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Pitt Queue

March 16, 2012 //
2

There are always loads of new restaurants opening up in London every single week and even if I wanted to, it is near on impossible to try them all. I generally keep an ongoing list of interesting places that I hear about and pick them off one by one when I am meeting friends for a bite.

It must be said that whilst I try a lot, generally they are pretty disappointing. Part of me wonders if I am just a miserable old cow who is too demanding and not free in the moment to enjoy the experience. Then I talk to friends who have also eaten there and realise it is not just me. I have one friend in particular, Andy, who shares in my cynical outlook and the two of us invariably shrug our shoulders and cross places off our list without ever finding somewhere new to replace our tried and tested favourites.

When I came back from South Africa, I had a few new places on the list: Duck Soup, 10 Greek Street, Pitt Cue Co., Soif, Dabbous and 34. I went with the gang of 4 to Soif and found it…disappointing. Such a shame as sisters Brawn and Terroirs are pretty consistent for a good meal. Dabbous is booked up until May after some great reviews so that will have to be planned in and will definitely remain high up on my list, as will 34.

I took my friends from Dubai to Soho and looked into Pitt Cue but couldn’t face the queue. So we opted for 10 Greek Street after a glowing review from Jay Rayner. Whilst I normally agree with him, I found it nice but just not exciting. Duck Soup followed in a similar vein, via the Pitt Cue queue. Maybe it was the uncomfy bar stools, the overpriced wine list or the badly cleaned oysters, but it is not remaining on any list of mine.

1 Newburgh St: home to Pitt Cue Co.

Pitt Cue Co. started out as one of those street food airstream trailers which was parked for the latter half of last year under Hungerford bridge, Southbank. It generated quite a cult following over the Summer as people raved about the pulled pork buns and the sheer simplicity of the offer. It was spot on trend with smoked meats, bbq cooking and pickles. What a way to create a restaurant. These guys are clearly very switched on. Having established their status, they could open their new permanent site just behind Carnaby Street with a loyal customer base who will wait for a long time to partake in a pork bun. Take note, this is a great way to establish a restaurant. They have the requisite customers, simple menu, good food and trendy lighting. All they need now is a cookbook and some sort of merchandising such as a branded apron to tick all the boxes in the guide to opening a successful casual eaterie.

You can therefore understand why I was persevering to get into Pitt Cue and so third time lucky I dragged Andy to Soho and we just stayed in line. In fact, that day it was a shorter line and we were very happy in the bar just taking it all in, biding our 40 minute wait time surrounded by other keen Pitt Cue-ers. In hindsight, I would advise placing your order at the same time, as we waited a crazy amount of time not just upstairs in the bar, but also downstairs at our table. This wait was only accentuated by the young hip couple we had to share our table with. They were clearly in the first throes of love, well she was anyway. And all the badly whispered inappropriate comments, lurching across the table and overt noisy kissing were enough to put anyone off their pulled pork. This was not a great start!

In fact we concluded that this really isn’t a place for a romantic interlude at all as the food requires a gung ho attack which can only end messily. We gave these two a fortnight at most and tried in the most British way to avoid any eye contact or interaction.

Our meal

We decided to share the beef ribs, pork belly in a bun special and smoked hot wings with pickled celery, accompanied by chipotle slaw, crispy pickled shitake mushrooms and grilled hispy cabbage. Everything came in white enamel tins with a pile of serviettes and then it was all hands to deck. I started with the pork and Andy the beef. Then we swapped. It was only when I managed to look up with a cleanly wiped face that I realised that neither of us had a bad thing to say! This is a first for us. Amazing.

The pork belly bun special with apple, jalapeno & molasses was a perfect blend of sweet, sour, salty and spicy even if it was in the dreaded brioche bun. The beef ribs were impressive in so many ways and the mushrooms were wonderful. My personal favourite was the cabbage with charred jagged edges and a glossy buttery glaze.

Beef rib or alien invasion? Obscene either way

The whole bill came in under £50 with drinks and I can promise you that I couldn’t even eat a wafer thin mint for the rest of the day. Great value, yummy food and entertaining company. What more can a girl ask?

Go to Pitt Queue (we decided to re-brand it) and focus on the pork. I can honestly say it is worth it.

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Categories Restaurants

Hugs and Kisses

March 8, 2012 //
2

I managed to catch up with the Design Indaba this week. This is an annual event which claims to believe “that creativity will fuel an economic revolution in South Africa” and as such brings together inspiration from the full spectrum of creative sectors to share their knowledge and insight.

Whilst there are many very interesting speakers to watch, I particularly enjoyed hearing from Brad Armitage and Rui Esteves about their various enterprises and what they have learnt. Brad & Rui epitomise how I see South Africans. They are young, dynamic guys who just get on and do stuff that they are passionate about. They say you have to love what you do and I think it is this emotional connection that ensures they deliver a great connection with their brand.

Their first big success was launching Vida e Caffe, the coffee brand. It is easy to look at these outlets today and forget just how innovative it was for South Africa when they launched it in 2001. They have since sold the business and are now venturing into the craft beer market. And whilst both initiatives are really well done, it is two of the principles they talked about that rung true with me.

Focus. That is one key driver to their success. Doing one things that you believe in really really well. I have said before that it is the specialists in the food arena who are most impressing me. I was extolling the virtues of The Doughnut Plant, Popbar and Sprinkles only last week but this focus is not just a sweet domaine.

I have bored most of my friends rotten about The Meatball Shop in New York. This is the epitome of focus. A very simple menu of meatballs done in a choice of flavours with different sauces that you can mix and match yourself. Plus the shop itself is simply decorated with nods to the process from old mincer parts on the wall.

The wipeable tick list menu that allows the ultimate in personalisation

Cute sliders, hearty bowls of tasty meatballs, fresh salad and a carafe of red - what more could you want?

Mincer parts make ideal wall decs

Another great example of focus is Chin Chin Laboratorists here in Camden, London. This husband and wife team make wonderful ice cream using the liquid nitrogen method. And their shop, or lab, is an innovative design too which underpins the brand.

Scientific cues for the most modern science way of making ice cream

The mad professor making ice cream

It’s not only the shop and the product that gives focus, but the menu itself. There are only ever three flavours on offer: vanilla, chocolate and a special of the week which is always seasonal and creative. And then they do the most wonderful array of toppings and sauces for you to choose. Superb.

A focused menu indeed

Unconventional display tools underpin the experimental feel

It all adds up to a scrummy dessert

The second Brad and Rui principle that struck a cord with me was the need to build a community around their product. In fact, when Rui presented this part of their chat, he talked about building a shrine where their consumers could come. For their Brewers & Union beer, this was under an old church in Bree Street, Cape Town. There they serve an array of beers and matching food platters. It is relaxed, casual and quite the centre of the fashionable Capetonian crowd.

Bold graphics bolted straight onto the wall. It's simple

Each bottle is individually designed with unique glasses to match

Clearly, the Chin Chin team have done a great job of that shrine and if you think about it, all the best places have an equally impressive home too. I strongly believe that customers need to interact with the brand physically, so a place to find it really is important. I think the salvation of our high streets will be driven by the fact that a web based community is just not going to tick the shrine box. It is too disconnected.

The best brands will be able to combine a real and virtual world in fine harmony. Both elements have a place in building that community for their target market. They should embrace their customers with a huge hug and never let them go.

See the full & union presentation at this address

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Categories Restaurants, Retail, South Africa

A seat at The Table

February 4, 2012 //
1

There is a new formula to opening a restaurant these days, wherever you are in the world.

The first thing is to get yourself a cool, stripped back space and then add some quirky furniture and the obligatory signature lighting from the latest fashionable designer. Throw in crockery that can be sold in retail and finally develop a themed menu: it could be a style of food, a country of origin, or some other unique theme that requires much explanation at time of ordering and hey presto…a restaurant is born.

Not so for the lovely people who created The Table, whose name says it all. Simple and to the point. Camilla Comins, brother Jason and hubbie Russel Wasserfall listened to all the friends who had dinner at their home and said they should open a restaurant. After years of considering it, the trio finally opened this Stellenbosch hideaway last year.

Our table of choice

Based at the unassuming De Meye vineyard, Russel is the ultimate host when you arrive to find your table perfectly situated under the acorn trees. He is charming, relaxed, professional and ever so adorable…as well as a little bit naughty. And his photography is not bad either!

Table number 1

There is no menu to peruse as there is only one set menu on offer here and that is bold and refreshing to me. You only have to read Barry Schwartz ‘Paradox of Choice’ to understand what a great relief that is.  If you are worried about the menu, their website is a food lovers haven so you can make your choice knowing what is on offer, or discuss alternatives with Russel.

This weeks menu was pretty much my ideal choice: a simple starter of potted prawns and freshly baked bread followed by beef with bearnaise sauce, thin crispy chips, seasonal salad and heirloom tomatoes. For dessert, there was a perfect pear tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream. I can honestly say the three and a half hours we spent loitering under those trees, chatting to Russel, drinking his recommended wine and guzzling our way through this perfectly prepared food was one of the best meals I have ever had. Maybe I should have taken up our host’s offer to grab a blanket and doze under the trees to really indulge, but we had definitely outstayed our welcome by then.

Simple perfection

Another perfect plate

It is not surprising with their credentials that Camilla and Jason are turning out such wonderful approachable food and not to be out-done, Russel brought each plate out with a passionate description of what it was and where it was sourced. They have really worked with local specialists to get what they want and make the most of it, and that is not always easy in this country. This attention to every detail continues throughout the meal, from local heirloom tomatoes to succulent grass fed angus beef; from tarragon supplied by the farm over the hill to the most incredible puff pastry on the tarte tatin which was made by a cleaner that Camilla discovered at her workplace who was making pastry as a side line. Needless to say, it is now a start up business. Even the bill arrived in an old tin passed down through Russel’s family which reflects the tradition of South Africa.

Seasonal and local are not just words to these guys – it is a genuine way of life.

And if you get a chance, sign up for one of Russel’s food photography courses. You can see a couple of select examples adorning the walls inside and they are once again simple and beautiful. I am gutted my trip is not timed to coincide with one, but at least it gives me an excuse next time. Watch out Russel – I am definitely coming back!

Heirloom tomatoes from the tomato man

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Categories Restaurants, South Africa

Cape Town Capers

January 19, 2012 //
1

One of the seven wonders of the world

I love Cape Town.

I first came here when I was bringing over Taste of London in 2008 and just fell head over heels. I think it is a combination of sunshine, beautiful landscapes, clear skies and wonderful people … with a dollop of great wine too. It really is pretty simple over here. No agendas, no one upmanship and no saying-one-thing-and-meaning-another. Everyone here just wants to play their part in creating a better country.

Every time I come, I discover new start ups with great branding and young locals who have just taken the initiative and created a new business. Obviously I am pretty much focused on food, and the industry here is thriving. Taste was a resounding success from year one and I just loved the fact that the best chefs in the country were welcoming and supportive of the idea. Margot Janse met me without an appointment, armed with a smile and glass of Champagne at the Le Quartier Francais and still asks after me! Can you imagine Gordon Ramsay doing the same thing in London?

So it was with a great sense of excitement that I arrived here on New Years Eve and I have not been disappointed.

Some things continue to impress:

Melissa's

Manna Epicure bakery

and not forgetting the wonderful Knead Bakery, complete with new book and three new outlets since I last visited.

Knead

The first new revelation is the wonderful Luke Dale Roberts. He is simply a fantastic chef.

British born Luke is best known for his Test Kitchen at the Biscuit Mill he has now opened a tapas place next door called the Pot Luck Club. Both are superlative with faultless food, great service and the lovely Luke shimmying between the two sides across both open kitchens. But it is the Pot Luck Club that really got to me. Pot Luck because he is encouraging all his chefs to come up with dishes for the menu so it is pot luck which one you are getting and for that I love him. A great chef putting his reputation on the line and supporting new blood in his restaurant.

Luke on the right with his brigade

Every dish came out with passion written all over it. This is a must if you can get a booking. The Test Kitchen was booked up for 2 months when I was there – ring in advance!

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Categories Restaurants, South Africa
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