Lunch
t's our wedding anniversary next week, which will provide Mr Anke with a rare opportunity to take me out to eat somewhere other than the Himalayan Gurkha. We've seldom ventured further than the Gurkha this year, simply because it can't be beaten in terms of convenience, and the fact that their naans can make grown men weep and poets reach for their pens. That's as far as our evenings go, anyway; we've managed to go further afield for our lunches, and here are some of my favourites.
Best Chips I
If you want top quality, but utterly unponcified pub grub - and who doesn't - then you can't do any better than The Ragged Trousers. Mercifully the chef - a chap whose culinary mastery is matched by his passion - firmly stands by his skin-on chips, in spite of the odd customer complaining that they're "wrong". Fancy that! Chips looking like potatoes! Whatever next? Well, they may not be the prettiest chips in town, but their taste and texture cannot be bettered. Here's my chips with a hot, citrussy (i.e. spot-on) jerk chicken burger. Cath's getting stuck into her beef focaccia in the background.
Best Chips II
Our town is proudly flanked by two colossi of the chip - the "Troosers", and The Black Dog up the Camden Road end. The Black Dog's chip is an entirely different beast, but no less lovely. They employ the twice-cooked method, ensuring a featherlight middle and a crunchy exterior. Here they are with a felafel pitta, which featured in my Best Vegetarian guide earlier this year.
Best Sarnie
Even if their food was rubbish, I'd still enjoy visiting Soup-Urb, for its funky, Armistead Maupin-esque vibe and its sheer orangeness. Mercifully the food isn't rubbish by a long shot, but it isn't the soup, or even the charming, roughly hewn cakes that keep me going back. I've managed to stay away from meat for most of this year, but their pork belly sandwich had me falling off the wagon time and time again. A magnificent beast, which I balanced by going for the granary option and the freshly made melon, apple and mint juice. And on the subject of juice…
The Hangover Friend
Unlike Soup-urb, Pygwidgeon and Pye doesn't win any prizes in the decor stakes, but I was bloody grateful for it this summer. If I'd slightly overdone it the night before, there was no better way to spend the morning after than enjoying the sun's rays with a cheese and marmite toasted ciabatta, a soothing melon smoothie, and the G2 crossword.
The Give Quiche A Chance Award
About 97% of quiches are crap. That's a fact. But proudly leading the other 3% by a considerable margin is Basil, which delighted us with their crumbly pastry and rich, creamy quichey bit. Here's the mushroom and herb one.
...and if you want a 100% liquid lunch, then you can't beat a double G&T from The Wells Kitchen. Not that I would ever condone such behaviour...
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