Polpo

Small Plate, Big Smiles
Where: Polpo
When: April 2013

Another day another lunch...  The sun is out and it feels like the warmest day since the Olympics.  After an energising walk to the West End it was time for a quick lunch.  We decided upon Polpo, a trendy, small plates Italian (or to use their description, Venetian Street Food) restaurant.  The fun thing about a lunch out in Soho is the mix of clients; fashionable and traditional, young and old.  Being a lovely summery day the restaurant's windows were wide open at the front welcoming us into the depths of the restaurant.  The design is rustic tiles, chairs and wooden tables.  We were promptly shown to our table and given menus, our waitress was friendly, smiley and enthusiastic about the food and it felt very genuine.  The fact that the restaurant was largely full the whole time we were there and that the service charge was added to the bill made the good service all the more surprising, no miserable through the motions chain restaurant staff here.

We had a look through the menu.  For drinks there were a range of cocktails, spirits, wines and juices.  We went with a Birra Moretti and an apple juice (interestingly served with a wedge of lime).  The lunch menu was used as a place mat and was divided up into various sections: meatballs, pizzette, Fish, Meat, Salads/Veg and sweet stuff.  We went with spaghettini and meatballs and a pork shoulder and pickled pepper pizzette.  After a short wait the food and drinks were served with smiles.  The meatballs were large, moist and meaty, the spaghettini was just the right side of al dante and the tomato sauce was deep red and flavourful.  The pizzetti was light and crisp, the cheese strong and contrasted nicely with the acidity of the lightly spiced pickled peppers and the thin crisp slices of pork shoulder.

Next up was dessert and we both went with the flourless orange and almond cake.  This was an outstandingly good, soft cake, with a thick dollop of cream, orange zest and an orange sauce on the side.  It was heaven on a plate and after eating this we will more than likely be returning, perhaps with more time to try a few of the meatier options.  I downed my rich espresso, we paid, we smiled, we left.  Another great and simple lunch that made me want to come back for more.

Best Of Bond

Skyfall, Sam Mendes (2012)
When: November 2012
Where: Odeon Swiss Cottage (IMAX)

James Bond turned 50, he already has the fast cars, the trophy women and a rather well developed drinking habit so what now?  Skyfall answers a lot of those questions and sets up many more, it also continues the rich vein of form since Daniel Craig took on the role of 007.  There are a number of things that made Skyfall great to watch but my favourite was using the cinematic play of light and shadow to blend with the films narrative.  The Bond style is something we take for granted, the full size Ken Adam sets, the fight scenes, the use of the James Bond theme and the famous opening credits.  Mendes plays with it well, a polite British nod to the past, a modern British look to the future.

Rather than give this film any more free publicity I thought I'd talk about a couple of my favourite scenes in the film.  The first is the fight in the tower in China.  The scene is almost Batmanesque, however where as Batman has gadgets, a plan and an escape route costing millions, Bond rushes in using just the shadows and light to hide himself from the man he intends to interrogate and kill, this was classic Bond by nature but with a real cinematic touch, after all cinema is but light and shadow.

I also enjoyed the scene where Bond and Q (Ben Whishaw) fight to stop the Silva (Javier Bardem) from killing M (Judi Dench) and the MPs during the questioning.  The dead eyed, world weary, seen it all before rush hour crowd not bothered by a man jumping on to the back of a moving tube train.  The simple small room, confined shoot out with those questioning M and her methods shown up as cowards and the birth of the new M (Ralph Fiennes to follow.

Whilst I don't know if Skyfall is the best Bond ever made it is certainly the most cinematic and I really hope this continues going forward to keep the heart of my favourite film franchise alive and well.

Fondue!!!

St Moritz Style!
When: March 2013
Where: St Moritz


I don't think there's much in the world that makes me happier than fondue.  Melted cheese, crusty bread, potatoes and/or meat with the possibility of fruit and chocolate to follow.  Despite living in London for many years we had yet to go out anywhere for fondue.  I'm not sure why but perhaps it's due to a lack of choice, the nearest restaurant to us seems like somewhere to do traditional German drinking, dancing and merriment and for me all I want is the cheese, the rest I can more than do without.  Finally we found the St Moritz restaurant in the West End, from the website they look a little old fashioned, they even suggest booking via fax rather than e-mail, but then again when it comes to fondue maybe the old ways are the best.  As the weeks came and went, birthdays and occasions missed we kept calling for reservations with little joy, until finally one Sunday the table for five we'd been longing for was ours.

When the time finally came it was the perfect day, freezing temperatures, a biting cold wind and the promise of light snow in the air, the perfect day for fondue.  Spying the Swiss flag above the door I waited for my dining companions as we entered what looked like a small rickety old house filled with relics that looked like something out of Roger Moore in For You Eyes Only, cow bells, cheese and 80s winter sports photos, this was already looking like it would be well worth the wait.  Then the smell of melting cheese hits, perhaps this is what heaven (or possibly hell) smells like.  We were taken up the stairs to our table, had our coats taken and were offered menus.  Here the kitsch continued and not feeling too brave we decided to go for 2 different kinds of cheese fondue between us, the Fondue Neuchsteloise: Dip fresh crusty bread into bubbling Gruyere & Emmental cheese and the Fondue Moitie-Moitie: Melted Gruyere and Vacherin cheese from Switzerland served with new potatoes and bread washed down with a nice chilled bottle of house white.

 As we sipped away at the wine the theatre of the fondue experience began to build.  First setting the table, then bringing the burners, lighting the burners, bringing the bread and then...  two steaming hot saucepans of molten cheese pleasure and some potatoes!  I have only one rule for good fondue, eat until I'm about to be sick.  St Moritz did not disappoint and many a dip of bread and potato later I was feeling that every little bit less in heaven and another bite closer to hell.  With a small puddle of cheese left in the pan and my dining companions having long since given up it was time to throw in the pick and extinguish the flame.  Fondue had one won only a double espresso could save me.

We will almost certainly be going back to St Moritz again, the food was excellent, the service friendly and professional and there were a number of non-cheese items on the menu that looked rather good.  I also wanted to try some of the desserts which we were too full to manage.  In all a perfect nights dining, I can't wait to do it again!


St Moritz: 161 Wardour Street, London W1F 8WJ
Telephone: 0207 734 3324

To The Wonder: Valence, Varda and the Pirate Tavern

Helping Me Find My Inner Child, To the Wonder: The Pirate Tavern et "un Peu de Varda a Valence"
Where: Valence, France
When: March 2013

 At last an excuse to get writing again, it has been so very long.  During the regular "spring" trip to France there were some fun things to write about.  Well, one good exhibition, some beautiful scenery (though sadly I only get to talk about the stuff on film) and well...  lunch at the Pirate Tavern...  But really, more than anything else it was time for me to explore my inner child and how much fun it can be.  It all started on the drive back from the airport, at least for me it did, "Oh look, a Pirate Tavern!  How exciting."  Or words to that effect, who knows whether this innocent comment planted a seed, gave someone an excuse or whether it was just a passing comment on the inevitability of things to come.  Anyway, I dislike the idea of eating at a themed restaurant as much as anyone but somehow the idea of going to eat at one brings out my inner child.   The pain of it all.  Anyway, later that week we ended up at the Pirate Tavern for a birthday lunch.

When you see the name Pirate Tavern you expect excitement, parrots, pirates, tankards, and the smell of the sea; generally something pretty rowdy.  However the Pirate Tavern in Valence did not have this idea in mind, in fact it was all rather polite, complete with smiling pirates and relaxing sea shanties playing for background noise.  The only hint of chaos was the crossed knives and forks.  The menu was destination themed and we each chose a set menu from a different country where pirates may or may not have ventured, Thailand, Morocco, Italy and France - perhaps French pirates sailed different oceans to the British...

 

The food was nicely presented and pretty tasty.  Not being a fan of things from the ocean I went with the Moroccan option.  I actually quite enjoyed my meal it was full of flavour and my lamb was very tender and soft.  It certainly was not what I was expecting and didn't feel very piratey but it was a good lunch nevertheless.

 Now if the pirates didn't bring out my inner child then potatoes certainly would.  There was an Agnes Varda exhibition on and this was something I was really looking forward to.  There were two pieces in this small exhibit that really engaged my inner child.  The first was a film about a photo, Ulysse.  The photo was a black and white shot of a pebbly beach with what looked like a father and son together in the mid area and a dead sheep in the foreground hidden amongst the stones.  With a childlike curiosity Varda tracks down those in the photo many years after it was taken and explores all the angles.  The young boy is now a man, married with children, the young man is now an old man.  The beech is still there and sheep are still plentiful.  Varda questions those involved about the time of the photo and how their lives have moved on creating a narrative and explanation of the photo above any conventional understanding.  She also shoots the film in such a way recreating elements from the photo in the different scenes.  It was immensely enjoyable.  The second memorable moment was watching the installation of potatoes going through various transformations with age, inspired by the heart shaped potato in the The Gleaners & I (Varda, 2000)

With pirates and potatoes my inner child was enjoying itself but it then decided to grow up and go and watch a film.  I have always been a big Terrence Malick fan, well as big as one could be with just a handful of releases over the majority of his directorial career.  Of late he has picked up the pace.  How would To the Wonder compare with the acclaimed (and at times up its arse) The Tree of Life (Malick, 2011) and his prior works?  To the Wonder is really a companion piece to The Tree of Life.  Whereas The Tree of Life seems to focus on masculinity, To the Wonder sees the same story from a more feminine angle.  For me the film was all about the failure to obtain the perfect life these characters wanted.  For the woman, Marina (Olga Kurylenko) a loving perfect family, for the man, Neil (Ben Affleck) a natural life of his own, with his own child.  For the priest, Father Qunitana (Javier Bardem) to find God again, but amongst beautiful shots of Paris, Mont Saint-Michel and the farm lands of Oklahoma in the American mid-west I just stopped caring about these characters.

Visually this was perhaps the most beautiful and mesmerising of Malick's films, the dusky magic hour sunlight, midnight in rain soaked Paris.  Maybe it was all too subtle but I found there was nothing to get my teeth in to, nothing to get all that emotional about.  They say films are made in the editing suite but if we put To the Wonder back into plot order it would be nothing to write home about, just another make up/break up film...  Hopefully the next one will be better.

Service and Street Photography

William Klein + Daido Moriyama
Where: Tate Modern
When: November 2012

I love a good bit of street photography and this exhibition didn't disappoint.  Split into two sections, one for each artist containing a mix of photography and films that both artists have produced.  The first half of the exhibition is dedicated to Klein and kicks off with a short film about Times Square that feels like being thrown into Travis Bickle's New York.  In fact the film was shot 15 years before Scorsese's masterpiece.  Then there are lots of small "candid" shots of his native New York and his adopted home in Paris.  Off to the side was a fascinating short film where Klein explains his working process for capturing the perfect moment on film, watching, waiting for the figure to line up with their environment.  There was then a selection of clips from a number of Klein's films.  The rest was a little forgettable and played with Klein's notions of image selection as per the earlier short.

Next up was Moriyama's work.  His photos felt more constructed but lacking Klein's excellent powers of selection.  For every inspiring misty road there was something that left you feeling a little bit "meh" for want for a better word.  Where as Klein was fantastic at capturing people, Moriyama seemed better at capturing the landscape and all it's wonderful light and texture.  Overall this was an inspiring and worthwhile exhibition to attend.  Additionally by going during the week it was an oasis of calm allowing you to slowly take in the works on display rather than fighting from frame to frame, shoulder to shoulder with every tourist in London.

Brawn

First impressions are important, but thankfully in my book they are not the be all and end all.  Whilst it's true that you never get a second chance to make a first impression, it is equally true that you have all the time in the world to make up for it.  I had read about Brawn on one of my favourite internet resources, Chowhound where it was talked up to be a nice, simple, reasonably priced French restaurant, the kind of place that never seems to exist outside of France.  Alighting the Overground at Hoxton we were faced with a less than helpful station map as google maps refused to tell me where I was.  We then faced a wet walk past what must have been about 20 Vietnamese restaurants only to double back on ourselves through a dark and lonely council estate before arriving at some closed shops and a restaurant with no sign above the door and not many more customers.  "Is this it?"  "According to google maps I think so, let's go in".  After being greeted by a wall of staff behind the bar, one who was practising his 1000 yard stare, the man furthest from us twigged none of his colleagues were going to welcome us in so stepped up to the plate, welcoming us warmly and getting us settled in.  After the initial glares the service was decent, though I did get the impression a few of the staff seemed more interested in having a chat behind the bar rather than helping their customer's maximise the dining experience.

Menu's are created daily and split into 3 sections, Pig, Cold, Hot and don't come with much description as to what makes up a meal or exactly what it is you are ordering, so you are not sure if you are over or under ordering.  My partner was not feeling particularly well and this was reflected in her choice of food.  I had a lovely, if not over priced glass of Ardeche Red, a Tuscan Bean Soup to start, Pork Belly for main and treacle tart to finish, with copious amounts of freshly cut sourdough bread to keep me topped up.  The soup was delicious and after a cold and wet trek to the restaurant it was just what I wanted, however from the portion size it was definitely a main course soup and not a starter.  The pork belly started off with a slightly to fatty first bite and then moved to perfection from every bite that followed, crisp skin, plenty of soft meat and only a little fat holding it together.  The cabbage was seasoned with sage and plenty of salt and cut beautifully through the fat of the pork.  Dessert was nice, a rich without being sickly treacle tart, served with what may have been a creme fraiche ice cream.

My partner went with a green salad followed by a Beef Bourginion and she followed this up with a chocolate mousse.

It was a long hard walk back to the Overground, an even harder walk to the bus stop.  I don't think I've eaten so much in a meal since Charlie Palmer Steak in Vegas, at least this meal didn't need a trip to the Grand Canyon to help walk it off!  In all, despite the bad start to the service, the food was fantastic and the price was more than reasonable considering you could easily spend close to the same amount of money eating inferior food at your local Cote.  If I can get over the slight hipster pretensions I will definitely return for another round of food.

William Klein + Daido Moriyama - Tate Modern: Exhibition - 10 October 2012 – 20 January 2013
Brawn -  49 Columbia Rd, Bethnal Green E2 7RG - 0207 729 5692

If Nietzsche Stole Ramen...

Shoryu
When: November 2012


OK, there's a reason for the silly title, it'll make sense if you read on, but for now it's time to talk noodles!  We found Shoryu by accident whilst waiting for the bus home on a cold November night.  Being fans in Japanese food we thought next time we're out in the west end we'll give this place a try.  A few weeks later such an opportunity came up and here we are!  Shoryu is owned and run by the same people as the Japan Centre across the road and serves up Tonkatsu Ramen in its various varieties accompanied by a few side dishes, beers, teas, sake and plum wine, what's not to like.  The service was good and friendly from the off, our food was served quickly and the wait staff seemed genuinely glad we chose their restaurant for dinner.  No too cool for school hundred yard stares checking out the clientèle and no tired and going through the motions service familiar from many of the great chain restaurants we often end up in.

The restaurant was completely full during our whole visit, the clientèle was mixed, but with a large part of the mix being middle aged Japanese.  I think this place was a whole lot less trendy then the many new ramen eateries up the road in Soho.  Anyway, we had seats right in the window and we were quickly given menus and asked for drinks.  My beer tasted fresh, cold and strong, just how I wanted it to be and my partners green tea was made with leaves and a strainer rather than a tea bag and was server in an attractive blue pot.  Our ramen followed shortly afterwards and although we'd ordered different kinds the only difference I could see was some mild chilli oil added to my broth (though after re-reading the menu online it appears to be green mustard leaves).  Anyway, on a frozen November evening this was heaven in a bowl and I really enjoyed my noodles.  We also took a side of gyoza which were OK, but I have to say I'm a sucker for the duck ones from Wagamama.  My main gripe with  the menu was it was quite hard to work out the differences between each of the ramen on offer and also it would have been nice to have a little more meat in the portion size.

In all it was a good value meal and I would be quite happy to return again for a pre or post film lunch or dinner.

On the Road (Walter Salles, 2012)
Where: Odeon Panton Street

There was something very telling about the screening of this film.  It was in a tiny, tiny room with a screen that wouldn't have looked out of place in the basement of a millionaires mansion, albeit one that had fallen on hard times and hadn't had the cash to renovate it since it was installed in 1984.  There was also one other noticeable feature of Screen 2 at the Odeon Panton Street, it was very easy to find the toilets, if the retro green, light polluting sign didn't get you then the stench of urinal cakes certainly does the trick.  Thank goodness this was an Orange Wednesdays screening!  Anyway, on with the film and I have to say I just about liked it.  For one it's beautifully shot: amazing landscapes, dirty apartments, the road, New York, San Francisco.  The jazz soundtrack is also very special and really fits the film well.

The problem with the film for me is that somehow the characters look and feel too clean, too modern.  I'd like to see more dirt, more broken teeth.  The other issue as well is the TV show Supernatural, every time Sal gave a big dumb grin it made me think of this show, I was waiting for a demon to pop up, a big bag of salt and some Dukes Of Hazard style driving (OK, we did get the Dukes of Hazard style driving).  Anyway, I'm getting side tracked.  If we ignore the modern looking characters and the fact that if you watch the show Supernatural you can't watch this film with a straight face we'll move on.  For anyone that has dabbled briefly with philosophy you will have as idea of Nietzsche's concept of the "superman" who lives every minute of life to the fullest, indulging in whatever he wants, whenever he wants.  Dean (Garrett Hedlund)is our Superman, with his wicked smile he leeches from friends, family with the promise of sex and good times.   When times are good everyone loves being with Dean, eventually they tire of being used by him, competing with him, being with him.  Our main protagonist Sal (Sam Riley)is case in point, struggling with writers block he follows Dean across the USA taking note of their adventures until he has a light bulb moment.  Trapped in Mexico and ill with dysentery, Dean abandons Sal as he has grown bored.  Later Dean bumps into Sal in New York, shivering with cold, nowhere to go, he appeals to Sal to take him in and promises a return to the good times they share.  Sal has moved on, smartly dressed, friends, a concert with tickets, not a hispter bar, sober, not under the influence.  Sal's writers block is over, the story is finished and so our film begins.

As I said, Dean's character is very hard to watch and impossible to like, as charming as he is.  The problem with the superman lifestyle is the harder you stick to it the more difficult it becomes running from whim to whim using up all those around you till like Dean you end up with nothing and nobody, does selling your body for sex really make you the ultimate superman...  Travelling home on the tube I felt good not being a Superman, living a varied life that wasn't just about me, it was certainly better than getting caught stealing ramen or sneaking into the cinema just in the name of living the life.

Shoryu: 9 Regent Street, London, SW1Y 4LR

Tales of Brunch and The Bank

Lowry & Baker And The Bank of England Museum

When: November 2012

Yes, this is an unusual concept but somehow it works, a tasty brunch followed by a trip to the Bank of England museum, OK...  the brunch was better than the bank but that probably wont be a surprise to anyone.

A long weekend living the tourist life in London instead of being at work, perfect, well, not exactly.  After spending a million hours deciding what we'd do during the run up to my birthday we settled on Lowry & Baker  just a short walk away and we'd then decide what to do over food.  Lowery & Baker is a small, earthy looking café serving the eclectic mix of customers you find at the Golborne Road end of Portobello Road and just out of reach of the average guide book tourist!  We had a nice table in the window and ordered some coffees and brunch.  We both went with poached eggs on toast, me with ham, my partner with smoked salmon.  The quality was excellent, perfectly cooked whites and soft runny yolks, the ham tasted nice as well, not like something from Tesco Value range or worse that you can often end up with.  The coffee was lovely as well, lots of different flavours going on for a simple americano, not your typical Costa Coffee blend!

 After stuffing our face to the point of bursting we debated and debated on what to do with the rest of our day.  After ruling out just about everything we settled on the bank of England museum and a nice walk along Portobello Road to Notting Hill Gate.  The museum had three things going for, it was open, it was free and we'd not been before.

 The museum is a few minutes walk from Bank station and we spent a few hours there (I'm not quite sure how!)  The museums patrons consisted of the retired, a few confused tourists and a group from a very posh looking school.  The museum traces the history of the Bank of England and the banking system from its birth till the present.  There are numerous display cases full of early forms of paper money, coins and relics from the bank.  There was a video about gold narrated by Stephen Fry and I managed to win a small prize, a small pin in the shape of a bar of gold.  Somehow it seemed as if this museum would have been just as good in a book for an 11-14 year old in a school library, though I can't imagine it ever getting taken out!

Lowry & Baker: 339 Portobello Rd, W10 5SA - 0208 960 8534

Bank of England Museum:  Threadneedle Street, London, EC2R 8AH - 020 7601 5545
Open: Monday - Friday, 10.00 - 17.00 Admission FREE