Wednesday, June 27, 2012

When London Isn't Sweet...


...it's fresh, and ripe, and bountiful, and meaty, and hearty. Or so I found when enjoying various pub meals and browsing an open-air market. Let's leave the desserts behind for a moment and focus on some savory delights.

First of all, I was eager to try a traditional Sunday Roast. A Roast usually includes one's choice of roasted meat, roasted potatoes and other veg, Yorkshire pudding, and gravy; all in all, it promised to be a satisfying meal that would fortify me for the busy days ahead. We repaired to The Holly Bush, tucked up a hilly side street in the gorgeous neighborhood of Hampstead, and settled in among the friendliest-imaginable set of fellow-diners, -drinkers, bartenders, and waitstaff. (Remind me to tell you, in detail, just how wonderful British pub culture is sometime...) The scene was set for enjoying the perfect Roast, but I couldn't go through with it. No upstanding comfort-food lover could settle for mere meat and veg when those things could be presented to them in...

...

...a POT PIE.
Behold, The Holly Bush's jaw-droppingly-good fish pie! It was filled with salmon, whitefish, and spinach, and topped with spring onion mashed potatoes. The fish was fresh and flavorful, and the mashed potatoes were so thick and creamy and pungent and just browned enough that my taste buds could barely process it all, it was so tasty. Mixed greens served on the side in a light dressing balanced out the heaviness nicely, and a pint of Aspall cider washed it all down. I loved this meal so much that I had it a few days later, after exploring the nearby Heath.


Later in the trip, I went to Borough Market for their baked goods. Surprisingly enough, I left equally impressed with their produce. I don't usually wax rhapsodic about veg, but I couldn't get over this colorful bounty!

Just looking at these makes me want to eat a salad! (No, I'm not referring to the shredded lettuce that Brits put on sandwiches...) And here, an assortment of mushrooms, some of which I had never seen before.
Wandering among the different stalls made me think back to my 2010 Revels show, which opened with Orlando Gibbons' Cries of London. Each cast member was assigned a different "cry"; mine was a line or two about turnips. Here are Borough Market's turnips, photographed in homage to Revels. Aren't they pretty, so cheerfully white and purple? If only a chorus had been on hand to sing of the Market's other delights... 
Look at all this Turkish delight! I'm not a fan, but anyone who is should check out this unmatched variety of flavors.


Lastly, what is a trip to London without fish 'n' chips? Rock & Sole Plaice's fantastic rock, fried in plenty of seasoned batter, was a standout. Rock is a thick and chewy, yet light and fluffy, whitefish. It tastes like cod, but it has the most unique texture I have encountered in fish; if the prior description doesn't make sense, try imagining an airy...steak...of fish. Toothsome and tasty! The accompanying chips were a bit overwhelming, just massive hunks of taters that had been fried with minimal salt and no seasoning. Fortunately, plenty of ketchup and tartar sauce were on hand to add flavor and moisture. A true standout situated near Covent Garden, but away from the tourist crowds.


So, what should be on my my next London trip's eating list, in addition to repeats of the above?

Monday, June 18, 2012

London's So Sweet


I recently spent 9 days in London, my favorite place in the world! The vacation - or "holiday", if I'm being a proper wannabe Brit - included numerous architectural and historical wonders, museums, gardens, and parks. But I'm here to tell you about the food.


Snacking Bars
Marks & Spencer's Simply Food stores are ubiquitous, but that doesn't mean they sacrifice quality in their quantity. Far from it, in fact. These convenient stores sell surprisingly fresh grab-n-go eats, making them a favorite of lunch-eating professionals and tourists looking to nosh on the move. I'd get their apple beverage as part of breakfast every morning - imagine a drink somewhere between juice and cider, made from the island's sweet, refreshing Pink Lady apples - and a snacking bar whenever the hunger so moved me.

One bar was the flapjack with Belgian chocolate. In America, a flapjack is a pancake. In Britain, it's an oat-based bar, with a texture somewhere between a granola bar and an oatmeal cookie, that's sweetened with honey or golden syrup. M&S' flapjack seemed a tad too soggy with fluid sweetener, and the flavor was...bland, at best. I missed the presence of cinnamon, and brown sugar's molasses notes; I guess the Brits don't really spice their oats. The chocolate chunks mixed throughout were tasty, but they didn't really blend with the oat mixture. Overall, I'd say the flapjack was forgettable. Maybe I would have had a different opinion if I weren't so set in my comparatively spicy American ways?

Millionaire Shortbread, however, is a dream!

This king of bar cookies has 4 layers: a shortbread base, milk caramel, milk chocolate, and white chocolate drizzle. All textures and flavors are spot-on, and mix so well together that I can't really think of a better snack. The shortbread is buttery and flaky; the caramel tastes of sugar and salt; the milk chocolate bursts with cocoa and cream; and the white chocolate is smooth, essential vanilla. One bite gives you all those flavors, as well as crumbs, some crunch, and some melting in your mouth. It even looks beautiful!
This is one Oxford bakery's take on the bar. Taylors' Luxury Shortbread differed from the M&S standard in two ways - the shortbread cookie was packed with brown sugar, and the caramel was more of a sugary, milky peanut butter. I also plan to mirror Taylor's ingenuity and make my own, though my ideal end product will more closely resemble M&S'! Until that happens, I have three Millionaire bars to tide me over.


Chocolate Bars
British chocolate is formulated differently. Americans can't use vegetable oil in the product and legally label it chocolate; in Britain, that oil routinely replaces some fraction of cocoa butter. The resulting "chocolate" feels unusually smooth, if not a tad slippery, and has a slightly tangier taste. Another difference is how the chocolate is processed. Our candy bars primarily use solid chocolate, while our friends across the Pond enjoy aerating and rippling the confection into all sorts of unusual configurations. I have Wispa and Ripple bars on reserve for future enjoyment; I'm sure they'll be discussed in these pages soon!


Regional Pastries
England's many "shires" have retained distinct accents over the centuries; it's no surprise that their cuisines are similarly resistant and unique. I was fortunate enough to sample a regional pastry at the London Bridge neighborhood's Borough Market! Here is one vendor's assortment of such treats. (And no, I don't think their name, The Flour Station, is mere coincidence. My theory, that any bakery named "Flour"-something has to be excellent, remains uncontested.)
This Eccles cake was significantly tastier than last trip's Chelsea bun. The top of the cake was crusted with turbinado sugar. The dough was flaky like a croissant at the edge, but it became fluffier and cake-like toward the center. The cake's sizable interior was filled with a mincemeat-style assortment of currants and candied citrus bits, all tossed in a buttery, spicy sauce. The overall effect was a very pleasant combination of sweet, spicy, and butter flavors, cased in that chewy and crunchy dough and sugar.
Also, in case you can't tell - these things are huge, approximately a palm's width across! One cake became my lunch, and kept me full well past the half-life of the average Pret a Manger boxed sandwich.


Jubilee Pastries
The 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's reign inspired many things across this happy land, including food items. Take Harrods' food halls, for example. I didn't plan to enter Harrods, but their fanciful storefront displays drew me in. Not only had various couturiers designed elaborate crowns commemorating the Jubilee, letting one walk down Brompton Street in line with royal razzle-dazzle, but their food and party people had created festive, elaborate spreads, recalling everything from formal banquets to exuberant street parties, all in the space of a few shop windows. Oh, sure, I thought, why not go inside and see these items up close? I should have known I'd be leaving with a sweet treat! Behold, a donut from Harrods' bake shop.
This is no ordinary donut, though. It is a chocolate raspberry Jubilee donut! The dough was sweet and chewy; the filling was syrupy, tasting of raspberries and cream. The donut was coated in a sugary vanilla glaze, topped with a dollop of hardened chocolate raspberry sauce, and dusted with edible red glitter! I'm assuming that last touch is what made it a Jubilee treat; the country as a whole seemed decked out in sparkles for the occasion. :-)

Lastly, I will leave you with some eye candy - or rather, eye cake? - from Oxford's Cake Shop. Not only do we have the Radcliffe Camera rendered in cake and fondant...
...but several festive Jubilee desserts as well!

This last dessert depicts a traditional British street party. I love the miniature fondant cakes decorating the larger cake! I now know where to get a cake in Oxford, should I ever have such a need in such a place.


Are you sugared out yet? I hope not; there is plenty still to come. This sweets-focused post is one of three total London posts I have planned; stay tuned for articles on savory delights and the ultimate dessert indulgence, afternoon tea!