The Sunday Roast

When hearing that I would be living in Ealing one of the suggestions made to me was that I find a local pub and try their Sunday roasts.  At first I was a bit perplexed, pubs serve beer and snack food, but here they have full menus with extraordinarily talented chefs.  After whining for several weeks about wanting to eat one, Jason finally gave in and agreed to go to dinner with me at a pub called The Grove. They had fantastic ratings on their sunday roast and I saved my apetite for a delicious and well earned meal (I've gotten A's on all my assignments thus far in school!).  They offered a pork roast, a chicken roast, and a traditional roast beef.  Going for the authenticity factor and surveying the tables around me; I chose the roast beef.  This has been one of the better decisions I've made thus far in the London.  The mix of perfectly roasted vegetables and mouthwateringly tender slices of roast beef topped with an absolutely beautiful yorkshire pudding was phenomenal.  I made sure that I joined the clean plate club that evening.  I savored every single bite from that meal and am literally salivating thinking about it right now.  If only I had more Sundays here in the London and didn't discover this gem so late into the trip, I would be eating roasts every Sunday all over the city.

Sorry for the phone snapshot!

   A big shout out to Jason for continually taking photos of me everywhere we go!! 

Tea Time and other Snacks

While I haven't made it to a traditional English Tea yet, I have however developed a love for tea time itself.  There is nothing better than being hungry in the late afternoon and discovering that everywhere around you serves delicious tea and scones.  I have been taking full advantage of this English habit, simply because I know the instant I get home I'm going to miss clotted cream and getting served four varieties of jam with every pastry.  Since the weather has been pretty dismal since our arrival, when the sun does decide to come out I do everything in my power to be outside as much as possible.  Last week after class on Monday, Jason and I ventured to South Kensington in search of wine for him and tea for me.  We have this strange attraction to French places and ended up at another French cafe.  He ordered a class of Pinot Grigio and I opted for afternoon tea with a scone, naturally.  After sitting in class for close to four hours, the sunshine and delicious Earl Grey were precisely what I needed.  We ended up sitting there for close to two hours soaking up the sunshine and the beauty of Kensington.  Our school is located in a "posh" part of town and one of the benefits of that is the wonderful opportunities for people watching.  Seeing the yummy mummies with their strollers and the high powered business executives makes for some interesting conversation alone.

A beautiful spread in the sun 

Cat eye glasses, tea and Pinot Grigio, what more do you need?

Another afternoon that week, it was shockingly sunny again!! I had yet to explore Soho and with the help of my roommate and Jason we set off.  After walking around in the heat, and acquiring some freckles we all were starving and getting grumpy.  We ate a small place that was one time famous for being an Italian mafia headquarters, but the food was lack luster and I didn't feel particularly inclined to describe it to you.  Following the ingestion of what we'll call sustenance; we wanted to eat something that was delicious, guaranteed.  Soho has a variety of little bakeries that looked fantastic, but with the sun actually shining again we opted for gelato.  You really can't go wrong with gelato, and there is nothing better than a delicious cold snack enjoyed in the sun.  I have to say that my gelato server was quite the artist, I ordered mango, raspberry, and limon; this man served it to me with the best presentation I can imagine.  I devoured it to say the least and it completely made up for the dismal panini that preceded it.  

The most beautiful gelato one could ever eat.  

And for my last mention of snacks, how could one ever forget the pint of beer.  While not a snack in the traditional sense, here in London going to the pubs after work/school for a pint is quite a common activity.  Since I'm trying to immerse myself and experience London, I've naturally been investigating quite a few pubs.  One near me called The North Star (I've written about them before) is quickly becoming my favorite in Ealing.  The comfortable set up, good variety of beer and heated outdoor seating has appealed to me in a variety of ways.  While the cider kick is still going strong, when I venture to The North Star I always make sure my second pint of beer is something that I have never tried before, I'm not here to drink Stella every time I go to a pub.  I do have to say the Hoegaarden, while being a product of Anheuser Busch but brewed in Belgium tastes much better here than it ever could at home.  I'm also a fan of Fruili (the beer on the right) it's a raspberry wheat beer and with my love of wheat beers and fruits it's almost perfectly suited to me.  This photo is from an evening jaunt to The North Star with my roommates, where we all seemed to order beers that match our personalities.  Sara is on the right, i'm the Hoegaarden in the center, and Liz B is on the left with an Amstel.  The culture of meeting someone for a casual drink is one I've yet to experience in college and I'm beginning to really enjoy the pub atmosphere 

A beer to suit us all

Bath and Stonehenge

I promise I have not forgotten what I've been eating, but shockingly have become rather busy with schoolwork and eating.  In the time since I last posted, I made a trip out of London to Bath and to visit the Roman Baths.  Having to make it from Ealing to Kensington at an ungodly hour of the morning essentially ensured that I wouldn't be eating breakfast that morning.  So after touring Stonehenge, which has virtually nothing to eat around it, I had to wait another two hours until we got to Bath that afternoon.  Jason and I were both starving and eventually settled on a little French Cafe that was a bit further from the beaten path.  I have to say that not only have I been on a cider kick while here in London, but I've also been on a path to eat anything and everything that is seafood.  So after perusing their menu and being tempted to try foods whose names I was unfamiliar with, I eventually settled on the salmon cakes.  What a delightful decision.  They were beautifully served with tartar sauce, chips, and an acidic salad.  With how hungry I was anything at that point would have tasted delicious I'm sure, but these were some of the best salmon cakes.  The bitterness of the salad beautifully complemented the creaminess of the salmon and sauce.  Sitting in a beautiful cafe with lovely company created the perfect end to a countryside adventure.

Stonehenge!

Another view inside the Baths

My cider and Jason's standard Stella

The delectable salmon

Full view of the Roman Baths

Brinner

Food I made!

After a conversation with my father the other day where he essentially asked me if I was only eating out, I figured it was time to post about some of the food that I myself have been cooking.  Not only do I love to eat, but I also love to prepare food.  There is nothing more satisfying than bringing together a group of friends around a table to enjoy a meal.  So after a hectic week filled with clubs and pubs, a journey to Stonehenge in front of us, a Friday night family meal seemed like the perfect plan.  I really really wanted brinner and set about to feed myself, my two roommates and Jason.  Now coming from a college apartment with a barely functioning stove, I was so excited to encounter my stainless steel unit here.  The only downside?  I underestimated how well it actually works.  Things actually heat properly and quickly and you don't have to play games to adjust the heat, learning to use a functioning stove was something I never thought I'd have to reteach myself, so thank you Oakland housing for that!  My one roommate went out and bought the last remaining ingredients needed and I set about making a feast of scrambled eggs, pancakes, homefries and toast.  With a limited number of pots, I dived right in.  The potatoes were made oddly enough with lard, I was trying to buy butter the other day and didn't pay attention and low and behold lard ended up in my fridge.  Let me say that they were delicious, probably some of the best homefries that I've ever made.  The pancake batter didn't quite cooperate, and they looked a bit off, but tasted just fine.  And onto the eggs, my favorite part.  After reading a novel almost a year ago entitled Garlic and Sapphires written by a food critic, she put a recipe for the "best scrambled eggs" in there and I've been modifying her recipe ever since.  I like to think that mine may be  slightly better! The key is to continually stir the eggs, never let them sit.  They come to develop a creaminess and airiness that is actually making me crave them as I write this.  I cooked them with some butter and threw in some cheese for some added deliciousness and as an added side note eggs and cheese are probably tied as favorite foods in my world.  Toast of course is plain and straightforward, and any bread topped with some butter and raspberry jam is bound to taste delicious.  The dinner was a success and much needed bonding time amongst friends.

Look I have friends!

Shakespeare and the Borough Market

The creators of my perfect burger

So I should probably mention that I am in fact attending school while I'm here and not just eating everything that I come across, though that does sound like a rather appealing trip if you ask me.  As many of you know, and many of you don't, I've had the opportunity to take a Shakespeare class here in London.  As a literature major I actually can't think of anything that could be more exciting.  So as part of my curriculum we had to do a behind the scenes tour of the Globe Theatre.  Needless to say I have been looking forward to this exact moment since I decided to come to London.  After the wonderful tour, that lasted well into the afternoon, as the nature of my blog leads I needed to eat.  We accidentally happened upon The Borough Market, a place I had been hearing about and desperately wanted to go.  This market was less of a take and go kind of place and more where you go to buy food to prepare at home.  We walked through countless seafood stands and I probably saw every variety of vegetable that one can buy in the UK.  After walking around the stalls and planning my method of attack, I settled on a burger.  Now with all of the delicious seafood offerings before me, one might question why I choose a burger.  That was simply due to the fact I saw the butcher shop connected to this food stand, deliver fresh meat right up to them to make my burger.  It really can't get better than that.  I settled on a bacon, egg and cheese burger.  This meal is definitely going down as one of the best burgers I've ever had.  It had aged blue vein white cheddar cheese, and bacon that clearly was fresh and from a butcher -- not that stuff you buy at the grocery store and can make in a microwave.  It was heavenly.  I had to add the egg, well because I love eggs and as I've mentioned before and will probably say again, the rich creaminess of an egg yolk can transform literally any food.  I would like to say that I savored and ate this burger slowly, but it was too good for that.  I walked around the market and ate this burger in a manner that can only be described as ferocious.  Needless to say I was thrilled when we left.  I want to go back and eat seafood there, so expect another Borough Market post at some point.

The delicious creation

With Shakespeare at The Globe!!!! 

I finally made it to Harrods

The first time I laid eyes on Harrods, I knew I had to go in.  My mom used to have a green bag when I was growing up that said Harrods on the side, at that time I had no idea what it even meant.  After countless specials on VH1 during days home sick, Harrods was on my list of places I needed to go.  This was all before I even knew that they had a food court.  Once I learned that, Harrods moved its way up on the priority list and I dragged all my friends there.  When I walked into the beautiful iconic building I immediately happened upon an oyster bar.  I can't even describe how much my mouth was watering at the mere sight of the oyster bar.  I managed to pick up my jaw and continue moving my way through the countless rooms of delectables.  We managed to move away from the butcher and find heaven in a pre-made food section.  I was walking around trying to decide what exactly I would buy, it was a difficult decision.  Everything there looks delicious and everyone who works there is eagerly trying to serve you.  After I saw the oysters I was in the mood for seafood, I made my way to their "Asia" counter and proceeded to plan my attack.  I ordered a single piece of nigri tuna, and it was divine.  There is nothing more delicious than when a good piece of tuna melts on your tongue.  Needless to say I wish I had ordered about six more, but I wanted to try more than just sushi.

Delicious tuna.  

My limitless options

Nasi Goreng

After picking my sushi, I opted to select a pre-made box, with prawns and an egg over top of a heaping pile of fried rice.  It went by the name of Nasi Goreng.  I had to wait until I got home to my flat to enjoy it though.  The rice which looks plain and the dullest part of the meal was filled with hidden treasures of asparagus, peas, and carrots.  As anyone who knows me will vouch, I firmly believe that everything tastes better with an egg yolk.  This rice so benefited from the creamy deliciousness of the yolk and I crawled into my bed and ate this treat as a reward for finishing my first day of class.  I can't even begin to describe some of the wonders that I saw while walking through that food court if you can dream it, I guarantee that Harrods sells it.  There was a counter just for olives that was easily six feet long.  This is another London spot that I absolutely need to return to and hopefully eat my way through.

An olive bar that Dan would love!

I need to get a green one, but here is my first Harrods bag

Camden Markets

Delicious food in Camden

After waking up to my body's own alarm clock today, I decided it was time to begin exploring without the aide of tour guides or school.  Jason and I endeavored to go and eat in Camden Markets and check out the daytime scene there.  We successfully navigated the tube there, with only one minor hiccup and arrived in a shopping hub.  There were hundreds of people milling about selling everything and every kind of food you could ever want to eat.  Naturally that meant that I was going to stuff my face.  After walking around and evaluating our options, he decided on Chinese Food and I happily chose Indian.  They have what's called "Mix and Match" where you can put any of their options into this one container of food.  While I wasn't feeling particularly aggressive today, rest assured the next time I eat one I will be loading it with everything.  I settled for chicken tandoori, curried chicken, and some sort of chickpea dish that was literally called "chickpea dish" all piled over a healthy scooping of basmati rice.  I was literally in heaven.  It was the best Indian Food I've had ever, and that is saying something.  We picked up our little aluminum containers of food and sat down next to the river and enjoyed the sunshine and feast before us.  I think it's safe to say that London and I are happily adjusting to one another.  

My tasty Mix and Match