Basil's Sandwiches and Cruffin, 9th March

Basil’s Sandwiches

I’ve seen Time Out have fallen in love with a place called Max’s sandwiches for its oversized portions. Well, I reckon Basil’s would give it a run for its money. I heard about this place from the lovely Alex at Zomato – their offices are near there and she’d tweeted about her mammoth sarnie for lunch. I was transfixed and put it on my List. The only problem was that they are a City lunch place – only open Monday to Friday 12 pm until 3. I had to wait for a day off before I could give them a try!

They make sandwiches fresh for you and have all the usual – egg salad, tuna, chicken tikka, as well as a LOT of variation and some of their own creations. Alex’s sandwich was a scotch egg and corned beef behemoth. I found it really hard to choose – I wanted something your average sandwich deli wouldn’t do but also something that filled my non-specific craving. In the end I felt I was taking too much time looking at all the options plastered over the walls and went for the first thing that I’d liked the look of – the Chicken Swiss Melt (although the sausage crunch melt also sounded tempting – it has crisps in it!). This was a ciabatta stuffed with Basil’s own chilli chicken mix, chicken escalope strips (there was a lot of chicken escalope on the menu) swiss cheese, mustard mayo and chilli flakes.

I was a little worried that the ciabatta would make mincemeat of my gums but it was perfectly soft, yet sturdy enough to stand up to the overflowing filling. It was served warm and I didn’t want to let it go cold before I ate it so I started tucking in on the tube back to mine. Mistake. The chilli mix was packed with onions and peppers (crunchy and fresh they provided a great bit of bite and sweetness) and it was very saucy. I made such a mess. A delicious mess though. They did not skimp on the chilli flakes and the mustard mayo gave off a lot of its own heat as well, (yet without making my nose hurt the way mustard and horseradish can). I loved the breaded chicken strips. The only thing I would say didn’t quite work was the swiss cheese – it hadn’t really melted properly and was rather superfluous.

And this beast was only £4.90! Fabulous.

Fox and Ginger Cruffin

After that brute of a sandwich you would think I would be too full to eat anything else. And I was. But I’d already bought my dessert so I was sure as hell going to eat it. I’m always up for trying the latest craze. I’ve had a cronut, a duffin, a townie (tart/brownie) and the new cronut – the kouign amann (should be kouign amazinn!). Now Foxcroft and Ginger are getting into the mix with their own invention – the cruffin. This is a croissant/muffin hybrid with various fillings and I have to be honest, I can’t see any need for it. Not as buttery and rich as a croissant, not as doughy and sweet as a muffin, it was just a sort of dry, sugary bread that was very unsatisfying to eat. Not even a filling of salted caramelly cream could save it for me. Not worth making a special effort for.

Foxcroft and Ginger, 19th October

I discovered Foxcroft and Ginger through perusing London Rob Stuff’s blog, in which he quests after the perfect cup of coffee. I’m not really a coffee drinker but the food he described (some cheesy French toast concoction) sounded amazing. It went on the List.

They have two establishments now – one in Soho and one in the Boxpark in Shoreditch. My mum was in town for the day and so I suggested meeting her in Central London and going here for lunch.

While not exactly hidden, F & G don’t entirely shout out about their presence on Berwick Street, you can easily walk past it without realising it is there, especially when it’s slightly overshadowed by the food market that is there in the week.

But it’s worth seeking it out as it’s a cosy little café but with more space than you’d expect if you just peeked in as they also have a downstairs with seating. The look is rather relaxed and slightly ramshackle. You go in and there’s a counter at the back which displays their wares. I asked the girl serving what the sandwiches were, and made my selection from the 6 or so on offer. She named them by the meat or main ingredient inside (lamb, bacon, falafel) but each sandwich had various ingredients inside.

I also ordered an Americano (or long black depending on your origin) for my mum and we sat downstairs and waited for our sandwiches to be brought to us by the friendly waiter. The coffee came first and there was a bit of confusion over whether we could get some milk for it (though I don’t know why this seemed to cause any confusion – I actually blame my mum in this instance) but he went away and came back swiftly with a little jug of milk.

Soon after he came down with our two sandwiches, which we were sharing – one pork, one bacon. The pork was actually pork belly and came with onion chutney and apple, and the bacon also came with onion chutney but was also served with a bed of rocket. Much to my delight they had been lightly toasted. They were warm and the bread had some solidity to it, holding the sandwich together, but it wasn’t overdone; they were easy to bite into without cutting your mouth. The bread was lovely, and the sandwich altogether really good. Sometimes I think onion chutney can be too sweet and I need only smidgeon before I find it overpowering. The stuff they had had been quite copiously applied, but it worked really well with both meats.

Bacon isn’t my first choice (I know, gasp!) but this was cooked well – overdone rather than under, just the way I like it in fact, so that it is less like a thin piece of gammon and more like crispy bacon. The pork was actually pork belly which was another pleasant surprise and was quickly snaffled by me. Ever unwasteful, and rather partial to salad in my sandwiches, I stuffed all the rocket leaves into both sandwiches which worked a treat. I didn’t have a drink myself and can’t comment on the coffee but they also have carafes of tap water for you to take freely with your meal or drink, which I did.

So yes, a very pleasant lunch at a price that didn’t break the bank – our bill was £13. It definitely encouraged me to come back and try some more – either for brunch or another sandwich or one of the inviting salads, but this time with one of their good looking cakes.



Find the menu & restaurant information on Zomato