Sicknote

I've put off writing this entry for quite a long time because of what happened that night or to be exact what happened in the middle of the following night...

Star of Bethnal Green, Bethnal Green, London, E2 6LG

This was recommended by a friend because it was an old student haunt for him and his future wife, and it had certainly managed to keep that kind of feel even though Bethnal Green is quite a different place now. I liked the scruffy and haphazard feel to the interior because it felt like that was just the way it was and hadn't been designed to look shabby-chic, I doubt you'd get many pubs also with tables quite as big as they are here and it makes for really social environment when there is a few of you. There is no excuse for having such a poor beer selection as this place has and I felt like I had no option but to go for the Westons Stowford Press cider but this wasn't up to much either. Left thinking what a good pub this could be if a little bit more care was taken.

Gourmet San, Bethnal Green, E2 6AH

A big group of us went here and this meant we got a private room upstairs all to ourselves, the building itself was very scruffy and the waiting staff extremely friendly and informative. I can't actually really go into much detail about the food because of what happens to me when I think about it, but here are my brief notes on what we ate; Pigs trotters (very gelatinous), boiled crab, breaded deep fried crab, Duck stew (whole garlic), special fried rise, egg fried soup.

We ate, drank rubbish wine and left.

Casa Blue, Shoreditch, E2 6DG

This is a small bar right at the top of Brick Lane so was only short distance from where we ate. You are served at your table so not tipping would look bad. You have the choice when ordering cocktails to have them served in massive fishbowls and we couldn't resist this and considering the size of the bowls I thought £28 was a reasonable price though not everybody agreed with me. We only tried the caipirinha and the mojito's but these were excellently done and I'm quite fussy with my cocktails after spending years making them at home with my ex, I'd go back here definitely.

But....

The night didn't end there for me, I was abruptly awakened at about 5am with what could be described as acute discomfort. I'm not going to go into any specific details but I when I returned to work a week later after making acquaintance with the local Hackney hospital I was still a little perky to say the least. It seems like it was the crab which did me in but nobody else I was with had any ill effects luckily, anyway I won't be visiting Gourmet San again, ever.

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Unruly Britannia

Britannia, City of London, EC3R 8AJ

I think the way to describe the Brit is a basically as a pub which is slightly cheaper than all the pubs which surround it. The beer is flat and uninteresting and alway makes me turn instantly to Guinness because it'd take a total moron to ruin that totally. I've eaten here before but would recommend this is to be avoided unless you like 'Ultimate Burger's' using frozen burgers and bread which makes McDonald's look like a master french boulangerie. But if you stick with Guinness at £3 a pint it's bearable and cheaper than anyway else near here.

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Turkish Meze in Angel

Gem, Angel, London, N1 2UQ

A good ten minute walk east on Upper Street from Angel tube station; Gem is particularly un-Turkish and unassuming looking from the outside, inside the menu is everything you'd expect from the region. I actually quite like the fact that its not done up like some mock harem, its just a laid back and simple looking restaurant. We opted for the set menu b which at £13.95 per person seemed like a good deal.

Selection of 6 cold, 3 hot starters (meze) to share

I thought this was a very well portioned meze starter, the dishes included; Cacik, Iispanak Tarator, Patates Salatasi, Tarama Salata, Muska Boregi and Falafel. The feta cheese filled pastry that is Muska Boregi was especially nice and went really well with the yogurt cacik and beautifully puffed up bread.

Beyti

Beyti is a spicier version of the traditional adana lamb kebab, lamb is by far my favourite barbecue meet because of the juicy fat which stops it from drying out. For me the spice could have been upped a notch but this wouldn't have mattered if the harissa that was served with it had more of kick. It was really good but not as good as the starters in quality and flavour.

We had a nice bottle of Argentinian Malbec which was again excellent value at under £14, the price combined with the quick and effective service made for an excellent meal before we headed back up the road to cinema to watch the blue people in 3D.

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Go to The Winchester and wait for all of this to blow over

The Winchester, Angel, London, N1 8LN

I quite like the Winchester but this is probably only the fourth time I've been here since I first visited for a friends birthday 3 years ago. It seems to have chilled out a bit in that time and become a bit more grown up and just better.

Being valentines day and just meeting a friend I was so relieved when the only thing different than normal they were doing was a ladies only cocktail party downstairs, upstairs it was just right for quiet Sunday and I found a table straight away. I had a pint of the Portuguese beer Sagres while waiting which was nice but unremarkable, after finishing our first drink we decided to give the Sunday lunch a go even though not planned to eat anything.

Rolled leg of lamb with roast new potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, carrot and parsnip

Nicely presented with the Yorkshire pudding on top of the meat and full to brim with gravy, when cut into the gravy ratio was spot on, I do like a lot of gravy with my Sunday dinner. The lamb and everything else was cooked well, my only gripe - well my only two gripes were the Yorkshire pudding which I'm sure Aunt Bessie had a hand in and the mint sauce which seemed to have been left under a hot lamp for too long so had a crust on top.

I'd say the dinner was just above average but what made it was the value the meal offered, the Sunday dinner was 2 for 1 and with a decent selection of wines for about £15 a bottle it cost less than £30 for two of us with wine, I thought we'd got a total bargain and on Valentines days too!

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White Mischief Cabaret

Proud Cabaret, City of London, EC3R 7AH

Hidden in the cellars of the hugely impressive modern gothic building on Mark Lane it has a nice intimate private members club feel as you wander down the dark stairway. When you get to the bottom it opens up into an old speakeasy style bar along with round dining tables facing the small corner stage, there was larger booth seating makes up the edges of the dining area - I liked the old 1920's feel, what I imagine the characters in Goodfellows were use to. The exculsively female waiting staff were styled to match the interior, all with subtle variations on the theme.
You have a choice of two menus to choose from; the cheaper one at £38 and the more expensive one at £48 - why they choose to do this is beyond me really as each menu has at least 4 starters, 4 mains and 4 deserts to pick from, so you'd have a large-ish Ala Carte menu with 8 choices per course. We wanted to pick a starter from the cheaper menu and a main from the more expensive, this wasn't a problem but of course you just end up paying for the more expensive menu - am I missing something because i just don't get the point of it? Also with the desert being part of the menu you are asked to order this when placing starter and main order, again seemed a bit odd but with my massively varied desert palate "Can I have the cheese please" - it didn't make a difference.

Carpaccio of beef, fois grai and beef tartare, balsamic mayonnaise

Extremely thin slivers of vibrant red carpaccio worked well with the cube of steak tartare which had a generous paprika topping to add spice. I really liked it and felt the addition of fois grai was an ingredient too far for what is a simple dish at heart, maybe the quality of the fois grai was a slight issue but it didn't take away for my enjoyment.

Wild Rabbit and salsify terrine, pickled walnut and celeriac

Beautifully pressed white rabbit flesh made it worth straying from the expensive menu and it honesty sounded much more appealing than most of the other starters on offer. If I was to go back I'd probably have this dish to start, very good.

Tobacco and orange, truffle honey roast duck

I was intrigued to try this after hearing my brother talk about using tobacco in a restaurant he worked at and how good it was. The tobacco flavour was subtler than I imagined and I felt the strong duck flavour could have taken a bit more of it, where the truffle was I really didn't know but the honey glaze on the crispy skin was superb and contrasted the perfectly pink meat.

Neal's yard daily cheese selection and oatcakes

Good quality Neal's Yard cheeses served exactly at room temperature meant I was a very happy man. I'd forgotten how a good Leicester not served cold could be and Neal's Yards goats cheese rarely disappoint. Actually the quince jelly didn't even taste of quince to me and I ended up opted for the cheese by itself. A very easy cheese course to serve but all the same it was executed well.

La Chamiza ‘Polo Amateur’ Malbec 2008, Mendoza, Argentina

This wine was a perfect match for the steak tartare and more surprisingly for the rabbit too, while with the duck they seemed to cancel each other out, I wasn't expecting this and can't explain the reason. I'd certainly buy this wine again especially to go with beef.

Being a cabaret there was various entertaining acts for the course of the evening, if you're going to go here though I wouldn't book a table until half eight at the earliest as the acts start later than expected. A fire breathing burlesque lady opened and was followed by an acrobat and what could only be described as a sadomasochist - very funny though. The highlight by a mile was the German oompah brass band playing pop tunes from last twenty years, just brilliant fun.

As we'd finished our meal and wanted to watch the rest of the show we had a couple of post dinner cocktails. For me it's a bold move to have a Sazerac as the first cocktail on your menu as I know how easy it is to cock-up having done it many times myself, but my hope when ordering it was rewarded with the washed absinthe background flavour just poking through enough to compliment the whiskey and numerous bitters, really finished off the evening well. I'd go back to Proud Cabaret but I won't be rushing back to eat there, it was very good food but expensive and even though I'd pay more for a meal elsewhere I never felt I was getting amazing value.

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Super Sunday Leeds United

The Albion, Bethnal Green, E2 8QY

Who would've thought I'd end up watching the Leeds vs Tottenham FA cup game in a West Bromwich Albion pub in East London. I'd searched this place out as wanted to watch the game in non-chain pub and not be surrounded by prats downing pints of Fosters.
It's hard not to notice the place walking past with its Albion colours and badges everywhere, I was immediately served and found a good spot for the game while I waited for my friend to arrive.
The beer selection was minimal but a couple of cask ales available including Timothy Taylor's Landlord which I opted for and it was good for a London pint of Landlord - cynical Yorkshire man coming through.Being a down to earth pub near Bethnal Green there were plenty of slightly stereotypical cockneys who seemed more interested in having competitions with their mates about who could get the most 'c' words in a single sentence. Rather than detracting from my enjoyment this heighten it when Leeds equalised in the last minute of extra time and they all gave a little lacklustre and resigned 'fucking Leeds scum' and promptly left - perhaps I might have overdone my celebration a little without acknowledging they were directly behind me, but it sure made my Sunday.

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