Dithering over what to write for this first blog post has resulted in some pretty serious procrastination over the last couple of months. It doesn’t help living in the sticks where there is a lack of a food scene to draw inspiration from, so a day in big smoke was planned in order to get the ball rolling. I’d been wanting to write about all of the good stuff going on at the street food events for a while so got along to sample it first hand. So with a Friday booked off work it was up to Kings Cross & Eat St for lunch. Setting out, the only thing on my mind was if it would be OTT to eat at each of the four vendors trading that day: Luardos burritos, The Rib Man, Tongue n’ Cheek & Home Slice pizza. If I’m going all that way I don’t wanna miss out, right? En route, Luardos has sent out a call:
Me with a free afternoon to see what’s what, them needing some help…. win-win! 30 minutes later I’m there, saucing up some seriously good burritos (“can I get you hot chilli, medium chilli, salsa verdi or sour cream?” Times that by about 50) and taking money of the good people of KX. There’s a good mix of people too – office workers, students, hipsters, other foodies checking it out, construction guys, locals. Friends stop by for a chat and talk about their food business ot the next meet up, at which point I’m seriously plotting a return to city living (…..um, can we talk wifey??).Everyone seems happy to be there, despite the cold and drizzle, appreciatiive of what they are about to throw down their neck. This is the point, right? Good food, something slightly out of the ordinary, made with care, served quick & cheap. You don’t get that in Pret!
And the food is goooood. They make everything fresh every morning – from the meat (beef shank & brisket, pullled pork, chicken) to the guacamole, rice & black beans. The pork carnitas I had was nice and smoky, the habanero hot chilli sauce right on the money. Delicious.
We get to chatting while all this is going on, Simon giving a little history on the business, observations on the scene, plans for the summer (lots of markets & festivals – keep an eye out), and the merits of Dinosaur Jr. Hugo and me swap stories about coming to London “for a year” and still being here many more later, because the place rocks.
As service winds down I duck up to The Ribman to grab one of his rolls – nothing else to say other than believe the hype! Amazing, and likewise his HF sauce is as good as everyone says. This guy rocks up at midnight before service every day to start slow cooking his ribs – thats some dedication.
Tongue ‘n Cheek have dropped off a freeby when I get back so a cahnce to eat more pig – cheek this time, and yes, it too is great. Chris tells me he is planning on serving up tripe soon, he’s just deciding which of his 12 recipes to use. Tripe! Love it.
It’s all over before I know it. After a clean up & thank-yous all round I make for Victoria Station to head back to the burbs. Must get to these things more often – so should you. Go! Now….. to figure out how we can make it so food as good as this is on every other street corner…….
@Luardos @theribman @eatstreet @tonguencheeks @homesliceLDN
PS… First post done, thanks for reading. They will get better, honest. I hope. And it won’t look all standard word-pressy for too long neither…..
Flavoured beers. More varieties than you can poke a stick at. Some great, others making you wish you’d gone for the boring option instead. As much as I love to big up local producers, Fallen Angel brewery’s “Fire in the Hole” falls into the latter category. It shows potential, but the chilli is so overpowering it’s more like a bottle of fizzy chilli juice than a beer, and the heat from the chilli is more astringent than warming. Mmm, bitter fizzy chilli juice. Like I say, it’s got potential. Go easy on the scuds next time fellas, and you might be getting somewhere.
