What did you cook or eat today (September 2022)?

[MrsDangermouse]

Yep that's the place....the sandwiches we had were fine, but to be honest though if I was looking for good food, a pub wouldn't be my first choice. For me pubs are mainly for drinking, and though there are some that also do good food they tend to be the exception rather than the rule. Like Morning Glory says, for good food you need to seek out the independent ones, and in my experience are more common in the countryside and smaller towns rather than large city centres.

And whilst I do have a list of interesting London pubs (I particularly like The George just over the river in Southwark - its the only surviving galleried coaching inn in London) I can't vouch for any of their food offerings.

 

[MrsDangermouse]

That’s where we tried to eat last night, but they were drinks only.

I think a lot of places closed their kitchens yesterday...hopefully you'll have more luck today.

 

[TastyReuben]

I think a lot of places closed their kitchens yesterday...hopefully you'll have more luck today.

Well, I’ll give everyone a good laugh at our dining selection tonight:

I’ve said before that egg mayonnaise and crisps are always our first evening meal upon arriving in England, but everything was wiped out Sunday night, and I’ve been a little sickish since getting here, so we’re finally getting to it.

 

[TastyReuben]

and in my experience are more common in the countryside and smaller towns rather than large city centres.

That’s definitely been our experience.

 

[TastyReuben]

I think a lot of places closed their kitchens yesterday...hopefully you'll have more luck today.

Here’s a weird’un:

We’re used to the standard pub lunchtime hours (unless otherwise stated) of 11AM-2PM. We were down on Oxford Street, there where John Lewis and a lot of the other big-names stores are, just about the busiest part of London, and it was 12:30PM.

There was a little side alley with a couple of restaurants, a couple of food trucks, and a pub.

Ducked into the pub, and we went to sit and she told us, “You can have drinks, but the kitchen’s not opening until 1PM.”

And she was a touch surly about it!

We’re seeing a lot of “Please be patient, we’re short-staffed,” signs up, so I wonder if it’s got to do with that as much as anything else?

 

[TastyReuben]

Afternoon tea booked for tomorrow, and our pub picked out for tomorrow night. Watch this space.

 

[The Velvet Curtain]

Afternoon tea booked for tomorrow, and our pub picked out for tomorrow night. Watch this space.

Are you off to a Spoons?

 

[TastyReuben]

Are you off to a Spoons?

Um…no. I’m hoping the pub is a good’un. It must be authentic - they don’t even have a website!

 

[Morning Glory]

Are you off to a Spoons?

To be honest, given TastyReuben's experience so far of London pubs I'd think a 'spoons (Award-Winning Pubs & Hotels Across The UK & Ireland - J D Wetherspoon) might be the best bet. The beer is top quality and the very cheapest you can get in the UK and the food is reasonable.

It must be authentic - they don’t even have a website!

I wouldn't trust it then...

 

[Puggles]

I would definitely have better off photographing hubby's plate not mine, because my cauliflower fell over!

Oven bake cauliflower (whole) with an Indian sauce over the top, veggie burger, roasted sprouts and a baked potato with vegan smoked gouda in it.

View attachment 90544

It was too much. I left the potato, it will keep for tonight!
I'll try for a better picture tonight as well but not sure how well it will work. That was about ⅙th of a whole cauliflower.

There is a brussel sprout recipe I wanted to try for a while now. It's brussel sprouts cut in half and roasted (with something) and then then they are seared on the flat part and drizzled with a balsamic vinegar/rosemary reduction.

 

[Puggles]

There was no grass in the fridge so I settled for just a plain burger with ketchup and pickled cayenne peppers. I also overdid the toasting.

3 s.jpg

• Yorky
• 19 Sep 2022

4 s.jpg

• Yorky
• 19 Sep 2022

There's something about this that makes it more appealing than it should be. It's so simple and delicious

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

There is a brussel sprout recipe I wanted to try for a while now. It's brussel sprouts cut in half and roasted (with something) and then then they are seared on the flat part and drizzled with a balsamic vinegar/rosemary reduction.

That's what I did minus the rosemary. Just toss in olive oil and salt & pepper, roast, then serve with balsamic glaze or mixture of balsamic vinegar & honey or similar sweetener.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I threw together the last of the cauliflower baked whole with the Indian sauce over it (I've forgotten which sauce name and can't check at the moment because I'm nebulising so 'tied' to the sofa...) served over brown basmati rice with some aubergine 'bacon' and baked tofu. I've been playing with the 'bacon' recipe a touch, lowered the maple syrup content and increased the water content to allow me to dunk strips of Lebanese aubergine into the bowl and either roll or lay flat... I'm still experimenting. Hubby was a little late home or rang me as he was leaving the office rather than arriving at the car, so they were slightly darker than hoped for but not burnt (honest, the lighting doesn't suggest this though! )

Baked Cauliflower with Brown Basmati Rice and Aubergine 'Bacon'

• SatNavSaysStraightOn
• 21 Sep 2022

Very tasty. Not sure if rolling works or not but it does make it harder to burn the aubergine which is a good thing.

 

[Lullabelle]

My lunch today was a Tesco sandwich, most underwhelming.

 

[TastyReuben]

Afternoon tea at the hotel: