...But that said, as I get older, it's easier to ignore this sort of nonsense and focus on the sort of stuff which does excite me in mid-autumn. This includes in-season game, brisk afternoon walks and leaves in the road. And chestnuts falling from the trees. Now there's something I want to hold on to as a treasured childhood memory. Much better than tearing around a neighbourhood annoying people.
This particular autumn day - and this particular Hallowe'en - the other half and I popped out to the east end to check out Spitalfields market, buy a few clothes (I was more of a carthorse at this point) and eat a bite or two (playing more to my strengths).
Whitechapel, Spitalfields and most of E1 is synonymous with curry. When once this area of London housed a thriving Jewish community, now it is home to a great many Asian folk, Bangladeshis in particular. What it means is you have a tonne of - by and large - average or below average curry houses trawling for business on Brick Lane, leaving most passers-by entertained or annoyed. (Or maybe just indifferent. Or oblivious? I'm not going to list any more emotions Brick Lane curry promoters might make you feel.)
We walked down Brick Lane and discovered Pizza East. That's not to say I hadn't heard about it before now, but I'd never actually seen it. I didn't realise it was part of the utterly-east-end Tea Building, on the corner of Shoreditch High Street and Bethnal Green Road, former venue of the popular Tea Rooms. Pizza East now takes up the bottom floor of this hulking, lovable monstrosity and people are flocking in.
And in we flocked. If two people can indeed flock... We ate pizza. We drank water. We had a lovely time. I'd heard from a couple of people that this place wasn't really all it's cracked up to be, but that depends on the result of any up-cracking, really... It's very tasty pizza. And when it comes to pizza, that's all you need to know. It's not classic, in the style of Santa Maria, but it's good quality stuff. Fresh, rustic, filling, satisfying.
The menu lists ingredients in their pizza the same way all the trendy, up-and-coming places do now; like this: "Veal meatballs, prosciutto, cream, sage". Take a moment to (figuratively) digest those ingredients. Not bad going for a down on the ground pizza place, right? The pizza was as simply delicious and fattening as its description read. Creamy, thick cheese sauce broken up by the meaty, punchy meatballs and silky prosciutto.
We didn't need much after we finished these. A splash of water and a sprinkling of black pepper to help them down was sufficient, which suggests that this brief lunch time outing was a total success. It was relatively quick, it wasn't too pricey and it was actually rather delicious.
Pizza East may be old news to many, but to me it's quite the place to be. With that kind of attitude, coupled with my distaste of Hallowe'en, I suddenly feel comfortably middle-aged and satisfied. Is that a catchphrase Pizza East wants to adopt? Assuredly not, but I suppose what it does tell us is this: they'll add years on to your age, but you won't mind because the pizzas are lovely.
We strolled outside, took in a breath of grubby Shoreditch air and wandered back towards Spitalfields Market. Clearly we had to work off the pizza lunch, so we wandered around some more shops, took in a few more edifying sights and eventually found ourselves at the back end of the afternoon, in the mood for dessert and, well, maybe just another small snack?
Horrendously gluttonous, I know. But in my defence, St. John Bread & Wine made me do it. That's what they do. With the memory of the 4 weeks prior pig adventure still fresh in the mind (and that particular evening's intake yet to relinquish its hefty oppression of my arteries), I just couldn't say no to St. John's sister restaurant, which sits so quaintly on the border of Spitalfields Market. It is just opposite what used to be The Spitz; a classic old London music venue.
Whilst London's plan to seemingly rid itself of pop cultural institutions (The Spitz is one in a long line of charming places which don't exist any more) continues on relentlessly, its urge to throw great restaurants and successful restaurateurs' empires at us all warms my heart slightly. St. John, as I fawned a while ago, is just about as positive as you can be when describing London's eating scene. It is impeccably conceived, so absolutely I fancied some late afternoon refreshment at the secondary restaurant in St. John's armoury.
Now, when you've been sauntering around the east end of London all afternoon, having taken in an impressive but not gut-busting pizza lunch and are subsequently ready to eat some more a few hours later, you are absolutely looking for impeccable conception. Folks, I give you the St. John Bread & Wine menu. It seems pretty pointless linking it here because it changes daily. Try your luck if one happens to be online today.
Basically, they offer three main courses for the evening menu, plus a load of other stuff. It's more or less English tapas. And though that may sound absurd, ill-conceived and pretentious, if there's one franchise that can carry it off, it's this one. A list of around a dozen small plates and ten desserts was pretty much exactly what I was in the mood for come six o'clock.
These were the best new potatoes I have ever eaten. I don't know if they should be technically labelled such, they were a little misshapen and bulky to pass for traditional news, but they tasted outstanding. Coated in a thin sheen of butter, they were nearly sweet in their al-dente glory. The sorrel was pretty, adding some green flourish to the dish, as well as softening the potatoes' taste a little. The egg was perfectly poached; a silky, slightly gelatinous centrepiece which would've taken first prize off most plates, but not with these potatoes.
Two meals in four hours; two great restaurants. I'd go back to both of these places with little provocation. Great pizza, great small plates and a great day in the east end. Sometimes it seems like the only restaurants you'll ever need are in London. Last Hallowe'en was one of those times.
Pizza East
St. John Bread & Wine
No comments:
Post a Comment