2011: The Best of the Rest

A rather unconventional round-up of 2011. This post doesn't feature any haute cuisine, exciting revelations or a lists of my favourite restaurants/meals. Instead here are a select few of the random nibbles, morsels and unblogged high points, often shared with family and friends, that have brightened up my table this year.

As is always the way plenty of great food and drink was missed through forgetfulness, inebriation, poor lighting or politeness (although, as I found out through writing my blog, people became offended when I didn't bring my camera and write about my dinner with them!). But most of what I did capture was pretty great. Here are a few of the many, tasty highlights:

An unconventional Shrove Tuesday treat: dorayaki, or custard pancakes, from fabulous Japan Centre in Piccadilly. As well as picking up a few of these each visit I also love browsing the aisles in search of the weird and wonderful. Recent hauls include dried, smoked squid; fizzy grape candies; chestnut-filled chocolate and industrial quantities of panko breadcrumbs and Bull-Dog sauce. The fresh food counter at the front is also good - the eel nigiri and okonomiyaki make a great, quick lunch.

Lunch at the Sun Inn in Faversham, Kent. Although the food here is simple fare I really like the way they used the local produce. I enjoyed a ham, cheese and Masterbrew rarebit, followed by a Kentish hop-pickers cake with gypsy tart ice cream. Our visit coincided with St Patrick's Day, and were lucky to find they had the special Shepherd Neame stout, brewed for the occasion at the brewery less than half a mile away, available on tap. 

Fry Tucks, Zealand Road, Canterbury. Included here for the solely sentimental reason that I could see this chippy from my bedroom window at uni. A favourite Friday night treat after a hard week studying was cod, chips and a pickled onion. Even as the only fried fish purveyor in the street it struggled to be the best, but I had to bring the Ewing here to experience the delights of the soggy batter and saveloys, still served up by the same lady who used to patiently let us count out handfuls of pocket change in exchange for our fish supper.

Easter trip to Yorkshire and the ice cream van at the end of the world (or the beach at Robin Hood's Bay). There's nothing quite like a Mr Whippy and strawberry sauce, with the cold North wind blowing sand onto every mouthful. Proper British treat.

All the aerated fat and sugar was followed by a very civilised weekend at my aunt and uncle's in Leeds. Not only did we enjoy a beer festival, a monster rib of beef and a boule tournament, but my uncle made some excellent oysters Rockefeller. Enjoyed al fresco, with a glass of white wine, while basking in the unseasonably warm spring sunshine.

A pint of Rebellion Smuggler supped in an sunny pub garden, one of the true joys of an English summer. This was enjoyed, along with a lovely lamb burger, at the Whip in Lacey Green.You also get a lovely view across the fields to the oldest smock windmill in England too. Bonus.

The bacon cheeseburger at the Doghouse Kennington. A favourite Sunday haunt just down the road from our good friends in Elephant and Castle. This behemoth was desperately needed the morning after a rather lively 30th birthday party. I can't remember too much about its culinary merits, despite being on the lime and soda by that point, but I can attest it contained healing properties hidden amongst all the gooey cheese and crispy (streaky!) bacon.

A bocadillo mixto and a cold caña at the Museo del Jamon. Although I wrote about this fabulous shrine to the porcine in my Madrid blog earlier in the year, I just couldn't leave this ham and cheese sandwich out. In the half dozen visits I have made to the Spanish capital this is always my first stop. I even booked a hotel within striking distance of the Carrera san Jeronimo so we could call in here everyday for breakfast.

The Ewing's Wimbledon Roll. I always know I'm going to be in for a treat when the Ewing barricades herself in the kitchen and goes very quiet. This gorgeous, squidgy, creamy beauty was the result of her labours; based on an Edd Kimber recipe this contained a great strawberry filling, laced with large amounts of Pimms. Game, set, snooze on the sofa.

The contents of our fridge, amassed while on a trip to Berlin. A girl of simple tastes, one of my very favourite things is visiting foreign supermarkets. Luckily the Ewing is both very patient, and a complete chocholic. As long as every trip to Kaiser, Norma, Aldi and Lidl included a big bag of sugary treats (and maybe some cheap German beers) then she was happy too. I enjoy most Ritter chocolate, somehow the square shape of the bar seems to make it taste even better, but the stand outs were the Olympia (a yogurt honey nut combo), rum, fruit and nut, and the good old dark chocolate peppermint cream.

A double scoop of Purbeck's chocolate and Chili Red ice cream. This was served up at Millets Farm Shop, near Abingdon, to celebrate Their August Bank Holiday Chili Festival. Chili and chocolate make good bedfellows, but I was unsure how the ice cream element would work; the answer was rather brilliantly. The combination managed to be deliciously cold and creamy, with a deep fruitiness and real kick at the end from the large flecks of red chili blended into the mixture.

Another Ewing special: This time a version Konditor's Curley Whirley chocolate cake, made for my birthday. This was pimped up with Violet Crumble honeycomb chocolate bars (carted all the way back from Oz) crumbled all over the heavenly vanilla bean icing. Thanks to @Aoafoodie on Twitter for turning me on to this one. When I tweeted a while ago that I was feeling a bit down in the dumps he suggested that this could be the cure. And it did a mighty fine job.

Birthday booze: a lovely treat from the lovely Ewing. We supped this with new season wet walnuts and local blue cheese whilst sitting amongst the palm trees in our little Cornish cottage. The hangover the next morning wasn't quite so lovely.

Terrible photos, but some of the very best food I have eaten this year. This was part of my birthday meal at Paul Ainsworth's Number 6 in Padstow. To start a delicious champagne cocktails, then the Jimmy Butler crispy pigs head with smoked eel and salad cream. Just check out those catherine wheels of crackling nestling amongst cubes of porky goodness. If all of that wasn't exciting enough the main was the equally fab Wings Land and Sea; a rolled skate wing served with boned chicken wings, a fabulous carrot puree (I never knew the humble root veg could taste so fabulous) and incredible chicken gravy.  And we had the Taste of the Fairground, the winning pud seen on The Great British Menu, for pudding. Awesome.

No visit to my Nan's in Norfolk would be complete without a trip to John's Rock Shop, down on the seafront in Wells-Next-the-Sea. As a child we would be allow to run amok in the penny arcade and children's play centre, and would then make ourselves sick scoffing pineapple rock and vanilla fudge on the way home. Despite being older, I'm still no wiser and struggled to find room for my roast dinner after the big bag of candy floss I had eaten. An e number-filled delight, and the beach is rather nice too.

Unlike cracker jokes and bad jumpers this is Christmas cheese I'm always pleased to see. My Mum always picks one of these up from her local butchers in Wiltshire for the holidays; while it's great with oatcakes, pickles and a little glass of white wine, my favourite approach is spooning it straight out of the box and into my mouth. As an extra treat my lovely friend, Beth, bought a new season cheese round for dinner a few weeks ago. It didn't last long.

So, rather a tasty year. And with plenty of cooking, eating and travelling already planned for 2012 bon appetit to all!

So Schmeckt Berlin - Part 2

On the trail of the best wurst...

A trip to Germany wouldn't be complete with out some wurst.  Currywurst is a Berlin staple, invented here in the 1940's and available at imbiss (snack stops) all over the city. A pork sausage is fried until crispy, chopped up and served with a curried ketchup and a sprinkling of curry powder.

The first ones we tried were at the famous Ku'Damm 195 Currywurst, located in the West of the city and famed for serving their sausages on plates, washed down with champagne if you want it. The Germans are not famed for the spice in their food, and the 'curry' element in this seemed very tame.  A nice enough snack, but better was the bockwurst I also tried; a juicy smoked sausage served with a roll and German mustard.

I did enjoy a final fling with a currywurst on my last night in Berlin, this time from Curry 61 onOranienburger Straße.  I don't know whether it was the sadness of going home the next day, or too much beer, but this wurst seemed much better.  A tangier sauce and good bread rolls shaped like a mini loaf.

Another Berlin invention, and street corner staple, is the doner kebab.  This much derided revolving skewer of meat, sliced and served in bread, with salad and sauce, can be a fabulous snack when executed properly.  Despite not having eaten a doner while sober for a fair few years this example - ordered from a stand in the road in Kreuzberg, the Turkish centre of the city - was glorious.  The bread was especially good, crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, perfect for soaking up the 'special sauce' and meaty juices.  I still couldn't convince the Ewing of their merits though.

Also in Kreuzberg is the Turkish Market, held every Tuesday and Friday afternoon.  We chanced upon this accidentally after going down for a lovely breakfast by the canal - I'd highly recommend the

Ankerklause for french toast and fine views - The market was fabulous; buzzing with life and filled with stalls selling fruit, spices, bread, clothes and cheese, and stands selling hot börek and falafel.  Although we were still full from breakfast there is somehow always room for a honey soaked pastry and some wonderfully ripe plums.

BurgerMeister, a cult burger joint housed in an old Prussian pubic loo, on a traffic island under a railway bridge.  Thankfully the burger lived up to the great setting; My cooked to order chilli cheeseburger  featured a thin patty, charred but still pink , proper plastic burger cheese, jalapeños , chilli sauce and salad.  Wunderbar!

While walking back to Kottbusser Tor U Bahn station we stopped in at Angry Chicken, a new Korean wing joint on Skalitzer Strasse.  The only things on the menu are wings, chips, soft drinks and beer, so I had high hopes.  While the chicken was good, cooked to order and encased in a crispy, greaseless crust, the spicing level of the 'angry' chicken was very tame.  If I'm ever back again I'll be trying the 'furious',  an extra hot version.

Some proper schwein!  The top picture is the Berliner specialty Eisbein, a boiled pork knuckle served with sauerkruat, split peas and boiled potatoes.  Although not perhaps the most visually appealing dish this was a beautiful contrast of sweet, salty and sour.  Removing the protective layer of fat from the pork hock revealed succulent strands of dark pink meat that fell away from the bone.  The split peas were particularly good, studded with chunks of crispy bacon.

The bottom picture is Knusprige Grillhaxe, a crispy pork knuckle served with red cabbage and potato dumplings.  I ate this in the pretty little courtyard of  Zur Letzten Instanz, a traditional restaurant dating back to 1621.  Apparently Napolean was a fan, and after our dinner here I can understand why.

Schnitzels and noodles at the Markthalle, hard to think of this pairing without images of Julie Andrews dancing around the Alps with her guitar.  While perhaps not my quite favourite things I certainly always have time for more pork and pasta.

The Ewing ordered the schnitzel, an unusual choice for her but she wolfed down the 'kleine', although still pretty substantial, portion of crispy coated meat and tangy potato salad.  I had the spätzle, home made Swabian potato noodles, here served with speck, cheese and fried onions.  Despite the rivers of melted dairy and chunks of bacon this was surprisingly light, and very moreish.

Although we both chose the, bargain, small portions, and went easy on the dunkel bier, the apple strudel was still beyond us. Vielleicht beim nächsten Mal!

So Schmeckt Berlin - Part 1

Much maligned for it's hearty fare, rather than haute cusine, I was nonetheless looking forward to eating my way around Berlin on my recent trip.  Meals based around pig and beer; surely there can be nothing finer?  As it turned out the food was fabulous, and, after plenty of great eating, I've spilt my Deutsch dining adventures into two parts.

First up breakfast, cakes, cola and an afternoon in the beiergarten.

Breakfast at restaurant Käfer, found on the roof of the German parliament.  Booking a table here not only guarantees you a meal with a view, you also get to explore the roof top and Norman Foster's glass dome after you have eaten. After having our passports checked, and going through airport style security gates we were accompanied up to the roof. The beautiful, sunny weather meant we could sit out on the terrace to eat.  The food isn't especially cheap (watch out for the 9.5 Euro bottle of water) but it is delicious and there's plenty of it. I chose the Bavarian breakfast; a selection of breads and jams accompanied by a fresh pretzel, Weißwurst, cheese, ham and Waldorf salad.  It also came with a Weißbier, the perfect thirst quencher for a hot morning.

The 'superfrustuck' at our local restaurant, Cafe Stresemann. This was a great little find, while hungry and tired, on our first night.  As well as an airy, old fashioned, interior there is also a lovely, shaded beer garden you can eat in.  The breakfast was great;  a traditional German selection of ham, cheese, pate, rye bread and a boiled egg, followed by rolls with butter and jam. The only let down was the coffee, usually pretty decent in Deuschland.

The traditional Cafe Sybille on Karl Marx Allee.  Featuring a museum at the back, based around the famous road on which it stands, this is a perfect stop for Kaffee und Kuchen.  The Apfelstrudel cake may have looked a little plain and uninspired, but was lovely and moist, with a layer of sharp fruit and a crunchy crumble topping.

The famous 'Berliner' doughnut, or Pfannkuchen as it is known in Berlin.  I bought this from a bakery at Tegel Airport, and didn't hold out too much hope for it.  It turned out to be one of the best yeast doughnuts I have eaten; both crispy and soft and full of jam. Sadly I had already gone through security, or I would have gone back to try the iced version.

A refreshing glass of Berliner Weisse the famous cloudy, sour wheat beer from Northern Germany.  It's a weak beer, usually around 3% alcohol, that is deliberately soured by a second bottle fermentation.  Traditionally it is served either rot oder grün (with raspberry or woodruff syrup) in bowl shaped glasses.  Although its popularity has waned in recent years it still makes a wonderful sweet/sour drink on a summer's day.

Ice creams from Eisladen, a mini chain of independent, ice cream shops that have some unusual flavours and use organic milk for their products.  This branch was down a small side street, surrounded by businesses, and it was funny to see groups in suits emerging with their lunchtime cones.

After making the difficult of which flavours to choose we sat outside in the sun to enjoy our goodies.  I chose the black vanilla, coloured with a natural soot, Milchreis, a rice pudding ice cream, and a sea buckthorn sorbet.  All were lovely, the sea buckthorn was gloriously tart and especially refreshing

On Sunday afternoon, beaten by the heat, we repaired to Cafe am Neuen See, a traditional, Bavarian style Biergarten in the Tiergaren.  Many locals had also had the same idea, but luckily there was plenty of room and we grabbed a table under the shade of the trees.  A few steins of Hacker Pschorr lager later and we were ready for another snack.  As well as the more usual pretzels and meat loaf there are also delicious, and cheap, wood fired pizzas available topped with either mozzarella and basil, or spicy sausage and chilli.

No trip to a new city would be complete without a visit to a supermarket or two.  Berlin supermarkets are pretty basic, and seem to be based around the 'pile it high, sell it cheap' philosophy, with lots of people still visiting the local butcher, baker, greengrocer for their fresh food.

One of my favourite finds was Spezi, a mixed orange and cola drink.  Pepsi make a version called  Schwip Schwap, or there is Mezzo Mix, made by Coca Cola.  I also found Vita Cola, a East German drink whose popularity has been revived by Ostologie, or a nostalgia for the East. Slightly less sweet than 'regular' cola, it also has a citrussy flavour.

And a very small selection of the magnificent wurst on offer. Here we have a jar of Pferdewürstchen, or horse sausages, and some Halberstädter Würstchen - described as 'real sausage for real men'. Sadly, after all the Ritter Sport and Haribo we bought, there wasn't room in my luggage for these.  Maybe next time...