Jin Kichi

I don't like to travel far for food. Its not that because I am an inherently lazy person, I am, but that is not the real reason I don’t venture too far from Holborn. The real reason is, I think it puts too much pressure on the experience, so it is almost always going to be a letdown. Take The River Cafe. It took The Boyfriend and I at least an hour to get there, 30 minutes on the tube plus another 30 wandering through the residential streets of Hammersmith, begging residents to point us in the right direction. When we did finally arrive, everything about the place was a letdown. Impressive, given I don’t recall hearing anyone say anything bad about the The River Cafe. Ever. The food, the service, the decor (don’t even get me started on that blue carpet), were all distinctly unimpressive. Anyway, this means I am wary about leaving Zone 1, or even heading to the edges, for a restaurant.

This made my trip to Jin Kichi last week, located in Hampstead very uncharacteristic. Whilst I didn’t go just for the food, I went for the company of two friends who live locally, the food lived up to all expectations. In fact, I would happily, make the effort again. In fact, I want to make the effort to go again.

Androuet - When is a fondue not a fondue?

For those who don’t know, Androuet is a Parisian cheese shop/restaurant that has been brought over to Spitalfields market. The place itself is tiny, just accommodating 12 people snuggly. Given their space shortage, they have done a lot to make the place feel lively. I was really excited to try Androuet. I was so excited I spent the day preparing. I managed to survive 10 waking hours on smoothies, olives and dried fruit. By the time I rolled up to Androuet, I was ready and willing to eat the whole shop. We ordered a fondue for two to share, wanting to get straight on to the good stuff - although I was tempted by the truffle grilled cheese (if I worked in the vicinity I think that I would be here every day and at least 50lbs heavier).

Jamie's Italian

So, I'm not a big Jamie Fan. I've never really been a big Jamie fan. It is not just his restaurants that I dislike, I mean Barbecoa was truly terrible, but it is more something about his attitude that I am not overly fond of. He is a bit like Marmite I think, you either love him or hate him. Potential biases aside, I thought I would try Jamie's Italian because I do appreciate that he wants to bring well cooked food to the masses, and for that I've got to respect him. In a city where eating out is so incredible expensive, it is a way nice, and probably very profitable, that he's giving people effectively "designer food" for bargain prices.

Baranis - I'll take you to the South of France

Wikipedia, the source of all knowledge, describes Pétanque as "a form of boules where the goal is, while standing inside a starting circle with both feet on the ground, to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet (literally "piglet") or jack."

Sounds fun, right? It conjures up images of the South of France, wine, sunshine, beaches... ahh. Oh wait, it’s February. Its cold. It’s London. But fear not, if you think a taste of the South of France is what you need in these depressing months, Baranis will help you out.

Restaurants to Look Forward to in 2011

February is a depressing month. Its cold, its rainy, its grey. It sucks. I've spent a lot of time composing a list of things to look forward to in the coming year, which has made me feel better about 2011.

So here are the places I'm looking forward to in the next couple of months:

Roast - It Left Me Cold

Roast has been hailed as the "best breakfast" in London for a while now.  That says a lot. There’s stiff competition in this city in the breakfast category. Better than the Wolseley? The people who perfected breakfast to such a degree A.A Gill wrote a book on the subject? Better than Helene Darroze? Where they serve eggs and truffles all under the flying banner of two Michelin stars.

Sadly, no. Lets be honest, at breakfast time service is important. First thing in the morning, desperate for caffeine and bacon, nothing has the potential to ruin my meal more than rude staff. Anyone else agree? 

Snog - You'll Never Forget Your First Snog

I genuinely believe that the better things taste, the worse they probably are for you. Think of all great foods- Hot dogs/ Sushi/Fried chicken/ Actually, probably anything fried/ Ribs/Cakes/Cookies/Macaroni and Cheese/Cheese in general/Waffles/Fries/Burgers/Chorizo/Popcorn/Crackling/Cinnamon Whirls/ Alcohol/ Bacon/Foie Gras/ Crisps/Bread/Burritos/Pasta/ Curries/Muffins/ Icing/Kebabs/Paninis/ Risotto/Sausages and a whole host of other things. Obviously some things, few and far between, dont apply to these rules. Take Snog, for example.


I had always considered Frozen Yoghurt (or Fro-Yo as they call it in California) as ice cream for people who cant afford the calories ice cream has and really, where is the fun in that? Given 99% of what I eat is made up of the foods in the list above, I wasnt convinced Fro-Yo was for me. I mean, it really is good for you. Its low calorie, fat-free, filled with calcium and protein and active probiotic cultures, whatever those are. 

L'atelier - Heaven

Im deliriously happy. I think I might be in heaven.  I've never felt so wholly satisfied after eating a meal. Rewind 5 hours. 
I've heard a lot about L'atelier de Joel Robuchon. How could I not? The guy has about a zillion michelin stars and unlike the other oh-so-glamorous chefs,(ahem *Gordon Ramsey*) all of Mr Robuchon's restaurants, bar 1, have Stars. Thats 26 stars between 11 restaurants. Some achievement. Mr Robuchon has more star's than any other chef on the planet and his London restaurant is the proud holder of 2.

Zafferano - Not to be saved for last.

In an attempt to continue balancing out my restaurant reviews by eating at restaurants starting with letters in the last five letters of the alphabet. I headed to Zafferano. Zafferano is an obvious choice for people who love Italian food. It wears the one Michelin star badge, which puts it in a category with The River Cafe, Locanda Locatelli, Apsleys and Semplice, the last two I have never had the fortune to visit mainly due to not winning the lottery (Apsleys) and never really having heard about it until a couple of weeks ago (Semplice).

Terroirs

I'm clearly a little behind in terms of the London food scene, as when all of London's food bloggers and critics have hit the East End to check out Brawn, I have only just visited Terroirs the original wine bar of the two. Terroirs seems to get mixed reviews from most bloggers and to be honest I wasn't too excited about the prospect, but it ticked all of my boxes which are; a) easy to get a last minute table b) not on the otherside of town, (unlike Brawn) and c) starts with a letter at the end of the alphabet, (also unlike Brawn).