Food, London

Bleecker’s new London Burger Joint, Victoria

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We recently checked out the new (opened earlier this week) Bleecker Burger in Victoria, after having heard good things about their Spitalfieds take-away and their food truck.  Timeout London ranks the Spitalfields operation #1 burger place in London. LOTI (London on the Inside) called their burgers ‘undoubtedly among the best in London’, but we would agree to disagree. We tried the cheeseburger and the Bleecker Black (double beef, double American cheese, black pudding, onion and sauce) with a portion of their apparently famous ‘angry fries’ (fries with hot sauce & blue cheese sauce). The blood sausage goes real nicely with the Black, but we’ve had tons of burgers during the past few months that by far outshine the taste of this one. What’s really put us off is the small size that comes with an unheard-of price tag of £14 for Black and angry fries. For that type of money […]

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Art and Culture, Food, London, Travel

A Murder at the Church, a Car Crash on a Tapestry, and a Dead Pig, what’s not to like in Canterbury?

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We had been to Canterbury many times before. As a matter of fact, I proposed to my wife there, three months after we had first met, in 2008 with the help of an airplane pulling a banner. Back then, it had all been very hectic (for me, not so much for my then future wife, who was unaware of the preparations). The pilot initially cancelled the whole thing because of strong winds at his airport, eighty miles north of our location, then texted again to say he’d be ready to go, then texted that the start had been delayed, and it went back and forth at least five or six more times. Then, two hours later, while we were in the middle of lunch, said he’d arrive within ten minutes and needed us to be on an open space, ideally close to the cathedral.           I gently (as gently […]

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Food, Travel

Allard – Disappointment of the Decade

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My wife and I had discovered Bistro Allard in the Saint Germain area of Paris, close to the Latin Quarter and Saint Michel, on one of our first trips together to Paris as a couple. To this day we both believe that the meal we had back then was the best meal we’ve ever had in Paris, or anywhere in the world for that matter. I remember that we had to-die-for escargots, prepared to perfection. As mains my wife went for grilled seabass, one of her favourites, while I had medium-rare grilled veal roast. The piece of meat was gigantic in size and tasted like it was from another world, so juicy and tasty, pure culinary bliss. My wife was very pleased with her fish dish, too. The cheese platter we shared to finish the meal contained some of the best cheese I’ve had in France (and I like my […]

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Food, Travel

Uma Restaurant, Barcelona

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The atmosphere at this tiny restaurant, which, at the time of our visit, is ranked #1 of roughly 7,000 restaurants in Barcelona on the UK version of Tripadvisor, is very pleasant, welcoming, and all-round friendly. It felt more like a supper club than a restaurant, in a good way.       We were immediately asked to say hi to the chef in Uma‘s kitchen and it was there that the first three amuse-bouches were served, while the chef explained the tasting menu of the day, a bit about how he will prepare each course, and a warm offer to come back to the kitchen anytime during or after the meal. These amuse-bouches were called ‘Acto I – la cocina (the kitchen)’ and included an interesting concoction called ‘Thai & Pina Colada’. We were led to our table. Soon ‘Acto II’ kicked off with ‘los snacks – El Sur – Torta […]

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Food, Travel

Nuremberg, The Emperor’s Favourite City

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Having grown up in Bavaria (of which Nuremberg is a part), I had been to Nuremberg more than once, but I only really got to know this Frankonian gem some ten years after I had relocated to London. Through work I took over a 2.5-months assignment there from June to August 2015 and I had a great time.           It was the hottest summer in decades with temperatures north of 40 Celsius over weeks in a row, bit too hot for my taste, but still, overall I loved the sunny, hot weather.           I stayed at a hotel that was equidistant to the central station (from where the subway only takes 12 minutes to the international airport), the office, and old town: 5 minutes each. In London my wife and I are usually feeling lucky if the commute is less than 45 minutes.           I hadn’t realised […]

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