A weekend of jollity
I was intending to head off to London to catch up with some friends and celebrate my birthday, but the whole thing became bigger than Ben Hur. Many many meals at fantastic, interesting and fun restaurants were had.
Some of the highlights: the original Wagamama's with Jules, which brought back funny memories of me being a callow youth when it first opened; a relatively improptu and relatively cheap meal at St. John's where the offal was fabulous (but rich rich rich), and more amazingly, the broccoli was too (Christopher was a very happy camper), the wine (Mon P'tit Pithon from Côtes Catalanes, haha) bizarre and tannin-crystally yet fruity-good; a boozy lunch at the wind- and rain-swept Prospect of Whitby with around 40 people who were able to make it from near and far; a spontaneous and slightly tacky tandoori dinner in the West End with a slightly different subset of people; lunch at the Fat Duck (ten very happy diners, including John West as last-minute swap-in number 10, yay!); and a late night drinking appointment followed by a delightful meal in Chinatown (with Mikolaj and Niki).
People all seemed to get on like a house on fire, which was great. My dad had a great time telling embarrassing stories about my childhood (with accompanying photo!) to friends.
I found myself thinking about friends who weren't able to make it along. For those to whom I wasn't able to say it in person, I'd like to record my public thanks for being such a kind, wise, tolerant and all-round wonderful person. I couldn't wish for better friends at all.
Some random photos from the Fat Duck:
Enjoying the menu
Lichen
Mock Turtle Soup, including mushrooms
Wine gums at the Fat Duck
Some of the highlights: the original Wagamama's with Jules, which brought back funny memories of me being a callow youth when it first opened; a relatively improptu and relatively cheap meal at St. John's where the offal was fabulous (but rich rich rich), and more amazingly, the broccoli was too (Christopher was a very happy camper), the wine (Mon P'tit Pithon from Côtes Catalanes, haha) bizarre and tannin-crystally yet fruity-good; a boozy lunch at the wind- and rain-swept Prospect of Whitby with around 40 people who were able to make it from near and far; a spontaneous and slightly tacky tandoori dinner in the West End with a slightly different subset of people; lunch at the Fat Duck (ten very happy diners, including John West as last-minute swap-in number 10, yay!); and a late night drinking appointment followed by a delightful meal in Chinatown (with Mikolaj and Niki).
People all seemed to get on like a house on fire, which was great. My dad had a great time telling embarrassing stories about my childhood (with accompanying photo!) to friends.
I found myself thinking about friends who weren't able to make it along. For those to whom I wasn't able to say it in person, I'd like to record my public thanks for being such a kind, wise, tolerant and all-round wonderful person. I couldn't wish for better friends at all.
Some random photos from the Fat Duck:
Enjoying the menu
Lichen
Mock Turtle Soup, including mushrooms
Wine gums at the Fat Duck