Dusty Knuckle and SK London Fields, 30/31st August

Two days off mid-week meant getting lunch from places I wouldn’t ordinarily be able to get to. First up – Street Kitchen. I’ve tried all their different places I think – the airstream, the sandwich place in Broadgate Circle, plus when they’ve popped up in other places. Of course I had to try their hatch in London Fields.

They were predictably good. The special was lamb with crushed potatoes and roasted veg with pesto. They offer 'slow food fast' and this was as good as I have come to expect. Slow cooked lamb that broke away easily when nudged with my fork. Plenty of potatoes and roasted carrot and courgette providing sweetness. Not exactly the most summer-centric meal to have on what was a lovely sunny day but plenty tasty nonetheless.

On day two, I went over to Dusty Knuckle in Dalston and had porchetta in brioche. While it tasted nice, the experience of eating it wasn’t that pleasant. It was absolutely stuffed with different things, which made the bread horribly soggy and all just seemed to fall out all over the place. There was fennel, kohlrabi, red cabbage, plus the tomatoes the pork was cooked in and some ogleshield cheese. The bread didn't really stand a chance against all of this, and as a result it was hard to get a mouthful that contained most of the ingredients. I was mainly picking individual bits out, or scooping them up where they fell. Which isn't the ethos of a sandwich. 

Whirl-y-gig, 30th July

Whirl-y-gig, being very much of the Planet Angel style of raving, was therefore, of course, an incredibly fun and friendly night. Borne out of a dancing self-expression event for the Association of Humanistic Pscyhology, they outgrew them and now host an almost monthly clubnight in London and their own festival Whirl-y-fayre. It has a bit of a festival feel to it – like Wonderland – lots of decoration and colours everywhere. They try to keep the music eclectic but dancey. This didn’t work for me quite so well as it meant they chopped and changed styles, so you didn’t know if you would like what was playing one song to the next. And the sound levels in the Camden Centre, I felt, were woefully low. You could easily have a conversation at the back of the dance floor, which is not what I want from my raves.

However, I had a brilliant time. When the music I liked was played, it was great, and I have to say it did veer towards my style of thing as the night wore on. Everyone seemed so up for it and so happy to mingle and chat to people they didn’t know. I lost track of the number of people I befriended. They have interesting bits and pieces around - such as a board to stick messages on (someone wrote something very kind about me!) which makes the night feel a little more interactive and encourages getting to know people. I came away from the night with a huge smile on my face.

They finish each night with a parachute – you know, like when you were at school. This does feel a bit random as you all just sit underneath it and natter to yourselves, but the visuals are really quite cool!

One other small niggle would be that it ends at 4 am which is, of course, far too early. But there are always afterparties…

Boceto, 29th July

With Boceto, the guys behind Three Eight Four and Seven at Brixton have made the schlep North of the river to Mare Street, an ideal location for their kind of thing. Having been to Three Eight Four and quite liking it, I expected to like Boceto too. It has more of a food focus then 384 but some interesting drinks too.

And I did like it, in general. Unfortunately it was rather marred by having the worst tortilla my little mouth has ever endured. It was so so dry, clearly had been sitting out all day. Not one little ounce of moisture in it and very little flavour. Seasoning was AWOL. 

On the other hand, the lamb that I had was pink and tender and the steak my date had was the same, with a yummy chimichurri sauce that was just the right amount of in your face with its heat (though too much for my companion - what a wuss!).

The pan con tomate was absolutely loaded with 'tomate' and was a pretty filling accompaniment.

With a slight twisting of my arm I decided to have dessert and of course had to try the churros as they were in keeping with the Spanish theme. I’m no churros expert but these were… alright I guess. Didn’t have me professing any great love for them.

As I was with someone who doesn’t drink, I limited myself to just the one cocktail – Mother’s Ruin, which had been imported from their Seven branch. Quite fun to pour yourself and a light and summery drink.

The place has a really casual vibe and I’d be happy to pop in for a drink again but probably wouldn’t bother too much with the food. 

KaraUke, 21st July

KaraUke was a little shambolic but I think that’s part of its charm. No formal screens with the words lighting up as you go for KaraUke. Not even printed sheets of paper to sing along with a la Hip Hop Karaoke or Reggaeoke. No, you can hold an iPad and sing along to that, while the words are put up on a screen behind you so the audience can sing along, but the entire song is displayed at once which makes the words rather difficult to see.

I was also surprised that the ukulele band was in fact a proper band – not only were there several uke players but there was a bass guitar and a drum set. I was a little disappointed at first as it wasn’t quite as quaint as I was expecting but it was pretty cool to have a full band supporting you and made for a rounder sound.

They hold karaoke on the Tamesis Dock which has to be one of the quirkier pubs/venues around – a permanently moored boat decorated in a lively manner. In fact, I was chatting to a friend of the band and she said none of them live anywhere near it but they love it too much to switch to a different venue. The karaoke is held in the belly of the boat which made for a slightly stifling evening but it didn’t seem to mar people’s enjoyment.

There are no prizes but every performer gets a badge.There’s clearly a few regulars as jokes were made about the number of badges ‘Pete’ had accumulated and whether he could make it through the entire song menu in a year. That would be quite a feat but not as daunting as you might think as it’s limited to about 50 songs. There are a few classics and also songs they clearly just like (Tenacious D has two songs on there which you don’t find in most karaoke songbooks). The opening singer for tonight delved right in with one of these actually – Fuck her gently. In fact, thinking about it, there was quite a lot of swearing in the evening. That one... I did Creep... and another girl did Fuck you by Ceelo. It’s that kind of crowd.

They do two sets which have 9 singers each and while they’re not short on volunteers this seems about right and a few people were even able to sing twice. Quality was… variable… but  your own backing singer is there to help anyone out and carry the tune if it ever falls off a cliff. Everyone is encouraged to sing along and many people were dancing around too.

And all this for FREE!! Of course, they do very much appreciate donations and dedicate a bit of time sending round the ‘begging bowl’ as they do have rehearsal space and expenses and tings to deal with. Any monies they receive are well deserved.

Tombo Poke and Matcha bar, 19th July

Tombo Poke and Matcha bar is a cute little café in Seven Dials bringing the Hawaiian cusine to your lucky faces. 

I was invited along with a friend for a light dinner, which could not have been more perfect for the warm and sunny day we were experiencing. Poke, if you don’t know, is basically a sushi bowl. Diced chunks of raw fish sit on a salad, the construction of which is up to you if you like, or you can go for one of Tombo's signature bowls.

Just look at these bowls of sunshine and deliciousness! It was really very difficult to whittle it down to one sauce, one ‘mix-in’ and two toppings. I started with a base of courgette noodles and added tuna, avocado (of course), spring onion, sahimi and crispy shallots with a ponzu soy on the side. My friend went down the black and white rice route with salmon, nori, and sriracha mayo. Both dishes a joyous little meal and I will happily come back to try more combinations. Lovely idea!

The Gin-Off, Graphic Bar, 18th July

If you want to get absolutely trollied on whimsical, inventive and tasty (for the most part) cocktails on a Monday then the Gin-Off is your man! Happening throughout the year, 16 gins compete against each other to make it into the Gin-off final by coming up with clever and creative ways to imbibe this particular liquor, and I was invited to the final heat. 

When I went, the gins being showcased were Boodles, Sipsmith (they get everywhere), Tarquins and Martin Millers. I really wanted to like Martin Millers, as it is a blend of England and Iceland, two countries dear to my heart, but unfortunately I have to say their concoction was the worst cocktail I have ever had. Actively unpleasant to drink, I was a brave soul and finished it nonetheless. Milk and gin do not make good bedfellows. It did, at least, come in cute packaging but I am not a fan of a paper straw – so soggy so quickly. 

Far and away the best cocktail of the evening came from Boodles who had somehow turned a cocktail into a quintessentially English curry, complete with political commentary on the recent Brexit result/fiasco. I didn’t expect to like it to be honest, but the savoury, fragrant spiciness was incredibly moreish. And extra bonus points for the properly spicy lime pickle! Unsurprisingly, this cocktail won hands down. Well deserved. 

The other two also rans were nice enough. Tarquins served up little ‘ice creams’ which were as fun to watch created as they were to drink. And Sipsmith went down the most traditional route, serving up test tubes of their concoctions.

As soon as the cocktails started being lined up, everyone went for it, meaning we drank four deceptively strong cocktails within an hour. Little wonder then, that at 9 pm when all the drinks were sampled, the party was going OFF. The music was turned up and people were dancing. It felt a little surreal to be honest but really good fun!

Keep an eye out for the next one, or if you can’t wait, they do a Gin Social every Monday where you can have a welcome G&T, a tasting of that months Gin and a Gin cocktail of their own creation for £5. 

Circus, 12th July

I thought Circus was going to serve up something along the lines of the London Cabaret Club – a show that was fun, but inoffensive, not too risqué. But Circus is an altogether racier night. Not so at first, when a duo dressed in polka dot swimsuits a la 50s pin ups did an aerial hoop performance against a backdrop of doo wop music. But each act got naughtier and sexier, culminating in a fire-eating performance to Welcome to the Jungle, where the fire eater whipped out her tatas and set her pasties alight!

I was impressed by every act and enjoyed the soundtrack of uncensored hip hop and Missy Elliot tracks so I was, I must admit, a little surprised that the food more than passed muster. The place serves pan-Asian food – so you can have dim sum, or sushi/sashimi or tempura, and then most of the mains have an Oriental flavouring to them. I was invited to dine here and we had one starter, main and dessert each. I was stuffed to the gills afterwards.

First I had the chicken truffle shumai with yuzu ponzu. These little parcels were packed with chickeny goodness and were quickly devoured. My friend Sam had the black cod tempura with a tequila salsa which really had a boozy bite to it. The light batter and delicate flesh melted on your tongue.

Next I had the black miso cod – amazingly sweet flavours with firm fish flesh. And a very generous amount!

Sam ordered the New York Strip which you could cook to your liking because it came served on hot (very hot) rocks sizzling away.

For sides you can have smoked aubergine, steamed rice or baby bok choy. We had one of each and that smoked and sweet aubergine is the best aubergine I’ve ever had.

Dessert was good but I think I went for the ‘too safe’ option of a chocolate fondant so I wasn’t wowed by it. It oozed as it should have done but yeah, not much else I am tempted to write about it. Sam’s yoghurt cake, however, was definitely different and therefore stood out. Slightly dense and sweet. 

The overall experience definitely had the wow factor - it would be an excellent treat for a date, or a close friend. And definitely one to put you in a sexy mood...