The Sichuan Restaurant

14 City Rd
London 
EC1Y 2AA

After reading several rave reviews of a new Sichuan place around Moorgate, I made plans with P to give it a whirl. P is one of my favorite people to have a big Chinese feast with - he is just as adventurous as me, and we both love variety. Pictured above are frog legs, pork in a spicy broth, and "man and wife" offal slices. Sadly I forgot to take a picture of the dry fried green beans with minced pork. Everything was fantastic and there was a true numbing heat to some of the dishes that spoke of high quality Sichuan peppercorns. It was also a bargain for the quality of the cooking. Can't wait to go back and try a whole different range of dishes.

The Grill on the Market

2-3 West Smithfield
London
EC1A 9JX

Tried a new place before the Chick Corea / Christian McBride / Brian Blade concert at the Barbican. Music was way better than the food, though I guess if only one could be excellent, that is the order I would go in. I prefer disappointing food to disappointing music. Is that a weird thing to say for someone who writes about food instead of music? Hmm. Anyway, The Grill on the Market isn't bad, it just isn't that good either. I will confess I was attracted by the 50% off deal on Toptable, so at least it wasn't an expensive steak meal. But now that I'm learning how to get a good sear on my steaks at home, eating out at steakhouses is becoming less exciting. The ribeyes we had here were fine, and cooked to medium rather than the requested medium rare, but what really let down the meal were the undercooked chips and a cauliflower cheese side that was basically some giant florets of steamed cauliflower with some grated cheddar sauce on top. I expect my cauliflower cheese to 1) have bite sized chunks of cauliflower and 2) to have cheese sauce everywhere, completely coating the cauliflower so every bite is equal amounts cheese and veg. So even though the steak was fine (and cheap), I can't get excited about going back, which means I probably won't be.

Workshop Coffee Co

27 Clerkenwell Rd.

London

EC1M 5RN

I always hear rumors that restaurant workers hate brunch. I mean, I get it. A bunch of hungover people, who probably don't care that much about what they're eating, asking for eggs eight different ways, bugging you for coffee refills over and over and over and over again... I would probably come out of that thinking the brunch shift sucks too. As a customer though, I love brunch. I want someone to make me something so much more wonderful than I can make at home. It's hard to find in the UK - often brunch is done only passably well, or terribly - I can make nice eggs, thank you very much, and I am good at frying bacon and whipping up a batch of fluffy American pancakes. So for me to think brunch is special, it needs to be special. Thank goodness we found Workshop Coffee Co - look at my grilled asparagus, smoked salmon, poached egg, truffled mascarpone, corn bread dish up top! I would never have all of those ingredients lying around the house on a weekend morning. And there are enough components to the dish that to get it all done at the same time is way too much hassle. So WCC, you have won me over with that dish alone. A had something normal - scrambled egg, sourdough toast and tomato kasundi, with dry cured smoked bacon (actually now that I'm writing this I realize tomato kasundi is not normal at all, I don't even know what it is, so I guess that dish is ok in my books too). Now if only I could get it to move to a spot at the end of my road.

Le Saint Julien

62 - 63 Long Lane
London
EC1A 9EJ

J and I had tried to go here maybe two years ago - for whatever reason it didn't happen, so when we were picking a place to meet up recently, it resurfaced and was quickly chosen. A 50% off deal from Toptable was booked, and we headed off to have a decadent French meal. J chose better for her starter - the trout rillette with avocado mash was fantastic and a good balance of fresh seafood against the fatty avocado. I had the rillette of rabbit with mango chutney which was good, but much heavier than J's dish. For mains, J chose a Beaujolais style rabbit which came on a bed of incredibly buttery mash, while I had the pressed lamb with mustard crust served with white beans. You can't really tell how big the dish is in the picture above, but it was enormous - and so tasty I finished the entire thing, even though I probably shouldn't have. We were terribly full but couldn't resist some dessert, so we shared a chocolatey thing, I think (my memory is a bit hazy at this point). Point is, the cooking is good here, and with the Toptable deal, it is really good value as well.

Le Relais de Venise

5 Throgmorton Street
London
EC2N 2AD

So our first visit to this chain of steakhouses was in Manhattan, and we were hooked by the simple concept - everyone gets the same food - a salad with mustardy dressing, and then two plates of steak and chips with a buttery, rich sauce. You can choose your steak rare, medium or well done. And that's the only decision you have to make. Well, aside from what you would like to drink. A and I tried out the branch in the City of London and it was even better than I remembered - the steak was perfectly cooked and tender and beefy, and the chips were outstanding - crispy and plentiful. I even liked the mustardy salad, which is funny because I don't usually like mustard. We had a half bottle of the house red, which went very well with the meal. I'm sure we'll be back - our receipt came with a 20% off voucher for our next meal...

Blossom

City Point, Unit 1b

1 Ropemaker Street

London 

EC2Y 9AW

I used to get takeout sushi from Blossom for dinner at least two or three times a week. Alas, the dinner expenses were eventually revoked and then with the discovery of Whitecross Street Market, even lunches were a rare occurrence. But on rainy, dismal, cold days, it's a good choice when meeting people who work in the offices above - no need to even carry an umbrella. Seafood bibimbap was chosen for its warming qualities - along with a bowl of miso soup that was included, it thawed out my icy fingers quickly. My favorite part is the screaming hot stone bowl that it comes in, frying bits of the rice that get stuck and quickly cooking all of the raw shrimp, salmon and mussels in the bowl once they're mixed in. I throw in the accompanying kimchi as well to make it a bit spicier and then remember to eat carefully so that I don't burn my tongue. Fantastic.

Sorry I have no picture - that is totally due to my own stupidity, I somehow deleted it. Oops.

Corney & Barrow

Citypoint

1 Ropemaker Street
London EC2Y 9HT

Another day, another chain restaurant. W and I were trying to avoid the rain so we ended up in Corney & Barrow, which to be fair is actually more of a wine bar than a restaurant, but it has a pretty extensive lunch menu so I think I can still review it. I ordered the C&B Winter Salad, which is described as "A warm salad of epic proportions, with chorizo sausage, smoked bacon, Norfolk black pudding, wild mushrooms, poached quails eggs and brioche croutons." I think "epic" is overreaching a bit, but it was pretty decent, aside from a couple of pieces of strangely chewy bacon. Just goes to show that even when you order a salad it can be unhealthy. Not exactly a cheap option for lunch either - 10 quid seems a bit steep for a salad. W had the roasted pumpkin risotto which she liked, although she thinks a stray french fry made its way into her dish...

Pret a Manger

City Point
London

EC2Y 9AW

Perhaps it is a bit silly to write about a chain as ubiquitous as Pret a Manger, but I had a surprisingly decent sandwich there and these cool architects in New York seem to like it, so here goes. S and I met up for lunch in the Moorgate area and since it was cold outside, we wanted somewhere with a bit of indoor seating. Pret to the rescue - we both got baguettes filled with Italian prosciutto, parmesan, tomatoes and basil. I think I detected a swipe of mayonnaise in there as well, which I usually hate, but I didn't notice it except for one bite. The baguettes taste freshly baked, which is always good, and the fillings complemented each other nicely. When I first moved to the UK, I was really creeped out by Pret since they sold all their sandwiches prepackaged in little cardboard containers, but I suppose if they are made daily, they're not so bad.

Luardos (revisited)

Whitecross Street Market

I've been on a little hiatus from eating out, and while I'm eating well at home, nothing has been exciting enough to blog about, really. There was a pretty decent apple and summer fruits crisp, which I made before but still haven't taken a picture of, and a simple pasta dish with tomato sauce, quorn mince, mushrooms and courgettes (zucchinis!) - side note, I have noticed pasta sauce is way better if you have the time to cook it for a long time over low heat, letting it thicken and concentrating the flavors - but anyway, I just remembered that I had a burrito again with W last week at Luardos, but this time I got a different kind. Considering that the last 20 burritos I ate there were the same kind, this is actually quite exciting. So here's a picture of a Luardos burrito with SPICY BEEF rather than pork. Yummy, though I prefer the pork. Still, I wouldn't have known I prefer the pork had I not tried the beef at least once...

The Roast of Sherwood

Whitecross Street Market

The Roast of Sherwood shows up on Thursdays and Fridays at Whitecross Street Market. I took A there today since he had the day off and he wanted to try a burrito from Luardos (which he liked!). I had just had a burrito the night before so I tried something different - a pig roast sandwich. I'm not fond of sweet things with my meat so I passed on the sweet chili sauce and applesauce, leaving me with a plain sandwich of roast pork, lettuce and some rosemary olive oil. There would have been rocket (arugula) as well except we were there quite late and they were out of it. For four quid, this was an incredibly yummy and filling lunch and even though there were tempting sweets at the market, I passed on everything as there was no way I could eat another bite.

Brazil Flavor

Went to Whitecross Street today in an attempt to get a burrito with W but the burrito truck wasn't there! They're probably on their summer vacation or something - so instead, I decided to try the Brazilian stall - I think it's called Brazil Flavor but could be wrong. They had feijoada, a traditional Brazilian stew made with black beans, pork and sausage - this is served with rice and a sprinking of cassava flour on top. Mixed it all up and it was delicious! Really hearty and flavorful and the beans were cooked really well. They also offer sandwiches but why bother with that when they've got something so much more interesting to try?

Alba

107 Whitecross Street

London

EC1Y 8JD

Alba is an Italian restaurant that has started doing take-away from a little shop next door. A had already tried it and said it was good, so we ended up there for my last-day-of-work lunch. There are a few little tables and chairs outside so you can actually sit and have lunch in a civilized fashion - plus when you pick what you want, they put it on real plates and heat it up for you (and if you're A, you seem to get special table-service as well!) The guy working there is clearly loving his job - singing while working and gushing about the dishes. I had a delicious vegetarian arancini stuffed with mozzarella - apparently the Sicilian-style arancini are supposed to be size of softballs. Crunchy exterior filled with creamy risotto inside - shouldn't have these too often since they're probably terrible for you, but boy do they taste good.

Jamie's Pavilion

Finsbury Circus Gardens
Finsbury Circus
London
EC2M 7AB

M took me here for lunch so we could catch up (she's been gone for three weeks!) There's a bowling green in Finsbury Circus, and this restaurant (or wine bar) overlooks it. Pretty simple menu - sandwiches and pub food - so I went with fish and chips, while M had a burger. I was impressed by how crisp the fish was and the chips were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Peas were still whole, not mushy, which I prefer. M's burger looked enormous with bacon and cheddar piled on top - though the bun was too large even for the massive fillings. Really nice on a sunny day. Probably won't ever go there again though since its main virtue is being so close to where I work, and that ends tomorrow!

Jerk Chicken

Whitecross Street Market

I was forgetful today and 1) didn't take a picture of my lunch, which was a container full of salad, rice and peas and jerk chicken, with some hot sauce drizzled on top and 2) also forgot to check the name of the Caribbean stall it was purchased from. It was wonderfully spicy though I was probably a bit too enthusiastic with the hot sauce which resulted in relatively slow progress when eating. The chicken was chopped up into little cubes which made it easier to mix with the rice and peas so that you could get a bit of everything in each mouthful. Not sure how authentic it is - the peas in the rice and peas looked like kidney beans to me, and I haven't had much jerk chicken before so the spicing could be totally wrong for all I know, but it was tasty. I'd eat it again.

Luardos Burritos

Whitecross Street Market

So this is the burrito truck that tipped me off to the fact that there was a street market on Whitecross Street - I think it was summer 2007 when I ventured off with fellow burrito-lover W to see if the rumors were true. A bright sea green truck with "Luardos" painted across it greeted us and it was like all of our burrito dreams had come true - burritos are one of the things that made me constantly miss Texas (and even New York, sometimes). While these may not be the most amazing burritos I've ever had, they are certainly satisfying enough to quell the burrito cravings and at five pounds, pretty reasonably priced considering that they will fill you up for the entire afternoon. I always go for the carnitas burrito with guacamole, no sour cream - plus you can get a loyalty card stamped so you get your 10th burrito free. There are loads of other places to eat on Whitecross Street now but it's hard to choose anything other than the burrito once you're there.

Spianata & Co.

12 Moorfields
London
EC2Y 9AA

Met up with S for lunch since once I leave my job we will no longer be working around the corner from each other! Since it's a gorgeous day, we decided to grab something portable and go sit in Finsbury Circus. Cue up sandwiches from here, made on pizza bianca bread. I tried what was listed as a "new" sandwich - salmon, asparagus, lemon juice and mayo. I usually hate mayo, but it looked like there wasn't much in there and thank goodness I was right. Pretty delicious, though maybe a tiny bit overpriced at four pounds? Still, they are much more filling than they look. Watched some city workers play boules on the green and basked in the warm summer sun - perfect!

Sunny's Olive Tree Salads

Whitecross Street Market

Good option for lunch whenever you're feeling hungry but somewhat virtuous - a small salad box is incredibly filling because they jam it full to the brim. I'm developing a particular love for quinoa and beets, weirdly, but I think what makes the whole thing really good is the tahini they pour over the top. The bread that comes with the salad box is pretty ho-hum though - very dry.