English food has gotten a bad rap. Sure, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Kennedy have started to right this wrong, but whereas people go to Paris to try some of the traditional bistro and brasserie fare and you hit Rome to sit in a trattoria with a dish of pasta or pizza (or at least hit several dozen gelaterias), visitors to London don’t really get excited about its gourmet cuisine.
The fact is, London is a bit like America, in that most of its excellent cuisine came from elsewhere (and I don’t necessarily mean internationally). For example, one of my favorite treats from London is a Cornish pasty, which comes from Cornwall. You can choose your filling (or two, one sweet and one savory, if you’re going for the traditional thing) and you pay very little to have something very delicious. Another amazing London food is curry: English food is sometimes bemoaned as being bland, but be careful ordering your curries hot in London… they mean it.
I was only in London for the weekend, and I was there with a school trip, so I didn’t have a lot of time to sample food. Eventually, I want to go to the Goulder’s Green tube stop, where food writer Calvin Trillin has touted a Chinese food restaurant, but all in good time.
Really, I just ate in two good spots. One was called, very simply, Eat. It was a prepared food store, a lot like Pret à Manger (which is excellent), except that Eat’s focus seemed to be on healthy or natural foods. I bought a hummus wrap for later and this salad for lunch… mostly because it was so colorful.
It had broccoli, edamame, peas, bean sprouts, grated beet, sweet potatoes and goat cheese. It was an amazing combination, and everything was deliciously fresh.
For dinner one night, my English friend took me to a Japanese restaurant called Wagamama. You sit at a communal table and everything is cooked to order… which means a table’s food doesn’t all come at once. It’s a pretty cool concept, although it’s a little jarring when the waitress writes your order on your placemat so that someone can bring it to you. I ordered a chicken curry dish, which was incredible. I usually like to get Japanese beer with Japanese food, but my friend wanted wine, and we actually ended up with a really good bottle of red for not too much (in London prices.)
So I guess my point is… don’t judge London food before you’ve tried it. It’s really quite delicious if you go to the right places and don’t spend your entire time eating pub food. (Although don’t knock fish and chips… I could live off fish and chips with mushy peas.)
Ahhhh…such happy memories! I used to work around the corner from that Eat (in Farringdon, just down from Smithfields meat market), and used to love going in there for a cheese and branston pickle sandwich. And their pies are really good too!
As for Wagamama, next time you’re there you should try the Yaki Soba which is particularly good. And I’d really recommend going to Busaba on Wardour Street – it’s kind of a Thai version of Wagamama, founded by the same guy. They do thai calamari which is completely to die for (and unlike any calamari you will have had anywhere else), as well as the best green curry I’ve ever had anywhere.
Fish and chips and mushy peas though – now THAT is food heaven…
I almost got a pie! But then I reeeaallly wanted the salad… I guess I’ll have to go back.
I wanted to get one of the noodle dishes at Wagamama, but I’m allergic to buckwheat, and my waitress seemed really uninformed about whether it was in the noodles or not. I’ll definitely try Busaba… I’ve been craving good Thai ever since I hopped the pond!
I know so little about modern British eats – I do so want to go to London (and Spain, France, Chili, Costa Rica, Japan, India, etc. . . )
Because I married an english bloke I can now cook traditional British faire. Some of it is quite good. Some of it is too heavy for my taste, but it’s all rib sticking good for my fella 🙂
I agree that the judgement of English food is based on an outdated stereotype. I was there a year ago and had fantastic food. It’s like the English are trying very hard to overcome their reputaiton and the results are quite good. I love how they take influences from so many different cultures. The French on the other hand, I felt, are lazily coasting on their reputation nor do their care very much about any food but their own. I mean I’m sure in some high end restaurants there are chefs doing interesting new things, but in London, I found fantastic food in regular little holes in the wall. And I LOVE Eat.! I wish I was there right now.