londonelicious: a london restaurant blog

Abeno Too...It's Alive!

Abeno Too
17-18 Great Newport Street
WC2H 7JE
Tel: 020 7379 1160

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, 16 February 2008

The Victims: Me, myself, and I

The Damage: £20, which was a bit more than I was expecting. No free refills!

The Background: Sometimes, people ask me why it is that I go out to eat so much. I think part of it is very certainly laziness, but I'm going to blame my mother for the rest! I remember when I was a kid, a shopping trip was ALWAYS accompanied by lunch somewhere fun. Often, my mom would cut out articles in the newspaper about new restaurants, and when it came time for back-to-school shopping or just a random trip to the mall, she'd pull the review out of "the junk drawer" in the kitchen and off we'd go.

So you see, every time I go shopping, I HAVE to go out to lunch. :)

A while back, I read a post on Howard and Ben's blog about Abeno Too and it sounded like my kind of place. And after enjoying okonomiyaki at The Sunday Up Market on Brick Lane on more than one occasion, I thought it was time.

Abeno Too is pretty packed when I arrive, but I get a seat with my back to the wall. I'm seated on a high bench that opens so I can put my stuff (new shoes!) inside. This is very clever.

I order a pork and something okonomikayi and a miso soup and I sit back to watch the preparations. It takes a little bit longer than I expected, but it is worth every bit of the wait. I can't really explain the flavor--it's salty and hearty and rich and dense and filling. Maybe this is the mysterious "unami" flavor that I've heard talk of. Whatever it is, it's pretty dang delicious. I don't have to tell you what it looks like because of the magic of video. This is my first ever forray into blog-eo, so be kind.

The Verdict: I'll be back. Many times. But they shouldn't charge for barley tea refills. That's a rip-off.

Tea: Tea Smith

Tea Smith
6 Lamb Street
E1 6EA
Tel: 020 7247 1333

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, 23 February 2008

The Victim: Me

The Damage: £5

The Background: I was having a wander around East London on a Saturday, mainly because of my blog. You see...I am always pounding the pavement, looking for ways to entertain you, my dear reader.

I was actually looking for the new Swedish coffee shop on Brick Lane, Fika (which means coffee break in Swedish, by the way), but I am betting that it is north of Cheshire Street and I never made it past all the cute shops on Cheshire Street. Anyhow, this is a long way of me saying--I needed a warm drink, and Tea Smith was there.

The Verdict: I had a lovely white tea and a lovely plate of chocolate biscuits from William Crawley, who I guess is famous. I enjoyed myself, although I do wish I had had a book with me. A good place to stop while you're in Spitalfields.

Coming Soon...Abeno Too, La Trouvaille off of Oxford Street, Market in Camden.

Sweets: Laduree

Laduree, Harrods
87/135 Brompton Road
SW1X 7XL
Tel: 203 155 0111

Firstly, you never saw this picture. Because I wasn't allowed to take it. Secondly, if I should pass from this world, I want nothing but Laduree macaroons served at my wake.

Well, maybe I should pick a happier thought...

When I find the gentleman I'm going to spend the rest of my life with--applications are being accepted, by the way. Finicky eaters need not apply-- everyone at the wedding will get a little box of Laduree macaroons. Surely the most delicious things ever. Along with the Yauatcha ones, of course. 

Spanish: Oops

Oops
31 Catherine St
WC2B 5JS
Tel: 020 7836 3609

Date of Last Visit: A week night in February that escapes me.

The Victims: Jose, Bernard, Santanu, Cristina, Nacho, Yolanda

The Damage: £20 each

The Background: Somtimes, I sorta wish I didn't have a blog. I don't always want to pick the restaurant. That's a lot of pressure! And throw in one real Spanish person (Jose) when you want to go to a Spanish restaurant...that always make me nervous. Turn up to find three more real Spanish people...and well...aacck! I hope they like it.

Santanu was in town from Chicago, Back in 2004, Santanu and Alex and Al and Michael and I had some good times, exploring London. Santanu is gone now, Michael too. I miss them! So it's good to have him back in town.

The Food: We put the Spaniards in charge. The garlic bread is okay. The croquettas are great. The plate of jamon is pretty great too, as is the manchego cheese. There's a cod dish of some sort that's only average. Bernard likes the mussels, which look nice, but a little too deep-fried for my healthy living. All in all, everyone seems more than marginally pleased.

The Service: Isn't Spanish. The funny part is when Bernard, who's South African, starts placing his order in Spanish and the waitress doesn't understand him and he can't understand why she doesn't understand him. That was a moment.

The Atmosphere: Is kinda nice. We're upstairs, and we have it all to ourselves. The decor is really nice and it's a clean and neat place.

The Verdict: While they didn't knock my socks off, I thought it was pretty good. If I needed a pre-theatre type of place, I'd go back.

Off-Topic: Other Blogs

I don't feel like writing about food at the moment. And you know, I'm kinda mad. Time Out wrote about the Top 50 London Web Sites and I was not on their list. What's a girl gotta do to get noticed around here?

So here's some of my randomly favorite London blogs...

Wee Birdy: A London shopping and style blog. The author seems to hang out around some of my favorite places...can I say how much I LOVE Cheshire Street off of Brick Lane?

Route 79: This guy rides the bus and it takes him in all sorts of different directions. Good camera phone. Must find out what it is. I think he likes to eat too.

Living Out London:  Another gal about town in London. Are you sensing a trend here?

Dave's Time Out in London: One guy's quest to do accomplish Time Out's 1000 things to do in London. Amazing.

I'm sure there are others. But those are the ones I can remember. Got any other suggestions for me? Are you a regular reader and a blogger too? Let me know your URL and I'll post it here.)

Japanese: Tokyo Diner

Tokyo Diner
2 Newport Place
WC2H 7JP
020 7287 8777

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, February 9

The Victim: Me

The Damage: £15?

The Verdict: I love the Tokyo diner. I love the automatic doors and the automatic faucet in the loo downstairs. I love the omnipresent service. I love the no tuna policy (tuna, particularly blue fin tuna is over-fished in the world these days). I love the no tipping policy and how, if you do tip, they give it all to a homeless shelter. I love the pork cutlet and the bento box and the good value. It could be a tiny bit cleaner and less cramped and the stools could be, well, more adult-sized, but all in all, I will be back. Thank you to the Leicester Square Challenge participants who threw this one out there.

Why Did I Buy So Many of You?

Because now I've eaten all of you, you devious little macaroons from Yauatcha on Berwick Street. I hate you. I love you. I hate you. I love you.

Gentlemen readers should make note: These make a very classy present for that special someone in your life.

Gastro: Magdala

Magdala
2A South Hill Park
NW3 2SB
Tel: 020 7435 2503

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, 10 February 2008

The Victims: Gerry, Ben, Christiaan, Cat

The Damage: £20ish? I still owe Ben money.

The Story: Why, when I'm not drinking beer these days, I choose to spend all my time in pubs, I cannot tell you. Why I'm also finding myself playing a lot of games (game games, not mind games), I also cannot tell you. Logic problems. Scrabulous on Facebook. Prolific (formerly Bogglific) on Facebook. Phase 10. (My new favorite game.) Hmmm.

I do like games. And games in a pub are even better. And games in a pub on one of the most beautiful Sundays in a while...now that's just a great way to while away an afternoon. Put me on an eerie winning streak, and well...

So we are at Magdala in Belsize Park and the sun is so bright and streaming through the windows that my large, "beautiful people" sunglasses are being passed around the table to protect us from the glare.

The Food: No one if hungry but me (of course) so I order the parsnip soup. Gerry follows suit. It's supposed to come with ciabatta, but it doesn't. (See, you can see ciabatta clearly listed on the menu! So I was not imagining things.) But the standard bread basket is really nice...tomato bread? So we survive.

I also order a pasta dish--pesto and spinach and tomatoes and there's a mention of Stinking Bishop but I ignore that, unwisely so as it turns out. The pasta is served over a big fist-sized wedge of stinking bishop. And this is just so much more stinking bishop than I was prepared to eat. The overall taste of the dish is one of flatness. And I find myself reaching for the salt. But who puts salt on pasta? Hmmm.

The Loos: Possess a Dyson Air Blade!

The Verdict: I liked the service. I liked the sunniness of it all. I did not overly enjoy my food, but I'm sure many people would be perfectly happy.

Coming Soon...Tokyo Diner, Oops, Abeno Too, Yauatcha macaroons

Happy Belated Chinese New Year

What is it about me and Chinese pastries? I love them. I love the sesame seed balls. I love the coconut stuffed thingies. I love the bean paste sweets. We found these outside a pastry shop on Lisle Street in London's Chinatown during all the festivities. Very close to the Leicester Square tube entrance/exit. I think the Chinese pastry shop is called Sun Luen, but I could be wrong...I'll be back soon though, so there's time to figure it out.

Cancun Restaurant Round-up

So I will not bore you with individual write-ups of all the different restaurants I ate in Cancun. I'm going to do a quick round-up of my Cancun dining experiences and overall restaurant recommendations.

Before I departed, I did a lot of research on what blogs and boards were saying about Cancun restaurants. Howard reminded me that I should have checked the OA boards for the real deal given that in hindsight, I found very few Cancun restaurant recommendations online and the restaurant recommendations that I did find didn't pan out all that well.

First night: Puerto Madero. Everyone on the Intertubes swears by this Argentinian steakhouse in Cancun. I liked the deck area outside. I liked the puffy potato chip "souffles." But I thought the rest of the food was just grilled meat and veggies with not a whole lot of taste. (I did also like my mashed potatoes.) I feel very snobbish as I say this, but I think people who don't dine out a lot would like it here. Oh, and I thought the service here was rushed, distracted, and a bit rude about the tip we left. (15%, exactly.)

Second Night: Hacienda El Mortero, as recommended by our hotel concierge. Really nice service. Huge-ass margaritas. Great mariachi band. I thought the food was trying too hard. My dish involved fire, a huge-ass slice of pineapple that I couldn't have possibly ever eaten with a knife and fork, and jumbo shrimp splayed open on skewers. I did really like the refried beans, however. We actually ate here twice during our visit. The second visit involved WAY too much food. Four small barbecues for about 10 people. We could have done with 2 to 3 bbqss. VERY CLEAN LOOS.

Poloma Bonita: Smelled like dirty mop. And then I saw why. They really need to get new mops. I saw the mops sitting behind the bar and it was gross. Service insisted on dancing with me (mariachi band), which I wasn't too thrilled about. (He had sweaty hands.) I liked the little touches here...specifically, they put two different types of butter on the table, which appeared to be wrapped in leaves of some sort. They explained both butters, but I promptly forgot. Our starters were served on a huge long plate and they did a very official job of explaining everything. My fajitas were good, despite the dirty mop. Also LOVED the Mexican coffee and the little cups it was served in.

Harry's: Our first night in Cancun, our concierge offered this up as an option and I declined it because it was an "American steakhouse." In hindsight, I would have gone here sooner. This place has a trendy vibe that I liked...great loos...it's like you're outside, but you're not. I had a great salad to start--greens and beets and goat cheese. (I don't normally eat beets. But it just felt right. So I did. And then I forgot about what happens when you eat a lot of beets and then, well, go #1 the next day. Talk about a scare!) My NY strip which was perfect. Loved the assortment of desserts at the end--glasses of cake! This was the best meal of the trip and a very clean and smart place. But remember I am a snob sometimes.

La Parilla: Dirty, dirty, dirty. The loos were awful. The floor was a mess. My enchiladas in mole sauce were overly mole'd. But then again, I am not Mexican so maybe they were the way they were supposed to be. But there was A LOT of sauce. The guac didn't seem fresh to me.  And the service wouldn't let up on me not drinking.

OK, so that's that. I hope my Cancun restaurant recommendations will come in handy to those traveling to the Mayan Riviera in the not-so-distant future. Enjoy.