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Mmmmm: The Cheese Man and The Raclette

Borough Market
The Green Market
SE1 1TL

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, July 30th

The Victims: K & A

The Damage: 4 quid

The Setup: After having a delicious dinner at L the night before, I made plans to meet up with K & A at Borough Market at noon on Saturday. This is my Saturday ritual as it is, although usually I try to hit the market around 11 when there's still room to walk. But no matter.

The Cheese Man was the first person we encountered. Now for as long as I've known the cheese man, he's been over by Neil's Yard and Monmouth Coffee, making his delicious cheese sandwiches. But as Ripe London noted a few weeks ago, the cheese man has had to relocate. And he's relocated right by the entrance from London Bridge. I think the new spot is very very good--he has much more space now and there's lots going on. There were gurkins piled high in their containers, fire--what's raclette without fire--and lots of cheese and lots of sandwiches and lots of helpers and customers.

We watched enviously as people walked away with plates of potatoes, delicious cheese, and tiny gurkins. What is this raclette, I wondered? Well, later in the day, Wikipedia told me everything I needed to know about this most delicious of dishes.

Let me tell you what it is. It's fine jersey potatoes, a little boiled and a little broiled. It's delcious melted cheese, melted under a fire. And it's oh-so-cute baby gerkins. All on a plate. It's perfect. Oh so perfect. We took our dish and sat out on the grass by the church, enjoying every last bit.

Reading about Raclette reminded me of Austria and Spaghettata. When I was an exchange student in Innsbruck Austria way too many years ago, my Sued-Tirolean flatmate, Margit, invited me over to her friends' place for a Spaghettata evening. This basically meant that they cooked up a whole lot of spaghetti, and seasoned it simply with olive oil, sea salt, and parmesean. They served it with a green salad with the perfect balsamic vinigrette. It was one of my favorite nights in Austria. I remember we all sat on the floor of a very dark apartment (someone was trying to be romantic) in the Altstadt in Innsbruck  and enjoyed all this very simple but very delicious food. Along with a number of delicious wines from Austria and Sued Tirol. (Aside: What I found fascinating during my stay in Innsbruck was the number of Italian students from Northern Italy--Sued Tirol--who had German as a first language.) It was a great night, and the food was of the best kind--there was lots of it, and it was good.

The Verdict: I love raclette and will endeavor to cook it all the time.

More Mojitos, Please!: L

2 Abingdon Road
W8 6AF
Tel: 0871 223 9658

Date of Last Visit: Friday, July 29, 2006

The Victim: Kristi

The Damage: 35 quid each

The Setup: K and I hadn't seen each other in ages. Or so it felt like. A was sick (or ill as they say here), so it was a girls' night out. I was hoping to check out The Ambassador in Exmouth Market, but K has this thing about smoke, so that was off the list. (I will quote her as close to directly as possible--"Having a no smoking section in a restaurant is like having a no peeing section in a pool.") As it turns out, L does allow smoking, just upstairs at four small tables. So hopefully K is still feeling guilty about depriving me of The Ambassador. All that being said, she remains redeemed. L was a very fine choice.

The Starters: Well, we went with the tapas menu, so there were no starters per se. But there was fantastic walnut and raisin bread. That was very nice. And rosemary and something-or-other bread. Yummy. But before I get into the food, let me just focus on the drink: for those of you that know me, you know I do not enjoy hard liquor. Vodka tonic? YUKKK. Gin and tonic? Double YUK. Rum and Coke? Gag! The only two mixed drinks I will really ever drink are margaritas (it's the salt) and white russians (it's the milk). So when K persuaded me to try the 3.50 mojito (yes, let me write that again--3.50!!!!!), I was tentative. But ultimately, I appreciate a good value, so the Mojito it was.

The Drink: Yes, let me call it "The Drink." Because it was, is, and forever will be "The Drink." Mojitos are not so good at the very beginning. They are minty, but not pepperminty. They are limey, but not really-good-limey. And they are not so sugar-y, even though there is supposedly sugar in there somewhere. But stir and stir and stir and man do you have a nice drink. And for 3.50? Is this the cheapest high quality mixed drink in London, or is it me? I will return for the mojitos alone! (Feathers, are you reading this? Our next girls' night will be here.)

The Food: As always, I digress. K and I ordered a plate of Iberian ham, which was much more ham-y than its Italian counterpart. It was thick, meaty, and smokey and tough to chew. It's not that I didn't like it, but it wasn't my absolute best thing ever. The tortilla was the highlight--eggs, potatoes and basil all cooked up nice and hot and delicious. We had some bread with tomatoes--bruchetta-like, but not called bruchetta, and that was nice. And then we had this cucumber/radish/anchovy/cheese thing, and although that sounds pretty random, it was actually kinda nice. And the most interesting thing of all was the special of the day--cod and olives and oranges and red peppers. It wasn't super-delicious, but I actually mean that in a good way; it was super-interesting. As my old roommates from college would say, "Interesting. Very complex."

The Loos: Very sparkly tile work. Clean. Nothing exciting.

The Service: Too efficient! Let me be, please! As soon as I had drank a tablespoon of water, they were refilling my glass.

The Verdict: I would go back here. Particularly for the 3.50 mojitos. Fantastic.

Where Have I Been??? Chicago Bans Foie Gras!

I have just learned that back In April of this year, the Chicago City Council banned foie gras because it's (according to their research) cruel and inhumane to the ducks. The City Council did not address how absolutely deliciously Chicagolicious it is, however.

I Cannot Get Enough Sushi: Okawari

16 Lisle Street
WC2H 7BE
Tel: 020 7287 6262

Date of Last Visit: Friday, July 6, 2006

The Victims: Feathers, Julie, Kellie, Anna

The Damage: 25 quid per person

The Background: We all wanted sushi, and Feathers was in need of a summit. Kellie suggested Roka--but they were booked. I suggested Pham, but I'm the only one on this side of town. I tried the Japan Centre, but no one would answer the phone. We compromised on somewhere central and I checked London-Eating for the scoop on sushi in Soho/Covent Garden.

The Arrival: I was early, as usual. Kellie arrived soon after, and she just accepted a new job offer, which is quite exciting. Funnily enough however, Kellie had just eaten at Okawari a few weeks ago with her dad and sister; with no particular place in mind, they had just wandered by and dropped in. We ended up sitting at the same table Kellie and her fam sat at. Out of all the places in London, I always find stuff like this a bit weird. Anyhow, we are all the way in the back at one of those tables that looks like you have to sit on the floor, but in reality, there's a secret hole in the floor that let's you sit down just like normal. Getting up is awkward, however.

The Starters: Edamame. But not enough salt! Veggie gyoza, which were quite nice.

The Mains: Julie went for her Chicken Katsu Curry. I went for the teryaki tofu--which was a bit too fried for my liking, but still delicious. I also ordered a Futomaki roll, which was v. nice. Anna had it right with the spicy tuna roll. That was very very good. Feathers ordered veggie skewers which were more fried tofu, with a lot of mushrooms.

The Service: Good, but distracted sometimes. Feathers ordered a bottle of white and it sat on the counter for ages before she got someone to deliver it. I thought it was sweet how they kept filling up our beers, but they're probably no fools when it comes to margins. I tried to get them to tell me about off-menu options (still thinking about that crunchy roll at Pham!), but they claimed not to have any.

The Toilets: UGGGH. Moth ball smell is one of my least favorite smells in the world.

The Verdict: Nothing to complain about. A good central option. Liked the table in the back. Liked the broad assortment of food. Hated the toilets.