Chipotle: A bad import

Part of the excitement of starting a new job is the discovery and research of nearby lunching options. Three weeks in and I have already established a good noodle place, somewhere that makes a half decent bacon sandwich, where I can get my morning coffee and probably more importantly, considering London’s obsession with "Mexican" food, somewhere I can rely on for a decent burrito.

Therefore it was more with curiosity than actual need that I thought I would give Chipotle a go. A popular chain out in the US, its arrival in London  got people excited. American friends told me about how Chipotle would thrash the competition in London if it was anything like it was "back home". If only. You see, that was the bottom line, was it going to be a successful import? Early indications were not great and it wasn't really enticing me to try it out, but now my office was so close, I really couldn't resist.

A mere six minute stroll from my office, I strode into a restaurant in full swing. A queue had formed nearly to the door, packed with workers from the nearby area, all probably as eager as I was to try one of these famed American import burritos. I checked out the menu and my first observation was that it was slightly dearer than most of its competitors, weighing in at £6.95 for a steak burrito. Add the additional and frankly staggering sum of £1.40 for a smear of guacamole, chuck in a soft drink, and you will have forked out nearly a tenner for lunch.

The cost may be on the high side, but the chunks of meat looked the business. Nice char on the outside with a ruby pink centre, I knew it was too good to be true. I trudged back to the office, took it back to my desk and took my first bite. A wave of disappointment immediately came over me. If you want a blow by blow account, the first taste to hit you is the intense sourness. Odd and unpleasant, a heavy handed squeeze of lime assaulted my taste buds. The intense smokiness from the chipotle chilli sauce wasn't too bad but could have done with a bit more heat. You may be wondering why there has been no mention of the beef so far, mainly because it was totally tasteless and chewy. What promised so much had turned out to be chewy and bland chunks of meat. Very, very disappointed, I discarded the last few mouthfuls in disgust.

Chipotle is bad value for money. Not only is it an expensive burrito in comparison to its local rivals, but it comes nowhere near to the others in terms of flavour. It's a shame as I have heard from multiple sources that Chipotle in the US is the "dog’s danglers". I’m afraid to say, using yet another animal analogy, that London’s Chipotle is pony.

Chipotle - 114-116 Charing Cross Rd, London, UK WC2H 0JR

The London Restaurant Festival and win tickets to the Big Quiz!

Last year saw the inaugral departure for the London Restaurant Festival, an event designed to promote London Restaurants, where we saw over 450 restaurants taking part. It involved these restaurants creating a specific "festival" menu as well as special events including ones which saw Gordon Ramsay cooking on the London Eye and the return of Pierre Koffmann, who ran a "pop up" restaurant on the roof of Selfridges (which I wrote about here).

This year is no different and the London Restaurant Festival is hoping to be bigger and better. I was contacted by the PR and in full disclosure fashion, they have asked me to cover a few of the events and run a few competitions where you guys can win some stuff.

Running from the 4th to the 18th of October, and with hopefully around 800 restaurants taking part this year, this event should be bigger and better than last year. You are still going to be able to get the individual "Festival Menus", but there will also be an abundance of events such as the Gourmet Odyssey a culinary pub crawl aboard an old routemaster, and the Big Debate which will involve some of the UK's most recognised food figures shouting at each other across the table.

So first up on the give away front, I have been given two pairs of tickets (worth £100 each) for the Big Quiz on the 11th of October. This will be hosted by Rowley Leigh at his restaurant Cafe Anglais in Bayswater, and will involve the full Festival menu, as well as a night of food based quizzing.

All you need to do is leave a comment on this post, mentioning your favourite restaurant in London, and why we should go there. I will randomly draw the winners on the 1st October, so please keep an eye out then. Good luck!

OFFICIAL STUFF:


From confit to crème brulee, manuka honey to miso, grouse to gravalax, London’s
restaurants offer a delectably diverse range of flavours to tempt all tastes. The London
Restaurant Festival (4th-18th October 2010), proudly supported by American Express, is a
citywide celebration of eating out designed to encourage Londoners to make more of our
rich array of restaurants.

To celebrate, American Express has teamed up with moi to offer 2
pairs of tickets to The Big Quiz and a bottle of G.H. Mumm Cordon Rouge Champagne, the
official champagne of the London Restaurant Festival and the perfect partner to pair with
food.

The Big Quiz will be one of London Restaurant Festival's more intellectual contributions to
the capital's culinary scene! The event is hosted by Rowley Leigh, London's most cerebral
chef, at his restaurant Le Café Anglais on Monday 11th October. The Big Quiz will be an
evening of great fun and food with one of the country’s most well-known question masters
leading proceedings.

To find out more, go to londonrestaurantfestival.com

Benitos Hat: It's all about the tequila

One of the perks as a food blogger is that on occasion, you get a letter drop into your virtual inbox asking you to try a new restaurant or sample a few drinks. Many of these can be dull and no more than a simple PR exercise, but the odd one flies in and get your taste buds buzzing. When I was asked along to the new Benito’s Hat in Covent Garden to learn about tequila, make tequila cocktails and eat tacos, how could I say no?

Upon arrival, I immediately had one of their house cocktails thrust into my hand. The Paloma is slightly less "edgy" version of their standard margherita and was perfectly light and refreshing. After mingling and catching up with a few other people I recognised, we all soon settled down to an education in tequila from Alex, their consultant mixologist and teacher for the evening.

(taken by Tikichris)

A thoroughly fascinating 45 minutes followed. A potted history of tequila followed by a lowdown of all the house cocktails, with the enraptured crowd hoovering up the remains. If you ever pop in, I highly recommend the Juarez Summer Cup, a light summery drink akin to a Pimms, really delicious. After all that was said and done, we got down to the business end of this event, designing a tequila cocktail that will be on the Benito’s Hat menu for the next few months.

We settled into teams and worked away, testing our creations. As you can imagine, copious amounts of tequila require copious amounts of food, and Ben certainly did not disappoint as an unlimited flow of tacos descended. Soft tortilla and a fantastic array of meaty fillings, they were delicious but merely a distraction as my team of Tikichris, Anniemole and Cowfish feverishly developed our cocktail....the TikiLa!

The TiKiLa:

2 parts tequila

1 part triple sec

1 part horchata

3 parts crushed watermelon

Agave syrup for extra sweetness (if needed)

Shake all the ingredients together with ice (adding agave syrup to sweeten if necessary) and strain into a tumbler over fresh ice. Edge and garnish the glass with a bruised mint leaf.

This was yet another competition I was never destined to win, but I did have great fun making sure the tequila balance in our cocktail was just right, as well as stuffing my face with tacos. I would definitely try out our cocktail; we were all big fans and will definitely be making it again in a less competitive environment.

I have been quite an advocate of Benito’s Hat for quite some time. With the huge influx of restaurants peddling burritos and other food items of Mexican origin, you are going to get your fair share of "bad heuvos". Alongside Chilango, I don't really think that there are any better, and since I work a mere two minutes away, you will often see me in the queue sampling one of their excellent chicken tacos. Thanks Ben and keep up the good work!

Benitos Hat - 19 New Row, Covent Garden WC2N

(for a more booze focused account of this event, please check out Billys Booze Blog)

A taste of Tuscany: Tinello, Pimlico

It's not often I am made aware of a new place to eat by my sister. She's normally more interested in jewellery and bags (it's her job and hobby) but was pleasantly surprised when she suggested an outing to a new Italian restaurant in Pimlico. A joint venture between the founders of Locanda Locatelli and two of their former employees, it focuses on Tuscan flavours and is located a short stroll from Sloane Square.

The restaurant itself is exactly how you would expect a restaurant on the Pimlico Road to be, full of middle aged people who look like they have plenty of money. My sisters fashion radar went into overdrive, spotting Louboutins left right and centre (these are shoes, right?), and a sure-fire sign that the clientele are members of the well to do. The space itself is relatively compact and has the appearance of being rather dark, but most tables have their own lamps hanging overhead, shining enough light on the table to be able to determine what you are eating.

The menu appears to be relatively standard for an Italian restaurant, indicating anti pasti, pasta and secondi, with the addition of a selection of small plates. Between the three of us, we ordered all the small plates and sat back waiting for the feast to begin. It didn’t take long before all the plates came out and what landed on the table really was quite a diverse selection of food. From the creamy and rich chicken livers on crostini, to the fishy and crisp cuttlefish deep fried with a little of its own ink. Every small plate had merits in its own right but I think my favourite was the panzanella, a simple salad made with stale bread, rich with that sharp vinegary tang. Oh, and look out for the burrata, an incredibly soft and creamy mozzarella, and well worth a try.

After the rapid demise of the contents of the small plates, and after a short wait, our mains touched down on our table. My sister had opted for the paccheri with nduja (a smoky Italian sausage) and burrata, whilst our other dining companion had opted for the chicken. However, all eyes were instantly on my main, a tender filet of beef served with girolles on a bed of Swiss chard. The piece of beef was probably the most tender and buttery piece of meat ever to have graced my lips. The outside was perfectly seared with the meat inside a glorious ruby pink. Every bite was silky smooth and combined with the slightly bitter chard and the earthy girolles, I happily munched away quietly, a certified sign of a happy diner.

I had a few nibbles from everyone's plates and the general consensus was very good overall. I ended with some ice cream and sorbet which was made in house but was sadly a little disappointed. The "Malaga" or rum and raisin flavour ice cream was pleasant enough but was way too sweet, and the yoghurt ice cream just wasn't my cup of tea. Raspberry sorbet was again nice enough, but lacked a deep raspberry flavour.

I had read a few comments on Twitter about Tinello before I went which had started to paint a rather lacklustre picture, but I am happy to report that my experience there was rather good. I really enjoyed the variety of "small plates" and at a couple of pounds each, they are extremely good value. My main was one of the best I have tasted all year and it was only the disappointing ice cream that let down my meal. And the best thing about the meal? The cost. For all that we ate, albeit with only one beer under the drinks column, the total came to £75, a mere £25 a head. For the amount of food we ate, I thought this was excellent value. I shall be returning soon.

Tinello - 87 Pimlico Road, London SW1W 8PH

The London Particular, New Cross

One of my favourite things in the world is to find a nice cafe, settle in with a coffee and a bite to eat, and while away a gentle afternoon without a care in the world. I seem to have an abundance of these little cafes around where I live, maybe a subconscious reason why I refuse to move away! The last few months has seen an influx of new independently run places, with No 67 on Peckham road my current favourite.

The London Particular is a welcome addition to the relatively bare stretch between New Cross and New Cross Gate stations. Selling "healthy" food in bowls seems like a bit of an odd selling point for a cafe but seems to work as the little place was crammed when I visited. With one big table, and 2 smaller tables (one outside), it reaches capacity pretty quickly but feels cosy and welcoming.

The food itself is pretty simple with sandwiches and salads dominating the menu, with their own blend of "Particular" coffee on the menu. I know that my fellow diners were slightly disappointed that they had run out of their brioche pizza (probably my fault as I was late), but we all opted for the bacon and sausage sandwiches.

This is where it all falls apart a little. For a small place, the service was painfully slow. Once we had finally managed to order, we had another excruciating wait before our sandwiches decided to reveal themselves. Although the "Banger Sanger" arrived with a salad comprising of squash, chickpeas and cauliflower, the bacon sandwiches didn't. We had requested that this also came with a side salad, but instead arrived on its own and we were charged an extra £3 for the privilege.

"Jon's BAD vegetarian" sandwich was a halloumi and bacon sandwich. This was a most excellent bacon sandwich between two slices of soft, bouncy and flavourful white bread. Alongside a well made cappuccino, I took a few moments to myself as I slowly savoured each bite, and just for a little while, all this little cafes shortcomings were forgotten.

The London Particular is exactly what the area needs, a nice little place that people can chill out in, eat nice food, drink good coffee. The surrounding area is a bit of a wasteland and other than the Venue (never go there), has no discernible landmarks or real points of interest. It's still early days so hopefully the issues I encountered will be ironed out but I wish it well and is definitely worth a visit if you ever find yourself in New Cross.

The London Particular - 399 New Cross Road, London SE14 6LA

A Bombay cafe in London: Dishoom abridged

I go to lots of places to eat, all in the name of research *ahem*, but finding the time and energy to write them all up can be quite draining. I know, I am just making excuses, and I like to waffle on with the best of them. After all I spent three years at university doing a Geography degree perfecting the art of writing 3000 words on nothing much at all. However, I realise that not everyone wants to read an essay (and hell, I don't want to write one) so I will make an effort to post more regularly, but write less.

Dishoom is a Bombay cafe located in the heartland that is Upper St Martins lane, very handily located in between Covent Garden and Leicester Square. After a fair outporing of love on twitter, I felt a visit was required and popped in for a quick dinner. Ordering way too much seems to be my modus operandi and between me and my friend, probably ordered enough for three.

A variety of dishes landed in front of us at an alarming rate. Within 5 minutes of ordering, our entire order of breads, meats, sides and dal appeared on our table. I now understood the little metal stand brought to our table, used to stack dishes on top of each other. Our table simply wouldn't have coped. Highlight for me was a delicious chicken tikka, nicely spiced with a nice char, although all the food was competent and enjoyable.

I find it very hard to gush about Dishoom but I did enjoy my ultra quick meal. A handy place for a quick tasty dinner and a darn sight better than nearly every other place in the immediate vicinity. At just under £50 for enough food for about two and a half people plus 3 cocktails, it's pretty decent value and well worth a visit.

Dishoom - 12 Upper St Martins Lane, WC2H 9FB

Number 67: Yet another South East London gem

If you, like me, are ruled by your belly, I don't think there has been a better time to live in the south east of London. There have been so many new restaurants and revamps that eating out around here has become an utter joy. I always try to look out for new places opening near me, and when I heard that there was a new cafe (from none other than the Camberwell Blog) opening next to the South London Gallery a short stroll from my house, I had to go and check it out.

The cafe itself is integrated with the South London Gallery, taking up various rooms and areas inside and out. I was slightly confused with the layout, but it is just meant to be a cafe, so I headed out towards the back and got a small table outside. The menu itself is quite an interesting beast. It's definitely on the slightly pricy side, with its "Full Spanglish" hitting the dizzy heights of £8 for breakfast. Definitely not Peckham prices! Then again, the selection on the menu had my mouth watering and I opted for a few smaller plates to see what this place was all about.

Saturday is brunch day and I wasn't letting the fact that it was nearly 2pm stop me from getting some sort of eggs and pig. The jamon and scrambled egg won that contest easily and arrived perched on a massive slice of toasted sourdough. I had to stop myself from scoffing this all immediately and making an unholy mess out of myself. The velvety scrambled eggs and what I think was Serrano ham was a modern twist on the more traditional ham and eggs. With the eggs slightly underseasoned, but coming together with perfect balance once the ham was added to the mouthful, I quietly devoured this all.

On the side, I ordered a portion of their pork rillettes, a personal favourite dish. When it arrived, I was seriously worried that I had over ordered but as soon as I took one mouthful of that silky pork, the food stood absolutely no chance. The pork arrived in a huge mound with some cornichons on the side to provide a vinegary contrast to the smooth and rich meat. More slices of sourdough were doused with an intensely grassy olive oil, bringing together an excellent contrast in flavours and textures.

Suffice to say I really enjoyed No 67. It has been a long time since I found somewhere which actually made me smile, and having it so close to my front door is just an added bonus. Open for lunch during the week and brunch at the weekends, you even get to take in the delights of the gallery next door. Another great addition to an already fabulous area.

Number 67 - 67 Peckham Road, London SE5 8UH

Ice Cream Season: Gelupo and Chin Chin Laboratorists

(Llandudno Beach, Cape Town. Not London)

It is a God given fact that the Sun and London do not go together. Hardly a summer passes by where we don't hear at least one complaint of how rubbish it all was. Imagine my chagrin as I sat on a sunny South African beach, revelling in the fact that this year I didn't need to cope with London's highly changeable weather, only to find out that my home had been bathed in sunlight for days on end. However, as much as I was enjoying my trip, the thought of a sunny London just made going home a lot easier.

(A very respectable pistachio ice cream from Oddono's)

Nothing complements the sunny weather better than an ice cold ice cream to cool you down. Ice cream has been proven to contain medicinal qualities (this may be made up) and can be prescribed as a cure for heat stroke or melancholy (this is a fact). As the sun appears to have crept up on London, so have a handful of ice cream parlours. With Scoop initially leading the way with their branch in Covent Garden and now one in Soho, we have seen various other ice cream parlours or "gelateria" (for the softer and creamier Italian versions) pop up.

One that has received a flurry of good reviews has been Gelupo on Archer Street. Little sister to Bocca di Lupo (a "regional Italian restaurant") across the road, the premises are dedicated to "gelati, sorbets and granita" with a shop selling a smattering of Italian comestibles. With the waitress thrusting tasters upon me (it would have been rude to decline), I had a taste of the pistachio (nutty and sweet) and the slightly less standard Bonet (essentially a combination of rum, amaretti, coffee, chocolate).

Soon enough, a choice had to be made so I opted for another firm favourite flavour in hazelnut and something a bit different with the ricotta, coffee and honey flavour. The hazelnut was all I could hope for. I am a big fan of nut based ice creams, and this had all the nutty characteristics you would expect, alongside the sweet creaminess that only a good gelato can deliver. The ricotta, coffee and honey was a stunning combination of flavours, with the coffee and honey being two quite unexpected but entirely complementary bedfellows.

My compatriots opted for a variety of the sorbets and granitas, and although they commented that their offerings may have been erring on the sweet side, I was incredibly satisfied with their creamier offerings. At £3 for a medium cup, it's not totally extortionate and the perfect remedy for a hot stroll around Soho.

A few days later, it was time for another (totally different) adventure, this time in the badlands of Camden. After strolling past the hordes of tourists perusing shops offering piercing, tattoos and leather goods (an interesting assortment of London souvenirs, I’m sure you will agree), we approached the iconic Camden Lock. Here you will find the Chin Chin Laboratorists, apparently Londons first liquid nitrogen ice cream parlour.

My ultra scientific explanation is that liquid nitrogen is seriously cold. Mixing it together with cream whilst it is being whisked around makes ice cream in mere minutes, with the liquid nitrogen turning into gas and evaporating off. Trust me, go and listen to the explanation given by Ahrash, one half of the duo behind this venture, it will make a tonne more sense. As he studiously prepares the ice cream, he chats to you and answers any questions that you may have. This just added to the charm of the place.

The choice isn't vast but with two standard flavours (vanilla and choc I think) and one guest flavour every day (with other flavours in development) it should get your whistle well and truly whetted. And besides, once the show with the liquid nitrogen is over, you get to chat with Nyisha, co-owner and partner, who will jazz up your ice cream with whatever you desire from the toppings that are available. I opted for salted caramel sauce and some nibbed hazelnuts.

I can't say that the ice cream taste any different than what I would expect from a premium ice cream, but it was still an excellent rendition of vanilla ice cream and the toppings were a wonderful addition. At £4, this is a bit more expensive than other ice cream parlours, but then again, do you get theatre and education there? As well was chatting to the two lovely people behind the counter? I thought not.

There are tonnes more ice cream places in London and I will endeavour to check a few out before the summer is out and we are back in our thick warm winter coats (so probably some time in September). If you have any personal favourites, please let me know!

Gelupo - 7 Archer Street, London W1D 7AU

Chin Chin Laboratorists - 49-50 Camden Lock Place

NomNomNom 2010: Yup, I entered a cooking competition and it didn't end well

All that was running through my head was "What am I doing here?". After two and a half hours slaving away, chopping, slicing, freezing, boiling, mixing and other things ending with "-ing", I surveyed a sloppy custard tart in front of me and could have cried.

So how did it come to this exactly? Actually, it all started approximately 12 months ago. Back in the day when I was a blogging newcomer, a fair few of my new found friends entered a competition called "NomNomNom". A competition with that many "Nom's" in its name has got to be worth entering, right? With tales of madcap dashing around in the markets, burning things and general tales of drunken antics, I told myself that this would be the stage to prove that I could cook, to prove that I wasn't a total buffoon in the kitchen, to prove that I was capable of more than just writing about restaurants.

Courtesy of Tikichris

Twelve months later and the trumpet sounded. "All who would dare compete for the prize of most illustrious NomNomNommer, please apply here". Finding a partner was easy. I have already cooked with Carla from Bribedwithfood a few times, and although often considered no more than her "bitch", we entered together under the moniker of "The Cultural Hotpot", two people with more cultural ambiguity than a Benetton ad.

The prep did not start well. During the four weeks between entering and the actual day of reckoning, I spent 3 of them traipsing around South Africa, leaving me woefully underprepared. Thankfully, Carla had put in a few trial runs of the starter and the main, with the rather ambitous Strawberry Custard tart with Pimms sorbet in my hands. Two and half hours to make pastry, a set custard and a sorbet? In hindsight, this was a pretty insane proposition as I was soon to find out.

Arriving early at The Cookery School on Little Portland Street on a Sunday morning, we gathered our shopping bags, outlined our stock ingredients and set off for the market at a feverish pace. Marylebone farmers market can be found hidden away behind Waitrose every Sunday (10am to 2pm) and we managed to purchase some delicious (if pricy) vegetables and fruits before heading to the Ginger Pig for some pork to be used in the main and Waitrose for the last few ingredients we could not locate.

A swift return and a health and safety briefing later, it was time to show the world what a culinary genius I was. That was the moment everything started to go wrong. After calmly telling Carla that it didn't matter if we won, my insanely competetive instinct took over but I could not avoid the juggernaut of relative failure. First there was too much sugar in the sorbet, then I had run out of yolks for the custard and had to borrow one, then the cornstarch wasn't getting cooked. Error after error presented themselves to me, all of which could have been avoided with a simple trial run or two. Carla calmly went about her business and presented two excellent plates of food, whilst I surveyed my sad sloppy tart. I was a broken man, staring down at my custardy mess as others around me presented plates upon plates of highly "nommable" plates of food.

We didn't win, but we certainly had put our heart and soul into our food. I was severely disappointed with what I had done, but I always learn from my mistakes and next time I can guarantee that my strawberry custard tart will be error free (or at the very least, served in smaller pastry cases, and maybe a seperate glass for the Pimms "granita"). We proceeded to stuff our faces with everyone elses food and sat around a huge dinner table, chatting and drinking. After an agonising wait, the winners were announced and the rather hefty prizes were dished out, with a triumphant Food Urchin and Rachel McCormack taking first prize.

This is not where the story ends. The competition had many kind and generous contributors for prizes and the ultimate aim is to raise some cash for Action Against Hunger, a very worthy charity. If you want to do your bit, and maybe win a selection of amazing prizes, click right here which will take you through to an excellent raffle where you can win an array of food, kitchen utensils and...well....more food!

Thanks to Mex and all at the Cookery school (especially Ros and Claudine) for giving up their free time. Oh, and we can't forget all the lovely people who donated prizes and lovely things to put into our heaving goodie bags (a full list can be found here). Next year, I will be better prepared and will (maybe) win. Be warned ;)

p.s. If you want to see any more of my photos, you can find them here. Recipes to follow.