Guided Food Walk through Brixton- A review of Fox & Squirrel

A few weeks ago, I was invited to be a part of a guided food tour hosted by the very innovative and unique tour guide company Fox & Squirrel. The tour I participated in was called "Eating your way through Brixton", a guided food walk into one of the most culturally significant neighbourhoods in London.  As you might remember, I have previously posted about Brixton in my London Markets post. Brett and I frequent Brixton quite often to shop for our weekly groceries on the Electric Avenue, therefore, when I was approached by Fox & Squirrel to participate in this tour, I was very excited to find out more about the market and neighbourhood.

Fox & Squirrel are an independent tour guide company, with just five expert guides that focus on creating a unique and innovative view to expose the lesser known aspects of London. The guides are experts in their fields, providing a well researched knowledge of the cultural impact behind each tour, whether it be on food, photography or architecture.

The Brixton food walk includes a 7 course taster menu on some of the best street food in London. Our expert guide for the walking tour was the founder of the company, Penelope Sacorafos. In order to not give away the whole tour, I will highlight 3 of the 7 courses we experienced.

Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony:
Elsa, owner of the Ethiopian restaurant Shawl's Café, showed us the traditional way to prepare coffee. Coffee originated in Ethiopia and traditionally was prepared by the women of the tribe who wore traditional garments during each ceremony. Elsa was definitely my favourite part of this tour, watching her prepare the coffee with such grace, her beautiful poise immolated through the experience. She started with raw coffee beans which before roasting are green in colour. She used a ladle to roast the coffee beans over an open flame until they were a dark chocolate colour. The whole ceremony the smell of frankincense permeated the tent we sat in, as it is traditional to burn frankincense during these ceremonies (to me, it reminded me of church).  Once the coffee was ground and steeped in hot water, she used a makeshift filter of what looked like crumbled up seaweed to pour the coffee.

The most interesting part of this experience was that the coffee was served with a spoonful of ground ginger and popcorn on the side. And the coffee itself was the purest, smoothest coffee I have ever had. Often times, the "Ethiopia" coffee served at Starbucks is bitter and very offensive on the pallet. This is mainly due to over-roasting. Coffee when done properly should remind you of a quality piece of dark chocolate, a smooth, rich flavour without the chalky aftertaste that most supermarket coffee leaves you with.

Ethiopian Mixed Platter:
After our coffee, we headed inside to Elsa's restaurant, the Shawl's Café, for my first experience with Ethiopian cuisine. We were served the mixed platter which consisted of many varieties of vegetable and spicy meat "wats" or stews served atop "injera", a large sourdough flatbread. Utensils were not served as a part of this meal, therefore the six of us were forced to get close, quickly, as we all competed for "a piece of the pie" if you will. We used the injera as the base to scoop everything up, and the objective was to keep one hand clean and wait until the end to clean off your other hand.

 

Columbian Restaurant: Las Americas
The last part of the tour that I wanted to highlight was the Columbian restaurant/ butcher shop/ money transfer/ travel agency that we went to. This shop had all of those things combined into one. The shop is very narrow and on Saturdays the place is packed, mainly with people of Columbian decent, gathering at this shop to get a piece of their heritage. We were lucky enough to speak with one of the chefs, Danny. His parents own the restaurant and moved to London a few decades ago. We dined on Lechona (Columbian style pork belly), Empanadas, and the most amazing salsa I have ever had! We asked Danny how he made the salsa, but after he said tomatoes, onion and chillies, I lost him on all the ingredients. There must have been over 30 ingredients in this salsa. We were able to take home a few samples and Brett and I used the salsa on scrambled eggs the following week- a must try if you have never done it!

What I loved so much about this tour was the knowledge Penelope had on the restaurants and shop owners in Brixton. While developing this tour, she interviewed many shop owners throughout the Brixton area to identify the most culturally significant chefs, owners and restaurants in the Brixton area to highlight on her tour. The places we visited were not trendy. They did not have a rustic chic ambiance with mason jars as wine glasses to draw you in from the outside. These restaurants were modest in appearance, but with the most profound cultural influence and delicious food. 

After visiting these restaurants, I couldn't help but think what a shame it is that most people these days would choose a restaurant with the perfect ambiance- exposed brick, chalkboards and low lighting, without any knowledge of the chef's background, over a restaurant with a modest appearance but with a chef who is an expert in their cuisine. These restaurants are using the recipes passed down from generation to generation, traditional restaurants that are lost on the foodie population looking for items like kale or lamb shank to identify the hot restaurant of the moment.

The last food for thought that I will leave with you today is that physiologist say that you will get more satisfaction out of an experience, such a tour, concert or play, than you would any tangible item, like a hat or a new outfit. One of the people on the tour told us that in regards to why they were on the tour, indicating that this was their Christmas gift to each other, and that sharing this experience together would be more enjoyable and memorable than any one particular tangible item. I hope to use this piece of advice in the future, as I definitely believe that is true.

-Mary

London Markets

London is very well know for it's multitude of markets that are open year round. Everything from art to flowers to organic foods, there is a market for each one. As expats and newcomers to London, our weekends often include visiting a new market.

For this post, I have detailed the different markets around the city that we have visited. I am hoping to do one on the various museums as well.

MARKETS

Noting Hill : This is by far the most popular tourist market in the city. Most well known for the movie that was named after it with Hugh Grant, it is a very large market with various shops, tons of street food and often times live music and street performers. It's everything you could want out of a market. Definitely a must see, be aware of serious crowds.

Borough Market : This is a fancy and very touristy market with artisanal cheeses, high quality cured meats such as iberico pate negra and fresh pastries.  Located off the London Bridge stop, this market is a perfect way to start a day of touring the city, just be sure to bring your umbrella as it will most likely rain at some point during the day. Borough Market is close to the Tower and London Bridges, St. Paul's Cathedral and many museums. Start your day off here and make your way through town.

Camden Stables Market : This market is in the birthplace of rock and roll and by the looks of it probably the hipster movement as well. Bands such as Pink Floyd and Jimmy hendrix have played in this area of London, the center of London's music scene. The market was old horse stables that were converted into various shops. You can buy anything from a high quality English wool blanket or a new S&M toy, and on your way back to the tube you would have a selection of 100 tattoo parlors to choose from to commemorate your time in London.

Columbia Road Flower Market:  This is a really fun market for a casual weekend in London. It is off the Shoreditch stop on the tube, which is a short trip outside the city center. The market is pretty self explanatory, it is a flower market with around 50 vendors selling all kind of flowers, from tropical to tulips to house plants. We went home with three small blue/green succulents and a flowering cactus to decorate our flat. A lot of tourist books suggests this market to visit, but I wouldn't recommend this market unless you have ample amount of time in London, as it is not very big and there isn't a lot of other things around.

Brixton Market : This is the posh market in Brixton, where you can shop for unique items and grab a proper breakfast or an afternoon drink with friends. This cute market is about a 30 minute tube ride from the city center but is definitely a locals area as the market is tucked away off the beaten path. This is definitely one of my favorite markets, but that might be swayed by the lack of crowds.

Electric Avenue : So this is the gritty area in Brixton, only one block separated by the market I discussed above. This is where many locals go to purchase fresh produce and meats. It is mainly Asian and African cuisine butcher and produce shops. Brett and I frequent this market for the cheap produce, chicken and fresh fish. However, you have to know what you are in the market for as not all the items are of the highest quality, and this market is not for the faint of heart as there are a lot of things we wouldn't see in our everyday grocery stores- whole eel...

If you are looking to visit any of these markets, please let me know if you have any questions! I'd be happy to help you plan your visit in London.

Or if you have any other recommendations on markets in London, I would love to hear them.

Cheers!
Mary

Catching up and Happy New Year!

Wow, so much has happened since the last time I posted. I wanted to catch everyone up with what we have been up to these last few months.

We visited Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, in early December. A town that at it's center is a medieval castle built atop a huge hill formed by volcanic activity. The views from the castle allowed a 360 degree view of the surrounding lands and the Southern shore of the Firth or Fourth. Aside from touring the city, we spent a lot of our time in the pubs, drinking the local cask ales and whiskys, listening to folk music accompanied by none other than bagpipes. 

The following weekend, we rented a car with our American friends and took a day trip to tour the English countryside. This included Salisbury, Stonehenge and the city of Bath, named after the Roman bath houses that are still functioning today. We also caught a glimpse of one of the original copies of the Magna Carta.

We were lucky enough to be able to fly back home to Cincinnati for Christmas and New Year, but not lucky enough for our travel plans to go perfect. Our commute to Cincinnati from London took over 24 hours. And for our return flight, due to the polar vortex and the immense amount of snow hitting the States, we encountered three cancelled flights and arrived in London three days after we intended. But it was worth it to be able to see our family and friends during the Christmas season.

So with the new year upon us, I can't wait for all our adventures to start! Here is just some of the traveling we have booked for the year! Cheers to 2014, can it really get any better?!

February: Skiing in the French Alps, Meribel, France

April: Celebrating Easter week in Seville and Malaga, Spain

Late May: A week long trip with Brett's parents traveling to Paris and the French Riviera

June: Weekend in Amsterdam with our friends from Cincinnati

August: Ireland/ Scotland

September: Octoberfest, Munich

November: "ORLANDDOOOO, my favorite place... Sea World and Disney and Putt Put Golfing!". Our best friends are getting marrieddd!!

But with all this travel booked, it has lead to my New Year's resolutions:

1. Find a job to help pay for all this travel

2. Post more frequently on my blog

3. Go to church more often (this is a reoccurring resolution)

If you want to check out all the pictures I have taken so far, click on the slideshow on the on the side of my blog for a link to my public Picasa web albums.

Cheers!

Mary

Life as Cats

 

Monsieur Nick

We moved into our apartment last week and, as one of my friends put it, we are nesting. By that she meant making our flat a home and becoming accustom to our life in London. As I had previously mentioned, our flat came furnished with the large essential items such as a bed, couch, chest of drawers, ect. However there were still a few items that we needed in order to make our apartment more functional. For instance, Brett brought more shoes to London than I did and because of all his shoes, he was very adamant about having a shoe rack. Seriously, a shoe rack was on the same level of priority as a TV and dishes.

Now I'll take a minute here to explain the purpose of the title of this post: Life as Cats.  When we decided to move abroad I was pretty overwhelmed with all the logistics it was going to take to move us from Chicago to Cincinnati (where our items would be stored and where our parents live) and then to London. My married into mother (I refuse to use the word in-law, as it carries a negative connotation and doesn't begin to describe my love for my married in family) rested assured that everything would work out perfectly because we are cats... excuse me? I mean I LOVE cats, but come again? How are we cats? She explained that we always seem to land on our feet and that our move and time in London will all work out because we always land on our feet. And I took that piece of advice to heart. Like when we didn't have a place to live for the month of September, when I lost my debit card and only source of money three days before we left the States, when we couldn't decide on where we wanted to live and the fact that I don't have a job yet.

Cat Instance #1:
But she is right, we are cats and whatever obstacle that comes up in our lives, we somehow manage to land on our feet. We had put an offer in on a place in West Hampstead, but at the end of the day, I didn't feel excited or nervous on whether we were going to get the place. I think it was that I wasn't sold on West Hampstead. I took that as a bad omen and panicked worrying if we would be in the right location. The next day we toured the Clapham area in anticipation of our flat showings scheduled for the following day. Once we stepped out of the Clapham Common stop, we were sold on the area. Which didn't really help my anxiety because then I needed our relator to find us a flat just as nice as the one in West Hampstead! But as cats will have it, we found the perfect flat, in the perfect area and again landed on our feet.

This is the view from our apartment. We can see Big Ben and Westminster!

Most of the items we purchased to finish off our flat were found via Gumtree, which is similar to Craigslist in the States. However not having a car made the search quite interesting. We ended up finding items all within walking distance, and ended up carrying each item back to our apartment. Including a vanity dressing table, a huge mirror and a TV stand. It took us all day to pick up those items because the walk each way would take about 30 minutes and we obviously could only carry one item at a time. Notice in the picture below, the table we carried 1.5 miles as well as the coffee cup that I found on the side of the street in a box labeled "free".

Cat Instance #2:
The biggest cat-like behavior so far was that the guy across the hall from us was moving to Italy the same weekend as we were moving in! He gave us so many items FOR FREE that he couldn't take to Italy with him.

The worst part about moving to a city via plane, instead of vehicle, is that you can't take the small items that you have had forever, like hangers! We ended up spending 30 quid on 50 HANGERS! So when we started seeing him place items in the hall, we scavenged everything. Here is what we got from him: shoe rack, a few baskets, a few pots, a Brita, a bathroom rug, mop bucket, a light comforter, a few trash cans, two bedside table lamps, extension cords, HANGERS, vases, containers, and a chair! Seriously we took everything he was getting rid of, including a juicer which I don't really think I will ever use, nor really know how to use it.

It was to the point that I was checking the hallway every hour to see if more treasures were out there! Eventually he just invited me into his apartment and practically said "take whatever you need". And now that he is gone, the hallway isn't as cheerful anymore, I felt like every time I turned the corner to our apartment, it was like Christmas morning!

I tried to think of something that I could give him to thank him for everything he gave to us, but being that we just move here, all I could offer him was a bowl of chili. Which he respectfully declined.

Cat Instance #3:
As a domestic house cat, I also sleep a lot since I don't particularly have a job. Which leads to my fourth and final cat-like behavior.

Hopeful Cat Instance #4:
So now to wrap up this cat related post, I am hopeful that I will use some of my cat-magic and land myself a purrrrfect job. Wish me luck!!

Do you guys find yourself acting like cats ever?

 

Landed in London

We started down this path to living in London back in March, and it is hard to believe that we actually made it here nearly six months later. We landed in London last Monday with 7 bags and one box to our names. It figures that all three of Brett's checked bags were exactly 50 lbs (the weight limit), and all three of my bags were overweight. When we arrived in London, we had a private car service waiting to pick us up from the airport. He drove us around the city for what seemed like an hour, giving us the tour of London and then finally dropping us off at our temporary housing in the West End, or how I like to describe it- tourist hell! It's very close to Regents square, Buckingham palace and Westminster, which explains the massive amounts of people.

Brett thankfully was given last week off as a transition week, therefore we used this time to really try and get to know our new home. It however did not feel like a vacation, I felt like we were on an African Safari... we were constantly in  search of food and shelter. Food being that we kept accidentally ordering this thing called rillette, which is the preparation of meat similar to pate and served as a spoonful on your plate that looks and smells strikingly like cat food. But for fear of offending the chef, I made sure to eat at least half of that Fancy Feast dinner. After ordering rillettes two times last week, we decided to start googling menu items to be sure of our order.

And shelter being that we were constantly exploring new neighborhoods to determine which area would suit our lifestyle best. We were between West Hampstead and Clapham Common, both zone 2 locations, only about 3-4 miles away from the city center and both only about 30 minutes from work. We ended up choosing a place in Clapham Old Town. We found an apartment complex right in the center of a bunch of restaurants, bars and cute little shops, plus the tube stop and a gigantic park are very close by as well! Our apartment does not have a dishwasher, something I had been preparing for the last few months but does have a "full sized" refrigerator, meaning it is tall and has a separate freezer. Most of the places we were looking at only have those mini refrigerators you take to college.

The most interesting thing about Flat searching in London is that most of the places available for let are furnished, the price is determined per week and it is all negotiable. The place we ended up signing was newly refurbished and the only piece of furniture was a kitchen table. The place was listed for 350 GBP/week and we put an offer in at 340 GBP/ week plus furniture: king size bed (equivalent to a queen in the states), bed side tables, 2 chest of drawers, coffee table, ANNNNDDD I asked them to buy this specific couch frmo IKEA that I am obsessed with, and it seems like they are going to get the one I asked! My friends in Brooklyn own this couch and it is perfect for lounging on a Sunday but has extra storage and turns into a double bed (instead of a pull out mattress)! Perfect for visitors! Link here!

The ironic thing is that our apartment in London could very well be bigger than our apartment in Chicago! I can't wait to get settled instead of living out of our exploding suitcases!

I'll post more this week about our adventures thus far, but here are a few pictures to get you by...

First dinner in London- Barrafina, Soho



Regents square

Entrance to the Mall

Buckingham Palace

St. Paul's Cathedral

Cheerio!

<3 Mary

Visas Approved

We received notification this morning that our Visa applications have been approved! Brett said he had to submit over 60 pages for our applications and spent nearly 10 hours putting the package together. Everything from pay stubs to marriage license to copies of our college degrees. Now I just need to finish my resume and start looking for jobs in London- anyone looking for a financial analyst?!

We packed up most of our unnecessary kitchen items and sent them home to Cincinnati with Brett's sister during her visit last weekend. The last time I posted I had mentioned that we had to find a one month sublease and move into a new apartment through the end of September. Thankfully we found a pretty cheap apartment, discounted by a woman who had recently purchased a house and was looking for someone to cover the remainder of her lease. 

We will save $500 in rent at the new place, which will virtually pay for our movers. We currently live on the fourth floor of a building with no elevator. It took an hour to get our couch up the stairs, hopefully these movers will be more efficient!

Last week was very reminiscent of fall, cool mornings, warm afternoons and sleeping with the windows open.  I'm beginning to get pretty sad that I won't be here to enjoy the beautiful fall weather. I love lazy October Sundays spent watching football on the couch as the cool breeze blows through the window. Curled up with a blanket and a craft beer doing more sleeping than actually watching the games. I love the orange, red and yellow trees, and every year pick a new favorite tree that I admire and take way to many pictures. They probably have trees in London too, and instead of football they have futbol, but what about my pumpkin spiced lattes or lets not forget thanksgiving!!

Thankfully some of our best friends (he plays professional volleyball and she makes the best crepes in the world) live in Belgium and are only a short train ride away for when we need a taste of home. Or maybe just an excuse to make a pecan pie or sweet potato casserole.

Also, I wonder if our train conductors will be as pleasant as they are in Chicago. I was typing this post while riding the train into work and the train conductor told me he loved me! Well in he actually came on the speakers and said, "Have a wonderful day, I love you too", but I took it personally!

I have a lot of anxiety building in life right now, but am trying to just tackle each item one at a time. Some people like to run, work out or maybe even drink (eek) in order to reduce their anxiety, but for me, cooking is my therapy. Last night my mind was running at 100 mph (or should I say kph) and I just needed to relax and stop thinking about things I have no control over. So with an empty apartment, I spent the next hour and a half making a delicious chicken pot pie, equipped with a homemade cheesy biscuit crust. It was the perfect way to settle my nerves.

What is your favorite fall activity?

What do you do to reduce stress in your life?!

<3 Mary

Paris- Our First Trip Booked

pic:

Yesterday, Brett officially booked out first travel destination...

We are headed to Paris for our one-year anniversary! I can't believe it, in just over two months I will be walking the cobble streets of Paris, dinning at little cafes and celebrating an Amazing first year of marriage!!

Brett has been to over 15 cities in Europe due to his college study abroad trip, but I never did one of those trips so all of this travel will be a first for me! Therefore, my first visit to Paris will be to celebrate our first year of marriage, how romantic indeed! The first time in the most romantic city in the world will be spent with a pretty amazing guy, celebrating our wonderful marriage (cough cough, "ok we get you are kind of a spoiled brat")!

We are staying at the Westin Paris, which I have no idea where that is in relation to everything... but I do know that there are views of the Eiffel Tower from some rooms!

Last weekend we went to a quaint little French restaurant a couple blocks from our apartment and it just got me so excited for this trip. We had foie gras, tapenade, freshly baked bread, grilled red snapper, a bottle of red wine and we finished off our dinner with a classic crème brulee!

Although the food was phenomenal, the atmosphere didn't compare to what I imagine actual Paris will be like. It was a cool night, so we sat outside on their side patio. Our evening was frequently interrupted by the casual motorcycle gang, large semi trucks and city buses.

Is it too cliché to expect someone to be singing "Bella Notte" while we dine beneath the stars?

Any recommendations for things to do while in Paris? Or restaurant recommendations?!

On a less exciting note, we officially found out today that we have to move out of our apartment Sept 1st and find a sublease for one month... This is tragic news for us as it will be such a struggle to move twice, and I can barely grasp the magnitude of crap we have to move.

<3 Mary