First up tonight  is the Prairie Fire BBQ, cooking up traditionally slow-cooked Kansas City style BBQ (for you BBQ newbies, that means the meat is slowly smoked and then covered in a sweet, tomato-based sauce). Prairie Fire BBQ’s sauce is handmade weekly and comes from a recipe passed down through the generations.
The 27th January session will showcase London’s own The Rib Man, famous for his spicy “Holy F##k!” sauce and high-quality meats. On 3rd February, Grillstock from Bristol will bring its hickory wood-smoked meats to the Kitchen. Then on the 10th, DJ BBQ will be cooking up Carolina-style(smoked low and slow with vinegar and spices) pulled pork. For further info, visit: www.theblueskitchen.com/whats-on (Words: Barbara Cole) 

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So full of paradoxes, these little chestnuts are, that I don’t feel at liberty to review with the usual degree of forensic detail, for fear of denting the magic that lies in wait. Understandably a whole part of the fun to be had is the slow unveiling, the unwrapping of layers, as you make your way to the Mayor. It sits unassumingly underneath the Breakfast Club in Spitalfields and I wonder how much extra trade the neighbouring pub has received courtesy of those who failed to ask the right questions or gave up before even trying. Had it not been for my more educated guide, I may have very nearly been one of the latter.

I could pick out of some of the brighter stars from The Mayor’s cocktail menu constellation – the selection is well and good – but it comes into its own thanks its inventive bar staff. Affable to a tee, with just a few hints of how you like your favoured tipple, they can conjure you some distilled delight.

But there’s was great benefit of secret bars, that isn’t immediately obvious. Whilst the web is awash with a list of rooftop bars to have your afternoon drinks served with added vitamin D, anyone arriving after the masses clock off will be hard-pressed (really hard-pressed) to find space to breathe, let alone queue. And so, for those of us who prefer our air to our tan, maybe the secret bar is the perfect antidote to summer over-crowding? Tell that to the Mayor’s bar staff and they’ll be sure to mix in an ample measure. Just make sure to say that you’re “here for the Mayor”. (Words: Will Prince) 

For more info, visit: www.themayorofscaredycattown.com

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