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Prosecco on Tap at The Rake

The Rake
14a Winchester Walk
SE1 9AG

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, May 9, 2009

The Victims: Feathers, Matt, and Uncle Feathers

The Damage: I don't know! Uncle Feathers paid.

The Background: I know. Where have I been? Didn't I get back from Rome ages ago?

Yes, yes. I'm back. And I love The Rake. I've always loved The Rake. And I love The Rake even more because hey, they have PROSECCO on tap.

But I digress...although I continue to eat out, I haven't been to too many new places around London lately, and thus, nothing to review. OK, there are a few. They are...

Le Cassoulet in Croydon
Edward Moon in Stratford-upon-Avon
Mestizo in Euston

And I need to blog up my reviews of them. At some point...

But I've also been to a lot of the same old, same old in London...
Lunch at Fernandez & Wells
Not one but TWO visits to Magdala in Hampstead
Ottolenghi, of course, for some aubergine and crispy sea bass
Anchor & Hope for some fantastic asparagus and a great meal of pork belly (and loin) and crackling and greens. This was my first visit since March of 2005 and it had me asking myself, why haven't I come back inbetween?

So Feathers thinks that every time I've been someplace I've been before, I should update my review and repost. What do you think?

***Update*** Matt went back on Monday night and then again on Wednesday night and reports that the prosecco is no longer on tap.

Sambrook's Brewery

Sambrook's Brewery Limited
Unit 1 & 2 Yelverton Road
SW11 3QG

Date of Last Visit: Monday, March 2nd

The Victims: Many. Thanks to the folks at social review site Qype.co.uk.

The Damage: This was a freebie.

The Background: You might know that I'm a sucker for entrepreneurs. So I was fascinated by the story of Duncan Sambrook, who left his job as an accountant and started up Sambrook's Brewery in Wandsworth last year. There's not much, if any, beer being brewed on a large scale in London these days, so Sambrook's is a bit of a milestone.

 

The Tour: Duncan takes us on a detailed tour of the beer-making process. I discover I like barley, and Niamh and Lizzie and I wonder how it would taste in a salad. The brewery is in an old warehouse and it's all a bit chilly until we warm up with a half of Wandle Ale.

The Beer: Duncan has a great map on the wall that shows you where you can buy his beer. The Cow is on there, as is The Wenlock. Many others. There's a list of current stockists on the Sambrook's Web site. Now he just needs to mash it up and create a Google map.

The Verdict: I liked Duncan's Wandle Ale, and I liked it ever more so when I heard it came in at just 3.8% alcohol. Keep an eye on Sambrook's. It's likely that we'll be hearing a lot more from them.  

BrewDog Zeitgeist

What are you drinking these days? Maybe you should get with the program. And drink a Zeitgeist. Like I did the other night at The Austin Gallery on Bethnal Green Road with the guys from the London guide to everything, Tipped.co.uk. (Plus a late-arriving Stonch from Stonch's Beer Blog.)

I always feel like an ass, writing down tasting notes. But I thought this was a pretty excellent beer. I'm not entirely in-synch with BrewDog's branding practices--not to my taste, really--but I dig their beer. You will too.

The Dovetail

The Dovetail
9, Jerusalem Passage
EC1V 4JP

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, December 7, 2008

The Victims: Chris, Evelien, Seona, and a guy whose name I really didn't catch

The Damage: Not so much. £12 each or thereabouts?

The Background: I like having a Belgian friend. I use her for her Belgian-ness. Specifically, I'm talking beer. Evelien knows her Belgian beer.

Perhaps all Belgians know beer as well as Evelien does. Maybe it's a national trait. (Or at least, a Flemish trait.) But I don't know many other Belgians besides for Evelien. (And Damien, but I haven't seen him for ages.) Oh, and I suppose I've got at least one Belgian co-worker. OK, and a friend from grad school. So that's four. I know four Belgians.

So after our lunch at Mien Tay, our party disperses and the last of us head over to The Dovetail because it's baby friendly (indeed, there are many babies in The Dovetail while we're there), it's Belgian, and it's relatively close to home.

I'm presented with three different Belgian beers during our sojourn in The Dovetail. The only name I've written down is Leffe Radieuse. I wish I could present you with tasting notes, but we weren't being very serious. We were playing pass-the-baby while giving legal advice. Plus, there was all that MSG to contend with.

The Loos: Odd. Like they're under construction. But they're not. I think they're going for an industrial feel, but it just looks like plywood to me.

The Verdict: I've been here a few times. It's nice. But there's something a bit dirty-feeling about it. Like it's missing a crucial element of the decor. (Maybe it's the candles...with all the kiddies about, there were wisely no candles melting into Duval bottles.) But I like drinking Belgian beer with Evelien, so I'll probably be back.

Priviet, Baltika!

Paper Planes - M.I.A. (You gotta listen to the whole song. Give it more than 15 seconds. Thanks to David Byrne Radio, again, for introducing me to this classic.)

It's 1997. I am in Russia! With Aileen, one of my best friends in the entire world. She was a Russian major in undergrad. And she wants to go to Russia. And so I say Da. And we fly British Airways from Chicago to London and then London to St. Petersberg and they give us Yorkie Bars on the plane and we think that's the funniest thing ever--and we also live off our Yorkie Bars for days. Those things are pretty hearty.

But one of my favorite memories of Saint Petersberg is Baltika, the beer. I forget how we were introduced to it. But we were. And we got very into it. (OK, maybe I got very into it?) Because I loved how numerical they were about it. There's just something so easy about saying "I'll have the number 7!" I'll come back to that in a moment.

So Baltika--they are the most popular beer brand in Russia, and they are the second largest selling beer after Heineken in Europe. (I have to guess it's because they have a somewhat captive audience? I'd love to see their market share in the former USSR.) They've got 10 different varietes of beer to offer and here's their thing--they number them. Now I used to think--and tell people--that they were ordered by alcohol content and/or lightness/darkness, but this is (sadly) not the case. I've just checked their Web site. They are just numbered. That's fine. Although I think it would be SO much cooler if they were numbered in some sort of order.

So I was SO excited the other month when I walked into the Tube and I saw a huge poster about Baltika and the U.K. And then on the escalator at Angel, I saw these little mini posters.

Number 3 is here.

Spasiba.

P.S. OK, I just checked their financial results and here's their market share as of August 2006:
Russia: 35.6%
Ukraine: 17.7%
The Baltics: 43.8%
Kazakhstan: 29.6%

Oh, and I learned that Baltika is now a product of Scottish & Newcastle, who have three of the top ten brands in Europe by volume: Baltika, Kronenbourg 1664 and Foster’s.

Margarita? Or Beer with Ice?

The only good thing about my meal at Mi Casa was my Michelada...this one was  a Dos Equis with lemonade with salt on the rim. A cervesa mas fina, for sure. (Whoops, wrong brand.)

You CAN Drink Beer with Ice! The Michelada

One night back in Business School, I was hanging out with my friend Matt, who loves the Alman Brothers, and we were drinking beer. But it was all warm. There was ice in the house though, so I innocently suggested just throwing some ice in.

He was horrified.

I was not.

(To be honest, it didn't stop him. He did drink the beer. With ice. But he kept saying "Dude, there's ice in my beer!" I guess you had to be there.)

Well, the next time I have a case of warm beer and nowhere to go, I will make Micheladas. (Which, according to NPR, means My Cold Beer.) Micheladas like they serve at Green & Red. Or Mercado.

It's my new summer drink. You should try one. Or four.

The Michelada ingredients vary depending on who you talk to. Having tried a bunch of different types of Micheladas now, I'd go for the lemony/lime version; no Clamato or tomato juice for me por favor. So more citrus-y than Bloody Mary-esque. But you'll find some that are spicier...like these recipes.

Michelada with Clamato
*12 oz. Mexican Beer, non-dark
*6 oz Motts Clamato
*2 dashes of premium worcestershire sauce
*2 dashes Tabasco brand hot sauce
*juice from 2 non-yellow key limes
*1 pinch coarse ground black pepper
*1 pinch sea salt

Michelada with Maggi
*12 oz. Mexican Beer, non-dark,
*2 dashes of Jugo Sazonador (Maggi)
*2 dashes of premium Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins)
*2 dashes Tabasco brand hot sauce
*juice from 2 non-yellow key limes

Harveys Sussex Best Bitter

Date of Consumption: Tuesday, July 10, 2007

The Scene of The Crime: The Rose & Crown Pub, 199 Stoke Newington Church St, N16 9ES

The Victims: Ben, Gerry, and a late Matt

The Damage: I don't recall.

The Verdict: Harveys Sussex Best Bitter has as a bite to it. I like it, but it might be a bit too bitter for me.

This is surprising.

It's surprising because when people page "Bitter, party of 1," well, I usually turn around.

Cornish Knocker

When I Drank It: Tuesday, July 10th

The Scene of The Crime: The Rose & Crown Pub, 199 Stoke Newington Church St, N16 9ES

The Victims: Ben, Gerry, and a late Matt

The Damage: £7.50 for two pints and a half. Or thereabouts. Don't quote me. (And no, I didn't drink them all myself.)

The Verdict: Now if that's not a good tap, I don't know what is.

It reminds me of my friend from grammar school, Louise, another child of a police officer. I remember her telling me how when she walked home from our very Catholic grammar school one late afternoon, a man jumped out of the bushes in a tan rain coat and flashed her.

And I remember even then, my young mind was thinking...who's got a proper raincoat these days??? I mean, a tan one, with a belt?

Well, I will let you ponder that while I tell you that the Cornish Knocker, made by Skinners Brewery, is very smooth; personally, I tasted bananas. And there were no raincoats involved. Would I drink it all the time? I'm not sure. But I sure would steal that tap. Well...let me restate that...I'd steal that tap if I knew I wouldn't be saddled with the yoke of Catholic guilt for the rest of my days. Sister Mary Acquinata, you are always with me.