Sitting somewhere between the midst and the aftermath of a global pandemic, there isn’t a huge amount to get excited about right now, but being back in a world where it’s (more or less) socially acceptable to go out to eat again is definitely something to be grateful for.
The closure of bars and restaurants during the past few months has been a shock to the system, but it’s the closure of local, small town and village pubs that has really hit home for many. Such pubs, unique to us here in the UK and Ireland, are often community hubs, bringing together locals, and offering both spontaneous and ritualistic escapes from home and working life.
Finding a good village pub isn’t as straightforward as it might sound. If you’re not local, they may be slightly out of your way, meaning taxis or designated drivers are required, then you’re looking for a warm, friendly and comfortable environment, and finally, a solid menu. Chain pubs’ generic menus featuring microwaved curries and reheated brownies just won’t cut it – I want unique dishes, cooked from scratch, menus having been designed by chefs and managers who care about the produce they’re working with, and the plates they’re serving up.
Running out of certain dishes and ingredients is always a good sign, as is having to wait a while for your food, and it’s for all these reasons that The Red Lion in Thurgarton, Nottinghamshire, was the perfect, homely, post-lockdown pub outing.
New social distancing measures mean that like all other pubs, bars and restaurants, its layout has had to change quite drastically, reducing the number of tables, and therefore eliminating that busy, intimate feel that you’ll generally find within pubs. But despite this, the tables that remained were full, with people also taking full advantage of outdoor seating.
Having browsed the menu beforehand, I knew it was going to be a 3-course meal kind of visit, and I’m often drawn to dishes on menus that stand out as being different, and therefore I try to avoid having staple favourites. Up until recently, cauliflower was a mystery to me – bland-tasting and ugly, I couldn’t understand how anyone could enjoy it, but as times change, I’ve definitely grown more of an appreciation for it, and so the cauliflower velouté starter was calling out to me.
The first few mouthfuls tasted surprisingly sweet, and took a moment to adjust to, but the smooth, velveteen texture was a real treat, enhanced by a delicious drizzle of curry oil and a crunchy bhaji to top it off. The portion was pretty immense – had I been cooking at home, this would’ve been my entire dinner, and so half the portion size would’ve meant more room to comfortably enjoy my main and dessert.
After spending some time going back and forth between a steak with blue cheese sauce or pork tenderloin for my main, fortunately this was decided for me when I learned the blue cheese sauce was unavailable. I’m sure this decision worked out for the best as the pork tenderloin was beautifully cooked.
With the slightest hint of pink within, it was soft and delicate, and could’ve held its own without a single sauce or garnish elsewhere on the plate. Having said that, the sauces and garnishes were great additions, particularly the creamy celeriac purée and caramelised apples, and the tenderstem broccoli added a flash of green to what otherwise would’ve been a pretty neutral-beige plate. The only part of the dish that I questioned was the black pudding purée; I’m a huge fan of black pudding and love the flavours, however, for me, as a purée it was just a little too thick and claggy. The black pudding was definitely still worthwhile, but perhaps would’ve worked better in another form, whether sliced, or as a crumb.
Finally came dessert. Having seen pictures of The Red Lion’s desserts online and on social media, I loved the high-end, fancy feel that they had to them. Still a strong portion size but with huge amounts of attention to detail, which ultimately created a beautiful-looking dish like the one below.
This is a chocolate ganache with popcorn, cookie and cherry sauce, and it was this unusual combination of treats that intrigued me. Combining ganache, popcorn and a cookie sounds like it could end up quite a clunky, inelegant dish, but it was quite the opposite. To be honest I’m not sure the popcorn or cookie added anything flavour-wise, however they both enhanced the appearance and texture of the dish. The ganache itself was incredibly rich, but this was balanced by the beautifully sharp, deep red cherry sauce. I’ve never come across a dessert like this before on a menu, and its this kind of inventiveness that really excites me.
Realistically, you aren’t going to accidentally stumble across village pubs like The Red Lion without prior knowledge or recommendations, but hopefully that’s where I come in. It’s great to give the big chains, and packed city restaurants a miss for once, and head somewhere that local or not, really appreciates your business, and puts a lot of heart into the food they produce. Based on the food alone, The Red Lion can certainly be described as a gastropub, but one that is unpretentious and welcoming.
Hard to believe it’s been around four months since my last dining out experience. Never could we have conceived of a global crisis in which every restaurant, bar, pub and café in the country would be closed, what that would mean for our social connections, and more significantly, what that would mean for the thousands of businesses out there, thrown into such an uncertain scenario.
I’d avoided venturing out for the first couple of weeks following the easing of lockdown rules – in my head, I pictured rowdy raucousness throbbing through the streets, and despite a little of that going down in places, it didn’t seem as intense as I’d expected. So when I did finally decide to book that much-anticipated first restaurant visit, it had to be somewhere special.
Scottish restaurant Mac and Wild was that place, having sat firmly atop my restaurant bucket list for two years, ever since drooling over a photo of their ice cream-topped sticky toffee pudding on Instagram.
Ironically, I didn’t end up trying that very sticky toffee pudding (which probably means I’ll have to make a return visit one day), but here’s how the rest of it went…
With Fitzrovia all booked up, we arrived at their Devonshire Square branch, having booked one of the lovely-looking socially-distanced huts, complete with a seating for up to 4, and your very own self-serve drinks cabinet. In my head, I’d pictured these being outside, but their three, I have to say it as it is, sheds, were opposite the bar inside. Nonetheless, they still created a sense of privacy and intimacy, shielded from other diners. Had I booked one of these huts outdoors in winter, complete with blankets, and heating, I think it would’ve been beautiful – both atmospheric and cosy, but as it were, dining in one of those indoors in 27 degree heat, it was a little on the sweaty side.
Being a Scottish restaurant, there are a number of haggis-inspired dishes on the menu, including their Haggis Pops, which we ordered to start. I should also mention at this point that their menu was limited, compared to what their Devonshire Square-specific online menu stated they had. I had been so desperate to try their Venison Scotch Egg, but it was nowhere to be found, so settled for the Haggis Pops.
Never (ashamedly) having tried haggis before, it’s difficult for me to judge, as I’m not familiar with the standard flavours and textures, however, the pops came as little fried bites, the meaty haggis filling encased in a crunchy shell. Whilst I enjoyed the outer crunch and the flavours, the texture wasn’t necessarily to my liking – oddly, despite being meaty, it had the texture of a potato croquette filling, and I’ve expressed my views on potatoes here before… To accompany the pops there’s a cranberry-mustard, or ‘Red Jon’ sauce. We spent a good few minutes trying to pinpoint what exactly the sauce was comprised of, intrigued by the sharp and sweet notes, before reluctantly giving in when ‘mustard’ was all we could come up with, and resorting to consulting the ingredients list.
Once again, when it came to ordering mains, I was disappointed to see that amongst the side dishes, the Haggis Mac and Cheese I’d set my heart on didn’t feature. Luckily, they were still offering their Truffle Mushroom Mac and Cheese, which I chose to accompany their signature ‘Venimoo’ Burger. The Venimoo features beef and venison patties, with Béarnaise sauce, cheese, pickles and caramelised onions. The burger was very good. Juicy patties, full of flavour, with a sharp, tanginess from the pickles and the warming, creaminess of the Béarnaise sauce and melting cheese. I can’t say it was mind-blowing (I’ve unintentionally ended up with pretty sky high standards), but the quality and flavours certainly made it worth ordering.
Interestingly my highlight was the Truffle Mushroom Mac and Cheese. Despite not being a speciality dish of theirs, I loved the consistency – a super creamy cheese sauce, without the overwhelming sickliness that truffle can sometimes bring. The mushrooms were cut into large cubed pieces, which I surprisingly enjoyed, cementing its place amongst the best mac and cheeses I’ve tried in London.
As previously mentioned, I didn’t get round to trying the Sticky Toffee Pudding in the end, which only calls for a return visit, however, I’ll be sticking to the soft drinks next time, as the cheapest bottle of white wine came in at £36, despite the drinks menu on their website listing white wine prices as ranging between £20 and £74. For me, this was the most significant issue; service had been good, the food was good to excellent, but for those of us not rolling in money who fancy a drink, £36, when you know full well the bottle isn’t worth that, hurts. It feels almost wrong to say anything negative about businesses that are fighting to survive right now, but having been furloughed myself, and seeing a drop in income, I can’t ignore such limited options when it comes to drinks pricing, particularly as the food prices are very reasonable, which just makes the wine list prices seem even more out of place.
Having said that, I’m so glad to be back eating out, and sharing my thoughts, having enjoyed months of home cooking and takeaways. There’s just something that can’t be beaten about the whole restaurant experience, from the social aspect, to holding a physical menu in front of you and spending an unnecessarily long time indecisively asking the waiters for another 5 minutes to decide.
Restaurants need our support now more than ever, so if you’re craving a high quality burger and wonderful Mac and Cheese, Mac and Wild is a solid choice.
Mardi Gras, voodoo queens and crawfish-filled bayous.
Spot the common denominator.
If you hadn’t already got it from the very obvious title, your answer is: New Orleans. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it was that possessed me to travel half way across the world on my own for 4 days’ exploration in one of the US’ southernmost states, but there’d always been something in the back of my mind (it may have had something to do with American Horror Story Season 3, and the many pop culture references to the city that often crop up where other US cities of its size don’t get a look in). So a programme about witches, torture and murderous axemen probably doesn’t sound like the best justification, but it at least got me interested in learning more.
As soon as I came across an anomaly flight, £200 cheaper than the rest, that was it. No second-guessing, it was a done deal, and all that remained was to come up with my own itinerary.
After almost missing my connection in Miami, on the verge of tears and sprinting through the airport like I’ve never run before, only to find that the pilot hadn’t even turned up in those 9 minutes before the plane was due to take off, I arrived safe and sound that first evening.
Immediately put at ease by my lovely (female) Uber driver, who insisted she wouldn’t leave me until she knew I was safely inside my accommodation, this theme of genuine friendliness continued throughout the trip, and people were keen to engage with the weird British girl (who definitely doesn’t sound like Keira Knightley) who had decided to holiday on her own.
The houses on Esplanade Avenue, where my Air B ‘n’ B was located, were beautiful. This picturesque residential street is lined with oak trees, townhouses and creole mansions, many of which were still decorated with flags and beads in the Mardi Gras colours of purple, green and yellow from the previous weeks’ celebrations.
Knowing I was in for four days of absolute feasting, and experiencing jetlag (or the opposite) for the first time, I found myself awake at 4.30 the next morning, and took full advantage of this early start to go for a run. I felt at home straightaway, with people greeting me, and a fellow runner acknowledging me with a nod and a wave. Tourist who?
District Donuts was stop number 1 after successfully navigating the city’s bus service to Magazine Street. At this point I should also mention that more or less everywhere I ate during my stay had been thoroughly researched beforehand (it’s me, of course it was), whether via photos on Instagram, blog posts, travel guides or website recommendations. Being surrounded by doughnuts everyday back in London, I wanted to see how they compared here. The Cookies ‘n’ Cream that I went for had the most incredible dough, much lighter and softer than any I’ve had here, however, the icing was very artificial tasting. You can almost tell from the odd pure white colour, and smooth, shininess of the icing that something looks a little bit off. But it was absolutely worth the visit still, as my other breakfast dish (lol yes, this ‘multiple courses at inappropriate meal times’ theme will continue) was so American, but so good.
‘Biscuits’ in the American sense were never something I’d really understood. They looked to me like an unappetising savoury scone that was often covered in a weird thing they attempted to call gravy, but not this one. This biscuit had been French-toastified so it was soft and fluffy, and slightly sweet with a honey glaze, lump of fried chicken in the middle, and hot sauce and mayo. With a modern, verging on hipster feel inside, this was a great first place to dine.
I then had to work up an appetite for lunch, so embarked on a 2 hour walking tour of the Garden District, viewing houses owned by celebs like Sandra Bullock, and others where scenes from Interview with a Vampire and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button had been filmed. For some great window shopping after this, Magazine Street was the perfect place to wander and browse, and was so calm after all the Mardi Gras madness a couple of days before.
Cue one of the most highly anticipated meals of my trip. Commander’s Palace is frequently recognised as one of the best restaurants in the US. You couldn’t miss it, what with its striking and slightly garish turquoise and white striped exterior, but reservations are required.
I’m not used to fine dining, and so I probably should’ve known that it’d be a bit too much for me. I wanted to throw my drink over the waiter’s face every time I was referred to as ‘Miss Mary’. Second thing to note is the atmosphere. Their 25 cent lunchtime martinis (max 3pp) don’t help anything. Americans can be loud, but this was nearing unbearable. Shouting, hysterical laughter and squealing – even chants of ‘DO IT, DO IT’, you’d have thought you were at a college frat party. There definitely was an air of self-importance floating around amongst everyone, but there is an indication of this in the fact that there is a non-casual dress code, including jeans being ‘discouraged’. Luckily for me, I had taken my lovely leopard print culottes, which I’d been complemented on twice already (‘Omg, I love your outfit… do you love planned parenthood?’).
My main of Crawfish Strudel was an interesting dish, however, the Louisianans love a good roux, and this sauce was slightly too roux-y for me, with that almost gelatinous, slightly gloopy feel. The strudel itself was lovely, but would’ve been even nicer not swimming in a floury sauce.
Dessert was where it’s at. With amazing reviews on the Eaten app, I had to try the Bread Pudding Soufflé with Whisky Butter Sauce. The texture of the soufflé on top was wonderful, and then underneath the surface was the moist and sticky bread pudding – a New Orleans classic. I don’t really like spirits at all, and the whisky butter was very strong, but despite that it worked. Its potency complemented the sweetness of the other elements of the dish.
Fast forward to Saturday morning and I’m off for breakfast again, this time to the wonderfully Instagrammable Willa Jean, which is just outside of the touristy area. It was probably a good sign that it was super busy in here, but being on my own I always found it pretty easy to be seated quickly.
You may be disappointed to hear about the highlight of my whole trip. It was this.
Yet another amazing biscuit, this time sweet. I’d read about this on a blog, but had not anticipated how incredible it would be. Texturally, this was like a cross between bread, sponge and flaky pastry all in one. Added to it being served warm, and filled with a sweet strawberry jam and thick cream, the taste and texture were sensational. Of course one dish wasn’t enough though so to drink (or as a dessert – you decide) I ordered a peanut butter hot chocolate. Again, superior to all London hot chocolates, this was super thick, with lots of peanut butter flavour on the surface but without being too sickly, and then the gooiest, melting marshmallows to finish it off. And if you think I finished here, you’re wrong. What about my savoury course? Flavour-wise, the bbq shrimp toast wasn’t as mind-blowing, although the bbq sauce was nice, and the melting cheese was a great addition. But again it was the texture I loved. This was a perfect example of how savoury French toast works. On paying my bill I told the waitress that I’d been to Commander’s Palace yesterday but that I’d come back to Willa Jean a million times over before going back there.
Willa Jean was located conveniently close to the National World War II Museum, which was very impressive. A large, slightly intimidating-looking building, you need at least 3 hours to look round everything here, and that’s not including the add-ons. I hadn’t realised how much there would be to see and so after an hour and a half had to rush round so I didn’t miss my next tour. The exhibits really are impressive, from the detail and artefacts on show, to the makeshift jungle and winter forest environments that you find yourself walking through. An absolute must-visit in the city.
At this point I was slightly regretting having had a 3 course breakfast as I was now due to start a 3 hour food tour in the French Quarter. I persevered. Stop number one was one of NOLA’s many hot sauce shops. Once armed with your mini spoon, you can sample any or every product they have in store, including the hottest sauce in the history of hot sauce which is about 5 kabillion times hotter than the Carolina Reaper and requires the signing of a disclaimer before you try it…. Despite being pretty good with spice it’s safe to say I gave that one a miss.
Next up was Leah’s Pralines; pralines being one of their sweet snacks of choice due to the abundance of pecan trees in the state. I found these to be overwhelmingly sugary, but that didn’t stop me from bringing home a pack of bacon pecan brittle to top my pancakes with.
We couldn’t miss out on NOLA’s two most traditional sandwiches – the Po’ Boy and Muffaletta. The story behind the Po’ Boy is said to stem from a 1929 strike in which two brothers served those on strike these sandwiches for free, referring to them as ‘Po’ (poor) boys’ when they approached. This one from Nola Po Boys had a catfish filling, which although fried, was so light, with such flaky fish. Other popular fillings include oysters, shrimp and roast beef.
The Muffaletta is typically served on a seeded bread and consists of hams and salami such as mortadella, cheese, often provolone, and an olive relish. Despite being a great sandwich, the olive relish didn’t really do it for me.
Tujague’s next. This is one of the oldest bars in the city, with the actual, physical bar being imported from Europe over 160 years ago. They’re known for their Grasshopper cocktails (mint, cocoa and cream based), and their beef brisket. Now I’m a huge fan of brisket, but I found it to be slightly dry, despite being lovely and flaky in texture.
Second to last stop was Dickie Brennan’s Tableau, Dickie Brennan being part of the famous Brennan family of restaurateurs who between them run many of the city’s most raved about restaurants, including Commander’s Palace. This was the place where I finally go to try Gumbo. Gumbo comes from a West African languages, meaning okra. The stew also features the ‘holy trinity’ of veg, including celery, peppers and onions, and seafood gumbo tends to be the most common, which is what we tried. It was full of delicious shellfish flavour, and had a nice thickness to it – nothing worse than a watery stew. The rice is a great way to soak up some of the juices leftover at the end.
Last but not least was SoBou, with a slightly different vibe to the previous restaurants. SoBou takes a more modern approach to its cuisine, taking New Orleans’ classics and adding a twist. We tried their crawfish beignets to begin with – fried seafood balls with a sharp, slightly tangy sauce. Then came the pork cracklings, which have the texture and light crunch of a prawn cracker. The final dish was my favourite. Boudin balls are really common here – boudin being a kind of sausage, here made from chicken and beef short rib. These balls were almost like arancini with rice in the middle and a crispy exterior.
Food tours are definitely something I recommend when going abroad – eating the food is great, but learning about the stories, history and individuals behind each dish makes it a more enriching experience.
Can you believe I still went for dinner after all that? Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t feeling up to it, but this was my only chance to try Jambalaya, which along with Gumbo is a must-try dish in NOLA. It’s thought that Jambalaya was inspired by West African Jollof Rice, as New Orleans was a big slave port, but there’s also talk of it being influenced by paella as the Spanish had control of the city for some years. Any rice dish that can stand alone without a sauce or a main portion of protein has to be something good, and Gumbo Shop’s chicken and Andouille sausage jambalaya lived up to that (the small amount of protein was scattered throughout the rice). With creamy rice and a lovely, tomatoey flavour with a Cajun kick, I couldn’t help but finish it.
Although I was verging on food coma territory, I had one more stop that evening, and no, don’t worry, this one wasn’t food-related. I’d got tickets for a jazz show at the famed venue Preservation Hall, but hadn’t realised quite how small, intimate and informal it would be. Four rows of little wooden benches were laid out in the tiny, old, and slightly dilapidated-looking room. People packed in the back, standing, desperate to catch the show, and some even sat cross-legged on cushions at the front. The band was fabulous, and the show was relaxed and full of humour. The musicians were clearly having a great time, joking with each other and getting the audience going. Between the 5 musicians, they played piano, drums, trombone, trumpet, keyboard, saxophone, clarinet and double bass and covered everything from serenading romantic melodies to upbeat, raucous jazz tunes. By the end of the night, I was shattered, and other than my Uber driver home responding ‘… and Juliet??’ when I told him that I was from Nottingham, as in Robin Hood, my entertainment for the night was complete.
Imagine my surprise when after all that, I woke up the next morning feeling light as a feather and ready to start all over again. I couldn’t resist browsing Uber Eats to see how many of my bucket list restaurants and cafes I could get delivered to my door post-run. Lo and behold there were a couple of places that I couldn’t resist, the first being Buttermilk Drop. Other than Sno-balls (google them), my Lonely Planet pocket guide told me that this was the dessert to try in NOLA. It’s not quite a doughnut, but is basically a round ball of dough, covered in a buttermilk drizzled icing. It may not be the compliment they were after, but in the US they really know how to create a soft, spongy, non-stodgy dough like no one else. For my breakfast main course, I had been drawn to the Ruby Slipper Café, which not only had I read about before travelling, but had also walked past in the city centre where it’d seemed to be really busy.
I went for their ‘Peacemaker Benedict’– 2 American biscuits (those things again…), one topped with fried chicken, a creamy sauce and poached egg, and the other, pulled pork, a chipotle style sauce and poached egg. This is the uncomfortable part where I admit that American biscuits are definitely superior to the English muffin, which is not as soft, and is slightly drier. However, the best breakfast was definitely yet to come.
Next stop, Cochon for a combined lunch and dinner that I’d been dreaming of well in advance. I couldn’t visit New Orleans without trying alligator. The surrounding bayous (swamps) mean that there is plenty of this, what we would consider ‘exotic’, meat to go around. Cochon do fried alligator bites with a Cajun style sauce, and whilst I’d heard many people claim it tasted like chicken, I didn’t get this at all. I found the meat to be quite tough, so although I didn’t dislike it, I’d happily stick to popcorn chicken in the future. Alongside my alligator I went for a standard mac and cheese – something that has become more popular in the UK, in my opinion, due to its popularity in the US. I have a very specific idea of the kind of mac and cheese I like – it has to be creamy, not just pure melted cheese, but equally I’m not a fan of a roux-based mac and cheese sauce. But it’s the return of the roux again here. The thickness of the sauce just seemed tainted by a kind of flouriness that didn’t do it any favours. But it was still half-decent, with a crispy baked top.
My final ‘meal’ of day 3 was a wonderful one. I’d seen photos of Mulates food online, and it had a cheap and cheerful kind of vibe to it. It was only when I started researching the best place for pecan pie that it really grabbed my attention. Pecans grow in abundance in NOLA, hence them using pecans in their pralines as opposed to almonds, and so I had high expectations of this pie. My first impression of Mulates as I walked in was an interesting one. For me, it seemed quintessentially American. Very informal, plastic red and white checked table cloths, a huge room that could cater to hundreds of people, and loads of waiters and waitresses running around in caps and burgundy polo shirts. Not gonna lie, it seemed quite shit on the inside. However, that pecan pie arrived warmed through and topped with ice cream and whipped cream, and my already full stomach suddenly made room for every single bite. The pastry didn’t fly across the table when I cut into it, the filling was gooey and almost oozing out of the sides, and although I’d never think to add ice cream or cream to pecan pie, it was delicious. I left here extremely satisfied, and also growing aware of the fact that all my food highlights seemed to be sweet dishes, which is not at all what I’d expected.
The need to walk some of that food off was great, and so a touristy afternoon led me to Mardi Gras World, located in a giant warehouse right on the river, past the cruise ship port, where I was convinced I’d ended up somewhere that couldn’t possibly house a tourist attraction, and I’d probably get arrested for trespassing at any moment. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case, and my tour started without issue. After a brief video explaining the origins of Mardi Gras, I was “forced” to try a piece of the traditional Mardi Gras King Cake, which I’d heard of before only through my study of Spanish, as the ‘Roscón de reyes’. The NOLA version is slightly more exciting, topped with sugar in the Mardi Gras colours representing justice, faith and power. One person will also find a small figure of a baby (or in Europe, literally a figure of Jesus), and that person is committed to buying next year’s cake! Nowadays they come in a load of different flavours, but cinnamon is really common, and this one also had apple in. Whilst it was tasty, I found the cinnamon to be very overpowering, but they do look beautiful. After finishing up the tour and getting to see a number of really impressive floats and giant carnival figures created by hand, I headed to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, in yet another slightly out of the way location, and wandered round reading about everything from the creation of the New Orleans-born, now national chain Popeye’s chicken, to Texas BBQ and absinthe bars.
Mardi Gras World
Another evening spent at my air b ‘n’ b, super tired, prepared me for one more day of food and exploration before heading to the airport late that final afternoon. One of my favourite meals, another sweet one, was at Stanley’s, in the beautiful Jackson square, in the heart of the French Quarter. Stanley’s had been recommended frequently as a fantastic all-day brunch place, with their Beaux Bridge Benedict and Bananas Foster French Toast both highly praised. Up to this point, I hadn’t tried anything Bananas Foster-related so this seemed like my last chance. Foster sauce is a delicious syrupy, brown butter and rum sauce, and my French toast came absolutely swimming in it. Not one to miss an opportunity to throw ice cream on everything, the Americans did it again, serving this brunch dish with two giant scoops of vanilla ice cream, walnuts, bananas and banana crisps. I was genuinely shocked by the portion size that arrived, but I couldn’t help but finish it all, even wishing I could drink up the remainder of the Fosters sauce sitting on the bottom of the plate.
From sweet, to sweeter, I headed to Café du monde next. Everyone who’s visited the city knows about this spot, but it’s often debated whether it’s worth it, or whether it’s just a tourist trap. I have to say I loved it; I’d heard about how difficult it could be to get a table, and was surprised to discover that there’s no queuing system, instead you literally just peg it to a table as soon as one becomes free. From there, the waiters and waitresses will take your order, and if it’s anything other than the classic chicory coffee and beignets, they’ll ask you to leave (just kidding, but still, why are you there if not for this?). I sat outside, housed undercover in the old French market where the café is located. Admittedly I wasn’t a fan of the chicory coffee as it wasn’t creamy enough for me, but the beignets surprised me. Having only seen photos, I wasn’t sure what the fascination with this fried dough was, as it looked way too crispy, oily and overloaded with icing sugar, but actually they were amazing. Whilst they were crispy on the outside, the insides were super fluffy with the most delicious dough, and the powdered sugar thickens in your mouth, turning into a layer of thick icing. The only downsides are the toilets, which are absolutely grim, but I could cope with that for the food. Heading out to behind the store, by the Mississippi front, you can see into the kitchen and watch them make the beignets.
After a spot of souvenir shopping and wandering by the river, I decided to hit Antoine’s on the off chance that they had walk-in space available. I’d booked a table a few days ago purely to try their famous Oysters Rockefeller (the dish was created here in this 180 year old family-owned restaurant). I was also nervous about my attire, being in jeans and a cropped baggy jumper, due to the city’s strict dress code rules, but I was relieved to see that everyone else in there for lunch on a weekday was dressed equally as casually, and there were a huge number of tables free. I ordered said dish, it only being the second time I’d tried oysters, and the first time I hadn’t been a huge fan. Actually this time, the oysters weren’t bad, and I found them to be much more similar to mussels, however, despite the fact that nowadays there’s very little my taste buds can’t handle, I really couldn’t get on board with the Rockefeller sauce. It had a dry, congealed-textured film coating the sauce, with a thicker, creamier texture underneath, and I don’t even know how to describe the flavour. It wasn’t horrendous, but I left a fair bit of the dish. Still, no regrets, I’d desperately wanted to try them.
A long stroll to the other side of the city was my desperate attempt to work up an appetite for my final New Orleans’ dine-in meal. I’d hoped to save the best ‘til last with the world-famous fried chicken at Willie Mae’s Scotch House. It was voted by the Food Network as having the best fried chicken in the US, which is a huge statement. Again, I’d been warned about huge queues and long waits, but arriving at an off-peak time, I didn’t have to wait more than 20 minutes. I ordered the standard fried chicken with a side of red beans and rice. I was almost too nervous to take a bite, what with the fear of it not living up to its title as America’s best. For me, the chicken itself was nice. Occasionally I felt it was a bit too salty, but it was decent. What made it for me was the thin layer of batter, which was incredibly crisp and a delight to bite into. The red beans and rice were decent but I refused to even acknowledge the giant portion they brought to me, instead scraping a small amount on to my fried chicken plate in order to appease my ‘too-much-food-panic mentality’. I left satisfied, but ultimately unsure about the title with which Willie Mae’s had been honoured. I’m not sure any food establishment, no matter how good, can ever live up to being known as the greatest in the country.
As far as I know, London has a couple of New Orleans/Louisiana style eateries, one of them being street food traders Bayou Bar, who produce delicious po’ boy sandwiches. Just before going away I’d seen that they’re hosting a Bayou Crayfish Boil at the end of this month, which I immediately bought tickets for, and contacted them to let them know what a coincidence it was that I was just about to visit NOLA when I’d heard about this event. They were hugely enthusiastic about the city and urged me to visit the deli-grocer’s Verti Marte, which during my trip I actually heard a couple of other people raving about in passing conversation, and so I knew I had to squeeze it in. I’d been told to try their ‘All That Jazz’ sandwich – a giant soft baguette loaded with smoky cold cuts, their special sauce, cheese and I can’t even remember what else but there was seriously loads. In my desperation not to miss it, I’d decided that I’d get one and take it with me to the airport to eat later before my flight. The first spanner in the works was the fact that I have an issue with doors – doors that don’t open first time, doors that are disguised as anything else other than a door. And so upon arrival, I simply couldn’t find the entrance. I spent a good 5 minutes wandering around trying to look like I knew what I was doing. I also couldn’t see inside and so had no idea if it was open or if anyone was watching me looking like a ginormous idiot, which only added to my social humiliation-related anxiety. After a few deep breaths, I decided to give it one last shot, pushing a caged panel of glass which bore no resemblance to a door, but it was the only remote possibility. To my relief, it opened. I was in. Ordering the sandwich was a smooth process, but after killing more time, wandering back to collect my luggage and having a nosy round one of the famous above ground cemeteries, I took my much-anticipated sandwich out to photograph. Well, there was so much filling, and such a flood of sauce, that after having been jostled around in my bag for a while with the sauce saturating the bread, the sandwich now resembled a moist lung. You may assume that this was the end, but a couple of hours later as I was waiting for my flight, I whipped out a plastic fork from my bag, and attacked said lung which was contained securely within a plastic bag whilst sitting in the gate lounge. I managed a fair few mouthfuls before I accepted that it was too late. No more could be done to salvage the sandwich. It was over.
And on that note, I boarded the plane, and flew home 5lbs heavier.
If you made it to the end, congrats, that was a long one. But no apologies, as I had the time of my life.
This is the first part in my new and ongoing series of blog posts, ‘Meat me halfway’. It’s basically a diary following the ups and downs, highlights and lowlights of my journey to reducing my meat and dairy intake.
I’ll willingly admit that I don’t ever have any intention of giving up meat, seafood, and dairy products entirely, however, everything I’ve seen in the media recently has made me consider what I can do to contribute positively to the environmental issues we’re facing. I’m under no illusions – I know that me eating slightly less meat/dairy isn’t going to change the world, but it’s a small step that I can take to contribute to reducing the demand. The way I’ve decided to work it is that for one week towards the end of each month, I’ll only eat plant-based food, so that equates to 3 months a year. I’m also intrigued as to whether my body will physically feel any better.
So there’s my intro – you can look forward to these diary
posts once a month from now on, but for now let’s get stuck in and see what
delicious (and not so delicious) meals I ate.
One of the things that actually quite concerns me about eating purely vegan food is Biscoff. Is there anything in the world that tastes as incredible as Biscoff spread? I think not. Yet it being vegan is not synonymous with it being healthy. And it is fast becoming my weakness. Firstly, Doughnut Time’s ‘David Hassel-Biscoff’ is one of the best and most indulgent doughnuts you will ever eat. But I wanted to incorporate this incredible spread into my home-cooked food. Porridge oats are delicious with some added Biscoff spread. This meal is so straightforward – oats with soy milk, (which I’ve realised doesn’t differ in taste at all to cow’s milk) add a blob or swirl of Biscoff spread, and top with a few Lotus biscuits. Super straight-forward, filling and tasty. Now I just need to stop eating it straight from the jar…
Another breakfast meal that’s really satisfying to both make and eat is granola. When I decided to embark on this journey I bought Rachel Ama’s Vegan Eats book, as it was one of the only books that stood out to me in terms of interesting, exciting-looking vegan food that I was eager to try out. Her guide to making your own granola is so simple – blitzed mixed nuts with coconut oil, oats and maple syrup, baked until golden and then add your choice of dried fruits. To make this even more delicious, I took the vegan cookie dough from Doughnut Time’s Ice Ice Bae Bae doughnut and sprinkled that on top.
Meal prep for the week came in the form of beetroot lentils with HECK sweet chilli plant-based sausages. I have to admit that this meal that I ate repetitively throughout the week didn’t really do it for me in the end. I much prefer chickpeas and beans to lentils, and although I love the flavour of beetroot, I felt like the texture of the lentils with the sausages was just too stodgy. The sausages were actually pretty tasty but the texture was definitely veggified rather than them attempting to be an actual meat substitute.
Last Sunday afternoon I headed to the Black Food Festival at the Oval Space, the focus being on innovative food aesthetics – more specifically, black tinted food. I hate to say it but I was very disappointed with the festival overall. There just weren’t enough traders or visitors to fill the large space, and to make matters worse, despite the festival ending at 9pm, by 5pm when I arrived, most of the food had sold out. I was able to get my hands on a vegan salad from a stall that I annoyingly can’t remember the name of but I’m not actually sure what that had to do with black food. It was tasty at the time, but one of those that on reflection you wouldn’t desperately want to eat again. Then I got a mushroom and black bean taco from Tacos Hermanos. It looked great with the charcoal tortilla and the contrasting bright orange chipotle sauce, and it tasted good, but I found myself admitting that I would never choose that over meat.
Before heading to work the following morning I went back to the wonderful recipes of Rachel Ama, and this time, her vegan pancakes with raspberry chia jam. They were super easy to make, including the jam (although it didn’t thicken up that much) and they tasted great too. The pancakes were quite heavy as oats had been used instead of flour, but they still had a nice texture and the sharpness of the chia jam worked really well.
I was lucky enough to receive some freebies from Itsu later that day in exchange for food from where I work and luckily the ladies had lots of vegan options. They gave me some vegetable gyozas and a tofu rice/salad box. I really enjoyed the gyozas – honestly don’t think I have a preference between the meat and veg ones, which says a lot. When it comes to tofu I have tried it many a time and sometimes I can stomach it, others I can’t. I really wasn’t a fan of this one so I left it, but I did really enjoy the salad and sushi rice, with the delicious sauce, although I still haven’t worked out exactly what it is.
My first proper vegan restaurant dining experience took place at BabaBoom in Islington. It was good that they had a few different options, although there were no vegan desserts. We had flatbread with sweet potato hummus to start and the hummus was great and really creamy. My main was a broadbean falafel flatbread, and whilst I definitely did enjoy it, I still found myself getting food envy when my parents’ chicken and mutton flatbreads were served. Falafel is a great vegan option though and I was definitely super full at the end – helped out by the really well-seasoned fries that I had on the side.
My homemade sweet treats of the week came in the form of apple crumble oat balls. I had a couple of these to snack on each day, and they grew on me throughout the week. They’re made from a blend of apple, almond butter, dates and oats and then chilled in balls so that they hold together. These are great for an energy boost and would be really easy to adjust the ingredients to create different flavours.
We’re on to Rachel Ama round 3 for one of my dinners, and I made her Caribbean Channa. This chickpea curry/stew was packed with flavour and tasted so much better than it looked, but despite all that flavour, for some reason it just didn’t satisfy me in the same way that it wouldn’t done if it’d had beef or chicken in.
I think one of the things I’ve been realising is that sweet vegan food is often much better than the savoury, and Juicebaby’s Açaí bowl reaffirmed this to me. I hadn’t had açaí since I was in Brazil and had been kind of nervous that it just wouldn’t be the same, eating it at work in rainy London as opposed to on beautiful, sunny Ipanema beach. But you know what, I loved it. It didn’t disappoint and although it was a little on the pricey side it was a decent portion size and a great breakfast. It was topped with banana, granola and coconut, but toppings can be customised.
Now, my first slip up. Up to this point, I’d found eating vegan super easy. I hadn’t been remotely tempted to break my plant-based promise. But whilst at work, I was approached by a lady who worked at the café opposite who was interested in doing a food exchange, much like the one I’d done with Itsu days before. I agreed enthusiastically, but then it turned out that eggs and bacon were the extent of the options available. My brain for some reason just froze and I couldn’t tell her that I wasn’t eating meat or eggs so found myself replying ‘Ooh a bacon sandwich would be great.’ Ten minutes later I’m sitting there with this sandwich thinking what the fuck do I do now? The smell was killing me. I literally can’t deal with food waste so there was no way I was gonna let it go to waste but it wouldn’t last until my vegan week was over. So yes, in the end I ate it. And you know what? I have no regrets, because there are no rules to my plant-based eating plans. I can eat what I like, and if during a week of around 15 vegan meals, one ends up slipping, who cares? I’ve still done really well. So I don’t plan on breaking the cycle every time I’m on vegan week, but I really didn’t need to beat myself up about it.
Okay, we’re on to our penultimate meal, and it’s a good one. I was really excited when I came across Chilango’s ‘This isn’t chicken burrito’ on Deliveroo. I was really intrigued as to how convincing it would be. This was one of the best things I ate all week. You could barely tell it wasn’t chicken, the texture was almost identical, and being the filling to a burrito, flavour didn’t really come into it, as that came from all the other elements. You had rice, black beans, salsa, jalapenos, all of which created the most flavoursome Mexican wrap which I would be happy to eat any time, even when not making a conscious effort to eat vegan. This is one that I massively recommend.
Last but not least is another home-cooked meal, but this time one that required no recipe. My parents had just got back from Italy and had brought me back some food-related goodies. One of those was a jar of vegan pistachio pesto, and along with that was some Busiate pasta from where they had been in Sicily which is not made with eggs. The pasta was oddly slimy, but not unpleasant, and when I’ve made fresh pasta myself it’s always had this texture. The pesto was really nice, but not as strong tasting as a basil-based pesto. Regardless, I will definitely be eating this again, maybe with some added sun dried tomatoes and who knows, perhaps a few bites of chicken.
So there’s what went down during my first vegan week. The highlights were definitely the Biscoff, which I have found myself craving 24/7 and also the Chilango burrito. I’m also impressed by the discovery of plant-based milk, which I’ll be using full-time from now on.
I reckon I’d been pretty naïve regarding the way I thought my body would feel following all this plant-based food. I assumed that by being so ‘healthy’ I would feel less heavy and generally better in myself, whereas in fact I felt more gross and bloated than I have done in a long time. I guess this stems from a combination of things – firstly, as previously mentioned, veganism and healthy-eating are not necessarily synonymous so I hadn’t really been that healthy. Secondly, such a drastic change in my diet is obviously going to have effects on my body, and will probably take some getting used to, not to mention the fact that beans, pulses and some veg are known for leaving you slightly bloated so I should’ve expected this. It hasn’t put me off at all though and I’m sure once my body gets used to it every month, the side effects won’t be so significant.
I definitely suggest that you check out Rachel Ama’s
cookbook for further inspiration, and hopefully you’ll learn that plant-based
food can be both deliciously satisfying and full of flavour. Whether you’re a
full-blown meat-eater or a dedicated vegan, I hope this little diary has
offered you some ideas to consider when it comes to meat-free eating habits,
but remember – as long as you’re enjoying what you’re eating in a balanced way,
you do you! This is well and truly a non-preaching zone.
Stay tuned for next month’s instalment, and for now…
Today’s review centres on somewhere I’ve been desperate to try ever since I moved to London last year.
I spent about 20 years convinced I didn’t like sushi, with the idea of eating raw fish just not sitting well with me. That all changed however, when I was living in Brazil.
If you’ve read my Top 10 Foodie Experiences in Brazil post you’ll know that perhaps surprisingly Brazil does fantastic sushi due to the large Japanese population. To be honest, I do have to put my change in opinion in part down to the fact that Brazil does amazing fried sushi and we all know that literally anything fried tastes delicious.
But even for those of you who are still not convinced, don’t give up on Sticks ‘n’ Sushi just yet. It prides itself on being ‘A sushi restaurant even for those who don’t like fish’. Although they do offer some cooked chicken sushi dishes like maki rolls, the main selling point for anyone not a fan of seafood is the ‘sticks’. Their sticks are mini skewers that come in an incredible array of flavour combinations, some of which you’ll see below.
We went to the Covent Garden branch (there are quite a few all around London) and the first thing you notice is how dark it is. In the main restaurant section it is so gloomy (assuming this is supposed to be ‘atmospheric’) and all the decor is black and dark-coloured. Clearly some people like this ‘mood lighting’ but tbh it’s not for me. The sushi bar downstairs is still pretty dark but the bar benches are lit up and you can at least see your food and dining partner.
The menu itself is pretty cool. It’s a photo menu that shows beautifully colourful (and accurate) images of what each dish looks like.
So onto our order…
I ordered the Hell’s Kitchen rolls – tempura shrimp with avocado and spicy sauce, topped with tuna and bbq (8 pieces). For anyone who’s concerned about spice levels, although I love a bit of heat and can handle it pretty well, honestly, these were not spicy at all. The puffed rice tempura on the prawns adds a really lovely crunch and the bbq injects some extra flavour.
The second lot are the Hotate Kataifi (6 pieces) which are scallops with miso aioli, trout roe and cress. They were absolutely delicious and the aioli was beautiful.
Despite being a sushi restaurant, the sticks, for me, are the most exciting and unique part. With 18 to choose from, it’s so hard to narrow down which ones you want to try. There are meat, fish, veggie and vegan options so there’s something for everyone.
And here they are in all their glory…
Starting on the far left, we have the duck breast with panko and wasabi caesar. For us, this was the only disappointment of the evening. The duck was pretty tough and didn’t have much flavour. Having said that, I hate wasabi, but yet found that the wasabi caesar was beautiful. They’ve ensured that the wasabi flavour is pretty mild for those who aren’t fans, and eating it as a mayo like sauce makes it so much more enjoyable.
Next up is the absolute favourite – goat’s cheese wrapped in dried ham. The cheese was unbelievably oozy, it’s honestly the most incredible texture in your mouth, and the salty ham adds to the flavour. Next to that is the teriyaki duck hearts. Now, please don’t be put off by the idea of hearts. I tried chicken hearts for the first time a few years ago, and yes, I was definitely weirded out by the idea of it. Ultimately though, I eat meat, and so what difference does it make eating one part of the animal over another? Better to ensure that nothing goes to waste, right? Anyway, they tasted just like any other kind of standard meat and the teriyaki is sticky and slightly sweet.
So, photo number 2 we have firstly the free-range pork with yuzu miso. The meat was cooked well, not too tough, and I enjoyed the sauce too. Second to last is the emmental wrapped in bacon – realistically can you ever go wrong with cheese wrapped in bacon? No, absolutely not. Not quite as oozy as the goat’s cheese one but still delicious. And then finally we have the scallops wrapped in bacon (bit of a theme here…). Lovely scallops, lots of flavour. Fab.
Okay, so I feel exhausted after that stick breakdown. I’ll quickly add that despite not having photo evidence, we ordered the fried cauliflower with black truffle goma on the side. Coming from someone who supposedly doesn’t like cauliflower, trust me, it’s good. It’s kind of odd being served on top of a pure black sauce – definitely looks like something you shouldn’t be consuming, but I promise it’s safe! The truffle sauce really is lovely.
Before drawing to a conclusion, we obviously have to touch on dessert. I say obviously – I guess it’s easy to overlook dessert at sushi restaurants but Sticks ‘n’ Sushi have a fab little menu where you can try 3 mini desserts for £10 (There are 8 to try overall).
The top one is a coconut rice pudding with passionfruit coulis and this was my least favourite. The texture of the pudding was actually decent and the coulis was tangy and sharp, so there was nothing wrong with it, I just preferred the others.
The middle is a white chocolate mousse with raspberry topping with liquorice. I hate liquorice so that was the only downside but I knew what I was getting myself into, it was no surprise. There’s also only a very small amount of liquorice flavour coming through so it’s still perfectly edible even if you’re not a fan. The rest of the dessert was lovely though, and the white chocolate didn’t get sickly – probably avoided by the sharpness of the raspberry on top. BUT, the star of the show 100% was the chocolate fondant with oozy salted caramel centre and peppermint topping. I really didn’t think that a dessert from a restaurant so focused on mains could be so impressive but it was very indulgent and wonderful-tasting.
So, there’s the food. A feast for your eyes. Bit of a quick moan before I sign off. Firstly, when I arrived I was asked if I’d like any water for the table whilst I waited for my friend. Was it was my fault for not asking at this point whether I would be charged for it? Anyway it was £4 which I only realised when the bill came. To me this is a massive pisstake – it’s pretty pricey as it is but with amazing food, so they really don’t need to take advantage by adding on such a ridiculous charge.
The other thing that I found mildly annoying was the service which I found slightly too intense for my liking. We had to stop our conversation a few times whilst waiters kept coming over, and when they bring your food they go through exactly what each dish is. Maybe some people need to be reminded, but I personally know exactly what I’ve ordered, and when you’re hungry and just want to eat, you really don’t want your waiter taking 5 minutes to reel off the names and ingredients of each of your 10 sticks (Not that the staff weren’t lovely though).
Anyway, review number 2 complete… go and book a table EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU DON’T LIKE SUSHI (but whatever you do say no to water) and…
You may or may not have heard about the latest foodie review app out there.
EATEN.
So, what’s new? What’s unique? Well, as opposed to many typical reviewing sites which tend to review restaurants on the whole, Eaten gives you the opportunity to offer individual reviews for each dish you have tried, including drinks.
For me, the idea of reviewing individual dishes instead of the restaurant/café/bar on the whole is so much more effective. How many times have you been somewhere and had an amazing main and average dessert, or something along those lines? What do you do in that scenario? Give the place a middle-ground rating? 3/5?
If you still don’t really know that it’s all about, this post will take you step by step through all the app’s interesting features, so without further ado, here’s my breakdown of everything you need to know to get you started.
First we have the ‘Explore‘ page. Here you’ll be able to view the latest posts, and most popular dishes.
You can see from the top menu bar that we also have a ‘Feed’ tab. This will show you all the reviews posted by accounts that you have chosen to follow.
‘Search’ shows you your current location, highlighting restaurants, cafés and bars around you that have received reviews, and it also presents a generic search bar to seek out specific restaurants.
You can change the location to select where you want to view dishes from. I currently have this set to ‘The World’ so that I can see every review that is uploaded, but you can choose a specific city if you wish.
You also have the option to select whether you follow a specific diet, with the options being vegetarian, vegan, halal, kosher and gluten free. If you have selected one of these diets, only dishes that fall into that category will appear on you Explore page.
Once you come across dishes you like the look of, you can save them to your wishlist, and these will be shown on your Explore page as well.
Now we come to your profile. You can choose a profile photo and background image and below that the app will display your rankings locally and globally. I think this is based on the number of reviews you have written but don’t quote me on that.
Next up all your reviews are listed below, starting with the latest.
Below that is one of my favourite features. Your reviews are categorised by the type of dish they fall into. You can see that ‘dessert’ is my most frequently reviewed category as that comes at the top of my page. Once you click on a certain category, all your reviews are shown ranked from best to worst, and these ranking equate to a score for each dish.
Your local/global rankings even extend into specific categories i.e. ’13th in London for dessert’
Each dish must be ranked ‘Amazing’, ‘Really good’, ‘Pretty good’, ‘Just ok’ or ‘Not for me’.
The fact that the ‘worst’ category is entitled ‘Not for me’ says a lot about the kind of reviews the app wants to generate. It is not designed for people to berate establishments unnecessarily, and the ‘not for me’ category implies that you may not have enjoyed a dish, but in the sense that it wasn’t to your personal taste. There is no ‘awful’ category, as we well know that our opinions are entirely subjective.
Having said that if you have been massively disappointed, you do have the opportunity to justify your low ranking and explain why in a comments section which you can see below.
When uploading a new review the screen appears like so.
<——-
You first select a photo (some people haven’t uploaded a photo but these reviews tend to get ignored). To make life a million times easier for us foodies, there is an option to import your images directly from Instagram, and if you have tagged the location on Instagram already, this will automatically be filled in in the ‘restaurant’ section.
Then you must select the name of the dish, and then which category it falls into, i.e. sushi/pizza/ice cream etc.
Date eaten is automatically filled in from when the photo was taken on your phone but you can alter this.
Then comes your rating in one of the 5 categories. You can also rank dishes within the same category, for example, if you have 5 pizzas under ‘really good’, you can change the order to show which of those 5 was the best.
Finally you can add comments and hashtags, although this is not compulsory. For me, I do always prefer reviews that have at least one comment, as it explains the thinking behind how that person has graded their dish.
The last part of the app to cover is the restaurants’ personal pages. The vast majority of restaurants etc will have a page even if they don’t yet have reviews. The person to be the first to write a review for that location is said to have ‘discovered’ it as you can see to the right.
You’ll see the location of the restaurant, the number of reviews it already has, how many different dishes these reviews cover and the average rating taken from those dishes.
Scroll down and you will find the reviews themselves.
So that’s pretty much it. I have had this app for just about a week now but I’m already obsessed. It’s still in its early stages so the number of people using it definitely hasn’t peaked yet.
I really urge any foodie out there to engage with it and add their reviews. The more people review, the more useful the app is on the whole. It’s super easy to use and has already extended my ginormous list of places I want to try, and more specifically, dishes I want to taste.
So look no further for your latest foodie fix and…
¡Comemos! 