29 Apr 2014

B.O.B'S & Co

London, UK

B.O.B’s & Co is a pop-up restaurant in the Rising Sun pub near St Paul’s Cathedral. Soon after we heard about it, we gave them a call, and surprisingly it was possible to book tables! They said that they get a lot of walk-ins, as people have become so used to the no-reservation policy in London. We went up the side entrance of the pub, into a warm and cosy space, which had an air of impermanence to it, due to the fake-brick wallpaper and the shared loos. We started with some drinks while looking over the menu. The cocktail list was short but good, with classic drinks such as Negroni and Old Fashioned. We ordered deep fried oysters, tuna sashimi tacos, seared scallops with mushrooms, and of course a lobster roll each. The food arrived very swiftly, and we finished it equally fast. The tuna tacos were so crispy and fresh tasting, and the scallops were perfect. The deep fried oysters were served on a bed of seaweed that the waitress told me was not for eating when she saw me starting to attack it with a fork. I wouldn’t say that fried oysters make for a very flavoursome dish, but it is fun to try as a novelty. The lobster rolls came as our main course with fries on the side. The bread roll was too charred, and they could have held back a bit on the sauce. The lobster meat itself was really good, but overall this lobster roll does not compete with the likes of Burger & Lobster in London or Ed’s Lobster Bar in New York. We did thoroughly enjoy our meal though, and I’d definitely go back. When we had cleared our plates, the friendly waitress described their two desserts of the day, neither of which sounded like our types of sweets, so we decided to have another portion of the amazing tuna tacos to finish off the meal. Our evening was complete when they kindly allowed us to take a pair of their foam lobster claws. 











13 Apr 2014

BURGER BASH FINAL

London, UK

The London Burger Bash arranged by Young & Foodish was the final cook-off between some of the best burger joints in town, held at Borough Market. After several qualifying rounds, the finalists were Bleecker StBurger, Patty & Bun, Burger Bear and Fred’s. I arrived at 2 pm, and although the space wasn’t particularly packed, there were long lines for everything. I was a bit confused about where to start, especially because Patty&Bun was cooking from the Street Kitchen air streamer. After circling around for a while, I got into the Buger Bear queue. Their beef patty was served with a sloe gin bacon jam and American cheese. The finishing touch on the disco burger was glittery, edible paint on top of the bun. The jam was a bit too sweet tasting in my opinion. Burger Bear should be given credit though for having the best bacon of the show. It was crispy, but not burnt, and complimented the beef patty perfectly. I then lined up for Fred’s Bacon Cheeseburger. This was really tasty, with balanced and straightforward garnish, but I found the very yellow colour of the bun and its texture a bit strange, so it didn’t get my vote. After a breather and a beer, we went to the Bleecker St black pudding double cheese number. I haven’t had black pudding since I was little, so I was a bit afraid of tasting this one. It turned out to work really well! The texture and flavour was great, although maybe a bit too greasy. The final burger was Piggy Rascal by Patty & Bun. This was the most complicated burger, thus I won’t list all of its ingredients. It had a delicious and runny sauce that spilled everywhere. My final vote went to Patty & Bun, but I was so full at that point that I wasn’t thinking clearly, so don’t trust my choice. Usually these burgers cost around the order of magnitude of £ 8 for a full burger, so getting four half burgers for the price of £47.5 wasn’t the best deal. There was however a slider by included in the price, a sweet coffee by Bicerin, and a huge portion of tasty and filling potato and sweet potato chips by Almost Famous Burgers. The chips were sprinkled with bacon crisps and a little Percy Pig sweet. I really enjoyed them despite being extremely full, and it was very upsetting to throw them in the bin almost untouched. Although I liked the atmosphere and food, I think the concept is slightly flawed. It was difficult to judge impartially when I was hungry for the first burger, ok for the second, full by the third and sick by the fourth. It would be better to try all the burgers at their full size on separate, and equally hangry occasions. Generally I prefer classic cheeseburgers, so the advanced concepts of these meals were not ideal for me. I should have skipped breakfast so I could have been more impartial in my judgement and gotten more value for money out of this event.

The winner was: Bleecker St Burger









7 Apr 2014

SPIT & ROAST

London, UK

Spit and Roast manages to satisfy two cravings I almost always have; a craving for a good burger and for fried chicken. In London, burgers are all over its food grid, but when it comes to fried chicken, it still remains a rarity to come across that excellent piece of juicy and crispy poultry. This is not say there aren't any good places serving fried chicken; it’s just not as common as finding a good burger, which makes the experience of finding a place that perfects it ever the more precious and enjoyable. Enter Spit and Roast, which I had the pleasure of trying on one of my lunch breaks from work at my new favorite eating spot in London: the Kerb food market in Granary Square. The Kerb is also home to The Grilling Greek, and the previous home of Bleecker Street Burger, both of which have been reviewed on the Food Grid. It was a sunny Wednesday, and arriving at the Kerb the queue stretched quite far back, but I happily waited eager to try the food emerging from the van with the longest line. Thirty minutes later, I ordered their classic and most famous dish, the fried chicken bap alongside an order of French fries, naturally. Ready within five minutes, I rushed to find a place to sit and dig in. The burger not only looks delicious, it tastes amazing. The fried buttermilk chicken is tender, crispy and just the right amount of oily, complemented with their crunchy slaw and Korean hot sauce, making this burger a fusion burger I suppose. With the summer season upon us, I have no doubt the lines ahead of Spit and Roast will keep getting longer, but I will gladly wait to have another one of their delicious fried chicken baps.