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Chez Georges for a Perfect Chocolate Mousse May 5, 2008

Posted by cathrynsymons in : Cafes & Restaurants, Camden , 1 comment so far

Different cuisines have different signature dishes. By these shall ye know them. They may be hackneyed and traditional, but if they’re good, chances are everything else will be too. For Indian restaurants, its the chana marsala. The chick peas should be firm, not soft, and the flavours pungent with clean tastes of coriander and lemon.

For a French bistro, it has to be the chocolate mousse. If you get one of those gelatine-reinforced, individual “we made it this morning and stuck it in the fridge” things in a Marie Antoinette champagne glass, you know you’ve made a mistake. Ask to check the fridge before you order your starter. They’ll think you’re odd, but it is worth it.

At Chez Georges, which has just opened at 9A Delancey St, Camden Town, the mousse is perfect. Strong with chocolate, yet light and airy, scooped from a larger bowl onto the plate. So rich that cream would be excessive, and absolutely divine.

The entrance looks like a kebab shop, but the main restaurant is downstairs. It was very quiet yesterday, a bank holiday Sunday, but is bound to pick up soon. The waiters are friendly, onion soup, seafood risotto and duck very good, house wine perfectly drinkable, and a Kir Royale is included in the set menu price. £66 for two, including tip. Try it.

The stomach of the City August 7, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Cafes & Restaurants , add a comment

If Threadneedle St. is at the heart of the City, then its stomach is surely Simpson’s Tavern in the midst of the narrow alleyways that criss-cross the block bordered by Cornhill, Gracechurch St and Lombard St.  This isn’t the City of smart bars filled with loud music and drunken young things, or the shining Gherkin nearby.  Instead its the City of bowler hatted gents, leisurely trading their way through the day, a world which has all but disappeared into multinational corporations and computerised trading.

Established in 1757, it is one of the oldest chop-houses left in London, where your mind’s eye can see Boswell and Johnson at the next table, or Dickens, a little later.  The booth seating was built for an age of smaller backsides, with racks for hats, and you will almost certainly share a table, or, if you do get one of the few one-sided booths, sit beside your dining companion.  It’s not posh - the waitresses call you love rather than Madam, and the food is very traditional English with different specials every day.  If you order the Chump Chop,  take the ‘optional’ sausage as well.

All the better if you don’t have to go back to work.  Today, it was mineral water with the Steak and Kidney Pie, but last time a bottle or two of something red with an underwriting friend did for me for the rest of an afternoon off.

Get there early, soak up the atmosphere and enjoy a little slice of London through the centuries.

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Mayflower - don’t bother July 1, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Cafes & Restaurants , add a comment

The Mayflower in Rotherhithe looks nice enough.  Its a picturesque, tiny pub with bourgainvillea spilling out of pots against the white walls, in an ideal setting on the banks of the Thames.  Its certainly popular, as the restaurant couldn’t accomodate the couple of extras we had.  One was trying to find her way and called, and we were tersely told ‘no mobiles’.  The waiting staff didn’t seem to have any idea where they were, and were unable to help our lost friend.
We were told we could eat on the jetty, which would be lovely in sunshine but with no umbrellas not worth the risk today, so split the party between two tables in the pub. 

It didn’t really get any better.  The staff had a very ‘take it or leave it’ attitude, and although the main courses were reasonable, Bood’s peach crumble was out of a can, and although I ordered a dessert the waiter appeared ten minutes later to say they’d run out.  And ice cream is a £2 premium over the watery custard that comes as standard.

The wine list is extortionate.  The cheapest are in the £22-24 range, and anything old world is well over £30.  If you order wine, it takes ages to come because they have to go and get it from the restaurant, its not kept behind the bar.

And by the way, although Sunday lunch looks like a family occasion, people turning up with children were not welcome.  We won’t be trying this place again, and next time I’ll take more notice of the warnings in the review sites.  I guess most of the trade is tourists, because I can’t believe they do a lot of repeat business.

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Aita mari - a table by the sea June 18, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Cafes & Restaurants, Travel , add a comment

Give me good food, a decent wine and a view of the sea, and I’m happy.  And so, yesterday evening, I found myself upstairs at the Aita Mari, overlooking the harbour, something crisp and white from Navarra in one hand and a menu in the other.  It feels like holidays.

I started with a tower of vegetables, and I’d show you a picture, except that the laptop, having refused point blank to talk to my phone, is now being rude to the camera.  What’s a girl to do when her devices aren’t speaking?

I was amazed at the vegetables.  For a country which must grow half of europe’s greens, Spanish food often lacks more than a simple salad, and can be very meaty.  It might be the machismo thing, but it was good to see brocolli and cauliflower for once.

I then moved on to a filet of Lomo, a white, succulent fish.  I’m not great with seafood, and hate fish that comes whole, but ‘pescodo sin cara’ seemed to do the trick.  Filete was probably the word I was looking for.   It melted in the mouth, and didn’t leave enough room for postres.

Chanson et le diner avec mes amis Christiane et Jock June 16, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Cafes & Restaurants, Travel , 1 comment so far

One of the best things about living in London, and prefering not to fly for holidays, is that holidays start in Paris, thanks to the wonder of Eurostar, and a few friends here.

I’m trying to plan a celebratory weekend with friends later in the year, and someone suggested Le Limonaire, in the 2nd arrondissement, a short trip from where I was staying in the 3rd.  We went to try it out.

Le Limonaire is everything you expect a Parisian cafe / bistro to be with one major exception.  Small, slightly run down, full of locals, good food and fabulous artists.  Dinner was a tuna terrine on salad, followed by a beef stew on rice and a creme brulee (at least one cliche allowed with every meal).  We started with a bottle of a fairly non-descript red the name of which escapes me, and then moved on to a carafe of the vin du moins, a fresh, clear beaujolais which was very drinkable on a muggy summer evening.  We were joined by an older lady who lives locally and comes here often, but spoke no English - she’d hated it at school.

After the meal the compere told us to turn off mobile phones and not to smoke, much to my amazement, given normal Parisian habits.  Apparently Paris too will have a smoking ban from Jan 2008, and join the league of civilised places discouraging that foul and obnoxious habit.

And then the entertainment started.

When two blokes took the stage with squeegee boxes, my heart sank.  But this was not the badly played piano-accordion of a thousand buskers who one gives money to in the hope that they would go away.  Instead, what followed was excellent, and absolutely at the limit of my French to understand.  It was obviously satirical, with songs about political figures, and although I couldn’t really get the jokes, the audience were having a great time.

Next up were two women, an Argentinian percussionist, Vanesa Garcia, and a chanteuse with a beautiful strong voice,  where I just sat and enjoyed the music, without worrying too much about understanding the words.

The third act was a male singer, who was apparently singing something quite obscene, but entertaining, and then finally a guitarist, who switched to a ukelele for a while, very funny with lots of silly noises.

With my limited French, I felt I missed out on a fair bit, but it was a great evening anyway - the music, the ambience, the food, trying to speak to people, spending time with my friends.  It must be fabulous to have something like this in your neighbourhood.

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Fish cooked on the banks of the Tigris June 9, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Cafes & Restaurants, London , add a comment

Just had lunch with my friend Aboodi who, although one of the most British blokes I’ve ever met, was actually made in Baghdad.  We went, which will not surprise those who know him, to an Iraqi restaurant in W2, by Marble Arch.  Le Chef Masgouf is named for a traditional Iraqi dish, where a fish is caught, flayed and grilled on the riverbank.

We started with some tabbouleh and hummus, and deep-fried meat pastries, which were delicious, and then shared a Masgouf fish between us. 

Simple, fairly cheap (about £40 for two, with no booze bill because its dry).  The service was a little slow, but that’s fine when you just want to sit and chat with friends.

If there were only three restaurants in London May 28, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Cafes & Restaurants, London , 1 comment so far

If there were only three restaurants in London and one of them was Rasa, in the Vegetarian Republic of Stoke Newington, I think I’d be happy (especially if another one was Cafe Koha in Covent Garden, and I still had my two pubs).

Lindsey is newly arrived from Parts North, wild, possibly pictish lands beyond the Watford Gap, and certainly well outside the safety of the M25, so it was with some trepidation that we ventured down to Euston and caught the number 73 bus.  I think she’s catching on though, as she tells me she made it back from Oxford St to her home just north of here on a C2.  The 73 is not what it used to be, since the last of the friendly little routemasters was replaced by something long and bendy, but it is warmer, if not less crowded.  We wended our way through Islington and Hackney to Stoke Newington Church St, and the bright pink lights of Rasa, the best South Indian restaurant in London, if not outside India.

Rasa works best with a group of at least three, so you can share dishes and have a few to choose from, and Louise joined us.  We started with the poppadoms and pickles, which are very different from normal curry house ones.  I had a Rasam, the spicy pepper soup which is supposed to aid digestion, but is also very tasty and as hot as Thai Tom Yum.  We chose three curries.  Moru Kachiathu is made of green bananas and mangoes in a yoghurt sauce spiced with chilli.  This is probably my favourite, sweet but also spicy, not at all cloying and good with the lemon rice.  I had a variation of Baga Baingan, an aubergine curry in yoghurt and cashew sauce, at a Hyderabadi restaurant in a posh hotel in Pune once, and this is easily as good.  Finally, we had the Cheera Curry of paneer in a spinach and tomato sauce, less heavy than the other two, and still delicious. 

None of these were very hot, and we had a bottle of a South African Chenin Blanc with them, which was all right, though I’m never sure that wine is really the right thing with this type of food.  It is perhaps better to steer completely clear of overpowering alcohol and just drink lassis or fruit juice.

There is another Rasa restaurant across the road, the Rasa Travancore, which has meat and fish, but the one time I went there, it was disappointing.  Plain Rasa is well worth the trip.

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Sunday, a day for gluttony April 29, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Cafes & Restaurants, London , 2 comments

Off I wandered, down through the Bloomsbury Squares to parts south of the river and the rather wonderful Anchor and Hope, to meet up with Leanne, Crg, Aboodi and Dom for another Sunday lunch of far too much food, good wine and excellent company.

The meal started with wee nibbles - pate on bread, beautiful sweet small tomatos, a classy version of bubble and squeak and jamon - which started arriving at about 1.30, so it pays to be early.  I ordered a bottle of Txacoli, in honour of a holiday I’m planning in Pais Vasco in June, and found an excellent summer wine, light, crisp and slightly crackling.   Dom tells me it should be poured from a great height to aerate it, but the glasses were small and the threat of it ending up all over the tablecloth too great. 

The first course was a leek and crab vinaigrette, with soft, succulent leeks and slightly tangy crab which went well with the wine.

To go with the roast, we moved onto a rich, velvety Douro to complement the rare beef and dripping potatoes.  The only nod to getting our five a day was ‘grass’, a warm salad of lettuce and mint which tasted a lot better than it sounds.  The food is served in big dishes on the table, for guests to help themselves, and more comes round as the plates empty.  Its the kind of place where you leave just knowing you’ll have to eat again in a day or two.

We then moved on to cheese, which isn’t really my thing, and a lemon pudding which is.   A small bottle of Manzillac pleased my sweet tooth, and then coffee with Armagnac finished it all off well.

This place at least ties with the Norfolk Arms as the best Sunday lunch around.  The only downside was the way they were emphatic about turning up at 1.30 or else we’d lose the table, but the hors d’oeuvre were good reward for punctuality.  Ignore the negative reviews in the link above.  It’s just regulars trying to keep a good thing to themselves.  I may have to post one myself.

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Tagine and sheesha pipes February 18, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Cafes & Restaurants , add a comment

A friend down from Birmingham gave the excuse for a group to meet at Mogador, a Moroccan restaurant on Queensway, in the heart of London’s Arab district. The wine came from the Lebanon, a slightly over priced but very drinkable heavy red. From memory, it was a Ksara, but I forgot to look too closely at the label and someone else ordered. Surprisingly, there was no arak. The aniseed spirit is not something I’d miss, but disappointing to our Iraqi friend.

We started with a selection of meze, excellent tabouleh but fairly standard. About half the party moved on to the kebabs, and I decided on the Moroccan special, a lamb tagine. It came in its own scalding hot tagine dish, and was as sweet and succulent as this stew of lamb with prunes and apricots is meant to be. The meat fell apart and melted in the mouth, while the liquor around it was a delicate, aromatic soup.

I’m not sure who ordered the triple tray of baklava and other sweets, but I moved on to a melon flavoured sheesha pipe and persuaded a few of the others to partake. As a convinced non-smoker, its not something I do often, butI’m rather fond and they’ll soon be a thing of the past when smoking in public places becomes illegal in England in the summer. I’m eagerly awaiting smoke free pubs, while sad that water pipes must also disappear.

And so the evening went on with mint tea, more drinking and the floor show. We were fairly sure, on the authority of one of our party who is Polish, that one of the two belly dancers was also from that part of the world. She managed to persuade the woman at the next table to join her, though I’m afraid I’d need something rather more potent in my pipe than melon tobacco to give that a try.

There are many similar restaurants in the area, and I’ve no idea if this is one of the better ones. It was certainly good last night.

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Sunday lunch January 20, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Cafes & Restaurants, London , 4 comments

One of my favourite British institutions is the idea of Sunday lunch.  Start at about two in the afternoon, languidly while the rest of the away over a roast, some good wine and conversation before going home to sleep it off and contemplate the week ahead.  Perfection.

If you live in the megalopolis its unlikely to be a family affair, and small flats filled with busy lives mean cooking for hoards is definitely an operation to be out-sourced.  Why slave over a hot oven when there are so many fabulous pubs so very close?

Over the last wee while, a small group of friends has taken to gathering in a suitable gastro-pub every few weeks.  We’re evenly distributed around the edges of zone 1 (Somers Town,
Lambeth, Bayswater, Canada Water) so the centre works for everyone.  So far, we’ve tried the Norfolk Arms and the Marquis of Cornwallis in Bloomsbury, as well as the White Hart down in Kennington.  We’ve twice tried to get a table at the Anchor & Hope by Waterloo, but they’re either always booked or their Sunday lunch is a figment of Dom’s fantasy.

The Norfolk Arms is a clear winner for me.  Spanish tapas to start, followed by organic lamb roast, with sherry and a good rioja thrown in is an excellent mix.  The tumblers and teatowel napkins are quirky but better than you’d get at my place.

The Marquis of Cornwallis has only just reopened, and is more traditional, but very comfortable and laid back. 

At the White Hart, the rare roast beef was an exceptional treat, and went well with a little too much of the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

All of these places share good food with a friendly pub ambience where its okay to stay as long as you like.  The wine lists are better than ordinary pubs, there are newspapers available and they’re hardly the same beastie as the blokish place across the road from me.  They are cafes but this is Britain so we call them pubs.

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