Big Byron does Uncle Sam - the classic cheeseburger

The Uncle Sam - a classic cheeseburger

Sadly, today was the last day for Byron Uncle Sam.  It's a classic, a 6oz hamburger (Byron's usual quality applies); American cheese, sliced gherkin, French's mustard (to which I am partial) and ketchup.  It's a nostalgia trip.

Scarlett made a beautiful cross-section of hers - lovely manicure too.  But the uncovered glory is as above.  Sadly, my cheese hadn't melted completely, something which I noticed wasn't a problem for either Burgerac or Burger Me.  But I'm not going to weep over it.

It was the usual happy medium and was completely delicious.  Everything came together.  You know what it is, don't you?  It's a quarter pounder with cheese from the provider we do not name on this blog, but with prime quality beef, a happy bun, and nicely put together, which is why it looks good the whole way through.  It is a first choice, not a last resort when you've had too much to drink and need something to (literally) act as blotting paper to a surfeit of alcohol.

This is what Uncle Sam looked like when he turned up - modest guy.  He was accompanied by some crispy, crunchy friends.

The skin-on chips.  Again, King's Road branch turned up trumps.

The excellent coleslaw, addictive as ever.

And I can't recall whether it was Burgerac or Burger Me who led me to suggest we try the courgette fries but we are in your debt.  They were absolutely glorious.

Light, crunchy, flavoursome batter, lightly coating softly melting courgette, which tasted of the vegetable.  Quite perfect, so much so that Scarlett and I actually loved them as much (even more so?) than the super fries.

Afterwards we went winter coat shopping - in 28 degree heat!!!  To be honest we did try on a coat each in Reiss, really lovely ones too.  We'd spent quite a bit of time in there and had cooled off thanks to the lovely air-conditioning.  It was still too hot to actually buy anything wintry though.  We aren't eccentric, we'd actually made our date to meet a couple of weeks ago when it was a lot cooler.  So, there we were, trotting down the King's Road, and where did we end up?

The Martini from Outer Space

No prizes I'm afraid as it's where we always end up, yup, it's the Chelsea Bar and their fabulous Martinis (and Daiquiris and Margaritas as it turned out).  Just the one photo this time, of the Lychee Martini - still looking as if it's an embryo from Outer Space.  We parted afterwards and given that it was quite a while since the burger (and I'd done extra in the gym), I stopped off at Kulu Kulu Sushi for a few plates and rounded off with a trip to the one (two if you're being picky) and only (one more than the original branch if you're still being picky)...

Scoop in Short's Gardens - the original, the factory is downstairs and the charming staff are upstairs.  I had a scoop of the Malaga the amazing one with Marsala wine and Chilean sultantas this time, and the cioccolato extra fondente (crema as there was no sorbetto).  Honestly, I'm in heaven just thinking about it.  It deserves a close-up and a reminder that this place is run by people who love and are proud of what they produce.  They're Italian.  They're kindly and generous.  The small cup costs £3 (keep it that way, guys, per piacere).  Go there.  Give them your business if you're in or around or anywhere near Covent Garden - even if you're a walk away, the walk will do you good - or the Brewer Street branch.  So here's the close-up to remind you how good it is and what you're missing if you've never experienced the gelato, the lovely people and the great vibes.

Malaga and Cioccolato Extra Fondente (Grand Cru)

Go to Kum-ka-ka-kapi, Dalston - for a chorus line of fine fresh anchovies

Bring on the dancing anchovies

Do you see what I see?  No, not yet?  Really?  Well, all will become clear.  So, there we were, the three of us, myself, Dalston and the gorgeous Mary, formerly worthy birthday recipient of Rococo chocolate in this blog.  Is Rococo worthy of Mary?  Definitely.  But it's a close-run thing and only because it's some of the very best in chocolate there is to be had.

It was Kumkapi time.  The third time Dalston and I had been there.  Once by ourselves.  Once with Mary and her husband Sanjai for the aforementioned birthday and now, just the three of us - missing Sanjai but being consoled by the presence of anchoves - a small shoal of them.

Do you see it yet?  OK, if not, you obviously need a little helping hand.  The anchoves are obviously showgirls.  Look more closely and you can see they're getting ready to do the formation dancing so memorably choreographed by Busby Berkeley.  They may not have feathers in their hair or a dress split up to there, but they are definitely top quality anchovies, fresh, feisty, perfectly fried.

We'd started with the aubergine salad - we all love aubergine, and halloumi, which I always find a bit squeaky, but means that the last piece is available for Mary and Dalston to share.  Our fish was accompanied by a lovely chef's salad.

And it really was a chef's salad because the chef was the only member of staff on duty that night.  He rather sweetly kept apologising for the fact but we didn't mind because (a) Kumkapi is a lovely restaurant; (b) the company was wonderful; and (c) the food arrived at perfectly timed intervals and was utterly delicious.

Mary and I shared the anchoves (there weren't enough for 3 portions), and Dalston had some beautifully cooked swordfish (that is perfectly cooked), dresssed with capers (back to the gobstopper capers again - tasty though - it does beg the question as to whether anyone uses nonpareil capers any more) and tiny (Morecambe Bay?) prawns, and accompanied by potatoes and a bit of greenery.

Very sweetly, Dalston shared with us, as we did with him, so it was a lovely communal meal.



Gobstopper capers dwarfing teeny prawns with great swordfish

I shouldn't be mean about the capers really, they did taste very nice and thanks to Dalston's generous hand both Mary and I ended up with large slabs of swordfish and Dalston with some beautiful anchovies.

My plate looked like this

We then went back to Dalston's for pudding and ginger tea, as previously featured in this blog.

Dalston had the foresight to mount a raid on Tugra for baklava, moist, syrupy, delicious as always.

I'd brought some unsulphured dried apricots (really very delicious and toffee-like) and Śliwki.  Dalston had some dates.

And this time I actually rememberd to take the photos before we ate it all up.  Next time, Sanjai, it's anchoves all round - promise!

Eggs Benedict at The Vortex - I'm seeing double Muffin

Truth be told, I'd never had Eggs Benedict before.  But with all those gym sessions paying off, I more often think 'why not?  a little of what one fancies, in moderation, is a wonderful thing'.

And so it proved.

I think of Eggs Benedict as something which really is a restaurant dish.  It's not that a clever cook couldn't do it at home, it's just that timing seems to be of the essence.  So it is here.  Dalston and I were at The Vortex, sitting outside, on a sunny day with...

a perfectly toasted muffin; topped with thinly sliced real, proper ham (on the bone, you can tell by the taste); a perfectly poached free range egg; hollandaise (a bit thin, but then again, I'm being picky); and some rocket on the side; while children played and everyone had a good time. Quite heavenly, really.

The best vegetable curry - the most delightful chef

Mine, all mine!

Dalston cooks.  Honestly, the man is like a gorgeously masculine version of Mary Poppins - that is, practically perfect in every way.  Please note: practically perfect, not actually perfect.  I suspect that being practically perfect is much better.  Being actually perfect would, I suspect, render a person quite boring.  Being practically perfect means that there's spice, not to mention ginger, aplenty.

And so it was - both spice and ginger. Before we get into the ginger, let's deal with the delicious vegetable curry.

Spinach, mushrooms, chillies, fresh, ripe tomatoes - it was absolutely lovely.  All the vegetables came from the always wonderful Ridley Road market.  The rice was also very nice - I made this, basmati, of course, with turmeric, and some crushed elaichi seeds, that's cardamom for all you non-Urdu speakers.  Not that my Urdu is any great shakes being, as it is, practically non-existent - except for the fact that if someone asks me in Urdu whether I speak Urdu, I can say "I don't" in Urdu, which rather defeats the object of the exercise.  I was in the fishmonger's in Crouch End once, buying my octopi as one does, when a Greek lady asked me whether I was Greek prompted, I think, by the large amount of octopi I was buying.  I did think of answering in the negative in Greek, but then I thought there is such a thing as being so up one's own bottom that one is in danger of speaking out of it and stuck to English instead.

The seeds were from green not brown cardamoms.  Does this make a difference?  I think so as green cardamoms taste nicer than the rather hairy and coarse brown ones.  Next time I'll toast them lightly I think and also take my pestle and mortar with me to aid crushing. 

But the curry.  The curry was yummy.  It had been made a day earlier so had time for the flavours to develop and mature.  I could eat the curry very often and if the photos look a little blurred, they're not really, it's because I'm all steamed up.  Sorry, because my camera lens got a bit steamed up.  See what I mean, what can you do when even one's camera gets excited by the food one is about to eat?

Pudding was good too.  So good that in fact I did what I've done before.  Yes, sashimigirl followers, you'll know what's coming next, it's a photo of...

pudding.  It was a platter on which plums, dates, slices of banana and Śliwki (which I've learnt is the plural of Śliwka) were delicately placed so that each was shown off to its best advantage.  So much so of course that I'd eaten (ok, we'd eaten) the contents of the plate before I got round to photographing it.

For those of you who are unacquanited with Śliwki.  I commend them to you.  They are dried plum (not prune, they are more sour than that) which still has some juicy yield to it, coated in chocolate.  The best are made by Solidarność.  Looks familiar?  You're right.  It is the Polish for 'Solidarity' only the Śliwki come minus Lech Walesa's moustache, which to me always looked more like a small hamster running across his upper lip, deep furriness.

They will be available in your local Polski Sklep (Taste of Poland) shop, although some have an unreliable supply.  Dalston's local Polski Sklep has them intermittently whilst mine in Green Lanes has them in stock all the time.  The very nice staff at my GL PS have taken to handing me a little bag to fill with Śliwki when they see me come in now.  You will generally find them for sale by the piece or by the kilo.  Just remember, only Solidarność will do.

And now for the pièce de resistance.  It's the unbelievably good ginger tea. 

 This is what I call an amber nectar.  Adapted from the ginger tea at the lovely Neal's Yard Salad Bar and adopted by Dalston, this deserves to be a signature drink.  Carefully peeled ginger, lovely crushed, steeped in water just off the boil.  Such is the power of the ginger that one can get two servings from each portion (just top with hot water as desired) and then get to eat all the delicious gingery amber nuggets afterwards.  The perfect digestif from the practically (but not totally) perfect chef, made of ginger and spice and all things nice.

Rounding off a wonderful evening of ginger, spice and all things nice

The Palms of Whitechapel - Le Palmier Café, Vallance Road

Patisserie au Palmier

Don't they look gorgeous and glossy?  Doesn't it just make you want to go "yummy, yummy, yummy, I want you in my tummy"?  Well, perhaps not quite the latter, but you're very clever so you'll understand where I'm going with this.  They look gorgeous, they are gorgeous, they're eaten by very gorgeous people.

No, not me, silly, by Dalston, who ate one of these.

You can't see it from the photos but actually, they're rather petite patisserie, just over one inch in length, I'd say.  But packing in a lovely nutty flavour.  Vallance Road, E1 is the site for the wonderful Le Palmier - within easy walking distance of the Whitechapel Gallery where we'd been to see the photos from the 1970s (really quite brilliant) and the Government Art collection (ditto).  The latter is a rolling exhibition as more of the Government Art collection becomes available, and which is currently on tour.  And, just spotted, is a new exhibition of Mark Rothko which lasts until 26 February 2012.

Le Palmier is a treat.  However, Vallance Road is also home to one of the stranger sights to be seen in the area.

I'd be interested in what you think of this.  It's clearly derelict, but also rather beautiful.

Yes, that is a tree growing out of the first floor window.  Are there woodland folk squatting in the premises?  Do you think at night Vallance Road throbs to the sound of satyrs and wood-spirits holding a bacchanalian feast of old wine and new bread?

And, as you saw from the tree photo, there are really beautiful decorations on the outside of the building.

Perhaps somebody would be so good as to rescue what is clearly a remarkable building?

A brief interval - Neal's Yard Salad Bar

Middle Temple - the view towards Chancery Lane

Prior to a performance of The Tempest in the Tudor Hall in Middle Temple, Dalston and I stopped off for a brief interval at Neal's Yard Salad Bar which I'd recommend highly.  It was a Monday, and a bank holiday at that, so my other two options: Kulu Kulu Sushi in Shelton Street; and Food for Thought which I haven't been to for at least 15 years were both closed. 

So, Neal's Yard Salad Bar it was and, the other two worthies notwithstanding, I think both Dalston and I would happily go there again.  Dalston went for big balls, codfish balls on in Portuguse "bolinhos de bacalhau".  A very good choice.  They were delicious.  Crisp on the outside but meltingly creamy, slightly salty and cod-tasting on the inside, served with a soya mayonnaise.  I had the feijoada (last eaten over 20 years ago in Rio de Janeiro) and remembered how tasty it was.  It was served with the most delicious fried plantain with an almost tempura like batter coating it I've ever tasted in my life - or indeed thought I would, some very nice rice and some utterly delicious chili salsa.

Dalston ordered a hot ginger tea - something which he has now adopted, adapted and which is utterly delicious.  We followed it, of course, with a visit to Scoop the best ice cream in London (again).  This time, Dalston went for the coconut (his favourite), and the Malaga, which is made with real Sicilian marsala wine and Chilian (are they the flame ones, it doesn't say so on the website, but I suspect they are) sultanas.  I had the chocolate grand cru sorbet (oh my goodness) and coconut, an ice cream Bounty bar - but so much better.  The Malaga was a revelation.  All of their flavours are revelatory.  We love Scoop, we really do.  See previous posts for more eulogising of Scoop - and for that matter, future posts too.

Is it worth reproducing a photo of my previous cioccolata extra fondente sorbetto and nocciola?  I think so!

Ciao bello gelato!

Frying Tonight! - Friday Fish at Faulkners

My Cod, what a fine piece of fish you are!

Who can forget those wonderful lines, so expressively enunciated by the late Kenneth Williams in Carry On Screaming "frying tonight!"?  So that's exactly what we did at the ever-faithful (and award-winning) Faulkners on Kingsland Road.  In fact it was Dalston's cod which you see before you.  Thinly coated in crisp batter, a wedge of lemon.  That's it.

Mine was the big Bass.  Perfectly grilled.  Wedge of Lemon.  That's it - or rather this is it.

The goblet (250 mil) of red wine which I chose to glug cost £3.50.  And both the bass...

Perfectly grilled

and the cod were preceded by whitebait, looking a bit like mini torpedoes...

All hands to battle stations!

which came with lemon, and a small (undressed) salad garnish of tomato, lettice and cucumber.  Sarson's malt vinegar on the table together with salt and pepper.  It's the original minimalist.  To add some frills and furbelows. we ordered sides of spinach (one).




The spinach looks good

 and chips (twice).




Definitely a chip and not a frite to say it

Faulkners has won prizes for its fish and chips and this is what they're good at - fish.  The spinach looked very nice and was OK once the excess water in which it was swimming (invisible from the surface) had been drained from it - they hadn't done this in the kitchen.  The chips were fried (once?, certainly not twice) and were rather limp and pallid.
The fish was great, so do go for the fish, although catch the later post on the amazing Kumkapi and our third visit (with camera).  Incidentally, whilst I do enjoy Carry On Screaming (about once every 10 years now that I've seen it several times), my all time favourite is this... guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face - simply the best!