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

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

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

Food: Dalston Street Feast

Hartwell Street

Dalston

London

E8 3DU

So a friend from work suggested the Dalston Street Feast and I'm so glad we went, what a gem! Georgia, myself and the crew from work headed down there a few days ago and I nearly died with excitement after looking the place up on the train there. The place is only about every Fri/Sat 01/02 May - 25/26 Sep and had a huge queue when we arrived! It's £3 entry after 7pm and we queued for about 5-10 and boy was it worth the wait. The venue is an abandoned warehouse type place with an awesome refurb. As well as a bunch of awesome food places there are plenty of bars and places to relax, it was night time and the open fires made it super cosy. Unfortunately by the time we arrived and got in it was really dark and quite poorly lit so a lot of the photo's I took ended up being no good, I plan to go back in the day light! 

It was so hard to chose what to eat here, I really felt I could have eaten from every stall. Georgia and I started on the buffalo wings from The Orange Buffalo. Super fresh hot wings covered in a really good and quite buttery style buffalo sauce. Very messy, very tasty. A few of the gang grabbed a bunch of soft shell taco's, including fried fish and chicken. Although I didn't try these, they looked amazing and I am assured they were delicious. 

I spotted somebody with some epic  looking fried chicken that literally stopped me in my tracks, after doing some investigating we found the place, Mother Clucker.  The queue for this place was all over the place, and we ended up waiting a while for our food, however we worked out why. Every piece of chicken they sell is marinated, coated and fried to order. Easily some of the best fried chicken out there, it had such a deep smokey flavour and was steaming hot, served with some sort of chilli mayo. 

As I was being such a fat boy, I couldn't resist getting more, so I headed over to Bleecker St. Burgers. I got a double cheeseburger with bacon, feeling heavy at this point. Although I was a bit gutted the burgers were not served on brioche buns as I'm a huge fan, the burger certainly did not disappoint. The patty was juicy and bloody, just how I like it, and the bacon just topped it off. Epic burger, gutted It was too dark to get a decent snap. Now craving some sweet goodness we headed to You Doughnut! The queue was HUGE for this place, again, worth it. All of the dough was being made in front of you and every batch made to order, with each order customisable. We had vanilla sugar, salted caramel sauce, sprinkles and vanilla ice cream. HOT DAMN these doughnuts killed it. I scooped every bit of it out of the box.

I cannot urge you more to visit one of these street feasts. We went to the Dalston market however there are spots in Lewisham and Shoreditch. I'll post the website below, check out some of the food there and I promise you won't be disappointed. You may catch me at one, I can't wait to get back.

http://www.streetfeastlondon.com/where

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

Food: Schiller, NYC

 131 Rivington St,
 New York,
 NY 10002,
 United States



Schillers was another place on our list whilst in the big apple, It was a recommendation from a friend of Georgia's actually! We'd contemplated the menu for the first couple of days of being there and I'm so glad we actually went! Really understated from outside but such nice décor. Inside it had a kind of industrial feel and all of the furnishings had a real shabby/reworked look, we loved it. Throughout our time there we felt the staff to be super attentive and maybe borderline too much, but I think that's a bit of an American thing (more in my upcoming post on NYC dining). All of the staff seemed super friendly and happy, although there did seem to be a lot of them for a fairly empty restaurant. I found this quite often whilst there, that a lot of restaurants seemed quite overstaffed, who knows if that's a good or bad thing!

Don't be fooled by the ''Liqueur Bar" signs, this place has a serious food menu too. The brunch menu had a really nice mix of your standard brunchy things like Eggs Benedict to a more extravagant steak and eggs. Georgia went for the blueberry pancakes with bourbon syrup and I chose the Huevos Rancheros. The found the portion size to be really realistic in comparison to some of your more gargantuan US sized portions (no offence!). We both really enjoyed our food, and as per I polished off what pancakes Georgia couldn't finish, the bourbon syrup was amazing! With the pancakes at $12 and Rancheros at $13 I found it awesome value for money. The coffee had a real nutty/oaky taste to it and was nothing to shout about but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Overall I would definitely go again and recommend you do if you're in the area. It's situated right near a whole bunch of other café's, coffee shops and shopping locations so swing by, I hear their cocktails are amazing too!

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

Food: Buvette, NYC

 42 Grove St,
 New York,
 NY 10014,
 United States




Another snippet from our trip to the big apple! We ventured to West Village to a little place we'd heard of called Buvette. This quaint little building was unfortunately covered by scaffolding when we arrived but a lovely plot nonetheless. The maître d  took our names and wrote it in chalk on the door frame whilst we waited outside in the glorious sunshine for a table. We only waited about 5-10 minutes, do dramas. The inside is quite small as are the tables, cutlery and just about everything else, but very cosy, there was a very French atmosphere that I really digged.

We both grabbed latte's that tasted pretty damn good compared to a lot of the coffee we'd had on our trip (sort it out NY!). I opted for the Croque Madame, which was a first for me and Georgia went for the fresh waffle and berries. I have to say, I'm a HUGE breakfast guy, maybe working at The Breakfast Club has done that to me, and my Croque Madame was honestly one of the nicest things I've ever eaten. I could not have been more impressed. Georgia was slightly more underwhelmed by her waffle, as it was fairly plain and a bit pricey for what it actually came to, although I am a fan of quality over quantity. The price was definitely something to consider, with the waffle at $16 and madame at $17, which I was happy to pay.

The service was great inside and regardless of the queue of people outside we were not rushed in the slightest to leave, although we were given our bill without asking, something I'm going to come to in a blog post soon on my general dining experiences in NY. I would recommend going here even if it's a bit of a travel from where you are staying, I'm certain it will not disappoint.

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

food: penelope, nyc

  159 Lexington Ave,
  New York,
  NY 10016,
  United States



So back in 2011, Georgia and I were lucky enough to be taken to New York as part of a business trip at 6th Form. Part of this trip involved us heading to Penelope's for breakfast, and we fell in love instantly. We have both just returned from a 5 day trip to NY, which seems to be becoming our home from home and this place was first on our list. As you enter the first thing you notice is the lovely décor and friendly atmosphere, along with the warming smell of fresh coffee. Georgia and I visit here every time we are in NYC and the food and service never ever disappoints. The menu is fairly simple and not too big which I love as when it comes to breakfast, too much choice can be frustrating. The pancakes are an absolute must for us every time, so Georgia chose those. As I know work in a place that serves up hundreds of pancakes a day, I opted for something savoury (although I still got a seeing to the leftover pancakes). I chose the chorizo egg sandwich, with chorizo, scrambled eggs, roasted peppers and cheddar served in either an english muffin or toasted croissant. I went for the croissant as I'd never had a savoury one before. Georgia had a latte and I tried their filter coffee (all the rage in NY), neither disappointed. The latte was actually the only decent coffee with milk we had in our time in NY.

When it came to paying our bill we where happy as usual as the menu is quite reasonably priced. The buttermilk pancakes are $12 and the chorizo egg sandwich was $11. Service wasn't included in the bill which I love as I think that tips should be earned. Our service was great so we were happy to leave a nice tip. 

Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area, don't forget to give the dog a pat as you leave.

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate