Craft Beer Rising 2015 - Sutton & Sons - The Dolls House

Thursday 19th February -  c.12 hours in the life of Matt The List:

Short version (click on times below to whizz down to photos):

2pm-5pm : Couple of beers at Craft Beer Rising on Brick Lane

5pm-7pm : Fishcakes and #NationalChipWeek at the new Sutton & Sons in Box Park

7pm-2am : Negronis and Jazz at The Dolls House new site in Islington

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Long version:

1pm - Leave flat in Battersea. Pop in to my local rotisserie and deli Park Road Kitchen for all the salt beef, spinach & ricotta tarts, and a kale, chickpea & sumac salad. Sorted. I eat here pretty much every day. So should you.

1.30pm - Smugly eat food on the train - definitely better than everyone else's. Beat high score on 2 Cars. Day is shaping up nicely.

 

2pm - Arrive at trade session of Craft Beer Rising in the Old Truman Brewery.  Start working way round room full of 80+ breweries and 500+ beers under the pretence of choosing beers for The Good Egg with founder Joel Braham.

2.15pm - Discover New Zealand.  Fantastic beers across the board from Tuatara, Renaissance, 8 Wired, Three Boys, and Yeastie Boys.  Looking forward to seeing them around.

2.30pm - Still at New Zealand stand. In the words of Jeff Goldblum - must go faster.

2.45pm - Say hello to Mondo Brewing, a brand new brewery coming soon to Battersea (hooray!). Beers are promising and it sounds like they will have a great setup. Pop over to the Ilkley stand for some more top beers including Siberia Rhubarb Saison and Hickory Redcap Pecan Porter. Apparently a collaboration with Yeastie Boys is on the way.

3pm - One hour down, time for bed....lam.  Bedlam Brewery - a new brewery from the folk behind The Bull in Ditchling.  Joel is whipping out his business cards.  They're massive.

3.15pm - Time for some familiar faces at London-based Fourpure and Beavertown stalls.  Enjoy the Transatlantic Overdrive IPA collab between Fourpure & Bear Republic, and 2.8% Londonerweisse collab from Beavertown and Dogfish Head.  I think the bloke from Mondo Brewing is following us.

3.30pm - Yep, he's definitely following us.  Nice guy though, so it's OK.  Why are we in a queue? Ah yes, Wild Beer Co.. Great beers on offer including Beyond Modus, a more complicated version of the superb Modus Hoperandi.  Must buy some - or be bought some.  Anyone reading? Birthday soon. Friendly Harbour Brewing at the same stall - too early for an 8.7% Imperial Chocolate and Vanilla Stout? Nah.

Here There Be Flagons

3.45pm - Flying visits to Thornbridge from Peak District, Bad Seed Brewery from North Yorkshire, and Franciscan Well from Ireland. Joel seems to know a lot about Cork - bit out of my depth.

4pm - Meet Alex from Yelp for a "business meeting". On the home straight - well, except for the entire other room we haven't made it into. Pop over to Redwell for India Pale Lager.

Helping choose beers for @TheGoodEgg_ with @MattTheList at @craftbeerriseuk. And by choose, I mean drink all of them. pic.twitter.com/GxnlRHzEVj

— Alex S (Yelp!) (@yelplondon) February 19, 2015

4.30pm - Last orders called - thought there was half an hour left? Blessing in (thinly veiled) disguise. Settle next to Beer Cat (short for Catalunya) to finish.  Impressive beer brewed by a Dubliner, a South Londoner and a Mancunian. In Spain.

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5pm - Park Road Kitchen is beginning to wear off - definitely time for dinner. We part ways with Mr.Yelp and head to new Sutton & Sons site in Box Park.  Danny Sutton established the Sutton & Sons fishmongers on Stoke Newington High Street back in 1998 before opening their fish and chip shop there in 2010, don't cha know?

5.15pm - Joel and I are welcomed by Matt, the friendly ex-navy front of house who is coping well with the concept of shipping containers being used for restaurants.  It's National Chip Week, so we're feeling pretty on trend.  We tuck in to a Hackney Brewery American Pale Ale whilst Matt gets Mikey in the kitchen to rustle us up some food.

5.30pm - A mixed plate of Whitebait, Calamari and Fishcakes hits the spot.  The fishcakes are absolutely sublime.  Best in London? Any thoughts?

6pm - Box Park attempts to set the mood with some dreadful live music.  We drown it out with delicious Cod Goujons, a Cod Burger, and some #NationalChipWeek chips.  All the food is rather excellent.  Must return for some Catch of the Day specials - Lobster Subs, Sea Bass, Tuna Burgers, Moules Mariniere; that kind of thing.

6.15pm - Joel's turn to attempt a "business meeting", possibly legitimate.  Appears to be going well - I decide to leave them to it and head off to The Dolls House.  Firm handshake with Matt - top bloke, solid name.

Business Meeting

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7pm - Slow progress on the 43 along City Road.  Did I really get that score on 2 Cars earlier? Can't be right. Quick look at photos so far.  That one of the fishcake is alright.

7.15pm - Meet Islington local Cath outside The Dolls House on Upper Street, the latest hand-drawn hangout from Adam Towner and Katy Gray Rosewarne, set over three floors that used to belong to House of Wolf.  We head through the ground floor Parlour, up to the first floor Library and Drawing Room for Negronis, Old Fashioneds and Espresso Martinis.  Antica Formula is greatly appreciated.

8pm - The house starts to fill up with familiar faces.  We check out the top floor Ballroom which starts the evening as a dining room before becoming a private members bar.  Membership seems achievable - just need to bring them some premium booze from their wishlist.  I've got some Tesco's own brand gin knocking around somewhere - that should do it.  Otherwise it's £5 after 10pm for me. A nice fellow comes round with an inadequate number of steak canapés - he's disappointed with himself.

10pm - Ground floor Parlour is looking a bit busy.  Chap behind the bar has definitely served me in three different Dead Dolls Club establishments already.  I imagine I shall be seeing him in Peckham - opening on 1st April apparently.  We retreat to The Library, our preferred candlelit cosy.  Ceiling is leaking - quite endearing. Stripy red & black shirt bartender needs to pass on secret of stirring drinks quietly to stripy black & white shirt bartender.  This is a Library! Steak canapé guy has seriously upped his game by the way.

11pm - Kansas Smittys are In The (Dolls) House! Swing music ensues, occasionally in key with a fire alarm.  Giacomo asks the fire alarm to stop playing over their solos.  Steak canapé guy has switched over to miniature rhubarb crumbles - less interested.

2am - IT'S 2AM! What?! Oh dear. Officially Mum The List's birthday. Call her now? Probably not, it can wait. Could get Kansas Smittys to play "Happy Birthday" though? No. N19 bus is here; goes all the way home - ideal.  Time for a last go at 2 Cars and some decisive photo editing.  Should be a nice photo of a Negroni in there somewhere, I took enough of them.  OK, I seem to have taken a video of a Negroni too.  The wall is moving isn't it?

3am - Nap The List. Big day tomorrow.

Lanes of London - Moo Cantina

Tuesday 14th January - For me, a trip to Park Lane usually means paying my sister about £2000 for all of her bloody hotels before losing another £200 to Income Tax straight afterwards, but I took a chance and advanced straight to Lanes of London, a new bar and restaurant next to the Marriott Hotel.

I was a tad early for my 6.30 appointment so I hung around outside watching the Aston Martins and Bentleys roll by, wondering whether I was slightly out of my depth.  But as I entered the attractive bar and was warmly greeted by Angharad from Luchford PR and Bar Manager Francesco, it quickly became clear that Lanes of London is a very welcoming place.  I was shown to a table of thirsty bloggers, including Le Cool, Beetroot & Beluga and We Love Food, where we worked our way through Francesco's finest.

Lanes of London's aim is to represent several areas of London's diverse food (and drink) scene all under one roof, focusing on Brick Lane (Indian), Kingsland Road (Vietnamese), Edgware Road (Lebanese) and Portobello Road (British).  The cocktail menu is split up accordingly.  

Francesco has had fun creating twists on classics to fit into different sections, including a refreshing Raita Gin Fizz, the amusingly named Vietnamito and Pi-Nam Colada, and a peaty Hung Que Sour (a whisky sour with Hung Que - aka Thai Basil).  The Brick Lane Bruv cleverly makes use of Paul John Brilliance, an Indian whiskey, which is boldly combined with pineapple, lime juice, chai syrup and Meantime pale ale.  Each section has its own sharing punch (priced at £18.50) which can be stacked on top of one another, creating a multicoloured Lanes of London punch selection.

There is room for more interesting beers than Meantime, Hue and Kingfisher behind the bar - surely they are missing the Lebanese Almaza beer for starters?

We moved to the restaurant where the lively Roger took over proceedings, talking us through the menu. Whilst it is again split up into sections, the idea is that you order from all corners and get a bonkers mix of dishes turning up to share.  It is a system that benefits larger groups as you can get through a lot more of the menu as a team.

Roger and friends proceeded to bring us all manner of tasty treats, cooked up by the capable Anshu Anghotra who handled the massive range of styles admirably.  Highlights included the Fattoush Salad (Sumac, lemon & olive oil dressing), Cornish Lamb Cutlets (with peas & beans, and mint pesto), Salt Baked Pumpkin Salad (with Black quinoa, goat's cheese, pumpkin seeds) and Samosa Chat (with chickpeas, yoghurt, pomegranate, and tamarind & mint chutney).  The Beef Brisket Sliders with Roasted Bone Marrow to dip into were so popular that they were reordered several times.

For dessert, we were presented with several decadent Double Chocolate Brownie Gateaux (one of which I took home in a doggie bag for hungry flatmates!) and some quirky miniature tins of ice creams and sorbets. A refreshing lychee sorbet hit the spot, but the chocolate banana crunch ice cream was too reminiscent of sweet shop bananas.

There are plenty more tempting sweet options, including posh Jammy Dodgers.  In a nice touch, you are given a postcard with the full dessert menu on to fill out if you wish which they will send out for you for free.

Francesco popped by before we left and brought along some of his interesting gin collection.  As his Langley's No.8 hadn't yet been opened, we decided it was time and he created a very boozy "G&T" which was mostly G with a couple of dashes of this and that.  If you are very nice to Francesco, he might even let you sip from his limited edition William Chase hip flask that he keeps on him at all times!

It was a lovely evening of top quality food and drink from the Lanes of London team, and very affordable given its location.  They open bright and early for breakfast at 6.30am I believe, and they also run an afternoon tea and Sunday roasts - many excuses to try it out!

Thursday 16th January - I can never resist a good soft launch, especially when somewhere decides to open up just down the road from where I rehearse with Kensington Symphony Orchestra.  I managed to convince 18 hungry musicians to head over to Moo Cantina for half priced Argentinean steaks and snacks, late on a Thursday night after a 3 hour rehearsal.  The 50% offer is running til January 31st so there is plenty of time for you all to pop in!

We were pleased to find that Moo Cantina is actually run by Argentineans rather than British imitators, and our hosts were extremely winning throughout our stay.  They have confidently set up in a very large site in Pimlico, with a big central bar area and plenty of room for diners around, all decorated very nicely.  They show live sport, though the TVs don't dominate the restaurant - this could be a very fun place to come next summer for Argentina matches.

Anywhere that has a piano instantly gets extra points from me, though this one needs a bit of a tune - I would stick to some honky tonk / Scott Joplin saloon style playing, rather than four hands Rite of Spring that two of our party launched into.

On to the food, nearly everyone went for steaks which are quirkily priced per 100g - make sure you order enough!  Steaks received thumbs up down the table - as their sister site Moo Grill says, "Argentina is like a spa for cows", hence tasty meat!  As well as steaks, they have a wide range of gourmet sandwiches and classic Argentinean dishes, most of which are under £10.  If you are feeling particularly peckish (as one viola player was), order the Moo Grill (for 2) complete with steak, sausage, sweetbread (not what you think), roasted peppers and provolone cheese.  Hats off to the chefs for delivering 18 meals at the same time, right at the end of a busy evening.

The drinks menu is also pretty extensive with a wide range of wines, interesting beers (including offerings from Moncada in Notting Hill and Oregon based Rogue, and a massive 970ml bottle of Quilmes), and a Moo G&T menu too.  

Thanks to the staff for a fun evening - we will return with some Piazzolla tangos next time!  Does anybody have Yo Yo Ma's number? (Email users click through to the blog to see video below)

Also, points for the best meat / composer based pun that KSO hasn't already thought of. So far - Beefhoven, Shosteakovich, Rackoflambinov, Moosorgsky and Porkofiev are my favourites.

Feast at Brick Lane Yard - 2013

Thursday July 4th - Here is a rather belated write up for Feast food festival at Brick Lane Yard from the beginning of July.  I will let the pictures tell most of the story - we ate a lot, then we had a rest, then we ate some more basically.  If you like what you see, get tickets which have recently gone on sale to their 1 year old birthday celebrations from 13-15th September, which are taking place in the Quadrangle of Guys Hospital in London Bridge.

Can't go wrong with Flat Iron from Soho - read my write up on their restaurant here.

Delicious When Mac met Cheese cooked on the spot by Sammy

Generous portion of yummy Satay Chicken from Ayam Legend

Find them at the Skyroom, London Bridge

Fantastic lamb flatbread wraps from Mike + Ollie

Find them at Brockley Market on Saturdays or Kerb King's Cross most Fridays

Alternatively sign up for one of their supper clubs in Camberwell

Ice Creams & Macaroons from Le Petit Paris

The efficient Mumma Schnitzel

The incredible Mumma Schnitzel burger - wow.

The Octopus with Potato Purée & Paprika from Copita (Soho) was outstanding

Thanks for the Morcilla taster! - Black pudding, apple and almonds

Best stall goes to Angela Hartnett's Whitechapel Gallery Dining Room for their blowup fish

The truffle chips weren't half bad either.

Undercover Edesia Shrine - Edesia is the Roman Goddess of Feasting apparently

Least appealing food sign ever by BAO?  See my post on Netil Market for a re-enactment

Finished off with sublime Lemon Parfait and Raspberry Curd from After Hours Dessert

Their Dessert, Coffee and Cocktail evenings are extremely high up on The List.

Not pictured here, we also had some excellent iced coffee from Caravan, and numerous tasters including some moreish La Bauma Cheesecake from Tramontana.  The choice of restaurant & street food stalls was impressive, but it never quite matched the atmosphere of the previous Feast (read more here). Unlike Brick Lane Yard, the Tobacco Dock was such a unique setting which allowed them to tuck away secret events like Ping Tron and Rita's Supper Club, and also have live bands and dancing.  Without exciting extras like that (there was a small croquet lawn, and a coconut shy that you needed to pay for), it is unfair to charge too much entry for street food that you can normally walk up to for free.  The main draw was therefore having tasters from restaurants that you might not normally splash out on.  I will probably go to the next one, but I hope that they bring back some more of the fun from Feast at Tobacco Dock.  Thanks to Natalie and Lauren for eating their way through all the stalls with me!