Supperclubs

Joff and I had a discussion one evening, well over several evenings in fact, about the possibility of opening our front room to strangers and cooking them dinner. Or more accurately Joff would cook them dinner and I would boss him about and welcome people in. Our house is small so we figured we could probably only fit 4 people in happily. We would charge them only for the cost of ingredients and they would bring wine. Well, it seems we were not alone, apparently some food bloggers (notably Ms Marmitelover) are already doing it. Foodrambller was a guest in Ms Marmitelovers front room, otherwise known as The Underground Restaurant and writes about it here. The fact that there have been articles about it in both the Guradian and the Metro means it is sure to spread. We may even have a go, I will keep you posted. Meanwhile Iwould like to hear from anyone who has been to one, or if not, do you like the idea and would you go?

Joe's kitchen

Joe's kitchen is an American diner style restaurant in borough, very close to the station. We go there mostly for convenience, it is nearish to the house and close to the gym, and it does eggs on toast and I like to eat eggs on toast for lunch at the weekend.

The atmosphere is warm and vibrant and the menu pretty much what you would expect:eggs, burgers, pancakes, breakfasts, french toast. The coffee is good and served in decent sized cups, the decor is self consciously 'homey', toys, books, cans of beans, jars of sweets on shelves, that kind of thing.

And now for the quibble, and it is a quibble rather than a reason not to go, because we do still keep going: the service. It is cheerful enough and solicitous enough but erratic doesn't come near to describing it. They take your order, the food is cooked and placed on the serving hatch (you can see through this to the kitchen) and there it sits, sometimes for what seems like 10 minutes. Waiting staff walk past it, sometimes even lean over it to talk to the kitchen staff, walk past it again, talk to other waiting staff, look at it, but only after an extraordinarily long time do they pick it up and bring it to you. This means it is often a little colder than it should be, although not quite as cold as it could be given the length of time it has been sitting there. It has now got to the point where I sit facing away from the kitchen, otherwise I become obsessed with watching the food sit on the hatch while people ignore it.

But we still keep coming back. This is because the food is actually fairly good, it is one of the few places near borough to eat (see previous posts Lunch in Borough Market 1 and 2) and because I am absurdly optimistic. The conclusiont to all this is that there is a market for good, simple lunch places in Borough and that if Joe's Kitchen got it's serving system sorted out it would be very good instead of ok.

Hare and Tortoise - Big Dish, Small Bill

This is the first time I have visited a Hare and Tortoise, a chain of Japanes noodle restaurants. We went to the one in the Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury, which is essentially a shopping centre and so not hugely atmospheric.

The restaurant itself is cafe like, wooden tables, no frills. I have only recently acquired a taste for Japanes food and being a vegetarian I am obviously limited in the range I have had. This said the Hare and Tortoise serves good and extraordinarily cheap food. I had ramen noodles, tofu, and green leafy vegetables in broth served in a vast bowl. I also had a starter of spring rolls with a delicously tangy sauce and shared a small jug of sake.

There were 3 of us, we each had a starter and a giant main course (along the same lines as the one I have just described) a small jug of Sake and 2 cokes. The bill came to £30. £30!! Unbelievable. I felt like a student. And there was so much food none of us could eat it all. And it tasted good, the tofu was covered in a very light batter so helld its texture in the broth, the greens were not overcooked and the noodles firm and more ish.

This is great recession food, I mean surely I am not expected to eat in every night. I shall be visiting the Hare and tortoise again and seeking out similar bargain restaurants, although I suspect this may be hard to beat.

Giraffe

Giraffe is a ubiquitous chain that describes itself as both a 'family' and 'world food' restaurant. Normally all of those things would be enough to make my heart sink but I am fond of Giraffe. It is hearty, friendly (the waiting staff are almost too cheery) and the food is fresh and mostly tasty. It is a good place to go when you have seen or done something or are on the way to see or do something.

We ate here after seeing The Reader ( I liked it but then I liked the book and it meant I could waffle on about it for ages afterwards). I ordered somethign vegetarian but without the mushrooms which they then ran out of. This meant I ordered a Power food Salad and had to order chips, because you can't have salad without chips, not in winter. I was fairly disappointed ordering as it always seems like a last resort to order salad in restuarants. However I was pleasantly suprised; it was very good, with generous amounts of toasted seeds and cashews to add crunch, flavoursome but not overpowering dressing and no goat's chees, which is always a bonus. And the chips are lovely: thin, crispy and salty.

There is a good selection of wine, the atmosphere is lively and the food reasonably priced. It is the sort of place to go when you want to go somewhere nice and pretty safe, where most people will find something to eat, not high end but happy.