Ranoush Juice, London, W2: Cheap, delicious lebanese food
Upon moving my blog to this website, I’ve come across over 30 drafted reviews in various states from a couple of words to ones like this one, which was complete. So this represents my notes from a visit in April 2009 and a more recent visit in the last three months.
Ranoush Juice is part of the large group of Maroush and Ranoush restaurants that was started by Marouf Abouzaki in 1981. They have been serving shwarmas and churning out juice for years. Bungalow 8 the night before and whiskey tasting at Browns in the afternoon, we had set our stomachs on a mission to go to Maroush on Egware Road. However walking down Edgware Road we quickly realised a slight problem – virtually every restaurant was a Maroush. Anyway, we just wanted Shawarma… and so obviously we had to choose a garishly bright and fast looking place – Ranoush Juice. Continue Reading…
Eastside Inn: A Thanksgiving Experience
It seems a little odd perhaps reading about a thanksgiving dinner in January, not least one written by a Brit. Over numerous thanksgiving dinners at Bodeans and once at Christophers over the years, my Franco-American girlfriend and I really needed to try somewhere else or end up doing it all ourselves. But a 3kg turkey, mashed Idaho potatoes, battleships of gravy, and so on are just too much for a couple to put together. I’d not read much about Eastside Inn but when I did a little research I had found nothing but praise for chef-proprietor Bjorn van der Horst’s cooking albeit the mention of slightly high prices. Bjorn was previously the chef-patron of La Noisette and cut his teeth at the Greenhouse in Mayfair. So arriving at the restaurant we find it comprises of two sections, on the right a fine dining restaurant with the décor of high end waiting room and through to the left a much more open, inviting and ultimately affordable bistro. Each section is separated by the central open plan kitchen where you can see Bjorn and his team in action at any moment. Serving both the top end and mid range area of the restaurant crowd… Continue Reading…
The Byron “Big D” 8oz premium burger
So… I want to keep this short and sweet as I only just wrote about Byron. Today, Byron launched their brand new premium 8oz patty developed in conjunction with O Sheas in Knightsbridge, and I had reserved two at the Byron Soho branch earlier in the day. This burger could only come one way, in “classic” form, in their plain white bun with fixings of a slice of tomato, lettuce, red onion and mayonnaise with a long slice of pickle on the side. Continue Reading…
The Iron Works Barbecue: An Austin staple
Once upon a time The Iron Works served up reputedly the best barbecue in Austin, Texas. Since 2003, I’ve been frequenting this shack of restaurant on an annual basis around the South by South West Music Conference and Festival. Seemingly like quite a few barbecue places in Austin, it is in quite an odd setting. Until 1977, this red corrugated tin building did house the ironworks of the Weigl family, who came over from Germany in 1913. Their ornamental craft can be seen all over the city, including the State capitol. The setting is like that of a modern Western movie, and the interior has just as much character as the exterior, with old worn, dark wooden floors, tables covered by red plastic tablecloths, and walls adorned with memorabilia from the ages of Weigl Ironworks. Continue Reading…
Byron Burger: What is the perfect burger?
What is my perfect burger?
We can break this burger down to its constituent parts, the bun, the condiments, the garnish, the cheese and the most important part, the patty. The heart and soul of every burger is the patty and this is where we will start. Lean cuts of beef tend to make very dry burgers and it is the fat in the burger that gives it the best flavour. There is also the question of getting the right texture to aid both during cooking and final product. A course grind is preferred. Even compressing the beef into patties too tightly can cause it to lose any lightness in texture completely. The patty should be in proportion to the size of the tomato, the bread and whatever else you have. Finally we get to cooking the patty, resulting in a charred seared exterior and rosy pink interior, medium rare from edge to edge, soft and oozing with juices . Continue Reading…
KyoChon: Incredibly Tasty Chicken
Famous neighbours in a famous neighbourhood, that sums up Beverly Hills from where I stood. It is an almost ethereal drive to Kyochon from the top of the hill east through Beverly Hills to Korea Town, and a good 30 minutes if you are lucky. Like any Beverly Hills resident, my friend drove us down there in his brand new eco-friendly black Prius, with tinted windows, and in LA fashion, there was valet parking. Inside Kyochon, it didn’t seem any different to any Californian fast food joint, with big windows, cheapo plastic tables and TV screens showing menus that hung from the ceilings above the servers heads. Except the little buttons on each table: Press it, and your server appeared. Continue Reading…
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