City Eating

Circus Eats: Great Food At Bargain Prices In Stratford

Stratford like other previously unloved bits of London, is being regenerated. It’s all to do with the Olympics in 2012, I suppose, and it’s going rather well. Smart blocks of flats are already filling up with City slickers who can commute to Liverpool Street in 15 minutes on a good day, and the bones of another Westfield shopping centre are already in place. (Though why it’s not going to be called Eastfield is unclear.)

A short walk from the station is the ‘cultural quarter’; home to the Picture House, the Theatre Royal and Stratford Circus - a youth-focused performing arts centre, which is where we were headed on a chilly Tuesday evening. On the ground floor, effectively in the foyer, is the centre’s café bar - Circus Eats - which promises good wholesome food at affordable prices. “Call me cynical,” said my companion, “but in London, cheap food is usually bad food.” Well, luckily for us and the locals, that certainly isn’t the case here.

The weekly changing menu is concise and clearly aimed at East London’s multicultural masses, with international dishes like Polish stew and West African jollof rice and jerk chicken thighs on offer. There are ‘light bites’ available until 6pm, as well as their popular interpretation of school lunch - a bargain at £4.50 for two courses.

We began with pea soup and prawns with a fresh and flavoursome salsa. The prawns, sourced from nearby Billingsgate Market, were deliciously plump, juicy and a big hit with my friend, who left only a neat stack of shells. My soup, vividly green in colour and drizzled with truffle oil, was well seasoned and tasted genuinely nourishing. Served with a chunk of rustic bread, it was an honest warming winter dish - though I’d have liked it passed through a sieve to get rid of those pesky pea skins.

Best Of Three: Celebrate Thanksgiving, London Style

This Thursday; families, friends and food fans across the USA will sit down together to give thanks and feast on traditional treats like roast turkey and pumpkin pie. Why not join in the fun? Whether you’re  an ex-pat or just looking for an excuse to chow down, here are our top three places to celebrate Thanksgiving in London.

1) The Albemarle, tucked away inside the seriously stylish Brown’s Hotel, is offering a full Thanksgiving menu priced at £45. It begins with pumpkin soup and a cinnamon muffin, followed by roast Holy Farm turkey with creamed sweetcorn, caramelised sweet potato and cranberry sauce. Make sure you save room for dessert – sinfully sweet pecan and bourbon pie with clotted cream.

2) City slickers can give thanks at Missouri Angel near Tower Hill, which serves the best of American cuisine all year round. Their menu is priced at £35 and begins with a choice of roast parsnip soup, Louisiana shrimp, or classic Waldorf salad. For mains, there’s roast turkey, blackened rib-eye steak, or sea bass – all served with seasonal veg. Pumpkin pie, pecan maple tart or chocolate fondant should round things off nicely.

3) For an American feast with an Italian twist, try Tentazioni - a favourite with London Bridge locals. Their £36 menu includes dishes like pumpkin ravioli with butter and sage, roast turkey with cornbread stuffing, and pumpkin pie with vanilla ice-cream.

If none of the above appeal, there are Thanksgiving menus available at Smollensky’s on the Strand, Harvey Nichol’s Fifth Floor Restaurant, Bodean’s, and Eagle Bar Diner. Just think, with all that turkey on offer – it’s like a dry run for Christmas Day. Elasticated waistbands here we come!

Five Foodie Adventures In London This Weekend

1) From Friday to Sunday, the Barbican Centre is hosting the French Wine Grower’s Fair, where 130 wine-growers from will showcase over 500 new wines. All of the French wine-producing regions will be   represented, as well as British wine-growers based in France. For just £10 per ticket (if you print the voucher from the website); you can meet the wine-growers, sample an unlimited amount of wine and purchase your new favourites at producer prices. Perfect for stocking the cellar for a credit crunch Christmas!

2) From November 21st, you can kick start your festive spirit at the Cologne Christmas Market at the Southbank Centre. Open from 10am to 10pm, it’s a great place to pick up some unusual gifts or treat the kids to a carousel ride and a visit to Santa’s Grotto. Parents can relax with a glass of Glühwein (German mulled wine) and enjoy seasonal specialties like bratwurst, gingerbread, roasted almonds, delicious crepes and Kölsch (Cologne beer).

3) It’s your last chance to sample the Rajasthani menu at Mela’s Covent Garden and Herne Hill branches. To celebrate Diwali, the festival of light, the Chefs are serving up dishes like venison nizami kebab; jhinga jaipuri (jumbo prawns with chilli, coriander and saffron); and lal mass, a spicy lamb curry in a blend of spices, onions and tomatoes. If you’re short on cash, you can drop in for lunch when they’re offering a reasonably priced set menu of three courses for £17.50.

4) The excellent Somerset House ice-rink is now open but if you’re not into frozen fingers and falling over, you can always head for the Skate Café and Bar instead. Here you can feast on daily changing soups, pies and hot dogs; or just warm up with a glass of mulled wine or an apple toddy. We recommend the sinfully rich hot chocolate with marshmallows, whipped cream and a cheeky shot.

5) Why not try out a new restaurant? There have been lots of notable openings recently, including some high profile gems like Corrigan’s Mayfair, The Hat and Tun, Trishna, Indali Lounge, and Cinnamon Kitchen. We’ve also been hearing good things about Inamo – the restaurant with computer screen tables that allow you to order, pick a tablecloth design and play Battleship. Yes, it is a bit of a gimmick but they’re serving up some seriously tasty pan-Asian food so it’s definitely worth a try!

World Burger Week At Eagle Bar Diner

From November 24th, the Eagle Bar Diner is taking burger fans on a trip around the world with a different internationally inspired burger each day and a matching cocktail created by mixologist Simon Delbosc.

 

The week kicks off with Chef Philip Hunter's tribute to the West Indies - a spicy Jamaican Jerk Chicken burger, washed down with a Calypso Caribbean martini.

On Tuesday, they're crossing the Atlantic for a Moroccan lamb and apricot burger, and an exotic Souk Martini made from camomile vodka and mint tea syrup; while Wednesday's visit is to Europe for a Hungarian pork burger with smoked paprika and apple.

On Thursday it's back to the USA – birthplace of the diner - to celebrate Thanksgiving. Try the 6oz prime beer burger flamed with Woodford Reserve and topped with Monterey cheese, followed by an Apple Martini - a classic blend of bourbon, maple syrup, mint and apple.

It's back to Britain on Friday for a Lincolnshire game burger with watercress and forest fruit compote, accompanied by the intriguingly named Tweed Martini. Finally, head east for the weekend with a red chilli, yoghurt and coriander Bangkok Burger and a Thai delight cocktail of vodka, lychee and coconut cream.

Even the most hardcore burger connoisseur will struggle to eat all six, so why not pick your favourite and drag some friends along for a patty party? We recommend sticking around in the bar after dinner for one of their infamous $10 shakes. It’s classic vanilla with a big ol’ slug of bourbon – delicious and deceptively lethal!

Live Blog: BBC Good Food Show 2008

After a long and arduous journey, we’re finally here - blogging live from the BBC Good Food Show 2008. It’s incredibly busy and we’re having some trouble wading through the coach-loads of ravenous senior citizens and GCSE domestic science students, but we’ve already done a full sweep of the mezzanine level - which is cooler, less crowded and full of great British produce. Here’s some of the highlights from our early morning tastings:

- Two glasses of rose champagne from the Moet & Chandon bar - a wonderful way to start the day, but not cheap at £9.95 per (plastic) flute.

- Dips and marinades from DW Dips - these are tasty powders that you can rub into meat, mix with oil for an easy marinade, or add to stir-frys. The Garlic & Herb mixed into a dip is a far cry from anything you’ll get in a supermarket and the spicier Middle Eastern options will be great for barbecues.

- Unpasteurised, cellar-matured Winterdale Shaw - an incredibly smooth hard cheese from Kent. Made just miles from London, this is local produce at it’s best.

- Mature cheddar from Somerset, also unpasteurised - a strong flavour but without the unpleasant harshness of factory-made alternatives. Highly recommended - look out for the lovely lady at Keen’s Cheddar.

- Easy to use Asian sauce pouches from Passage Foods - not synthetic at all and perfect for lazy mid-week dinners. Don’t miss out on the butter chicken simmer sauce or the tom yum pouch. At £1 each, they’re a bargain!

- There’s plenty of chocolate about but our favourite so far is the organic stuff from Cocoa Loco. Bag a brownie and some of their white chocolate with chilli before it's all gone! Also highly recommended is the award-winning Angel Chocolates from the Yorkshire Dales - we’ve just bagged some of their unbelievably creamy milk chocolate slabs.

- Finally, Anila’s Authentic Indian Sauces. It’s a family business serving up some seriously spicy curry sauces, but the Goan option is a milder option packed full of green herbs to give it a light but bold flavour.

Appetites suitably whet, we’re off to the Restaurant Experience to see what London’s top restaurants have to offer. Back soon!

Seasonal Treats: Three Of The Best Nights Out In November

It may feel like London is just counting the days until Christmas, but there’s still plenty of time to have some fun in November.

The Betjeman Arms will be marking the new St Pancras Station’s first birthday with a weekend-long ale festival from November 6th to 8th. The gastropub will be paying special attention to drinks that can still arrive at the Betjeman by rail – including a whole range of ciders and traditional ales, alongside their usual menu of pub grub favourites.

On November 21st, 12 Temple Place is hosting an elegant evening of dinner and dancing, starting at 7pm with a champagne reception. The four-course menu includes spiced pumpkin soup; roast scallop with black pudding mash; beef wellington with glazed potato, roasted salsify and sautéed wild mushrooms; and Earl Grey Tea chocolate fondant. The vegetarian menu features Union beer and butternut casserole, and semolina dumplings with mushrooms, mizuna and sorrel. Tickets are priced at £89 per person and the dress code is black tie, so it’s a great opportunity to give your festive finery a trial run before the party season gets into full swing.

To celebrate St. Andrew’s Day, London’s favourite Scottish restaurant – Albannach – is hosting a highland fling on the 29th. A bagpiper will herald guests’ arrival and all guests wearing a kilt will receive a complimentary bottle of the Albannach Whisky Beer and be entered into a best kilt competition, with a chance to win dinner for two.

The evening will begin with a reception in the lounge bar, adorned with Scottish heather and tartans for the occasion, and the menu for the evening is a five-course feast that showcases the best produce from north of the border. It includes terrine of Highland rabbit; traditional haggis with neeps and tatties; and loin of highland venison with thyme potato cake and parsnip puree. Dessert will take the form of decadent miniatures and lovers of a wee dram can indulge their passion with a tasting menu of whiskies specially selected to match each course. The party will continue with traditional dancing and music from ceilidh band, The Longnotes, and a midnight toast to St. Andrew. Tickets are priced at £50 per person or £85 with matched whiskies.

If none of those take your fancy, why not head to your nearest YO! Sushi and take advantage of the ‘eat ten plates, get five free’ offer? Or try out the new white truffle dishes at Alloro? You can even enjoy authentic Rajasthani dishes at Mela, or something more traditional like the game menu at Bentley’s. Talk about being spoilt for choice!