tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90984701485041065832024-03-05T21:22:26.133+00:00Designs on food Join us on our mission to discover the best (and worst) food and drink London has to offer<br>
<br>We tend to focus on world cuisine, quirky finds and cheap eats – but we’re not fussy and we'll give anything a go!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01351343507770814926noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-43399961359433618022013-02-12T22:27:00.001+00:002013-02-12T22:29:31.041+00:00Booze, books and birthdays<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It was Gareth’s birthday last week, so I decided it was the
perfect opportunity to cook something from the <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Booze-Cakes-Krystina-Castella/dp/1594744238/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360707366&sr=8-1">Booze Cakes</a> recipe book I got for
Christmas. If you love booze and you love cake, I’d highly recommend it. There’s
a huge assortment to choose from, ranging from weird to wonderful to WTF (Peachy Keen
Fuzzy Navel cupcakes, anyone?)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Anyway, my first attempt at the honey spice beer cake was
not a resounding success, it has to be said, but it was at least edible. The problem
was not one of taste, but texture. A
generous portion of beer added to an already-runny cake mixture created a
super-squidgy centre, which wouldn’t firm up - even after almost an hour of
cooking. As a result, the cake had to be eaten with a spoon and had roughly the
same consistency of a sticky toffee pudding. It was also extremely rich and could
only be eaten in small doses. This was to be expected though, considering that
the recipe required two cups of sugar, as well as honey, lemon and cinnamon.
And that’s before we get to the honey beer frosting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-2r16mS9jymsQaXSIeREXs-PDsbVah5klS-_dYGHurJS0gw7ROwKGzwWzQJVFCV1AKvocMQTwuIkOasFhWWKjHUpw4NXqevjoYxYLqpMt7nu463cyz6zzqsSrpX49CgBqKU2pQv_Gb8/s1600/Cake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-2r16mS9jymsQaXSIeREXs-PDsbVah5klS-_dYGHurJS0gw7ROwKGzwWzQJVFCV1AKvocMQTwuIkOasFhWWKjHUpw4NXqevjoYxYLqpMt7nu463cyz6zzqsSrpX49CgBqKU2pQv_Gb8/s320/Cake.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Still, I quite liked it and I can honestly say I’ve never
eaten a cake with such an interesting taste before. It’s definitely worth
making at least once. But, as I tell Gareth every time we attend a family gathering,
go easy on the beer – for your own safety.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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To accompany the cake, I gave Gareth
a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/1001-Beers-You-Must-Before/dp/1844036820/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360707498&sr=1-1-fkmr0">1001 Beers You Must Try Before You Die</a>, which he tells me is a very
enjoyable read, if you like that kind of thing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Tola x</span></span></span>Tola Onanugahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802486782141636256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-55741736963725135102013-01-21T21:46:00.003+00:002013-01-23T13:23:56.594+00:00Review: Amico Bio, EC1A<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As part of our attempts to broaden our pallates, every so often we purchase meal offers on places like Groupon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We bought one back in September for an Italian restaurant near Farringdon and Barbican tube stations called <a href="http://www.amicobio.co.uk/">Amico Bio</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">However, due to generally being busy, we were only in a position last week to use the voucher - which was shortly before it expired - and after numerous emails back-and-forth we managed to book a table.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It styles itself as London's "first vegetarian, organic Italian restaurant". It is quite a small place, which probably explains why we had a few difficulties in actually booking a table.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The voucher covered the two of us for a three course meal plus expresso. Naturally, we took full advantage.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Drinks</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">They have <a href="http://www.amicobio.co.uk/Drinks-and-Wine">quite an extensive selection</a> of vegetarian and organic wines and beers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">After much deliberation, we decided to have a bottle of the house red: Sannio Aglianico.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RlW6eHU9nUM/UP2mtKw3FyI/AAAAAAAAAkk/ISVPZrmZth0/s1600/2013-01-16+18.56.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RlW6eHU9nUM/UP2mtKw3FyI/AAAAAAAAAkk/ISVPZrmZth0/s320/2013-01-16+18.56.23.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e281SF4-QBQ/UP2mwg2x80I/AAAAAAAAAk0/AWG09YakB-I/s1600/2013-01-16+18.57.08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e281SF4-QBQ/UP2mwg2x80I/AAAAAAAAAk0/AWG09YakB-I/s320/2013-01-16+18.57.08.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N2cJ8G1Bp24/UP2mwt3TS7I/AAAAAAAAAk4/lLj06FA5GDA/s1600/2013-01-16+19.04.55+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For a red wine, it was not particuarly fruity, but it went very well with our starter. It also went down very easily. Possibly a bit too easily...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We then <a href="http://www.amicobio.co.uk/Food-Menu">moved on to our food</a>.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Starter</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We both had the "insalata di gorgonzola, pere e lupini" - a gorgonzola salad served with beans and pears.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zm6TPop7bDo/UP2mx1e75iI/AAAAAAAAAlA/R-vE4GaN_hs/s1600/2013-01-16+19.04.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zm6TPop7bDo/UP2mx1e75iI/AAAAAAAAAlA/R-vE4GaN_hs/s320/2013-01-16+19.04.55.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We both found this to be very light but surprisingly filling. The gorgonzola was lovely - it melted in your mouth.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Main course</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Between us we had the "tortino di zucca con peperoni e patate arrosto":</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c2y9Hzk-sjo/UP2m6n4JnaI/AAAAAAAAAlo/BkpOKYuYUPQ/s1600/2013-01-16+19.33.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c2y9Hzk-sjo/UP2m6n4JnaI/AAAAAAAAAlo/BkpOKYuYUPQ/s320/2013-01-16+19.33.52.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As you can tell from the photo it is a compact dish. Unfortunately, it was a bit too compact, and I didn't find it to be particularly filling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We also chose a vegetable tempura dish with sweet & sour sauce [we didn't catch the name]:</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rXtZ9TiJ9aU/UP2m0IxiqTI/AAAAAAAAAlM/pYhMaukilAw/s1600/2013-01-16+19.33.39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rXtZ9TiJ9aU/UP2m0IxiqTI/AAAAAAAAAlM/pYhMaukilAw/s320/2013-01-16+19.33.39.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This was very light - deep-fried veg in batter - but there was a very large portion, and it came across as a mountain of food due to the amount that we were served. The only downside is that it could have been served a bit hotter.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Dessert</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For our afters, we went for the "torta di mele, fichi e datteri": </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SGA1lpq4Cus/UP2m58-brZI/AAAAAAAAAlk/dW9t8TvJJCU/s1600/2013-01-16+20.25.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SGA1lpq4Cus/UP2m58-brZI/AAAAAAAAAlk/dW9t8TvJJCU/s320/2013-01-16+20.25.06.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">and a dish called "Macedonia tiepida di frutta con panna":</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ig9ltCZbONg/UP2m6Edt89I/AAAAAAAAAls/RhFomE7nTSU/s1600/2013-01-16+20.25.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ig9ltCZbONg/UP2m6Edt89I/AAAAAAAAAls/RhFomE7nTSU/s320/2013-01-16+20.25.22.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">These came with our expressos.</span><br />
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The Macedonia was surprisingly filling and was lovely: a mix of apples, whipped cream and had spices sprinkled on it. Hopefully London's Greek restaurants won't find out that there's a dish called Macedonia, because it <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonia_naming_dispute">may cause a few issues</a>...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As for the torte, it was very filling and homely, and very enjoyable.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Service</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The staff were very friendly and came back every so often to top-up our glasses and generally check how we were doing and our views on the food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Overall we quite enjoyed our meal, even though one of the main courses was a bit disappointing, and were surprised at the variety and number of vegetarian alteratives to Italian food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We would go back again, even if it is simply because their menu changes every day, and so it would be fun to see what else they can create.</span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01351343507770814926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-64759026924413603632013-01-12T14:05:00.002+00:002013-01-23T13:23:27.994+00:00Review: Rossopomodoro - Camden<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">On Friday evening we were wandering around Camden town centre and stumbled upon an Italian restaurant called <a href="http://rossopomodoro.co.uk/restaurant/camden/">Rossopomodoro</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It has a decent selection of Italian food and after much consideration we eventually went for the Scialatuccio:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FbURSr-56Ek/UPFrdBVCl9I/AAAAAAAAAkE/S_bruSMUo3Q/s1600/2013-01-11+20.01.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FbURSr-56Ek/UPFrdBVCl9I/AAAAAAAAAkE/S_bruSMUo3Q/s320/2013-01-11+20.01.23.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">and the Cannellone:</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S_OcZzpoVxU/UPFrpJfKwEI/AAAAAAAAAkM/YT0_UghZSc4/s1600/2013-01-11+20.01.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S_OcZzpoVxU/UPFrpJfKwEI/AAAAAAAAAkM/YT0_UghZSc4/s320/2013-01-11+20.01.45.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We also had the bread selection as a starter: 3 different large chunks of Italian bread that were served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We considered having a dessert, but decided against it because we were stuffed after having some lovely and very filling pasta dishes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It is definitely good value-for-money, with very friendly staff and and we would recommend the place to others.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01351343507770814926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-30232740825360716202012-12-25T15:15:00.004+00:002013-01-23T13:26:04.178+00:00Can-tastic: the self-heating meal<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">We all know that cooking Christmas dinner can be a bit of a mission if
you’re unprepared/hungover/just a terrible cook. So if you can’t really be
bothered with it all this year, but still need to line your stomach before the
binge drinking commences, the <a href="http://www.hotcan.com/index.html">Hot Can</a> self-heating meal is the answer to all
your prayers!</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">OK, so it might not be quite what your hungry guests are expecting, but
if it prevents them from resorting to cannibalism at the dining table,
everyone’s a winner, right?</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hot Can's Christmas Dinner is the obvious option for this time of year, and we would have loved to have sampled it, but since they were sold out we settled for the Bangers & Beanz meal instead. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Now, it’s fair to say we didn’t have particularly high expectations
about this product. We were prepared for it to be bland at best and inedible
at worst, but it was neither. To our surprise, it was actually very tasty and
unexpectedly filling. The fact that we didn’t really need to do anything to it
except peel back the lid was also a nice bonus. We had it as a side dish to our
main meal but there’s a big enough portion size to easily satisfy one person.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLEJrSk-bnHpfduWuToBPobBhzT75DCJuGtLbpVlVts9RLm7soGuSXEkTyopamxlORWoAI514-GGF9NqVkVKU_7f1yB84s11fzYomDDY_MrssiJCRt3f761k31DG1zBWOiSbi54Va2FE/s1600/HOT+CAN+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLEJrSk-bnHpfduWuToBPobBhzT75DCJuGtLbpVlVts9RLm7soGuSXEkTyopamxlORWoAI514-GGF9NqVkVKU_7f1yB84s11fzYomDDY_MrssiJCRt3f761k31DG1zBWOiSbi54Va2FE/s320/HOT+CAN+1.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here’s how we rated it:</span><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tastiness</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">: 8/10 (There was no weird “novelty” taste due to it being self-heating.
And if it was served up to you by someone else, it’s unlikely you’d ever guess
it hadn’t been anywhere near a cooker).<br /><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Price:</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> 7/10 (A can of Heinz beans & sausages is much cheaper, but considering
this provides a hot, filling meal that you can eat just about anywhere, it’s
decently priced at £3.99).<br /><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ease of use:</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> 10/10 (Very, very simple. No fuss, no muss).<br /><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">All in all, there’s no faulting this product. It does exactly what it
says on the tin, and for a self-heating meal that’s all you can ask for really!
Just try not to be put off by the curious fizzing noise it makes while it’s
“cooking”.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UKJ2MKD4iSb8ZpWNTZ6zOn-_8VLHNsOlfFbiwaBXylOCuUeMyjVNl7-He_MEHBXPx91d-tWAJgWcxdFbYVKVB6bSuX0ow1JiblHomozH4izbmNZOaKLACnYMiLkLLded2zKnSKZFRPI/s1600/Hot+Can+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UKJ2MKD4iSb8ZpWNTZ6zOn-_8VLHNsOlfFbiwaBXylOCuUeMyjVNl7-He_MEHBXPx91d-tWAJgWcxdFbYVKVB6bSuX0ow1JiblHomozH4izbmNZOaKLACnYMiLkLLded2zKnSKZFRPI/s320/Hot+Can+3.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Hot Can's website's shop section is currently under construction, but in the meantime you can buy them from <a href="http://www.harveynichols.com/">Harvey Nics</a> for £3.99, which is where we stumbled across them. There are <a href="http://www.hotcan.com/index.html#">several varieties</a> if you're
after something a bit fancier than beans and sausages, but none
of them really tickled our tastebuds, sadly. Hopefully the company will come up with some more adventurous varieties in the new year.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">That's all from us for now. Stay hungry and have a very </span><b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">x</span></span><br />
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Tola Onanugahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802486782141636256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-88357953797699769992012-12-25T13:05:00.001+00:002012-12-25T13:05:40.794+00:00A handy guide to boozing...I saw this on Time Out last week: a guide to the <a href="http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/1700/londons-best-craft-beer-bars-and-pubs">best craft beer bars in London</a>.<br />
<br />
I've been to some of them before I started this blog: <a href="http://www.timeout.com/london/bars-pubs/venue/2:30790/brewdog">Brewdog</a>; Camden Brewery; and the <a href="http://www.timeout.com/london/bars-pubs/venue/2:23113/old-red-cow">Old Red Cow</a> amongst others.<br />
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Of course it's given me plenty of more ideas of where I can <span class="st">experience </span>new drinks.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01351343507770814926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-56515352458476760992012-12-25T12:57:00.001+00:002012-12-25T12:57:13.119+00:00This stuff tastes BileA few weeks ago I was in my local off-licence and noticed this can of beer on sale:<br />
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<a href="http://c0014604.r32.cf1.rackcdn.com/x2_1007fb4e" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://c0014604.r32.cf1.rackcdn.com/x2_1007fb4e" width="240" /></a></div>
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Out of curisosity I bought it.<br />
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I had no idea what it was called, nor what sort if beer it was, but <a href="http://pics.lockerz.com/s/268958542">assumed it was a type of Ukrainian lager</a>.<br />
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I was almost correct: <a href="http://twitter.com/that_wazzock/status/279682494943608832">it's actually</a> a Ukranian wheat-beer, basically their version of Hoegaarden, and is pronoucned "Be-lay" (Ukrainian for "White"), and is made by Chernigivske.<br />
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In the unlikely event that you find it, I'd recommend buying it and giving it a try.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01351343507770814926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-46388850981487299392012-11-30T14:57:00.000+00:002012-11-30T14:57:57.520+00:00Eurocrats encourage boozingOne of the first posts was a review of a <a href="http://guzzletheworld.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/kagor.html">bottle of sweet Moldovan red wine</a>, called "Kagor".<br />
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Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to find in the shops, possibly due to where it is from.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, <a href="http://www.euronews.com/newswires/1744534-moldova-may-secure-eu-association-free-trade-in-2013-barroso/">today I read that the EU</a> is likely to agree a trade-deal with Moldova next year to give them better access to the EU for their products.<br />
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As the piece points out, one of Moldova's main exports is wine.<br />
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When the agreement is signed, I guess that it will make it easier for me to get hold of Kagor!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01351343507770814926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-78765965124861196472012-11-11T15:35:00.000+00:002012-12-25T15:23:17.659+00:00**Holiday special, part II** The HangoverAs T said, <a href="http://guzzletheworld.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/were-back-holiday-special.html">we went on holiday to Marseille</a> at the end of August, and stuffed ourselves with lots of wonderful meals. Naturally, we drank quite a lot of red wine and lager.<br />
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Of course, being us, we also brought back some bottles of booze:<br />
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<li>Limoncello;</li>
<li>Creme de Cassis;</li>
<li>Absinthe</li>
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<b>Limoncello</b></div>
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While we were in Marseille, we went on a day-trip to Monaco.</div>
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As to be expected, the place itself is full or posh people and expensive designer shops.</div>
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Happily, we stumbled upon a little off licence that had a wide variety of liqueurs.</div>
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After some discussion (but unfortunately, no free samples), we decided to buy a bottle of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limoncello">limoncello</a>.</div>
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T had never previously tried limoncello, and it had been years since I had drank some, and so it was a good decision.</div>
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The drink itself was very lemony(!), and at 40% alcohol was quite strong, possibly stronger than what we expected.</div>
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<b>Creme de Cassis</b></div>
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While we were waiting for our flight back to London, we decided to go look through the airport's duty-free section.</div>
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Unsurprisingly, it had a wide selection of spirits.</div>
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In the end we decided on buying a bottle of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%A8me_de_cassis">creme de cassis</a>, i.e. blackberry liqueur, mainly because neither of us had any before.</div>
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This was lovely. It was a clear sweet, blackberry taste to it, but not overpowering, and at 20% wasn't too strong.</div>
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The only downside was that the thickness meant that it was like drinking syrup - you could only have one shot of it own its own, and so a mixer was essential. Luckily for us, we had a easy supply of lemonade and we recommend mixing the two together.</div>
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<b>Absinthe</b></div>
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You may not be aware, but Marseilles is a port city, and so is full of little touristy shop that have a maritime theme.</div>
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One of these was also a place that sold nothing but alcohol made by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pernod_Ricard">Pernod people</a>.</div>
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<div>
T decided to buy a little bottle of pale blue <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe">absinthe</a> (I didn't want any because I don't like the taste of aniseed).</div>
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I don't think she saw the "Green fairy", and she didn't take it from a spoon with a sugar cube, but I know she liked it and would buy some more.</div>
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The only down side it that we don't appear to have taken any photos of our selections. I guess this means that we'll have to go back...</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01351343507770814926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-41399703796319408012012-11-11T14:42:00.000+00:002012-11-11T14:42:27.568+00:00Foodie tube mapThis is just a quick mini-post to urge you to check out this awesome <a href="http://cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/london-restaurant-map-2012-v2-now-with.html">London restaurant tube map</a> over at <a href="http://cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.co.uk/">cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.co.uk</a>. Can't wait for it to be expanded to zone 3, and specifically, the Bounds Green area! Great work, <a href="https://twitter.com/chrispople">@chrispople</a><br />
<br />
TxTola Onanugahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802486782141636256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-74974168803272818602012-11-05T16:50:00.002+00:002012-12-25T15:32:42.179+00:00 **Holiday special**<h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Hello again world!</span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />
It's been a while, hasn't it? How have you been? You'll be pleased to know we haven't fallen off the face of the planet or relocated to the Land of Chocolate to chomp on edible dogs, and we are still alive. Yay!</span><br />
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Life has tended to get in the way a little bit over the past few months, but we are aiming to be a bit more frequent with the blog updates from this point on.</span><br />
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Much has happened since our last post. For a start, we've been lucky enough to visit three different countries, and as a result, have enjoyed some very delectable delicacies. So, although we usually just focus on London, we thought it might be nice to revisit our holiday adventures - if only because it's a nice sunny distraction from rain, wind and constant sneezing fits.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Right then. As you'd expect, Morocco (cous cous!) and Belgium (waffles!) were great for tasty, if slightly predictable, cuisine. Sadly, we had very little time to explore Morocco so didn't really get to taste much authentic food. We did, however, manage to grab a few bottles of Moroccan wine before we headed back. Shocking, I know.</span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinR4Jpfk454C74kE2GJ4O9s9GDcmpHpteMM5-EFPYqM79afe1SkijBMzvYOLKeGNKDfpNySIR08eC25yY9xDAomVGsXep5ANTMwSPlt9pDjj4xI3L5-sm482WVQVfZrmUCohFmUh6pJgg/s1600/527009_10151402746990183_498078186_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinR4Jpfk454C74kE2GJ4O9s9GDcmpHpteMM5-EFPYqM79afe1SkijBMzvYOLKeGNKDfpNySIR08eC25yY9xDAomVGsXep5ANTMwSPlt9pDjj4xI3L5-sm482WVQVfZrmUCohFmUh6pJgg/s200/527009_10151402746990183_498078186_n.jpg" width="150" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Looking Rosè: Vin Du Maroc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our wine of choice, Boulaouane, was a sweet-ish <span style="line-height: 16px;">Rosè</span> with a serious afterkick. It wouldn't be a stretch to say it's probably one of the nicest <span style="line-height: 16px;">Ros</span><span style="line-height: 15px;">ès</span><span style="line-height: 16px;"> </span>we'd ever had - and we've got through a fair few bottles of Rosè in our time! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Our daytrip to Brussels was also a lot of fun. Aside from the sightseeing, it was all about the chocolate. And the mussels. And the beer. We'd definitely be up for a return visit. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
The culinary highlight of the year (so far), however, has got to be our week-long trip to Marseille. What a city! Marseille is known for being an enticingly exotic mixture of people and cultures, but the same description could be equally be applied to the cuisine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The portions were always huge, often bigger than the monster portions we enjoyed in the States, and great value for money.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-MAOPozWPJGqeK-SrYeyI5azjYFHoVMoAAAn9TvjG-WjAWMmeo8OvO7CHAQW3wnOJo-s2P2tCFF_N4hoEb2NLjnPOa3kQOPGRkkvVYz6FiyUSo6KLW2GGxTND-f1_PgGN5lTqNf4XGo/s1600/377252_10152077940085183_1765626902_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-MAOPozWPJGqeK-SrYeyI5azjYFHoVMoAAAn9TvjG-WjAWMmeo8OvO7CHAQW3wnOJo-s2P2tCFF_N4hoEb2NLjnPOa3kQOPGRkkvVYz6FiyUSo6KLW2GGxTND-f1_PgGN5lTqNf4XGo/s200/377252_10152077940085183_1765626902_n.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mega Salad V Hungry Gareth!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We soon realised that in Marseille anything goes - and that applies to the food as much as everything else. Dinner was the meal we looked forward to the most, as our hotel provided us with a continental breakfast, usually leaving us too full for lunch. On the odd occasion that we were a bit peckish at midday, an ever-dependable croque monsieur for lunch (often accompanied by a mountain of chips or salad) was great for a filling but super-cheap meal, which kept us going until </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">early evening. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you ever find yourself in the centre of Vieux Port, <a href="http://www.la-cure-gourmande.fr/">La Cure Gourmande</a> chocolatiers is worth a visit for the sheer selection on offer. The boxes are adorned with some very quaint - and some might say, creepy - packaging, but don't let that put you off. Remember, it's what's inside that counts - and in this case, what's inside is bite-sized pieces of pure chocolate heaven. *Drools*</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihM2YCalgKXFPUlqIUsQGpb9Va4RrAYyPXliwKz_0Qo3UkVEGQvYjU-auaz4sEKQk0GeND90Qg-3lkSAVHI5qpUAwsYTwBsJCZe601b9OpX73cvBNaiijnSP8PnGXYMaoA9sRgyz2Kwas/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihM2YCalgKXFPUlqIUsQGpb9Va4RrAYyPXliwKz_0Qo3UkVEGQvYjU-auaz4sEKQk0GeND90Qg-3lkSAVHI5qpUAwsYTwBsJCZe601b9OpX73cvBNaiijnSP8PnGXYMaoA9sRgyz2Kwas/s200/images.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hands off my chocs, creepy kid.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We were lucky to be based in the heart of the city, in an area jam-packed with great waterside restaurants, so we were never stuck for affordable options. Our hotel also served some incredible food, the most quirky of which seemed to have come direct from Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. </span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgge8K81MyPR4uCoiCq8MPLyy2X2Hn_i4ujlbW5knNxLBX2seJLZrWPU9MW4zpjnEiXz6WFBi51YoQ5pyRkBk7u4pNWB_hyphenhyphenf3gSTP1zsOm9VBM206WW_2uc3rkkstGkOZwosoUELWbUMDo/s1600/538619_10152077948295183_1570027347_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgge8K81MyPR4uCoiCq8MPLyy2X2Hn_i4ujlbW5knNxLBX2seJLZrWPU9MW4zpjnEiXz6WFBi51YoQ5pyRkBk7u4pNWB_hyphenhyphenf3gSTP1zsOm9VBM206WW_2uc3rkkstGkOZwosoUELWbUMDo/s200/538619_10152077948295183_1570027347_n.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Quirky pudding!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">With Marseille being a busy port city, seafood was on the menu most evenings and we were never disappointed. From tender sea bass to juicy prawns, we were truly spoilt. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOeIFVzN6vimWTo-OhQpjX-Gs8-bi8wfSLrUlCM9S97W8N4HSUKXd3tsklACrY4twfqZ40kNsVb-4xSDzXQ1jcFemeGKO6QnDLhHb8XSSGUWmL0Xc-1AuV8aktxv_-1PdFxAKw32i9vmo/s1600/558197_10152077949980183_831936106_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOeIFVzN6vimWTo-OhQpjX-Gs8-bi8wfSLrUlCM9S97W8N4HSUKXd3tsklACrY4twfqZ40kNsVb-4xSDzXQ1jcFemeGKO6QnDLhHb8XSSGUWmL0Xc-1AuV8aktxv_-1PdFxAKw32i9vmo/s200/558197_10152077949980183_831936106_n.jpg" width="200" /></a> </span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Weapon of (sea) bass destruction</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The highlight, though, was sampling <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouillabaisse">traditional Boulliabasse</a>, a dish that originated in Marseille, but which has become extremely popular across France and other European countries. It's a simple stew, packed with at least three types of fish and peppered with mild spices such as saffron. Basic though it may be, it's also deceptively flavoursome and hearty, not to mention aromatic. Be warned though, it is quite a messy dish to eat, so have your bib at the ready.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMORfXK2Vt21mdxMLHVST2DftMqyBgWFeivMHHo4A6MdrkCNM9M5kgQB_ovHozG7Si2PMmyawag3cQN_udcQPeNyaHv72T3kgC3SrMezxIvWtspdvL7qJHBnDDUpbckavCAt46QiA3Q0/s1600/539040_10152077945555183_2070202513_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMORfXK2Vt21mdxMLHVST2DftMqyBgWFeivMHHo4A6MdrkCNM9M5kgQB_ovHozG7Si2PMmyawag3cQN_udcQPeNyaHv72T3kgC3SrMezxIvWtspdvL7qJHBnDDUpbckavCAt46QiA3Q0/s320/539040_10152077945555183_2070202513_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: start;">Boulliabasse</span>. Bibs at the ready!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
Unsurprisingly, we returned from our trip with quite a lot of booze too! I'll let G fill you in on that...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">
It's been a great year for travelling and tasting delicious food in its natural habitat, but we'll be staying a bit closer to home now until next year. We're just as spoilt for awesome food here in London though, so there'll be plenty to write about in the run-up to Christmas and beyond.</span></span><br />
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Stay hungry,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">T x</span><br />
<br />Tola Onanugahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09802486782141636256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-32290584909330920682012-02-27T12:45:00.001+00:002012-02-27T12:45:14.746+00:00Sonko Orange<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I bought these simply because I needed to get change for the supermarket trolley:
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vd9UpaKq5uc/T0pPnrK8dTI/AAAAAAAAAfw/TG9ef7fJGEQ/s1600/IMG020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vd9UpaKq5uc/T0pPnrK8dTI/AAAAAAAAAfw/TG9ef7fJGEQ/s320/IMG020.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's a <a href="http://www.sonko.pl/e4u.php/1,ModPages/ShowPage/414">Polish chocolate coated rice cracker</a> (<a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=pl&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sonko.pl%2Fe4u.php%2F1%2CModPages%2FShowPage%2F414">English Google Translate version</a>).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There is a definite chocolate-orange tinge to the chocolate topping, while the rest of it tastes like any other rice cracker.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01351343507770814926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-61771779910085048002012-02-27T12:44:00.001+00:002012-03-02T12:08:30.440+00:00Czech & Slovak Bar/Gambrinus Excelent<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On Saturday I went to the <a href="http://www.czechandslovakclub.co.uk/">Czech & Slovak Bar</a> in West Hampstead for a friend's birthday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's a pub which was set up in WWII for refugees from Czechoslovakia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The decor is a bit strange: from the outside it looks like a suburban house, but inside it is like a hotel and various memorabilia from the old Czechoslovakia as well as both the Czech Rep. and Slovakia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of these was a poster of the ice hockey player <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarom%C3%ADr_J%C3%A1gr">Jaromír Jágr</a>, who had an appalling late-80s/early-90s-style curly/permed mullet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We ordered food: I had their beef goulash; Tola had a chicken schnitzel. I was a bit disappointed - while the goulash was perfectly edible, it was a bit bland and it came with what appeared to be uncooked baguette slices, which the menu described as "dumplings".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Naturally, I also had some Czech lager: I had a <a href="http://budweiser-budvar.cz/en/index.html">Budvar</a> (aka proper, not US Budweiser) and also a bottle of this:</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QFuVC5taF08/T0pLKzXKmqI/AAAAAAAAAfo/G4IoyzYk3TM/s1600/IMG018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QFuVC5taF08/T0pLKzXKmqI/AAAAAAAAAfo/G4IoyzYk3TM/s320/IMG018.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambrinus_(beer)">Gambrinus</a> <a href="http://www.prazdroj.cz/en/for-media/news/599">Excelent</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As to be expected, it is a Czech pilsner, and so is very nice to drink and goes down well. There's nothing - as far as I could tell - to particularly distinguish it from any other pilsner, but given that pilsners are generally decent drinks, that's not a bad thing.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01351343507770814926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-37729756201699189362012-02-27T12:43:00.000+00:002012-02-27T12:43:21.653+00:00Bruschette Maretti: Tomato, olives & oregano<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A couple of nights ago, while heading home I stopped off in a shop next to my Tube station.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I fancied some crisps, and saw these on display:</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fg54kEPtxDY/T0pITOZo2RI/AAAAAAAAAfg/H9LHuuYbYK8/s1600/IMG019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fg54kEPtxDY/T0pITOZo2RI/AAAAAAAAAfg/H9LHuuYbYK8/s320/IMG019.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's a crisp done in the style of a sliced mini French-bread.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In spite of the name, <a href="http://www.italfoodindustry.com/news-en.html">this product</a> <a href="http://www.bruschettemaretti.co.uk/bruschette-maretti/">actually comes</a> from a company based in Bulgaria*.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I quite enjoyed these: they are quite spicy, and have a similar taste to salsa.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What may also be of interest from a linguistic point of view, is the many languages in which the ingredients are listed. These included <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_language">Armenian</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijani_language">Azerbaijani</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_language">Georgian</a>, none of which you tend to see on food sold within the UK.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">* Their name ends in AD, which is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_business_entity#Bulgaria">Bulgarian equivalent to a PLC</a>.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01351343507770814926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-23932878283240106962012-02-27T12:42:00.000+00:002012-02-27T12:42:13.121+00:00Kagor<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A couple of weeks ago I saw <a href="http://lockerz.com/s/182799670">a bottle of</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/dnotice2012/status/168394865128910850">mysterious red wine</a> in an eastern European food shop near our Tube station.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I had no idea what it was called because the front label is in Russian*:</span><br />
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<a href="http://c0014174.r32.cf1.rackcdn.com/x2_ae54d36" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://c0014174.r32.cf1.rackcdn.com/x2_ae54d36" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">However, <a href="http://twitter.com/that_wazzock/status/168396014456279040">I am reliably informed</a> that it is known as "Kagor", and that it comes from the <a href="http://www.vartely.md/?lang=en&menu_id=3">Château Vartley winery</a> in Moldova.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's quite a sweet red wine, but not too sweet. It's probably best described as a dessert wine, although the Russian label states that it is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabernet_Sauvignon">cabernet sauvignon</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">* Thankfully the back cover was in German, which described it as "south Moldovan red wine".</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01351343507770814926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9098470148504106583.post-24963793333125722182012-02-23T21:07:00.002+00:002012-02-23T21:07:20.450+00:00Hello world!<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We are a couple who live in north London and we love food and drink, especially the latter...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We decided to start this blog so that we could share our discoveries as we eat-and-drink our way around one of the world's culinary hotspots.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We'll be mostly sampling non-UK food and drinks, but won't rule out occasionally covering more native offerings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It'll be a mixture of restaurant reviews, summaries of snack foods, and our humble-but-completely-accurate opinions on any obscure-but-apparently-interesting drinks that we stumble upon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We want the site to feel like a giant, global dinner party. Feel free to join in with the discussions and leave comments. Also if you have any recommendations, we'll be glad to hear them, so please let us know!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01351343507770814926noreply@blogger.com0