Friday Feeling

Being a food writer has led me to some unexpected places. Shooing a half blind turkey into a barn with a stick. Watching two grown men play with jelly. Talking about dole money over eggs with a Masterchef judge. None of these were more unexpected however, than a morning tasting the new TGI Friday’s burger menu at its Watford branch.   

I’ve always quite liked the American restaurant chain that brought Jack Daniel’s glaze over the Atlantic. In fact, jump back thirteen years, a few months and a few miles south of London, and you’d find a fourteen-year-old me having a grand old time on my birthday. My expectations were, of course, different then. I just wanted one of the ‘cool’ waiters to fancy me, an ice cream cookie sandwich for pudding and my mum to let me have one cocktail (or at least let me and my best friend share one).

Being a rather massive burger fan and most certainly not a food snob, I am pretty open to any offer of a patty slapped between two halves of a bun. But, tbh, I didn’t expect much from TGI’s – even if the guy behind this menu re-jigging, Terry McDowell, has spent two years researching every burger from here to Beijing. 

Eight burgers, a sleepy train ride home and a skipping of dinner later and I have to report that, whilst I didn’t love every single one, they were pretty good. This is a huge chain, selling over 2.4 million burgers a year, all of which have to be pre packaged and sent around the country. They were never going to better those lovingly hand crafted at Lucky Chip. But, you have to hand it to ‘em they’ve put in the effort with McDowell tasting over 300 to get to this final menu of nine.

The best… 

The Inferno – a juicy patty topped with mozzarella, jalapeños, chilli mayo and a kicking Habanero sauce served hot – looked and tasted great. 

The Monster – a massive 12oz beast with bacon, Colby cheese (which worked brilliantly), onion rings – will to appeal to those (like me) who suffer from bouts of gluttony. 

So. Would I forgo all the brilliant London offerings for a TGI’s Friday burger? 

Probably not. 

But would I, when not in London and faced with GBK, Byron and TGI’s, consider the latter now? 

Once I digest the first lot… absolutely. 

Pimms O' Clock

What a bloody lovely week of weather we’ve been having. Just as well… Butler’s Wharf Chophouse launched their ‘English Country Garden’ this week with a rather delightful party on their terrace overlooking Tower Bridge. 

As part of our great Queen Beth’s Jubilee and those impending Olympic Games they - along with Le Pont de la Tour, Cantina del Ponte and, my personal favourite, the Blueprint Café – will play host to special food-specific events for the Tower Bridge Summer Festival 2012. 

The place has been decked out with green lawns, picket fences and edible flowers (I was more interested in the cheese straws hanging from the foliage). 

Tuesday night’s festivities included a troop of morris dancers, some half naked girls done up in floral body paint, fantastic beef buns with a ferocious horseradish, copious amounts of pimms and a few great stalls. I spent a lot of time with Launa of Secretts Farm in Godalming, who not only fed us the first crop of this year’s asparagus, but gave me some excellent advice on my tomato seeds. 

Fingers crossed the rumours of rain are horrible lies and we are finally blessed with a long summer full of cocktails on the terrace… Hurrah. 

Go Fish...

I’m not going to lie. Portsmouth's not the prettiest of towns. Having lived there for the first 18 years of my life however, I do have a soft spot for its seafront and a few hidden gems. 

One of these is the small but perfectly formed fish market in Southsea. I like to rock up early on a Saturday morning, before my brisk walk along the walls of Old Portsmouth with all the other middle-aged types. On my last visit, I went home with a pair of shiny mackerels and a big handful of fat prawns… amazing.  

Portsmouth Fish Market

Vivers UK

White Heart Road

PO1 2JX

   

Worth the Cue?

When Pitt Cue Co parked up on Southbank last summer, those that worship at the altar of meat (including me) took to it like BBQ sauce to pork. Whispers of a restaurant project started circulating around October 2011 so, when Pitt Cue opened its doors permanently on Newburgh Street in January 2012, much of London was waiting. Amoungst the buzz of positive reviews (of which there were many) came one recurring theme... At Pitt Cue, YOU HAD TO QUEUE. I, being a patient soul, held off my visit until March.

Deciding in a cavalier fashion to make one’s virgin visit on a Saturday evening was, perhaps, not the wisest decision. We waited outside for an hour, less painful than it sounds particularly as the nice host kept coming out to update everyone on wait times. We didn’t even mind the extra time waiting in the diminutive bar (tinier than a living room, bigger than a bathroom), drinking the excellent ‘Cider Sours’ (a boozy combination of whiskey, cider and lemon juice).

The space has been designed cleverly: bar taking up one end, and a window-side counter with stalls for perching and eating at the other. They’ve even found room for a tiny window seat. Above the many heads, multiple light fittings are strategically placed to draw people’s eyes up - presumably to distract them from the fact they’ve become a sardine. 

At around 9pm we were shown to our stools. No ‘restaurant’ for us (I’m guessing the tables downstairs are for bigger groups). We ordered beef ribs, pulled pork, 'slaw and - new edition to the South Bank original - 'Burnt Ends' (mash with the end bits of pork). Everything was as I had heard and expected it to be, spectacular. The ribs and pork were marvellously molten, the 'slaw tangy and fresh, the chunk of slightly-charred sour dough as good as ever, the mash creamy and topped with tasty black chunks of salty meat. 15 minutes of meat tearing and sauce over-face-smearing later, and we had cleared our plates.

We paid our bill which (after an hour and a half of bar waiting, four Cider Sours and a pickleback shot) was wallet-lockingly high, and were asked by the host to vacate our table. We requested, reasonably we thought, five minutes more to finish our drinks. At which point he who had been the epitome of politeness all evening, rather aggressively replied something along the lines of "no, move". Slightly put out and feeling thoroughly unimportant, we popped outside to finish our drinks and have a cigarette (something which we and many others had been doing all evening). Next thing we knew one of the owners, along with the host, was yelling and demanding we “give back our glasses now!”

Having been looking forward to my visit to Pitt Cue Co enormously, it genuinely upset me that a potentially brilliant night, with genuinely delicious food, had been ruined. Fair enough they need to keep the tables moving, but we’d only asked for five minutes to finish our drinks. Fair enough they might not have a licence for drinks outside, but we didn’t know that. To be treated firstly like cattle (ironic really), then like common criminals is just plain wrong - no matter how much buzz you have, or how many punters you get through the door. The no-booking ‘Tapas’ thing was cute for a while, but when it allows proprietors to treat customers badly, I think it’s gone too far. So Pitt Cue Co, you have officially lost a fan. And the sad thing is... I doubt they even give a shit. 

Pitt Cue Co.

1 Newburgh Street

Soho

W1F 7RB

First Time Lucky

I was torn by Lucky Chip. To admit that it was the best I have eaten this year would be to strike at the heart of my favourite burger occurrence of 2011, the Meateasy pop up in New Cross. London food-bloggers have been making comparisons between the two for the better part of a year for good reason. Both stand proudly top of the heap in anything you will find in our lovely capital.

Technically Lucky Chip are slightly behind the ‘start-with-a-van-do-a-pop-up-make-enough-money-to-buy-a-centrally-based-restaurant’ formula (they have the pub pop up and a van at Netil Market on the weekends). The Sebright Arms had a pleasing hum but was tame compared to the highly entertaining hysteria that was Meateasy (though we did go on a Wednesday night). What it lacked in party atmosphere however, it more than made up with in chairs (how nice to be able to pig out in a leisurely, sat down type manner). And we didn’t even have to queue for the loo, let alone our table or the bar.    

I loved the pub, which was slightly dodgy looking on the outside but (with wood panelling, dark red booths and proper stained glass windows) a gem once through its doors. I also liked the menu - with enough choice to show careful thought, but not so much as to panic you into never making a decision. I was particularly excited when I spotted the Tom Selleck which included my personal favourite guilty pleasure in a bun, pineapple (cheese, bacon, barbeque sauce and, rather blissfully, a beetroot onion ring). My companions tried the Kevin Bacon (cheese and bacon) and one burger of which the name escapes me, but definitely involved blue cheese and jalapenos.

Chilli cheese fries were fine. I prefer Meat Liquor’s which are slightly filthier tasting. That being said, chuck some spicy meat and cheese on greasy potato, and I’m not going to complain too loudly.  

My ‘Tom Selleck’ arrived looking pretty damn sexy; a towering mass of juicy meat, oozing cheese, pink bacon, green lettuce and a cheerful slab of charred yellow pineapple, all encased in a shiny golden bun. There was a slight problem fitting it in my mouth, then another trying to keep the whole thing together, but once I’d got my technique down (close eyes, ignore burger juice leakage and pretend no one is looking), I could fully immerse myself in the experience. I’ll leave the technique talk and just say that this kind of sauce running down your chin eating is exactly up my street. Plus it just tasted really bloody good.

Like Meat Liquor, Lucky Chip has an excellent central product - patties that are moist, tasty and clearly made from high quality beef. Like Meat Liquor, they are joyfully messy to eat and both play with different topping combos, taking the product to heady gastronomic heights. I could sit here deliberating the equality of their virtues all day (anything to avoid picking sides). However, as the Lucky Chip pop up will continue to exist until (earliest) beginning of April, I’m taking it as an excellent excuse to not only prolong the debate, but to spend the next four weeks eating a lot of burgers. And, of course, reaching a convincing and well researched conclusion.

Lucky Chip @ The Sebright Arms
31-35 Coate Street
E2 9AG