Seeking America - MEATliquor

Sometimes it happens and there's just nothing you can do about it.  A new club, restaurant or venue opens and everyone proclaims it to be the greatest of its kind, ever. It's happened before while I've been here and no matter how much I and others have said the other location is by far more superior and more authentic, the establishment with all the marketing money comes off as being the better venue of its trade.

This, I feel, is the story of MEATliquor.

I went during a weeknight, immediately after work - no problem with the queues that everyone keeps going on about. Don't show up past 7, or don't leave it to be a Friday night meal.  Obviously that's when all the eager trendy people start flocking to what they only heard was the next best thing.  I got there around 6.30 or so and it was fine.  Get in, have a few drinks (and by few I mean 1 - £4 for a small can of beer, £9 for a mason jar of what was effectively a margarita) and browse over the menu.

Don't be upset that you can't see the menu on the website, that's just part of MEATliquor's disappointing charm to get people wanting more.  They have 4 or 5 different burgers and a few other American type sandwiches.  I went for a Philly Cheesesteak, because again, I'm craving all things that I never ate that often at home, and as always the boyfriend went for the thing that I would otherwise get if I wasn't skeptical of the place (a burger).  We also had wings as a starter.

MEATliquor - Hot Wings

MEATliquor - Philly Cheesesteak, burger, fries

The Good: those hot wings were pushing on hot, so that was good.  French fries were pretty tasty.

The Bad: I have never, in my life, seen a Philly Cheesesteak look like that. I didn't realise it was OK to just pass off steak as mince meat (ground beef).  I must have missed that memo. And FFS that's an ungodly amount of green peppers. I pulled about 1/3 of them out but there were still too many to find the actual meat section of this sandwich, making the peppers really over powering.  

With the wings, though it was labelled as bleu cheese dip, I know they just went out and bought some ranch dressing. Don't mess with me and these wings, world!

So I feel the cheesesteak served is one of those 'Expectation/Reality' moments. I was expecting something closer to below

mmmmm I miss steak-umms

Notice the thin slices, not chuck ground beef.

The Interesting: All this being said, it is an interesting venue to look at inside. I'm not really sure why they painted it the way they did. It looks like a cross between a slaughter house, and the house of someone that wants to slaughter people.  Weird scribbles on the wall, red drips of paint everywhere, very odd.

The Worse: Normally if I have a part of my meal that I didn't enjoy, at least I know the bf has enjoyed his. In his words, 'It was alright, but nothing worth queuing for'.

And there you have it. 

As we left the building, a queue that did not exist only 2 hours prior was indeed wrapping around the block on a weeknight and we were half tempted to tell them it wasn't worth it.  But there wouldn't be any point, the media monkey has turned his tricks and enough people are intrigued by the place to keep it in business for a while.  Maybe that'll give them enough time to suss out what American food is, and I'll try the standard any-country burger instead of the American 'delicacy' next time.

MEATliquor can be found at:

74 Welbeck Street

W1G 0BA

Nearest Tube: 

Bond Street

Ariel on Google+

Jubilee Extravaganza Day 3 - Lahore Kebab House

So far, we've ticked off festivals/drinking and how we spend our downtime nursing hangovers with some primetime telly.  Now it's time to move on to what we're eating.

Curry - right then.  This should be a known fact for most of you out there, but for those that don't know - Indian food is more popular than fish n'chips here in the UK.  So on Bank Holiday Monday, whilst Tom Jones took the stage outside of Buckingham Palace, I took a seat in a Whitechapel restaurant called Lahore.

A few things; as much as I've embraced British culture since moving here I still can't get that excited about curry.  I'll have it, but I won't crave it the way some people seem to.  Also, I use the term 'restaurant' quite loosely. It looks a bit more like a cafeteria you would've had your lunches in around age 10.  That being said, this seems to be one of East London's gems with people proclaiming their love for the cuisine. Not to mention, it's BYOB so drink up!

We have some friends that live out this way so we've been here before, but I think this is the first time I had eaten there. As they were quite clued up on what to eat and how to order it, someone shouted for mixed starters and papadums and our waiter returned to the table with about 8 plates of food.

While I don't go for curries that often, hands down my favourite part is the papadums and the 'lil dips you get with it. There was heaps of mint sauce on the table but he didn't bring out the mango chutney, I nearly cried inside.  If finally arrived and I tore into the crispy treat and had a few bits of chicken kebab that was mixed with lamb kebab.  Now World, I'm quite terrified of eating lamb - and I'm not one to say no to trying different food.  I normally cant even bring myself to swallow it, but this place managed to keep the little lamb chops in my belly.  Success - but I probably still won't eat the lambykins in the future.

Bottom line is we had a delicious meal, but I won't bang on about the food much as I didn't take any pictures (was having a 2 hour asthma attack without my inhalers on hand - stupid!). I will say however, that this adventure sparked a new treat for my fellow Seekers out there.

Now I know many of you don't use Foursquare in the UK but there are some really handy features for those that do!

New look on Foursquare

I've created lists of some of my favourite places to help you through London

Follow me and check-in to a place I've been before or a place near to where I've been before and my tips about the location will appear on your phone!

This post is releasing just in time for Foursquare's new look so if you don't have it or you haven't used it in a while, download it and follow me to get tips and suggestions while you're out seeking London.

Lahore Kebab House can be found at:

2-10 Umberston Street
London
E1 1PY
http://www.lahore-kebabhouse.com/
Nearest Tube: Whitechapel, Aldgate East, Shadwell (DLR/Overground)

Seeking Brighton

I was looking through my passport the other week and couldn't believe that I'll have had it for 10 years in 2014! Even more exciting is that for each year I've had my passport there's been at least one country stamped on my rapidly decreasing blank passport pages.  It's no wonder that I made the choice to visit 30 countries by the time I'm 30 when I've completed over 20 of them in my twenties alone.

Well World, so far it seems like 2012 will not be the year of more countries, but rather exploring more of the country that I now call my home.  This is partially a financial choice as I did a decent amount of travelling in 2011 and partially because I don't want to plan a trip out of the country until I get my new visa sorted (a frustrating tale for another post at a later time). And it seems I'm not the only London blogger that's looking for more adventures outside of London but still on the Island. 

I kicked off the first staycation of sorts with the boyfriend on a weekend trip to Brighton.

Brighton Pier, October 2009

I've actually been to Brighton before, during an International Students day trip my Uni did while I was here doing my Master's.  Somehow my boyfriend never made the trip down there in his nearly three decades of living in England, so we hopped a quick £30 return train down.

Day view from The Atlantic Seafront, Brighton

Night view from The Atlantic Seafront, Brighton

We stayed in a fantastically affordable and quite sweet B&B, The Atlantic Seafront, just across the road from the pier - killer views of Brighton.  It's not that big of a town when it comes to attractions and things to see, and in my opinion, it's not worth it to stay in some big fancy hotel.

We paid about £60/night and had a range of breakfast options available, cooked-to-order, in the dining area each morning.

Brighton Wheel, photo taken with Snapseed

There are pretty much three must-see things in Brighton; the pier, the palace and the lanes.

The pier is a crazy mix of a massive penny arcade, an all-season carnival, and a restaurant/bar that's open year-round and stretches over 1,700 feet long.  

Brighton Beach

A beach made completely of rocks is disappointing - although, my hipster photos make it look cooler.

The Royal Pavilion was built for King George IV and looks like it should be in India.

An entrance to the Royal Pavilion, Brighton October 2009

The Lanes pretty much look like the Camden markets, but on hills and fewer angry teens with purple hair. 

Finally, it's not a must-see, but I like seeing things that are a bit different (and free). If you walk along the shore, you'll find a small, dusty room that has cool stuff from Brighton's heyday as a fishing town.  It was quite interesting, but it left me with an allergy attack.

As an added bonus, I got to meet up with an old friend from Ohio that's just moved to Brighton after marrying her tall, dark-haired Englishman - apparently that's how we like 'em in Ohio. :)

Photo courtesy of Ashley :)

I don't really know where to go next, typically at this point I pick a country I haven't seen and book a flight, but I want to keep it a short train ride away.  

Help me trek the path less taken - Do you have any cities in the UK that you would suggest for a great weekend trip?

South West London - Chelsea - Big Easy

I've finally reached the point of being homesick. As a result, I've started seeking out places to eat American style meals. I've had at least 3 milkshakes in the past 2 weeks, scarfed my face with burgers and most recently joined in at the Big Easy for their All-You-Can-Eat ribs and 1lb Maine Lobster.  Everything on the menu is in massive portions, £14.95 a person and includes a boozy drink. Amazing!

Obviously it's no where near as good as home - the ribs were a lil dry for me, and not that Red Lobster is something to judge seafood on, but that style of smorgasbord is what i was craving...but it did the trick.  Also, the milkshakes were quite tasty and some even come with alcohol!

This will just have to hold me over until my work visa finally comes through and I can make a vist back to the Sates.

The Big Easy can be found at:

332 - 334 Kings Road,

Chelsea

SW3 5UR

Nearest Tube: Sloane Square

Mango Margarita

Chicken tenders with tortilla chips + honey mustard sauce

Lobster + butter, best combo ever

North London - Crouch End - Nakama

As I began to wean myself off those stupid Christmas-Party-Injury Crutches, I tried to force myself to go out seeking London spots again. One of my favourite areas, in my own back yard, is Crouch End. It may be part of London, but creep over the hill that takes you through Hornsey Rise and it's like you've found a whole new village. I've done a few pubs in the area, but it also has a wide range of restaurants that aren't chains on offer. I did a quick bit of research for sushi in the area on my Urbanspoon app and came across Nakama.

Excluding the table behind us with another American/Brit mix party of two, we were the only people in there - so I was getting a bit worried about the food.

However, about 5 minutes in to our meal, I realised I had nothing to be worried about as they served up all of my favourite Japanese dishes in very visually pleasing arrangements.

Miso soup, Salmon sashimi, Asahi beer

Tori Gyoza/Chicken Dumplings

The chef was even nice enough to throw in some free tuna carpaccio

By this time, we were quite full but our mains had arrived.  The boyfriend went for the Chicken Katsu

Chicken Katsu

And I had a pork curry

Japanese Pork Curry

By the time our mains arrived, another American/Brit party of two had arrived (are we all sourcing this restaurant from the same place?) and pointed out something (I didn't have my glasses on so I couldn't tell what it was) that was very impressive.  Not long after, our waitress brought some of this mysterious thing to our table as well!  Pretty!

Origami Swan

Sushi, miso soup, dumplings, two mains and 4 beers set us back about £50 total.  Great service, chill vibe and jazz music.

Nakama can be found at:

50 Topsfield Parade

Crouch End

N8 8PT

http://nakamarestaurant.co.uk/

Nearest Tube: Crouch Hill (Overground), multiple bus routes

North London - Kentish Town - The Oxford

You know the whole 'looks can be deceiving' thing? Yea, that's what I think of The Oxford.

From the outside it looks like your standard high street pub; picnic tables, a beer garden, standard 'pub' facade outdoors. From the inside, it's gotten a bit confused and calling itself a gastropub.

I don't trust places that coin themselves as 'gastropubs'

Looking at my notes from this meal, I'm struggling to find one positive word.  If I could make a wanky word cloud, things like 'pretentious' and 'overpriced' would dominate the space.

The interior is separated into two areas that can be described as a 'pub' but really a seating area for light dining, and a back dining room for what I can only assume houses something like a carvery.  The menu is like a child jumping up for attention hoping its parents will think it's a pretty pretty princess with 'aubergines' 'asparagus' 'corgettes' and £13 salmon salads.  FFS, if you're dressed like a pub, act like a pub. No one wants to walk out £10 lighter after ordering 2 simple ciders. I settled for a £10.50 fish and chips which were far too fancy for my liking.

Apparently they have comedy on Thursdays and a pub quiz on Tuesdays. I don't intend on heading back there to check them out - at least not on an empty stomach.  I'd recommend The Oxford as a nice place for a drink, but only a quick one as there isn't much atmosphere.

The Oxford can be found at:

256 Kentish Town Road
London
NW5 2AA
Nearest tube: Kentish Town 

North London - Camden - The Camden Head

During my quest for the awesome-est pub in North London I decided that the route from Camden High Street to Junction Road would be the best place to start.  Camden is about a 20 minute walk from my office on Tottenham Court Road, making it even easier to decide on a whim that going to a pub on a Tuesday night is a brilliant idea.

I feel a bit old (like my parents) admitting this, but I absolutely love comedy nights, which The Camden Head puts on Monday and Tuesday nights.  Comedy here will set you back a mere £3 or £5 for 2 tickets.

We came quite early so grabbed we a pint and some food first. Even though I'm the American and the BF is the Brit in this equation, my pub meal of choice is always fish & chips while his is a burger. (WTF?)

Fish & Chips, £7

Classic Burger £7

Now in honesty, for a pub menu some of the items are taking the piss (wild boar & apple burger, pies that replace meat and beans with leak and butternut squash) but I will fully admit I am a repeat offender for their food.  So much so, that when Whitney Dunlap came to visit me from Ohio, I made sure to take her there.

Inside The Camden Head 

It's a beautiful pub with wooden interior and deep sunken sofas, books and board games for entertainment making this pub resemble a family lounge. And it's no wonder that it felt so cosy and comforting - The Camden Head was voted as having the best staff in 2010!  There's also a great photo of Camden High Street on the wall from 1903. 

You may have noticed that I've gone on for a bit about the food and neglected the comedy night.  I've only gone to their comedy night once, and maybe I came on an off night, but it wasn't that great of an experience.  We spent £5 to sit in a crowd of maybe 7 people, 3 of whom were the acts for the night.  I've been to free comedy nights that were astoundingly better.  

I love The Camden Head; the food is delicious, the atmosphere is relaxed and the cider on draught is crisp and refreshing. Definitely one of my must-visit pubs.

The Camden Head can be found at:

100 Camden High Street

London

NW1 0LU

Nearest Tube: Camden Town

North London - Angel - Sangria

I have a very scary addiction to Tapas restaurants.  It mostly has to do with me not being able to eat whole meals in a reasonable amount of time, so eating multiple tiny meals seems to make up for that.  If you're ever strolling around Angel on Upper Street, you'll notice that there are numerous eatery options all waiting for you to explore.  I was getting a bit overwhelmed with choosing a place to eat so I normally fall on my defaults at this point: Tapas, Italian or Chinese.

There were a few Italian places but they seemed more like Pizzerias (call me un-American, but I'm not that fussed over pizza) than pasta joints, and I'd already walked past the one Chinese place they have between Angel and Highbury & Islington stations.  I noticed a sign, jutted out onto the High Street that said something along the lines of Authentic and Spanish and Tapas so I was intrigued. It had a main seating area and a small outdoor terrace seating area down an alley on its side which looked really nice.  I like things that look a bit different, and aren't your same-old High Street establishment...boy, did I fall into a massive trap.

When I sat down at our table (I was with the bf), I almost instantly regretted our decision. The waiters fluffed about for a bit before one decided to host our meal experience, and clean off our table - our very wobbly table. I'm not sure about you, but 30 tapas plates on a wobbly table doesn't sound like a great idea. I suppose at this point we could've chosen to go inside, but we had already committed to being there, may as well commit to where we were seated at this point!

If you read my post on The Real Greek in Covent Garden, you'll know I wasn't impressed with their food. My vist to Sangria occurred the next day :( and I seemed to be having a strike-out weekend in London.  I can easily say that Sangria is my worst tapas experience, ever.  We ordered:

• olives, which tasted like they had been fermented in garlic for 3 months too long
• mussels which came out lukewarm and were cold about 5 minutes into the meal
• a £10 cheeseboard that had stale, plastic-like cheese from being in open air for too long 
• and a small plate of chorizo which is pretty hard to ruin so that may have been the one saving factor to this meal

We debated ordering Sangria but a jug would set us back at least £18.  I've seen other reviews for the restaurant and perhaps this was a matter of us picking the wrong things to eat - I hear they have a delicious paella. 

Overall, I wouldn't recommend Sangria for food at all, it's far too expensive for the disappointing quality. The do have a deal on paella during the week and that may prove to be worth the visit if you're hungry.  On the other hand it did seem like a lovely location for a few drinks and nice buzzing atmosphere for when the sun goes down. Also, this door was cute.

Sangria can be found at:

88 Upper Street

London

N1 0NP

Nearest Tube: Angel  

Central London - Covent Garden - The Real Greek

On a sunny (yea, I'm surprised as well) weekend afternoon in London, some friends and I met up in Covent Garden for a much overdue lunch.  I don't typically go out of my way for Greek food as it doesn't fit my Chinese or Italian obsession, but we landed at The Real Greek.

As expected in Central, it was quite busy from the moment you walked through the door. Not that there was an overflowing amount of restaurant-goers jumping at the chance to go to The Real Greek - but because the two or three servers couldn't keep up with their tables.  It's not exceptionally large inside, and the seating arrangement feels more like a big family dinner where you share your tables with distant cousins and crazy uncles.

It took us about 5 minutes to read through the menu and decide what we wanted for lunch.  It took the staff about 25 minutes to finally take our order.  The portions were served in a tapas style, with smaller plates that could potentially be for sharing - lending more to that feeling of a large family dinner. As they are cramped for space, the servings are brought out as plates on a tall rack rather than several plates that will further clutter the table.

Dishes ranged from about £4 - £7 each, so if you have a big appetite and a small budget make sure you go with a larger group so you can share each other's portions. I ordered a red pepper and feta dip with pita, some olives and a pork skewer. I may not be the best judge of Greek cuisine, but the best thing I had that afternoon was the £14 carafe of rose we ordered.   The olives were far too salty, the skewer (yes £5 for one small skewer) had lost all of the juicy qualities that meat should have, and you could barely taste the feta in the dip.  At home I frequented a place called The Happy Greek only for their delicious red pepper and feta dip: Kopanisti. The Real Greek's version did not deliver on my expectations.

I'm not one to dine in Central, and it did feel a bit more like a chain restaurant which is another disadvantage for most of my dining experiences.  I more than likely wouldn't come here again for a meal, definitely not for an intimate meal as there isn't much privacy.  I feel I keep finding places that don't impress me, so I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer.  However, I do feel that Greek food should burst with vibrant flavours that is as colourful as their dishes - and £15 later, that just didn't happen for me at The Real Greek.

The Real Greek can be found at:

60-62 Long Acre
London
WC2E 9JE
Nearest Tube: Covent Garden

www.therealgreek.com/coventgarden.html

Central London - Fitzrovia - 三峡人家 (SanXia RenJia)

I have a weird obsession with Chinese food. I'm not sure where or why it started but I have some form of pork, noodles and/or rice at least twice a week.  Because, I love it so much, I'm very particular on how it's taste. Some people love the Chinese food in London's Chinatown, but I always feel like I'm eating something cooked in dirty bath water! I tend to prefer the shops that are a bit outside of Central, but I have been surprised before.

My office is on Tottenham Court Road, in the heart of tourist trap London so we have our fill of fast food and chain restaurants in the area. If you head a bit North, to Fitzrovia, Goodge Street pours over with smaller establishments and a variety of flavours.  As Chinatown is quite close to my office, I wasn't too keen on trying any of the places nearby - assuming they would taste like Chinatown restaurangs. One day I finally made the leap!

There are two Chinese restaurants on Goodge Street: one that has a buffet and where everything is written in Chinese characters. I went for the one that was written, 三峡人家 (San Xia Ren Jia). My little bit of Mandarin told me that said, '3', 'something about a mountain', 'a person' and I didn't know the last character. (Google translate says '3 gorges? wtf!?)

Inside, it tends to be a relaxed atmosphere.  There are large, circular tables, great for sharing dishes when you're in a big group. The rest of the building is an open plan, so it's not a very intimate setting for those looking for a quiet date.  The menu is about a million pages long.  I've read it a few times and I still dont see my standard Pork Chow Mein on the list. No worries, I ordered it anyhow and it was still prepared.

As I was on my lunch break, I was in a bit of a rush (I don't have actual lunch breaks, I work straight through them most of the time).  It took about 10 minutes, but that was an acceptable wait.  The food tasted exactly how I wanted so it passes my Can You Make Pork Dishes? test. My only problem was that for £5.50 it was a fairly small serving. I get a delivery from Crouch End that can feed me for three days on £5.50!

San Xia Ren Jia does offer student discounts and special menus during lunch, so perhaps it finds its value in portions with those special offers.  It is also a Karaoke Bar and from it's menu, it proclaims to have bubble tea! We all know how much I love bubble tea. :) They weren't offering it when I went there so I'm not sure if that's still true. Their style of cooking is self-described as 'Authentic Szechuan, Cantonese & Hunan Cuisine'.

As there is a lack of Chinese restaurants that I like in Central, I have and will continue to go there. I just hope I can get some bubble tea soon, and maybe about 33% more food in my takeaway box!

SanXia RenJia can be found at:

29 Goodge Street
London
W1T 2PP
Nearest Tube: Goodge Street

www.sanxia.co.uk