Sat 21 - Spuntino

Late start today, so a bowl of Jordans nut cruch cereal around lunchtime.  I've never had this before, it turned out to be a decent substitute for my preferred brand, Dorset Cereals.  A good amount of nuts.

Three friends and I visited Spuntino for dinner.  I've been wanting to eat there since it opened but have been put off by the queues (there's a no booking policy), preferring not to stand in line for food, as if we're living in the aftermath of a total economic collapse.  This time I relented however, as my companions were also keen to check this place out, being fans of proprieter Russell Norman's cicchetti-esque joints, Polpo and Polpetto.  Spuntino is in fact another name for cicchetti, but the Spuntino restaurant  focuses on small plates of American Diner classics as opposed to Italian.  We were advised that the wait would be about about 45 minutes, which bearing in mind the hype surrounding anything Russell Norman at the moment seemed to be the best we could hope for if we wanted to eat here before the decade's through.  So queue we did (with a bottle of wine) and the 45 minute estimate turned out to be spot-on.  It's a tiny restaurant of only 25 covers, which are all set round the bar with the exception of a table for 7 at the back of the room.  The busy little room has such low lighting that the staff occasionally needed the aid of torches to see what they were doing.


We started with deep-fried olives, which contained an unadvertised and unwelcome anchovy filling.  This reconfirmed my opinion that olives don't need to be deep fried, nor stuffed.  

Far more successful were the deep-fried buttermilk chicken wings, a crunchy breadcrumbed exterior surrounding perfectly cooked chicken.  One of the best examples I've had of this often poorly executed classic.  

 
Our other selection from the starter part of the menu was mozzarella and cavolo nero crostini.  This was generously portioned with lashings of soft mozzarella, and the bitterness of the cabbage off set by some zingy lemon.  This plate exceeded expectations.

 We moved on from this to the fabled fontina, egg and truffle oil toast.  This was every bit as good as it sounded, though if you're not keen on truffle then it's unlikely to win you over.  The gushing egg yolk was an exciting touch.

We rounded the meal off my sampling all four of their "sliders", or mini-burgers to most of us.  I felt that the cheap white bread buns distracted from the fillings by being too large for the patties inside hence disrupting the important meat / bread ratio.  I was surprised that the same buns were used for all four fillings.  I know that this isn't supposed to be a high-end dining experience but felt as though they could have made a bit more of an effort with this.  None of the sliders knocked my socks off, the mackral being the least favoured amongst our group, and the melting pulled pork being the winner.  We ordered shoe string fries with these, of which I'm not a fan but you'd doubtless like if you're into this particular style of chip.  They're more like crisps than chips and go cold if not wolfed down within a couple of minutes of being served.

Overall I enjoyed our meal at Spuntino.  The food is of good quality and is well priced - we paid £35 a head which included two shared bottles of wine and a cocktail each.  The dining room was atmospheric, and the trendy staff knowledgeable and friendly.  However, rarely is food worth queueing for.  It's not the restaurant's fault, just that there aren't enough casual dining spots like this in London.  I'd love to be able to pop in for a cocktail and a couple of snacks before moving on elsewhere, but the fact you have to queue for so long detracts from the very ethos of the place, that it's a casual dining experience.  There's nothing casual about formulating plans, but unfortunately this is what you must do if you want to visit Spuntino.

Fri 20 Jan - Onglet

Breakfast today was an almond croissant from Konditor & Cook.  This was a good example, with a generous coating of almonds on top, and a not overly sweet almond filling inside.  The outer almonds were stuck to the croissant with some sort of cake mix, which I found unusual.

Lunch was a wrap containing the last of the leftover salsa from a couple of days ago, along with some chorizo, cheese and salad leaves.  The chorizo (pre-sliced) was from Lidl, about half the price of Tesco and not as plasticy.  I used to mock Lidl but no more, if you've got one close by then take a trip down there, you may be pleasantly surprised.  The wrap was ok bearing in mind the age of the salsa and guacamole.  The chorizo worked well with the other flavours.

Onglet from the Ginger Pig butchers for dinner.  Onglet is the most flavoursome steak cut, and pretty tender if cooked rare to medium.  A bargain too, the £10 worth I bought being enough for two good sized portions for dinner tonight, with enough left over to make a stir-fry for two (which will likely be eaten on Chinese New Year next week).  I served the meat with fried shallots, a side salad and frites from M&S.  I rarely make my own chips, can't be bothered faffing round with boiling hot oil at home.  The M&S frites (from the chiller cabinet, not freezer) are the best oven-cooked variety that I've found.  Fried shallots are not fancy nor are they difficult to make, but are a great accompaniment to steak, especially with a touch of English mustard.  I thoroughly enjoyed this meal.  In a restaurant I usually order bernaise sauce on the side of steak, but I did not miss it on this occasion because the meat was so well flavoured.  The Ginger Pig is a great butcher.

A typical Friday food day.

Thu 19 - Mayonnaise & Me

First the good news . . . cholesterol is higher than average but not off the scale.  No major dietary changes required.  Phew.

A Pret (St Mary Axe) BLT to start then.  Despite it's poor appearance the first half was familiarly satisfying.  See bottom half below.  How hard can it be to ensure that the mayonnaise stays within the sandwich?  The tomatoes weren't great either, no surprise at this time of the year.   Found myself wondering why I'd ordered this.

Subway for lunch, Italian BMT on offer, £1.99.  The filling is salami, pepperoni and ham.  You'd have to search far and wide to find salami or pepperoni of lower quality than this.  I asked for a little bit of mayo.  I wasn't paying much attention, and neither was he, didn't realise until I'd got back to the office.  Just look at it!  I actually like mayonnaise in moderate quantities, and when served within the vehicle, not on the outside.  HOW HARD CAN IT BE???  This was too messy to be enjoyably eaten at my desk, and due to the uneven distribution of the mayonnaise, the salad items were covered with the stuff but the filling within remained dry.  It was like eating two different bad sandwiches.

Dinner was simple tonight.  Homemade chilli con carne from the freezer, white rice, and some of the leftover salsa and guacamole from the tuna last night.  Massive dollop of half-fat creme fraiche too, twice as much as if it'd been the full fat variety.  I like to use chipotle chillis that have been smoke dried for my chilli con carne.  No complaints about tonight's meal, other than to note that the guacamole's appearance had not improved with age.

A relieved food day.

Wed 18 - Mexican Tuna

I started the day with an Innocent kiwi, lime and apple smoothie.  I had a banana on the side.  It wasn't labeled but must have been Central American, lacking in taste and texture.  I much prefer the Caribbean variety.

The dreaded chicken sandwich (leftover part 3) tasted worse than yesterday.  The blue cheese sauce had tried to unite with the Bodeans BBQ, got halfway there, then split.  Everything else was soggy.  I didn't finish it.

I picked up a fat piece of Tuna from Moxons for dinner.  Cooked rare and enjoyed with a sweetcorn, red pepper, coriander and jalapeno salsa on one side, guacamole on the other.  I was pleased with how this meal came out.  Only low point was the greyish colour of the guacamole.  This happened because I used red onion and red chilli, ground in the pestle and mortar, as a base.  White onion and green chilli next time.  Thankfully it still tasted as guacamole should.

A bad food day saved by dinner.  Cholestoral test tomorrow, first ever.  Crumbs, my diet could be changing forever.

Tue 17 - Balls, Stock and a Bad Sandwich

Breakfast was a "Pret Pot" made up of yoghurt, honey and granola.  The granola included a couple of whole nuts and raisins.  It was two parts crunchy and one part soggy where it met the yoghurt.  It was also watery at the bottom where the honey was situated.  If this was made the same day, it must have been made at about half past midnight.

Went to Balls Brothers on Lime Street for lunch.  Chose sausages and mash.  The sausages were delicious and clearly came from a well cared for animal.  The mash tasted like it had been sitting round for a while.  The gravy was thin and contained some chunks of red onion, lubricating the dish sufficiently.  It was a good sized portion.  My lunch partner's steak sandwich didn't work out so well, being sinewy and totally cooked through, despite being ordered medium rare.  The accompanying fries were only just warm, a mistake at £4 for a small portion.  Yes, you read that correctly.  £4 for a small portion of fries, in what is essentially a glorified pub.  Bad fries.

Before dinner I put some stock on to use up Sunday's chicken carcass.  Here's a picture of it mid-cook.  Finished now and in the fridge, not sure what it's use is going to be as yet.

Didn't fancy much for supper so made a sandwich of leftover chicken (part 2) mixed with grated carrot, spring onion and Bodeans BBQ sauce.  This was topped with avocado, rocket and a sauce made with creme fraiche and the last of the Christmas Stilton.  Served on a sesame bap.  It was a bit much after the first two mouthfuls, as the creme fraiche / BBQ sauce was incredibly sickly.  The chicken, BBQ and veg mix worked well, but then so do most things do when they're smothered in Bodeans BBQ sauce.  She's away, and this is what I become.  I made two of these concoctions, so am not much looking forward to round 2 at lunch tomorrow.

  

Nearly an ok food day.

Mon 16 - Salami Encased in Cheese

As per usual I was late to work, so breakfast from the food trolley.  I work in a landmark building for a company that considers itself to be modern and progressive.  The food trolley doesn't fit in with this image.  I went for a ham and cheese croissant.  The croissants they sell are pretty decent, crispy on the outside, giving way to a soft and almost honeycomb-textured middle.  The ham and cheese filling is not of the highest quality, but is inoffensive, making for a pleasant but unhealthy start to the day.  I had a smoothie to balance out the bad.  Don't tell me it doesn't work like that.  Oh, I forgot to take the photo until I'd bitten the ends off.  This sort of thing may happen frequently.

Later I popped out from work for a quick lunchtime drink with friends.  We stopped by an Italian place in Devonshire Square called Enoteca Da Luca, which sells small plates of food to accompany their lengthy and reasonably priced wine list.  I wasn't intending to eat but something caught my eye - it looked like Italian salami, of the rectangular variety, encased in something yellow which I initially assumed was some kind of fat, but turned out to be cheese.  Both the salami and cheese coating were of decent quality, and it looked beautiful on the plate. And let's face it, there's just something awesome about the idea of salami encased with cheese.  Whoever thought of this is a good person.  The accompanying green olives were excellent, though the pitted black ones tasted like earwax.  Got a decent bottle of Sangiovese for £16.00, a minor miracle in this part of town.  I intend to go back and give Enoteca Da Luca's short menu a proper go. 

Lunch proper was a crayfish and rocket sandwich from Pret, St Mary Axe.  Like you, I've eaten too many of these in my life.  But I still go back for more, purely for reasons of convenience rather than pleasure.  This means I'll be reviewing Pret a lot so won't bollock on about it too much right now, except to say that unlike most chain food establishments I find the quality and consistency to be extremely variable.  Today, heavy on the crayfish, light on the mayo - the exact opposite to the norm, and all the better for it.  Half of one of the crusts was soggy which I find to be a regular problem, but I really couldn't be arsed to take it back.  Wonder how many people a day share this experience.  The salt and vinegar crisps taste the same as they always do - I'm a big fan of these!

Leftover Chicken part 1 - Dinner was chicken with cashew nuts, cabbage with oyster sauce and white rice.  A fairly thrifty affair, using leftover chicken and cabbage from last night.  Too many cashew nuts, funny how they become less special the more of them you add.  Otherwise it really hit the spot, the ginger and soy combining perfectly with a hint of chilli pepper, resulting in a warming dish that was perfect for a cold January evening.

All in all, a good food day for a Monday.

Sun 15 - Lazy Sunday

Particularly lazy for me, as my girlfriend V did all the cooking!

Got up late, and started the day with eggs, bacon and french bread.  The egg, bacon and bread were from Clapham South farmers market, which is small but contains a decent butcher, baker and veg stall.  The eggs were cooked using the "Heston Method" as demonstrated in his new programme that aired last Wednesday.  Heston's approach worked well, producing luxurious yolks, though the white wasn't quite set enough.  Obviously this can be easily rectified with practice, but it definitely seems to be a solid recipe.

Canapes were had late afternoon, which consisted of black olives, roasted pepper, cream cheese, and anchovies (for me but not for her) on thin slices of french bread which had been roasted in the oven in a little olive oil  and garlic.  This is a great canape which we make quite regularly, it's cheap and most people seem to enjoy it, even if they don't like anchovy.  They were good on this occasion though not perfect, as the bread had spent too long in the oven, resulting in a slightly bitter garlic taste.  I also think that (quality - think Ortiz) tinned anchovies work better than the preserved in oil variety we've used below, being a bit saltier and less fishy.

Dinner was roast chicken from Oakham Farm aka M&S.  Don't go looking for Oakham Farm, as it doesn't actually exist, being a brand name rather than a place - please see this recommended article in the Telegraph for further details.  Dinner was part of the M&S "Dine in for £10" range, which I must admit we're quite partial to when it involves a whole chicken, as this will typically feed two of us for 3 or 4 meals each.  Yes, I'll be reviewing leftover chicken dishes this week, what an exciting start to my blog!  Anyway. the £10 offer is a bargain (take the time to pick out a particularly large chicken), when you consider that the deal includes a bottle of drinkable wine, a side dish and a dessert.  We had carrot and swede mash (side dish in aforementioned meal deal) and savoy cabbage to go with the chicken.  Cabbage was cabbage, the mash contained too much nutmeg and tasted more like a pudding than a side dish.  The chicken was perfectly cooked, and whilst not up to Poulet Bresse standards, it still hit the spot, helped along by the tasty jus which V made.

To finish, I had a GU chocolate and vanilla cheesecake.  I've liked GU deserts when I've had them in the past, but this was not good.  The "Madagascan" vanilla flavour in the cream layer of the pudding was undetectable beneath the rich chocolate topping, and the biscuit base was just roughly crumbled biscuit as opposed to being a properly constructed base.  The presentation wasn't good either, the layers being uneven and bearing no resemblance to the promotional pictures used on the packaging.  The top was uneven and discoloured, again bearing no resemblance to the luxurious promotional image.

So, that's my first day down.  This is my first blog and the first time that I've written anything publicly, any comments or constructive critisism would be appreciated.  Finding enough food adjectives is clearly going to be a struggle, with about 1000 meals to review in a year . . . hmmm, this could get repetitive!