A bit of S&M

69 Colebrooke Row, Angel, London, N1 8AA

Not been opened very long this is a tiny cocktail bar, they somehow manage to squeeze in a piano with pianist playing chilled lounge music. It's the sort of place where you are shown to a seat and given a vast cocktail menu to peruse. I really love going for classic cocktails when in a place like this as they are so often the best way to know the skill displayed by the mixologists, so on that note I opted for a classic gin vodka martini and it was bloody good - chilled to the max well and with just right hint of vermouth in the background. It's not cheap but because of the nature of this place they're never going to let it become rammed and it'll be top of my list when a quality cocktail is in order, think I'll test them with a Sazerac next time and then try some of their own creations.

S&M Cafe, Angel, London, N1 8LN

After the exuberance of the cocktail bar it was time for something a bit more down to earth and what better then sausage and mash? It's quite a long time since I've been here but it has always down what it says on the tin and the Angel branch is the original and probably the best still. We knew what we were gonna have already and were ravenous so ordered straight away and luckily it didn't take long at all for the food to come out of the kitchen.

Daring Dan 'Cumberland Ring, Pork & Ale, Pork & Leek, Venison, Wild Boar and London Sausages' with Mature Cheddar & Rosemary Mash, Fried Onions, Mushy Peas and Onion Gravy

A great selection of sausages were served and woofed down by the two of us. The highlight was the cumberland which nicely fatty and therefore really juicy, both the venison and wild boar were just a bit too dry - but drowning them in homely gravy seemed to do the trick. The mash was good and while I would have preferred a little bit more butter in it I'm glad it didn't have as much as I'd put in because with the gravy you didn't really need it. The crispy onions and the mushy peas made this a complete meal and I enjoyed it throughly and felt it was a perfect warmer to face the brisk air outside, not a salad day that's for sure.

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In need of a Bath (Ale)

The Salamander, Bath, BA1 2JL

Tucked down a tiny road in historic Bath this was a real find as it's a Bath Ales pub and didn't disappoint on our lunchtime visit. Freezing cold outside it was warm enough just about inside after we moved away for the ghostly draft by the bar. The beers were primarily Bath Ales own as you'd expect and I opted for the Golden hare, this was a light ale, very moreish and had medium hopping - an excellent golden light ale. My friend decided to try their cider instead of beer, the Bounder Cider was superb and refreshing, better than nearly any cider you'll see in most pubs but I suppose we were in Somerset so should expect that.

To go with the food we had ordered and fancying something a bit more wintery I went for a pint of the medium dark Barnstormer ale contrary to fact I had ordered fish. The Barnstormer had rich caramel and treacle undertones and it wasn't as bitter as you'd expect but this was an extremely good thing, much nicer than I imagined and will make me try more dark ales, at least until I get a rubbish one again.

Toad in the hole, organic pork & herb sausages with onion gravy and crispy fried roots
Crunchy on top and fluffy in the middle this enormous monster toad in the hole looked so rustic as it grew out of the dish it was served in. The crispy roots which seemed to be carrot with a bit of parsnip were nicer on the eyes than the tongue but the real stars were the fat and juicy sausages which had a great meat to fat mix inside and therefore retained so much moisture. A hell of a lot of pudding to eat though for one person, but a lovely warming meal.

Pan roasted Cod fillet with a chorizo & butterbean ratatouille

This was on the menu as being made with Hake but today had been replaced by cod, after not eating cod for quite a while through over fishing guilt I thought I'd have anyway. The cod was very nicely cooked in butter to keep it from drying out. The classic Spanish combination of white fish and chorizo is a no brainer really but this was executed very well and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole dish. The hearty portion meant desert was a no-no and I though the best was way to let it settle was with another Bath Ales pint, this time I tried the 3.7 percent Spa ale; a light bitter ale, quite heavily hopped, bitterish aftertaste and it definitely tasted stronger than its percentage.

A small pub serving excellent local beers and quality appealing food - it's so simple really and I loved it for a lazy Saturday lunch.

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A meat feast overload in Hackney

First blog entry for Tales of the Undigested, enjoy and digest the contents.....

Pub on the Park, London Fields, Hackney E8 3PE

Sitting in the top right corner of London Fields its an ideally situated pub for the Hackney locals but seems to be missing the point a little, no real atmosphere, staff bit un-bothered and just doesn't really seem to offer much without summer opening up the big terrace leading to the park. Most interesting thing was slightly wired drummer talking to me in bogs after he'd put Enya followed by The Who on jukebox - interesting choice...

Buen Ayre, Broadway Market, Hackney E8 4QJ

Buen Ayre is in the middle of the narrow streets of Broadway Market in Hackney, its an Argentina Grill restaurant that's had terrific reviews especially from Time Out.

Only small (25-30 covers) they use two sittings per table so should be pulling 50 covers on a weekend night if they fill the early slots, but the chance of getting a table without booking on weekend are slim, we luckily managed to book table earlier the same day.

The atmosphere is busy but relaxed, suiting the narrow room with tables very close to each other, this didn't seem intrusive though because of the bustle of the place.

We weren't going to have starters (knowing the amount of main course we'd be faced with) but two starters really sung to me so I thought what hell its my first blog food night (good excuse eh?) and both only £4.50.

Lengua a la vinagreta - Sliced marinated ox tongue

Really wanted to try the Argentinian take on ox tongue, it was served sliced and covered with the marinade. The vinegar marinade was superbly sharp and cut straight through the strong taste of the tongue, which just simply melted in you mouth much more than I thought it possibly could. Wouldn't have thought about a strong vinegar marinade much before but it hit the spot amazingly well.

Jamón con palmitos y salsa golf - Serrano ham with palm hearts and mayo sauce

It was the palm hearts that got me interested in this dish. The hearts seemed from a tin but the blandish taste of them kinda worked with the dark Serrano and the sharp homemade mayo, good but other starter blew it away for me.

Had bit of issue with ordering main course, first there wasn't any rib-eye steak left (my favourite beef steak cut) and after changing that to sweetbreads we were told that had run out too. Fair play though because our Brazilian waitress was very apologetic and offered to upgrade main platter to 2 140z sirloins for no extra charge as replacement for rib-eye, eventually decided to go with this.

Parrillada Deluxe - 14oz prime Argentine Sirloin steak + 11oz grilled Argentine Rib-eye steak, 2 Argentine-style pork sausages + black pudding + provolone cheese

Yep that's a hell of a lot of meat to share between two! The sirloin was thickly cut and cooked medium-rare absolutely perfectly on the grill, possibly nicest steak I've ever eaten but couldn't help think of extra flavour the rib-eye would've had. Black pudding didn't have the same powerful taste of the British made but probably more approachable for the 'ergh blood' people. I feel you'd eat a steak or sausage with little else but a black pudding needs to be a part of lots of different layers of flavours to really shine. Good meaty sausages, quite a course cut but tender meat inside - they were good but not same wow as the steaks, they did work with cheese. The provolone cheese is served on the platter hot plate, although a hard cheese it melts in superb mozzarella style but produces such a deeper more mature flavour. As you could expect we struggled to finish it all especially after we'd munched on the fantastic thick cut chips served with a garlic and parsley butter as a frivolous side order - I was little annoyed that I was so full of meat I couldn't finish the chips.

A doggy bag was offered and gladly excepted, likely a regular occurrence for non-Argentinian carnivorous customers.

We choose an Argentinian 2006 Norton Privada Merlot-based red to drink, it was an excellent match to the strong beef flavours, elsewhere it would have seemed extremely heavy but with the steak and ox tongue the liquorice undertones pushed there way through and worked well, would buy again but only if eating beef and maybe venison.

My only slight annoyance was the fact that most of the tables seemed to get an after dinner shot of some type of Argentinian liqueur and we didn't! Small thing really but these things stick in your mind and suppose added to my slight doubts about the possibly overly relaxed service.

Overall it was a fantastic meal which delivered on what you'd expect - quality thick steaks, robust wine and bit of a buzz. Could have easily eaten and drank for less than the £100 we spent - actually I recommend just getting a steak and the delectable chips and a cheap bottle of Malbec - you'd enjoy it nearly as much for a lot less. Saying that... as good as the steaks were; it was the ox tongue which stood out and what I think I'd like to see elsewhere with a bit of a twist, whether other people would order it is another thing.

I'd love to hear your opinions of this blog entry, if you've been to any of places I talk about let me know if you agree/disagree with things I've written.

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