Platterform Stage 3 - After Hours - Junipalooza

Friday 6th June - The opening of a new bar brought me over to Hackney Central on a sunny Friday afternoon, but I couldn't go all that way without stopping off at The Cock Tavern for a couple of brews.  

Last time I went, they only had one of their basement-brewed Howling Hops beers on offer so I was delighted to find 8 or so to choose from.  Their Pale XX Superior No.6 Motueka Cascade Pale Ale hit the spot this time around.  Lauren (the new List Leader) rocked up and had a crafty cider.

Just down the road at Hackney Empire, the reliably entertaining Platterform have found themselves a permanent home, and they are calling it Stage 3.  

After stints on rooftops in London Bridge & London Fields, I imagine they must be feeling whatever the opposite of altitude sickness is, now they are down at street level.  Any old riff-raff could wander in!  And so we did...

The site is great - a lovely large airy room, with plenty of space for a stage (for live music & DJs), with a mezzanine area overlooking proceedings.  Best seats in the house are probably at the tiny second bar tucked away one end of the raised section.  Funky Caribbean visuals all over the walls and the Hawaiian shirts add to the summery vibe.

Beers are sorted with three local Crate Brewery beers on tap, and a whole host of bottles.  We rummaged through the cocktail menu, coming out with Wild Strawberry, So-Co, Jerk'N'Stormy and Spice It Up, which involved several homemade items including spiced bourbon, jerk bitters, spiced tea gin and an orange ice shard.

I also like the sound of Orangutan (Peanut Rum stirred with honey & chocolate bitters) and Smoke Bush (Bourbon, Smoked Aubergine & Clove Shrub), which are listed in the online menu.

There's plenty to shout about on the food front - Spiced Island Stew & Grandma's Rendang sound great, and you can't go wrong with Jerk Chicken Satay.  I expect there will be a lot more to come on food-wise in the next few weeks, as they always provided an exciting spread at their rooftop hangouts.

Coffee & Tea are well covered too, as they open up at 8am on weekdays and 11am at the weekend. I like the suggestion of Crate IPA & tea bag dry hop infusion.  They make their own Iced Teas on site too which you will also be able to buy at their Cornershop, an in-house shop concept opening up in July which will sell all sorts of food and drink alongside guest merchandise.  Read more here.

Also launching in July are a number of events such as a monthly Monkey Stomp Blues (best described as an immersive jazz club experience!), and the cleverly named Chi & Tea on Sundays which will involve Oriental-style roasts, dim-sum, detox or retox cocktails and free tai-chi lessons.

We said goodbye to the Platterform lads and took a short bus ride to Ozone Coffee in Old Street where we were booked in for a 9.30pm sitting with After Hours.

What's that? 4 courses of pudding followed by coffee & petit fours in a hipster coffee shop with a different dessert demon in the kitchen every time? Yes please. Penny Jirayuwatana (Baxter Storey, Mandarin Oriental, Jean Georges Vongerichten) was our pastry pro for the evening.

The mastermind behind it all is Peter Butler (coincidentally in the year below me at uni - damn those overachievers) was on front of house, and showed us to some excellent seats for watching Penny & co. at work.

First up: Refreshing Strawberry & Thai Basil snugly housed in a gold-sprayed white chocolate igloo - why not?

Strawberry & Thai Basil

With a Bethnal Pale Ale on the side from the local Redchurch Brewery, we moved on to the second course.  Poached Apricot, Jasmine, Ginger & Pistachio - expertly created en masse in front of our eyes by Penny's crack team.  The four distinct flavours cleverly combined with none of them dominating.

Poached Apricot, Jasmine, Ginger & Pistachio

Half-way through, we got ourselves The Butler - cognac, Pedro Ximenez sherry, almond milk, pastis, egg white, orange blossom water.  A very drinkable & interesting cocktail, but a little too sweet considering its company!

The Butler - cognac, Pedro Ximenez sherry, almond milk, pastis, egg white, orange blossom water

Round 3 was the most visually impressive.  Banana, smoked caramel, and pineapple & coconut sorbet relaxing in the shade in a leafy tunnel.  This was my favourite (as I suspected it might be) - a deconstructed Bannoffee pie & Pina Colada in one, full of pleasing textures and flavours.

Banana, smoked caramel, and pineapple & coconut sorbet 

For the finale, Penny laid out an attractive plate of Guanaja 70% croquant, black sesame and red cherries.  Dark chocolate oozed out, complemented by a quirky hit of black sesame.  I'm not a huge cherries fan but they weren't at all offensive here, and the plate was empty in a few seconds.

Guanaja 70% croquant, black sesame and red cherries

We finished off with an Ozone coffee (Lauren sensibly opting for decaf at 11.30pm) and some petit fours jellies - strawberry, coconut and cola if I remember rightly? These weren't quite as thrilling as the rest of the dishes and petit fours can be the highlight if done right, but its pretty hard to top four courses of dessert with something else sweet at the end.

It was a brilliant unique evening, with friendly laid back service and stunning plates of food from start to finish.  We chatted to a couple next to us who were on their fourth visit to After Hours Dessert and they commented that every chef brings something totally different to the table every time so it is always an exciting experience. Here are some superb photos from the previous event.  It's definitely a great date option, though I wouldn't advise eating too much in the way of savoury beforehand, you will be full by the end even if you haven't had any salt!

Sign up on the After Hours website to hear about the next event - they are currently doing one a month, and it will set you back £25 a head - worth every Penny (had to get that in somewhere).

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Saturday 7th June - Whilst I've got your attention I'll just briefly mention a couple of trips from the next day.  After a quick stop at Kerb Southbank for a Kimchinary Gochujang pulled-pork burrito, I met up with Luke & Mark in Shoreditch for an afternoon of gin tasting at Junipalooza which I previewed a few weeks ago.

Gin Foundry took over Factory 47 for 3 days and filled it with distillers and a few cocktail bars to showcase a wide range of gins.  Tickets got you 5 tasters and mini G&Ts, though this stretched to more like 10 thanks to some "forgetful" card stamping.

DANGER OF DEATH

I have only included a small selection of my photos here.  You can see the rest of them on Matt The Tumblr - Set 1 // Set 2

With Mark of 58 Gin as our guide, we made our way round most of the stalls and chatted away to the friendly distillers who were keen to show off their products.  Highlights for me were the interesting St.George's gins (their Terroir makes an awesome Tom Collins), NY Distilling (which I'm hoping to visit in July), Herno Juniper Cask, Tarquin's and Dodd's Gin.  

I found Warner Edwards and Adnams to be too sweet, and the addition of tonic led to something reminiscent of cream soda.  Ferdinand's Dry Gin distilled using Riesling divided opinion.

Dodd's Gin - all gins should come with a beehive postcode

Too many gins for this one? Or a superman impression...

On the way out Luke bought himself a bottle of the Herno Juniper Cask which he said he looked forward to sipping neat whilst watching Take Me Out - each to their own.  Also available were miniature bottles of all of the gins, organised by Master of Malt's Drinks by the Dram.  

Drinks by the Dram - mini bottles of spirits from Master of Malt

Gin Foundry put on a fantastic show - it was a clever event pitched somewhere between gin festival and a trade show allowing the general public to get in on the fun that is usually reserved for drinks writers, bartenders and fellow distillers.  I look forward to seeing what they do next year!

Last stop of the day was a riverside pub dinner at the Prospect of Whitby in Wapping.  Much like Rotherhithe on the side, Wapping is one of the calmest areas of London for enjoying the Thames, and the Prospect of Whitby has enviable views (though the hangman's noose is a tad creepy!). 

However, the food is distinctly average and overpriced, and the beer selection is nothing to write home about.  I suggest having a drink or two outside before heading off to Bottega round the corner. Alternatively, head over to The Mayflower in Rotherhithe which goes well with a trip to Midnight Apothecary's summer cocktail pop-up on Fridays and Saturdays at the Brunel Museum.

Prospect of Whitby in Wapping

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Matt The Tumblr - Press Play On The Roof - Austin Powers - 1 // 2 // 3

Matt The Film - first attempt at a video / photo collage from Press Play's Austin Powers screening.

Match The List - most of the next four weeks will be spent in various international bars to soak up the best atmosphere for world cup games.  On the cards this weekend - Bradley's Spanish Bar for Spain vs Holland tonight, anywhere for England tomorrow, and Le Pot Lyonnais for France vs Honduras on Sunday.

Matt The Shortlist - It's World Gin Day tomorrow so here are some top gin hangouts:

CoLD Bar // Drink, Shop & Dance // London Gin Club // Gillray's // Gin Joint // 214 Bermondsey

I'll be in Bermondsey tomorrow drinking gin & beer cocktails at Anspach & Hobday, with Jensen Gin distillery round the corner and Little Bird Gin bar nearby in Maltby Street Market.  See you there.

Preview : Junipalooza

Junipalooza, 6th - 8th June 2014 - Factory 7, Shoreditch

Drinks shows can often be boring, bland trestle table infested affairs.  Thankfully, the team at Gin Foundry are putting a stop to this and are hosting Junipalooza.  With fun, immersive installations that combine botanicals, industrial warehousing, music and gin to create a unique experience, Junipalooza is set to be the UK's biggest ever event dedicated to gin.

With World Gin Day just around the corner on the 14th June, Junipalooza's three-day show (taking place in Factory 7 in Shoreditch) is the definitive way to get in the mood.  With a global gathering of gin producers scattered across the giant factory floor, visitors will be able to sample a variety of gins, meet the teams behind them, and make sense of this now revitalised and exciting spirit.

There will be the opportunity to enjoy familiar favourites, but also a chance to enjoy and try small batch, craft gins - some launching at the event itself and sever never seen in the UK before.  

Some of the UK's best bartenders will be making cocktails ranging from the classic to the contemporary, bringing the most out of the wide range of gins on offer.  Not to mention, there will be a Drinks by the Dram shop where 100 different gins will be available to buy in 30ml sample-sized bottles.

And as if that wasn't tempting enough, enthusiasts can try their hands at making their own gin and learning more about the spirit's controversial past with a series of masterclasses, including Blend Your Own Gin and An Anthology of Gin, taking place

Tickets for Junipalooza are available here

• Day tickets at an Earlybird price of £15 (or £20 after 1st June / on the door)
• Weekend tickets at an Earlybird price of £25 (or £35 after 1st June / on the door)
• Each masterclass will be £25 per person (spaces limited to 20 per session)

Tickets include 5 tokens to sample gins (each sample is a generous 15ml gin, also available with tonic water depending on preference).

More details from organisers Gin Foundry:

"Having announced that we’ll be hosting the giant gin-fest that is Junipalooza, we thought you may like a few more details as to what to expect. Friendly competition has meant that each stand is trying to outdo each other and create something more unique to standout. With roll up banners banned and ideas flying about for new ways to present each gin, here are a few of the projects that we can share with you all…

"Where should we start though? Do we trace the room left to right or just mention a few things that caught our attention this week? This time it’s the latter.

"Cornwall based distillery South Western Distillery will be sampling its increasingly popular Tarquin’s Gin. This is exciting for those who haven’t tried the gin yet, and for those who have already – they will be bringing, much to our gin geek love of stills, Tamara.

"Tamara is their hard working miniature-sized still. She may be small but she’s a beauty and once buffed, polished and pruned back into pristine condition, no doubt she’ll become a magnet for all you discerning drinkers… Did someone say Junipalooza Gin 2014 Vintage anyone? Hopefully.

"Not to be outdone, on the adjacent stand, the team at Hayman’s Gin have decided to put as many gins as they can fit on their wooden pallet, bringing with them their entire range of 5 gins. Between their Royal Dock, London Dry, barrel rested, gin liqueur and their Old Tom Gin, expect there to be quite the fuss surrounding them.

"One pallet further along, the Hernö Gin team will be showcasing their Swedish gins – both London Dry and the Navy Strength version. Having heard about Tarquin’s nearby still, Hernö’s Master Distiller Jon Hillgren wanted to bring something special too and for the first time ever in the UK, he will be transporting a 40 gallon juniper wood barrel with him. We’re not sure it will fit in as carry-on-luggage but hopefully he’ll get here okay!

"Having created the first ever gin to be matured in juniper oak – the barrels are incredibly rare as sourcing juniper wood large enough to be shaped into a cask was a Herculean feat. He is the only one to have ever done this. Just to put that into context – there are over a million barrels in the Scotch producing region of Speyside alone. None of them are like this. It may well also mean that a lucky few might get to try his super premium and almost impossible to find Juniper Cask Gin. If that’s the case, it’ll be quite the treat we assure you!

"Between a still, a one-of-a kind barrel, 10 gins and 3 countries represented, it’s not bad for one corner of the room. How to top this next you may ask? Why, by bringing out the big guns.

"Bombay will be hosting the Classics Bar with the team from Forgotten Hospitality. Using Bombay Dry, Sapphire and Bombay East, the team will be selecting the very best flavour combinations to bring to life classic cocktails seen throughout history. Look out for the new labels on their bottles too, production has started to flow from their new distillery site at Laverstoke Mill and no doubt the gents have a treat or two in store for us all.

"Warner Edwards will be showcasing their ever expanding portfolio and are also working away on a very secret, yet possibly industry changing project that we hope to announce at the show. It’s early days still and much is in the air but we don’t use the bombastic comment of “industry changing” lightly. Stay tuned folks – more on this soon.

"Jamie Baxter, the man behind seemingly every new craft distillery in the UK, will be showcasing gin from his latest venture in Leicestershire. And Fever-Tree will be on hand to ensure that everyone is suitably refreshed and glasses are kept full of their tonic, ginger ale and other bubbly concoctions from their handy tricycles (incidentally, we need to get one of those for our own garden parties!)

"We’ll keep some of the other participants under wraps for now – too many good things in one go isn’t healthy – but hopefully this quick summary has whet your appetite and will have you more convinced than ever that there’s only one place to be over the weekend of 6th to 8th June. Don’t miss out!"

EARLY BIRD TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE HERE.

Loading Café/Bar - Galeto - Garlic and Shots - El Cantara Shisha Terrace - Chukka at Archer Street

Friday 7th June - Last Friday was meant to be a quiet night.  It had been a long week and I had some teaching to do early the next morning so me and my friend Mary decided to meet for a quick drink or two in a couple of new places in Soho at 18.15.  Six hours later, I found myself back in the queue for some Gelupo gelato with Mary and List Leader Natalie (I blame her), having tried out 5 places that were new to us.  Hopefully some self control will kick in soon before I stop being able to pay my rent.

N.B. Loading Bar has now moved to London Game Space at 97 Stoke Newington Road, Dalston, N16 8BX

Our first stop was a gamer's paradise called Loading Café/Bar that has set up shop very sneakily in the back of the crazy mango café Madd (Mango + Addiction = Madd).  Skip ahead a couple of paragraphs if video games don't do it for you!  Spread over two small rooms, they have squeezed in as many TVs, consoles and arcade machines as possible.  There are also excellent board games on offer (eg. Settlers of Catan, Battlestar Galactica, Carcassonne) though these may have already been there courtesy of Madd.  The arcade machines have loads of games loaded on the system to choose from, plus there are a couple of gaming tabletops to play on too.  Best of all, the gaming is free - I guess there is no easy way for them to charge (entry/membership?) and there are probably issues about charging people to play computer games that they have bought.  There are some comical gaming themed cocktails (eg. Earthworm Gin, Ocarina of Lime and Deus Ex on the Beach) and Shot challenges (single or two player?).  Bear in mind the prices shown below and on their website are for their Falmouth based bar.  The Soho prices are predictably but not unreasonably higher.

Mary and I went straight for the Snes for some Mario Kart - it took us a while to remember to point the controllers at the actual console.  I also returned the next day with Sam after Soho Food Feast to kill some time with some Fifa - we ended up playing against two randomers for an hour or so, proof that video games are sociable!  Loading Bar haven't had much time to announce their arrival in Soho as they spent this week hosting ETOO (nothing to do with Samuel Eto'o), an alternative to the massive E3 gaming conference that was on at the same time.  Now that is over, they will be able to focus on getting some more publicity.  Get in there soon before it is discovered by more people!  Alternatively, head to Meltdown on Caledonian Road that has also just opened.

Mary trying out Puppeteer demo on PS3

Natalie arrived as we were finishing our drinks, so we decided to head off to the recently opened colourful Brazilian restaurant/bar called Galeto for some food. NB It looks like Galeto has now closed. Mary is obsessed with Nandos so she was pretty delighted to find that the main thing on the menu is 1/2 chicken, marinated in house for 24 hours served with chips and a choice of sauces.  We all went for it with the fruity barbecue sauce, plus beers and wine on the side.  We were all very impressed, not least because it is extremely affordable considering that it is right in the middle of Dean Street.  Caipirinhas are £6, all desserts are under £4 and so on - cheap cheap cheap!  I might need to go for the Rump Cup Burger next time if I can tear myself away from the chicken.  Street artist Milo Tchais has done a great job decorating it too:

Our next stop was very brief indeed though not because it was terrible.  Garlic and Shots is a mad little restaurant/bar (with a beer garden) that does what it says on the tin.  There are other versions (set up by the Olsson Bros) in Palma and Stockholm.  Here's what they say about the food - "No dishes are served without garlic.  You can always order extra garlic, but never less.  As you leave the restaurant, you should feel like you have been garlic marinated.  That is our mission from God".  As a certain Mr.Rascal might say - bonkers.  Downstairs is a little bar that serves 101 different shots to a death metal soundtrack, and looks like something out of Buffy.  Get there early to nab the cool cave table at the back.  I had the signature Bloodshot (Vodka, tomato, garlic, chilli and spices) whilst Natalie had Garlic Honey Dark Rum and Mary had Chilli Tequila, all from pre-prepared bottles.  I was expecting it to be vile, but it was actually delicious and the garlic totally worked.  Had it been a big night out, we would definitely have stayed for some more, but we stopped at one shot each and moved on to our next place.

"Phones and Chainsaws turned off at all times"

A few doors down the road is El Cantara - a Spanish/Moroccan restaurant with a secluded outdoor shisha terrace bar two floors up that I would definitely never have found pre-blog.  It's a tiny space that they pack full of people (all seated, just about) with a fantastic relaxed atmosphere.  Most of their fancy Shisha options were off so we fell back on reliable apple, alongside some Casablanca beers and Bellinis.  The meze food being brought out to neighbouring tables looked incredibly tasty.  We were briefly entertained by a guitarist and a flamenco dancer, which was an unexpected bonus.  This place will be perfect for hot summer evenings (if they still exist).

The drinks were starting to take hold by this point and that always leads Natalie to say the same thing - "I want to go dancing!".  Normally, I just mock her Northern accent by repeating her in the style of Orville the duck, finishing with "I wish that I could, but I can't!", but this time we decided to actually go for a quick boogie in Archer Street on Archer Street - surely they could have come up with another name?  Our aim was to try out the Polo-themed Chukka bar/club downstairs so we sidled up to the bouncer who was busy doing 1 in 1 out (there was no queue).  We were pleasantly surprised to find that there was no door charge, and even better no cloakroom charge either, and we were in within a minute - not bad for a Friday night.  An important looking member of staff did however give us a good look up and down before letting us in, which made us slightly worried about what/who we were about to encounter.

The décor is really impressive for a club, and I would imagine it works just as well as a bar before it gets busy.  The music was awesome - from funky Earth, Wind and Fire type stuff to Mysterious Girl, the DJ kept the young crowd very happy, and made us stay for an unplanned second (expensive) drink.  Occasionally an (extremely talented) Archer Street singer in a polkadot dress stood on a table and sang along to a backing track with a microphone, which really made it feel like more of a party.  The clientele were on the whole what we expected, elbow pads and big teeth all round, but we couldn't complain since we had invaded their realm, and they are pretty entertaining to watch after a few drinks.  I eventually managed to drag the girls out with the threat of Gelupo closing, and we finished off our night with some yummy ice cream which is becoming a dangerous habit at the moment.

Chukka Bar regular, James William Bottomtooth III

5 Team List points go to Mary, giving her a much needed boost up the leaderboard, whilst Natalie finally makes it past 50 points, over 20 clear of everyone else!