Barcelona...such a beautiful horizon

A slightly belated post as we actually went to Barcelona on the May bank holiday weekend. I've been meaning to post for a while but I we ate so much in Barcelona I felt so overwhelmed every time I sat down to write it! So, I have decided to provide a kind of abridged version but I have a feeling it's not going to end up very abridged! I think I may get carried away...

Our first evening, Saturday night, was a wet one (as was much of the weekend). We dumped our bags in the hotel and headed straight out to Cerveceria Catalana. This place is so popular there's always a queue for it so we decided to sit outside, under the umbrellas as no-one but Brits would put up with that.

We had the usual tapas to ease ourselves into the trip: patatas bravas, gambas, pan con tomate, manchego, jamon and more.

The highlight of the meal was the coconut 'flan' which was like a coconutty creme caramel and was absolutely delish. The last time I had flan in Spain I thought I was put off it for life when I found a rogue broad bean in it but this has turned me back on to it!

On Sunday, having visited the major Gaudi buildings and walked for miles, we headed over to Barceloneta. I'm so glad we decided to do this on a Sunday as the atmosphere down there was incredible. Such a buzz and bustling with Spanish families and tourists alike. Time Out had recommended a place called Kaiku so we wondered past all the obvious over-priced sea-view restaurants to a more rustic place, full of Catalans, tucked away right at the end of the promenade. We couldn't get a seat outside but we were lucky to get a seat at all.

This modest restaurant with paper tablecloths specialises in paella, so of course we ordered one. Surprisingly, there was a starter of a foie gras salad with blueberry vinaigrette. When there's foie gras on the menu, the Neal girls never say no (yes, I do feel guilty saying it!)! Even more surprising was the innovative presentation of the salad: if you look at the photo you see that it looks like the salad is covered in breadcrumbs. These are in fact shavings of foie gras! I think they must have frozen the foie and then grated it. I will have to give it a try, as you can make a little go a long way.

Next up was the paella with squid ink, wild mushrooms and mixed shellfish. This was a proper paella and not a red pepper in sight!

All washed down with a chilled bottle of red, this was the perfect way to spend a Sunday in Barcelona!

Tom Aikens and the Cloudy Bay Shack, Parson's Green

Last weekend saw the arrival of Tom Aikens and the Cloudy Bay shack in Parson's Green. This was a pop-up beautiful old-fashioned van serving Tom Aikens' food matched with Cloudy Bay wines. I won't talk much about the wine as I was a bit hungover at the time!

Deep fried paprika squid with garlic and paprika aioli. Yummy squid with spring onions, coriander and chilli, a bit like the garnish of Thai-style salt and pepper squid. At the back is Dorset crab with chilli and ginger, served on a leaf of endive. I only tried a tiny bit but apparently it was good.

7 hour braised lamb with sweet braised onions. Looking at the picture, the lamb is probably not the one you think. The onions look more like a rich stewed lamb and the lamb looks far too light! In fact, this was a kind of summery version of braised lamb. It came apart in long light strands, which sounds horrible but had incredible flavour. The only thing I felt it lacked was something to mop up the juices, eg mashed potato or even a spoon. This was paired with a delicious Pinot Noir.

I do think they missed a trick not offering a dessert, but perhaps Cloudy Bay don't feel their wine matches sweet dishes. All in all, a nice thing to do on a summer's afternoon, watching Tom Aikens hard at work, listening to jazz, dog-spotting and whiling away an hour or so in the sun.

This week I am mostly eating...fro-yo

My name is Jo and I am addicted to frozen yoghurt. Having never had it or seen it in the UK before this summer it seems to suddenly be everywhere. Available in Mr Whippy style swirls at special 'fro-yo' shops or by the scoop at similarly fashionable Italian gelato shops, it is a low fat alternative to ice cream and seriously addictive!

My first foray into the world of fro-yo was at the heavenly Gelato Mio where I like to have a half scoop of it accompanied by a fruity sorbet, such as mango or melon. The good thing about Gelato Mio is they let you have a try of anything you want and they are very generous with the single scoops, letting you mix and match. I was persuaded to try it by the staff and now have it every time. Gelato Mio has a loyalty card where you get a stamp each time and your tenth stamp gives you a free double scoop. Dangerously, they have just opened a shop around the corner from my flat and now I am a very loyal customer!

Last weekend I headed over to Frae in Camden Passage, Islington, to check out their wares. They offer two flavours of the whippy stuff, natural or green tea, and you pick which fruit to have as toppings. I just had natural without toppings and I wasn't wowed by it. I tried someone else's green tea one and I had serious food envy!

Yogurtry has just opened on Hampstead High Street so I thought I had better try it out. I get the impression it's going to be a chain as it had that vibe. It is heavily air-conned which doesn't really appeal to me when I'm eating something that cold but there were lots of people sitting in there as it was a hot day so I guess some people are drawn because of it. They do all kinds of flavours, including peanut butter and strawberry tart, and toppings like fruit and chocolate sauce. Again, I just had plain because for me it's the acidity and tang of the yoghurt that appeal so much. Again, I wasn't wowed. Maybe the flavours here are the way to go.

And so to my final and most recent chilly delight. Opposite my office in Queen's Park there's a deli called Salusbury Deli which recently put a bright pink poster up outside announcing the arrival of their frozen yoghurt machine. It worked, because I was in there later that afternoon to try it. Wow!The perfect tang and mouthwateringness and it's just across the road! I just wish they had a loyalty card as this is going to be an expensive habit if I keep having one every day.

My new favourite cheese: Oxford Isis

A couple of weekends ago I headed down to Cheltenham on the pretext of seeing a friend, but really to eat at Le Champignon Sauvage and to visit the Cheeseworks! Le Champignon I will blog about later but I wanted to mention one of the cheeses I bought from the Cheeseworks, Oxford Isis.

I love it when I go into a cheese shop and there are lots of cheeses that I don't recognise. I get so excited and it really gives you the opportunity to discuss my favourite topic, cheese, with the shop assistants! I love telling them what kind of cheeses I like and seeing what they come up with for me to try. This time it was Oxford Isis.

Pongcheese.co.uk describes it as "a very French English cheese" and I'd have to agree. Oxford Isis is a soft cheese, washed in honey mead. It is deliciously stinky and has that sticky kind of rind that makes your hands smell for days but usually indicates the kind of cheese that I will love! Without meaning to sound pretentious, it has a really complex flavour that really develops in your mouth.

I haven't got a picture of it because I scoffed the lot so I have had to poach a picture from the Cheeseworks website (I hope they don't mind!).

Taste of London 2010

On Friday 18th June I was lucky enough to scrounge a press pass from a friend in media to accompany her to Taste of London.
Taste of London for me is like going to the Oscars for a film buff…I tend to walk around going “OMG! There’s so-and-so! And there’s so-and-so! Ooh! Drool…”. I get a little star-struck.

Which would explain why when I hit the Le Gavroche stand (not intending to eat anything there, as I’d made a list of the places I wanted to try!) and Michel Roux Jr asked me “Are you ladies being served?”, I responded in my attempt at a nonchalant voice “No, actually, I’m still waiting. I’ll have the beef Niçoise.” Uh oh, instead of sounding nonchalant, I sounded like one of those people who talks down their nose at the waiter. I tried to make up for it with my biggest smile but I think the damage was already done. Oops. I have to say, Michel is even more beautiful in the flesh and I found myself wondering how a man of his age, who was pretty much born in a kitchen, has such a smooth and gorgeous complexion! Michel, if you’re reading this (a serious possibility, of course), tell us your secret! You could make a fortune!

Sadly Le Gavroche’s daube de Boeuf à la Niçoise (braised beef with olives) served with polenta was a HUGE let down, as was my friend’s white bean soup with parsley and Hereford snails. Even I can put more flavour into my polenta and the beef was nice, but nothing special, just a stew really with some punchy olives. I was tempted to go back and complain to the man himself but I, obviously, didn’t have the balls.

A far more successful dish was from Dinings, an unusually named Japanese restaurant in Marylebone which has recently had a lot of great press. I went for the sea bass carpaccio with ponzu jelly and fresh truffle shavings and it was incredible. I love the deeply savoury and salty flavours of Japanese food anyway and this had such a fantastic intense flavour. Dinings is definitely on my next to try list. I poached this picture from the website as I didn’t have my camera with me. (Is that going to get me arrested?).

Next up was The Modern Pantry where I sampled their famous dish of garlicky snails with chorizo mash. I do feel a bit funny about eating snails but it was really the chorizo mash that drew me to it. However, the snails had obviously been marinated in red wine for a LONG time as they were juicy and rich and yummy and mmm… Also on the list now.

Luckily, a press pass comes with its perks and one of these was being able to wangle a free pass to the Laurent Perrier Champagne tasting in association with Daylesford Organic. The was hosted by ‘food and drink expert and BBC Radio 2 presenter’ Nigel Barden. It was lovely to try four of the different Laurent Perrier Champagnes (Brut, Cuvée Rosé Brut, Ultra Brut, Brut Millésimé 2000) all matched with Daylesford food. The most memorable pairing was an incredible Daylesford cheddar fondue with ‘freshly picked green market garden vegetables’ ( I think these were actually pea tops) instead of bread to dip in, paired with Laurent-Perrier Brut Millésimé 2000. I thought this was a great way of making a fondue a summery event and, surprisingly, the Champagne wasn’t murdered by all the cheese.

And so ends Taste of London for another year. I will be back again next year to spend yet another fortune on tiny dishes of fantastic food.

Brunch at The Draft House, Northcote Road, Clapham Junction

On Sunday morning we headed down to baby central, Northcote Road to run a few errands. I’ve never been one to cope with doing anything on an empty stomach so we wandered past every bustling café, peering in to see what was on offer and if there was any room. I do love the atmosphere on Northcote Road, especially on a sunny day but to be honest, most of it is very same-y for brunch. You can have eggs or eggs, and nothing more exotic or exciting than eggs Benedict or a croissant (Gail’s do the best croissants, but I’m biased!).

My beloved Macondo (RIP), on Camden Passage in Angel, was a Latino café (I think there’s one in Shoreditch too). Admittedly they did serve eggs, but they were out of this world eggs! My favourite was huevos divorciados: two fried eggs served with an ancho chilli pepper red sauce & a green tomatillo sauce over Mexican tortillas – perfect for soaking up the hangover!

I was sceptical about going to the Draft House for breakfast as it was pretty empty and I didn’t want to be stuck in the back of a pub on a nice sunny day. I was pleasantly surprised entering the restaurant-y bit at the back as there is an enormous sun roof that makes the room really bright. When I saw the jug of Virgin Mary, I felt much more relaxed! Just what I fancied, and it was perfectly made.
We both had baked eggs, but mine was with spinach and James’ was with ham. It hadn’t mentioned hollandaise on the menu and both were quite heavily laden with it making both dishes quite runny but it was a tasty addition (and I can never resist hollandaise!). Luckily it came with two generous slices of sourdough toast to mop up all the scrumptious juices.

It was a good eggs-perience (sorry!) but I’m still on a quest for more egg-citing in my neck of the woods!

Gregg’s…oh, sorry, I mean Wallace & Co

Him off of the telly, Gregg Wallace from Masterchef has opened a restaurant. In the words of the man himself, ‘It looks great but does it deliver on FLAVOUR??’ (in a loud shouty voice). In a nutshell, it doesn’t. The problem is that Gregg has really set himself up for scrutiny, being obsessed on Masterchef with BIG FLAVOURS.

Walking in, I felt optimistic. Wallace & Co is a beautifully designed space comprised of a deli counter, a greengrocer section filled with abundant fresh vegetables with a large cafe behind. The whole place is a really comfortable, homely place which attracts masses of families, but in a good way.

My Virgin Mary was probably the only thing in the whole meal that wasn't a disappointment…well, almost. It was tasty with a good punch, but it didn't come with a stick of celery, and the straw they put in it was in upside down! I never even eat the celery anyway though, so this wasn’t a biggie to me.

We started with a feta, mint, cucumber and olive salad. Surprisingly, the menu didn't make any mention of the endive leaves the salad sat on, which were fresh and crispy but didn't really go with the rest of the mish-mash-mush. Where was the feta? And the mint? I asked the waitress where the mint was and she said it was ‘cooked with mint’. I pointed out it was a raw and she said it must be infused in the dressing. And why use black olives that taste of tin? And for £5.50, why so small? I’m normally one to find something nice to say about a dish but this one simply needs to come off the menu.

Next up was my tomato and goat’s curd quiche. The idea behind the dish was great – to show off delicious juicy tomatoes and creamy goat’s curd. I've never really understood when people said that pastry could be tough, but now I do. The texture of the egg custard itself was everything about a quiche that people don’t like, almost gelatinous. Very weird. And it’s no mean feat to make something taste of absolutely nothing. The star of the dish was the interesting peppery leaves that accompanied it.

The filling of James’ steak and ale pie was nice enough but, again, the pastry was tough. For me, a pie like that should be covered with puff pastry, rather than shortcrust, and certainly not tough-as-old-boots pastry! There was a tiny bit of mashed potato on the side which had been piped on using the star-shaped nozzle - surprisingly twee and un-Gregg Wallace-like (or am I getting him all wrong?).

Needless to say we skipped dessert. On the way out we had a look at the desserts which were at the deli counter and I’m glad we did skip it - all really naff-ly decorated and looked like they'd been sitting around for a while. Having said that, other reviews I've read have been quite positive about the puds so maybe that's what you should have there.

I really wanted to like Wallace & Co because because it has such a nice atmosphere and the interior really is beautiful, sadly I think it is fundamentally flawed as the dishes are so badly executed. No photos...I was too disappointed and irritated by the whole place that I decided not to take any, on principle!

Pull it together Gregg, at the moment I’d rather go to Gregg’s for a soggy pasty.

Wallace & Co
146 Upper Richmond Road
Putney,
London,
SW15 2SW