Tummyrumble

Here be squirrels - The Riding House Café, Fitzrovia

There are times when I enter a restaurant and am truly surprised. Today was such a day. The squirrels on the walls had nothing to do with it.

Baby squid, chorizo, smoked paprika, chilli, olives... You can't go wrong with smoked paprika!
Originally uploaded by Paul WF.

Me and monster photographer Paul (no, he doesn't photograph monsters, although that would be awesome, he is "just" a damn good crafter of extraordinary images) wanted to go out for yet another of our stupidly long lunches and in an unusual fit of ear to the ground timeliness we set our sights for the newly opened Riding House Café on Great Titchfield Street. 

Having heard good things banded about Twitter, but not really had time to look into it in detail, thus somehow completely unaware that Riding House Café is the third venture by the people behind one of my favourite London pubs The Garrison I had no expectations what so ever.

Upon arriving I found myself denied entry as the door wouldn't budge. Being my usual slightly confused self, I tried to cajole the door to behave in the expected manner by pulling the handle harder, which had no effect other than the girl at the reception desk taking pity on me and with a warm smile walk over and open the door next to the one I was having a silent argument with.

Owing to a slight embarrassment over my door manipulation #fail I didn't really take in much of the restaurant until I had handed my coat and bag over to said girl, but as I turned around and spotted Paul and Rachel (McCormack) by the bar I knew I had found one of those rare restaurants I take a deep and instant shine to. See, I am simple like that. Plonk me down on a comfortable and aestethically pleasing chair in a room where the attention to detail is so striking that it makes the room look like it has been there forever and my spirits soar.

Beautiful AND comfortable bar stools, with a matching bar to go with them, I could spend hours here.
Originally uploaded by Paul WF.

With my favourite cafe and Swedish treat shop Scandinavian Kitchen down the road I've walked past the restaurant that used to be here before many times. With a name like Chutney & Lager it completely failed to attract my attention. Little did I expect this incredible make over, especially from a place with the word "Café" in the name. This place is so much more than that. As I walked over to join my lunch company at the bar I silently hoped that the food and service (from the very smart looking staff) would live up to the promise of the interior.

With Rachel in the house, proud part of the #westbromptonsherrymassive as she is, a glass of dry fino is the only suitable start to a cheeky lunch. There are only two sherries on the menu, one dry and one sweet, yet disaster managed to strike the bar staff as the glasses delivered contained not a light appetite inducing aperitif, but sticky, deeply dark and sweet Pedro Ximenez. 

The error was pointed out, the server apologised profusely and then that most amazing and statistically highly unlikely event of lightning striking the same spot twice occurred as we were told the fino was lukewarm. Oh the horror! Me being a bone headed brute of the "I may not know much about food and drink, but I know what I like" variety would never have noticed but Rachel and courteous General Manager Nick Levantis who delivered the bad news were very much in agreement that the sherry would have to wait until it was chilled and would we please accept something else as an aperitif while the sherry achieved greatness? Of course we would. Negronis of perfect Orson Wellian balance ("The bitters are good for your liver, the gin is bad, they balance each other.") were produced and consumed with delight.

Interior, check. Service, check. I love a graceful recovery.

Deciding it was time to check out the food we moved from the bar area to the dining room. I could write at length about how the furnishings are in keeping with the New York-inspired bar area, or how the comfortable chairs and inviting sofas with splashes of orange make the room feel really warm and welcoming but I won't. There are squirrels. 

Here be squirrels!
Originally uploaded by Paul WF.

Wasn't me who noticed them, I was busy admiring the ancient camera lens-like ceiling lamps and scoping out the very appealing menu (my head nodding up and down from ceiling to table trying to take it all in at once). Rachel however stopped talking mid sentence and just pointed to the wall mounted lamps. Yup, definitely squirrels frozen in time while scurrying up the wall trying to hide in the lamp shades. Clearly someone behind the scenes has a thing for taxidermy as I recall stuffed animals being a feature also at The Garrison.

Animal wall features couldn't keep us distracted from the Riding House Café menu very long though. On the menu you'll find instead of starters an interesting sounding selection of small dishes ranging in price from three to five pounds. I would happily come here and simply go through most of these while chatting away with friends. Mains are priced between £10 and £15, so not bank breaking. They also serve Chateubriand, which I really would like to come here and try. Among the side dishes is my current favourite way ofserving broccoli, with a helping of anchovy. Yum.

Among the small dishes we ordered (poussin, salt cod fritters, sea bass ceviche, squid) the squid (pictured at the top of this post) was my favourite. Lots of flavour, squid silky smooth and chorizo providing a slightly chewy bite. The ceviche was a bit of a let down, I expected something really exciting to happen in the meeting of sea bass, lime, chilli and my tongue but no joy beyond a nice texture. 

Ordered the guinea fowl on Rachel's suggestion, mainly to try the romesco sauce, and while she wouldn't necessarily label it "romesco" it certainly didn't fail to satisfy. Very tasty. Any decently prepared dish with blackpudding in it works for me and the romesco sauce provided a nice freshness to go with it.

Then came the rack of pork with smoked sausage and lentils and if I wasn't convinced before that there would be an additional "check" on my mental scorecard next to the line "food satisfying taste buds as well as eyes" this pushed me over the edge. Delicious.

Rack of pork with horseradish, on a bed of lentils and smoked sausage... Right up my street.
Originally uploaded by Paul WF.

For desserts we had the Sundae (sweet tooth Paul very much approved), the Spiced Gingerbead (liked it, but would have loved it with a bit more of a ginger kick) and the Créme Caramel. Seriously, that Créme Caramel deserves a blog post of its own. Creamy, exquisite vanilla, when I go next time I will order two. That said, we were told that the Red Plum & Pear Crumble is a winner, so I will have to make sure my dinner companion orders that...

Créme Caramel with hazelnut biscotti, worth coming here just for this dessert alone!
Originally uploaded by Paul WF.

Thoroughly enjoyed my visit, made all the better by the great company, and I already suspect that Riding House Café will take up a position next to Hawksmoor Seven Dials, The Garrison and Polpetto as a place I will regularly come back to.

Special thanks to Mr Paul Winch-Furness (@Paul_WF) for letting me use his great photos from the day.

Spuntino - the perfect hangover cure

There is something really endearing about a restaurant that greets you with a cup of warm popcorn as you sit down.

Tried a selection from the interesting menu and came out the other end highly satisfied.

(Also see my photos from Spuntino at Flickr.)

This is to me the most addictive restaurant in the Russell Norman empire so far (also see my previous posts on Polpo and Polpetto).

Had tapas been invented in the 21st century in Brooklyn, New York, it would look and feel like this. But we are lucky enough to have this gem in London! Beautiful interior, great staff, a menu combining fresh and zingy salads with proper carbtastic energy bombs like mac and cheese.

Was told that the mac and cheese already is becoming a favourite with the late night Soho dwellers. I can see why. Warming, comforting, will keep you going for some time if you have plans to not crash in your bed any time soon.

Ordered two of the sliders, salt beef and beef with bone marrow, and immediately wished I got more of them. At a fiver each they are a bit too pricey to go crazy over though.

My favourite dish today was the duck ham salad with pecorino and mint (see photo below). Fresh, crisp greens and rich, silky duck slices. Lovely summer dish, and today was indeed summer in Soho.

Special mention to the exquisite Bloody Marys we were offered by our server Nigel. If one of those doesn't get you started right, your taste buds are in dire need of a rejuvenation.

I came in slightly hung over, and left feeling like a new man. Will be back.

Duck ham salad (from the bowl in the background) with a piece of delicious soft shell crab on top. And a brilliant Bloody Mary.
Originally uploaded by Manne.

Lemon, garlic and spring onion broccoli

Lemon garlic and pepper broccoli. With steak.
Originally uploaded by Manne.

Broccoli. While I already posted about the best broccoli you'll ever have, that post in itself spawned another excellent recipe for spicing up the green sprouty thing.

Yesterday as I sat down at my office desk one of my colleagues shouted that I need to stop posting such mouth watering posts for her to read early in the morning as she gets hungry way before lunch and apparently this is bad for her waistline. She looks great, I don't know what she's talking about.

Turns out she too is a broccoli lover. She sent me this recipe, which I promptly tried last night with the glorious fillet steaks we got from our local Peckham butcher W. Bunting & Sons.

Lemon, garlic and spring onion. It sounds almost as weird as broccoli with anchovy sauce, but me and W both loved it. The lemon, lending a subtle flavour to the broccoli, made me think of eating on a sunny terrace in spring. Would probably go even better with fish.

Added some romano pepper to give it a bit of colour splash, and tossed it all in butter towards the end to make it shine.

My colleague said to steam it (adding the fragrant ingredients to the steaming water) but in a fit of confusion I ended up boiling all the ingredients together which worked well, I really like the way the vegetable mix looks on the plate.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 broccoli head, cut to bite sized florets
1 lemon, zested then sliced
1 bunch of spring onions, sliced diagonally
1 romano pepper, cut in strips
3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
bit of salt and black pepper
big knob of butter or splash of olive oil

Method

Bring enough water to cover all the veg in a pot to boil in the kettle.

Place all the ingredients except the butter, salt and black pepper in the pot and add the boiling water. Boil for 7-8 minutes.

Drain the water using a colander, while the veg is draining, melt the butter in the pot (or just add the olive oil). When melted, put the veg back in the pot and toss to give it a nice sheen. Add salt and pepper ot taste.

Plate up. For an added lemony hit, squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the veg (from a new lemon, obviously, as the one that's been boiled has shared all its flavour with the veg) or add some more decorative zest on the top.

Serve with a nice fish fillet, or a glorious piece of steak.

Best broccoli you ever had

Mackerel fillets with chilli-garlic-anchovy broccoli...
Originally uploaded by Manne.

When you try to eat little carb during the weeks you end up eating a lot of vegetables, and quite often broccoli and cauliflower. On the plus side, we have been told since we could listen that it is really good for us. The slight drawback is that it can get a bit monotone.

Luckily I happen to really like broccoli and cauliflower, not to mention cabbage. Cauli and cabbage are very versatile, you can make it just as exciting as variations on pasta with different types of sauces.

Broccoli however, not so much. Or at least I thought so until we made this. Sticking to our "what it says on the tin" style of naming convention, this would simply be "chilli-garlic-anchovy coated broccoli". Goes superbly with pan fried oily fish like mackerel.

I know, I know. I can hear your eye balls rattle from your head shaking. You are thinking "Broccoli and anchovy?!? Now he's really gone off on one... That sounds almost, but not quite, as horrid as that terrible herring ice cream stuff he was peddling last year! You will never get me to cook that in my kitchen."

Be that as it may, that's your loss. And for the record, herring ice cream is a fantastic dish served on a hot summer's day.

Inspiration comes from this recipe, which is a bit more elaborate. The below version takes minutes to make, doesn't use any more pots or tools, and elevates the broccoli to... Sends your taste buds... Feels like... Can't think of anything. It makes it really tasty, mmm'kay?

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 broccoli head, cut to bite sized florets
2 red chillis, sliced
4-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped or mashed
4-6 anchovy fillets in oil
2 tbsp of anchovy oil or plain olive oil
Twist of black pepper 

Method

Steam the broccoli for 7-8 minutes.

Remove the broccoli from your steaming pot and remove the water.

(I have one of these pots with an insert for steaming, which means I can use the same pot throughout the recipe. If you don't have one of those, you'll just have to grab another pot.)

Bring the empty pot up to a medium heat and add the oil. When warm, add the chilli and stir for a minute. Then add the garlic, then the anchovy, and keep stirring. 

You want the anchovy fillets to dissolve into the oil. When you have an oily paste with pieces of chilli in the bottom of the pot it is time to add in the broccoli.

Mix it all around making sure you get some of the oil and chilli on every floret.

Plate up and serve with a nice mackerel fillet, or a piece of crispy skin salmon.