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Is This Vietnamese?: Xich-Lo

103 St. John's Street
EC1M 4AS
Tel: 020 7235 0323

Date of Last Visit: Monday, August 21, 2006

The Victims: Me, myself, and I

The Damage: 16.50

The Background: I flew in from Chicago at 8 a.m. this morning. I made good time back from Heathrow and was home by 9:30. I went straight to bed and slept til 12:15. It was fantastic. But then I was hungry. After putzing around for a bit--picking things up, putting things down--I decided to head over to Pho for a delicious lunch. BUT--just as I got to the corner of Clerkenwell and St. John's, I saw Xich-Lo, which opened at some point this summer. And having just finished Garlic & Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, it was time for a visit.

The Locale: It's orange. And fancier than I expected it to be. And more, well, romantic. There were little flickering candles on every table. Some had little seashells suspended in their watery base. I felt very alone all of a sudden, and in the wrong place. I should have arranged to meet someone there. At Pho, I would have had no probs dining alone.

Strike 1: There was construction going on next door, and my original table seemed to be positioned on the other side of a jack hammer. And I already had a jet lag headache. Uggh. So I moved upstairs, where the sound was just as loud, but I didn't get the vibrations that I did downstairs. This was annoying.

The Food: I went with the tasting menu, which started out on the right foot. A spoonful of delightfully seasoned beef. But it was topped with a prawn cracker, which I found a bit odd. I had little time to reflect; my tray arrived soon afterwards.

Strike 2: Some explanation of what I was about to eat would have been nice. I had no idea what was what. It was a large tray with a number of different bowls/dishes on it--5 things? Maybe 6 plus rice?

Back to The Food: I gobbled up the spring roll and the prawn patty (at least, that's what I think it was--no one told me). I had skipped breakfast on the plane. These were good, but everything that's fried is good, no? Then I ate some beef and it was bad. Maybe it was reheated or something. But it was just off. I started obsessing about getting mad cow disease from it. But then I had the soup--with lots of bean sprouts--and I was happy. I've been thinking about bean sprouts a lot lately because Whole Foods is supposedly opening in South Ken next year, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Whole Foods Salad Bar. Let's hope the concept translates to the UK. And then I had the fried rice, which was served in a cute little straw basket, and it was DELICIOUS. And I was happily trying to eat it all up when I noticed that it was served in a styrofoam cup inside the straw basket. And I was NOT the first person to have eaten out of this styrofoam cup. And I was totally grossed out. Uggh. Can styrofoam be cleaned? Reused? Yuk! Strike 3!

The End: My server brought me a cute little shot of orange/pineapple juice. It was super cold and delicious. 

The Verdict: I wanted to like it, but I didn't. I should have gone to Pho. :(

 

Cool Italian: Sardo Canale

42 Gloucester Avenue
NW1 8JD
Tel: 020 7722 2800

Date of Last Visit: Tuesday, August 15, 2006

The Victims: Me, myself and I

The Damage: 22 quid

The Background: I took a couple of days off work to catch up on life. I forgot how time-consuming and EXPENSIVE life in London can be, particularly when one has a couple of errands to run, and credit card fraud is a serious problem. Here's my day yesterday:

8:30 a.m.: Wake up. Make coffee. Milk has gone bad b/c UK milk isn't as highly pasturized as US milk so milk only lasts 6 -8 days. Uggh.
8:50 a.m.; Stand in line at post office to mail 1 letter to the US and 2 locals. Cost: 1.52p.
9 a.m. Drop off wash. (I let the drycleaner do my sheets and towels for 5 gbp a load.) Cost: 10 gbp.
9:30 a.m. Back at drycleaner with real drycleaning. Cost: 35 gbp.
10 a.m.: Call Credit Card Company #1 because they've locked me out of my card because I tried to buy a laptop on Saturday. They were just being safe.
10:10 a.m.: Call Bank because I tried to buy furniture last week and my card was rejected.
10:15 a.m. Call Credit Card Company #2 because when #1 failed, I used #2--my US back-up card--and they called my Mom on Saturday in the US to confirm purchase. Post-purchase.
10:30 a.m.: Board bus for John Lewis. Cost: 1.50
10:50 a.m. Drop off pictures at John Lewis for framing. Cost: 110 gbp.
11:15 a.m: Get eyebrows threaded at Selfridges. 15 gbp + 1.50 tip.
11:45 a.m: Buy new underwear at M&S. It was time. Cost: 110 gbp.
12:30 p.m.: Stock up on essentials at Boots. 20 gbp.
1:00 p.m.: Drop off shoes to be reheeled. Only in London, folks. They can't be fixed by tomorrow, so hold one pair for neighborhood guy that I should have gone to in first place. 7 gbp.
1:30 p.m.: Give neighborhood guy my pair of shoes that MUST be fixed by tomorrow. 10.50 gbp.
2:00  p.m.: Ponder printers at PC World. Almost spend 200 gbp. Wisely put it all back.
2:30 p.m. Home.
Total Damage: 322.02 gbp. And I didn't even EAT!

So I digress, as always. My point it, I was just very tired an in need of a good meal. And I really wanted to go to Camden. So this morning, Tuesday, I woke up bright and early and set off for the market, figuring I'd work up a hunger. I did a little research before heading over and had narrowed my choices to Gilgamesh (it had an escalator--frightening--and it looked empty), Le Petite Train (a long walk, only to discover they were closed), and the Camden Brasserie (looked good--I just wanted to check out my other ptions).

When I discovered Le Petite Train to be closed, I made my way back to Camden, hoping to pick up the trail along the canal. As I was heading down the steps to the canal debating my next meal (at this juncture, the Mexican stand in Camden Market was an option), I spied a cute little restaurant--Sardo Canale--tucked alongside the canal and the overpass. I stopped in.

I was quickly shown a table and then left alone with no menu, but with some delicious little olives and carrots. The people next to me were loud talkers and there was no one else around, so I was annoyed. But I had TimeOut to keep me busy. Bummer part being that there's no view of the canal in Sardo Canale.
Eventually, they brought me the menu and I opted for the set menu--prociutto to start, and veal and potatoes for my main.

The Starters: The bread basket was HUGE. I wondered if a table for 5 would get the same size bread basket I did. They must have realized I was very very hungry. They provided me with some very delicious olive oil. I quickly gobbled two slices of bread, Atkins be damned. And then my ham arrived and I was disappointed. It looked like supermarket ham. It was on a bed of rocket, with a little oil sprinkled on it, and some cheese-substance. Hmmm. How not-so-exciting looking.
Never, my friends, judge a book by its cover. Your mother was RIGHT. I ate it, and it was good. Very very good. The cheese--they should have given me more of that cheese!!! What is this delicious substance? Bring me more!

The Main: I like veal. And I like potatoes. But my mother always provided a vegetable at mealtimes, so I was perturbed. I needed just a little something else. The veal was good. The potatoes were good. But they needed a little something to tie them together. More cheese perhaps?

The Toilets: Very clean. Well kept. Good job.

The Verdict: I'd go here for a business lunch. It's a little too formal for me. The food was good. I think if I went back, I wouldn't order the lunch/dinner special--I'd go more a la carte. But give me some cheese and I'll order anything you want me to.

What Country Am I In?: Mon Plasir

19 - 21 Monmouth Street
WC2H 9DD
Tel: 020 7836 7243

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, August 12th

The Victims: Con Ann, Jochen, Brian, Amy

The Damage: Unknown. They paid!

The Setup: Brian and Amy were in town from California, so Con Ann arranged for us to have dinner at her favorite French spot, Mon Plasir off of Covent Garden. I was early, as usual, and told the staff that my friends had a table for 5 at 8:30. They all looked at me like I was crazy and kept telling me to go to the sofa. I had no idea where the sofa was and no one made any move to take me there. Finally, I said, "Well where is this sofa?" and they took me there and brought me a Kir Royale. I liked the sofa. I felt very French, sitting there watching the people go back and forth. The decor of Mon Plasir reminds me very much of the little local restaurants I go to in Paris. (One of these days, I will write about the French restaurants I go to in Paris!) Cozy, warm, great soft lighting. Lots of wood.

Aside: I find French restaurants and waitstaff interesting. When we sat down, we asked for bread. We were told we couldn't have bread yet. It would come with our meal. Would it really have hurt them to have given us bread sooner rather than later? Related, I once took the Eurostar and was sitting in Leisure Select, which is like business class but not, but you get a hot meal at your chair. I asked for a glass of wine prior to dinner being served, and was told I couldn't have any wine--wine would be served with the meal, but I could have an apertif. I didn't want an apertif! I just wanted a glass of wine. But no. I "had" to have a Kir Royale.

The Starters: Con Ann and I shared 12 Escargot, which were garlicky perfection. Amy tried to convince us that escargot were slugs, and that she kills them all the time in her backyard. Con Ann and I disagreed, but not being an expert on mollusks (at least I think that's what they're called), I couldn't say for sure.

The Wine. And The Service: Our server was really sweet and friendly. He steered us to this one Bordeaux that was really inexpensive and said it was his favorite. We ordered two bottles, and asked for his fave to be served 2nd. Well, we were a little disappointed in the 1st bottle--I thought it was okay, but it wasn't quaffable--as French wine is wont to be (unquaffable, that is)--but were absolutely delighted with the bargain we found in the 2nd bottle. I think we were all sad we hadn't had two of those.

The Mains: I went with the Coq au Vin. The rest went with the Entrecote. The Coq Au Vin was good. A little light on the mushrooms, onions and potatoes.  In short, it was just chicken in a pot with wine. Very nicely cooked chicken, yes. But I would have enjoyed the opportunity to soak up the sauce with some carbs of some sort. The team seemed happy with their Entrecote, which looked very nice and came with a little pot of garlicy butter. Yumm.

The Dessert: I went with the cherry and almond tart. I do love the combo. There was a lot of chocolate mousse. Thank goodness for that espresso or I would have fallen asleep on my plate. I was tired. And full. And happy.

The Verdict: I liked the atmosphere of Mon Plasir. It was homey and friendly and busy. I really liked our server, and I loved the escargot. I thought my main was a little better than average, but not the best thing I had ever had. That being said, I would recommend Mon Plasir and would more than happily return.

Shameless Promotion: Taste London

My TimeOut subscription expired a month or two back, so I finally got around to renewing this morning. While I was on the TimeOut site, I got sucked into something called TasteLondon where for an annual fee of £49.95--which includes a free copy of the TimeOut Eating & Drinking Guide--I am now a discount club card carrying member, entitled to all sorts of 2fer1s and 50% offs.

Some of the good places I saw on the site included Cantaloupe (Shoreditch), The Gun, Cube & Star, Dollar Grills & Martinis, etc. Lots of good stuff! Let's see if I get my money's worth!