Food For Thought

Back to a classic lunch venue for me. Some Friday afternoon shopping in Covent Garden was only ever going to see me eat at one place; the ever outstanding Food For thought on Neal Street.

Due to being busy and lazy I didn’t feel I’d had enough vegetables recently. A mega salad from FFT was the answer. Green leaves, an amazing nutty lentil number with some sweet roast roots, a potato salad with ovals of waxy spud, green beans and a brilliant mustardy dressing and something with lots of fresh shredded vegetables and herbs were my four options.

I felt better after each mouthful and actually quite full by the end. The haphazard and crowded nature of the seating in theory could be seen as way to meet your fellow diner. Not so, this is London after all and it’s never really going to become quite so conversationall. Nevertheless it does lend itself to some excellent eavesdropping. This time I actually managed to get the best seat in the place. The tiny, den-like cubby hole with a ceiling height of no more than 4 1/2 feet and cushions surrounding a low table. Perfect.

It’s definitely a vegetarian cafe-cum restaurant which bridges the gap between 70’s nut loaf yoghurt weaving scene and more modern approach touted by Ottolenghi and co. Indeed its worth nothing the similarities between the salad on show here and all these new fangled chefs writing about grains, herbs and interesting flavours, Food For Thought have been peddling these wares for a long time now. And long may they continue.

Doug the Devourer

Corner Shop Curry?

Corner shop curry it was then. This place had been on my to do list for over a year. I walk or cycle past it  nearly every single day and have been inside for chewing gum once or twice and on one occasion, an onion bhajia. Today however I accompanied my colleague Julia to go and get ourselves a proper ‘corner shop curry’ and see for ourselves if the queues out into the street and tempting wafts of home cooked curry were worth it. The Shoreditch Off Licence is unusual in that it is exactly that, an off licence but what gives this one the edge is that they do a great range of simple curry to take away. Immediately to the right once entering the premises there is a hot counter with curry to choose from.  A quick chat with the proprietor informed me they’ve been serving up curry at lunchtime for three years and have just opened another on Rivington Street.

It’s a simple system. Choose a takeaway box half filled with either brown rice, white rice or cous cous and then have as many or as few curry options as you like. As soon as a meat option is picked the price is £3.50, it it’s kept to veg only then it’s £3. They use no ghee, only healthier sunflower oil and there no detriment to the flavour

I went for brown rice and they were the plumpest I’ve ever seen, whilst still remaining totally dry and distinct from one another, proper perfect rice. I also kept it veg only with three curry options. My colleague Julia went for the full 6 veg options (there are 5-6 meat options daily too) but I think that lead to a complication of flavours and also didn’t allow for any moderation of the heat content. One of the options I didn’t go for was apparently very hot. Muttar paneer was good and to the standard of a decent takeaway or high street north Indian. Channa Chaat was great. Toothsome chickpeas with a sauce that had a really string mustard kick. Indeed it tasted almost like the cook had been heavy handed with a jar of Coleman’s (indeed they might have been) either way it tasted great and on reflection mustard in both leaf and seed form is vastly popular as a spice in the subcontinent so I’m guessing it was all up to traditional standards. Very tasty. The Spinach Dal was again good and had  a bit more of a spicy kick to it. The proportion of rice to curry  was in the rice’s favour but for a tasty, home-cooked lunch for £3 in the heart of Shoreditch one cannot complain. Excellent stuff I will be back.

Doug the Devourer

(Credit to another blog review of this place here Gilka’s World Blog whose picture is great and I have borrowed – thanks!)

 

Shared Lunch

We had a training day and as such emloyed the much eulogised sharing lunch. A fantastic way to eat many differen things with everyone going to impress with their offering meaning everythign tasted great. My plate included:

Butternut squash,s pinach and feta salad

Greek salad

Waitrose sourdough

Various cheeses

Homemade hummous

Crisps (including salt and vinegar pasta swirls!)

Carr’s cheese melts

Oatcakes

A hard boiled Quail’s egg

Sundried toamto bread

A granola slice

Strawberrrys

Epic.

Doug the Devourer

 

Ecelctica!

I’m at home. Oh the joys of part time work. 6 music has been filling the air with it’s attempt at eceltica (?). Chemical Brothers new single is doing it for me. Lunch was the remaining spiced aubergine steak, the remains of some home made hummous that should have lasted more than 15 hours (gluttons!) and a few olives.

Doug the Devourer

Essex

Out of London. Had some other work to do. Lunch was a couple of cheese sandwichs made by my aunt. Unusual combination – Hummous, Tickler cheddar, chutney, and some oven roasted antipasti style veg. Worked a treat between two slices of Vogel. Had a pint of tea to go with it.

Doug the Devourer

Sharing lunch

Well that was definitely a great lunch. Being the sort of organisation we are lots of our work at the moment is focused on sharing (because its ever so nice and more people should do it).Lunch did not escape the sharing wave sweeping over our office either and today was one of our monthly ‘sharing lunches’.

The premise being that everyone brings in a little something and together through sharing what we have and collective pooling of resources we end up with a varied, tasty feast. A great way to spend an hour and a much needed break for the many of us who uphold that terrible modern office practice of rarely have a proper lunch break, instead eating at our desks.

The spread was a good one and I made light work of the delectable offerings. The highlight being some homemade pakoras with yoghurty raita. There were salad accompanies this, a wonderfully soft boiled egg appeared, then disappeared, there was homemade sundried tomato bread, a selection of cheeses, Carr’s cheese melts, banoffee pie, homemade elderflower cordial with lemonade, hummouses of various flavours, crisps, chocolate wafers, quiches, homemade egg mayonnaise sandwiches and some mackerel pate. All very nice indeed. A proper picnic in the meeting room (designed to seat 6 but crammed 15 in there) good chat with good colleagues. Thursday has a lot to live up to at this rate.

Doug the Devourer

Little Greek Pie in the Park

A secret park.

Well not realy, it’s a hidden patch of green tucked behind Charlotte St. I was drawn to it as I’d seen it’s glorious green colour bursting from google maps.

Whitfield gardens is the place.

It marked a shared little Greek pie, plus a chickpea salad. 

Half of an italian sausage with spinach and half of a turkey with leek.

Good though lacking the impact of earlier visits, and the chickpea salad was too much on top to finish, despite the excellent olive oil dressing.

HungryHungryHumpo

The return of the ice cream run!

Some cous cous leftovers. Had minty, courgette and chickpea accompaniment. Very nice. Overshadowed though by the triumphant return of the workplace ice cream run! The weather demanded nothing less, being totally spectacular and perfect May conditions. I had a Twister – an absolute classic and the highlight of the working day.

Doug the Devourer

Sainsbury’s Snacking

Returning to the office around midday meant that I picked up my lunch equipment from city Road Sainsbury’s. Half a tub of Moroccan inspired hummous was waiting in the fridge back at the office so accompaniments were needed. Two breads billed as cheese and tomato were ample dipping apparatus. I also picked up some dried apricots and a small vegetarian sushi selection for later as I was planning on a fairly hefty shift and would need something to keep le wolf from le door (lunch club archive reference there for those that have been reading since the beginning).

Needless to say I had eaten it all within the hour.

Doug the Devourer

 

 

Chickpeas from a jar

Soup with kale, squash and the ever reliable jar of chickpeas bought in bulk from carrefour near Calais. Chickpeas from the jar are infinately better than canned and across La Manch they are a fraction of the price of those sold en Angeleterre. No vegetable bouillon powder menat that this soup was lacking depth despite the addition of Marmite and a scant teaspoon of miso paste. Eaten with a bread roll bought from the shop below my flat which is actually not too bad (all their other bread is useles).

Doug the Devourer