Eric’s last two days in the UK – we spent yesterday morning in Brighton, breakfast at hip brunch and coffee joint The Marwood. I had my first Welsh rarebit: sourdough toast with a mustardy, cheesy béchamel poured over and grilled, topped with grilled tomato and a poached egg.
Next up some MORE SCONES (I know, I am obsessed) at Food for Friends, with a silver tips white tea.
Back on the train up to London, we met Husni and went for some drinks at a Blues bar while waiting for a table at Soho steakhouse Flat Iron. The food was so delicious I completely forgot to take any photographs – but the house steak, at only 10 quid a slab, was perfectly cooked and seasoned. We piled up on the sides, creamed spinach, aubergine (eggplant) and parmesan, fries, and house greens.
Afterwards I head over to Empire theatre in Notting Hill – I had managed to grab a ticket to the sold-out Broken Bells show (The Shins’ James Mercer and Danger Mouse’s collaboration), so I head up to the front of the stage in the small theatre and danced the night away.
I was up early this morning for brunch with Kate, Husni, Sarah and Eric before Eric flew back to Australia. We head into Granger & Co, Bill Grangers hit café serving Australian-style brunches (a bit of a fad at the moment, which serves me well as they are one of the main things I miss about home!) I had the Aussie classic of Avocado on toast, and then finished Husni’s delicious, but rich and sweet serve of ricotta filled pancakes, honeycomb butter and bananas.
Goodbye Eric! I’ve spent the past few months traveling the world, meeting up with friends all over. It’s been so marvelous, and I’ve had a blast, but I might have let my work slide a little. I have some writing deadlines coming up, so I’ve booked a cottage in the British countryside to lock myself away and write for a week. I’m going to cook, hike, cycle, eat and get away from the smog of London – so you might hear from me less over the next week while I settle down to meet this deadline. I’m writing my article on Madison, Wisconsin for the next issue of Taste & Travel – you can check out the blog posts from my recent research trip here. So, for a day or two – happy eating! I shall be back with some news from the countryside.