Tuesday 31 March 2015

The Smoke Stop - Shrewsbury

So there I was, taking some time to visit my brother when he only went and found a new BBQ joint that had only gone and opened recently. He had originally planned that we visit for an evening soiree on a Saturday night which was unfortunately scuppered by the fact that I spent the afternoon, and the evening, plus most of the night suffering from a rather annoying lack of being able to stand up. However given a decent amount of sleep and some applicable medication, the next morning I was back on course and determined to get me some smoked pig.





The place is big, modern, clean and impressively American. It certainly reminded me of my time in Memphis with the atmosphere being warm, friendly and full of cheer despite the blustery day outside. We were the first in through the door at a minute past 12 and shown to our booth before being shown the menu. The kids had the mac + cheese and hot dog respectively which were pretty good on first inspection.





I liked the macaroni and The Child managed to see most of it away. The portion sizes were impressive but I'm afraid the Hot dog was not up to muster. Exactly what you would expect a mechanically reclaimed meat tube in a classic* bun to taste like, but it was at least grilled and had decent char. Other than that, the kids loved the corn on the cob - an excellent addition in side dishes where most restaurants fail at providing even a half healthy supplement.

Mrs P went with the burger with added pulled pork:



An excellent stab even if I do say so. It may have been the happy tablets talking but given the absurd amount of burgers consumed over the last few weeks this one held up well, even if it wasn't quite to the Five Guys standard and the addition of the pulled pork brought it back into contention. The slaw was also tasty with Mrs P remarking that it certainly brought a crunchy third dimension to the tray. Not pictured here was the IMMENSE bowl of onion rings she ordered. I'm not sure I can quite describe the scale of the task that was placed in front of her but with crispy batter and a strong onion-y twang they provided a challenge that she dived into with enthusiasm but her plan, just like Captain Scott's foolhardy South Pole winter holiday, was attempted despite all signs to the contrary and as such she was ultimately doomed.

My brother and I had only one choice, everything. The #lovemeattenderplatter** contained in no particular order: pulled pork, beef brisket, pork short ribs, pork spare ribs, smoked sausage, buffalo wings, chips and onion rings***



The BBQ sauce was heavy on the tomato base that most of us in the UK seem to know as 'BBQ'. It would have been nice to see an attempt to educate the locals to the wider examples that  BBQ cuisine includes, even if the main sellers are the expected sweet and smoky base. Clearly these guys are proud of their product and the sausage, ribs and brisket were all great. My bro loved the sausage and I have to say that it was a lovely addition you don't often see. A great, course but still densely packed sausage that has spent some time in the smoker to get that nice smoke ring on the inside, this should have been what's in those Hot Dogs. The pulled pork was a little dry for me but looking at the bark I can see how much effort they went to to get the authentic taste. To mis-quote Swiss Tony, a good pulled pork is very much like a beautiful woman, it's the magic balance of fat distribution that turns any evening into a moist revelation. However, the rub could have brought far more to the table, my overriding memory of pulled pork at the Memphis BBQ Championships was that burst of sweet, salty, smoky layering making the dish different to anything I had expected. This didn't hit those heights still, the bark was good and dense with a savoury punch. 

The shake menu was amazing and had some unique flavours including bubble gum or marshmallow, we preferred the salty caramel which was enjoyed by the whole table. The marshmallow flavour not so much. The ribs were served wet and lovely, both the spare and the short versions were great, beautifully smoked with a bit of bounce these were one of the first items to go and were perfect for sharing out but again a more powerful rub wouldn't have gone amiss here. However, the brisket was likewise really good and we both enjoyed it, tender and full of beefy flavour. 

The Smoke Stop should be applauded for trying to bring genuine American BBQ to almost-Wales. As such it almost succeeds but I don't hold that against it at all. There's too much pork for proper Texan style, no mustard sauce for Carolina style, not enough rub for Memphis style so is this Kansas style? It is certainly UK style and clearly it must cater to the local market but I hope it can also try to bring over a few of those other key flavours that I love, and I think others will also love about BBQ. At £70 for lunch for 3 adults and two kids, it's not a cheap option but you certainly won't walk away hungry.

Oh, and when I asked to see their smoker, they said they were too busy. Boo.

http://smokestopbbq.co.uk


* when I say 'classic' I don't mean it in a good way.
** the use of a hashtag on a menu item seemed a little odd at the time and doesn't get any better in repeat
*** In retrospect the choice of more onion rings, once we saw the portion provided to Mrs P, was clearly madness 










Sunday 22 March 2015

The Begging Bowl - Peckham

London. London contains many different people, most of whom I don't really want to meet. The two guys sat next to us on the shared bench at The Begging Bowl however were the total antithesis of this perspective, being some of the nicest people I have had the pleasure to meet. Not only did they open their conversation by complimenting my sister-in-law on her hair (which instantly provided bonus points with both my Sister-in-law and Mrs P) but also gave a blurring list of local places that we had to go and book a table at IMMEDIATELY.  And this concept lies at the heart of why I like The Begging Bowl, the atmosphere was absolutely fantastic. 

It's a small room with limited tables which spill out onto the pavement outside where everyone sits cheek by jowl so get comfy or get going. The menu is brief and devoid of such clutter as starters or mains. Everything on the menu is to share and sharing is absolutely vital because otherwise you have no hope of trying everything that you should. The recommendation is to order five dishes between two people but I can assure you that if we had followed that advice (there were four of us plus The Child) we would have been absolutely destroyed. Dishes come as and when cooked by the kitchen which basically means they cook one dish at a time for the entire restaurant. Plates of salad are distributed, followed by another wave of beef, or squid or, well you get the picture. It's an interesting process but it meant that we sometimes waited quite a while for our next dish to come through. Luckily the rice is unlimited in both sticky and jasmine varieties, which is probably another reason why following the five dish endorsement is an act of lunacy.



First we had some fish cakes - I enjoyed these, crunchy and juicy. Sweet chilli sauce gave a great accompaniment to the salty fishy balls. I did think though that these tasted almost exactly like mine so I would be worried if I didn't like them. Not spectacular but very solid, otherwise I wouldn't make them like this myself.


Prawns with coconut sticky rice (wrapped in the banana leaf) and covered in some kind of magical brown sludge that tasted of milk supped from the very teat of Aphrodite the Goddess of Love herself. The Child and I couldn't physically control ourselves and physically fought the other members of the table for the final morsel. We shared the heads between us, sucking on the cavities for every last drop of the sweet, rich, nutty prawny gunge. We liked this one.


Stir fry greens were the unexpected surprise of the evening, these were peppery, crunchy and superb. Everyone liked them.


On the other hand the 'Son-in-law eggs' were, while expertly deep fried with a runny centre and crunchy outer coating, eggs. I'm sure loads of people will love these but me? More prawns please.


Soft beef short rib was sweet with a deep sugar taste, possibly brown sugar or palm sugar in the mix here and it was high on the list for a couple of the party. I have to confess that sweet beef won't be making my top ten best eats but it was still good and the plate was finished then licked clean. Literally.


An entire sea bream cooked in a salt crust was perfectly delish but it was that dipping sauce that was heavy on the fish sauce, heavy on the coriander, heavy on the vinegar and mega heavy on the birds eye chilli that got eyebrows raised and people gesturing with cutlery.  This one was super good


Pork belly with crackling was... OK. The belly was good but not great being quite chewy towards the bottom but the soy and the crackling were brill. I tried to work out what was in the violently red dip but couldn't get it. It was a bit flaccid and just couldn't compete amid a meal of serious flavour contenders.


This pomelo salad was the last thing out and by this time we were all glad to slow down a bit. A pomelo is a bit like a bitter grapefruit and not much of anything by itself but stick that on a plate with some salad leaves, coriander and nuts and we've got ourselves a party. 

The upshot of The Begging Bowl is that we had some real highlights and other plates that were fairly standard. All in for four and a half people plus drinks the bill came to just over £100 which, for a Friday night in London is pretty good. Put it on your list and go if you get the opportunity, you won't regret it. Just one word of advice; don't fall into the trap of ordering five plates per couple unless you want to start scraping plates into your pocket to eat on the bus ride home.


Saturday 21 March 2015

Five Guys - Leicester Square

What's the thing about burgers at the moment? There seems to be a recognition that burgers don't have to be limited to the lowest common denominator or differentiation based solely on sticking an entire roast dinner between two buns. As such, premium burger brands such as Byron, Ed's and Five Guys have made significant in-roads into the UK with their attempts to re-educate the British view of burgers away from a 99p, microwavable grey rubber bullet that is only legally defined as edible. 

According to the local twitter-talk we are about to get a Five Guys in MK and everyone was talking about how amazing they were dharling. So as Mrs P and I walked past Leicester Square, the place pulled us in with their beefy tractor beam. That smelled of burgers.

Firstly, a quick note on the Five Guys concept - think Maccy D's serving Byron burgers. Many people will have issues with that description and yes, it does do Five Guys a slight disservice, however getting a decent bun at the speed of a dirty burger has got to be a good thing however it happens. Next a note on the menu - you've got a big burger, little burger or hotdog. That's it. True, you can choose cheese, bacon or both but if you're looking for a rodeo b-rex royale burger served your way with extra special sauce then jog on by my friend.

So let's crack on, after we got through the queue outside to join the queue inside (mmm, interesting concept), we had free nuts. Free nuts is good but what blew my mind is imagining how the Sam Hill they managed to roast and salt the things inside the shells. Perhaps there is probably a perfectly understandable process that allows this black magic to happen but damn, inside the shells people.



Then we ordered two cheese burgers, one drink (refillable - we're not paying for two of those, Mrs P and I share everything, even germs) and a regular fries. All extras* were free to add if we wanted, but we stuck to grilled onions to keep the purist form and get as much burger as possible. Speaking of which:



Wrapped in some weird not-quite-foil these burgers were cooked to order and delivered at a pace. Five Guys bang the drum loudly for the quality of their burgers and rightly so, these were not your homogenous chain product or even the grease dripping pre-formed pre-frozen burger pellets served from your local burger van. These were the real deal. 



Oh Yeah. All burgers are served well done (although Mrs P's was more medium), course and juicy, the cheese was gooey, creamy and probably very bad for you and the ratio of mayo to ketchup was bang on. Basically the whole thing screamed STOP TAKING PHOTOS AND EAT ME. So naturally I obliged, in short, this was the best burger I've eaten in a very (very) long time. But what about the chips?



We went for the cajan spice but I wouldn't recommend it going forward. These are not award  winning fries and the spicy dust didn't hide that. They had salt and proper Sarson's vinegar on the side as well as more ketchup for dipping and I think that would have been my preferred option; keep it simple. Particularly because the 'regular' portion consisted of the above cup plus a scoop:



More than enough for two. For drinks I was particularly ecstatic to see my old friend the multi-flavour-multi-drink machine back in action, these things are awesome!

Final judgement then -  the highest compliment I can give the Five Guys burger is that it is now the standard burger from which all others will be judged. If it doesn't reach this level then it isn't worth your money. There is room for Five Guys and Byron, for me they don't directly compete. Is Five Guys better than Byron then? Well, I'm not sure about that, but that is only because there is no 'best'. Byron are going for a sit down restaurant vibe while Five Guys look at the gourmet fast-food corner. Both have a place and it's great that we are starting to get picky about the better parts of the American culinary habits we bring over. Looking forward to the MK opening - bring it on!

www.fiveguys.co.uk




*extras such as: lettuce, mayo, ketchup, mustard, pickles, tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, grilled onions, raw onions, peppers, relish, jalapeƱos, HP sauce, BBQ sauce, hot sauce. So yeah, we kept it light.

Wednesday 18 March 2015

Buddies USA - on the A5 roundabout between Deanshanger and Milton Keynes

I think that breakfast is a meal that the British haven't really got to grips with yet. In general, we tend to go with either toast and coffee, or sausage, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, hash browns, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon and some fried bread if you're still hungry. There doesn't seem to be anything in between and it is in this fine tradition that Mrs P, The Child and I decided to find out how the land of the free and the home of the lardy do it by visiting Buddies USA.

I have to say that we've often driven past Buddies and the place has always been rammed - I mean packed out and even when we were there during breakfast, people were waiting in the foyer for tables. So, to celebrate the first meal after a month of culinary lock-down, we invited/forced our new neighbours to join us - a party isn't a party unless there is at least two people there who wish they were somewhere else, right?

The menu reflects the country of it's birth well by being both American and massive. It had pretty much anything you could want for breakfast from a ten item egg section (that weirdly doesn't contain scrambled fried or poached), through to various steak options via waffles and pancakes. I decided to go with the waffle, maple bacon and spicy potato option because clearly waffles don't contain enough carbs for the day so I need a shovel full of fried potato on my plate.


The maple bacon was really nice, thick and salty/sweet and definitely the star of the show. The waffles were a bit so-so if I'm I'm brutal, either they weren't on the iron for long enough or it wasn't hot enough but it just didn't have the crispy outer and fluffy inner that I want from a premium waffle. And what can I say about the potato cubes? Well, after I got over the fact that I was basically eating the breakfast equivalent of a curly fry, I came to the conclusion that they were OK. Bite sized pieces of warming taters together with the sweet, salty bacon and filling waffle gave me a breakfast my stomach could really work with... for the rest of the day. Portion size was, of course, monstrous but that was why we went and you can't argue with the people lurking like obese vultures, ready to swoop in to our empty seats and engulf our still warm buttock imprints with an appetite only matched by the size of their arse.

Oh yeah, I can't forget the train that rolls around the ceiling, an actual train. Now that's pretty cool.

www.buddiesrestaurants.com


Ups and downs

It's been a week of contrasts so far.

Firstly, I was in a car crash, so that's not so good - plenty of sticky pain gel and some happy pills for me over the next week or so.

Then I got delivery of a shed load of pigeon, partridge and pheasant:



So yay! Freshly shot (this week) and swap-shopped for some red wine, courtesy of a very good friend (and her dad) of Mrs P.  Sorting through them I saw various thighs, breasts from both types of bird as well as a jointed hen. I can't decide to go pie'd, roasted or grilled; the options are open and very exciting! 

Certainly having a personal connection to a decent shoot is something that I cannot afford to lose touch with. I wasn't sure whether to expect jointed, cleaned, butchered birds or just the whole thing complete with feathers - so I was prepared for anything. These little bags of joy were a pleasant surprise then and I can't really continue to take advantage of such a connection without giving a little back, I suspect a dinner party is in the offing...

Thursday 5 March 2015

Who is Chris Pople?

The internet is full of 'things'. Some are interesting, some are distracting and some are things that once seen, cannot be unseen. I look at the internet and enjoy watching it shift across the conciousness of our social world like a vast ocean of digital opinion that is in parts deep and calm, or energetic and dangerous or maybe just got a load of crap floating on top of it. As such, it's always fantastic when I find a solitary nugget of common sense, decent independent thinking or just something that makes me laugh uncontrollably.

Recently I've been dredging through the waves of mediocrity that the interwebs can throw up and found a few blogs which are as sharp as a mermaids lingerie shop which I felt must be shared with you lovely people. 

Firstly, and in no particular order, I love BBQ. I haven't managed to talk about it much over the past year or so but as soon as the weather permits (and often when it doesn't), I have the family cooking alfresco. I found:

http://countrywoodsmoke.com/
http://ukbbqreview.com/

Both blogs are run by the same guy and have a mega amount of information on offer. Marcus is a clear and serious BBQ fanatic who posts very frequently. There are a lot of recipes as well equipment and the odd restaurant review was well. The Facebook page is well attended and has loads of people contributing, the community is well established and friendly with more than enough people willing to help with advice and suggestions. I like the straight forward and honest approach as well as tone Marcus manages to strike in his posts, I'm still not convinced by the dirty steak habit that Marcus seems to have developed as I can't quite justify the possibility of ruining such a nice (and expensive) bit of meat. It's just a shame that we are all not as lucky as him to have such ingredients on our doorstep!

Secondly I've been looking at:

http://www.foodmk.com/

This is a big up for my man Ray Harrison who is one of the few bloggers who has a particular penchant (or ponshont as I like to pronounce it when in polite company) for game. In Buckinghamshire, we are surrounded by fantastic produce and game is so underrated. While subjecting the family to a very controlled diet last month a friend tried to tempt me away by offering the results of a recent shoot. I held firm (of course) but now I'm determined to call in that particular favour as quickly as possible. Ray is local to me so that's always a bonus and although he has recently not been as active as in the past, here is a request - let's hear more from you Ray! Inspired by Ray, I hope to be looking at far more game this year, pheasant, partridge, rabbit or grouse bring it all on! 

Finally and more specifically connected to the subject of this particular post, who is Chris Pople? Well, he is the man behind:

http://cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.co.uk/

I will readily admit that I, as a general rule, tend to shun the London 'scene'. The trend of following chefs around from place to place or knowing who owns what and dropping names like Atlas stones. If it's good food then it's good food, regardless of whose name is above the door. Reputation is hard fought for and well earned but when the focus is on the person rather than the product then, in my opinion, the focus is a bit adrift. Anyway, my point is that Chris is apparently a serious big fish in the food blogging world. Highlighted in the top 1,000 most influential Londoners for the last four years running, as well as being credited with one of the top ten food blogs by both the New Statesman and The Times (be warned, the link needs a subscription) and I had never heard of him. Not that I should have of course as he is almost exclusively London based, although he does sometimes get out and about to give him his due. One thing that must be said is that the man is absolutely prolific, having read back through his blog for a couple of weeks now I have absolutely no idea about two things:

1) How the hell can he afford to eat out so often? Clearly, as a fully paid up member of the London School of Movers and Shakers, he would get a few freebies but the frequency with which the man posts and the volume of cash that moves through his receipts tells me that whatever he is doing during the day, he must be pretty good at it.
2) How the hell can he afford to eat out so often? I think I mentioned this before but it's worth saying again. Perhaps Chris hasn't got a family, mortgage, bills, car, telephone, TV, friends or anything else that pulls the cash out of my pocket faster than I can put it in, but clearly we move in different circles.

Anyway, I digress, and as my little diatribe shows, I am disgustingly jealous of not just his success and seeming ability to disregard petty things such as money, but also of his writing. It's a fabulous approach of humour and honesty in a style that could, and should, put many other professionals to shame. I lost a good few hours going back over the hundreds of posts laid out on the site and while I have no idea if this is his only job, hints here and there would suggest not. Chris reviews more restaurants that I ever knew existed in London and he seems to be on a one man mission to eat absolutely everywhere and one thing is for sure; I may have come late to the party, but I can certainly make the most of it while I'm here! Having such a list of places that come recommended (or not as the case may be) is fantastic and he hits the perfect point of London's fast moving culinary approach. While the rest of the country can't quite match the pace of the capital, it's great to have that underlying base of knowledge available when I do get in to see family or friends.

So, in conclusion and by the irrefutable law of averages, after finding such gems in the mostly oppressive drudge of the internet, I am destined to be shovelling through crap for the next year. Well, the sooner I start the sooner I'll finish...

Monday 2 March 2015

Laimon Fresh

Now that everyone has managed to calm down after the last four weeks, I can get back to the high standard of discussion and critique that this blog is known for. And getting straight back to business may I introduce you to Laimon Fresh, your new go-to drink of choice for those times when you believe that mixing Sprite with mouthwash might possibly be a good idea.




I picked this up in a petrol station on the West coast of Scotland a while ago and I've been saving it for a special occasion before sharing it with you. I think this is it. Laimon Fresh has a suspiciously European sounding name but the translation on the can gives nothing away as to it's origins. I've since checked the website and it seems to be made by a Swiss company and sold in Spain and the UK. Well, I say sold in the UK but given that this is the only physical example I've ever seen I have to doubt that it's as universally popular as it seems to suggest. Although having said that, it's apparently sold through Ocado so if you too would like to experience the utterly unique (or as I like to call it: horrid) taste of lemons, limes and chewing gum all in one mouthful then please be my guest but don't say I didn't warn you.

So, in case you hadn't quite understood my opinion on this particular beverage; I didn't really like it. If you enjoy drinking the dribbles of spit and toothpaste foam left in the sink after you've finished brushing your teeth then maybe you should give this a go, but for the rest of us I would suggest looking elsewhere for your daily refreshment.

Remember, I try these things so you don't have to.