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

Cupcakes make the world go around

March 1, 2012 //
5

I read today that Sprinkles in LA were launching a cupcake ATM which is reported to be able to dispense cupcakes for humans and dogs 24 hours a day! If you are interested this ATM has its own facebook page too… and will be opening next to the new Sprinkles ice cream parlour.

The Sprinkles ATM

Dispensing cupcakes, cupcake mixes and other Sprinkles branded accessories

This got me thinking about the whole cupcake phenomena and its value to the food industry.

I was taken to my first real cupcake experience by my wonderful friend Bonnie at Sprinkles in LA and it has stayed with me for some time. They just get it right here. A small outlet which is themed with cupcake shaped tables and chairs could potentially be cringe worthy to a cynical Brit like me, but somehow it worked. I think it was the fact that the cupcakes themselves were very elegantly designed with their simple colour coded decorations and the shop was understated and contemporary. Well, it was this and the fact that the cupcakes themselves are just wonderful. Freshly baked, light, soft and just the right balance of icing. It pretty much defines treat for a sweet toothed girl like me.

NB: the cupcake edges tables!

Simple, elegant flavour coding and design

Contemporary counters designed and fit for purpose

There have been way too many column inches written about the cupcake, their future and the next thing to replace them. I am sure it would be wonderful to discover something that could make a similar commercial business but the truth is that can never happen. It is much more interesting to realise why the cupcake was so successful and to respond to that customer need instead.

This is all about a small, pretty, girlie treat that also fills that 3pm desire for something sweet. It has to be naughty but it also has to feel contained. This is a very specific need that is actually quite difficult to put into words.

The whoopie pie was the first pretender to the cupcake throne and one I never really understood. It is too heavy and doughy as well as lacking that cute design that is so inherent to the experience. Cake pops also emerged at this time but they simply did not have enough substance and were way too fiddly to be taken seriously.

Then there was Le Macaron. In fact, one could argue that the macaroon was the pre-cursor to the cupcake and that it has never needed to compete. I certainly adore Laduree and often find a box of those on my perfect gift list, to both give as well as receive. Their packaging is stunning and the product when made well is just a heavenly bite of whatever flavour you choose. The salted caramel and liquorice flavours procured at Burlington Arcade Laduree certainly do it for me. But the sad truth is that I could wolf down at least a whole box of 4 without even noticing and this breaks all the rules of the cupcake as it ventures into the whole psyche of guilt which just cannot end happily.

‘Lette in LA opened round the corner from the Beverly Hills Sprinkles and are still going strong. They really tapped into the contemporary treat and are a good example of a macaroon shop, winning awards for their shop design as well as a dedicated following for their colourful product.

'Lette: a modern macaroon shop just round the corner from Sprinkles

More recently we have seen a resurgence of the doughnut, and a fine resurgence it is. This is no cupcake but it certainly holds its place in the treat market. We all remember the original Krispy Kreme story and Greggs the bakers have heralded their doughnut range pretty much as the saviour of their business last year. In New York, I really loved discovering The Doughnut Plant and it reminded me of Sprinkles in some ways as the shop was contemporary in a New York shabby chic kind of way as well as having that sense of fun in the seating area.

Fun cushions decorate the walls of this doughnut shop

Doughnut deliveries

Themed chairs and benches a la Sprinkles

The product was also a very good one for the doughnut lovers out there but anything that is fried and doughy will never make is as a treat for the ladies who lunch.

Ice lollies are certainly more worthy and I have seen many great examples of ice lolly shops in various parts of the world, including Australia, New York and Cape Town. Whilst they are a perfect antidote to the heat of those places, they are definitely too goody-two-shoes to be in the cupcake category of 3pm treat.

Popbar, New York

My final discovery in the sweet treat market which hasn’t really taken off outside of the US are toffee apples. For those of you that know me, I have been talking about these for some time now and do think they are an opportunity, especially in the Autumn using the wonderful new seasons apple varieties we have in this country. I keep pondering how a small pink Discovery apple would be transformed by a coating of soft chewy caramel toffee….. but then again they are far too difficult to eat to take over the elegance of the cupcake.

Toffee apples at the LA food market

So I can only conclude that off to the ATM we must go. Sprinkles is here to stay and they will remain seated on their cupcake throne for some time to come. Still, we will have a great time trying out all the alternatives and when I return to LA I will go to Sprinkles mecca and treat myself to a red velvet mouthful. Until then…

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Categories Cupcakes, Retail

The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker

February 19, 2012 //
1

There has been a renewed focus on the plight of the high street this week. At the end of last year Mary Portas published her insights, commissioned by David Cameron, and then earlier this week there was a lot of talk about Justin King and the content of his speech to the Guildhall, London.

It was reported that Justin was critical of the independent retailers for not changing with the times in the same way the supermarkets have and as such they were in some way at fault for the failure of their businesses. He was apparently going to talk about the fact that we no longer have time to browse the butcher and the baker and the greengrocer any more and that these sites should go to other non-retail opportunities such as residential housing. Instead he was to extoll the virtue of the out of town shopping centre.

This is interesting in light of a recent New York Times article entitled “Making over the Mall in Rough Economic Times” which was talking about the demise of the mall in the US where retail outlets are being replaced by schools, clinics, offices and churches.

In the end, Justin stuck to his marketing roots and focused instead on the change in customer relationship marketing through the improved connections we get with loyalty cards, smart phones and the internet. In his ‘Back to the Future’ speech, Justin also alluded to the investment they have made in bringing fishmongers, butchers and bakers into their stores to create that face to face contact. I agree with Justin that it is about personal connections but I still feel that a text to my phone or an e mailed offer is simply targeted marketing and I am yet to rave about the service or knowledge received from his rear service staff.

As I said before, I do think supermarkets do a good job but I also think that people have time to visit butchers and bakers and greengrocers but only if it is worth their while. My friend Howard at Echochamber has a theory called Einstein Time and the principle is that time is fluid. People will queue for something they really want and won’t wait if not. So it is up to the retailer to make it a great experience worth waiting for.

Last year I discovered Intelligentsia coffee in LA which competes in a world of fast instantly available coffee when people are at their most time pressured – on their way in to work. And yet, here people queue in a long line. Why? you may ask. Well it’s great quality coffee, a funky environment and most importantly, you get your own personal barista standing in front of you making that skinny, frothy, wet, whatever-you-heart-desires coffee at a coffee pod within the shop. They know that coffee drinking is a serious thing.

The Intelligentsia personal coffee service

One-to-one coffee making at the front two stations - see the ladies in blue and pink

As for greengrocers, there is still growth in local market stalls and whilst it is not quite the high street, the consumer is clearly seeking something that supermarkets don’t offer. The best example I know of a fruit & veg market stall is at La Boqueria in Barcelona, where standards are consistent and added value is a way of life. It was interesting to hear that Charles Wilson of cash & carry retailer Booker announced at the Guildhall this week the rollout of their dedicated greengrocers in 30 stores which is great, especially as I was involved in the training programme for this. Booker is doing exceptionally well, so we should be taking note if that is where they are investing their money.

Great greengrocering....at La Boqueria

Perfect VM every time

Fun with fresh juices

Prepared fruit La Boqueria way complete with fork

There are plenty of examples of great butchers, fishmongers and bakers too:

The butchery at Darts Farm, Devon

Eataly, Turin

Despite that, most are struggling to remain in the high street and the problem is clear to see.

Maybe the solution will be inspired by that recent TV series: The Fabulous Baker Brothers. I am still catching up since my return home, but it was eminently sensible to put these two skills together and I can only hope that these brothers and their adjacent outlets in Chipping Sodbury are flourishing. The show and the book were great.

So why not combine outlets on our high streets by buddying up? The Butcher & The Baker? The Baker & The Cheesemonger? The Fishmonger & The Greengrocer? It would double the personalised customer experience and halve the overheads for the retailer. Maybe this is the next generation of prepared food too, where we get the perfect burger pattie on sale adjacent to the ideal burger bun; the best raclette cheese with sourdough bread for the perfect cheese sandwich; fish & samphire; scallops & cauliflower. The list is endless. I am also seeing condiments, recipes, crockery…the works. You saw it here first!

Beautiful cheese ready for its ideal match

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Categories Retail, The high street
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