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The Grocery Kitchen

The Grocery Kitchen 
54 - 56 Kingsland Road
E2 8DP

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, February 15, 2009

The Victim: Me

The Damage: £12

The Background: I felt like a little wander around Columbia Road, and I was up way too early on a Sunday. So I thought I would pop into The Grocery Kitchen for a croissant.

The Entrance: They don't really have croissants on the menu at The Grocery Kitchen. So smoked salmon and scrambled eggs it was. The pricetag was a bit hefty--£8.50--but after the £14.50 smoked salmon and scrambled eggs at The Wolseley the other day, this was a bargain.

The dining area is all sanded tables and mis-matched chairs and brickwork. I kinda like it. Plus, they have a lot of newspapers lying around, and someone has written an entire article about blogging!

The Food: I thought my food was super great. The scrambled eggs were perfect. And look at that toast! Real grill marks! Nice and buttery too. The smoked salmon was excellent as well, although I was initially concerned by its pale appearance.

The Verdict: I thought this was a GREAT breakfast--a million times better than breakfast at The Wolseley--I am sad I didn't discover The Grocery Kitchen sooner.

The News Cafe, Miami Beach

 

The News Cafe
800 Ocean Dr
Miami Beach, FL 33139
http://www.newscafe.com

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, December 20th, 2008

The Victim: Dad

The Damage: $40. For breakfast. Uggh.

The Background: I am a sucker. A big sucker. I've never spent much time in Miami Beach, but I've read enough to know that The News Cafe is famous. So that's where I take dad for breakfast.

And we're suckers. We get totally ripped off. $40 for breakfast? And the orange juice isn't freshed-squeezed? I don't think so. Apparently, The News Cafe is famous because it creates suckers like me.

The Food: I get the Huevos Rancheros and it's served like Eggs Benedict, only on tortillas. It's okay. But just okay. Not enough beans for me.

More Background: Once the crazy guy sits down next to us, we get out of there. Only to find that they've automatically added 18% to our bill as a tip. This doesn't happen much in the U.S. Only when your party is 6 or more and/or you're at a restaurant frequented by non-Americans, who don't tip more often than not.

Oh yeah, breakfast at every other place on the beach? $4.50.

I really am a sucker.

The Verdict: Don't go here. Get yourself a $4.50 breakfast somewhere else. Preferably with fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Ottolenghi

Ottolenghi
287 Upper Street
N1 2TZ
Tel: 020 7288 1454
http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, September 28th 2008

The Victim (Literally): Me

The Background: I love Ottolenghi. But I also hate it, hate it, hate it. The thought of going into Ottolenghi on a weekend morning fills me with dread, no matter how delicious their salads are.

Why? It's because it's a freakin' FREE FOR ALL. All these random people (yummy mummies, young urban professionals, where hair gel goes to die, etc.) squeezing into the little entranceway, trying to place a takeaway order WHERE THERE IS NO SYSTEM. No system at all. It is total and utter CHAOS.

There's no deli counter ticket machine. What I wouldn't give for one of these (thanks to snowdeal on Flickr)...

Because otherwise, you're just standing there, saying to men in cashmere and women in large sunglasses, "Are you waiting?" (And really, who wears cashmere on a day like Sunday???)

The Verdict: Go. But forewarned is forearmed.

Breakfast: Pick More Daisies

Pick More Daisies
12 Crouch End Hill
N8 8AA 
020 8340 2288

Date of Last Visit: May 10th, 2008

The Victims: Al, Louise

The Damage: They paid while I was in the loo! So angry.

The Background: Louise and I are getting our ass kicked on a weekly basis. Her name is Bridget and she makes us run through Highgate Wood. OK, she doesn't really make us do anything. She's helping us. Because in July, we're running the British 10k. We're crazy.

So after an ass-kicking session, Al & Louise introduce me to Pick More Daisies. Can you see the menu? They have HUEVOS RANCHEROS. Wow. I should have gotten this. Instead, I did the sensible thing and ordered the California Sunshiine and had peach sorbet for brunch. Along with two poached eggs, some wheat toast, and a whole lotta fruit. Life doesn't get much nicer than that now, does it?

The Verdict: Nice. I wouldn't mind a return visit.

Perfect Brunch: The Giraffe

Crispin Place
E1 6DW
Tel: 020 3116 2000

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, March 5

The Victims: Kristi, Adrien

The Damage: 22 quid each. (Two cocktails each.)

Oh I do miss Sunday brunch. Real proper brunch. Not just beans and toast and weird bacon. But lovely fun brunch with interesting breakfast-y options that aren't quite breakfast but aren't quite lunch either.

I picked up K&A outside Liverpool Street station on the most perfect of days. Very blue sky. Very bright sun. A little crispness in the air. We wandered towards Spitalfields and settled on The Giraffe for brunch. It was early (11) so we easily got a table. They ordered Bloody Mary's (yuck) and I ordered a Mimosa (or Buck's Fizz, as they call them here). My Fizz was very orange-y and pulpy. Very nice. This is interesting because I don't really like pulpy orange juice. But throw a little champagne in there and I'm totally fine with it.

Kristi and I went with the Tostada for brunch. It arrived with some of the best scrambled eggs I've ever had. They were so perfectly light and fluffy. Someone really knew what they were doing. Honestly perfect. Then, there were black beans cheese and a little bit of salsa. Perfect. I did not find any Mexican sausage, but I didn't mind. I forget what Adrien ordered, but he really liked it so it was fine.

Service was very friendly and nice. No complaints.

We left around 12 and there were 20-million people waiting to get in. This is something I don't understand. Don't people know that on Sundays, you don't show up at a restaurant you want to have breakfast at at 12? You show up at 11 so you get a seat.

The Verdict: It is a chain, so my guess is that food will be random. But whoever they have in the kitchen today knows what they're doing. So I'll go back.

Date Place: Julie's

135 Portland Road
London W11 4LW8
Tel: 020 7229 8331

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, January 8

The Victims: Al, Louise, Michael

The Damage: 50 quid per person!

I hadn't seen Al & Louise in ages--since that Thai restaurant that got me sick ages ago. I left it up to them to choose our brunch locale, and they chose Julie's, which I was excited about because I'd heard good things.

I ended up running into Michael at the lift in Holland Park Station, which was funny because I totally thought it was a coincidence and he played along with it until he finally admitted that he too was coming to brunch. That was pretty funny.

We were shown downstairs to the waiting area at Julie's and it was fantastic. I felt like I was in a spa and someone was going to come get me soon to take me in for a facial or something. The lighting was very dim and romantic and the music was very chill. Michael and I ordered champagne cocktails and settled in in a little nook off the main waiting area.

Al & Louise were running a bit late, which was totally fine because we were so comfortable. Eventually, we were shown to a table in another little nook. One of the chair's looked like it should be the pope's chair. The space was a bit hard to get in and out of, but it was nice to have our own little spot.

Michael and I started with the smoked mackeral pate, and it was lovely. (Although some might argue that this goes against my "No foie gras in 2006" rule, I'd respectfully disagree. Foie gras to me is duck or chicken, not fish.) Louise went with the goat's cheese terrine and it looked lovely. Al had the vegetable soup and he said it was spicy and different.

For mains, I skipped the salmon because of my last experience at Vic Naylor's, and instead opted for the chicken which was very nice, albeit nothing to write home about. The stuffing, on the other hand, was fantastic and they should have provided more of it! Also, the potatoes were very nice. Al & Michael ordered the lamb with mint sauce, which came without any mint sauce. That was bad. I think it was because our waitress was French. Louise went for the beef with yorkshire pudding, which she gobbled all up.

Service throughout was very friendly, albeit not always with great English. We had to explain things a couple of times. But that was okay.

On our way out, there were a bunch of kids running around upstairs and damn if they all weren't the cutest things and super well-behaved. Apparently, Julie's operates a creche in the restaurant somewhere so parents can take a breather during their meal. Nice idea. (But also something to bear in mind if little people aren't your thing.)

The Verdict: A great date place. Great atmosphere. Good food.

Sunday Brunch: S&M Cafe

48 Brushfield Street
London E1 6AG
Tel: 020 7247 5438

The Victim: Ashley

Date of Last Visit: Last Weekend in July

I love theme restaurants that are quirky but not cheesy. So I love S&M.

Get your mind out of the gutter--S&M stands for Sausage & Mash...which is pretty much all this restaurant serves. And minty peas--but I'm not sure where my mint was.

I got a regular sausage and a Thai sausage and some bubble & squeak and it was all very delicious. We did see someone send back their undercooked sausages, though--and that was gross. But mine were yummy. Sausage = good for Atkins. Bubble & Squeak = not so good. I would write more but what else can I say---they have sausage and they have mash. And it's delightful.

The Verdict: Go. Particularly on a Sunday so you can wander around Spitalfields and then have some sausage.