american – The Cultural Exposé

What we’ve been up to… food and cocktails at Grand Union

The Cultural Exposé — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 11:00:26 +0000

Grand Union bars have been on our radar for a while, so news of their recent food and drinks re-brand peaked our interest – especially as their menu now boasts of hipster-style cocktails, trendy burgers and hot dogs, making this a pretty fun destination for your Friday nights. Drinks-wise, we highly recommend the Downton High Tea – a generous portion of Earl Grey-infused Sipsmith gin, fresh blueberries, lemon and cucumber served in an teapot – while on the food front, the American theme works well. The mini-burgers are delish but we say mind the ‘hell dog’ – topped with chorizo, jalepeno and Union hot sauce, it packed alot more punch than we bargained for – you’re better off going for their ‘nude’ version, with a choice of cheese, onions or bacon – yum!

For more info, visit: http://grandunionbars.com. Check out pics from our recent visit below!

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Somewhere you should eat… The Fat Bear

The Cultural Exposé — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 10:00:38 +0000

From the outside, it looked like any English pub. Inside, loud voices debated Manchester United’s season while others swigged Fuller’s beer. I couldn’t feel further from America.
The back of the pub, though, houses a small corner of the US via the Fat Bear pop-up restaurant in residency. My first stop was Louisiana via pickled sweet corn, pimento cheese biscuits and deep-fried pickles. A bite of the cheese sandwich (the American cousin to the cheddar and pickle sandwich) was an immediate postcard from childhood. The fried pickles, near-impossible to find in London, outdid anything at a chip shop.

Like a high-end pizza? The spinach and ricotta crepe that followed had a crispy with a gooey centre that made me want more. The accompanying salad was a truly southern specialty of spinach, candied pecans, cheese and hot pepper jelly dressing.
Then there was a lineup of three iconic American dishes: slow cooked beef brisket, biscuits and gravy, and macaroni and cheese. All were like care packages from home. The brisket was beyond tender; a fork was only there for manners’ sake. The mac and cheese was decadent and delicious, peppered with thick chunks of bacon, while the biscuits and gravy outdid any version currently on offer the capital.
The chef, Michael Bolous, not only worked in kitchens in Boston and New York City, but also received a degree in American History, with an emphasis on regional cuisines. His thorough understanding and love of the food shines through in dishes that are both homages and modern improvements. The food at the Fat Bear is one of the best translations of American fare for the British market and should not be missed. The residency at the Sun and 13 Cantons continues through the end of November, including special menus for Thanksgiving. (Words: Barbara Cole)

For more info, visit: www.thefatbear.co.uk

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Somewhere you should go… Soho Diner (NOW CLOSED)

The Cultural Exposé — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 10:00:09 +0000

Once the clock strikes midnight, your culinary options in the West End are usually limited to greasy kebabs, McDonalds or those suspicious looking hot dogs being fried up on certain corners – so the fact that the new Soho Diner serve their stellar Franco-American menu until 2am on the weekend is pretty much a cause for celebration. It’s just one of the many highlights that makes this new restaurant – from the Soho House group – one of the best openings in the last couple of months.

On a recent visit, we soon discovered that not only is it a great pit-stop if you’re in that neck of the woods afterhours, but the prices are fab, the surrounds are a beaut and the food is generous and simple, just like its west London counterpart Electric Diner, which still continues to be a hit with the locals. Go for the grilled ham & cheese fingers (£5) and the honey fried chicken (£5) if you want to graze – but if you’re after something more lunch or dinner, the philly cheese steak sandwich (£8), grilled salmon with tomato vierge (£11) are both good picks – and for drinks you might want to get a cocktail (on tap!), like the delicious Root to Mule.

The only downside to Soho is, like most of the popular places to eat in town, you can’t make reservations – but there’s still plenty of pluses to give this place a whirl.

For more info, visit: http://www.sohodiner.com

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What we’ve been up to… Loco Moco at The Diner

Matilda — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 11:00:42 +0000

I’m usually guilty of going for a traditional short stack with all the trimmings whenever I hit up The Diner (they do culinary Americana so well), but did you know they offer a famous Hawaiian brekkie/lunch called the Loco Moco? Me neither, until a pal and I were invited to try this unusual dish that’s big in the Aloha state, and just one of the many all-day breakfast offerings you can get at The D.

It’s quite a full-on meal for 9am, as you get dirty rice topped with a generous burger patty (cooked to your liking), cheese, jalapeño peppers before it’s all doused in gravy, but it’s pretty darn good – and curbed the hunger pangs for a good part of the day. You’ll find Loco Moco under “The Blue Plates” on The Diner menu, but for more info about its history, visit www.whatscookingamerica.net/History/LocoMocoHistory

Check out more of our pics from The Diner on our Tumblr…

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Something you should do… breakfast at the Electric Diner

The Cultural Exposé — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 11:00:14 +0000

It’s very rare we extoll the virtues of breakfast on TCé – and considering all the adventuring we get up to, we should! – so we happily accepted an invite to try an early morning meal at Electric Diner, a new restaurant on Portobello Road. The collaboration between Soho House and renowned Chicago restaurateur Brendan Sodikoff has resulted in a venue that feels distinctively Americana with its red booths and cliché interiors, but features a menu injected with a French influence we picked up when we tucked into the open-faced ham, cheese fondue and fried egg (£9) (a pleasure so guilty we tried to pretend it was lunch).

Here, you’ll find a breakfast menu that is modest and relatively inexpensive considering the generous portion sizes, so other honourable mentions include the avocado on toast with a poached egg, sides such as the buttery mushrooms (£3) and hash browns (much crunchier than expected, but went down well with the fondue) and the Berry Boost smoothie, which was light and refreshing (£4).

But we were much too full to go in on the Electric Donuts, with flavours as varied as maple bourbon and bergamot orange, but it’s given us a reason to return – especially on the weekend when we wouldn’t mind a place to escape from Portobello’s infamous hustle and bustle.

Electric Diner
191 Portobello Road,
London, W11 2ED (££)

For more info, visit www.electricdiner.com. Click here to see more pics of our breakfast!

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Somewhere you should go… Dach & Sons, Hampstead

The Cultural Exposé — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:00:36 +0000

It’s easy to forget where you are when you’re in Dach & Sons; the downstairs restaurant is as close anything you could hope to find this far left of New York. All burger sliders and chic surfaces, it’s the neon sign above the bar that really grabs your attention. As the light changes from red “Unlucky” to green “Lucky, be ready to scramble upstairs to ‘Flat P’. The host will guide you up the back staircase (which can feel like you’re doing something you vaguely shouldn’t) before leaving you at the unmarked door.

Speakeasy bars, of course, are nothing new, taking inspiration from the 1920s and 30s US prohibition laws, where people were forced to head to clandestine back room bars in search of a little tipple. These days, speakeasies can be found in every major city in the world. Flat P is as genuine as you can get, and basks in candlelit darkness like an unattended, but gorgeously furnished, film set. Seating is sparse, with a choice of velvet benches or bar seats, and the music runs towards 1930s war tunes rather than the latest top 10. In the halflight, the cocktail menu can be tricky to make out, but this is where the bartenders come into their own – they’re infinitely knowledgeable and give them a few keywords and watch them weave their magic. (Words: Charlotte Lydia)

For more info about Dach & Sons, visit www.dachandsons.com

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Somewhere you should eat… MEATmarket

Jane Duru — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:00:19 +0000

The speedy success of the MEAT empire feels like the archetypal American dream story, only in burger form. Owner Yianni started out selling burgers in Peckham from a roadside food van. It was unceremoniously named Meatwagon, but popular, so much so that it evolved into Meateasy, a pop-up in an old pub in New Cross. Meateasy sold the kinds of burgers that draw the kinds of crowds only hyped up word-of-mouth can. Soon outgrowing the pop-up, MEATliquor, the first permanent bricks and mortar incarnation of the brand opened to great acclaim last year; again, with the queues. And now, the latest stage on the path to world domination – MEATmarket – has just opened in Covent Garden.

It had to happen of course. The current appetite for Americana in London seems unstoppable right now – everywhere you look there are burger joints, rib shacks and steak houses opening up – see the hubbub around Pitt Cue Co in Soho, or the Rib Man market stall in Kings Cross where the lunchtime hoards line up for rib pizza. But for burgers, head to MEAT, where the burgers are cooked medium well, and come on the drippy side loaded with condiments; messy eaters will be in their element.

Whilst some items on the menu will be familiar from MEATliquor such as Dead Hippy, and the fried pickled gherkins (which have people raving like the newly-converted) there are new additions – hot-dogs now join the menu, and there are some new burger appearances such as the Black Palace, a double patty burger topped with extra fried onions. One more difference: the new location is more geared towards ‘convenience’ so there’s a take-away option for those in a hurry and the decor leans much more towards the fast-food end of the interiors scale than the slaughterhouse aesthetic of Liquor. Still, the popularity of this place is sure to echo its previous incarnations. Go now, before those queues start. (Words: Jane Duru, Pic: courtesy of burgeranarchy.com )

MEATmarket is open daily from 1200 – 2300 at the Jubilee Market Hall, 1st Floor, Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 8BE. For more info visit www.themeatmarket.co.uk

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