NYC Tastes

We got back to London around 2:00 Sunday afternoon and had less than 24 hours to enjoy the city before hopping on a plane to Iceland.  Luckily almost everything new I wanted to check out was right in our area; first stop Rules Restaurant. Rules was established in 1798 by Thomas Rule and currently holds the title of oldest restaurant in London. We already had plans for a Sunday Roast elsewhere so we looked around the gorgeous restaurant a bit then headed upstairs to the hidden cocktail bar on the 2nd floor.  I absolutely love anything old and elegant and this place was absolutely dripping with both; plush red couches, thick velvet carpeting and a gorgeous dark wooden bar manned by well suited bartenders.   Since we were celebrating the spirit of the 1800's I ordered a classic cocktail from that era the Clover Club a blend of gin, lemon juice, fresh egg white and raspberry liqueur. I honestly have no idea what Mr. T ordered.  It was defin...

Mr. T and I just returned from our 10 day European vacation where as usual we packed way  too much into one trip; four different countries, three plane rides, six trains and one nasty illness later and I have to say even with a few ups and downs it was amazing.  And it all began with our incredible lunch at The Barbary.  After checking into our hotel Sunday afternoon Mr. T and I walked directly to Neals Yard in Covent Garden and the cute and cozy Barbary which takes its inspiration from the countries along the Atlantic Coast leading into Israel. Let me just start by saying I absolutely loved everything about this restaurant. The Space- I always love watching the excitement of an open kitchen and here the only place to dine was right in the middle of all the action. All 24 seats are part of a circular bar with the kitchen in the center. The Food- an incredible mix of dips, breads and small plates.  Like the Jerusalem Bagel a warm, fluffy pretzel li...

Monday morning the rain had subsided finally so we walked across the Waterloo Bridge did some shopping at the Jubilee Market and walked around near the Royal Opera House. When hunger set in I had a huge craving for meat and cheese for some reason. Luckily the answer was just around the corner. Terriors Wine Bar is a cute little place focusing on natural French wines and small plates of food. Just look at this gorgeous plate of Piero Montali Prosciutto Di Parma Riserva. We had some delicious bread and butter alongside. And did three cheese as well Fourme D’Ambert, Comté and unfortunately I don’t remember the third but they were all from France and all sublime. A special Sweet Corn Chowder soup was being offered that day and the rich, bubbling bowl was a welcome and satisfying addition to our meal. We sat there for about two hours sipping wine, nibbling food and just completely taking a time out from the day. It was just lovely. I was in desperate need of dessert af...

We woke up Sunday and did some touring around our area and then took the train out to Kentish Town. This isn’t a usual tourist stop. It seemed as it was mostly residential and reminded me a bit of some parts of Brooklyn. The reason for the trip was the restaurant and gastropub The Bull and Last. This little place had quite a bustling bar downstairs and then a serene dining area upstairs where the sunshine filled the room and portraits of dogs and horses filled the walls. As soon as we sat down we both knew this was exactly what we had been looking for. London had been so packed the last two days with people it had been hard to think straight. I was ready for a relaxing Sunday. Once again a Rose for me and for Mr. T a pint of Stiegel. We began our meal with some Trotter Wontons with Sweet Chili. Mr. T absolutely loved these. It’s was pig’s foot done Chinese take out style- what’s not to love. Sundays in London are reserved for a nice big roast and who are we to a...

Once the rain started we took the Tube over to Craft Beer Co. Unfortunately we miscalculated the walk and got completely soaked. It was bad- I mean head to toe soaked. Oh well it was made somewhat better by the fantastic selection of 16 cask beers, keg craft beer and about 300 bottled beers at the bar. This place specializes in beer from all over the world and they just happened to be highlighting Southampton beers that day. Of course who goes to London to get a beer they can have in NY? Instead I enjoyed an awesome red lager from the UK while Mr. T had an Espresso Porter . We stayed at Craft Beer until the rain let up and decided we could maybe do one more pub before our dinner at St. John’s. The rain had stopped but there were huge puddles and slick streets left over. We were walking down one road decorated with some shiny stones and well those stones were like stepping on a banana peel because Mr. T took one step and went down hard. I have no idea how his iPhone didn’t get...

We woke up Saturday morning excited and feeling much more refreshed and rested than the previous day. We leisurely got ready and took a nice stroll over to the Woseley in hopes of some good feed. Unfortunately I didn’t have a reservation for the main area but only had to wait about 20 minutes for a seat in the café. That just gave us some time to have some morning drinks! The space at the Woseley is awesome with beautiful tall ceilings, gorgeous antique clocks and just a wonderful buzz from all the well dressed guests milling about. My stomach was feeling much better but I knew we had reservations at St. John’s for dinner and again I wanted to play it safe. So I ordered one of my favorite sandwiches of all time the Croque Madame. We had this at the Woseley last time and again the cheesy center and crunchy, butter crust was just delicious. Mr. T said he wanted to try something new so he ordered the Buck Rarebit. This actually looks similar to my Croque and the componen...