Cattle Grid in Balham

We visited Cattle Grid in Balham recently with some friends and were really impressed with the range of menu and the food which was delivered to our table. The onion rings which were not ring shaped at all stole the show and had us fighting over them! The blue cheese sauce with the buttermilk chicken worked so well together and was a truly delicious burger!

 

If you haven't been here yet then get over to Balham and be sure to check out the Balham Bowls Club after which is a really quirky pub with so much going on!

 

Philly steak sandwich

 

Chicken with brie and caramalised onions

 

Onion rings

 

Buttermilk chicken sandwich

Bus Fun

In Time Out a couple of weeks ago there was a page about things to do in Deptford, whilst having a peruse at this we came across a bus that serves pizza @thebigredpizza.  Friday evening saw us travel on one red bus south east to eat on another.

We found the bus very easily (pretty hard to miss) and were pleasantly surprised.  The bus is parked up next to The Bird Nest pub on Church road.  We walked through the entrance to be greeted by a bunch of very friendly staff and really cool chilled out atmosphere.  Being a little early (again) we decided to have a drink in the terrace area before being escorted to our table on the bus.  Once seated we took a moment to take in our surroundings and enjoy the novelty of being on an old London bus.

After studying the menu for a few minutes it was clear we were going to be having 3 courses each...

To start we plumbed for baby chorizo with dough balls, and spinach and ricotta ravioli with sage butter topped with parmesan.  This was definitely a tale of two dishes:-

• The ravioli were cooked perfectly with a little bite to the pasta, and were full of flavour.
• The baby chorizo was very tasty, as were the dough balls however, there was nothing to bring the dish together as a whole.

Next up were the mains - pizzas to be precise.  We chose a pepperoni pizza and the mighty red.  The pizza bases themselves were some of the best we have tasted.  It was evident that all the toppings were fresh and bursting with flavour.  The pepperoni pizza had more cheese on than the mighty red, which actually worked perfectly as one of us (fussy Soph) isn't a big fan of stringy cheese. We saw off both pizzas with ease before we knew it despite the size!

We rounded the meal off with a freshly baked chocolate brownie and sticky toffee pudding.  Both were soft in the middle and divine with the brownie being one of the best we've tried  It was a perfect way to end a great meal.

Who says food on public transport is rubbish!!  GO HERE PEOPLE..... IT IS GOOD!





 

HONESTly one of the best burgers in town

So after running 6.2 miles in Sundays Bupa 10K last week we took my parents and brother to experience their first honest burger! As mentioned before we discovered honest at their first restaurant in Brixton and have been fans ever since! As the sun was shinning we sat outside at one of the newest branches near Oxford Circus and grabbed some craft beers and wine while we browsed the menu!

The menu had definitely grown since the last time we visited Honest.  A new burger (Tribute) was now present and also more sides.  The Tribute burger is a beef and bacon American cheese burger.  We decided not to pick this after our experience at #BMChampionship! However in hindsight it would have been interesting to compare.

The Special (Sarah's choice) - Cajun Blackened Patty, bloody Mary ketchup, fried onions and beef tomato.
The burger was (as always) delicious, well flavoured good quality meat.  However the chips were lacking in flavour (unusually) this however was nothing that a sprinkle of pepper didn't cure.  The sauce made this dish adding another dimension to the burger.




The Honest burger(Soph's choice - as always):
There is one pure reason why this burger is a staple when we visit Honest; it is because this burger is honestly (pun :D), well and truly the best burger combo EVER!!  The tasty high quality dry aged beef, with mature cheddar cheese, red onion relish, bacon, lettuce AND cucumber....what more could anyone ever want.  These flavours are a match made in heaven with the added crunch of salad.  The only slight niggle this time round was for me / us the patties were slightly over cooked.





Overall everybody was very content with the meal...The quality of the food was definitely a talking point as Sarah's parents had never had such good quality burgers in the past.

We have a few more burger joints to try before we give you all our top 5!

Losing our supper club virginity to Chacho Rib Club

 

On Friday we made our way to Camden for our first ever supper club. We really didn’t know what to expect and had a few warm up beers in @theengineerpub beforehand which is a really friendly pub with a lovely beer garden! From the second we were greeted by Romi & Mark @chachoribclub we felt instantly welcome and knew this was going to be an enjoyable evening. We were joined by 9 other guests ranging in ages, professions and nationalities which meant that the conversation was extremely diverse and really interesting! Before the food started to flow and my god did it flow.. Mark & Romi explained that their supper club started as a family meal in Buenos Aires for their wedding where they cooked for the two families and were encouraged to take it back to the UK and treat Londoners to this feast of incredible Argentinian food. It is safe to say this is some of the most authentic Argentinian food we have tried!

Below is the menu as described by our lovely hosts with our comments.

WELCOME COCKTAIL

 

YERBA MATE GIN & TONIC using our home-infused gin made with the favourite BA equivalent of a herbal tea

-       Very refreshing and easy to drink with a subtle hint of tea.

or

FERNET & GINGER ALE bitter-sweet, addictive

- This cocktail got the table talking – v.strange flavours but at end of the glass left you wanting more.

PICADA / TO SHARE

CHORI-SLIDERS mini-chorizo hotdogs w. rocket, sun-dried tomatoes and chimmichurri
-      If only all hotdogs were chorizo ones! All the ingredients worked so well together - the hotdog succulent and juicy, the peppery rocket and the fresh bread. We didn’t want the slider to finish!

 

 PROVOLETA tangy provolone cheese melted to an ooze on the grill w. fresh oregano
- This cheese dish was defiantly oozy and on a bed of mushrooms. Not to Sophs liking as she hates mushrooms and ‘stringy’ cheese but that meant more for me and it was wonderful!

HUMITA grated corn from the cob w. aji molido, onion & fresh basil
-      I’ve been lucky to try this sweet corn starter before in Gauchos as a side dish and it has got to be said this was better…a lot better!! It was seasoned to perfection and had the right amount of garlic, onion and basil! We couldn’t get enough of this dish and may have gone back for seconds..and thirds!

ASADO / ROAST

TIRA DE ASADO short cut beef ribs cooked the Buenos Aires way. W. chimmichurri and criolla salsas
- As you can see from the pic the ribs were cooked medium just how they should be! The amount of love and care that went into getting these ribs perfect was amazing as Romi & Mark advised us they had been in a water bath many hours before being marinated and cooked. The ribs were accompanied with 2 sauces which were delicious.

CHIMMI’ CHICKEN marinated in chilli, garlic, aji molido, lemon & fresh herbs
- The chicken was perfectly cooked and bursting with flavour.  The moist meat had been marinated for a considerable amount of time…and we could tell by the depth of flavour.  We had legs, wings and breast meat which was simply delicious
 

CHORIZO & MORCILLA traditional sausage and the juicier BA version of black pudding
- These were our favourite main with the homemade black pudding being out of this world! We had seconds and you will have to try it for yourself to experience the incredible flavours!
 

SALADS charred tomato, spring onion & ricotta, lime dressing AND grapefruit & rocket w. parmigiano, sundried tomatoes & citrus dressing
- They came out in two huge bowls which made their way up and down the table. Both were beautifully refreshing and the charred tomato salad worked so well with the meat.
 

PAPAS FRITAS PROVENZAL thick chips w. a whack of garlic & parsley to season
- The chips were quite possibly the best we have ever tasted; crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The seasoning of garlic and parsley made them so tasty that unlike English chips did not need to be covered in ketchup or mayo.

POSTRE

 

CHURROS W. DULCE DE LECHE & MALBEC GELATO freshly prepared churros w. vanilla caramel & red wine ice cream inspired from Mendoza
- The churros were crispy and not oily like the ones you find street vendors serving. The dulce de leche went so nicely with them but the show stopper and end to this incredible feast was the red wine ice cream – yes you read correctly red wine ice cream which paired with the churros was a taste sensation.

IN CONCLUSION
For 25 pounds you leave Romi & Marks house with a full belly and super content and in ore of their cooking. The standard was so high it would give Argentinian restaurants a run for their money! The evening was absolutely floorless – oh did we mention it is BYOB also? Well it is and if you ran out (like we did) they had some very well priced national drinks including a dulce de leche beer which we tried. Huge thanks to Romi & Mark for welcoming us into their house and treating us like friends. We thoroughly recommend this supper club even if like us you have never done them before.
For more info visit http://chachoribclub.wix.com/chacho
 

 

#BMChampionship Hawksmoor v Honest

We attended the first quarter finals of the BM Championship which was organised by Daniel @youngandfoodish at a really quirky pub by London Fields called @climpsonsarch We arrived 30 mins early and got to watch both competitors set up and get ready for this first head to head knock out burger off. There was bacon being cut, chicken skin being crisped up and saucepans of gravy being warmed up - it smelt bloody great!

We were the first to try @Hawksmoorlondon's 'The Clogger' burger - charcoal-grilled sausage patty with pulled pork, Ogleshield cheese, candied bacon and a side of sausage gravy for French dipping with crackling. With Hawksmoor being a really good steak restaurant we were hoping for a juicy beef burger but got sausage patties which upset us slightly. We were pretty underwhelmed by this dish and the crackling stole the show.  The patties didn't seem to hold any structure and would be much better as a breakfast burger.  For us this burger was too rich especially when eaten with the dipping sauce.

Up next was @Honestburgers - a blend of 35-day-aged rib and rump cap in a patty that would be all beef were it not for the crisp bacon running through it. Red Leicester cheese, crispy chicken skin, green sauce, pickles and baby spinach. Having been to both the Brixton and Camden honest burger we were expecting great things from Tom as we have never had a bad honest burger although on Monday the burgers were over seasoned with salt. The chicken skin may have been a contributing factor to the salt or the red Leicester cheese which is a pretty tasteless cheese.  We definitely are not converts to beef and bacon patties!!

Our votes were first up on the board and went to Honest burger. Despite the over seasoning the burgers were cooked well and a lot of love went into each burger. 

The overall winner was Hawksmoor by 3 votes....a very close first quarter final. Who will win the overall comp? Our money is on @bleeckerburger

Flavour Expat

Saturday saw us venture east AGAIN...this time to @BackDoorKitchen.  Over the past few weeks/months they have been running flavour expats.  The idea of the night is that two different cuisines go up against each other.  Our chosen night was Italy vs. China (@twohungrygirls).
It took us a little while to find the venue (not unusual), but when we did we weren't disappointed.  On the first floor of "a gym" is a light, spacious kitchen and entertainment area which has a great warehouse feel about it. We wondered in alittle early (again not unusual) and were greeted by a very friendly, welcoming host.

The Italian starter of Maiale 3 Stilie (see above for full ingredient list)  was served first.  Presentation wise the plate looked very appetising.  We love asparagus and these three glorious stalks wrapped in pork fat were delicious.  The ham hock was tasty and went well with the dips.
The Chinese starter of BBQ pulled pork bun fell apart in our mouths.  The succulent meat was cooked really well and the radishes offered a nice peppery dimension.  We were however a little disappointed that this did not come in a traditional bun.  Nevertheless it still tasted great.






Main courses were served in the same order.  Rob served rosemary and thyme risotto topped with a quail breast.  The sauce of the risotto was lovely although for us the rice was slightly too aldente for our liking.
The Chinese dish of a chicken and shitake mushroom rice parcel came next.  The sticky rice was well flavoured and STICKY.  The chicken was cooked nicely however for us this dish didn't really work for us.

 Both sides kept their deserts a secret until they were about to be served.

The eastern inspired desert was chocolate biscuits with ginger milk tea ice cream.  The biscuits were delightfully thin and chocolatey which complimented the punchy ice cream perfectly.  Once we demolished this we moved on to the Italian desert - a rich chocolate orange desert with a hidden treat of a rum soaked sponge finger.  At first we started munching our way through the mousse thinking it was a little over powering.  However the minute we mixed the sponge, mousse and cream together this desert came alive; and really really worked.

 

#BAD8 which was oh so good

Yesterday @hansyhobs and myself were part of the lucky 30 who got to attend #BAD8 which was organised by @burgerawayday. The event was hosted by @BOBsANDco who are residing in The Rising Sun, St Pauls (till the end of the year) and we have wanted to try more of BOBs food since Taco Wars as their taco truly blew us away. I arrived at the venue very early, got myself a magners and sat at the bar reading timeout waiting for Hannah. The pub was really quaint with a large bar and stalls facing the windows however,  city prices were well in force with the Magners being a fiver!!

 

7:30 soon approached and the 30 of us headed upstairs to BOBs restaurant where the space had been dramatically changed (according to Hannah) with fake exposed brick wallpaper which seemed to trick many people. The staff were super friendly and knowledgeable and once the food started flowing we were not disappointed and had many talking points.

 

The first starter out was the tuna taco which was just as good as I remember from Taco Wars. The crispy wonton added texture and all the ingredients including the slaw and wasabi paired so well with the tuna.  These are soooo good and could easily eat a tray of them!

Up next was their signature lobster rolls in mini bite size form which left us wanting more and to come back for the main version. The lobster was tasty and crammed into the fresh brioche and the lobster butter was superb.

The third and final starter was sea bass & blood orange cerviche served on a scallop shell. Having spent some time in Peru and sampled lots of cerviche this was a really good one with the orange adding a sharp dimension to the dish! Again I could have eaten more of this!

There was quite a wait between starters and main but we could smell the burgers cooking and while we waited we were presented with Lobster mac & cheese. For me, this was one of the highlights of the evening! The pasta was well cooked and the bowl was full of lobster. There was nice clumps of cheese and a runny lobster bisque bechamel sauce topped with crispy fried shallots which added texture and depth to the dish. I thought the flavours were incredible and the dish perfect but seemed the general consensus on our table was the sauce could have been thicker.

Once this was demolished the burger were served with a decent portion of chips on the side, however the chips were way too salty for me.  The menu had advised that the burger was to be cooked medium to well due to the bacon running through however having sampled so many burgers, medium rare is our preferred choice. The burgers were still juicy and succulent and the toppings worked really well.

Desert was a smaller affair with most people having a caramelised banana with espresso creme anglaise served on a homemade banana brioche. I was served rice pudding instead as really dislike bananas and this was light, not stodgy at all and very tasty.

In summary - this menu was delicious, the staff fabulous and the company even better. Thanks to BOBs & Camilla for organising. We cannot wait for #BAD9!!