Red Dog Saloon - Hoxton Square, N1

There isn't that much actually wrong with the food at the Red Dog Saloon; sadly at times there wasn't that much right either.  Things started well with some solid if slightly dry buffalo wings and decent blue cheese dressing.

Wishbone - Brixton Village, SW9

Proper Buffalo wings and Deep fried mac and cheese?  Fuck yeah.

The Bull and Last - Highgate Road, NW5

OK so I'm probably a bit late to the game here but I've been meaning to try out the Bull and Last for a while.  I love a scotch egg so I'm always looking for an excuse to try a new one and following a walk round Highgate Cemetery we knew where to go.

The perfect steak? Sous Vide on test...

I don't know what I was expecting when I got my hands on the Sous Vide Supreme.  Actually that's a lie; I was expecting something life-changing.

Meat Ferrero Rocher - Beef Shin Kroketten

Ok so I've possibly taken a bit of inspiration from a few places for this recipe but I've been wanting to try and make something like this for a while.  You could probably file this recipe under excessive but if you like beef and you like deep fried things I think it’ll be worth it.

Lunchy Peach at the Coach and Horses

Simply stunning; MiMi Aye and Tim Anderson’s Lunchy Peach was one of the best lunches I’ve had in a fucking long time. The menu was inspired by David Changs stint at St John’s earlier in the year but the recipes had been given a little tweaking along the way.

St Mungo's and the Table

It’s not often that you get to combine helping out a charity and a getting a barbecue cooked for you.  Luckily at the weekend we’d been invited down to St Mungo’s allotment in Clapham to do a bit of planting and try some food cooked by one of the chefs from the Table in Southwark.

See Woo Cash and Carry - Greenwich

Lucky Chip Slider Bar - Broadwick Street

What a dangerous place; hidden down some steps on Broadwick Street the dimly lit Slider Bar is everything my doctor wants me to avoid.  We visited on a Friday after a few* post work drinks round Soho to take in some dirty slider action.

Burger and Lobster - Mayfair

With Burger and Lobster opening a second branch in Soho I thought I’d trot down to Mayfair to see if it was any easier to get a table.  The short answer no; the long answer it seems is that you are waiting longer than ever.

The Wilderness Festival 2012

How not to does Lake Como

Sleazy Fried Chicken

So Chicken and Frankfurters are apparently the new burgers.  I'm not sure exactly how I feel about that but I do think it's sad though that KFC doesn't often get the respect it deserves so it can't be a bad thing.

Wireless 2012 - Hyde Park

Chilli Cheese Dogs

Anyone who has read my blog for a while will know I am a filthy perv for ‘furters.  They are delicious cold from the fridge but this weekend I had a bit of to time do something classy...

Stale Bread, Garlic, and Over-ripe Tomatoes

Let’s not over romanticise this too much; bruschetta or bread and tomatoes whatever you’d like to call it was invented as a vehicle to avoid waste.  Clever cooks of yore took some stale bread, rubbed garlic on it, and covered it with ripe juicy tomatoes and olive oil.

The Hawksmoor Bar - Commercial Road, E1

Hawksmoor have quite successfully made a reputation for cooking some of the best steaks in London but I’d only ever eaten in the Seven Dials outpost before now.  Having seen a piece in TimeOut about London’s 100 best dishes I thought I’d make the effort to check out the Spitalfields branch as well.

Champagne Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs NV

Yeasty yet perfumed like a baker’s daughter; frothy with a finer bead than a borrowers pearl necklace. Light golden colour, citrus, biscuits and nut flavour, and a clean creamy texture.

MEATmarket - Covent Garden, WC2

I’m going to have to use the word meat a lot in this review.  It can’t be helped so I’ll apologise in advance.

Chilli Beef Short Ribs

 

Short ribs are one most forgiving things in the world to cook.  You have to really fuck up to ruin them; otherwise the results are always awesome.

Oysters, Huitres, whatever...

If Oysters be the food of love basically I’m fucked. I can still vividly remember my first one; an experience etched deeply in my memory.

The Daniel Johnston Show - 18 Hewett Street, EC2

Mr Holden's Manchester Egg

Mr Holden’s Manchester Egg is a proper little treat but the spicy chipotle mayonnaise on the side isn’t the only unusual thing about this Scotch Egg.  It's made with panko breadcrumbs, premium sausage meat and Bury black pudding.

Almost Famous Burgers - Northern Quarter, Manchester

NO PRESS NO PHOTOGRAPHY NO BLOGGERS NO BLAGGERS NO KETCHUP.  That’s a pretty strong statement on a website for any new start up.

Ragu Bolognese

If you asked ten cooks how to make Bolognese sauce you’ll get ten different answers. You’ll find the same basics but everyone has their own individual take!

Chateauneuf du Papes - Bosquet des Papes 1998

Leathery and warm like an old tobacco pouch; smoke and sawdust on the nose. Cloudy and brick in colour; deep but aged well.

Rib-eye McHarrods Double Cheese Burger

I’m still searching for the perfect burger and when I spotted this one hundred percent rib-eye version in Harrods I knew I had to give it a go. Two hundred grams of minced rib eye for four pounds fifty a pop isn’t too pricey is it?

Jose - Bermondsey Street, SE1

Walking into Jose I was greeted with a warm smile and a handshake; did I know this man, did he recognise me from somewhere? As if greeting a long lost friend our smiling host had his hand on my shoulder and gently ushered us towards the bar.

34 - Grovesnor Square, W1

The devil is in the detail it seems and the detail never got more tempting than a perfectly cooked slab of rib eye. Skillfully charred on an amazing bespoke Argentinean charcoal grill just out of sight of your table in the open kitchen.

Chorizo Croquetas

I can’t think of many things that aren’t made better with the addition of bread crumbs and a short bout in the deep fryer? It seems a lot of people agree out there as well; whether it’s your bitterballen, butter balls, arancini, mac and cheese balls, or the Spanish Croquetas you’ll find different versions all over the place!

Not so new kid on the block - Nath the Butcher

How not to do does Bangkok...

How not to do does Melbourne...

Getting drunk on a bus in the Yarra Valley...

Back in the Office

So we went away for Christmas and the New Year to Australia and Thailand. Normal Service will resume shortly once I've worked out what day it is and the jetlag subsides. Hope you all had a great break; in the meantime look at the lovely Seagull; we fed it chips!