Lola's Cupcakes - ZOMG so g00d!!

Hey guys. So I’m going to be brief here. Pick the passionfruit cupcake. Thank me later. The other flavors were average. But the passionfruit was a knockout!! Not to mention unique...AND one of my favorite flavors. Yep, I like tart tarty things. Enjoy!  

Tommi's Burger Joint - Pass the Pickle Jar

After a few fellow instagramers shared their meals at Tommi’s, and after ruling out Meat Liquor for it being a supposed “tourist trap”, I decided to give this joint a visit. Solo. Disclaimer: This place is not for agoraphobics (as some family members suffer from this misdiagnosed social disease. If you think you’re claustrophobic check the definition again. Chances are you’re an agoraphobe) I took one look at the place from outside and took a deep breath. I noticed two things. The first one being, obviously, that the place was packed; and two, the diners were predominatly male. But enough sociology, time for a burger!

I made my way towards the till and placed my order. There are only 3 options. Beef burger, cheese burger, and steak burger (there is a difference). The staff are ridiculously friendly despite the number of customers they need to serve, and the heat in the kitchen (there were little red fans cooling them down. Ironic considering it was 0 degrees outside.) I made a general judgement, Icelanders are a nice bunch.

 I couldn’t help but look around the room. A chewbacca poster, and the lovely lights on the ceiling caught my eye. The menu is written on pieces of cardboard (one claims that they have the ‘Offer of the Century’, there is a chalkboard with a message of happiness, and little fans’ works of art. Since the place is so small, and it being Friday night and all, expect to share a table with a few strangers. Very communal. There was an inaudible indie track playing in the background. This is a casual crowd. A chic crowd. An artistic crowd. It didn’t take long for the ‘clickty clack’ of YSL booties to come through the door. The Arab girls arrive to try Tommi’s for themselves. Much to their discomfort and apparent agoraphobia, they had their burgers to go. But that’s irrelevant. 

And after quite a long wait for the food, (note to self: although they serve burgers, this is not a ‘fast’ food restaurant) this Arab girl was ready to feast! [Nice bald man delivered it himself, shouting my name halfway across the room until he got to me. I sat by the door. On a stool. Very New York dive.]

I took a few bites and decided to type on my iPhone note pad the following: 

“Didn't care so much for iceberg lettuce, it decidedly cooled things down. Cold lettuce; not good.

I got some mustard towards the end which punched things up. There are more condiments than you can count on two hands lining the wall. 

The meat was beautifully medium. What a tender patty! I’d call it miraculously tender. But I wish it was just about the patty. It's the accompaniments, it's the bun, it's the magic! The bun is alright, quite nice actually. It holds the patty brilliantly without slippage or sloppage. It's just the cheeeeeese. Just your average processed slice. Where is the mature Cheddar? Where is the Stilton or Emmental?? I guess what Tommi's tries to deliver is the authentic American burger. And in that case, processed cheese is right on the money, so I can't complain about that. I want food to take me on an adventure. This burger took me to Bikini Bottom, so this, Ladies and Gentlemen is the closest I've come to [what I think is] a krabby patty! Take that Mister Krabs! 

The fries aren't homemade, they're your standard skinny fries, just seasoned really nicely. I almost didn’t order them but I did, for a sentence that has been popping in my mind frequently, "Do it for the blog!" “

If it weren’t for that cold piece of lettuce, and the choice (or lack thereof) of cheese, this burger probably would’ve surpassed Honest. But then again this is my opinion. Take from it what you will. The general concensus from the reviews of this place is that it is a hit with resident Londoners and conscientious (Middle Eastern) tourists like myself. 

I'd better dust off my trainers, or this will be one gluttonous journey I might regret.

58 Marylebone Lane
Marylebone
London
W1U 2NX

Tel: 0207 935 5275

http://www.burgerjoint.co.uk/ 

Here we are

Bald man was SUPER friendly

I forgot to ask them about the significance of this on the wall

Pièce de resistance 

St. Christopher's Place towards Oxford Street

Gail's - Get the Mini Brownie!

Guys, (and girls) there's a reason why Gail's is popping up all over London! *slobbers* The food is SO goooood!!

Whether you're in Chelsea, SoHo, Battersea, South Kensigton or Hampstead there's surely a Gail's bakery around the corner. This afternoon we found ourselves walking down King's Road. Not far from another bakery/cafe, The Chelsea Quarter cafe. We had just bought their brownie and decided to compare it to Gail's. In this round of my impromptu brownie battle, I think it's safe to say Gail's won the preliminaries. 

Made to resemble an old apothecary, Gail's has a certain charm that we can't quite explain. We literally dashed in and out grabbing what looked good, but we hope to have a good sit down, dine in experience the next time we find ourselves in England. (Although it's cheaper to order out, than in) The cafe was quirky in all the right ways. We loved how they made fluorescent lights look cool. (Fluorescent lights are never cool. Only at Gail's) The caged cake by the window sill had a "can't touch this" kind of forbidden fruit sort of feeling, which made it all the more enticing.

The mini pecan tart was alright. But I think I had pretty high expectations since it's my favorite kind of tart, so I set that one up for failure. The salads were discernibly Mediterranean. No doubt coming from the repertoire of Ran Avidan, co-owner of Gail's. If you're familiar with Ottolenghi I think you ought to know Avidan by now. Where there's good bread, there's an Israeli in the kitchen, or so he says. And to be honest I find no reason to disagree.

That Gruyère and Leek croissant will have to wait. Gail's is a must visit on anyone's London itinerary. Write that down.  

209 King's Road 

SW3 5ED

T:  020 7351 7971

Honest Burgers - Honestly...the BEST!!!

This place was recommended to me by a friend and I must say...she’s got good taste!

I’ve been looking forward to my visit for a few days so needless to say I was already expecting great things. That night we were heading to SoHo to catch a performance of Singing in the Rain, conveniently Honest Burger wasn’t too far away. The cab dropped us off on Dean St. and from there we continued to Meard St, right across from another famed burger dive, Burger and Lobster. (but we’ll leave that for another trip, the line outside was quite long)

As expected the place was compact and a small wait was to be expected. Don’t let them fool you when they say “30 minutes” it usually is about 2-5 minutes (well at least for me). We sat down and ordered a cheese burger, not just any old cheese burger, a mature cheddar cheese burger, with red onion relish and shredded lettuce. For our side we had the house chips with rosemary salt and their homemade lemonade. 

Now our expectations were already pretty high, but the actual food delivered in stratospheric proportions. Let me guide you through our dining experience, one we shant soon forget:

The speakers were softly playing a familiar track...guitar heroes...Mick Jagger? “I want to paint it BLACK” Classic. It felt like being stuck between time and space. Is it the 70’s? Am I at a burger joint in Texas? “No,” I remind myself, “it’s January 2013, you’re in London, and yes this magical combination of flavours is happening right now and it is actually your dinner. Lucky me.” These are honest to goodness some good fries, and this is honest homemade lemonade. Tart, a little fizzy, and thirst quenching. For all I knew I could’ve been in the deep south on some porch drinking this lemonade in the time of prohibition, playing jacks with my cousins Laura Mae and Billy Bob. I just made that up. 

The burger. I honestly can not remember a better burger. So since this is a new blog let’s just wipe the slate clean and make this the standard to which all subsequent burgers must live up to. Tabula rasa. I’m into tangy tangy toppings. I like my pickles and I love my onions. Raw or caramelized or sometimes both. What Honest offers here is an onion relish that satisfies my piquant cravings and is simple enough to make this burger a winner in its own right. No tomato no fuss. The other simple accessory was the shredded lettuce, neatly placed on the bottom of the patty to minimize slippage and suprisingly to be warm and catch all that smokey salty beef juice before it soaks the bun. Oh that patty! Cooked to a beautiful medium, an almost near perfect medium,(not every place knows how to do that I’ve found.) But that’s the norm here at Honest. (If you prefer yours a little more well done I’m sure they can accomodate that.)  But as soon as I placed my order, they informed me that they normally cook their patties to a medium. And honestly who am I to argue? They obviously know what they’re doing. My advice is, trust them, honestly. 

I was in this little bubble of joy and wonder, and I knew as soon as I’d take the last bite, that this bubble would burst. 

A visit to Honest Burgers is a high high recommendation for tart toppings, and medium meat lovers like myself. If you’re a well done, creamy toppings person, I suggest you go else where. This place honestly lets the meat do the talking. (Their butcher is non other than the famed Ginger Pig after all! Muslim eaters don’t fret when you read ‘pig’ on the menu, that’s just the name of the butcher ok?)

I’ll be looking forward until my next visit...the chicken and veggie burger sound very appealing. 

PS. Space Invader probably dined here...(see pic below)

PPS. If that didn't make sense, look up street graffiti artists or watch the documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop.

PPPS. Gluten Free buns are available!! Rejoice all gluten sufferers!! Honest has heard your plea!

Take a look at the Menu

4a Meard St

London, Greater London

+44 20 3609 9524

 

The Chelsea Quarter Cafe - Oh so Quaint!

   On a quaint corner on King's Road, we found this cafe of wonderment and delight! We literally stopped in our tracks (because the display was so enticing) and I had to explain to my mom that I'm a 'legit' blogger now so I just have to sample a few goodies! Every baked treat you could imagine was on display. Croissants, brownies, granola bars, tarts, and cookies! It was really hard to choose! But I settled on a brownie. It was good...but...well I'll explain later. The savory salad selection was on par. We spotted some tabbouleh, but we'll have to try that next time. The menu looked diverse enough to satisfy all palates. Regular lunchtime classics and easy meals for the Londoner on the go. Plus a little treat or two, so you'd make use of the new Nike trainers you splashed out on for your 'run' through Hyde Park.


 The cafe itself reminded me a lot of Ottolenghi, so initially I thought this was a clone and that I'd find many more following the remarkable rubric set up by Yotam the Brilliant! But upon further research I discovered that this place was set up long before the Ottolenghi craze, back in the belly baring, Alanis Morrisette laden era of 1996. The diners looked like a regular crowd, it didn't feel touristy or gimmicky. These people had just left work and met up for a cuppa with a good friend or sibling. That lady over there is so engrossed in her book that her latte went flat and cold. Yeah, I felt like I was part of this eclectic Chelsea neighborhood. Oh how I wish.

219 King's Road
SW3 5EJ
T: 020 7352 3844

CUT at 45 Park Lane - Happy New Year!

So Ladies and Gentlemen...

Who is hungry? No, I mean really hungry. Hungry for goodness, honesty and knowledge. Hungry to learn about all the wonderful things that grow on this green earth. But most of all hungry for good food and where to find it (or make it). This, my friends, is the blog I've been talking about for ages, but never set up. What better time to start than January 1st, putting forth this new year resolution and hopefully sticking with it! If you've dined with me and noticed the amount of pictures I took before consuming a meal (cringe), well this is the result. Now without further ado, (and anymore introductions) I present to you my food blog.


So this evening I find myself in London, and after a lackluster Dec 31 (I took a shower and went to bed after watching Bridget Jones's Diary on Channel 4) I decided that today would be special. I made reservations at CUT by Wolfgang Puck two weeks prior to today. You know, to avoid any disappointment and what not. I read a load of reviews and had a look at the menu many times in preparation for my visit. (Yes, I'm that dedicated to feeding myself.) There were some good reviews, some great ones, and surprised to find some awful ones. I was apprehensive. This place is not cheap. If my family we're disappointed I'd be on the other end of the chopping block. This was after all my choice.

I rushed home at five thirty after a whirlwind shopping spree on Oxford St. Put on my new black shirt, and lashes, buckled up my boots and headed out the door. We were running late so I e-mailed the restaurant to let them know. Yes, I know. Geeky move. So we walk in, the hostesses greeted us very warmly, took our coats and showed us to our table. It was very cosy, huddled in the back corner with an ambient crowd and a few Damien Hirsts. I couldn't wait to eat!

We glanced over the menus and right away I knew what I wanted. But when our server came over with a tray of the actual cuts I changed my mind. Instead of a filet mignon I went for a NY sirloin. It was the steak from Kansas, aged for thirty five days, beautiful marbling. But what looked even better were the Wagyu cuts. They're not Wagyu for nothing. But the price for one of those was 85 pounds. No way. At least not tonight. But hey if you're a little more indulgent than I was tonight, I suggest you go for it! It looked very promising.

My starter was the Big Eye Tuna Tartar, Wasabi Aioli, Ginger, Togarashi Chips, Tosa Soy. For twenty one pounds, it's a little on the pricey side, but believe me it is oh so worth it. This was the one thing on the menu I would definitely come back for. So fresh, so crisp, just the right amount of balance from the soy, the tangy wasabi, the creamy avocado finally balances out all the wonderful asian elements. California cuisine at its best. I close my eyes. I felt like I took a trip to Los Angeles and back. I open my eyes. Hyde Park is an imposing piece of land. I was firmly in London. Not a bad place to be.

Next was the steak. 10 oz. of pure NY sirloin. Wonderful cut, however I wish I had said 'medium' instead of 'medium well'. The béarnaise sauce was utterly butterly sublime! And those Tempura Onion Rings, they totally eclipsed the steak. Phenomenal rings. With all this said, you can conclude that I thought the steak was average. I was pleased, but not impressed. I can sing the praises of the side dishes all night, but the steak left a little to be desired. Oh well, 'medium' for next time.

I didn't plan on ordering dessert, but the Sticky Toffee Medjool Date Cake with Tangerine Sorbet and Vanilla Anglaise caught my eye. An absolute triumph! It was decadent but not heavy, tangy and sweet, yin and yang. The sorbet complimented the cake beautifully, and I don't even like tangerines!

All in all, this was a wonderful start to the year! And hopefully, by deciding to blog, I will be taking you on my culinary adventures (and giving out some of my recipes!) Shhh.

Note: My sister ordered the Warm Dark Chocolate Valrhona Souffle. Warning! For extreme chocoholics only!! Also, the Mashed Potatoes deserve an honorable mention.


45 Park Lane
W1K 1PN
T: 020 7629 4848