Neither mad, nor bad - but it is Byron

Byron Burger sans Byron sauce - and with its hat slightly askew

Yes, there we were, back again.  Not the Covent Garden branch this time, but the one slumming it with the servants down the King's Road.  It became evident on entering that the Byron in the King's Road is where the nannies eat - whilst the mummies they work for and whose progeny they are entertaining with chips and colouring pens (not necessarily at the same time) are lunching somewhere very different.  Actually there were a couple of mummies there I think, although I suspect that they weren't (very) local - Clapham perhaps, or somewhere further out, Putney, Richmond.  They looked green and leafy if you know what I mean - not to imply that they were sprouting, well, sprouts from any orifice, it was just an overall impression.

Were we bothered?  Were we heck!  Up the workers! - not least because they should be congratulated for still being in employment.  And down with... well, I'll not start because there's always the danger that I won't stop and by the time even I'm exhausted no-one would be left standing.

Up with the delicious Byron Burger.


Half-naked non-[Byron] saucy burger

I also remembered to ask for the Byron sauce on the side this time.  I'd omitted to do so at the CG branch and ended up with pinky mayonnaise - if it had a flavour beyond emulsified egg yolk I couldn't discern it - on my lettuce.  OK, but it didn't do anything for a perfectly blameless leaf of greenery, especially as I consider myself contractually obliged to eat my greens for the roughage, vitamins, etc., etc.

So, it was rare (see previous post for quite how rare) and like the ever-wonderful Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins, or just Julie Andrews, practically perfect in every way.  Scarlett had the Classic, because she is - and because she likes things to be pared back, simple - classic.

And there were our customary side orders of coleslaw...

One portion of coleslaw each - it is very good coleslaw - crisp vegetables in a light and creamy sauce.  Yes, cabbage and carrots are sexy vegetables - or at least they are when they're dressed like this. 

And chips - the skin-on fat chips, not fries.  Scarlett observed and I agree that the chips were better at the King's Road branch than at Covent Garden - crispier giving an overall better impression in looks and taste.

Post-Byron it was a trip up the King's Road (towards Sloane Square).  But first we headed down to Rococo.  It's the birthday of my favourite person's daughter and a little gift from Rococo would, I thought, be the perfect present.  Quite frankly if the first time I met someone, and it happened to be on my birthday, and they brought me Rococo chocolates, I'd really, really like them a lot (after tasting the chocolate obviously, otherwise I'd take them as I found them).  Let me rethink/rephrase that slightly, if I met someone for the first time, etc., etc., I'd think they were very nice to give me such a lovely present and, after tasting the Rococo chocolate, I'd conclude that (a) they really were very nice and (b) they also had excellent taste.  Or perhaps I'll just stick with, if I met someone... [you're already there, aren't you?], I'd conclude that they had excellent taste.  After all, truly fulfilling relationships are not based on transaction, but a free exchange based on mutual respect; affection and acceptance.  Particularly the latter in my case, I think, as I have a lot of little - how to describe them - idiosyncrasies.  That sounds all right, doesn't it?

Back to the airfield and choccs away.  This won't work so well of course if the birthday girl in question doesn't like the chocolate I bought.  However, I've managed the risk of this as much as I can in order to mitigate any potential adverse impact (I can feel myself straying into the brownie as performance indicator territory again and will drag myself back whilst I still can).  I ascertained from her proud pa that she likes dark chocolate.  I went to Rococo.  I tasted the chocolate (and some other chocolate) before I bought it - and it was delicious.  Actually all of their chocolate is delicious and it just depends on which is more to one's taste than another.

This is what I bought Mary.

Quite extraordinarily delicious and I hope Mary enjoys them.  I shall provide an update in due course.  I also tasted: Cardamom dark; Arabic Spices dark; some of the last of the Jersey Potatoes (which look like the very small Jersey Potatoes and are filled with Praline); some of the Lavender/Geranium cream fondants in dark chocolate (very good) and there were many other things I wished to taste but didn't. 

Rococo's Jersey New Potatoes - also served with crystallised mint - truly they think of everything!

Actually there were many other things I wished to buy and didn't [the shop, for instance].  I did buy four of the big bars (there's a discount if one buys four), two of the Rococo Rose dark and two of the Cardamom dark.  And I stopped there (for once).  There was a Bergamot dark truffle.  There was a Pistachio, Saffron and something else - another ganache dark truffle.  They are also the most beautifully handpainted chocolates I've ever seen (I have a top with a pattern similar to that of the Pistachio truffle except my top has orange in it rather than pale green/pistachio).

All of their ganache truffles are made with Valrhona single origin chocolate - my goodness, is it any wonder that they are so unbelievably delicious?

I should correct myself, they were amongst the most handpainted chocolates I've ever seen because I had previously bought some for Dalston for Valentine's Day.  They included dark ganaches (there was an extraordinary blackcurrant one and another, with pineapple), honey dark ganache (he loves honey), and some of these, because they would make him giggle.  Is it a giggle, or is it more of a very soft. slightly aspirated chuckle?  It's very characteristic and utterly delightful. 

Venus Nipples and Chocolate Lips

I will be back.  It is a marvellous place.  If you haven't been and you live in London do visit one of their branches.  If you do not come to London and you wish to buy something utterly delicious for someone wonderful in your life then do order online.  I promise faithfully that not only will you not be disappointed but it is worth every single penny.  Eschew all other chocolate if you need to so that if you only have one chocolate, make it Rococo.

Before we move on I must pay tribute to the gorgeous Scarlett who was incredibly patient as I tasted this and tasted that.  I was helped all the while by the delightful assistant who proffered ever more choices making it even more difficult and tempting than it was already!

Rococo - tasting and buying chocolate - even tasting in teeny amounts, it's better than pudding (except perhaps for Frangipane which is after all sui generis in the pudding stakes).  It's definitely either/or though.  After such beautiful chocolate, with deep, rounded flavours one simply couldn't manage anything else.  Until the next time...