Heavy Load, 25th January

When I started my Meetup group our first meetup was to The Phoenix near Oxford Circus for the night How Does it Feel to be Loved - an indiepop night that was a hell of a lot of fun. 

Almost two years later and I was back again, this time for Heavy Load - a night dedicated to the classic rock songs of yesteryear, though with a little bit of diversity thrown in. I'm not really a 'rock' chick - I mean, I like Queens of the Stone Age and Silverchair but have never really got into the rock bands of yore that lead the way, like Led Zeppelin or Lynyrd Skynryd. Not that I don't like them when I hear them, but I've never sought them out or owned one of their records. But I'd put it on my List because it was something that was a bit different, and it turns out one of my friends was a long-time fan of 'The Load'. He let me know he was going with a couple of mates and I decided to tag along.

On this particular Saturday night they were focusing on the year 1974 which meant an hour and a half of classic anthems from that year, followed by normal Heavy Load music policy, with an emphasis on songs from that year, followed by a Top 10 Heavy Load songs of 1974 played at midnight. I'm sure this happened but by this point I was too pissed to notice.  

I walked in and it felt like a completely different place to the Phoenix basement bar I remembered. Incense was wafting around the room and the ceiling and walls were glowing with rainbow-coloured lights in different shapes and sizes. All very groovy and psychedelic. There was a lot of hair - both as beards and long straggly tresses -  and there were definitely a few people who looked like regulars and who probably knew all the music from the first time around.

The music, for the most part, was great! I had a wicked time there. It wasn't ALL just classic rock - I distinctly remember a bit of Stevie Wonder (Superstitious) among the Stones (Gimme Shelter) and Queen (Don't Stop Me Now).  I remember them playing The Doors (Alabama Song) and The Beatles Live and Let Die. I rocked and I moshed and I even did some headbanging. If 60s and 70s rock and roll is your bag then this night is definitely for you as that was definitely the majority of the music played. For me - well, it was fun while it lasted but it probably won't go into my regular rotation of weekend nights out. 

Slap! at Dalston Superstore, 25th January

After having gorged myself on chicken the night before - specifically fried chicken at Clutch - you might think I wouldn't want more of the same. And if you think that, you are wrong. Presented with several delicous-sounding sandwiches at Slap! in Dalston Superstore, including a grilled chicken option with chilli and spring onion pesto, or a roast beef with crispy leeks and horseradish creme fraiche, I opted for the panko fried chicken with honey and chilli slaw and coriander pesto. The pesto had me at 'coriander'. They all have silly names, like the 'Sex and the Satay' or the 'Bangh Mi Slowly' which is what you'd expect from a place that serves cocktails called 'The Whore's Handbag'.

Stephen opted for a more traditionally breakfast ensemble, the When Harry Met Salmon - smoked salmon and soft boiled eggs with hollandaise and baby spinach. We thought this would come on toast but it also came as a sandwich.

One massive sandwich. Mine was also huge. I can't believe I even contemplated getting chips with it - that would have been completely unnecessary. I think both of us would have been more than happy to just share one. What's that you say? Oh, yeah, of course I finished it. Rude not to. But Stephen, who was in the process of coming down with a stomach bug, left some of his. Three thick slices of smoked salmon were too much even for his salmon-loving self. 

Anyway, the sandwiches - were tasty. At least, I thought mine was. The pesto was hugely garlicky (a plus) and the 'slaw', which was really just thickly cut red cabbage mixed with a few red onions was really nice. The honey completely blunted any bitterness in the cabbage, and a lot of it oozed out and created a pool of it at the bottom of my basket - perfect for dipping the extra bread of the sandwich in.

The chicken was thigh meat - always good. But it could have done with being given the escalope treatment and beaten into a flat shape instead of just large chunks which I had to wrestle to keep in the sandwich, and meant there felt like there was too much bread. Although the bread itself was tasty. I enjoyed eating the thing, but afterwards, I felt bad. It was all a bit greasy and heavy. Some fresh coriander or a few leaves of rocket might have done the trick to make it feel a little lighter and fresher. Stephen also felt a bit weighed down. For £7.00 it would be hard to find a more filling meal.

I've been to Dalston Superstore twice before - at night when the last thing you can imagine, among the sweaty, dancing drag queens, is a place you'd want to go for brunch. But actually, it's quite a cute cafe in the day in its own right. It's very colourful and was busy but not so busy you had to wait for a seat. Definitely worth bearing in mind if you want a bite to eat, especially if you need something to soak up your hangover, and elsewhere is too packed. I'm not sure if I would make the effort to go back myself (though reading the sandwich menu again while writing this has made me think I should give it another chance - but next time, go for a lighter option!). Perhaps Clutch had just spoiled me for my fried chicken needs the night before. 

Clutch, 24th January

Friday was pay day and an excuse to go out and spend some money. After weighing up Clutch versus On the Bab, my heart said Clutch so we wandered up in the rain to find the newly opened restaurant in the getting-ever-trendier area that is Hackney Road.

Clutch focuses on pretty much one thing: chicken, and of the fried variety. But, of course, done 'posh' - none of that overly greasy KFC or PFC type stuff and using only the best, well-bred chickens. But it's still fried chicken and I had lumped it into the 'dirty food' movement that London is still undergoing. As such I expected the restaurant to bear some semblance to MeatLiquor or other diner-type place. You know the thing: dim lighting, neon everywhere, falcon enamel dishes. I wasn't expecting the almost dainty, spacious and bright decor that Clutch is sporting. This wasn't just some trendy dive serving fried chicken, this was a proper restaurant! I loved the interior - I think it reminded me of an early 20th-century parlour with its striped black and white walls and green velvet chairs. Or perhaps something out of Alice in Wonderland. Anyone else know what I mean?

There were two other couples there when we arrived, meaning the place was pretty empty, though by the time we left every table had at least one party on it. Was it because it was January? Was it because it was raining? Or was it because people haven't quite cottoned on to the fact Hackney Road has some gems worth venturing off the beaten track for? I kind of hope it is the latter as I am getting quite fond of this neck of the woods and I like the fact that most of these places are not subject to massive queues.

What I think was the proprietor seated us and explained the menu (though it is so succinct I think we could have worked it out ourselves). You can have either a full bucket or half bucket of chicken - two flavours to choose from. A half bucket is three pieces of chicken, or half a chicken in other words. You can also have chicken tenders - for those who don't like to eat chicken on the bone, or you can have a portion of 12 wings. Both strips and wings come in two different flavours.

There is a range of sides like coleslaw, twice-fried french fries (in peanut oil), stuffing, and some 'dippety dips' such as chilli chutney or gravy for £1.

Wanting to sample as much as possible we decided to get a half bucket and some wings to share between us, plus a side of fries and a chilli chutney dip. We couldn't decide between to the two flavours for wings - sour and spicy chilli or honey and sesame so we were cheeky and asked if we could get half of each. They were more than happy to oblige. Out of the peppery buttermilk or sweet soy and garlic bucket, we got a half bucket of the soy and garlic.

So we ended up with three sets of chicken that could have ended up all tasting quite samey, but far from it. The flavours all complemented each other, but they were definitely all distinct. 

The chicken itself was delicious - succulent and as pure white as the driven snow. The spicy and sour wings were covered in a sticky, dark sauce, with plenty of it left in the bowl for dipping in. The chilli chutney we ordered was fantastically zingy and fresh, but honestly, probably unnecessary with all of the wing topping going spare. The honey and sesame wings were my favourite - these were 'drier' and crunchier than the other ones with a lighter flavour, and I do just love sesame.

Spicy and sour

Honey and sesame

Both Stephen and I loved the chicken in our bucket - the batter was crunchy and full of flavour, very moreish. I happily ate it on its own when some of it fell off the bird. It inspired Stephen to want to figure out a version to do at home. This bucket also came with more sweet soy and garlic sauce in the bottom to pour over the chicken, and some spring onion and fresh chillies to liven things up and stop everything becoming too sweet.

The fries tasted just like homemade fries (a good thing) though could have been a little thicker, and crispier. On the other hand, they were soft enough to soak up the extra sauces.  

The music was an excellent accompaniment - especially if we had been dining before heading out to dance - mainly disco with a little Hot Chip thrown in. They served Kernel ale which pleased Stephen, and I had a refreshing Sour Grouse (their version of a whiskey sour) which was pleasant if a little light on the whiskey.

The staff were just lovely - we were even shown the huge back room which houses the bar and which they will soon make the main entrance so people can just hang out there before getting a table.

Stephen felt that the menu could do with a little variety - and it might be nice to see a chicken burger on there (I bet they'd do a hell of a job) or a salad as a main, but these are minor quibbles and to be honest I was perfectly happy with what was on offer.

It was great for a quick bite but would also be an excellent place to take a group of friends for a birthday or lively special occasion. 

The bill comes in an egg - like a not so fun Kinder surprise

Find the menu & restaurant information on Zomato

Dirty Book Club, Robin Ince, 20th January

The Dirty Book Club has the 'honour' of being blogged about because way back when I started leafing through Time Out's 1000 Things to Do in London and compiling my spreadsheet of things I wanted to do, Robin Ince's Bad Book Club was one of those things. But, when I looked to see when it happened, it seemed he was no longer doing it - not in London anyway. But I kept my beady eye on him... Cue three years later and the announcement that Bad Book Club's naughtier younger sister was kicking off - Dirty Book Club. I had to go. And I thought my Meetup would like to go too.

The mere blurb about it proved immensely popular and I had almost 70 members sign up to go. The general public were also pretty keen as within 2 hours of tickets going on sale, half the tickets had gone. But a good whack of my group managed to get tickets and I reckon with about 30 of us there we probably made up a quarter of the audience.

With so many people, you would think at least some of them wouldn't end up liking the show but everyone I spoke to was full of praise. They all had different favourite bits but overall they just seemed to love it. As did I.

It wasn't quite what I was expecting - I thought it would be a shorter show of mainly Robin Ince reading from Mills & Boon ripoffs and casting about wry comments on the contents, with maybe another guest doing the same from their own choices. It was actually more of a variety show, and the reading of the 'dirty' books made up the minority of the entertainment (sadly there were many books he didn't get to as we ran out of time). 

Robin had four other guests with him in fact, all people he has performed with in the past and it was very obvious they all knew each other and held each other in affection. It was great to see a woman performing and doing an excellent job of being funny - she did a couple of 'ditties' - the first one in the style of jazz, all about sexual intercourse euphemisms, and then another in 'rousing British wartime' mode about remembering Britpop. (Think a lot of people were fond of this one as we were all of a certain age.) I particularly liked her 'diary' a la Celia Johnson from Brief Encounter. I haven't even seen the movie but I knew exactly the sort of frivolous disposition she was lampooning.

We had some amusing anecdotes from Chris Neill who, unfortunately (or fortunately, as he put it, as he didn't have a punchline for his story) spent less time on stage than planned due to being struck down by some irascible broccoli, and exiting stage left to go directly to the toilet.

We were also treated to a cover of Prince's 'Sexy M.F.' complete with commentary on the absurdity of the song, and played on an accordion by Martin White. This act was really funny - only just about funnier than the meltdown he had at his first breath, being overcome by a fit of the giggles. With everyone in the audience in hysterics with him, it took many deep breaths to summon the iron will to curb the giggles and continue. 

George Egg's incredibly dry humour didn't always seem to find its mark with everyone (I liked it) but no one could help but succumb to the 'sublime' word imagery, or food porn, that Nigel Slater committed in the excerpts from Real Cooking that George read out. It was so filthy it can't have been anything other than deliberate - 'tossing around a piece of hot sausage in your mouth as you suck and blow'?!

Some bits for me dragged a little - the various 'sundry' names of male and female genitalia was  laboured on a little too long. But on the whole it was a really good night. The 'word jazz' at the end - an almost freestyling concurrent recital of 50 Shades of Grey and the Shipping Forecast is genius even as it properly brought home to me just how awfully written 50 Shades is.

Here's a picture, just to prove I was there. 

Oslo, 17th January

People love a freebie and the Oslo launch last Friday was no exception. Twenty minutes deep into a queue, with what looked like at least as long to go before me, and I started to wonder if this was really worth it. How good could it be in there?

Answer: SO good! Maybe not wait-40-minutes-in-the-cold-good but once I was in I was happy I'd made the effort and I doubt the massive queue will be a regular occurrence. Knowing how many people must have been ahead of us to necessitate waiting so long, we knew it would be busy inside. And, in the downstairs bar area, there was quite a crush. Miraculously, this did not translate to a massive wait at the bar and we got served really speedily. Perhaps that is a sign of talented and efficient bar staff.

Like most new openings, they boast a range of interesting beers, but I know nothing of that. Stephen liked the one he had. What I did notice though was that their wine list consisted of mainly wines I knew and liked - picpoul, sancerre, chablis and gavi. A good sign. 

Downstairs was partly so packed because Oslo will be doing food and downstairs is where you eat it. So there were lots of areas for sitting and the benches and stools took up a lot of the space. (Unbelievably there were even three people trying to sit at the bar, despite the hoards jostling around them. I'm sure they got more than one dirty look for getting in the way, not least because I gave them several.) The bar itself seemed like it was probably gorgeous although it was a little hard to tell because of all the people getting in the way of a good view of the fixtures and fittings. The lightshades, both up and down, at least, were pretty stylish. It reminded me of one of the more upmarket bars in Brooklyn I'd been to. 

The launch hype included some tasters of the new menu by Dave Aherne (the guy behind Burger Breakout) but apart from someone handing out free bits of peanut butter cheesecake in the queue, which didn't get down as far as we were, there was no sign of this. Which is a shame, as I've wanted to try his food for a while. 

It was a little after 9 by this point and we wandered upstairs to find some space and see what their weekly night Valhalla was all about. Turned out it was all about having a massive party where people didn't even bother to pretend they were too cool to dance from the get-go. There was definitely more room to manoeuvre up here and you could tell already what a great little space it would make for gigs. They had a small bar upstairs serving the basics, but up here plastic glasses were the order of the day - appropriate gig drink containers.

The music was wide-ranging and crowdpleasing without veering too much into cheese (in my mind). There was some Whitney Houston and some Madonna, but also Hot Chip were played twice while we were there; LCD Soundsystem, The Streets, Tom Tom Club and even Slow Jams by Twista which I love but never hear out, were given a spin. Everyone was loving it.

We went back downstairs, which had emptied a little as more people went to party on the top floor. People were still trickling in but the place could handle this pace of people entering without it becoming as uncomfortable to move as it had been. We had another drink downstairs where the music was of a different tone – less up tempo, but just as good. Special props to playing some Luther Vandross. Never Too Much - what a song!

I didn't notice a cloakroom which I hope was just us not being very observant and not a design flaw. Although plenty of other people must have missed it too, as there were lots of coats just dumped on the dance floor. That is one thing that really bugs me about places, especially if the aim of the night is to have a dance. But that was my only real criticism. A big plus in its favour is that the bus that goes from outside my flat takes me directly there, so I already started out a little biased in its favour. The fact that it was so good is an extra bonus. 

Coming up in 2014...

I ever so occasionally do a 'Coming Up' blog post and I have so many things lined up already, I thought I would do another one.

I've purposely tried to keep the beginning of January a little on the quiet side as I let my bank balance and my weight recover. But that hasn't stopped me planning away for the end of the month and into the next.

So next week I'll be going to a spin-off of Robin Ince's Bad Book Club - Dirty Book Club (and blogging about it). That's quickly followed by Cringe again, one of my favourite London nights and one I have blogged about before.

The last Saturday of January (the 25th) I'll be going to Heavy Load with my friend Chris who is a bit of a 'Load' regular. It's not my normal scene but I like the Phoenix and am open to being surprised.

I managed to nab literally the last two tickets to the new night The Dance Assembly are putting on in collaboration with English Disco Lovers (EDL) at the Horse and Groom and kicking off my February on the 1st. This is a night attempting to honour the glory days of the clubbing scene in King's Cross but of course with some forward thinking music as well, and a bit of vintage in the shape of Little Nan's tea room (serving cocktails) thrown in. 

The following weekend is a big one - I'll be going to my first Guerilla Zoo night, Interzone, an interactive sort of play based around William S Burrough's invented city, to celebrate his birthday. And then the following night on the 8th I will finally - finally! - be going to a White Mink event. These guys are behind the electro-swing nights and, being based in Brighton, rarely put on nights up here. I've been looking forward to this for ages and think it will be a good'un. 

The week after I'm returning to Choose Your Own Documentary because I liked it so much the first time. The story is determined by the audience choosing their chosen path (like the Choose Your Own Adventure books) so I'm hoping for a different story arc and ending this time. 

I'm then celebrating Valentine's Day with a party in the Vaults - The Art of Hearts at the Vaults from the Artful Badger (with a little help thrown in from ALAN). I love the Vaults as a venue and love the idea of Gypsy Hill, Kissograms and a performance troupe even more. I'm going to have to try to go easy though as the next night I'll be going to Torture Garden again. Apparently their Valentine's Balls are ones you shouldn't miss. 

At the moment, I've got some time to rest in the last two weeks of February, but I'm sure that won't last long. Make sure to check back for my blog posts on these nights, plus I'm sure I will be eating and drinking and writing about it in between! If you know of anything cool I might want to go to coming up, do let me know. 

Mangal 2 and Farr's School of Dancing, 10th January

Oh January, you accursed month! It's cold and miserable and I am poor and fat after the Christmas excesses. The lack of money is particularly bad this month but my boyfriend was feeling uncharacteristically generous and decided to treat me to a night out as he knew I couldn't really afford one. After much deliberation we settled on finally completing the hat trick of famed Turkish restaurants in Dalston - first Cirrik, then Mangal (1) and now Mangal 2.

Ahhh, are there many more delicious things than lamb fat that has been all crisped up? It is a truly delightful thing to eat when it is still warm and slightly charred. And so, it is hard to go wrong with a bit of grilled lamb. I realise that sentence almost suggests that Mangal 2 have somehow screwed it up, but far from it. 

I already had a soft spot for Mangal 2 due to its famed Twitter account - brutally funny and slightly kebab-obsessed (as you'd expect from a restaurant selling kebabs). The guy who first took our drinks order made me think of whoever runs their Twitter account - I tried ordering a diet coke to parch my thirst but was practically forbade to do so, and cajoled instead into having a proper drink (admittedly I do not often need much persuading). 

With a nod to eating healthily, we decided to split a mixed grill and also have a couple of meze between us - one cold, one hot. We got the aubergine with sweet red pepper and mint as our cold one, and the lahmacun for our hot one. We didn't order any more as we weren't sure what other dishes might come with it.

Sure enough, a bowl of bread was set down, which was warm and soft and which we tried to save until the rest of dinner came in case we needed it for soaking things up. That was difficult. 

Soon after came the aubergine dish - any healthiness negated by the oil it was swimming in. It was very nice but a little on the cold side. Our lahmacun didn't come until near the end of the meal - as our grill was set down the waiter asked us if there was anything else and we had to gently remind him. But arrive it did and it was useful for dipping into what remained. For a warm meze it was a little cold, and not hugely flavoursome.

A plate full of charred onions, peppers, tomato, cucumber and leaves was set down, swimming in that delicious pomegranate dressing. This one had quite a kick to it! I only wish it wasn't quite so thin so that I could soak up more with my meat and bread. Love that stuff.

Our grill consisted of cis kebab, kofte kebab, two chicken wings and another hunk of lamb with that delicious fat I mentioned around the edge, plus a lamb chop. It came complete with a thin bit of bread that the juices soaked through.

And it was all very tasty. The chicken wings in particular, oddly enough, stood out - they were pretty well-sized wings and were very crispy with a sort of dry coating. We asked for some chilli sauce and they also gave us some garlicky sauce which was lovely - strong, but lovely. The chilli sauce was actually quite mild.

But for all this, I have to say that it still didn't quite live up to Cirrik. Especially when the bill came and the onion salad we'd been given was on there! We didn't really mind, just wasn't expecting it as Cirrik ply you with so many free salads and sides.



Farr's School of Dancing

We then went for a drink before heading home to the newly opened Farr's School of Dancing, which just happens to be right next to the bus stop that we use to get home from Dalston.

This was quite the funky place. The bar is a central island, and an eclectic mix of seating can be found around the edges - what looked like converted cinema seats, sofas etc. It had a homely, slightly ramshackle feel to it and plenty of space in the middle for dancing later in the night. They were also playing some great music - stuff with a 60s soul vibe that had my shoulders shaking.

And the prices! One round cost us £8 - and that was with me getting a large glass of wine (served in a carafe which I thought was cute). Where else can you get that, even if it was only house wine? For this we could even forgive the surly bartendress her lack of warmth.

I don't think I'd need much of an excuse to go back, but the fact that we will literally have to pass it every time we catch the bus could provide the perfect reason to have 'one for the road'.

Find the menu & restaurant information on Zomato

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