Posted by Krista on March 17, 2009
Maison Bertaux
28 Greek Street
W1D 5DD
Date of Last Visit: Saturday, February 28th
The Victims: Four university students I took on a Foodie Tour of London
The Damage: £15 for all of us
The Background: So after taking Kiwi musician Flip Grater on a Foodie Tour of London (and a vegan tour, no less), I thought I might try to make a little side-business out of doing this. Yup, that's right. I'm now offering customized gourmet food tours of London. To get the kinks out, I'm taking four university students from my old university in the States for a quick spin around Soho. Maison Bertaux is our last stop.
The Entrance: Maison Bertaux is cramped and kitschy. I dig it. And the window displays just look so over-the-top, jam-packed with food. My tour group squeezes into a table of four and we start making our selections.
The Cakes: We split some cheesecake and a chocolate éclair between us. (I've tried to encourage the guys NOT to eat a full meal at each stop on our London tour. This has been hard. Must do a better job of outlining this upfront.) All the food looks a bit better than it tastes. The cheesecake isn't as good or gourmet as what I had at The London Review of Books, but it's fine.
The Verdict: A fun place to visit, more for the kitsch than the food.
The Reminder: Tell your friends about my gourmet tours of London!
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Posted in Desserts & Sweets, London, United Kingdom, W1 | 1 Comment
Posted by Krista on February 9, 2009
The London Review Cakeshop
14-16 Bury Place
WC1A 2JL
Date of Last Visit: Sunday, January 24th 2009
The Victim: Me
The Damage: £5
The Background: I am having a great London day. Manicure, pedicure. Fantastic crepe. Eyebrows taken care of. And now I feel like a slice of cake. So I Google the London Review of Books and find myself at their cakeshop.
I first heard about the London Review of Books via an article in the New York Times all about the actual London Review of Books, the magazine. It was talking about their personals section. Have you read these yet? For those of you too lazy to click the link, let me post a few:
Dear LRB, I have no money. Please run my advert for free. I want a woman who is 38. Let her know I’m really clever and good-looking. Thanks.
Yesterday I was a disgusting spectacle in end-stage alcoholism with a gambling problem and not a hope in the world. Today I am the author of this magnificent life-altering statement of yearning and desire. You are a woman to 55 with plenty of cash and very little self-respect. When you reply to this advert your life will never be the same again. My name is Bernard. Never call me Bernie.
If forced to commit, I’d say I feared geese more than ducks. Man, 47. Fears geese more than ducks.
The Food: After buying myself a few books, I step into the cakeshop. It's a bit cramped, truth be told. But apparently, they have free wi-fi. This seems like a good place for an intellectual date. So go for it, if you're reading this and are intellectual and need a good place for a date. Take him or her here.
So I order myself a decaf and a slice of cheesecake. And wish I had brought my laptop so I could have gotten in some blogging. I have a lot of restaurant reviews to catch up on!
And the cheesecake is the most honestingly refreshing slice of cheesecake I can ever remember having. The biscuit crust! The cake! The mixed berry topping! It is all so perfect that I have to go to the counter and ask where they've procured such a cheesecake.
Apparently, the owner has a friend. Who makes him/her a cheesecake every so often. I wish I had a friend like this. Look at this cake. Just look at it!
The Verdict: Go on an intellectual date here and wow the object of your desire with a slice of cheesecake. Really. Really! This was fantastic.
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Posted in Desserts & Sweets, London, United Kingdom, WC1 | 11 Comments
Posted by Krista on January 19, 2009
Muffinski's
5 Kings Street
WC2E 8HN
Date of Last Visit: Saturday, 10 January 2009
The Victim: Me
The Damage: £4 something
The Background: Honestly, I really need to go shopping. All those New Year's Resolutions about cooking and baking and having a full refrigerator in 2009…yes, they were crap, those resolutions. Total crap.
I felt like a muffin. So I sat around Google'ing "muffins in London." I figured someone out there has to be specializing in muffins. And I was right. Muffinski's is. So onto the bus I went.
The Entrance: Muffinski's is really just a sandwich shop. With a lot of muffins. I feel pressured to order and select a Honey Banana Muffin. And I get some apple juice. I think the apple juice was more expensive than the muffin. That sucks. But seriously, they do have a lot of muffins. And they're not those disgustingly huge and under-baked Starbucks ones. They're just the right size.
The Muffin: The muffin is good. I'm happy. Only thing is, I'm still sorta hungry. (The muffin broke my fast at around 11 a.m.) Hmmm.
The Verdict: Not a destination by any means. But if I needed a muffin and I were in Covent Garden, I'd get a muffin here.
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Posted in Desserts & Sweets, London, United Kingdom, WC2 | 3 Comments
Posted by Krista on November 18, 2008
L'atelier des Chefs
19 Wigmore St
W1U 1PH
http://www.atelierdeschefs.co.uk/
Date of Last Visit: 15 November 2008
The Victims: Many. (And I'm stealing this list from Helen who did all the work.) Niamh from eatlikeagirl and Trusted Places. Su-Lin from Tamarind and Thyme. Alice from An American in London. Lizzie from Hollow Legs. Tom from The Food Flunky. Mark from Food By Mark. Jonathan from Around Britain With A Paunch. Abi from foodrambler. Alex from The Princess And The Recipe. Mia from Urban Foodie. Shuna from eggbeater. Josh from Cooking The Books. And Heather, a Trusted Places reviewer.
The Damage: None! Except to the waistline.
The Background: I am back at L'atelier des Chefs for the THIRD time. I must like it here. This time, the enormously generous people at TrustedPlaces are treating us London food and restaurant bloggers to a macaron class. You do know I love macarons…(with one o or two).
It's nice to be in a room full of food bloggers, although I did immediately develop a case of camera envy. Nearly everyone's got an SLR with those special macro lenses. And all I've got is my Nokia N82. It doesn't stop me from snapping away though.
We're broken up into teams–Chef Baldwin mentions a foie gras macaron and I immediately get myself onto that table. Our macaron biscuits are made with squid ink, which gives them a gray cast. Not as exciting as this team's batter…
We set to work piping batter onto trays. This was a lot harder than it looks. You had to get the pressure and the angle just right.
Definitely a bit labo(u)r intensive, and you know I don't like to work for my food. But the finished products were lovely and delicious…
So…things I learned about making macarons…
1. They're pretty labor-intensive (I've tried Google-ing "easy macaron recipe" to no avail.)
2. Sift, sift, sift.
3. It's essential to get all the air out of the biscuits before you cook them. You can do this by holding your baking tray about two feet about a table and dropping the tray down onto the table. This is a pretty satisfying exercise.
It's funny (and nice), meeting people for the first time when you only know them through the Internet. This was a great day out, and maybe, just maybe, I'll try whipping up a batch of these little suckers over the holidays . Maybe.
Keep reading for the recipe for salted butter caramel macarons, with many thanks to the folks at L'atelier des Chefs…
Continue Reading »
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Posted in Desserts & Sweets, London, United Kingdom, W1 | 6 Comments
Posted by Krista on November 3, 2008
Oddono's
Selfridges Food Hall
400 Oxford Street
W1A 2LR
Date of Last Visit: Saturday, October 25, 2008
The Victim: Me
The Damage: £2
The Background: I had some time to kill on Oxford Street so I dipped into Selfridge's. I couldn't resist the temptation of a little caramel gelato. So I got some. And it was good.
The Verdict: It was good, but not as good as Scoop. Plus, even though you're sort of tucked into a corner, the Selfridge's food hall is really loud. Not restful. Not restful at all.
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Posted in Desserts & Sweets, London, United Kingdom, W1 | 4 Comments
Posted by Krista on October 1, 2008
Ottolenghi
287 Upper Street
N1 2TZ
Tel: 020 7288 1454
http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk
Date of Last Visit: Sunday, September 28th 2008
The Victim (Literally): Me
The Background: I love Ottolenghi. But I also hate it, hate it, hate it. The thought of going into Ottolenghi on a weekend morning fills me with dread, no matter how delicious their salads are.
Why? It's because it's a freakin' FREE FOR ALL. All these random people (yummy mummies, young urban professionals, where hair gel goes to die, etc.) squeezing into the little entranceway, trying to place a takeaway order WHERE THERE IS NO SYSTEM. No system at all. It is total and utter CHAOS.
There's no deli counter ticket machine. What I wouldn't give for one of these (thanks to snowdeal on Flickr)…
Because otherwise, you're just standing there, saying to men in cashmere and women in large sunglasses, "Are you waiting?" (And really, who wears cashmere on a day like Sunday???)
The Verdict: Go. But forewarned is forearmed.
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Posted in Brunch, Desserts & Sweets, London, N1, United Kingdom | 6 Comments
Posted by Krista on September 1, 2008
The Berkeley Hotel
Wilton Place
SW1X 7RL
Tel: 0207 201 1619
Date of Last Visit: Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The Victim: Jen
The Damage: Unknown. Jen paid! (Well, actually, Uncle Bob paid. Thanks Uncle Bob!)
The Background: A few years ago, I took Julie, my Mom, and her friend Mary for tea at The Ritz and wrote about it on my blog. (My how my writing has improved over time.) With Jen in London for a bit, I thought it would be nice to take her for tea too…little did I know that we’d be upgraded to first class on our flight to Madrid and enjoy high tea somewhere over the Atlantic. So Jen got to have tea twice!
I’ve read about the Pret-a Portea at The Berkeley on a bunch of other London food and restaurant blogs…American-London-Blogger Life in a Nutshell perhaps captures it best because she includes photos of the cakes PLUS photos of the fashion behind the cakes. The idea is that the cakes look like the most recent fashion collections.
The Food: We start with one glass of champagne each. This turns into two. We switch to tea before we can say yes to glass number three. (Wisely so.) There are little sandwiches in quarters with their crusts cut off. Little savory canapes (none of which match what’s listed on the menu, but no bother). And lots of little pastries. Little is the very operative word here. But just like Taco Bell, they offered free refills.
I’m not quite sure how Jen has made it this far in life without having a traditional French macaroon. (As good Catholics, we grew up on the Jewish kind.) So right before heading to The Berkley, I took her to Harrods where we bought a six-pack at Laduree.
So it was nice that soon afterwords, we were treated to another macaroon, a little one…
The Verdict: I thought tea at The Berkeley was well-presented. I wasn’t so keen on the room though. We had tea in the bar, more or less. The guys next to us were having hamburgers. At The Ritz, everyone around us was having tea, which made things a bit more convivial.
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Posted in Desserts & Sweets, London, SW1, United Kingdom | 2 Comments
Posted by Krista on August 27, 2008
Hummingbird Bakery
133 Portobello Road
W11 2DY
Tel: 020 7229 6446
Date of Last Visit: Saturday, August 16
The Damage: £5?
The Victim: Jen
The Background: My cousin Jen was visiting the other week. We’re 24 days apart. (I’m a Taurus, she’s a Gemini, not that I’m into that stuff. I just thought it was a clever way of telling you who’s older.) It’s Jen’s first time in Europe. And I’m nervous! I want her to have a good time. I want her to come back!
We’ve had lunch at The Well. And we’ve gone around on the London Eye. We’ve done the double-decker bus tour. (If you do the Big Bus tour, make sure you take the ones with the live guides. We were in stiches!) We’ve seen the changing of the guard. We’ve gone to two pubs, The Princess Louise, and Stonch’s pub. We’ve enjoyed some champers and oysters at The Covent Garden Night Market, plus a meal at Wahaca. And now I’m taking her to Madrid. I’m the best and most-fun cousin ever.
But before we leave for Madrid, I take her to Portobello Market. I don’t go to Portabello often, and now I know why. At 11 a.m. on Saturday, you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a Spanish tourist. (Perhaps this is fitting as we are, after all, heading for Spain. And Jen needs to practice her Spanish. "Yo soy enfermera." isn’t going to get us very far. In most places, that is.)
The Entrance: Portobello is packed. Hummingbird is not. We order cupcakes for breakfast and they are good. Very very good.
I had carrot cake. Jen had something with fruit. She also had what I believe she called the best coffee ever.
The Verdict: Who doesn’t love a cupcake? I’ve been London’s other Hummingbird and wrote about it on my blog. It was a totally obnoxious experience and it might be why I’ve got some hearing loss in my left ear (according to the experts). The Notting Hill Branch was much calmer when I visited. Will I make the trek across town for these? Probably not. But I like Hummingbird, just the same.
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Posted in Desserts & Sweets, London, United Kingdom, W1 | 5 Comments
Posted by Krista on July 13, 2008
Scoop
40 Shorts Gardens
WC2H 9AB
020 7240 7086
Date of Last Visit: Saturday, 13 July 2008
The Victim: Me
The Damage: £2
The Background: I don’t often post on a Sunday. But I’m pounding the keyboard a little earlier than normal today for two very good reasons…
Firstly, I had my first taste ever of gelato from Coven’t Garden’s Scoop. And I fell head-over-tiramisu-heels in love. £2 for a lovely self-selected concoction of green tea and, well, tiramisu. Good. Unbelievably good. (I also liked how when I went to take a picture, the young girl behind the counter actually HELPED me to take the picture. I was a bit worried she was going to ask me to put the camera away, but no! She helped me get a cleaner shot!)
I was first introduced to Scoop by fellow London food blogger, Silverbrow. And then Jess from Ripe London joined the love-fest. And then I saw Mario on an episode of The Apprentice, and I knew God was trying to tell me something. Go now.
Why You Should Go Out and Buy The Observer
I also wanted to post today because at 7:35 a.m., a time when no decent bakery seems to want to feed me pain au chocolat, I picked up a copy of The Observer. Jay Rayner wrote a great piece on Bloggers & Critics in The Observer Review and there’s a little profile of me. If you pick up the print version, well, I think it’s fair to say I’ve used up by 15 minutes.
The gist of the piece is whether bloggers pose a threat to traditional media and if the world of criticism is being democratized. One of my favorite quotes in the article is from fellow London food blogger Simon of Dos Hermanos, who says of the pros, "If you’re not entertaining, however informative you are, there’s no reason for you existing"" I also like where Lynne of Dove Gray Reader says, "There’s nothing objective about what I’m doing. It’s about my emotional responses."
So if you are visiting my horribly-named blog for the first time (I think there will be a rebranding exercise in 2008), thanks for stopping by! If you want to know where this particular London food and restaurant blogger came from, you can read more about me on my About page. (And if you’d like to send me an e-mail, you’ll see my address way down at the bottom of the page.) Visit my archives–all the way back to June of 2004–to see how my prose has improved over time. (Thankfully.) I have a page devoted to my 10 favorite London restaurants, and if you have a moment, why not participate in The Leicester Square Challenge, my most popular post to date? Plus, you might enjoy some of my favorite posts.
Because you know I love statistics, I might update this post later in the week with details on the amount of referral traffic I get. So stay tuned, and again, thanks for dropping by.
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Posted in Desserts & Sweets, London, United Kingdom, WC1 | 6 Comments
Posted by Krista on July 2, 2008
Loafing
Corner of Lauriston Rd and Victoria Park Road
E9
Tel: Unknown!
Date of Last Visit: Sunday, June 29th
The Victim: Johanna
The Damage: £2
The Background: Johanna is being her awesome self and helping me out with a special project somewhat related to my blog. See, I need a good photograph of myself. And Johanna takes great pictures.
We meet up out front the Turkish deli (Elbows?) in Victoria Park, and there’s a new farmer’s market underway right there on the pavement. The usual suspects are all present…the German Deli, Neal’s Yard, The Isle of Wight tomato guys. There’s a nice little village-y feel and everyone seems to know each other, an odd feeling in London and one that makes me want to move to Victoria Park immediately, despite the crummy transport options. Johanna has me wander among the stalls so she can grab some candid snaps and I try not to feel too self-conscious.
We spend some time in and around the new bakery on the corner, Loafing, which just opened up two weeks ago. It’s very cute and clean and bright. We buy two little fairy cakes and people start to wonder what we’re doing with all this photo-taking. Somewhere in between, I let the butcher at The Ginger Pig shamelessly flirt with me. Apparently, his name is Borat, which is unfortunate.
The Verdict: Isn’t it always so? In the end, it was the first picture of me that Johanna took that I chose. Maybe I’ll let you see it sometime. Maybe…
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Posted in Desserts & Sweets, E9, London, United Kingdom | 3 Comments
Posted by Krista on June 5, 2008
Peyton and Byrne at Heals
196 Tottenham Court Road
W1T 7LQ
Date of Last Visit: Saturday, May 31
The Victim: I bought ‘em. Julie, Anna, Feathers, Jen ate them.
The Damage: £20 for 10 cupcakes
The Background: We’ve got tickets for Sex & The City, of course. And it’s Anna’s birthday. So I thought it would be nice to buy some birthday cupcakes and eat them in the dark. And hopefully not get caught.
The Cupcakes: It IS dark. And I can’t tell what sort of cupcake I have. Strawberry, maybe? It is super super sweet. So much so that I can’t finish it. But it’s so dark that I can’t really see the box and the bag the cupcakes came in. So I shut up and watch the movie with a warm (in a bad way), melty gooey strawberry cupcake in my hand. And then I eventually finish it.
The Verdict: Eh. Hummingbird and Crumbs and Doilies do it better. Everyone else seems to like the Peyton & Byrne cupcakes though. So maybe it’s just me. Or maybe no one has the cupcake experience that I do.
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Posted in Desserts & Sweets, London, United Kingdom, W1 | 3 Comments
Posted by Krista on May 14, 2008
Pump Room
Stall Street
Bath
BA1 1LZ
Tel: 01225 444477
Date of Last Visit: Sunday, April 27th
The Victims: Aunt Ursula & Uncle George
The Damage: £25 or thereabouts
The Background: Our feet HURT. I knew the Roman baths were big, but I had no idea HOW big. We’ve been in the baths in Bath ALL DAY. I am tired. Weary. And in need of some tea and cake.
We wander all around Bath in search of tea and cake and end up back where we started, at the baths. The Pump Room is attached to the Roman baths and we settle in for some tea.
Service is swift and efficient (they are closing in 45 minutes) and my carrot cake is really and truly lovely. It’s got an orange twist to it which is unexpected and delicious.
Uncle George gets the trio of pastries and we are jealous momentarily until once again distracted by how wonderful the carrot cake is.
All throughout, there’s a live orchestra playing. It is all so very peaceful and mellow.
We leave refreshed, but we are happy to never see another Corinthian column again as long as we all shall live.
The Verdict: The Pump Room in Bath is excellent for a place that could easily be a tourist trap.
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Posted in Bath, Desserts & Sweets | 3 Comments
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