Londonposted in Lists and Leftovers by Kathy MaisterI love Dr Johnson's famous quote; "When a man tires of London he tires of life". It's perfect, as is London. David (my husband ) was born there and his family still lives there. We have been fortunate enough to visit London about ½ dozen times per year for the past 20 years. Theater is our first love, and traditional English food is our second love. Yes, I know for years England has had a dreadful reputation concerning food. That has all changed. My favorites are: Ploughman's Lunch-generally considered pub fare, consists of salad, cheddar cheese, crusty bread and Branston Pickle. Shandy-half beer, half lemonade. Perfect with a Ploughman's Lunch. It does sound strange to combine these two drinks, but it really works! Chocolate covered biscuts-preferably from Marks & Spencers or the ones made by Cadbury's. What can I say about butter cookies dipped in rich chocolate, oooh sooo good! Savory Pies: pork pies, Cornish pasties, steak and kidney pies. Done well, they are fabulous. Christmas Pudding with Brandy sauce, and mince meat pies; what can I say, I also love fruit cake! Some of my Favorite Places in London: Food Shopping at Harrods: I never actually buy very much here, but it is fabulous! (See Photos) Food Shopping at Marks & Spencers: Superior quality with much more accessible prices. (They advertise their award winning foods with labels like "Tart of the Year". Don't you just love it! I actually knew someone who should have won that award!) Rivoli Bar at the Ritz Hotel: Very, very romantic. Very, very expensive. The Lalique glass panels are breathtakingly beautiful.
With my sister, Marie Woolf, at the Rivoli BarWagamama: Love the name, love the noodles. The Wolsey Restaurant: Bistro fare, open about 20 hours per day serving every meal imaginable. I seem to always order the Salade Nicoise. It is done particularly well here. Their mushrooms with basil and parmesan are superb. Prêt à Manger: Sandwiches. They have great selections of normal-size sandwiches. Here in the USA sandwiches are gigantic. What's that all about? The Ivy: place to go for my most favorite dessert in the whole world, Scandinavian frozen berries with Hot White-Chocolate Sauce. (Tiny frozen berries are spread out on a dinner plate. At the table the waiter pours a mixture of hot, melted, white chocolate that has been mixed with heavy cream. The berries melt and the white chocolate cools and the dish turns into a glorious masterpiece of flavors and texture. It's the simplicity of this dessert that makes it so fantastic!) What are some of your favorite places in London? If you are new to startcooking, or are a regular visitor here, please consider subscribing for free. 19 commentsKathy (Maister) | posted on Jun 1, 2006 Shameless Hussy, I love it! Wagamama is a Japanese noodle bar which has locations all over London. I avoid the one in Harvey Nicks because I never (ever) shop there. It is a beautiful store for really (really) skinny people who are very rich. I can never find anything to fit there so it really does not inspire me to eat lunch there either! Jon Sacker | posted on Jun 3, 2006 As a Londoner, who thoroughly envoy’s his food, I can thoroughly concur that the poor reputation of British cooking is, in the main, no longer warranted, What is more, and I guess is relevant for what you are trying to do Kathy, is that there has been a knock on effect to home cooking. Not only has there been an explosion in interest fuelled by the Jamies and Nigellas, but also the range and quality of ingredients is far superior to what has ever been available before. So while Harrods is amazing, going into any decent supermarket (Waitrose is my favourite) offers an astounding array of really quality products – many of them British sourced and organic. As an aside you may be interested to know that the BBC has been running an 8 week competition to design the ultimate menu of British cooking (to be prepared for the Queen’s 80th Birthday) and it really does deomstrtae how good British cooking can now be. The menu is: Starter Smoked salmon with blinis, woodland sorrel and wild cress: Richard Corrigan (Northern Ireland) (See this link for more info) Kathy (Maister) | posted on Jun 3, 2006 So how do we get an invite to the Queen’s birthday bash? Her menu sounds fantastic! I have never actually been to a Waitrose. Are there any in Central London? I remember going to Fauchon, in Paris, where they asked if you were going to eat the fruit today or tomorrow. Then the produce person chose accordingly. It was probably the best (and the most expensive) fruit I have ever eaten. Worth every bite! The farmers market comes to my neighborhood every Tuesday and Friday throughout the summer. I am looking forward to enjoying what our Massachusetts farmers bring to the market! Wendy Leibowitz | posted on Jun 3, 2006 My favorite place in London is everyplace, especially every theater. The theater, unlike the food and the heating methods (we used to have to drop coins in a radiator) has always been superb. Have you tried any British food with scary names—e.g., spotted dick? Now, THAT would be a food series worth watching. It could run on the horror channel. Kathy (Maister) | posted on Jun 3, 2006 London Theater is always fantastic! Last week we saw Donkey’s Years which was laugh out loud, hysterically funny. Sometimes English Comedy is too English for me to get the jokes. Dawn French, (from Absolutely Fabulous) who I adore, is presently in a play called Smaller, which I just didn’t get. Many of the jokes referred to a lot of English sitcoms, and the punch lines flew right over my head! The English are great at naming food. Some of my favorites are Gentleman’s Relish, Bubble and Squeak, Toad in the Hole, and of course, Bangers and Mash! So has anyone ever made Spotted Dick? I’m thinking it is some what like Indian Pudding. Does anyone out there know? Kathy (Maister) | posted on Jun 4, 2006 Whoop! I just said Dawn French was in “Absolutely Fabulous” on TV – she wasn’t. She was in the (hilarious) “Vicar of Dibley.” You have to keep the cultural heritage right, right? Shaula Evans | posted on Jun 4, 2006 I associate Dan French and Jennifer Saunders so closely, because of French and Saunders of course, that I always flip who is who too, when it comes to AbFab and Vicar of Dibley. (Nice to know I’m not the only one. I suspect the poor things get this a lot.) I’ve never tried to make Spotted Dick from scratch, and I have to confess I don’t know what Indian Pudding is, either. (You’ve got a lot of educating to do here, Kathy!) But, I can say that my favourite reference to spotted dick is in Ken Russell’s mavelously cheesey film, Lair of the White Worm. Shaula Evans | posted on Jun 4, 2006 Oops. My brain kicked in over dinner and I realized I gave you a bad translation for wagamama. It actually comes out in English more like “incorrigible,” or “selfish and willful.” I was mixing it up with two of the other phrases we loved when I was studying Japanese as an undergrad: obazure onna, which is the correct translation of ‘shameless hussy;’ and warui mama haha, which is ‘evil step mother.’ ...but again, all very useful phrases to know in any language… Pat Evans | posted on Jun 13, 2006 I have never heard of a desert that called for small frozen berries and hot white chocolate mixed with cream,but certainly intend to wow all my friends at our cabin this summer serving my own personal version of this wonderful sounding delight. JonSacker | posted on Jun 16, 2006 To put people out of their misery, I thought I would post a recipe for spotted dick (which of course has to be served with custard – the British tomato ketchup for winter deserts). Ingredients 100g / 4oz Self Raising Flour Method
•Serve hot with custard Sorry no cup measures – this is after all a British recipe. ENJOY Wendy Leibowitz | posted on Jun 16, 2006 Many thanks! The dish sounds scrumptious, though the name is gruesomely entertaining. There was a club formed at either Oxford or Cambridge just to perpetuate the names. I thought “fish fingers” sounded both horrifying and confusing until I realized it’s just another way of saying fish sticks. Kathy (Maister) | posted on Jun 16, 2006 Thanks Jon for enlightening us Americans on an English treasure! We need some translating done. Caster sugar does not exist on grocery store shelves on this side of the pond. What is the substitute? Confectioner’s sugar? Jon Sacker | posted on Jun 17, 2006 Hmmm, interesting question and of course one of the problems in international gastronomy. I am not sure that it is confectioner’s sugar (though an Australian-American dictionary say’s it is: http://au.geocities.com/bellejazz_oz/slang.html). Caster sugar is also called superfine sugar. It is pulverized granulated sugar. It can be prepared at home by whizzing some granulated sugar in the blender. Confectioner’s sugar is what we call icing sugar – a very, very fine sugar. Hope this helps Jon Kathy (Maister) | posted on Jun 17, 2006 Thanks Jon, the mystery is solved! They also sell super-fine sugar here but not all grocery stores carry it. The next time I come across a recipe that calls for super-fine sugar I’ll now know how to make my own! Sheila Maister | posted on Feb 26, 2007 I declare an interest. My name is also Maister, and so you may guess I am related to Kathy - in fact, I am her English cousin by marriage. My favourite places to eat in London are the Turkish okasbaci restaurants, found mainly in the north and south eastern suburbs. They serve wonderful grilled meat (usually lamb, but also chicken and sometimes more exotic fare like quail and offal), cooked on skewers in front of you on a barbeque by Turkish men with fearsome looking mustaches! The meat always accompanied by freshly cooked bread and piles of salad. It's healthy, delicious - and amazingly good value! Although Turks (or, more usually, Kurds) are muslim, they have a relaxed attitude to alcohol, and you can order wine and beer, although I tend to go for Efes beer, as the quality of the wine is variable... If you find yourself in London, be adventurous. - leave the West End and try Turkish food. Some recommended places are: North/East South East
Kathy Maister | posted on Feb 28, 2007 Thanks Sheila! I definately need to be more adventurous with eating in London. Your Turkish place sounds fantastic! Cheers! Mel T | posted on Nov 9, 2007 Aw..food shopping at Harrods is fab!! Unfortunately, food was all I could buy there too - but it's amazing to look. Christmas is wonderful there too! Kathy Maister | posted on Nov 9, 2007 Much to my surprise, i was able to take tons of food photos at Harrods! They bring back mouth-watering memories! (BTW-Mel your Banana Bread recipe looks fantastic!!) Post a Comment1 trackbackTrackback URL:http://startcooking.com/trackback.php?id=9
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Shaula Evans | posted on Jun 1, 2006
I have not been to London in years and years, so I can’t say I have a “favourite”place —other than the fact that I would love to go back to the city.
But, I’m guessing that “Wagamama” must be a Japanese restaurant? Yes? Because “wagamama na onna” is Japanese for “shameless hussy.” Now there’s a useful phrase to know in any language…
PS I wish sandwiches in the US were smaller, too. I wear as much as I eat, and I find lately as my appetite decreases with the summer heat, that I can dine for half a week on one standard size restaurant dinner portion. Thank heavens for takeout boxes.