A winter pop up

I love the seasons - when Autumn gets close I start to remember all the hat/boot/glove combo's I can get going on and my end of summer sadness goes.

Then winter arrives and I get all carried away with the festive wonder that is Christmas in London. As long as no one makes me either go ice skating or drive in the snow - then winter as far as I'm concerned is almost as good as summer - with the added bonus of presents, legitimately spending Sunday's without leaving the flat and mulled stuff.

Mulled stuff and I had a lot of action this weekend. Pimms winter was out in force on Friday night and then last night it was pretty much doctors orders.

We'd booked a table at the winter temporary home of Forza -the Italian rooftop pizzeria in bethnal green. Only this time it was an Italian version of fondue, mulled brandy, and a beautiful peanut butter banofee ice cream from Gelupo. Individual hob's were at the centre of the tables and our cheesy concoction was accompanied by ginger pig delicacies ( ham, sausages), seasonal veg ( squash, parsnips, radicchio) and beautiful sourdough. A lovely sensitive singer rounded the evening off.

The cheese is so rich and creamy that apparently you have to accompany it with either wine or hot mulled cider.

When on a rooftop and all that.....

We ate at: Forza ( winter), location revealed on booking.

I became addicted to: pimms winter, Gelupo desserts, fingerless gloves.

Lobster obviously.....

A night out was planned at Soho Theatre to see a comic talk about romance and adventure. I'm not entirely sure the two go hand in hand, but I know what does go well with adventure - lobster.

The last time I had lobster was in Nicaragua, in a truly amazing island called Big Corn. Admittedly chosen because of its name the island is paradise and has the added bonus of Lobster being the main food source. So days of lobster soup, lobster curry, lobster on toast etc etc.

Back home my chances to relive those heady lobster days seemed limited. That is until a friend mentioned a new place in Mayfair called Burger & Lobster. Simple menu - burger or even lobster for £20. The place was permanently heaving. So they opened one on Dean Street just down the road from the theatre we love. Perfect.

I'd made a reservation for us girls , so we smugly walked past the people being told it was a 90 minute wait. It's a big space, noisy and full of happy diners. Turns out our options included more than just lobster or burgers. Choices are:-
1. 10oz burger with cheese & bacon, fries, salad
2. Lobster in a brioche bun, with a Japanese dressing , fries, salad
3. Lobster grilled at the end if you like, served with lemon and garlic butter, fries, salad

So the choice was obvious right? 4 lobsters, and a burger for the seafood hating friend.

Plastic aprons were dished out, what looked like nut crackers issued. Within 5 minutes the juicy fella's had arrived - wow. Instantly transported back on holiday. Utterly delicious. The most beautiful plate of food. Burgers looked tasty ( but pricey?)

We ate quickly ( tricky with a lobster) and rushed up to our theatre show. The comedienne tricked us with the romance and adventure theme - not strictly true more like scraping through life dismayed by what the Tory government were doing and attending socialist rally's. Probably didn't seem like a good time to blurt out that we'd just spent the evening drinking cocktails and eating lobster...............

We ate and drank at:
http://www.burgerandlobster.com/

The damage was £32 with a glass of wine ( drinks are pricey ish £8 for aG&T). Lobster is amazing value.

We laughed at:

http://sohotheatre.com/whats-on/josie-long/

Art Deco loveliness

Some days go well from start to finish. Saturday November 3rd was one of those. After spending the morning looking at a beautiful flat and finding an area in North London which is neither too pricey nor likely to result in me being stabbed, I go to meet the girls for lunch.

I'm a big fan of both The Wolseley and The Delauney - the perfect brunch venues - so was keen to try the newest member of the gang - Brasserie Zedel.

Set underground in the fabulous 1930's Piccadilly hotel - the space is incredible - wonderful chandeliers, beautiful old pictures. It felt wrong to be wearing my jeans - where was mum's flapper dress when I needed it.

Lower in price than the W and the D, service isn't quite as impeccable, but the space makes up for it. It's very very grand, bustling and relaxing.

I had the prix fixe menu - a massive bargain at around £12 for a cucumber salad ( better than you'd think), steak hache and frites and a coffee with 2 little cakes. Happy.

I think the Delauney remains my favourite, but if I'm short of cash, ill definitely be back.

X

Brunch love

The older I get, the more brunch is my meal with friends of choice. Strong link to me being knackered most evenings. But it's also the best part of the day right? Anything is possible in the morning - could be the start of the best day of your life.

I've been to the exmouth market branch of Caravan a few times - ace coffee, relaxed and fresh, exciting menu. They recently opened a branch in a renovated grain store near the canal in an area which is undergoing a renovation project in kings cross.

I was picking a friend down from the North up for the weekend; giving me the perfect excuse to try it out. It's a ten minute walk from Kings Cross station, and has a beautiful spot. When we arrived at around 1 on a Saturday there was a queue - a good sign for them as the space is huge.

We waited at the bar , where the 3 staff serving drinks all did an exceptional job of avoiding eye contact with all customers - so we were still waiting for a drink when our table came up 20 minutes later. Not the best start but hey it's a beautiful venue - industrial, yet warm. Buzzing without being noisy. The tables are all well spaced. Our waitress was lovely, drinks arrived immediately ( good smoothies, exceptional coffee as you would expect - they roast on site).

Ali ordered raclette and spinach French toast, I went for leek rarebit. Both utterly delicious, reasonably priced and a great place to spend a few hours. We left happy. They just need to sort out the bar service.

Battersea gets a tiny bit cooler

Those of you that know me will know well enough that I'm anti posh. Saying that I appear to live in the middle of posh land. Fun as it is to mock / try and trip up all the little and big tarquin's roaming around the place - most weekends I escape to the east or north for a morning coffee.

So I was intrigued to read about a local coffee spot which was considering venues in Shoreditch and ended up in erm well clapham junction. This place was within 10 minutes of where I live. Quite unbelievable.

So in true south london style ; me , my ugg's and my gillet ( someone shoot me please, and ideally before I start bleaching my hair and get a labrador) head on over to check it out.

The colours are good - Grey with some sunny yellow - the design of the place is warm yet rugged; cool yet still comfy and welcoming. It made me think of how many of my friends would like it ( Maartje and Nicky especially).

My flat white looked beautiful - little bubbles on the surface, we both ordered a ciabatta with egg mayo and smoked bacon - it turned up in galvinised steel boxes and baking sheets - tasted completely delicious and made me smile. Tea was served in a sunny yellow cup, milk in a minature milk bottle.

It's love, I'm coming back - just don't let the yummy mummies know.

x

http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/venue/2%3A30697/birdhouse