I bloody hate pigeons.

If there's one thing I hate about London, it's the pigeons. Mostly, I accept that they are really an almost integral, iconic part of London but can't they just leave me alone?

It started a couple of years ago when I seemse to see dead pigeons everywhere. On one occasion, I was on the phone telling my friend that I was freaking out because I was seeing dead pigeons everywhere and while I was telling her, I SAW A DEAD PIGEON!!

From then on, I couldn't really cope with pigeons, alive or otherwise. More recently, my neighbour below me decided to start feeding them from her window. At first, I put up with it because I just thought maybe she had some extra cereal or crumbs to get rid of. As it turned out, it wasn't a one off, it became a regular occurrance and it got to the point where pigeons were waiting, lurking outside the flat waiting for her to open her window and flinging cornflakes out onto the street for them.

I live on the second floor, at the same level as the lamp on the streetlamp outside. The streetlamp is where the pigeons would wait, clubfooted and staring for the cornflakes. They sit there in a line, waiting for their free meal. Then, their confidence grew and they started sitting on MY window sills all the while defiling them with their diseased shits. So whenever me or one of my flatmates walked near the window or opened the window, we became a pigeon target and they would fly at us in their infinite stupidity and quest to satisfy their hunger.

After a while, I got paranoid that they were going to end up flying into my flat, flapping around and keeling over which would be my worst nightmare. T and I were away for about two weeks back in September on a trip to Canada. When we came back in the morning, walking up the road to my building there were about 20 pigeons on my window sills. I was so annoyed, not only that but by this time, other birds were getting in on the action as well, I think they were ravens. When I see pigeons in groups like that, I just feel like they're plotting something. I don't know why my neighbour decided to feed them like this, maybe she's just seen Mary Poppins one too many times (love that movie).

Fact is, they were pooping on my window sills and the food all over the pavement would surely only lead to more offensive vermin like rats coming in close proximity to the building. Eventually I asked her to stop feeding them and she's stuck to it for which I'm grateful. Although part of me misses the daily battle against the pigeons, it's a relief that they've more or less gone.  

Cheese Fondue, YES!

Now that the nights have drawn in and got colder, the time for decadent, warming foods has definitely arrived, as I have proved over the past week with some epic eating! Salads only next week. If last Friday was steak night, this Friday was fondue Friday.
Cheese fondue is back, if I say so it must be true. A pot of warm melted cheese and stuff to dip in, what's not to like? Having worked for a cheese company for the best part of three years, I can be a be a bit of a geek about the subject of cheese but what I'll share with you is the recipe that I recommend as well as a few hints on where you can buy the best cheeses in London for your perfect fondue.
Fondue recipes can differ depending on region but also personal taste, there's no hard and fast rule but the cheese should melt well and be tasty.
My favourite mix is by far the Swiss "moitié-moitié" which means half and half - half Gruyère, half Vacherin Fribourgeois.
Before you get started, get some dippers ready, you can dip whatever you like, but chunks of good crusty bread, new potatoes, brocoli and cauliflower all work well. Raw carrots are also good and I tend to do a salad of rocket with a hefty vinegar dressing to cut through all that dairy. Some people like to have charcuterie as well, just go with what you fancy. Keep it simple or mix it up. One of my favourite things is to fry some courgette and red onion until just cooked and spoon some cheese over the top. Also, pickles! You've got to have the pickles. Pickled cucumbers and onions are best.


For the fondue:
Allow up to 200g of cheese per person (for a main meal, if you're hungry). So, for a fondue for 4 people, you'd need about 800g of cheese, 400g Vacherin and 400g Gruyere. For the total weight of your cheese, you need about half the amount of a dry white wine - something cheap will do and that'll be about 400ml.
Get your fondue set and warm the pan, then add the wine. You can start things off on your hob if you're desperate to eat! Once the wine is just about to simmer, add your cheese which should be grated or coarsely chopped. The important thing is to keep things moving, so get a wooden spoon to help melt the cheese through. Once it's nice and smooth, add a dash of kirsch (a cherry brandy) but actually almost any liquer works well within reason. I should also say that before adding your cheese, you can rub your pot with a cut garlic clove, but I've never done it and I don't think I've missed out. Some recipes also suggest adding cornflour to help the mixture bind but it's not vital.
The thing that is vital, is not letting the cheese boil. You want to keep it at a constant temperature so keep an eye on that flame. At the end you'll end up with a little layer of 'toasted' cheese on the bottom, hopefully not burnt and you can eat it if you want to. At the end of the fondue, a Swiss tradition I'm told, is to add an egg to the pot and make a cheesey scrambled egg to scoop up with some bread. I've never done it but I'm sure it'd be great.
Another tip: if you have a fondue set and don't want to use methylated spirit in its liquid form, you can get these awesome firestar gel fuels online that do the job brilliantly. One gel is usually enough for a decent kilo fondue.
Don't have a fondue set? You can make up your fondue over a medium to low heat on the hob. Use a thick bottom pan and keep it hot at the table with a bain marie sort of thing.
Now, you're ready to dip! So, you can dip whatever you like, but chunks of good crusty bread, new potatoes, brocoli and cauliflower all work well. Raw carrots are also good and I tend to do a salad of rocket with a hefty vinegar dressing to cut through all that dairy. Some people like to have charcuterie as well, just go with what you fancy. Keep it simple or mix it up. One of my favourite things is to fry some courgette and red onion until just cooked and spoon some cheese over the top.
When you dip, be sure to get right to the bottom of the pot so you get the good cheese covering your dipper.
You get the idea, happy dipping!



Where to buy the cheese.

In the UK, Vacherin Fribourgeois is not easy to come by. One supplier is KaseSwiss who are based at Borough Market and Maltby Street. They also do wholesale to a range of shops around London so you can always contact them to enquire about the latest stocks. One thing you can guarantee is that any cheese from these guys, fondue or otherwise, will be amazing. They also promote the 'ECF movement' which is something I can always get on board with. It stands for eat cheese first, as in at the beginning of the meal.
If you can't get hold of Vacherin you can try a different regional recipe. Alternatively, you can use Emmental which is more readily available, just make sure it's a young one so it doesn't get too stringy when it melts.

ENJOY!!!

Thanksgiving at The Blues Cafe, Camden

Firstly, I'm not American. Not even a little bit, but that's not to say I don't enjoy an excuse to have a Turkey dinner in advance of Christmas and I also love any reason to hop on the back of another country's Holiday to enjoy some decent grub.
Last night I met my (half American) friend for Thanksgiving dinner at The Blues Kitchen, Camden. My first visit to Camden in a long while and every time I do go to Camden I wonder why I don't come here more often. I think it's mainly that the night bus provision from there is pretty crap back to East London... unless there's a new one I don't know about.
The Thanksgiving fair was a set menu of two courses for £20 and it was fantastic. Heaps of stuffing underneath 3 great chunks of turkey that was deliciously moist accompaned by sweet potato mash and runner beans with some kind of yummy nut on them. I think they were cobnuts. All of this came with gravy and your own pot of cranberry sauce (of course) and a little muffin of cornbread. The gravy was a little bland for my liking, almost generic but it did the job it was meant to do and that's bring all those tasty pieces together to make one delicious plate of nom. The cornbread is not something I've had before that I remember and I found it a little dry but by the time I got to it was so full that it was a bit of a struggle.
The waitress gave us a suitable time for a break before bringing us a desert where we had one of each of what was on offer, Pecan Pie for me and Pumpkin Pie for my demi-yank friend. Both were delicious, though the pumpkin pie could have done with a little more spice. The Pecan pie though was so delicious, the best I've had.
The service was also excellent, with happy and friendly waitresses being attentive throughout the evening. All our food was washed down with a deliciously fruity Tio Vito Rioja from Spain that our waitress recommended.
As we left the bands were getting ready to set up for the entertainment portion of the evening but with our bellies full of Turkey we were feeling increasingly somnambulant so decided to give it a miss this time. All in all, an excellent choice for Thanksgiving to remember. Especially great to catch up with my mate, a great atmosphere and a nice evening of reflecting for all those things I'm thankful for, living in London to name just one.

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Smiths of Smithfield

Friday night is steak night! Well, not every Friday but last Friday at any rate. T had a windfall recently and opted to spend the monies (or some thereof) on moi and an epic plate of beef!
Owned by John Torode (best known for co-presenting Masterchef) Smiths of Smithfield is a good bet if you want some quality meat dishes as it is opposite the historic meat market still operating there. It was a first visit for both of us and with a little internet research I discovered the place is huge! Four floors of fun. The ground floor is a buzzing, industrial-chic bar where we stopped off to whet the whistle as we were early for our booking upstairs. Thumping base and chatty crowds, it is an intense and buzzing atmosphere when you first arrive, I was unable to stop gawping at the beautiful people who clearly frequent this bar on a regular basis. The drinks on offer here are excellent and varied and we sampled an excellent pale ale by the half pint. (I know, but we didn’t want to fill up on beer when we knew what was waiting for us upstairs). Each floor also has a cloakroom which is handy in the winter months.
So, to upstairs as we had booked a table on the fourth floor (or floor 3, as Torode confusingly has labelled one floor, level P which stands for private dining). We took the stairs, not only to truly earn our beefy delights but also to snoop on the other floors as we went past. Level 1 is home to The Wine Rooms where there is an extensive wine list and small tapas style dishes on offer. Then comes level P which is private dining, as previously mentioned, so no chance to peek in there. Level 2 is The Dining Room, think bistro style dining but it’s level 3 where we came to a halt (it’s the top one, after all) and we were very happy. Known as The Top Floor in the restaurant, this is where you find your more luxurious and stylish dining, yet the feeling here is also very calm and relaxed – far from formal or stuffy which was a relief. This was of course down to the welcome on arrival and from the attentive and friendly waiters, the view also made the stair climb wortwhile.
Our starters were a great way to kick start our evening of eating, sharing between us one dish of Scallops, Chorizo, Toulouse Sausage, “Baked Beans” and the other consisting of Roast Foie Gras, Pears, Cobnuts, Brioche. The scallops were cooked perfectly and the slightly spicy beans that accompanied them were perfectly cooked and spiced. The foie gras was unlike anything else, so tender, smooth and rich made all the more decadent by the brioche slice is came with.
The starters were just the right stuff to get the juices flowing for the main event – we ordered the big kahuna, chateaubriand. Chateaubriand comes from the tenderloin of the cow, and is so tender and so flavoursome when prepared correctly. This cut from Smith’s, as with all their beef cuts, has been aged for 26 days and the flavour is all the better for it. More importantly, we were bowled over by how juice the steak, it was astounding. We asked for the steak to be cooked medium and I would say that it came out the rarer side, but no matter, in fact that’s why I ask for a steak to be medium because it usually treads the right line on the still-mooing to charcoal scale. All I know is that I’m rarely disappointed in a medium steak. Without doubt this was the best piece of steak I’ve ever had. We opted for sides of kale and French fries – the kale came with anchovies and garlic whose salty contrast and bold flavours cut through the sumptuous flavours of the meat. The fries were pale, golden, crispy and piping hot. Delish.
Now, the sauces were amazing – with our big cut we were allowed two to try and we went for horseradish cream, obviously. The other sauce was bone marrow butter! Meaty butter with such richness to it that the beef was definitely enhanced by it – I’ve not seen this on any other menu so it was a great opportunity to try it. The horseradish cream was great, but not really horseradishy enough for my taste – the word cream should really have given this away but I was expecting more oomph. That aside, we were also offered a selection of mustards to try – wholegrain, Dijon and English – which were all superb, even if I did overwhelm myself with the amount of saucy blobs on my plate.
All this wonderful food was accompanied by a delicious carafe of red wine though I fail you in not knowing which wine it was. T is the wine geek between us and I just happily drink his choices! What I did like though, was how many of the wines are available in a carafe as we often struggle to finish a bottle so that was a real bonus.
The only thing that let me down from this amazing dining experience (did I mention the view?!) was the desert menu. What we both tend to look for in a desert is something simple, classic and a suitably decadent end to the meal, often we end up sharing. The offerings here were fussy, over the top and pretentious to the point where I opted for ice cream, albeit very delicious, caramel, chocolate and vanilla flavoured ice cream. T on the other hand had the Carrot & Banana Slice, Cream Cheese, Orange, Walnut Ice Cream. The slice was large and very dry looking while the other flavours were over the top and the presentation was fussy to say the least with a carrot just sat in the middle of the plate, pointing almost accusingly at the eater! The puddings somehow seemed incongruous to the rest of the offerings here, but perhaps that’s just me. The cheese options were impressive though, we didn’t have a cheese board but a selection of lovely English cheeses is always a way to win with me. Definitely the best steak of my life, not quite the best dining experience. I intend to go back and try the other floors though as they all looked so inviting.. watch this space. 

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Fog in London Town

The past few days have seen London covered in a blanket of fog. It's been really quite magical, ethereal, spooky and well, bloody cold! On a typical cycle in to work, I head along the embankment and usually check the time on Ol' Big Ben when I come out from the Blackfriars underpass but I couldn't see it for the fog. Still couldn't see it at Waterloo bridge. The sun was trying to peek through in places and it just adds to the atmosphere that is nigh on Dickensian I tells ya.
There was a really horrid fog back in 1952 that killed lots of people and let to the introduction of the Clean Air Act. You can read more about it here.

The Breakfast Club, Spitalfields

Met a friend for dinner recently, it was somewhat impromptu. I say somewhat because it was one of those occasions where she thought she’s have to work late but it turned out she didn’t. So, having cancelled our original restaurant reservation we met at Liverpool Street station and decided to check out the new(ish) Spitalfields branch of The Breakfast Club. It was a quiet Wednesday evening so we were seated straight away, all the while taking in the charmingly quirky décor.
After something satisfying for a cold autumnal evening (as well as stomach-lining in preparation of the inevitable post-dinner cocktails), I ordered a cheeseburger. My friend, being vegetarian, opted for the Halloumi wrap. The food arrived quickly (almost too quickly) and I was disappointed. My burger was dry, bland and over-cooked with too much bun for the size of the patty and the cheese being what I can only assume was a slice of American processed. In addition, the coleslaw was bland and watery, the dish's saving grace came in the form of the piping hot and delicious potato wedges - must've been a fresh batch. The other saving grace being that we arrived in the nick of time for happy hour which saved us precious monies from our delicious mango daiquiris.
The service though, leaves something to be desired, it was quiet, admittedly but the waiters were rather inattentive and spent much of the evening chatting just out of sight to the point where out of necessity we had to wave them over, overall the breakfast club should stick to breakfast. Now, there has been a lot of talk about the smeg-fridge door where you’ll find the mayor of scaredy-cat town, a less-than-secret speakeasy where you’ll find delicious cocktails abound. Check the menu and ask your waiter for details, let’s just say that the disappointing food was saved by our lovely cocktails.


I decided to give this same branch another try a few days later as a friend came to visit for the day from Oxford. Ginger, Harsh and I decided to fuel up with a good brunch in advance of a day of a London stomp and brunch, after all, is how The Breakfast Club made its name. Arriving at 10.30am on a Sunday, the place was immensely busy which meant a little wait and time to peruse the extensive breakfasty-brunchy options. We were seated in one of the booth seats which are really nice and apparently from re-claimed changing room benches, much of the furniture here is made from re-claimed items which is great.

Again, probably owing the busyness of the place this time, rather than quietness as in my previous visit, the service was hectic and inattentive and we had to wave someone over to get them to take our order, we’d chosen what we wanted as we were queuing for a table so the extra wait was a bit irritating. Furthermore I think we were served by at least four different people which is less than ideal.  Teas and coffees all round, I must say that my flat white was absolutely delicious. I don’t know what  coffee blend they use but it’s a winner. I ordered the chorizo hash browns but one of the eggs came underdone, they are cooked sunny side up which I don’t have a problem with but one of them had a lot of the white un-cooked. A waitress took them back to the kitchen only to have them returned to me cooked all the way through. They had clearly taken the same eggs off my plate, put them back in the pan and cooked it through. This isn’t what I wanted at all and it meant I missed out on the runny yolk. It’s not so much that they did this that bothers me, I realise they were busy but they didn’t check with me if this would be ok and were so unapologetic all the while. I only complained about one egg and both were returned to me cooked through to the point of rubbery. Harsh’s green eggs and ham was also dry but good she told me and Ginger’s all-american pancakes went down a storm so a mixed bag really, but having had two rather disappointing meals in a row, I might skip the food and head straight for the cocktails in future.


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Market Goodness.

One of my great London loves, has to be the array of markets to be found here. In my 7 years (gosh, SEVEN) of living in the capital I have woken at hours unseen by many at the weekend to miss the crowds and purchase the finest wares for cooking up a treat (or several treats) over the weekend.
Partly, this love stemmed from my third year at university when I started a job at Borough Market and really got absorbed in the atmosphere, the friendly traders and the amazing food on offer there (and of course taking full advantage of traders discounts!). Now, Borough market has changed considerably since then (and so have I, now on the 9-5 conveyor belt) but its spirit remains and the culinary offerings there are as good as ever and this time of year is a great time to visit. As Christmas draws closer, it is so festive and you can wander around the market with your hessian tote bag filling up as fast as your wallet empties, all the while clutching a nice hot cup of mulled wine or, my personal favourite, spiced cider (watch out though, that stuff is strong!).
Much as my love for Borough still stands, I admit I find it increasingly difficult to visit as the hordes of tourists do much to marr the experience for me and make it hard to get any real shopping done. However, it is worth getting up especially early to miss the worst of the crowds and visit your favourite stalls, though this means getting there for about 8am. Of course, the other alternative for those lucky few who don't work on Fridays is to visit then but the market still gets busy so you need to choose your time well to make the most of what's on offer.

Recently, a favourite tour of mine has been to head to Borough, nice and early followed by a saunter down Bermondsey street to Bermondsey farmers market, followed by Maltby Street market. This works equally well if you do it the other way around! Don't forget to stop by Bermondsey antiques for a real treasure trove experience.

A bit about Maltby St. started almost two years ago, some of the traders from Borough market who all had their storage underneath the market until crossrail kicked in, found alternative storage places in the railway arches along Druid and Maltby streets, a stone's throw from Tower bridge road. Monmouth Coffee  opened up their roasting house (above) and realising that so many of the borough community were in the same spot, these traders have opened their arches up to the public on Saturday mornings and it's created somewhere really quite special that has grown more by word of mouth than anything else.
About 6 months ago, Borough Market did suffer some bad press as they took the decision to evict 7 traders, The Bermondsey Seven, for trading at Maltby Street. This article from the Evening standard in July of this year gives more informatuion. My understanding is that this dispute has now been resolved and the traders have been allowed back in time for Christmas, however, that it happened at all seems concerning and tells you something about how Borough is run.
Unlike Borough, Maltby Street isn't a market, rather it feels like a wonderful collective of market traders really working together to promote great produce and it's worth taking the chance to visit while you can. The traders will all take the time to talk with you about their wares and the passion for their products shines through in a way that's hard to come by, you're bound to make a few discoveries.
Bermondey Farmers market is also much less crowded and more relaxed and you can get all the essentials here, including a great choice of meat and veg and strolling from there along Bermondsey street, with some of London's best independent shops, cafes and restaurants is a really nice way to spend a lazy afternoon.

Artillery Passage

I've wandered through Artillery Passage on a number of occasions as it's a handy cut through from Spitalfields through to Bishopsgate and Liverpool Street station. Each time I think on how charming it is and a snapshot of a London from a bygone era. So of a Friday night, on a quest for some satisfying meal T and I decided Spitalfields would provide the answer to our foodie hankering. What we were hankering for we weren't entirely sure but we thought Spitalfields would have it as that lovely covered market houses just about any food stuff you can think of. As it turned out something more secluded was in order and so my mind raced to Artillery Passage where a number of quaint and  (mostly) independent restaurants nestle side by side. Although slightly marred by the sight of giant pink wheelie bins and by the groups of Jack the Ripper tourists (ugh, tourists!) there is a certain sinister magic to the place. No wonder, given that Jack's final victim, Mary Kelly was found yards from the alley and little seems to have changed there since his day.
The passage is also home to Alexander Boyd, a beautiful menswear shop and a testament to the rag-trade heritage of the East end.  Alexander Boyd's tailoring workshop is the only one that remains in Whitechapel and The Gentle Author over at Spitalfields Life has written a marvellous piece about it.

The restaurants here are varied and you're will find something to suit your tastes. Of course, our usual tactic of gawping through the windows at people's plates to decide if it looked suitably tasty worked a treat and we found ourselves nestled in a table at Olives and Figs. It is a fantastic Turkish Mezze bar and grill that is both delicious and reasonably priced. It is BYOB which keeps prices down and the service is polite and welcoming, if a little on the slow side on our visit. A starter of a sharing platter followed by grilled lamb was a winning combination and we ate ourselves to the brink of explosion without stretching the wallet. Baklava for dessert was a welcome syrupy sweet end to a delicious and authentic Turkish meal at excellent value for money - I will be going back.


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Bras for Buildings?

Alas no, it's not some new architectural feature (sadly) however, pootling home from work on my bike a week or so ago, a flash of neon pink caught my eye. I ground to a halt and crossed the road to eOn the other side of the river near the National Theatre, I saw the ITV Southbank Building sporting a rather fetching hot pink bra.
As it turns out, it was a commission by Vanish in support of Breast Cancer Campaign's major fundraiser Wear It Pink Day on the 28th October. At 30 metres in 'the chest' it took one person four weeks to make and weighs the equivalent of 1800 bras, officially making it the world's largest bra (verified by Guinness World Records)! A brilliant and innovative way to raise money and awareness of the charity and all the work it does. It's the second year running that the campaign has been supported by Vanish with donations to the charity coming from sales of their specialised packs. Of course, the whole thing was documented, so check out the videos (googling giant bras can bring up some weird shit, believe me).  So, props to Chillisauce events, Vanish and Breast Cancer Campaign for teaming up pulling it off, the only question is, can they better it next year?
To find out more or to donate click here. You could simply donate £2 by texting the word CURE to 70070.