the entrance.

Downstairs is a bit livelier. Upstairs is perfect for having a catch up with a few close friends. When we went in the daytime there was an assortment of board games at the bigger tables, and it was still commonplace to find people getting them out and settling down for a game with their pint.

I think this place is delightful and will definitely be going back for lunch and cake. I tend to go to places that are a little more upbeat in the evenings, but when I’m looking for somewhere friendly, where it’s important to be able to talk without straining your voice or ears, then this would be the place to go.

The Rib man, 9th December

The meat to bread ratio. I'm going to say that again. The meat to bread ratio. It is all important. How many times have you had a pulled pork sandwich, a burger, or one of those hog roast sandwiches, stalls of which can be found at every festival and market and ended up vaguely disappointed. And I can tell you for why - the meat to bread ratio is all wrong. And sometimes the bread is of the wrong type as well. As a bread lover, you would think the more bread the better for me, but I'm quite particular in how my sandwiches are compiled. The bread should not drown the filling and unfortunately it too often does.

Someone who clearly understands this is The Rib Man. Normally to be found on Brick Lane on a Sunday, this guy has taken one of everybody's (I use the word everybody here liberally) favourite foods and made it a gazillion times better. Ribs. Ribs are great. But what is the annoying thing about them? That they're on ribs. They're messy and annoying to eat, you have to make loads to get a decent haul of meat off of them. If only there were some other way...

Well, The Rib Man has provided the answer. He goes through all the trouble of marinating these ribs from outside reared Norfolk and Suffolk pigs and then slow cooking them. He then takes all the meat off the bones and serves it up in bread rolls or wraps. Actually, you can also buy them in their natural form on the bone as well if you so wish. 

Ooh saucy! And possibly as big as my head

I went up to Eat Street again today and he was there. That's why I went - to try him out. I saw that there were a few wraps already made and keeping warm but I wanted to try out the roll. The wraps looked good - pretty stuffed and the meat looked great, but I just had the feeling that the real test would be in the roll. So that's what I asked the lady serving for. They had a couple ready made in some paper bags but the guy 'in back' (who I can only assume is the Rib Man himself) said, wait a minute - I'll make a fresh one. And he grabbed a roll and scooped in the meat, grabbed a bunch of kitchen roll with which to hold it and handed it over. My eyes probably did a cartoon bulge at the sight of it. It was massive. The lady then asked me if I wanted any sauce (which the Rib Man makes himself). I went for some BBQ and of course some of the hot stuff. Apparently there is a second hot sauce you can have but it's so hot you have to ask for it specially. I believe it goes by the name of Holy F**k. So I figured the mainstream stuff would be enough for me.

It wasn't all that busy in that area so I found a seat and began to tuck in. 

This is the view halfway through - I'm attempting to show
how juicy the meat is without sauce

I've got to say, it was pretty special. The roll was hefty, and soft - it was the perfect roll in which to encase some shredded meat. He had also packed it so full, he had managed to attain the perfect B to M ratio (see above). At last! This almost excited me more than the taste. I had quite a bit of sauce on the meat, which I tried, sort of unsuccessfully to spread evenly across all the meat, but to be honest, the meat is so juicy, sauce isn't essential. But it tastes good so whack some of that on too. The BBQ sauce is sweet and smoky, the hot sauce is bloody hot. It seriously made my mouth, tongue and I think even teeth tingle. 

I would say I couldn't get enough of this sandwich but it is so huge, that would just be a blatant lie. At about three quarters of the way through I thought a decent person would probably stop, but I'm not a decent person - I'm a glutton so I ploughed on to the end!  Just wonderful.

Yum Bun, 17th November

I had just been told that I hadn't got the job I wanted within my own company. Normally going for a promotion in your own company is not too big of a deal if you don't get it, but in this case it meant I was out of a job. I felt both defiant and despondent and knew I needed something delicious to eat to bring me back to equilibrium.

I headed over to Eat St, going by foot to walk off the adrenalin from the revelation that I'd be leaving my job in one week. I regretted the decision to pedestrianise myself about halfway up Farringdon Road and even more so once I got to King's Cross and started up the long walk to actually get to Eat St. I felt like I was trekking to the back of beyond. I had looked up who was there that day and knew it would be worth it - at the very least I could get a banh mi from banhmi11 and if they were as good as the ones they serve on Broadway Market, I'd be happy. But Yum Bun were also there that day and I had yet to taste their wares.

I had a bit of a recky before queuing up - having a look at the meat and how big the buns were. They had a lunch deal on - 2 buns and some soup for £6. One bun on it's own was £3 so it was basically a 'buy two, get soup free' type deal. I wasn't too bothered about getting soup but if it's free, why not? Especially inoffensive chinese vegetable soup.

Yum in a Bun

I took my two buns and soup and found myself a spare bit of kerb to sit on. Ahhhh, the yum bun. They have basically taken everyone's favourite dish of crispy duck pancakes and made them even more fabulous. Hoisin - check. Cool cucumber - check. Fresh spring onion - check. But instead of duck (which I love) they have replaced it with pork belly. Pork belly! Wonderfully tasty and juicy pork belly. And instead of pancakes they come in a fluffy 'bun'! A bun! (Ok, that exclamation mark may not be warranted given their name.) Not a bun as in a bap, or a roll, or a butty, but a bun as in a Chinese steamed bun - you know, the spherical things which often have minced pork and chives in the middle of them. I don't know quite how they cook them, but they must do them flat, a bit like pancakes, that can then be folded and stuff stuffed in.  And then - the piece de resistance is a bit of that lovely orangey chilli sauce that you get in Chinese restaurants. All together, it works beautifully. One is most definitely not enough. I think next time, though, I would ask for a tad more sauce - both kinds.

Mmmm, half eaten Bun

I ate my buns while waiting for my soup to cool and then started on that. It wasn't great. It's just a broth with some veggies in it and, as I suspected, it had mushrooms in it. The horror! Anyway, it was no great shakes - just something extra to fill your belly with instead of another bun and I got tired of avoiding the mushrooms after a while so poured the rest away. I'm glad it was free cos I wouldn't have appreciated paying for it.

Those buns stayed on my mind a long time though... I will be back for more.