Food: Reds True Barbecue

Red's True BBQ
54-56 Great Eastern St,
Shoreditch,
London,
EC2A 3QR

After establishing a stronghold t'up north, boss's of BBQ have opened up in Shoreditch, London! I've wanted to try this place since they had a little pop up and opened up this super cool looking restaurant. Since my first visit a couple of weeks ago I've been back twice and it's been awesome every time! The decor is really cool, very rustic and warm. The downstairs bar area is set out like an old wood cabin with red drapes down the walls in the hallways.

Anyway onto the important stuff, BBQ! I have to admit I found the menu a little bit confusing to begin with, a bit long and I was scared I'd miss out on something amazing, although the super friendly and helpful staff immediately offered to explain it to me. We ended up going for the "Beef Long", which comes in a medium, large or extra large. We also opted for the burnt ends and hot wings. The Beef Long is perhaps the nicest bit of BBQ I've ever had, the flavour and tenderness of the meat was unmatched (I've had it every time so far). The burnt ends also lived up to the hype and had a much more smokey flavour than a lot of burnt ends you get at smokehouses that just taste a bit like roast beef!

Now let me tell you about the wings. When waiting staff usually ask if I'm sure I want the hot wings as they are really hot I always go for the hottest spice as it usually isn't THAT hot. I kind of regretted that at Reds. Who knows, perhaps I just got a particularly spicy batch, but daym those wings were hot! For pudding I had a peach, pecan and salted caramel cobbler with pecan ice cream. This was mouth watering and so tasty, I could maybe of eaten two.

As well as great food, It's almost worth the visit just for the great atmosphere and amazing service. The staff are truly lovely and very welcoming. We visited last night and the manager remembered us from our first visit, and one of the other members of staff remembered our friends from a time before which was lovely! He then took us to see the smokers (smelt ridiculously nice) and gave us a bunch of free meat marinates. 

Every time I've been the food, atmosphere and service has really been amazing. For somebody who works in the industry and can't help but judge every aspect of going out for food this takes a lot for me to say. If you're into your BBQ and meat you simply must check this place out

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

Recipe: Oreo & coconut mixed chocolate truffles

Truffles are something I've been keen to make for SO long! Super easy to make and really tasty. I'm a huge fan

You'll need:

- 500ml double cream
- Large knob of butter
- 1 bar of high quality (70%) dark chocolate
- 1 bar of high quality white chocolate (as high percentage of choc as pos)
- 1 pack of Oreo's
- 1 bag of dessicated coconut
- A little cocoa powder

Method:

Heat the double cream on a medium heat until hot (not boiling) then whisk in the knob of butter until melted. In the mean time break up your white and dark chocolate in separate bowls. Once the butter is melted whisk about 300ml of the cream mixture into the dark chocolate and stir until all of the chocolate has melted then set aside. I found that the white chocolate needed slightly less of the mixture so the remainder (200ml) should do fine, mix then set aside.

Pop both bowls of melted and mixed chocolate into the fridge to chill. The dark chocolate will only take a couple of hours but try and leave the white chocolate for a couple more hours. Whilst that's setting, blitz a bunch of Oreo's in a blender (or just bash them up if you don't have one) then pop that mixture, the coconut and the cocoa powder into three separate bowls

Once the chocolate mixture is hard to the touch, grab a melon baller or a teaspoon, scoop out a small ball and roll in-between your palms as quickly as possible to create a little ball before it melts in your hand, then drop it into your desired topping and roll it around. The white chocolate won't set quite as hard and was generally a pain in the ass throughout this whole recipe, so be swift when rolling and don't worry too much about making perfectly round balls (they all go down the same hole).

I found that the dark chocolate went nicely with just some cocoa powder on them and the white chocolate suited the coconut and Oreo crumbs better. This is a pretty easy recipe and the end result was honestly lovely. Give it a go and mix up your mixture's and toppings! Really good with a nice coffee or cuppa tea, enjoy!

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

Food: Milk

Somewhere I've been meaning to visit for so long now is Milk in Balham! We've driven past this place so many times and even tried to visit once but it was rammo! It was a bit of a spur of the moment thing so I didn't have the camera on me so forgive me for the phone pictures, I'm going to do a full review another time as the decor was amazing and it's hard to appreciate from these photo's.

Inside the place looks amazing, everything looks so clean and rustic. We were offered a choice of where to sit and ended up grabbing a table right by the big glass window that runs adjacent to the street.

Although the menu doesn't actually show any steamed milk coffee's (It just says white/black/expresso) they made us latte's that we really enjoyed, milk was not too hot which is just how I like it. I chose "The Convict" which consisted of pretty much all of my favourite breakfast things; English muffin, streaky bacon, sausage, scrambled egg, hash brown and hangover sauce! The sauce was awesome and resembled a kind of rich barbecue like taste. This was topped with freshly grated parmesan, something I've never considered for breakfast but was god like in taste.

I could go on about how great the food was (I was really taken back by it), however the thing that I really loved was the kitchen. The kitchen is right in the middle of the restaurant and no bigger than your average bathroom, with one chef making the meals. You could just tell that everything was so fresh, and this reflected in the taste of everything. Georgia went for a simple scrambled eggs on toast and the eggs were so creamy and delicious.

So typically I wasn't totally finished there, I went and had a browse at their cake display that we walked past as we came in. The staff seemed super nice and friendly and helped me out with what to chose. They had a really cool range of cakes with very different ingredients. I ended up gong for a hazelnut cake that was so damn good and went down great with another coffee.

This was meant to be a short review because of the pants pictures but I was honestly so impressed by this place I can't wait to go back any day now, I'm literally making excuses for the need of breakfast,

Get down to Milk in Balham, it's really easy to get to if you have a tube station near  and you won't regret it I promise!

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

Food: Urban Food Festival

Last night I was out partying for my little sisters 21st Birthday celebrations so today was very tender for me. So as a very hungover couple me and Georgia ventured out to Shoreditch to check out Urban Food Festival, a really funky little food market in set in a car park on Shoreditch high street. I really struggled to enjoy myself being so hungover which is a shame as it had a lovely atmosphere here, with live music and lots of really friendly staff, who gave us some bottle caps that gave us discount at the bar, which for obvious reasons I didn't take advantage of!

I didn't go so crazy this time. We grabbed a classic bruschetta from Bob Bruschetta that was lovely and fresh. Then after much deliberation I grabbed a monster of a burger from the Backstreet Diner that was a had a super fresh patty with pulled pork. Very messy but worth the sticky fingers. We then shared some really tasty jerk chicken from the Caribbean Smokehouse.

Although I struggled through today I would definitely head back there another day as there are so many other stalls I wanted to check out! Get down there

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

Food: Summer Tales/ Night Tales

Night Tales present Summer Tales fuelled one of my recent days off. I'd actually walked past this place a couple of times before and if you've walked through Shoreditch recently you probably have too. To be frank, it really didn't seem like much from outside. However as you go in you open up into a huge, awesome little jungle full of people, food, booze and music. I'm a total sucker for food markets (although I wouldn't call it that) and always end up trying most things there. It was a fiver to get in and had some awesome food and drink from around London.

After some instant food envy we started with a lovely little pizza from Pizza Pilgrims. I'd heard great things about this pizza and this was my first time. As big pizza lovers, it did not disappoint, especially as it took a matter of minutes to make. The staff were also super friendly and really chatty which was just great. I quickly moved onto a nice looking fish stall, Bonnie Gull. I had a spiced Cajun fish sandwich that really hit the spot and didn't bust my wallet.

So at this point I realised that sitting and drinking in the sun was going to lead to a lot more food. Next up was Nanny Bills. Their food was advertised with a big sign saying "croquettes" along side a menu of different sides. I was honestly confused by the menu and it wasn't until I ordered that I realised that I had gotten actual pulled pork croquettes. Something totally new to me and really blew my mind. Really gutted as Georgia took a video of me busting one of these juicy things open, which I stupidly deleted by accident. Take my word for it, they are AMAZING.

Lastly after a bit more food envy I went and checked out the Forza Win stand. The guys were super friendly and I loved the idea of an adults "happy meal" that came with a hard shake. This was some super simple, but serious chicken. Going to be hitting a store of theirs real soon.

If you can get down to Summer Tales, do! Really loved atmosphere especially with the amazing weather we are having at the moment. Don't forget to take cash as most stands don't take card!

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

food: burgermeister, berlin

 Back in February Georgia and I visited Berlin for my birthday, and naturally had to dig out the best places to eat. I'd heard nothing but rave reviews of Burgermeister so we had to visit. Three times in fact.
The restaurant itself is small and in what seems to be an old newstand or similar. It's hard to spot, with no signage or anything and just sticker covered perspex walls surrounding it. We actually walked right past it three times before realising what it was!
Inside is the same, a short queuing system and stickers lining every wall, with old beer crates as seats and a bar that ran around the edge of the small walls.
The menu is short but sweet. We went for The Burgermeister, as well as the BBQ burger. Both absolutely amazing, filled with a sweet sauce and really tender meat. On average, they were no more than 6 Euros.
We also grabbed chilli cheese fries, and a beer each. The beer was local and went perfectly with the meat, and the fries were a great guilty treat.

I definitely recommend visiting if you're in Berlin, don't expect a luxury sit down meal but it's 100% worth the wait for that burger!

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

Home cooks: Marathon training, a healthy w

So I may or may not have mentioned but I'm being sent to Tromso, Norway (the god-damn Arctic circle) today courtesy of my amazing workplace, The Breakfast Club, to run in the Tromso Midnight Sun Marathon. The run takes place as 9 in the evening this coming Saturday and as they have no darkness at this time of year  we are running through the night, in the daylight. Madness! TBC do so much for charity and as much as this is a huge personal challenge it is really about raising money for worthy charities. My dad sadly lost both of his parents to Cancer and I'm sure we all know someone effected by cancer, so I'm running in aid of Cancer Research UK.

I'm no runner. I've always been into sprinting, athletics and more fast past sports, so training for this marathon has been tough for me. As well as running I've been switching up the diet to shed a few pounds and become lighter on my feet so I thought I'd do a post of a few of the regular dinners we've been having to stay lean!

I won't bore with recipe's as they are pretty self explanatory but In short lots of greens, healthy carbs and fats alongside lean meats such as turkey and chicken breast. We use coconut oil to fry and bake everything, It's a super versatile and amazing product, I really recommend getting some!

I really can't wait to run alongside all my pals from work, it's going to be tough as hell but so rewarding running for a cause so close to the hear. If any kind souls fancied sponsoring me I'm going to keep the page going for a little while after I've (hopefully) finished the marathon!

Click me to sponsor me :)

Wish me luck!

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

Recipe: Nutella and Oreo rice crispy treats with salted caramel glaze

So as well as savoury fun I thought it time for a nice little treat.

You'll need:

Treats:

- 2 tablespoons Nutella
- 2 handfuls of marshmellows
- 1 bag of Oreo's
- 2 cups full of rice crispies

Caramel:

- 200g granulated sugar
- 100g butter
- 100g double cream
- 1 teaspoon of salt

Method:

Crush your Oreo's. Melt your marshmellows in a mixing bowl in the microwave, should only take about 30-40 seconds but stir constantly as it expands and goes a bit mad as I discovered after my first attempt. As soon as it is totally melted quickly mix in your crushed Oreo's, rice crispies and Nutella. Move quickly as the marshmellow goes hard quickly. Stir well and place into a lightly greased (to stop it sticking) square/whatever shape you want dish. Once formed nicely into the dish, sling it in the fridge for 10 mins.

For the caramel add your sugar into a saucepan and melt on a high heat stirring constantly, there will be crazy looking bubbles, just keep stirring. Once the sugar has all melted, turn the heat down ever so slightly and add your butter, still stirring constantly. Once all has melted turn your hob to a medium low heat, add the salt then slowly fold in the cream.

Cut your treats into square's/hearts/chunks and drizzle over the caramel whilst it's still hot. Give it a minute to cool before you shove it in your gob unless you want to scold your mouth.

Put the kettle on and enjoy.

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

Recipe: Healthy Chicken Tikka Masala

Here's one that is becoming a regular meal for us at home! A healthier than usual chicken tikka masala with a kachumba side salad.

You'll need:

Curry:
- two red onions
- coconut oil (for frying)
- chicken breast (two feeds roughly three people)
- a fresh chilli
- one large sweet potato
- a handful of spinach
- fresh coriander
- curry paste of choice (we used tikka)
- coconut milk
- tinned tomatoes

Salad:
- one red onion
- half a cucumber
- two tomatoes
- one lemon
- fresh coriander/mint

Method:
1. Dice onions and fry off in two teaspoons of coconut oil until very soft, then add the chicken breast (diced) and chilli, cook until browned.
2. In a separate bowl, cut the sweet potato into large chunks and microwave in a small bowl of water to soften. In the main frying pan, add two tablespoons of curry paste and stir into chicken.
3. Pour the coconut milk and tinned tomatoes over the chicken and onions, stirring to form a loose curry. Allow to simmer for 2/3 minutes.
4. Chop some fresh coriander and add both this and the spinach to the curry, followed by the softened sweet potato.
5. Allow the curry to simmer, and cook some rice to accompany it, if desired. In another bowl, finely dice all the salad ingredients, and stir together. Squeeze half of the lemon over the top and add a pinch of salt to taste.

Serve with mini poppadums, some mango chutney and natural yoghurt!

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

Food: Smorgasburg, NYC

Saturdays                        Sundays

Williamsburg,                 Brooklyn Bridge Park,
90 Kent Aveenue,           Pier 5,
Brooklyn,                        Brooklyn,
NYC                                 NYC


So as anybody who has been to Smorgasburg food market will tell you, this place is an absolute MUST visit when in New York. With stalls from some of the best food in town there is something for everybody here, from ramen burgers to macaroons. Located on Brooklyn Bridge park right along the river with a mind blowing view of the NY skyline, this place gives off immediate good vibes. They also run a market in Williamsburg on Saturdays, we went to the Brooklyn market which was on a Sunday. The first thing we thought was, wow, is that really the queue? Each stall seemed to have a huge queue but we food found out why after a wander round. Being me, I literally could have eaten from every stall, they truly cater to everyone.

Choosing wisely I started with a lobster roll which I'd been after our whole trip! Redhook Lobster hooked me up big time with a Maine style lobster roll which. The toasted brioche roll and home-made mayo complimented the lobster so well, this filled a void in my foody life. We then split up and joined separate queue's to save time. Georgia grabbed herself some boneless wings from Dan & Johns wings which she considered maybe the best wings she'd ever had, safe to say I didn't see much of them! Meanwhile I was in the monumental queue for Home Frite after seeing so many people with them, the wait was well worth it! Home Frite sell hand cut tall fries served in a cone along with some amazing sauces. We went for the classic fries with garlic lemon aioli but they do have an awesome range of other fries and sauces. When we thought we couldn't queue or eat anymore we spotted a couple with some awesome looking ice cream sandwiches and we simply couldn't resist.  After about a 15 minute wait we grabbed ourselves a salted caramel sandwich and a rice crispies sandwich from The Good Batch ice cream stand. These really topped off our experience here and went down a treat with the beautiful sunshine we had that day.


There really isn't much more I could say in words to urge you to go here. There is so much to choose from and everything is fresh and made in front of you. Amazing food and a great atmosphere. Get down to Smorgasburg if you are in town!

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

Recipe: Sweet potato & parsnip rosti

 Hey guys, this is the second of hopefully many home cooked meal recipe posts to go up! This one was inspired by Joe Wicks a.k.a The Body Coach on Instagram who made a potato and parsnip rosti as part of his Lean in 15 healthy meal guides. So what we have here are sweet potato and parsnip rosti's, served with pan fried chorizo and a fried egg.

Ingredients needed;
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 parsnip
- 2 eggs
- half a chorizo sausage (or as much as you like)
- coconut oil
- salt & pepper

Begin by peeling and grating your sweet potato and parsnip then mix together in a bowl along with one egg, salt and pepper. Lay out your mixture on a chopping board and use a cookie cutter (I used a small glass) to cut out circular discs. Put a pan on a medium/high heat and once your coconut oil has melted pop your rosti's in. Cook for 5-7 minutes turning every minute or so to cook the mixture throughout. After 5 minutes of cooking slice your chorizo and cook it on a medium heat in a separate pan. After cooking your rosti's for about 10 minutes they should be good to serve, however use your judgement and cook for a few more minutes if necessary .

Plate up your rosti's and serve with a fried/poached egg along with your chorizo. I like a bit of fresh chilli to garnish for a wee kick. For veggie's you could also swap out the chorizo for some wilted spinach or sautéed mushrooms. Enjoy!

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate