Chop Shop - Milk & Honey

Wednesday 14th August - September is going to be a crazy month for restaurant openings, with at least 30 already scheduled.  The Chop Shop has just opened after a lengthy soft opening period which I took full advantage of with my university friend Louise who has finally opened her Team List account.  I managed to mess up the booking, but they very kindly squeezed us in anyway.

We enjoyed 25% off our bill and a cocktail on the house courtesy of a Nudge promotion, so we started off at the bar with a very entertaining barman.  He made Louise a beautifully layered Royal Blush for which he received a high five as it was the first successful attempt after a few tweaks.  My Passione Arribiata with chilli infused tequila was equally impressive. We also all had a taste of their celery infused gin (for a Celery Gimlet) as it was finally ready to try. We eventually tore ourselves away and headed downstairs for food.  

We covered their Chops & Steaks section by getting a chop and a steak, with 2 of their fantastic free house sauces (Creamy Horseradish and Vodka Bacon Peppercorn) with some chips to share.  Other food coming out looked fantastic too, especially the White Label Burger pictured below. Their menu seems to have changed a fair amount since we visited though so don't go expecting everything that you can see here.

We didn't waste much time getting through our delicious mains, with some bubbly and a bottle of the excellent Honkers Ale on the side.  The decor downstairs isn't quite as exciting as upstairs but there is still a good atmosphere and you aren't too packed in.  I would happily go back as I wanted nearly everything on the menu, though it is fairly pricey when compared to say Flat Iron in Soho.  We moved on without dessert as we had a reservation at Milk and Honey that was approaching fast.

Milk & Honey made the transfer from New York and opened in Soho in 2002, long before the current wave of speakeasy style / hidden cocktail bars set up shop.  It is a members club most of the week, but non members can book for the first half of the week, before 11pm.  It stays open til 3am every night, but only for members and their guests.  The membership also gives you access all areas to the other Rushmore Group bars and restaurants (Player Bar, Danger of Death, Rotary, Redhook, Giant Robot) that are dotted around London.  You have probably walked past Milk & Honey on Poland Street several times as the door is completely unmarked - look for the door next to the Star & Garter pub, with M & H written on the buzzer.  

The staff were all very welcoming and sat us down in the beautifully lit ground floor bar (almost as dark as Happiness Forgets!).  It is hard to take a picture which conveys the atmosphere, which is a good thing. Go and find out for yourself.  There was a hint of incense which also gave it a sense of familiarity and cosiness. There are other bars and even a games room on other floors, but most of that is members only.  We spent a long time making our choices from an excellent cocktail menu, mainly getting distracted by their silly house rules ("No talking about fighting", "Gentlemen will remove their hats, hooks are provided" etc), before eventually deciding upon a Dempsey and a Pisco Punch.

A huge amount of effort goes into the drinks here and it really shows.  All juices and extracts and made on site by hand, glasses and mixing equipment is frozen at -30C, and ice is cut from a twice frozen block of mineral water.  The bar staff and waiters are all very relaxed and calm, and it rubs off on the guests.  We chatted for a while to one waiter.  They have to stay up until 2pm even if it is empty on the off chance that a group of members turn up for one final drink which must be frustrating!  As it was a school night for Louise, we paid up (drinks very reasonably priced at £9/10) and headed back out on to Poland Street, each with a menu souvenir which you are encouraged to take home with you. 

It wouldn't be a night in Piccadilly without Cinnabon, and Louise had never been so it was the perfect excuse to indulge with yet another ridiculous Cinnamon bun before hopping on the tube home.  Chop Shop and Milk & Honey were a perfect pair, and hopefully soon I will be putting up a List Map so that you can plan your own routes around London.  If you have any other suggestions for making this an easier resource to use (a proper Navbar is on its way), then please get in touch.

Edinburgh 2013

This was my 12th year in a row at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, but my first since starting The List. I wasn't planning on doing a Paris style food and drink crawl as seeing shows was the priority, but I did manage to fit in a few interesting places with a lot of inspiration coming again from Barchick's city guide.

The week started with my annual trip to Brewdog Edinburgh.  This is where I first discovered Brewdog, long before it reached London.  Great craft beer as usual from Brewdog and their favourite breweries from around the world, tucked away on Cowgate.  Look out for the new bar opening soon in Shepherd's Bush with 40 beers on tap!

How to make an alley look good - outside Pleasance Grand going to see Bo Burnham

Tuesday 20th was Team List's most successful day, with List regulars Natalie, Lauren, Max and Will picking up points.  We started bright and early at City Cafe which is a diner in the daytime and a bar at night with a wide selection of beers on offer amongst other things - open from 9am-1pm.  We went along bright and early for a much needed fried (Full Scottish?) breakfast complete with haggis, a potato scone and black pudding.  If you are feeling extra hungry, you can take on the Ultimate Burger Challenge - 45 minutes to eat a monster burger that includes 3 beef patties, 2 chicken breasts, 2 bean burgers and much more!

We squeezed in a couple of shows before our next stop.  Make sure you check out Austentatious - a one hour improvised play set in a Jane Austen world based on one audience suggestion pulled out of a hat at random at the beginning.  They have several shows in London in the next couple of months.  We decided to get away from the crowds and have a pint with some cake at Under the Stairs, a cosy pub sneakily tucked away right in the centre of town on Merchant Street.  It was wonderfully quiet and relaxing, and we enjoyed drinking Williams Bros Joker IPA and Caesar Augutus Lager IPA Hybrid that they had on tap.  It has more of a gastro pub feel to it, but there are plenty of tables around if you just want to go in for a drink.

After another show, we decided to squeeze in a couple of beer bars that had been recommended to us, starting with Brauhaus who claim to have the largest selection of beer in Scotland!  It's a great little bar with knowledgeable and friendly staff, and it's the perfect place to watch live sport.  Get there early and grab the sofa in front of the big screen!  The small room is covered head to toe in bottles, beer mats and flags.  We tried some tasty Rogue beers (all the way from Oregon) that were on tap when we visited, and a couple more from the impressive bottle list.  I can imagine this place gets incredibly busy at the weekend, but in a good way.

Just round the corner from Brauhaus is The Hanging Bat on Lothian Road, which is another beer haven with a quirky batcave theme!  They have a big board of beer on show (similar to London's Euston Tap) and they serve mostly (or entirely?) British beers, normally including one that they have concocted themselves.  It is great to see small London breweries (Kernel, Beavertown, Camden etc) making it all the way up here. Have a wander around as you can see into fermentation rooms, and make sure you visit the toilets with their beer taps.

The next morning we opted for a healthier breakfast at the lovely Swedish coffee house and bakery, Peters Yard, near the Meadows.  It was refreshing to see some new faces in the pastry department with cinnamon and cardamom buns amongst the interesting spread.  The "Kladdkaka" is so popular that it has its own Facebook fan page - it translates as "gooey cake".  "Sju sorters kakor" or "7 kinds of cookies" are on offer to respect the 19th Century Swedish tradition of never offering your guests less than 7 types of biscuits - that's my kind of country!  Make sure you also buy something involving their sourdough bread that they bake on site.

One of my favourite shops in Edinburgh is The Bon Vivant's Companion on Thistle Street, which has an excellent beer selection (and wines and spirits) including these cans all the way from the Maui Brewing Company in Hawaii.

The Bon Vivant itself is a restaurant/bar nextdoor with an impressive range of wines and some cocktails, which Barchick also recommend.  They have recently opened up a new site in Stockbridge that should also be worth checking out.

Impressive new look for Pleasance Dome venue

Day trip to Loch Lomond

The last place worth mentioning that I visited was the Barney's Beer brewery, which is now occupying the site of the original 1800s Summerhall brewery.  I was only passing through on the way to see another show (superb animation called Feral by Tortoise in a Nutshell company) but I did manage to try a couple of their beers, which went down a treat.  I was hoping to try some of their famed Beet Red Beer, but it was a special and isn't on at the moment.

The majority of my time was however spent seeing shows (17 in total), many of which will make their way down to London.  I would highly recommend making time to see Blam, Three Lions and Bo Burnham if they turn up.  Blam is a ridiculous wordless show with 4 actors/stuntmen posing as bored office workers acting out increasingly ambitious scenes from various famous action movies.  Knowing the references helps but the whole thing is so impressive that anyone would enjoy it - book here now.  Three Lions is a very witty and silly play covering the meetings between David Cameron, David Beckham and Prince William to discuss the 2018 World Cup bid - not sure if there has been any news of a transfer to London yet.  Bo Burnham is already a huge hit at the age of 22, and his second show at Edinburgh was a hilarious hour of creative comedy with similarities to Tim Minchin and Tim Key - keep an eye on his website for tour dates and book as soon as tickets go on sale, trust me.  I also have it on good authority that Beats is well worth seeing at the Soho theatre after a limited run in Edinburgh.  It is a coming of age story with lots of techno - written and acted by Kieran Hurley with a live DJ and live visuals!  Buy tickets here.

Blam is on in London from 22nd-31st October 2013

There were several places left on my Edinburgh List which I hope to tick off next year.  Top of the pile from Barchick's recommendations is Bramble, a hard to find underground cocktail bar with high quality drinks. Londoners should watch out for White Lyan, a quirky new bar set up by Bramble team mates Ryan Chetiyawardana and Iain Griffiths, opening soon in Hoxton. They are doing away with ice (low quality frozen water ruining drinks) and lemons (British citrus is rubbish apparently) and pre-making many of their cocktails so that they can spend as much time as possible interacting with their guests.  They will also have the ability to alter beers (with citrus hops atomisation) and wines (with barrel oaked atomisation) to add their stamp to brands coming in.

Thanks to Barchick, friendly Edinburgh bartenders and Team List for coming up with some stuff for me to blog about, and for somehow improving one of my favourite places in the world. Bring on Edinburgh 2014.

Gilbert Scott Brunch - QEH Roof Garden Cafe/Bar - Genesis Cinema - St. George's Wharf

Yet another totally random roundup of things from July, starting with a wonderful complimentary brunch for two at Marcus Wareing's Gilbert Scott in King's Cross that I won in a Barchick competition.  It was the second part of my prize after also being given two free tickets to Ginstock (read more here).  I was originally meant to go for brunch on the morning of Ginstock, and be taken in a taxi to Haggerston, but I had to squeeze in a concert in the morning.  Luckily they allowed me to rearrange, and so I turned up with North Londoner Cassie on Saturday 20th July, over a month after that gin fuelled day.

I was perhaps a tad underdressed in shorts and a t-shirt, but in my defence I did have to also fit in with beer aficionados later on in Bermondsey (read about the rest of my day here).  The staff (and background pianist) didn't seem to mind, and we were informed that we could order as much as we wanted on the house - a very dangerous thing to say.  To be honest, we were quite restrained in the end, only having two breakfast cocktails and a coffee each with our superb brunch.  We possibly should have got some bubbles in there too.  The food was wonderful, as were the drinks (these were not my first Gilbert Scott cocktails) - Breakfast Margarita was the winner for me.  My main issue was how do you leave a restaurant when you don't have to pay?  Luckily they solved that by turning up and giving me yet more free stuff as a parting gift. I had forgotten that the prize also included a bottle of Boodles Gin, so this was a pleasant surprise!  They also chucked in a tiny bottle of Hendricks and a packet of thyme seeds.  Anyway, the brunch is reasonably priced, and I would definitely recommend it to people even if you do have to part with your cash.  The surroundings are lovely, and the quality of service was extremely high.

Rhubarb and Ginger Sour

Bloody Maria

Even toast needs to sleep.

Wednesday 17th July - A few days earlier, Team List decided to bite the bullet and try out Shake Shack and Five Guys (in the same lunchtime), but I'll save that for another time as I want to compare them with some more of the British burger boys in detail.  Anyway, we needed to walk off the calories before having a nap in the sun, so we crossed the river and sought out the Roof Garden Cafe/Bar on top of Queen Elizabeth Hall on Southbank.

It's very peaceful up there, with bees buzzing and the Thames in the background.  We slowly drank our bottles of Curious Brew lager in the sun, surveying the quirky Southbank surroundings.  The garden will be open til the 1st of November, and you can even get involved by going along to "Drop In Gardening" from 11-1 on Tuesdays throughout October.  Make sure you also check out the other nearby popups Propstore, Aperol Spritz bar, and Look Mum No Hands before they disappear.

Rosie had to dash off leaving Taro and I out in the sun.  We had a craving to watch a stupid film (Pacific Rim) so Taro suggested Genesis Cinema in Stepney Green, as it has recently added Studio 5, complete with sofas, footrests and a bar, to its collection of screens.  Other places in London offer the same comforts (Electric Cinema, The Lounge, Everyman) but few are as affordable as Genesis.  It is a short walk from Stepney Green and Whitechapel, and well worth a look.  There is also Bar Paragon upstairs which has beers, cocktails, happy hours, short film nights, quizzes etc.

One last thing to mention - we still have a few days of sun left (fingers crossed) and it doesn't get much better than sitting outside drinking a beer with the Thames and some London skyline in sight.  However, whenever the sun does decide to show its beautiful face, the riverside joints fill up faster than Nicolas Cage's impressive CV, so you have to be a bit crafty and go further afield.  One good option that I was introduced to by Vauxhall local Mary with Cassie (from Gilbert Scott) is the Aqua bar/restaurant at the back of St. George's Wharf near Vauxhall Bridge.  Whilst the food and drink are nothing special, they are reasonably priced considering their location, and the views from Battersea Power Station to Westminster are delightful.  Try it out sometime for a peaceful drink outside on a summery evening.

National Burger Day 2013

On Tuesday August 27th, Mr.Hyde and Tweat Up teamed up with some of London's best burger traders (plus some innovative extras) to put on the first ever National Burger Day party at the Street Feast site in Dalston.  After showing fine form at the Monkey Shoulder Malt Jockey event back in March, I brought Sam along to help me out.  A few people have already put up some pretty comprehensive blogs about the event -  for full on burger porn, go and have a look at Motley Spicer's post.  I will keep mine to a few photos (mostly of the stunning Dalston Yard site) as I'm not going to compete with that burger analysis!

Photo from Smokestak twitter feed

Meantime Brewery Fresh Lager included with £10 ticket, plus a Chilliback and a Pickleback

Smokestak serving up £1 ribs - not burgers, but who cares?

Meat Liquor with Dead Hippie burgers and more

Bleecker St. Burger - Single, double, triple or quad cheeseburger?

Next level Roller Disco burgers from Disco Bistro team - currently found at Skate, King's Cross

Bonkers burger themed ice creams from Sorbitium Ices

Picklebacks - Whiskey followed by a shot of pickle juice

Breddo's Chilliback Bar - Tequila followed by pickled habanero juice

Burger Macarons from The Crumbery

Street Vin - the transient wine bar

Honest Burgers - currently taking over London with 4th site on the way

Mad Mother Flipper menu - very long wait due to everyone ordering The Dirty Barbie!

You can usually find these guys at Brockley Market on Saturdays from 10-2

Not entirely sure why anyone would have stood over a fire when it was so hot that night.

Maybe his burger was cold?

Burger Pies! - a delicious experiment by Eat My Pies chef Andy Bates

The recipe can be found here.

A huge crowd gathered for burger pinata - they are just out of shot, I promise. This lady is at least facing the right way - one participant accidentally turned on the crowd and nearly landed a fatal blow!

This guy somehow knocked it off with the first swing, so the crowd amusingly decided to egg him on to swing at nothing for a couple more minutes.

IT'S BEHIND YOU!

If lots of similar photos turn up soon, we would like to claim that we started it.

Why so few pictures of burgers? We ate them too fast. Here was our order of play:

1. Byron's Le Smokey (head to Camden Town Brewery for their Wholey Cow event tomorrow and Saturday) - an excellent start and a bargain at £5

2. Two Nights Only's Rib Fat'n'Marrow Cheeseburger - tasty and messy, and another £5 bargain.

3. Mother Flipper's Double Candy Bacon Flipper - the wait was so long once we ordered that we managed to queue and eat another burger in the time it took to arrive.  They did very kindly provide free deep fried mozzarella balls to keep us happy.  Bacon should always be cooked in maple syrup.

4. Meat Liquor's Dead Hippie - not my first time eating this, and probably not my last!

5. Eat My Pie's Pie Burger - it had to be done, and we were not disappointed

We did queue up for a few others towards the end but everything was running out.  Dirty Burger have just opened a second site in Vauxhall which I hope to visit soon.  Breddos Tacos have moved into the Slider Bar at The Player in Soho and are doing soft opening offers this week.  Roti Chai were also there with a tasty looking Toddy Shop Burger Slider which I hope to try some time.  The atmosphere was fantastic as I have come to expect from events run by Tweat Up / Street Feast (bring on Ginstock 2014) - I hope that they continue to keep us entertained throughout the winter months as well!

Great aerial shot of Street Feast by foodie photographer Thomas Bowles

Street Feast is open in Dalston on Friday and Saturday for 3 more weeks (closing party on 14th September) - make sure you check it out before they move on.  This Saturday is Gizzi Erskine's Street Fiesta which promises to be a lot of fun.  Also, as Tweat Up say on their website, mark 28 & 29 September in your diaries for the British Street Food Awards.