[REVIEW] Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes / Bubby’s / Tribeca, New York

It’s important to toil against the impending jetlag and the most efficient way of doing that is mainlining buttermilk pancakes and bottomless cups of diner coffee.

On a recommendation from the lovely Gizzi Erskine on the Twitters, we wandered over for a full buttermilk assault.

It’s easy to forget just how ruddy fat they are. I’m getting to the stage where I’m quite proud of my own-recipe batter that gets made on weekends, but being confronted with a stack like this slaps me right back into place. These make mine look like Pancakes Jr.

Great texture, superb uniformity to the edge and the sautéed bananas were wicked sweet. Only complaints would be the sour cream doesn’t really bring much to the table and that we were wholly unable to finish them.

It’s also up the street from the Ghostbusters fire station, so overall, essential.

We want to come back for the scrapple, but realistically we’ll be there after midnight for some of that pie.

  • Simon.

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[PREVIEW] The 1/3lb Bacon Cheeseburger from Kua’Aina, Soho

Yes, that is quite a char isn’t it…

[REVIEW] Fish Tacos / Luardo’s / Brockley Market, London

The only other London burrito slingers to our knowledge that serve a fish taco are Wahaca.

Much as I love Wahaca, they have a tendency of being a bit snooty toward Californian Mexican fare, then putting it on their menu and botching it.

The Luardo’s version is far closer to tacos we’ve had in SoCal. The Coley is nicely cooked but the liberal amount of lime juice, mango, coriander and wonderful creamy guacamole brings a little piece of the west coast to a wet car park in Brockley. Without any local point of comparison then, we can say quite conclusively that these are the best fish tacos in London.

Sadly, the fish taco is only available on Saturday lunchtimes at the moment, and not during their more popular Whitecross Market or Eat Street residencies. This is because it’s nowhere near as popular as their standard meaty burrito options, which is a massive shame.

Fish tacos are a great differentiator for Luardo’s now that the London burrito scene has become so shamelessly identikit. Let’s hope they roll them out more regularly. And that people buy them. Please buy them. Supply and demand and all that.

  • Simon.
What do you get when you slow cook ribs, pull the meat off the bones and put it in a bun? Awesome is what you get, son. Courtesy of the @theribman at @EatStreet.
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What do you get when you slow cook ribs, pull the meat off the bones and put it in a bun?

Awesome is what you get, son.

Courtesy of the @theribman at @EatStreet.

[PREVIEW] MeatLIQUOR / London / The Hangover Is Still Not Over

Hang on, let’s rewind a little bit…

“The other question mark with the Meateasy will be what happens when it shuts down in March. Between now and then, a back-of-fag-packet calculation suggests the MeatEmpire will have served way, way more covers than it ever has done before. With that comes the next difficult sequel.

How do you go from having created such a special place, with a full menu, table service, a bigger kitchen, electronic ordering systems and all the other elements that add up to their slickest project yet, to then shutting it down and going back to a little van again?

And what of the pubs? Surely, Yianni is in the completely unique position of being able to say to any pub in London, from zone 1 to 6, that he can show up with his team and guarantee a horde of big eating, big drinking punters. Most of whom will post about it online. And then bring in even more punters. That surely has to factor in to his long term strategy.”

The sequel

Technically, this is the third act. #MEATEASY was very much the sequel to the little burger van that could.

Others would probably disagree with us, but we were underwhelmed by the Meatwagon’s residency at the Rye in Peckham. A great deal of the urgency and energy generated by the #MEATEASY waned over the summer, and able competition sprang up around town, both on the street and pubs getting their act together.

But sure enough, there was a plan. Bricks and mortar. And here we are, a skip and a jump away from Oxford Street.

The things you need to know:

  • opening hours will be 12pm until midnight (and there was a mention of 2am) Tuesday to Saturday.
  • it exhibits the dark, red-stained, neon feel of a Proper Good Dive Bar. An American one, obviously.
  • you will once again be regularly cursing Soulshakers for giving you that whopping hangover. The jam jars and ice blocks are in full effect.
  • there are some new menu items we’ve never seen from the Meatwagon before. The desserts are a big one, but we’re into the Buffalo Chicken burger.
  • the kitchen is ‘massive’.
  • there’s a restaurant bit out the back, but we didn’t get to look at it
  • we lost the ability to focus within 45 minutes of arrival

We didn’t eat much, so a review would be fruitless. We shared a mini burger (pretty sure it wasn’t a slider). It was excellent. It had special sauce in it and that amazing salty crust you only get with a Meatwagon burger. The buffalo wings have improved from their #MEATEASY outings - properly quartered and Frank’s’ed.

Be excited.

It’s gonna be big. Super, crazy big.

[GALLERY] The Hawksmoor Breakfast Slideshow / Hawksmoor Guildhall / London