So Much Food, Part 2

Workshop is known around London for their coffee but they should be known for their breakfast. I went a few weeks ago with my friend, Heather. She tried the eggs benedict and I had the french toast. Both were delicious!

Several markets have stands selling the Brazilian dessert called brigadeiros. They are like little balls of brownie batter covered in more chocolate. My favorite is the Oreo (shown below with black and white sprinkles). 

One Friday evening Warren and I went out with friends for oyster happy hour at Wright Brothers Mermaid Oyster Bar. I typically don't go out for oysters but for 1 pound each they were a great deal. And really good, too!

Mary, Kate, and me with our oysters

I went to Nordic Bakery near Golden Square a while back with my friends Lisa and Mark. I've been here before but this time I got a pastry filled with potato, egg, and butter. I was surprised to find that it was delicious.

Kate told me about a Polish place called Ogniska in South Kensington. We went there for lunch one day and tried the salmon blinis (a savory pancake with toppings) and pierogi (dumplings filled with potato and cheese). 

An American style pizza place, NY Fold, opened last summer. I prefer the pizza at Franco Manco and Pizza Pilgrims over NY Fold but it was still pretty good. But they did have fountain soda with free refills which is very unusual in London.

Last fall Blu Top Ice Cream and Vicky's Donuts teamed up for doughnut sundaes at The Crown and Anchor in Brixton. I tried the Castro which had bananascotch ice cream covered in salted chocolate crackle shell inside a chocolate glazed doughnut.

The Providores in Marylebone has a delicious brunch menu. I tried the stuffed french toast with bacon and was not disappointed. 

I've heard great things about Butchies friend chicken and was pleased to see their stand at the Feast of Saint George in Trafalgar Square last month. Warren and I split a chicken burger and it was amazing! I'd definitely get it again.

Meringue Girls were also at the Feast of Saint George so I tried both a watermelon meringue and this meringue sundae shown below. What could be better than meringue, you ask? Meringue topped with frosting, crushed nuts, and berry compote, of course!

So Much Food, Part 1

I realized that I haven't done a compilation on food since last August! It was a bit too long with everything I've tried so I'm breaking it into two posts. 

My friend Kate loves Ottolenghi so one night we met up with Pamela and Mary for dinner. We all shared dishes so we could try lots of things. I only took photos of four of them, but we tried seared tuna, aubergine croquettes, beet salad, and aubergine salad. Everything was delicious, especially the beet salad!

Most days Piccadilly Market is nothing special. There are booths selling antiques and people who will make you a belt while you wait. But on Mondays the market changes into a bustling street food market. There was a huge queue at the Peruvian booth so I figured it must be worth trying. I got the chicken with rice and it did not disappoint.

While at Piccadilly Market I was introduced to Cakehole, a bakery stand with amazing cheesecake. Yes, this will definitely happen again.

I know I've mentioned the salt beef sandwich at Brass Rail in the Selfridges Food Hall before, but I went another time with my friend Heather to try the reuben. It was even better than the salt beef. I always love the pickle/gherkin at Brass Rail. 

Bloomsbury Farmers Market is my new favorite weekday food market. Even in the middle of winter, there were tons of booths and people there for lunch. I got a mix of three different kinds of pasta from a place with an insanely long queue. I had pasta with red sauce and olives, pesto and mushrooms, and gnocchi with salmon. The pesto was by far the winner in my opinion. 

Molly Bakes in Dalston has gotten a lot of publicity for their freakshakes. It is a milkshake with brownies, cookies, marshmallows, sauces, and whipped cream. Warren tried the peanut butter, Lisa tried the salted caramel and I tried the raspberry. They were all delicious and I loved that the raspberry had pop rocks!

Even though it looks delicious, the food at STAKEhaus was a bit disappointing. I've had better steak and chips in other markets (specifically at Maltby Street Market). Luckily I'd used a half price voucher I'd received from Kerb so it wasn't a huge investment. 

My friend Pamela and her mom wanted to try Top Dog, the restaurant started by Marissa Hermer from the reality show Ladies of London. The hot dogs were really great! I tried a beef hot dog with apple-slaw (bottom left in the photo below). Marissa actually came in while we were there and was nice enough to take photos with us!

My new obsession is the 'biskie' from Cutter and Squidge. I love the salted caramel one that is a cookie sandwich filled with buttercream frosting, marshmallow, and caramel sauce. 

I read about Fischer's kaiserschmarrn in Time Out magazine so Lisa and I went there for brunch one Saturday morning. Kaisershmarrn is a shredded pancake named after the Austrian emporer Franz Joseph I who was particularly fond of it. Ours came with stewed fruit and a sweet soured cream. 

My friend Kate loves salt beef sandwiches and says the best one in London is from Northfield Farm at Borough Market. Warren and I gave it a go and I have to agree with Kate...definitely the best! The mustard is a bit spicy for my taste but overall it was delicious. 

My sister told me about this place she likes in Belgium called Aux Merveilleux de Fred. There is one in South Kensington that I now frequent more often than I'd like to admit. My favorite thing there is the brioche with chocolate but they also have these meringues topped with frosting and covered in chocolate shavings.

La Gelatiera in Covent Garden has these adorable baby cones! And what's even better is that the gelato is delicious. I usually prefer ice cream over gelato but la Gelatiera might make me change my stance on that. 

Queen's English as a Second Language Part 12

Toilet/WC/Ladies--restroom/bathroom, as in "Where is the ladies?" or "I need to use the toilet." 

Flyover--overpass, as in "The traffic on the flyover is always packed."

Lush--great/amazing, as in "I had the most lush milkshake last week."

Kind regards--way to end an email or letter. In the US I typically signed my emails "Thanks, Rachael" but here I use "Kind Regards," "Best," or "Best Regards"

Parcel--package, as in "When is the parcel expected to arrive?"

Single File Traffic--one land road, as in "Harrow Road is single file traffic due to construction."

Fab--short for fabulous, as in "I saw the most fab skirt on Oxford Street today" or "You must try the ice cream at Udderlicious. It's fab!"

Treacle (specifically black treacle)--molasses, as in "I don't care for the taste of treacle."

Ring--call, as in "I'll ring you later."

Bloody--mild swear word to add emphasis, as in "fan-bloody-tastic," "bloody good idea," or "I can't see a bloody thing!"

Tick--check, as in "I ticked so many boxes today."

Overtaking--passing, as in "Be careful when overtaking other motorists on the motorway."

Post/Postbox--mail/mailboxes, as in "Has the post come yet?" or "I need to run this to the postbox."

Landslip--landslide, as in "The trains are backed up due to the land slip."

Scoff--scarf or stuff your face, as in "I scoffed an entire package of Jaffa cakes last night."

Where to start on this one...I'll just say that if this were in the US it would be called something like, "I must color now"

Posh--sophisticated, as in "I don't know any posh words" or "Wow, this new routemaster is so posh."
Air con/air co--a/c, as in "I love the Circle line mostly for the air con."

Oh crumbs--exclamation of surprise or worry, as in "Oh crumbs! I spilled on my trousers."

Whilst--while, as in "I finished reading my book whilst waiting for you."

Chips--fries, as in "I'll have a burger with a side of chips."

Twat--a vulgar term for idiot, as in "[insert disliked politician's name] is a real twat."

Splendid--wonderful, as in "The show last night was splendid!"

Fit--hot, as in "His mate is well fit."

Bap--roll (typically filled like a sandwich), as in "I love a bacon bap."

Roleplay--dress up, as in "I've heard roleplay games are essential to children's development."

I apologize this photo is blurry, it is off an escalator and I tried so many times to get a clearer picture with no success

Chambermaid--housekeeper, as in "You have a chambermaid? How posh!"

Tatties--potatoes (I think this is from Scotland), as in "My mum makes the best tatties."

Pay point--register, as in "There is a huge queue at the pay point."

Surgery--one-on-one meeting with politician and constituents (not to be confused with surgical theatre at a hospital)

Toastie--grilled cheese/panini, as in "I want a cheese toastie at Borough Market for lunch."