Yoshino Deli

Apologies, bit of a technical blip has prevented me from posting anything lately. Anyway, back online now with a swanky new computer machine, and I think I have a lot to catch up on.

I'll start with a short one about a great discovery we made off the back of my seemingly constant hankering for sushi. It is one of those things I have always disliked quite strongly, most probably something to do with the fact that my first sushi experience was at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet (not recommended). However, I have recently not only started to like it, but I think I am mildly obsessed.

So, on Shaftesbury Avenue, between China Town and Soho, there is a little, unassuming shop called Yoshino Deli. It is simple, light and clean with a large fridge counter and visible kitchens behind. In the counter (if you go at the right time) there are stacks and stacks of sushi packs, in a range of flavours and ranging in price (although all very good value). The kind staff are happy to recommend or tell you what is in them all. The quality is much better then any supermarket sushi by far, and the price is significantly more appealing than any of the chain takeaway sushi places. Plus I think there is something nice about seeing that it is all prepared fresh on the premises by staff who clearly know what they are doing. My only issue is it's location - it is so centrally located I am always going to be tempted to pop in!

Delicatessen Yoshino
59 Shaftesbury Avenue
W1D 6LF

Shake Shack, Covent Garden

Having visited and reviewed Five Guys a few months ago, I have been thinking it is only fair that I do the same for its fellow American burger expat, just around the corner. Shake Shack was established in New York just over ten years ago and since then has become somewhat of a legend in the world of American fast food chains - something which, for some reason, has become rather trendy of late. If you don't know your In and Out from your Taco Bell, and your Bubba Gump from your Krispy Kreme, well then who are you?

Shake Shack has a prime spot right in the middle of the old Covent Garden market. There is a small area to order the food, whereby you are given some kind of contraption which should be out of star trek, which shouts at you when your food is ready. We had always been put off by the enormous queue which signposted Shake Shack in its first month of opening. Now, though, it remains busy but a nice kind of busy - Embankment on a weekend, not Bank on a Monday rush hour. Once your have ordered and been handed the shouty klingon device, you can choose to either sit outside overlooking the Apple and the street performers, or inside in a small not particularly inspiring room, or in the central section of the market itself. You have barely sat down and already you are summoned. I went to collect my food only to find that a very helpful lady said she would bring it to my table. I then had to awkwardly escort the lady to the place where I was sitting so that she could safely deliver our meal to the table. One of the more bizarre concepts of service I have to say.

Anyway, the food. I would say, the burgers were good. They were very tasty, the chips were really good, and the beer was already (but £5 a pint). That all said, we couldn't help but feel that the whole thing was riding on one huge, distinctive and unique selling point. Because of this, it will probably do very well here. Because of this it will probably always be busy. Because of this people will be talking about it still. It is, unfortunately, probably only this which inspired me to blog about it. Shake Shack is riding on the novelty: it's from New York, it has become legendary, and now there is one in London. Sure, if there is not a queue, try it. The food, like I say, is pretty good. But for the price, I think I will be more likely to grab a burger at Five Guys. If ever I am in Covent Garden and craving an overpriced American fast food novelty burger. Also can't help feeling we should have tried a shake - oops!

24, Market Building, 

The Piazza, Covent Garden, 

London 

WC2E 8RD

Gold by Chris Cleave

Just finished reading a goodun'. Probably a bit late with this, as it was popular in the run up to the Olympics 2012. However, having read Cleave's most popular novel, the Other Hand, and thoroughly enjoying it, I wanted to give this one a go. Gold is a compelling story of three Olympic athletes in the run up to London 2012. Kate, Zoe and Jack all meet at trials for junior cyclists. Kate ends up marrying Jack, and they have a daughter, Sophie. Kate and Zoe are almost equal in their running for the Olympic games. As the story unfolds, all is not as it seems in their lives, and their performance on the track is far more integrally linked to their lives outside of the sport than we would previously assume. 

Cleave develops the main characters well, and I found myself increasingly intrigued by their stories, their emotional states and, ultimately, more interested in their athletic achievements. The book very much manages to capture what it must feel like to be at your physical peak, to devote your life to something. It puts into question the value of our families, of our health, of our careers and, of course, the value of winning gold. 

“Looking after a very sick child was the Olympics of parenting.” 
― Chris Cleave, Gold

Jackson + Rye, Soho

Jackson & Rye is located in a prime spot at the lower end of Wardour Street. The decision to visit was not, as is so often the case, a stumble upon by chance, a result of a complex chain of Google results, or a an off the cuff recommendation which came good. The decision to visit was much more of a resignation to the fact that we would eventually end up here. Since opening some months ago, this trendy brunch spot has been difficult to avoid, with many a good word printed and a tantalising photo taken. Even its overbearing awning, looming over the pavement, and intriguing net curtains, begged curiosity each time we passed. 

As is probably clear by now, we were keen to visit. 11.30 on a Sunday and there was a small queue forming outside. Thankfully, we had booked, and shown to our excellently positioned table by the window (it was only at the end of the meal when visiting the facilities that I realised it is actually deceptively huge - out table was by far the best positioned for the time of day, rather than being tucked away in the dim basement. That said, it is all beautifully done out and I would not have kicked up a fuss!). 

When ordering my coffee, I thought it would be interesting to go for the drip coffee, I was asked from which part of the world I would like the coffee to come from. Slightly taken aback by this, I let on that I was considering the question carefully, but ultimately couldn't give a monkeys if it were Colombian or Guatemalan (I know, I should really know which one is better - both in taste and in moral - but in the few seconds I had to decide where I wanted my coffee to come from, this level of conscious and considered strategy escaped me). The coffee comes in a theatrical arrangement of plate, doily, mug, milk jug, jug of boiling water, funny cone thingy, filter paper, oh and ground coffee, at which point you are invited to pour the water over the coffee at your leisure. Twenty minutes later and my mug was about full. A nice touch, and good for a one off, but if I were a regular I could probably do without the pretense. 

To eat we had eggs; avocado benedict and angler's, both of which were fantastic. We also had a side of the buttermilk pancakes, simply because we had heard good things - for a reason. The banana cream and maple syrup which comes with them is worth going back for in itself.

The restaurant has a relaxed atmosphere, the service was great and the food was even better. This New York style brunch spot - with its deep wood cladding, lines of green bottles and red striped dishtowel napkins - is no revolution in gastronomy, but it is comfortable, and comforting. It is honest, and simple, but a spectacle at the same time. They've got it, ahem, Rye-ight at this place.



 56 Wardour St,
 Soho,
 London 
 W1D 4JF
www.jacksonrye.com

Tracks

Went to see the film version of the best selling book, Tracks, at the weekend. The book is an account, written by Robyn Davidson, of her journey across Australia. She decided to make the seemingly impossible trip in the 1970s, with no other reason than to be alone. In need of sponsorship for the trip, she wrote to National Geographic. They funded her trip, and send a photographer to meet her along the way and document the journey. Despising the photographer at first, and in fact the very notion of posing for countless snaps, she soon found that he provided a form of stability and helped get her through. She acquired three (and a half) wild camels to carry her things, she struggles against the elements and sheer size of the landscape. 

The film is spectacularly shot, portraying the journey is great detail. The link back to the reality of the story, along with the original photos at the end of the film make it a heart-warming film which aptly documents the story which is testament to human endurance and determination.


“Camel trips, as I suspected all along, and as I was about to have confirmed, do not being or end: they mere change form.” 
― Robyn Davidson, Tracks

Mien Tay, Shoreditch

As avid readers will of course remember, I wrote a pretty raving review of a Vietnamese restaurant in Shoreditch/Hoxton's 'Pho Mile' (as it has been coined) a while back. Well, that clearly wasn't pho-nominal (sorry) enough for me, so I had to try another of the area's Vietnamese apparent assets, just a few doors down from Song Que. Mein Tay looks humble on the exterior (and, indeed, the interior), but there is a reason it is regularly queued out the door, and recently had to expand into the next-door restaurant for more seating space. The food here is really excellent; reasonably priced and generous portions. The atmosphere at the weekends is great - with many large groups and a lot of noise! Try the fresh spring rolls (below) which are delicious, and they also, unusually, offer goat, frog and eel dishes (although none of us were brave enough to try these). 

I would say it is recommended that you book, but it didn't seem to make any difference as we still had to queue for half an hour to be seated. Still, they kept us going with prawn crackers and it was worth the wait! Even worth enduring having to compromise leg room to accommodate a table with a built in diorama of a Vietnamese village, complete with plastic trees and bamboo huts. 

122 Kingsland Rd 

Shoreditch 

London

E2 8DP

mientay.co.uk/shoreditch

Other Desert Cities

My embarrassment at not having posted on the blog for nearly month has come to my attention as a result of an urge to tell the possibly now non-existent readers about a play I saw this week at the Old Vic. Other Desert Cities tells the story of a family living in Palm Springs. It it set very simply around the revelation of the newest novel written by the daughter. Much to the dismay of the republican parents, the novel is in fact a memoir recounting the fate of the family's late third child. 

Performed fantastically in the round, the play takes place entirely in the living room. The acting, therefore, had to be, and most definitely was, gripping and captivating. The script is in the most part witty and sharp, seamlessly matching comedy, drama and emotion. 

I would definitely recommend seeing this play before it finishes in May. Even if just to see the Old Vic in the round.