Cousin Visit (2)
He's been hanging out in Europe off and on for the past year, and at the end of his visa stint he trekked 10 days into the Sinai desert. On his way back home to the US flew through the UK, with a quick couple days in Edinburgh, down to see a very old friend in Yorkshire for a night, then staying with me for the final weekend.
If his visit last time centred around a fine dining lunch, I had planned for this one to be the more interesting casual side. I've been wanting to try Kiln since it opened in Soho, and no one I know would appreciate it more than he. We had to wait an hour and a half to get in, but luckily I remembered I also wanted to try Bar Termini down the street so off we trotted. After a twenty minute wait to get in there, we had two excellent negronis then headed back. Kiln was everything I could have hoped for. A buzz from the the packed room and open kitchen with fire everywhere, a selection of orange wines on the list all available by the glass, attentive and friendly service from a newly transplanted Kiwi, all moving around a selection of stunning food to be shared.
Earlier in the day we managed to nab an excellent seat at Dandelyan for a late afternoon cocktail. We'd been chatting about the London cocktail scene on whatsapp previously, he'd shown a keen interest and I'm glad I chose that particular bar. The drinks are all understated in presentation but with a forethought and execution the likes of which I've never seen equalled. He appreciated the detail in the menu and again the knowledgeable service and buzz in what in the daylight was clearly a room designed in every aspect.
We had a fair amount of nice wine on his last trip, but this time it was more about the local beer. The day he got back into town we had a small pub crawl starting with a micropub that brews its own beer in 50 gallon batches. After three pubs we met my gf and ended up trying the new local Neapolitan pizza place (top marks) - after an hour's wait... starting the theme for the weekend. On the Sunday after our bluebell walk, we stopped by the Weird Beard seasonal open day (timing!) and had more local and award-winning craft ale. Finally the night before he left we went to a gastropub that also brews their own beer. The star of that meal ended up being 'confit potatoes' which he was so curious about he bought the kitchen drinks then went to talk to them about the preparation. (Use a mandolin and layer with dripping)
He also very kindly talked me through making fresh pasta. Another topic from our whatsapp conversations I'd mentioned once or twice, and he took it upon himself to make sure we tried it. There was a visit to our local farmers market for produce then home for the attempt, using nothing but a bowl, fork and rolling pin. He designed the rest of the meal around the veg we bought and some veal in the freezer, and needless to say, it was all excellent. I also love that I would have put together the ingredients in a completely different way, and I could also see my execution would not have been as good. I not only learned how to make the fresh noodles but also something about how to finish it all off. His veal was also bang on, much better than any of my previous attempts at the same escalopes.
He is a good person to be around. Exploring life, learning about others and himself, wise but still searching himself. I also get the feeling he would have enjoyed anything we did together, and he can clearly cook whatever is put in front of him to a very high standard. I am very pleased of the weekend we had together, experiencing things we both enjoy, and spending time and effort in creating a meal together.
If his visit last time centred around a fine dining lunch, I had planned for this one to be the more interesting casual side. I've been wanting to try Kiln since it opened in Soho, and no one I know would appreciate it more than he. We had to wait an hour and a half to get in, but luckily I remembered I also wanted to try Bar Termini down the street so off we trotted. After a twenty minute wait to get in there, we had two excellent negronis then headed back. Kiln was everything I could have hoped for. A buzz from the the packed room and open kitchen with fire everywhere, a selection of orange wines on the list all available by the glass, attentive and friendly service from a newly transplanted Kiwi, all moving around a selection of stunning food to be shared.
Earlier in the day we managed to nab an excellent seat at Dandelyan for a late afternoon cocktail. We'd been chatting about the London cocktail scene on whatsapp previously, he'd shown a keen interest and I'm glad I chose that particular bar. The drinks are all understated in presentation but with a forethought and execution the likes of which I've never seen equalled. He appreciated the detail in the menu and again the knowledgeable service and buzz in what in the daylight was clearly a room designed in every aspect.
We had a fair amount of nice wine on his last trip, but this time it was more about the local beer. The day he got back into town we had a small pub crawl starting with a micropub that brews its own beer in 50 gallon batches. After three pubs we met my gf and ended up trying the new local Neapolitan pizza place (top marks) - after an hour's wait... starting the theme for the weekend. On the Sunday after our bluebell walk, we stopped by the Weird Beard seasonal open day (timing!) and had more local and award-winning craft ale. Finally the night before he left we went to a gastropub that also brews their own beer. The star of that meal ended up being 'confit potatoes' which he was so curious about he bought the kitchen drinks then went to talk to them about the preparation. (Use a mandolin and layer with dripping)
He also very kindly talked me through making fresh pasta. Another topic from our whatsapp conversations I'd mentioned once or twice, and he took it upon himself to make sure we tried it. There was a visit to our local farmers market for produce then home for the attempt, using nothing but a bowl, fork and rolling pin. He designed the rest of the meal around the veg we bought and some veal in the freezer, and needless to say, it was all excellent. I also love that I would have put together the ingredients in a completely different way, and I could also see my execution would not have been as good. I not only learned how to make the fresh noodles but also something about how to finish it all off. His veal was also bang on, much better than any of my previous attempts at the same escalopes.
He is a good person to be around. Exploring life, learning about others and himself, wise but still searching himself. I also get the feeling he would have enjoyed anything we did together, and he can clearly cook whatever is put in front of him to a very high standard. I am very pleased of the weekend we had together, experiencing things we both enjoy, and spending time and effort in creating a meal together.