Whetstone wanderings

Friday morning saw me a'wandering around London on my mini break, catching some very good art in Fitrovia, walking through Regent's Park in the bright autumn sun, and then heading up to Barnet Homes HQ for lunch in the working hood of Number7. The first picture show the interior of Mogador and through the window one can see most of HQ, though not the top floors reserve for the higher-ups. The second picture shows a very yummy Moroccan felafel pancake, served with excellent potato and beetroot salads, which it was observed was rather more paratha-y than pancake-y, or indeed burrito-y I might say, and all the better for that. Here's hoping this blog is able to venture further into Totteridge and Whetstone in the future!

Cafe 72

Cafe 72 in Tetbury, or perhaps it was 73?, is evidently the place for ladies who lunch in this pretty Cotswold town which has the distinction of being the closest place to Highgrove (the real highlight of the town is the magnifique church with stunning interior, where Charles worships). In spite of some of the most forgetful service I've ever had (the owner actually forgot what she had forgotten - and I'm kinda not making that up), it was a nice place for lunch and it reminded me that a goat's cheese salad can really delicious in the middle of the day, esp when accompanied by a bowl of chilli chips (and I discovered that one of the advantages of said chips is that the heat stops them from being utterly moreish).

The Old Spot

I have a new fave cosy English pub which is the Old Spot in Dursley: warm - check, lots of wood and general down-home decoration - check, friendly service from staff who clearly like their customers - check, tasty food that does what it says on the tin - check, many local beers... you get the picture. Actually the beer was the best thing of all. We had Reverend Janet, a beer brewed in honour of a local minister who's currently recovering from a serious illness, and it was a deliciously toasted, fruity bitter, served much colder than usual, which made you feel warm and well-disposed towards the world after a couple of pints.

Cotswolds lunch

The Cotswolds have their charms: rye bread, a good spicy chutney, some Single Gloucester, and some charming locals with whom to lunch.

Quick and easy supper 47

If ever I wake up in the middle of the night and really fancy something, I just pop downstairs and raid my secret stash of chocolate in the larder. No, hang on, I don't have any stairs and I don't have a larder, do I? Anyway, this quick dinner was brown rice, field mushrooms, a bag of rocket, garlic, onions (fried with thyme) and cheddar. The nuttiness of the rice works well with the mature cheddar I reckon, and you have to hope that the rocket adds some kinda healthy element.

Cafe Corfu

After we had had a hot tip about the place, Number7 and I went to Cafe Corfu in Camden on Sunday evening. The tip had suggested that it offered seriously good Greek food in a somewhat idiosyncratic atmosphere and I have to say that it didn't disappoint on either count. Starting with the rather less important question of the ambiance, let me say that we were quite charmed by the Disco Classix (or similar) CD which accompanied the first half of our meal, the George Michael which followed, and then some even more authentically Greek tunes. Apparently they have belly dancers on Fri and Sats and I can imagine it's a really fun place to come with a group. Still, I was glad that we were there on a quiet night because it was the seriousness of the food which had whetted our appetite, and it is damned good. We began by sharing some halloumi and a slice of creamy spinach filo pie (I'm sure the Greeks have a better way of putting that): the halloumi was extremely thick and delicious, and, as the photos show, very well griddled, while the pie was one of the single yummiest things I've eaten all year. Mmmmm, spinach, and mmmmm, as Number7 observed, really well-made filo pastry. It was quite hard to compete with that, and the excellent 'pitta', which was lovely griddled flatbread, but the mains were also very good. N7 had a lamb dish which she noted was a very well plated (a rare meat photo for this blog) and my stuffed peppers also looked v nice. They weren't an exceptional dish, but they were very tasty indeed and about the nicest stuffed peppers I've ever had in a restaurant. For pudding N7 had baklava and I went for honey puffballs, or somesuch, and both were vg. Unfortunately they came with chocolate ice cream rather than the advertised yoghurt and honey, but we shall know to be insistent next time. Next time we will also have a clearer idea of the place and its menu and a resto that ranks A- in my book may rise still higher. It's not cheap, but then why should really excellent food be cheap? God, that spinach was good. Looking at the photo again, I realise that it also came with delicious yoghurt and this was another really good thing about the place, because the accompaniments with all the dishes were well thought-out and really added to the eating experience. N7 suggested going back there to eat mezze style and I believe this to be a very good idea. Oh, and the photos also remind me that the peppers came with some yummy feta.

Ice cold in Autumn

Hampstead's charms this autumn are really plentiful because the colour of the trees is really magical or, I guess, after today's rain, was really magical. Still, Sunday walks can still finish at Kenwood house with the reward of a Marine Ices ice cream. This time I went for chocolate and it is a high compliment indeed to say that it tasted really like a good chocolate mousse.