Words To Live By....

Grind Coffee Bar, Putney and learning about Afghan Cookies

The Good Coffee App strikes again. The best £1.99 you will ever spend.

I found myself in Putney on Tuesday and as I was in a new area and was in desperate need of refreshment, I checked up on my trusty friend The Good Coffee App and let it lead the way. The closest good café it found to Putney Bridge Station was over Putney Bridge, by the Ruvigny Gardens. An unassuming little place called Grind Coffee Bar.

Step inside and you are surrounded by chunky wooden tables in a fairly small space, however they have done well to not make it feel cramped. You are greeted at the counter by extremely friendly (maybe over-friendly, definitely got winked at by the barista ha!) staff and an exciting array of home-made cakes and pastries, my favourite! 

Courtesy of Grind Coffee Bar's Twitter!

I ordered a really great flat white, blends by London Coffee Roasters, and an Afghan Cookie. I'd never come across these before, but apparently they are a New Zealand special! Basically, I saw a pretty huge chocolate cookie with chocolate icing on top and a walnut and was sold.

You can see a sliver of my baroque style Topshop trousers under the table!! Yeah after writing this post I couldn't resist. I got myself down there immediately and got a pair. 

As I started eating the "Afghan" I noticed it wasn't your standard cookie texture, there was definitely something crunchy inside, but it was of a strange texture. I thought it might have been puffed rice, but Google tells me it's broken up cornflakes! Which sounds horrible - If I'd have known that before I would not have chosen it, but thank God I didn't know because it was so tasty.

Now imagine my surprise when I get up to pay and my bill for these two things comes to... £4.00!!! FOUR POUNDS. For coffee and a giant cookie - seriously look how big it was - 

IN LONDON!!!!!! I was in shock, I thought there was a mistake. With service like that and complementary water served on the side I would not have bat an eyelid if it were nearer £6.

Grind Coffee Bar have cafés in Battersea and Westfield, so if you're anywhere near one of them definitely try it out. And let me know if their sausage roll really is the best in the world!

What a great little place. Thanks again, Good Coffee App!!

The Table Café, Southwark

Going for breakfast is the new going for dinner. In my book anyway. I loooove breakfasts. I am begrudgingly telling you my favourite weekend brunch spot since it already gets so busy on the weekends (no reservations), but it is just too good not to tell you guys about. One of my favourite spots for both a savoury and a sweet breakfast is The Table. Decent coffee (just wish the new cup sizes were bigger) and great smoothies, it's a great way to start the day.

My favourite savoury dish they do is the The Table Stack - chorizo and ham hock baked beans on a toasted bagel with two poached eggs and hollandaise - to be honest anything with their gloriously runny poached eggs (nearly as good as my mother's) and their divine hollandaise sauce is a winner, Benedict, Florentine and Royale all included.

My favourite sweet dish, however is this beauty right here

Buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup, crispy bacon and caramelised banana. The perfect mix of salty and sweet, it is delicious. I am a sucker for anything with maple syrup though, God bless those Canadians, so it is my perfect breakfast. And you know, banana makes it healthy, right?

They have recently changed their brunch menu to add in some more savoury items and a new one is the mixed grill. Yes this plate (board) is just for one person:

Yeah, you're not going to be eating anything for another week. 

The steak, with giant salt crystals on, is one of the best steaks I've ever had. And I don't really enjoy steak that much, so that's saying something. This picture was taken the first weekend it was introduced and since then I have seen that they have made the portion smaller which in reality is better since less will be wasted, but it is now presented on a plate and no longer has the magic of this gargantuan board here. The price of the dish hasn't changed either, which is a little disappointing.

Nevertheless, I won't stop visiting for my favourite pancakes. Which reminds me I haven't been in a while....must get on that.

If you go, let them know on twitter what you think! @thetablecafe, they love interacting with their customers and appreciate the feedback!

Original Fry Up Material, Kerb

It occurred to me whilst writing this post that the reason I don't get to Caravan King's Cross as much as I'd like to is because to get to Caravan from the station you must first walk up King's Boulevard. At the very end of the Boulevard is street food Mecca, Kerb. Every Tuesday till Friday, 11am-2pm, there are on rotation 4 or 5 really great street food traders every week. I love me some street food. Street food has become gourmet, gone are the days of greasy burgers out of a van. Now you can get some of the best burgers you will ever try from Bleecker Street Burgers and Lucky Chip. It is good quality, delicious food yet still very cheap.

I am not ashamed to say I have tried nearly every trader of Kerb King's Cross. They have two more trading stations now, one at the bottom of the Gherkin and one at Moorgate - haven't tried some of those guys yet.

A trader I had not yet tried but had wanted to for so long was Original Fry Up Material, or OFM. In short they basically do better versions (obviously) of McDonald's McMuffins. But they are not just better, oh no, they are on a whole other planet of deliciousness. For my first go (and believe me I will be back) I ordered an MB Muffin, which consisted of sausage, egg and cheese in a muffin. Not just any sausage meat, however, but sausage meat packed with delicious herbs and spices and muffin bread spead with some kind of tomatoey spicey(ish) sauce. JUST LOOK AT IT:

I'm drooling just thinking about it.

Caravan King's Cross

I'm just going to say it right now. Caravan at King's Cross has the best coffee I've ever tried. They serve their own blend and it is delicious. They have a huge coffee machine, a proper grinder and all sorts of other coffee gadgets and have members of staff go to Costa Rica and other far flung coffee-growing nations to search out new beans, so they don't take coffee lightly either.

Their breakfast/brunch menu is also pretty special. It is different to the usual fare, which is a brilliant thing, I love different. They serve fantastic freshly baked goods everyday to take away or eat in, which unfortunately I didn't have as I was too full from my wonderful breakfast, but I will head there very soon to pick up a pastry or a muffin.

So I had the aubergine purée with poached eggs, soutzouki sausage, yoghurt, sumac, parsley and a slice of toast. 

Now, don't be put off by the way it looks, it does look a bit of a sloppy mess, but it tasted....ohhh it tasted so good. The flavours of the Mediterranean from the sumac and sausage were divine and the eggs were cooked just how I like them, nice and runny.

I will have to get down there for lunch sometime too because their pizzas sound unusual and delicious too, with toppings such as white anchovy, fennel, mascarpone, green pepper and rocket. Judging by how good their breakfasts/brunches are I highly doubt that I'll be let down there.

This place looks incredible. An imposing industrial-esque open space (it is in a converted granary building) is something to behold. Exposed brick, rusted steel and unpolished wood is present thoroughout the decor, it is made for the hipsters - there is the University of the Arts next door after all. My only gripe is the bathroom. It is a shared male and female room. Not just one or two separate unisex toilets, oh no. One room. Multiple cubicles. Men on left, women on right. And believe me, I never want to hear a man go to the bathroom again.

Apart from that mishap, I would definitely return and recommend to anybody!

Fernandez and Wells, Somerset House

The Coffee London app is a great little thing. It tells you where cute, independent coffee shops are that are fairly close to you. It tells you what coffee they serve and gives you directions on a map, great for people like me with no sense of direction.

I went to see the Valentino Haute Couture Gowns exhibition at Somerset House with my sister back in January and much to our surprise, a recommended coffee house was right in the building that we were stood in. So on a cold day, we warmed ourselves up with my favourite thing to do: eat coffee and cake (or as the Germans call it Kaffee und Kuchen).

It is pricey, the total bill for two pieces of cake and two coffees was around £13, but we're in London, what do you expect. They serve Has Bean coffee, which was pretty tasty. Half the café/restarurant is dedicated to Spanish Ham, so if you're even more hungry grab a bite there!! Huge preserved pieces of ham hung from the walls and were also lined up next to the slicers. It looked delicious, I wished I was more hungry!!

They had a very different, usual selection of cakes. Not your usual chocolate brownie in sight. I love chocolate, but I thought this was brilliant as it made us try different things. We had an interesting sounding plum and rosemary cake.

It may have been expensive but as you can see the portion was huge!! It filled both of us up so much. It was a very dense cake, I'm not sure it had been made with flour, and you could really taste the rosemary coming through. It was a real treat!!

They have another branch in Soho and I know there are a load of good cafés round that way, but take a break from your usual Flat White coffee or Foxcroft and Ginger and give Fernandez and Wells a try!

New York City, 2012

So this is a post from a while ago from my old blog, transferred over here so apologies if this gives you déja vu.

When I was visiting my friend in Washington DC last year, we decided it would be a crime if we didn't visit New York City too as it is so close. My first trip to NYC was in 2009, with Nisha, and that is when I fell so deeply in love with the city. It was such a special moment and to be with my best friend too made it even sweeter.

So, it was time for a two year reunion. We took a Megabus there - a four hour journey, but a lot cheaper than taking the train, a return trip was around $30, and still comfortable. We did have to pull our cases some way to our hotel when we got there (luckily the return journey meeting point was just a block from our hotel - perfect) but our hotel was wonderful and so welcoming and helpful! We stayed at the Distrikt Hotel, a hidden gem of a hotel just off of Times Sq. Not too expensive, but we could afford better than usual as we were only staying 2 nights, so we decided to splash out a little. 

TIP: If you tweet them on twitter (@distrikthotel) that you're staying with them, they are likely to upgrade your room!! 

We both decided, having been to New York numerous times between us, that we didn't want to do the usual site seeing. We just wanted to explore all the cute little areas New York City had to offer. We also, of course, had a pre-made list of restaurants we wanted to explore, so we knew what areas we would roughly be staying in.

When walking around randomly, we realised we'd come to the Brooklyn Bridge just before sunset. Timing couldn't have been better. It lead to my favourite pictures of all time being taken:

Keep in mind in DC, just a 4 hour drive away, it was around 25 degrees, in NYC it was about 5 degrees. We were not prepared. It was freezing!!

The one place we did know we wanted to visit, however, was the New York Public Library. I've never been there and I have a thing for a good library. It was so beautiful! The Americans know how to do a grand library.

That day, we had wanted to go for lunch at a place called The Eatery, I'd seen that Kanye West had mentioned it on his twitter and naturally I trust Kanye's judgement. Their brunch menu sounded incredible, (ice cream stuffed french toast!!) but due to weird circumstances in the restaurant, we weren't able to eat there. The waiter told us of a great Italian restaurant down the street. So we headed there....

It was fantastic, great food, so unassuming and a really cute little joint. I would never have set foot in it from the look of it from the outside, so it was such a great turn of events. 

I honestly can't remember the name of the little Italian, but I know I've written it down somewhere, so as soon as I find it I will update!!

Nisha had ravioli and I had a Mediterranean pasta dish.

DELICIOUS desserts!! Me - tiramasu, natch and Nisha - vanilla panacotta with balsamic vinegar. You may not think that works but trust me - it's amazing.

Hope she doesn't mind - had to add this pic of Nisha, because she looks so beautiful and glowing!!

Then from this area, I discovered the place I want to live in NYC. When I have millions and millions of dollars, of course....

In the Chelsea District

That evening we stayed in watching a Bravo Housewife marathon because it was so cold outside, we couldn't bare to leave our hotel room. We took a quick trip to Times Sq. to take a picture of the lights and night but that was enough!! So we were boring. But it was freezing.

The next morning, I had seen a brilliant breakfast place I wanted to try, called Good Enough to Eat.

It's pretty well-known, so be prepared for a wait and for it it to be very busy and to be sat in a pretty cramped area!! But honestly, so worth it. JUST LOOK:

Now, I love my breakfast/brunch places in London, but they will never be able to emulate these kind of beauties that only the Americans can seem to do.

That, right there, is cinnamon french toast, with walnuts and maple syrup and strawberry butter on the side, with Belgian choc chip pancakes with orange butter - one of the most amazing things to have ever entered my mouth (get your mind out the gutter). 

It truly was heaven.

It was our last day and so we had to go to "our spot". The spot in Central Park, where two years ago, we sat down and we said to each other that in that blissful moment of clarity in NYC, we were truly happy. Not a feeling of ecstasy but a feeling of true contentedness - true happiness. 

And here it is, two years on:

It was perfect. For our last meal we had wanted to go to La Esquina and I wish we forced ourselves to make that trip now because I hear about people going there all the time - even Tom Hanks!! But instead we went to a restaurant nearer our hotel, a restaurant that Justin Timberlake owns, called Southern Hospitality. It does traditional southern food with a modern twist. I've never had southern food before so I thought why not, besides on their twitter (have you noticed that I live on twitter?!) they said if you say a line to one of their waiters you'll get 15% off your meal. Deal!!

The place was cool, it was loud and had an interesting modern decor. Just letters hung from the ceiling with exposed lightbulbs all around. Clearly a lot of money spent to look like not a lot of money had been spent. We shared a plate of ribs in some kind of sticky barbeque sauce with tater tots, which are essentially fried potatoes, like hash browns, and some potato tortilla thing.

The ribs were great, I am a sucker for ribs (little tip: never order ribs on a first date. I tried and, to cut a long story short, it did not look cute). 

Anyway the meal in general was ok but I wouldn't shout about it.

The pecan pie for dessert was pretty great though, I have no other pecan pie to compare it to:

So. At the end of the meal I repeated this line from twitter to get our discount and my worst nightmare came true. She looked at me like I was crazy. She said "What?" and so I explained that I saw on twitter if you said that you would get a discount. Again, she gave me crazy faces. She went to talk to the manager and he said he had no idea either. So we didn't get the discount. Boo. Later we tweeted the Southern Hospitality account telling them about it, and they apologised and said they should have communicated it better, so gave us vouchers for a free meal there!! Which was a great thing to do and the only thing that would tempt me to eat there again since I do not have fond memories of my waiter's looking-at-me-crazy face.

So unfortunately, not the best end to the two day stay in NYC, but all in all a wonderful trip. I don't think I'll get to go in 2013, but hopefully in 2014 I will be back.

Spot Treatments

So you’ve been eating all that Easter chocolate, which is great fun and I reckon most people, like me, have since upped their daily sugar intake by a good 75% so your skin might be suffering from lack of real nutrition. You can see the spots forming, bubbling under the surface, ready to turn into a version of the Himalayas on your forehead.  I know, I feel your pain. As someone who has oily skin it has been a near on daily battle my entire life, but over the years I have discovered a few tricks and miracle workers that really help to get rid of them.

I recently did a post of La Roche-Posay's Effaclar Duo, a quick fix for getting rid of imperfections, but then I thought, really you should tackle the root cause of imperfections too, to make them few and far between.

First, you must have a good skin care routine. Cleanse, tone and moisturise thoroughly day and night and exfoliate once or twice a week. Last year I became a convert to cream hot cloth cleansers and I will never look back to liquid or foaming cleansers. The hot cloth provides a soft exfoliation every day and it really does get rid of all dirt and makeup. My skin feels really clean after. I love Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, £14.75. It is for all skin types and all natural.

Face cleanser

Exfoliating can cause spots because it gets rid of trapped oils and dirt in your skin, but in the long term it stops imperfections because of the thorough cleansing. I like Clinique’s exfoliators, £17.50; they do versions for sensitive and normal skin and they’re cheaper than many other brands out there. They also use microbeads which are less harsh on the skin than natural exfoliators, which use grains of sand.

Using an oil at night can help regulate oil levels and therefore stops spots from forming. I like Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate, £36. With a hint of lavender it smells gorgeous and you only need to use 2-3 drops a night for skin to appear bright and refreshed in the morning. It might seem a lot of money but 8 months down the line I’m only half way through my 30ml bottle. If you have a bit more cash to burn, Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair, £58, is a godsend. A little miracle worker, it does all sorts for your skin including brightening, anti-aging and protecting from harsh environments. Rub a little extra over the bumps in your skin and by morning feel them fade away.

Body cleanser, $26 / Beauty product, $20 / Advanced Night Repair | Estee Lauder Official Site

For get-rid-of-them-quick schemes, I've already told you about La Roche-Posay, but another favourite of mine is Clinique's Anti-Blemish Solution Spot Treatment Gel, £13.50. This small tube will last you a long time so don't be put off by the price. It dries out the affected area quickly so an imperfection usually never gets time to form properly.

So, now the skin is sorted, back to eating all that left-over chocolate.

Boardroom Fashion

I am very very excited to announce I have an interview next week!! First reactions after the phone call: 1. YAAAAAY. 2. OMG WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR?!

That is my natural second reaction to most things though, so it's not unusual. But this time it's even more important to look great. It got me thinking that when I start working, I'm going to need all these cute, smart outfits every day. Luckily the type of fashion I envisage wearing at work is my favourite style of dressing: elegant, smart with a hint of sexy. Power dressing. I love a blazer, I love a crisp shirt and I love a tapered trouser. Wearing these clothes just as every day wear, not work or evening wear, in the suburb I live in, however, makes you stand out like a sore thumb. I don't like being a sore thumb. So getting a legitimate reason to wear these kinds of clothes every day makes me SO EXCITED!

I have put together a guide on some great clothes I think are perfect for the world of work.

Fashion in the Workplace

Mango sheer skull blouse / Zara blazer / Zara blazer / ASOS high waisted skirt, / Zara cropped pants / Topshop jacquard pants / Topshop jacquard pants / Zara wool pants / Zara lining shoes / Zara lining shoes

The best way to have fun with your wardrobe at work is to include colour. A bright pop of colour using either a bright blazer, patterned trousers or bright shoes (not all at once!) really elevates your look, but still appears smart and in line with dress codes.

Keep the shirts crisp in white or black. A simple shirt works as the basis for your outfit and use colourful pieces around it. This black shirt from Mango, £35, may look boring, but it has a top gold button in the shape of a skull. It’s all in the detail.

Trouser and skirt lengths are very important too. Skinny cigarette trousers have been around for quite a while and show no signs of going out any time soon, so invest in a great pair. I love these patterned baroque style Topshop trousers, £40, or these pink Zara trousers, £40. Midi skirts are also having a moment, this ASOS check skirt, £32, is a bit more fun that your average pencil skirt, with a small slit up the back and a lined slit in the front.

Tapered trousers, i.e. one's that finish at or just above the ankles are a great way to show off your shoes. Wear black trousers if you want to go for these sexy blue Zara pumps, £59, or the black and white Zara pumps, £53, can be worn with brighter trousers or blazers.

Blazers are a staple for any work wardrobe. They finish off the outfit and make it smart enough for an office. If you want to go for a bright blazer, like the white Zara blazer, £80, keep the rest of your outfit muted. A white blazer is an excuse to jump on the monochrome trend right now. A plain black blazer allows you to add colour elsewhere, but this doesn’t mean the blazer itself has to be boring. This black Zara blazer, £85, at first glance might seem plain but if you look closer it has a pocket square, elbow patches and a contrast lining under the lapel.

If you’re unsure of where to begin the most important thing to remember is to keep the look simple. Adding one or two statement pieces will ensure your look is fun but still polished, minimal and appropriate for work.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo

I have oily skin so I'm very prone to breakouts. Over the years I have discovered a few tricks to help tackle and target spots. My usual spot treatment is Clinique's Spot Healing Gel, however a friend introduced me to La Roche-Posay's Effaclar Duo, Anti-Imperfection Care.
You hear a lot about how these French branded drug-store beauty products are great, like Vichy and Bioderm, but I have never tried them. I will admit I am quite snooty when it comes to makeup and my skin. I like buying from a over a counter, not in a pharmacy, which I am working really hard to get over!

Image from laroche-posay.com

You can purchase from Boots, £13.

So this is one of my first steps on the road to drug-store redemption, see also: Revlon Lip Butters and Max Factor Mascaras.

Now my friend has acne prone skin and acne scars, which I don't have, and she swore that her skin had really cleared up and her scars had calmed down. So I thought, if it has worked wonders on acne, it must work on my few spots here and there right?! 

You can use it as a treatment under moisturiser morning and or night, or use it like I did directly over imperfections. I put it on an annoying red spot that I have on my cheek at the moment and within a day it has completely dried out. My skin still looks a little red, but the spot definitely no longer exists. 

What is even better about this product is that it is supposedly unclogs sebum-blocked pores (I guess that's how the spot goes down?) and is mattifying too! 

I am like a jackdaw when it comes to mattifying products. I try them all. Since the middle of last year I suddenly developed a very shiny forehead. No idea why, I've had a fringe now for two years so it couldn't have been that. I know my fringe covers the oil slick on my forehead, but it bothers me that it is there and I want to stop the cause of the problem.

Recently I went to get my eyebrows threaded and the first thing the lady said when I pulled my fringe back was "Wow! You have a shiny forehead!" No word of a lie. It was mortifying.

So I have used Estée Lauder's Mattifying Toner - save your money, it doesn't work. And tried all kinds of moisturisers and oils, including Trilogy's Rosehip oil. Nope, no effects.

So I decided to also dab a little of the Effaclar Duo on my forehead and I am shocked. I did not hold high hopes as no mattifying product had, as yet, helped my situation but by the end of the day my forehead is still matte. There is a tiny hint of sheen, but literally that is all it is - a sheen and we are talking a good 12 hours since I put it on. 

Finally!! An product that claims it can mattify - which is not even its main purpose - and OMG it actually can!! That is the best thing about this product, for me. The spot treatment is just a bonus.

So I definitely trust the French brands more in the pharmacy now I have first-hand experience of a product that works great. So gimme more!! Vive la revolution!!

Chilli Chocolate Cake

I just made this chilli chocolate cake and I had to share the finished product.

Recipe here: Chilli, chocolate, salt and tequila cake.

It tastes divine! Really smooth and moist with a nice punch of chilli at the end of a mouthful. I served mine with raspberries, but you can add more tequila at the end. I wasn't ready to get my family that drunk, however.

I didn't take any photos of the process, because honestly it didn't look right and I thought it was going to be a disaster. Once the eggs were added to the bowl it became a strange almost caramel-like texture, so quite viscous and nothing like a normal cakey texture, which in turn means the baked cake is very gooey, almost seemingly raw - however not a bad thing for me!! I am one to lick a bowl clean.

I did have to give it more time in the oven than the recipe suggests, 10 minutes more in fact, and usually my oven is pretty accurate with recipe times.

I'm going to make Mary Berry's chilli chocolate cake soon, which uses tabasco instead of dried chilli flakes, and compare texture and flavour.

Honest Burgers

Apologies for no photos, but as you read on, you will see there was no point....

I trust burgeraddict to tell me what I should eat and what I should steer clear of in the now slightly saturated gourmet burger market. He said Honest Burgers were a sure 10/10, however I had heard rumblings, mainly from Cheesenbiscuits blog, that they were not all they were cracked up to be. But I thought I'll never know if I don't try myself and headed to Meard St, Soho.

First of all, Meard St is just opposite Burger & Lobster, so it took all strength I had to drag myself down the side alley to what was hopefully going to be a great burger, rather than getting a perfectly steamed lobster for £20.

Disclaimer: it was Easter Sunday when I visited so there was absolutely no queue to speak of outside. I know however that when there is a queue, instead of making you wait outside, they take your number and and call you when there is space.

So I ordered the Honest Burger, which was basically a bacon cheese burger. Honest burgers is their name, so honestly? It was so disappointing. The worst burger out of all the gourmet burgers that I have tried, I think GBK does a better burger. My burger was so dry. I know other places add mayo and ketchup, but that is for flavour, their patties to begin with are actually moist. There was not much flavour to speak of here, in the Ginger Pig 28-day-aged beef. The burger really tasted of nothing, I didn't get any smokiness from the bacon, any flavour of cheese and to top it all off, my bun was over toasted, which didn't make the dryness any better.

I have heard people rave and rave about Honest Burger fries. I was so excited to try their amazing rosemary salted fries. So I tried one, and another, and another....hold on, why could I not taste any rosemary salt? Have they cut back on the amount of salt they use on their fries? I had only a few mouth fulls where I could taste the salt and even then it was not a strong flavour.

In hindsight maybe I should have added ketchup and mayo to make it more moist, maybe then I would have enjoyed it more. But I still think a beef patty should be juicy. Talk to me, am I right?

Burgeraddict, for the first time you failed me! I left Honest Burgers feeling full yet unsatisfied. My second worst kind of feeling (after, of course, the tired and hungry combination).

Does anybody agree with me about Honest Burger? Or am I on my own here?

Patty & Bun

I love a good burger. I loooove Meatliquor/mission/market burgers, I have been a fan since the Wagon days and I even visited Meateasy. Yep, I am a true Meatlover.

A very bad picture from MeatEasy! Must have been 2010.

When deciding which burger joint to frequent one evening, we checked out burgeraddict's list of 10/10 burgers and settled for Patty&Bun.

Patty and Bun has your nowadays standard first come first serve policy. And we went at about 7.30pm, busiest time possible. Rookie mistake. Best time to get there, like all these places, is between 3-6pm or after 8.30. In the end we queued for about an hour.

From left: Lamb burger, Smokey Robinson, Ari Gold.

For something different (that's me, always having to try new things, which doesn't always work out) I ordered the "Lambshank Redemption" burger, which consisted of a lamb patty with coriander and chilli, braised red cabbage, feta and cumin aioli. It was so tasty, and something different from these kinds of burger joints. However I only had a tiny slice of feta in mine and I love feta cheese so would have loved some more. However it had the perfect texture, was nicely juicy and very satisfying.

Their standard cheese burger, the "Ari Gold" (Entourage reference) was incredible, I knew I should have stayed safe and picked that one! He was kind enough to let me try a bite of his so I know for a fact that it was great. It had the perfect amount of juiciness in the patty, was full of flavour and had the yummiest toasted brioche that held together nicely throughout.

He also had the "Smokey Robinson" (yeah, he was hungry) which included caramelised onions, bacon and smokey P&B mayo (that mayo I think is the secret to their success). It was honestly one of the best things I have ever tasted, and, yes I'm going to say it. BETTER THAN A MEATLIQUOR BURGER. 

*Shields from backlash*

I have to give a separate paragraph to the chips. Oh, the chips. Those delicious rosemary salted, potato skinned, crispy, crunchy, fluffy chips. You will not find better chips anywhere else, not even at Honest Burger (but more on that later).

The burgers, before they were demolished, with those fries.
Also how cute are the burgers all wrapped up?!

Comparing the two, who I consider, leaders of the burger pack, Meatliquor and Patty & Bun, you can see their similarities: both do great, simple food, but very clearly you also see their differences. Meatliquor is also very much a great bar, with loud music and fantastic cocktails, so if you want more of a night out head to the former. Meatliquor also relies heavily on their range of interesting sides, which I will gladly admit are fantastic! However Patty&Bun lets the burger do all the talking and of their simple sides, their fries, with that incredibly addictive rosemary salt, blows Meatliquor's fries out of the water.

What I like about Patty and Bun is that it is very unassuming. It may occupy the no reservations policy, but this is not to cause a stir or to show how cool it is, like I feel Meatliquor does, but I genuinely believe they want to be as fair as possible as it has a pretty tiny seating area. The staff are so friendly who don't try hard to be cool and let the burgers speak for themselves, which is a pretty great strategy.

Washington DC, 2012

I thought I should go back and write down some of the places I visited before I started this blog, so I can recommend places and also so I can reminisce. This blog is as much for me as it is for you!!

Last year my best friend took a year out to work in Washington DC and I was lucky enough to be able to visit her around this time last year. I had the most amazing time, visiting famous places like the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and Capitol Hill to name but a few, but we also visited places I would never have known about had I not had a friend living there, places like Georgetown and Dupont Circle, which were like little storybook villages with giant American roads running through.

The Dupont fairytale....

I will always remember DC as the place where I had my first taste of a Five Guys Burger (great, but missing that special something that In N Out has).... 

Five Guys excitement!

The full feast!! Cajun fries yuummm...

The place where I strengthened my love of chocolate and peanut butter baked goods in super hipster coffee shops called things like Baked and Wired....

....and where I queued for an hour in 30 degree heat for some damn good cupcakes (trust me the queue was worth it) from a bakery that has it's own TV show.

The queue....

Georgetown Cupcakes

 TIP: If you're heading to Georgetown cupcakes get there EARLY!! The earlier the better. Also check their twitter feed, they do a secret special FREE cupcake of the day that they only announce via twitter!

Best places to visit: 
1. The Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building.
One of the most breathtakingly beautiful places I have ever seen.

Topshop top and saddle bag, H&M jeans, Office deck shoes. Lipstick Shiiap by NARS.

On the steps outside.
 

Everything is so huge in DC....

2. Abraham Lincoln Memorial.

Speaks for itself. So inspiring and a true feat of architechture, with stunning views.

And again....ridiculously huge. They have so much space over there!!

Might be my favourite picture ever. Was a complete accident.

3. Visit the Capitol Building and the surrounding area Capitol Hill. It is full of cherry blossoms around this time of year so it is beautiful and Capitol Hill is very pretty and clearly rather pricey!!

Capitol Hill. Mulberry Bayswater bag, Topshop top, RayBan Classic Aviators, True Reiligion Jeans and my fave Kurt Geiger boots, which have now sadly died!
Lipstick Rebel by MAC.

On my last night there we treated ourselves to an incredible meal at the Blue Duck Tavern, part of the Hyatt Hotel. 

Lobster is my weakness, so as soon as I saw it on the menu as a starter I didn't look at anything else. Nisha had veal sweetbreads with duck, which was equally delicious.

Apologies for poor photos, those were still the bad Blackberry days.

The Lobster 

For mains I had scallops and samphire (I love sea food if you hadn't noticed) and I honestly can't remember what Nisha had I was too entranced by my delicious scallops. 

I wish I could remember the sauce, all I can tell you was that it was so moist and yummy!

Then came dessert, ooooh I remember dessert. Nisha had cherry and green tea sorbet which was incredible! They did not scrimp on dessert portions either as it came in a giant frozen bucket with a wooden spoon to scoop out the sorbet. 
I am a chocoholic so I naturally chose the chocolate fondant, which was perfect in every way: moist, gooey and rich, which came with brandy soaked (more precisely drowned) cherries which honestly made me a tad tipsy! 

JUST LOOK AT IT!! OOZING!!

I have a thing for a nice bathroom too, and the bathrooms at this place were fantastic. So naturally we decided to mess around a bit inside the posh bathrooms....

Topshop top, D&G cardigan, Michael Kors Watch, Lipstick in Lady Danger by MAC.

So if you're heading out to Washington DC, I would definitely recommend the Blue Duck Tavern. It is pricey though so save it for a special night. It definitely created some memories I will never forget!