The Victim: Roger, whom I met on the Internet. Chowhound, that is.

The Damage: £60ish?

Lifestyles&Vistas – Go To The Crossroads

The Background: So one night, I think I came home from somewhere and was trolling Chowhound, trying to help the legions of American tourists find the best fish and chips in London. (I haven’t found it yet. I like the Golden Hind, but the fries are crap.) I saw this post from Roger, saying that he was in town for a few days and his dinner plans had fallen through and did anyone want to join him at Marco. Feeling adventurous, I said yes and spent a lovely evening with the very interesting and foodie-lific Roger, sometime travel agent, sometime chef, and writer of the culinary sorts.

And I am a terrible person because I’ve–once again–ignored my mother’s advice and neglected to send a follow-up thank you note. (Sarah, if you’re reading this, I’m sending you one, I promise. Your gifts were perfect and wonderfully unexpected. You shouldn’t have.)

The Entrance: I meet Roger at his hotel, which is conveniently located right next to Marco. Roger, you didn’t know this, but I had to send many texts to my friend Feathers to let her know that you are a wonderful person and that you were not going to murder me between courses of foie gras.

Friends are funny that way.

We head over to the restaurant and I like it upon entering. You know I am a sucker for tilework. I like the floor. I like the ladies loo (although for a new restaurant, those stall doors should close). I like my kir royale at the bar. In short, we are off to a good start.

The Food: Ah, never, never wait a while before writing your review. I remember that Roger had the scallops and they looked fun. It was a generous portion. I tried a bit and they were really nice. I want to say I had something salmon-y? And that it was nice? But not so nice that I will remember it forever. Sigh.

More about The Food: The maitre’d recommends the pigeon stuffed with foie gras. He says it’s amazing. I like pigeon. I’ve come a long way from that day in 2000 in that terrible hotel in Southern China where they wheeled the deep-fried pigeon around the lazy susan in front of me and I refused to eat it.

Pigeons, I declared, are dirty birds! Rats with wings!

But then I went to France (many times) and become a sucker for pigeon. (Which you must, of course, pronounce not as pij-un but rather pij-EE-ohn. It makes all the difference.) 

So I am excited for my pigeon at Marco. So very excited. And then it arrives. And it’s pigeon wrapped in cabbage. And I somehow missed that cabbage part. Now I like cabbage…I like kimchee. So I give it a shot. And well, not only is it wrapped in cabbage, but it’s also very very plain. This dish, that I thought would be so amazingly decadent and delicious, NEEDS SALT. And I feel a little bad about putting salt on Marco’s creation. So I don’t. But hindsight–which is always 20/20–says I should have. Hmmm. (And now I wonder because I just read Marina’s review in the Metro and she says the pigeon is the best dish she had.)

The Dessert: Now this, I remember! We split a lemon tart (only one of my favorite things in the entire world) and a tarte tatin for two. The lemon tart was really really lovely. I prefer mine a little more solid, but still, this was a great lemon tart. The tarte tatin was a little OTT for me. (OTT = Over the Top. Just in case you didn’t know that.) Many people would like it though. And I didn’t dislike it. It was just too too much, if you know what I mean.

The Verdict: You know, if Chelsea (the team) invited me to lunch, or someone going to a Chelsea match invited me to lunch, I’d go back to Marco. But I can’t imagine that happening anytime soon. So there’s that.

The post Yes, That Marco: Marco first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Friday, March 17th

The Victims: Feathers, Feathers’ Boy

The Damage: 20 quid each

We were trying really hard to celebrate St. Pat’s. We started off in Marylebone in a bar packed to the rafters with young and old men. Only a handful of women in attendance. And Feathers and I were probably half of the handful.

Feathers’ Boy arrived and we called for a change of venue. Boy suggested Brogan’s in Fulham, so we headed west. The bar was lightly packed upon arrival, but two Guinness (or was it three?) later, it was HEAVING. And we were hungry. And well, our feet hurt from standing for so long. Also at this point, we had lost track of the number of beverages consumed, which suggested that food was not really an option anymore–it was a necessity.

We figured our chances of a good meal were slim on a night like this, but we wandered right into Bodeans and were seated immediately with no probs whatsover. They had just opened two weeks earlier. Love the booths at Bodeans…big leather six-seaters. (I wonder if they make people double-up and introduce strangers in order to make the most of their capacity?)

Service was quick and friendly. Very cute, tool. We quickly placed three orders for baby backed ribs. I got the fries and the beans, Feathers went with the corn muffins, and Feathers’ Boy also opted for fries. Also a side of nachos.

My beans were FANTASTIC. Really, really good. Fries were fine. Corn bread muffins were delicious. They were suspiciously perfectly formed, which does make me wonder a bit about their origin. But who cares when they taste so delicious.

Loved the assortment of BBQ sauces. Loved the Sam Adams. NASN was on while we were there, so we caught some Final 4 action.

Now–the ribs. See, the only place I really eat ribs are at Flanagan’s in Fort Lauderdale. These ribs are so lucious. They fall off the bone. And they just the right amount of sauce on them–you’re not swimming in it.

Not so at Bodean’s. They ribs were smokey and firm. Nothing falling off the bone. It’s not that they weren’t meaty…they were quite meaty. But they were just not super-tender. We later spoke to the catering manager, and he explained that most places in the US steam their ribs first and then grill them. That wasn’t his preferred way of enjoying ribs, so Bodean’s doesn’t do it that way. I’m not saying the ribs were bad–they were quite tasty–but I think I like my ribs steamed. And with a bit more sauce to them. (The Bodean’s preparation meant that you had to put the sauce on the ribs yourself. I like my ribs cooked in the sauce.)

I’ve skipped the nachos though–oh boy, they were good. Great chips. The right amount of cheese and sour cream. I think I could have used some refried beans in the pile–or maybe some ground meat. But these puppies were sufficiently delicious without either.

The Verdict: Worth it for the beans and the nachos. Verdict out on the ribs–just not my style. Oh yes, I also found Bodean’s to be a really good value. I was surprised by the prices–our 1/2 racks were 8.95, and came with 2 sides. In the US, this would easily be more like 12.95+.

The post BBQ: Bodean’s first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

The Victims: Becky, Jill

Date of Last Visit: Wednesday, March 30th

Ah, Chile. Ah, Pisco Sours and Casillero del Diablo and sun everywhere! It was fantastic. But that was 2002, and this is 2005 and I am not in Chile anymore. So Becky and I had been meaning to meet up for a while, and Jill has just moved to town from Paris. So I had read such great things about 1492 and off I went.

After an adventurous taxi ride–who knew Fulham was so close to Parson’s Green yet so far from The City–I made it to 1492 just a few minutes late. The decor was nice and welcoming–a little Breckenridge thing going on, but without the moose. Lots of brown leather and wood.

The waiter showed us to our table and called us Senoritas. I said "Gracias, Senor," and he actually corrected me with "Senorito." Uh, okay. Maybe there’s some operation going on there? He was a bit spacey (which seems to be a trend) and later forgot our sparkling water.

I ordered the Pisco Sour–just like Chile–and was pleasantly surprised by the size of the portion. Jill and Becky stuck with white wine. We ordered a mixed plate of hams and olives and anchovies (who knew they were so tasty?) and red peppers and cheese. Good nibbles. We also ordered empanadas, and I must say that I was disappointed that only three came on the plate. I expected more!

For entrees, Jill and I opted for the steak. Mine was served a little less than medium, but it was on some sort of metal platter which was very hot, so I was able to sear slices of steak to bring it up to less than bloody. Also, it came with some delicious buttery garlic-y sauce-y-sauce. Yummy. My side was spinach and it was honestly almost as good as the Spinach at Brindisa. A few pine nuts and it would have been perfect. Good stuff.

We skipped dessert and instead got some coffee and chatted a bit about life and everything else. All in all, a delightful evening.

The Damage: 30 GBP each.

The Verdict: My food was good. I was pleased. It wasn’t melt-in-my-mouth delicious, but it was good. I would go back potentially if I were in the ‘hood.

The post Something South American: 1492 first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.