To Market.

With the abundance of America style diners opening up in Central London and the return of my sorely missed other half from his feature film shoot in Dunstable, we decided that it was time to go and indulge ourselves. With meat. And cheese.

You may remember Valentine’s Day 2012 fondly, as that night Rob and I explored the newly opened Meat Liquor (Fangtasia crossed with a butcher) and enjoyed some dirty US cuisine at its best.  Instead of revising as we have already done many times, we decided to check out another of Yianni Papoutsis’ creations – Meat Market in Covent Garden.  

With a rather secluded entrance off Tavistock Street, you head up the stairs to a small, rough and ready diner style set up overlooking Covent Garden’s Jubilee Market Hall. We arrived at about 7pm and managed to squeeze ourselves onto a newly empty table. There’s no table service here and you collect your food when you hear your name called. Like it’s sister, Meat Liquor, Meat Market has great style. It’s a toned down, simple version but its personality is still shining through.

Even with its small menu, it was hard to choose what to have. We both opted for the Maple Bourbon Shake (£6), which was the most incredible drink I have ever had. There was nowhere near enough of this to keep me satisfied. Rob even toyed with picking up another for the road. To eat, Rob chose the old faithful ‘Dead Hippy’ burger – just as good as usual, whilst I went for a Chilli Dog. The hot-dog itself was the star of the show – well flavoured with a good meaty texture, and stood out against the large amount of toppings that it was fighting against. The bun was soft and light and the chilli, cheese and jalapeños topped the dish off nicely.

We were in and out in about half an hour. As we left, I felt sated and exhilarated. I can only imagine that this is what it must feel like to visit a top of the range escort. 

Little Pick Me Ups

I thought that I would share a few of the food related things that have made me smile this week. 

This is the first one. It's a cookie sandwich. I spotted these whilst wandering around Camden Market and I couldn't leave until I'd nabbed one. It's from 'Cookies and Scream', a vegan and gluten free baketastic stall. I was extremely happy that I'd bought this. Two incredibly delicious and meaty cookies and a smooth, rich buttercream gluing them together. I could barely get my mouth around it, but it was so good.

Thursday morning I was having a quick bit of breakfast and 4 cups of tea in 'Caravan', when I spotted Thomasina Miers, the restaurateur, chef and host of 'Mexican Food Made Easy'. I am severely coveting her Mexican book and spotting her just a few tables across from me made my whole day a lot brighter, and I was a whole lot giddier. Alongside this, Caravan's crumpets were so incredibly buttery that I felt very naughty indeed.

Rob's Chilli Chicken Stir Fry. I am so chuffed that I bagged myself a man that can cook. I was having a bit of a poorly, yucky day and Rob's cure is to sweat it out. With lots of chilli, ginger and garlic. This dish will always hold a special place in my heart, as it features in one of our 'falling in love' events. I demanded cheekily that he cook me dinner, and this is what I got. Om nom.

There's nothing like a special afternoon tea. Especially with your best friend. Last week, my best girlie friend Celine came to visit... so we did what girls do best, browsed through Selfridges wishing we were rich and indulged in a delicate tea time. We ventured to 'Drink, Shop, Do', somewhere I had been anxious to try for a while. For just over a tenner each, we had a pot of tea (or a milkshake in Celine's case), a selection of cute little sarnies (salmon and cream cheese, cheese and pickle, ham and mustard and cucumber), a selection of decadent looking cakes (brownies, lemon slices and macaroons) and topped off with pick and mix. We didn't finish most of the sweets, but foraged them away into one of our bags for later nibbling. We then went on to a fun fair... a warning to others - do not eat a delicious, rich afternoon tea and then go on 7 extreme fairground rides. It will not end well.