Reburgered
Posted: Mon 17 July, 2017 Filed under: BurgerCrawl, Customer Services, Domestic, Food, London, People, Solo Dining, Thoughts, Travel Leave a comment »Last weekend, I went to one of my favourite food places in London, Mac and Wild. (OK, I went to a couple of my favourite places, but that’s a different story) They had a special burger on, which was only happening ’til yesterday, and I wanted to try it.
I ordered it (along with their cocktail of the month) and everything arrived and was lovely. As expected.
But then I saw other people’s photos of their Murray burgers, and mine was… different. I had assumed that the black pudding was mixed into the patty, which gave it a really deep meaty taste without being a dollop of black pudding – but all the photos had a layer of black pudding on them.
So I mentioned this to Mac and Wild on Twitter, along with the above photo. And within a couple of hours they’d come back to me, saying “Oops, looks like you had the Highlander instead of the Murray Mound. We’re really sorry – if you can make it in before the 15th, we’ll do you one for free“. Note, I hadn’t asked for this, nor expected anything at all. So already I’m pretty impressed.
As I was already planning to be back in London on Saturday, I took them up on that offer.
And bloody marvellous it was, too.
Now, I did pay for the burger – because I insisted on doing so. Mistakes happen, and I’m fine with that. And I don’t feel like it was fair to get a freebie for a simple mistake – I love Mac and Wild anyway, so it was actually the simple offer, and the speed of it, that impressed me, rather than getting free food.
It’s that service (well, and the excellent food!) that keeps me going to places like Mac and Wild – they always give the impression that they give a damn. To have gone straight to “Oops, sorry” rather than arguing the toss, to accept and own the mistake and make amends for it, that’s impressive.
And long may that continue.
Drinking and Don Juan
Posted: Wed 17 May, 2017 Filed under: Day Trips, Domestic, Driving, Food, London, Reviews(ish), Single Life, Theatre, Thoughts, Travel 1 Comment »On Saturday, I went into London for the day. The primary objective was seeing David Tennant in Patrick Marber’s “Don Juan in Soho” at Wyndham’s Theatre. However, that wasn’t til the evening, so I had time to walk and be bad in the meantime…
So, having driven down to North London, I took the tube down to Old Street (which is the laziest I’ve been in a long time, as I usually only get to Euston then walk) and visited Blues Kitchen to try their new special.
Then a walk back towards Soho, and the newly-discovered joys of Chick’n’Sours, where I had their special of Bang-Bang Chicken strips, which is all kinds of awesome. And alongside that, a couple of cocktails – with hindsight, a bit of a bad move, but well, it was par for the course.
After that, it was time to meet the people I was going to the play with – first of all, M, and then (later) two of her friends. In between, we had another drink, and then when the other friends arrived, they decided they wanted cocktails. I know just the place, said I, and lo, back to Chick’n’Sours, where a significant number of cocktails were consumed…
Before the play, we’d got reservations at Marcus Wareing’s new place, Tredwell’s, and so that was where we ended up next, and more drinks were had as well as decent food. The final bill was higher than I’d expected, but I’m assuming that’s down to a) drinks, and b) possibly not taking advantage of the Prix Fixe menu. (I’d need to go back in order to figure things out – I failed to keep the receipt, so can’t check , and honestly don’t really care all that much) It was good though, and all four of us enjoyed it.
By the end, I was… somewhat the worse for wear, although not ridiculously or dangerously so. Besides, by the time we got to the theatre I was already sobering up.
The play itself was thoroughly enjoyable – as always, I didn’t really know what to expect, and some of it was a bit odd (small dance scenes and the like) but all told, I really liked it. Tennant himself is obviously having a great time playing the vile and reprehensible Don Juan, and the supporting cast were all pretty damn good as well. It’s on ’til June 10th, and I’d recommend it if possible.
However, the seats at Wyndham’s are some of the most uncomfortable known to man. A two-and-a-bit-hour performance was more than enough time to spend with my knees wedged into the back of the seat in front of me.
And then, once everyone else was on trains back to respective stations and homes, I took some time to return to the station where I’d parked the car. I was completely sober by the time we’d got out of the play, and the extra time/walking boosted that even further. If I’d been in any doubt, I’d have waited at the car, or found somewhere to get some food.
Then a quick drive home, and all good. All told, a decent way to spend a Saturday…
Mere, London
Posted: Wed 8 March, 2017 Filed under: Domestic, Food, London, Reviews(ish) 2 Comments »Last night, I was lucky enough to get to go to Mere Restaurant, the new restaurant venture from Monica Galetti, with friends. They opened on Monday, and I’d managed to snag a booking for Tuesday – in honesty, when they’d announced bookings were opening, I’d set an alarm for that time, and got in as quickly as possible for a booking. So – lucky, but also organised.
As I understand it, Monday’s launch was a “friends and family” thing – unless they sold out in seconds on the day bookings opened. So Tuesday was effectively the first ‘open to the public’ day.
We had the six-course tasting menu (and two of the friends had the accompanying wine flight) and it was all decently priced. Obviously it hasn’t got Michelin stars (yet) but I’m willing to bet that it will have at least one in the next guide.
It’s hard to describe the exact cuisine type – Mere themselves describe it as “blending classical French with South Pacific influences”, I’d just say “Brilliant”. It’s a great restaurant space, quite designery, but it’s all been done to a theme, and it really works.
It was ace, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience. I’m already looking forward to going back!
Surf vs Turf, Blues Kitchen
Posted: Wed 1 February, 2017 Filed under: Day Trips, Domestic, Food, London, Reviews(ish), Single Life, Sociable, Thoughts, Travel 2 Comments »Last night, I went with a friend to one of my favourite places, Blues Kitchen in Shoreditch. I’ve been going there fairly regularly over the last eighteen months or so, but usually on a weekend. This time was different though – they had organised a three day “Surf vs Turf” event, bringing in the chef team from Extra Fancy in the US to ‘do battle’ with the team from Blues Kitchen, with a special menu (including cocktails) to play with.
And it was epic.
Once it had been announced on Twitter, I had booked in straight away. For me, it was a no-brainer, I wanted to try it. And I am so glad I did.
As well as the food and drinks, it meant we got to spend time with some of the people we’ve been talking to on most of the visits, talked about what was good on the menu, what they should be keeping, and even got introduced to one of the owners of the group that owns Blues Kitchen. For me, that’s what makes Blues Kitchen stand out from every other place in a similar vein – the people make it, even more than the food.
Between the two of us, we had everything on the menu – including the cocktails. Plus a couple of things that were so good we had two…
I’m hard-pressed to even decide what the best things were – it was all good, and most of it was great. Hell, even the cocktails were awesome.
All told, a great night, and a type of event I hope Blues Kitchen repeat – there’s plenty of opportunity, with lots of different kitchens and teams that would be up for it, I’m sure.