| A Voyage for Milkshakes |
Molly Shakes -Very far in terms of main London attractions- Outside of Hackney, past Islington -Well-regarded 'Freakshakes' on Internet sites like Buzzfeed can't do the treat justice, but have helped its popularity enormously -Made for a good hour walk, but then a line to get in that took two hours -Wouldn't let one order until a table was available, when I would have gladly at that point ate my shake whilst sitting on the potted cactus in the corner -Another 30 minutes of making the Freakshakes occurred because it takes about 5-10 minutes to construct the item, not withstanding running next door for more ingredients -Freakshake was large, worth the £7 charge, and delicious in so many ways -Caramel, peanut butter, chocolate, raspberry- four different flavours for you and friends to enjoy -I had peanut butter, and although overwhelming, very rarely did I feel as though there was an imbalance of ingredients- everything worked well together, from the chocolate pop-rock like gems to the drizzled sauce to the shake itself -Paper straw was a little dainty in sucking up the whole thing when the spoon was much more useful, but completed the aesthetic touch of the 'old times diner' feel -Store is small with only around ten tables, and definitely needs to do some expansion or management work with fitting more people and speeding up the time from the back of the line to the counter; cute look to it though -Did not get to color in the colouring book, to my slight disappointment -Staff was incredibly friendly and flexible for how amazingly busy it was, with four people working like madmen to cover dozens of milkshakes and others treats -Other menu items looked expensive and not quite as pizzazz-y, such as "Toast with Avocado" for £4.50 -Many other treats, though they didn't have the same visual kick as the famous shake, looked appetising enough to try if I go again -They also apparently had run out of coffee, and day before actually were not able to serve Freakshakes all day -Did let me sit and enjoy my dessert, although I felt bad as the line still went out the door so I did not dawdle after finishing the treat -Bathroom was fairly clean, though upstairs -Neighborhood around shop appeared pretty closed down, although it was Sunday -Have a good Twitter page that updates regularly -Facebook says they've catered to more than a few biggies- The British Fashion Council, Lady Gaga, Eliza Doolittle, and Sky Ferreira, amongst others! -They have an online bakery open everyday for orders/deliveries ★★★★☆ Price: £- ££ Open: Closed Mon | Tues- Wed 9:00 - 18:00 | Thurs- Fri 9:00 - 22:00 | Sat 10:00 - 22:00 | Sun 11:00- 17:00 Note: Freakshakes must be ordered before one hour of store closing Closest Tube Station: Dalston Junction
0 Comments
One thing you HAVE to do when you come to London is eat Indian food. With the assortment of restaurants here in the city, you can have your pick of the litter. If my opinion holds any sway for you, definitely make a trip to Covent Garden and get some curry at Punjab. Even if you don't think you like Indian food. Even if you've never actually had curry before. Your future self will thank your past self for making such a great decision.
My first full day in London, a group of us traveled down towards Neal Street in search of the restaurant so many other study abroad students had recommended. I'd never eaten Indian food before, but I'd heard a lot of good things about Punjab and was surprisingly interested in expanding my horizons (thanks mom). The menu was definitely overwhelming for my first encounter with Indian food. There is a mixture of curry dishes - chicken, lamb, seafood, vegetable - and tandoori, which is chicken prepared with yoghurt and spices. My Texan blood was drawn to the "(H)" that indicates a spicy dish, and I decided on the Chicken Madras. When I ordered it, the waiter gave me an uncertain look and asked if I was okay with really spicy food. I just nodded, slightly worried about what I was getting myself into. Two of us got the same spicy curry, and both of us were impressed with the taste. The waiter was right to warn us; the curry was incredibly spicy and had a really slow burn. Despite the constant heat at the back of my throat and around my lips, I really enjoyed the spices and flavors present in the dish. The chicken was cooked really nicely and just swimming in the curry. When paired with the naan bread, I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven. The rice left something to be desired as it didn't really have any flavors of it's own. I think it really only serves as a counter point to the curry, as a vehicle for the main dish. I much preferred to eat my curry with the naan bread, but as a table, we only ordered one basket so the bread was gone pretty quickly. The portion size was surprisingly big; I didn't actually finish the entirety of my meal even though I really wanted to. By the time I left, I'd had a full stomach and an emptier wallet. The meal was about 15 pounds for each of us, which translates to about $25. 4/5 Overall: I really enjoyed this meal and am very anxious to go back for a second round. I really enjoyed how spicy the dish was, but it did slightly hinder my enjoyment. I think it was worth the money to have eaten something that delicious. If you can find the time, I'd highly recommend Punjab. I've been in Europe for almost six weeks. London's been my home for five of those six weeks, and I've gotten quite familiar with my little end of the city. I've also been to DF Mexico on Tottenham Court Road four times in those six weeks. Two of those times were within two days of each other.
I'm not necessarily a creature of habit, so if my frequency at DF doesn't say something about the food and drink served there, I don't know what will. When you walk in, you enter a weird Euro-Mexican world. It's like walking into Tijuana Flats, but there's more class and all of the sassy bumper stickers are nowhere to be found. And instead of ordering immediately, you get seated by a host or hostess first. During one of our trips, the host made us dance to get a seat, which was both hysterical and embarrassing. The menu features Anglo-Mexican burritos stuffed with the usual rice and beans, but also Pumpkin Mayo and "crunchy salad" (otherwise known as slaw to Americans). I've had both the pork and chicken burritos, and I personally recommend the chicken (the pork was good, but the chicken is superior). I've also had the Chili Beef Torta, which was so good that it's honestly one of my favorite items on the menu. And always, always get the Chili fries. They're worth the £2.50 extra. However, the piece de resistance of DF Mexico is not a food item, but a beverage. DF prides itself on its frozen margaritas, and that pride is well earned. There are two shots of vodka in each margarita, but the Classic one is the only one strong enough to taste the alcohol. The Raspberry and Hibiscus margarita is fresh and fruity, the Passionfruit is both tart and sweet, and the Classic is so hard that one is way more than enough to make you feel good. In any case, these drinks are very much worth the price and the trip to DF. Rating: 4/5 || Price: ££ || Nearest Tube Station: Goodge street || Ambiance: Anglo-Mexican DF Mexico 28-29 Tottenham Court Road London, W1t 1BL Email: [email protected] Dum Dum Donutterie
★★★ Donut Shop $$ Phone: 07525 115233 Unit 31, 2-4 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6GY The urge to buy one of these donuts is hard to resist, when you first walk by the donut shop. The shop is snuggled in amongst other retail vendors in Shoreditch, but stands out with its array of sugary confections. There is a nice display of various donut options in the entryway. All of them looking too pretty to eat. Upon entering the store there are even more donuts to choose from. All of them laid out on a counter for your eye to see. The names of each donut are cute and catchy. There is the Zebra, Strawberry Shortcake, Toffee Apple and Creme Brulee. The Zebra seems to be the most well known of their donuts and contains layers of croissant dough and chocolate croissant dough, filled with chocolate buttercream and topped with chocolate ganache. Sounds good right? I was unaware at the time that the Zebra was most popular and went for a simpler donut. The donut was a lot denser than I'm used to. The texture leaned more towards bread. The company is not misleading when they say that their donuts are baked and not fried. I would say that my donut was a bit dry and I was craving a good glass of milk by the end of it. My donut was around the two pound range, which was fine for a nice treat. You can also order boxes online. A dozen is 18 pounds. I think that everyone should try a Dum Dum Donut to grasp the "baked not fried" concept. I also think it's a nice snack for your tube ride home. Just make sure to have a drink along with you to wash the it down. A wonderful open-air market just across the Tower Bridge, Borough Market has more to offer by way of produce and food products than one could carry home on the Tube. Between vendors of ready-to eat wares and wheels of cheese larger than your head, it's easy to get lost amidst the enticing smells and colors as the market-goers of London stream around you from every direction.
ATMOSPHERE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The main entrance to the market is impossible to miss (though there are several smaller, equally charming, side entrances) and sets the tone for the fresh, farmer's market, covered-greenhouse feel throughout the building. Though it is open to the elements for the most part, the crowds of people and vendors provide decent shelter from any winds or chill you might feel inside, and the glass roof allows plenty of light in. The mountainous displays of produce, racks of meats, stacks of cheeses, and shelves of wine, all alongside beautifully decorated signage of the vendors' wares, make up the simple decor throughout the market. Stand-alone tents adjacent to the roofed areas dot the street with color as well, catching your eye as you peruse the tightly packed aisles. The noise and the bustle, especially during lunch hours or weekends, is all part of the experience, so long as you're accustomed to city living it won't be too much to handle. On my visit I was with several friends from class, though many of us ended up separating among the stalls; there was so much to see. SERVICE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ As per many independently vended sites, there's a great deal of advertisement by way of shouting. Not only that, but the crush of crowds behind you -- either queuing themselves or simply trying to get by -- makes waiting for your food and/or produce very stressful, especially as you try to avoid getting in anyone's way. I purchased from only two vendors, New Forest Cider, and Sausage World: both of which I would highly recommend in terms of service. The bartender at New Forest Cider was very friendly, and happily sold us hot mulled cider after checking our IDs and (jokingly) proclaiming that he could ask for Gennie's phone number now that he knew she was over 18. The Sausage World vendor was considerably less friendly (though he was quick and polite in serving us) and I was given the impression that the proprietor of the business is much more well known for his character, as our professor mentioned meeting him on his previous visit, and two separate customers asked if he would be working that weekend. FOOD: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Both the vendors I visited had really delicious food. New Forest's cider was sweet and savory all in one, advertised as "cider with a bite," and they mean it -- the kick that comes with the aftertaste warms you up much faster than the temperature itself. As for Sausage World, I was equally pleased; it's not often that a grilled sausage served you out of a warming dish tastes so fresh, and the sauces available (though unconventional to an American such as myself) were a delicious compliment to the impressive flavor of the sausage. Honestly, I was expecting nothing more than a glorified hotdog (which it could have been, had I gone my usual ketchup and mustard route) but the interesting flavor of the sausage was much tastier than your typical hotdog-meat-mashup, and the combination of mayo and their unidentified green-pesto sauce only added to it. OVERALL: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ In terms of experience, the Borough Market was the most engaging dining opportunity I've had thus far in London. Five-star dining is wonderful in its own right, but there's something to be said for eating a sausage in a hoagie bun wrapped in tinfoil while sitting on a bar stool in the middle of a bustling market with a full view of locals and visitors wandering the immaculate stalls. This woman’s warm-up song was “Ave Maria.” She sang the first notes while setting up a folding chair. The opening lines of Amy Bloom’s “Silver Water,” about a girl whose sister has a voice that “lifts you up beyond your heat, beyond your body,” hurled themselves into my head. I couldn’t have stopped the recollection of those lines any more than I could have stopped my heart from beating. I had the distinct and bizarre image of snow falling and being redirected by her vibrato, encasing her in a broad and impenetrable dome of white. I sat there and watched her rummage through CDs and fuss with her collection baskets, while this stunning voice poured offhandedly out of her, while long-forgotten lines and bizarre dreamscapes poured unebbingly into me. Above her, on the upper walkways of the garden, a crowd had gathered. You had to buy something in order to have a front-row seat below, in the courtyard of the unpromisingly-named Crusting Pipe cafe, and the act before her (a string quartet whose lead violinist had a stunning tangle of hair and tattoos on her face, a face which shifted from rapture to melancholy like a river careening over stones) had drawn me down. By the time the opera singer had arrived, I’d already parked myself in the front row with a mochaccino (vibrantly rich, £2.50) and a steeled resolve not to be evicted by the irritable waitress. If I sat there for two hours and ordered nothing but a coffee, so be it. As long as this woman was singing, if they wanted me gone, they’d have to carry me out. With the next song, she became more animated. She took off her coat, wandered up and down the stairs, leaned back over the railing and let her arms sway like fingers of river moss caught in the current of her own sound. There was a long stretch of silence on the CD, and when the music returned abruptly she hadn’t slipped by a single beat. I realized then that she must have been keeping time with something inside of herself, some innate tide that kept her on track. When she hit that note after the long stretch of silence, the highest note she’d hit yet, with vibrato that shook her entire frame and seemed to brighten the air around her, my eyes darted up and for some reason found the face of the garbage boy. He could have been anywhere between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five. He was as pale and gawky as a sun-bleached marsh reed. He was swabbing out the inside of a garbage bin with a mop greyer than the London sky. When she hit that note, his face changed behind his glasses. I realized later that it was the exact face I imagine a parent makes when their child speaks for the first time: shock, awe, the feeling that they’ve witnessed something inevitable but nonetheless miraculous. I knew that garbage boy was feeling what I was feeling: like we were being lifted to something greater, past the aromas of the nearby cafes, past the sounds of construction and double-decker bustle, past the London clouds with their troves of inevitable snow, to a place where we were beyond our bodies, beyond our heat. Overall Score: 10/10 |
The Idiots AbroadEveryone is a critic, including the Idiots Abroad. Each week, perhaps everyday, we will be bringing you our thoughts on the sights, sounds, and tastes around London. Should you eat the fish and chips at pub A? Or, should you cross town to see a show at Theater B? Check in with us for answers to those questions, along with short vignettes about our travels too and from these locations and about the strange and wonderful people we meet along the way. ArchivesCategories |
idiotsabroad | Reviews |
Photo used under Creative Commons from romana klee