We have ventured out a couple of times recently, though we are still not really in the mind set.
Firstly we went with friends to a restaurant called Kricket. This came about as I had read a lot about this small chain and the subsequent cookbook by the same name. A lot of criticism, as the book seemed to have been rushed out without much if any proof reading. For me, half the time it is the inspiration, rather than the exact recipe, but for many, a recipe is followed exactly. Himself is very good, now at following a recipe ( and not too often breaking free and doing his own thing). In cooking breaking Free is fine, after all these recipes are either created by someone being creative or being passed down through generations. Baking, is a different Kettle of Fish, there are rules which need to be followed.
I bought the book on Kindle ( not a massive fan of such books on kindle and am on the lookout for one, on the cheap somewhere.) The first mistake I found on a quick skim was for making Laal Maas, one of favourite Indian dinners. Normally it requires about 3 tablespoon of Ghee for about a kilo of lamb. In Kricket he says 400 grms! This is almost a whole can of ghee!
So off to Kricket we went, which I chose just out of curiosity. We had really nice evening with some indifferent food. Served “Tapas” style, which for me means something along the lines of “ we just cook and serve it, regardless of how the customer would prefer it!”
We had Bhel Puri, which is an Indian Street food, a kind of mixed up salad ( delicious by the way) , Kerala fried Chicken ( read upmarket Kentucky fried chicken) but then it went down hill. Himself ordered Goan sausage with squid , kind of squid wrapped around a sausage ( didn’t work) and I chose some fish dish which was so nondescript that I can’t even remember it’s name!
So from the sublime to the ridiculous, or actually the other way round. Angler restaurant. A Michelin starred venue where we have eaten a couple of times pre pandemic. As it’s name suggests it is a fishy kind of place. The food as usual was lovely and maybe the service was not quiet up to scratch , but nonetheless the good evening.
Willowy daughter took us out to lunch ( well kind of, she forgot her wallet) and I booked it, as somewhere local. I booked because it had a really nice looking terrace only to find out it was Vegan. Judging by it’s name Wolf and Lamb, I was bemused. However I would go again, she and I chose the TexMex salad, which was right up my street, others chose, creamy linguine, served with broccoli , jackfruit hamburger and spicy burger and even young Sam liked his Non Burger burger. So a hit all round.
And finally we headed to Soho, the first time in 18 months. We actually went to a world famous Jazz club, having just recently reopened its doors. Capacity was limited to just 50 %, so the atmosphere was somewhat dampened but what actually amazed us were the people out eating. The streets had been transformed into a huge open air restaurant. Maybe life is returning, I hope so.
oystersandchampagne 