Just a quick sandwich grabbed from the work sandwich man (internal).
Fairly bland, despite it’s billing – Smoked Chicken, Mustard Mayo & Salad. The smokiness came through on a few bites, as did the mustard. Generally average though. Hard to complain @ £1.50.
HungryHungryHumpo
The two hilarious ladies who took me to Nando’s previously again hosted me and the team today as we had a handover lunch of sorts.
Anna & Chloe were on typically fine form, and we ordered in typical excess.
I went double chicken breast pitta with cheese in mango and lime sauce. Extra extra hot all over, and sides of macho PEAS and spicy RICE.
A bottle of Brahma – a lager I’d not had in a while, but I savoured it’s crisp dryness. Sharing plates of sweet potato mash and large chips. The former was underwhelming.
Then a first for me – the Gelado. What a flop. Pre-tubbed ice cream that bears no resemblance to gelato like the sort of thing you got done for during intervals at the Hippodrome in pantomime season. Won’t be having that again.
Dessert aside though this was fine introduction for Genevieve, and featured some rather spectacular ‘BANTZ’ about the subject of certain ‘Sundays’.
HungryHungryHumpo
Today was an unusual one. Wahaca, opening a new branch on Charlotte St, were giving away free burritos. Taking Claire Scott, and leaving early to hit the front end of their 12-3 giveaway we were still greeted by an 1hr15 queue. We bailed, and in search of a burrito scoped out El Burrito, Freebird and Benito’s Hat. The attention of the Wahaca giveaway had ramifications – all were queued up.
A glance in Pure, and an unusual new Japanese bakery yeiled little excitement. Heading back toward El Burrito we stopped past La Manche – very reasonably priced sandwich joint I’d tried before, but not been back on account of the strong smell of fried food which attached itself to my clothes afterwards.
I went for their ‘best seller’ as advertised on a small blackboard. A grilled wrap of chicken, halloumi, chorizo and avocado.
A flat fiver, this was very, very good. Well rationed ingredients, a slightly sweet mayo dressing and tasty as you like. Claire, who had the same, was similarly impressed. I also picked up two cans of San Pellegrino Orange, inspired by your advocacy of this drink in fairly recent Lunch Club history.
Back in the office and in need of a sweet treat, minutes before my conference call I was able to squeeze into one of my teams runs to Tesco.
Inspired by a pub conversation last night on the strengths of various chocolate bars and other confectionary snacks, Joe Timson remarked at one point ‘I’ve come late to it, but the Star Bar is my current favourite’. So I asked for one, or a Boost if they hadn’t got it. They did. It was better than I remember. Bringing the chewy central Boost vibe with a peanut edge of Kit Kat chunky notes – but not as chalky. Interesting.
The sweets did not end there, with a very well bedecked Santa in the office handing out bags of chocolate money. Curious, in early September. I ate some anyway.
HungryHungryHumpo
OJ finally gave me a little advance warning for when he would be having one of his many London meetings today, and despite almost bailing it at the last minute he made it to Warren Street not much after mid-day. There I rendezvoused with him.
We strolled into pret where I armed myself with the recent DCP classic. The Double Chicken & Pork consisting of the half C&B cesar baguette and a slim Super Club.
OJ went for a double – two full sized sandwiches, one chicken and avocado and one crayfish. He changed from double avocado at the last minute.
We ate them sat out on the small squares of rolling, mildly hillocked turf over the Euston Road from the tube. Decent chat was inevitable.
A little later a stolen graze treat rounded out the days eating, not the same as the one below (which I’d eaten not much after breakfast) but not too dissimilar – a cranberry, chocolate, fudge and almond ‘billionaires’ shortbread. This was eaten in the Olympic park – unlike the below, which was obviously done at my desk.
HungryHungryHumpo
Customised half & half.
Crayfish & Super Club – Humpo staples.
Delivered as expected, following a donut double earlier in the day.
I’d actually been on a longish walk during lunch, passing a shop with a sign which always amusues. It sepaks volumes of my current like of Pret that despite passing by such LC staples as Benugo, makeMINE and Benny’s Hat I ended up at the ubiquitous sandwich shop.
HungryHungryHumpo
Another non-weekday-lunch, another birthday. Grandad, William George Haylock, turns 87 tomorrow. A splendid innings.
To celebrate we took him for a surprise lunch, to a venue close to his Suffolk home which had been on the radar for a while – Square Meal’s 41st best restaurant outside of London in the UK – Tuddenham Mill.
Set in a splendid, ancient mill building, with original timbers and the now stationary mill wheel behind a modern bar, first impressions were stunning. A pint of Adnams Spindrift, taken slowly whilst I perused the menu for I was driving home later.
Sunday lunch set menu, 4 choices per course. Such choices. Immediately prior to a starter came warm, small crusty breads with unpastuerised butter on the table. My first was a dish of poached ray wing, with peas raw and mashed, chicken skin and sea vegetables.
Splendid. The poached, gelatinous ray was served in strips assembled into a ball, much like a linguini, sat atop the pea mash. The raw peas, sparingly dotted about were marvelous. And the chicken skin was like pork crackling, salting the dish to sea like levels – in a good way. Yum.
The main course was, for me, a choice between Dingley dell pork belly served with fir apple potato (possibly), fennel and some kind of white, possibly goats cheese – or the beef. As you can tell by my already wobbly description, I went pig.
Standards of starter = equalled. This was a lovely bit of pork, with little fat for the cut (including only the thinnnest crackling), whilst the fennel, served pureed and sliced wafer thin were lovely accompaniments. The lemony very soft cheese was not unlike the stuff I’d had with my lamb recently at Maze; it was another great combo.
Mum’s beef was also very good, though I felt I made the right choice. The oxtail on her plate was a particular highlight. The house merlot was nice and light and went very well with both meat mains.
For dessert, I went with Suffolk strawberries with pine ice cream, pine nuts and yoghurt mousse. Right foot, left foot, head. Perfect hat trick. Strawberries spot on, small, juicy and full of flavour. Ice cream golden and very subtlely flavoured, mouse brilliant. Great finish.
I had spotted some petit fours go out earlier in the meal, and though we didn’t have coffee of tea I requested a small slate which I manged to divide up between Grandad, Katie and myself. All were fantastic, including a peppery little fudge piece, and particularly a pistachio encrusted truffle.
The only negative was that the restaurant wasn’t packed throughout. Top nosh at very reasonable prices, it’s refreshing to eat this fine outside of the capital (in my experience). Looking forward to going back.
Happy birthday Grandad. Hope you enjoyed it.
HungryHungryHumpo
We had a quick catch up with a couple of lovely ladies pencilled in today, tentatively at MEAT Liqour. However we also had our company sports day in the afternoon, and I, for reasons unknown, had put mysrlf forward for the 100m – an event I’d not participated in since 6th form at the very latest.
Thus I vetoed ML in favour of the healthier Nando’s – it’s chicken, right? – and we went to town.
For the table, ‘wing roulette’ – 10 chicken wings of varying spice. For me, a double chicken breast wrap with halloumi cheese, sides of the excellent macho peas and some chips with perinaise for dipping.
As is my trademark I had my chicken cooked with mango & lime then added XX Hot sauce on the table – liberally to both wrap, peas and chips. Bottomless coke zero rounded out a foolishly excessive, yet obviously scrummy, meal.
Two hours later I ran. Obviously, I came dead last.
HungryHungryHumpo
After a lot of weekend boozing in Barcelona, I ventured into the English sun of lunchtime and drifted listlessy toward Pret thinking I’d go for my healthy crayfish.
Sticking behind the Euston Road I saw the churn of people inside and wandered along to Pod, deliberating their side salads.
I settled on a harissa chicken flatbread wrap, drawn in largely by the large, visible volume of red cabbage.
Eaten at the desk due to the ever-present workload mountain, it was good if not great. Light, which belied it’s sat fat content of 9.8g (largely yoghurt based I imagine), with some good flavours.
HungryHungryHumpo
A double header of the above courtesy of Pret.
Mixing ‘n’ matching their half-sized slim range I picked out a artisan baguette with chicken & bacon ceaser vibes – very tasty, creamy with ‘Italian mature cheese’ – parmesan in all but name, and rocket, first down the hatch.
A brief pause then my slim Super Club half – the classic Pret sandwich, beloved by me on trips to Bicester village in my youth (when Pret was an exotic treat).
Every bit as good as I remember, even with the featur of big, slippery tomato discs which I normally swerve in sarnies (and burgers for that matter).
Some chocolates pilfered from a table – presumably someones holiday treats – of a cartoon cat featuring a soft praline, delicious.
HungryHungryHumpo
Food philosophy of the day.
Kick of with bacon & sausage sarnie, then go light. Washed it down with a big botle of San Pellegrino (500ml).
Result – lunchtime stroll to Pret ended up in Saino’s and picked up a ready meal my eye was drawn to (inevitably, the yellow sticker did the trick).
Bunged it in the office microwave, whilst it was heating I visited FOUR FLOORS of our building to find a fork before eventually requesting one from catering HQ, from whence I also pilfered a chilled can of coke.
Taste: Cloying at first and overly sweet – not up to the high expectations I had from an unknown colleague in the kitchen who saw me heat it and told me it was a good one that he was familiar with. However further mouthfuls increased in calibre as my palate adjusted and it was not altogether unpleasant.
Sweet finish courtesy of some Italian chocs bought back from a holiday home by the impossibly tanned Raffaella Paciolla. These are the same ones she often returns with, for good reason – the silver/blue one in particular is superior ferrero rocher, delightful.
HungryHungryHumpo
The Lunch Club 