June | 2010 | The grub worm

Koya

Posted on 28 June 2010 by The Grubworm

If Koya had ears, they would’ve been incandescent in the months since its low key opening back in April this year. Quiet the opening might have been, but within days cyberspace was awash with excited chatter as foodies across the capital and beyond sampled the deceptively simple noddle-centric menu.

Of course, the worry is, when you hear so many good things, can the place itself actually live up to the hype. And so it was with some excitement, tempered with more than a dash of trepidation, I found myself in a queue with a group that included Mr Noodles, Tom and Jen, Uyen and others, patiently waiting for table. Continue reading →

Red roasted vegetables

Posted on 24 June 2010 by The Grubworm

Being ill sucks. I’ve been full of aches and pains, lethargic and knackered for about three days. And the weather outside is all blue sky and sunshine. Bah humbug!

Times like this require ameliorative grub, soothing soft and easy to eat and – crucially – to prepare. This is where fresh veg and an oven come in. Continue reading →

Vinoteca

Posted on 22 June 2010 by The Grubworm

Vinoteca. Vino Teca. It’s all in the name really. Vino, wine, the glorious grape. Rightly known and talked about for it’s fabulous choice of wines by the glass, this simple wooden floored winebar has a (albeit widely known) secret. The food here is pretty damn good too.

These guys pay a lot of attention, not just to the food and the wine, but to how the two combine. Their daily changing menu has glasses of wine matched to each dish that you are free to select should you want. And the cooking, like a good wine, is full of clear, well balanced flavours. Continue reading →

Giant Robot

Posted on 18 June 2010 by The Grubworm

45 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1M 5RS, 020 7065 6810, www.gntrbt.com

C’mon guys, where’s the fricken robot? If you’re going to call a place ‘Giant Robot’ you’ve gotta have a big old metal beastie in there somewhere. On further questioning, it seems like this Match Bar facelift was named for a robot that appeared in the square opposite for a while, before marching off to terrorise biological lifeforms elsewhere.

So, there is no robot in Giant Robot, but there are plenty of other attractions. Not least some tasty old balls, giant prawns (almost as good as a robot) and cucumber flavoured water. Continue reading →

Columbo pork curry

Posted on 16 June 2010 by The Grubworm

Forget voodoo, zombies and Baron Samedi, the real magic among the islands and jungles of the Caribbean comes from Creole cooking. A strange and wonderful combination of food was brought here from all corners of the world as Empires and Republics vied for control of the trade routes, harbours and plantations.

Indian spices arrived with indentured labour from the subcontinent and mixed with West African ingredients planted by slaves. Local ingredients such as Mexican chillies and sweet potato where thrown together with court-boullion and spicy sausages from the Mediterranean, and there is the vividly coloured local seafood, fruit and vegetables. Continue reading →

Fishcakes, salad and soba noodles

Posted on 13 June 2010 by The Grubworm

Hello pan. Hello cooker. And most of all, hello Global knives! God I’ve missed cooking. What with the onerous burden of eating out, socialising, going to Cornwall for the bank holiday, I feel like I haven’t cooked, really cooked, for a good couple of weeks.

Cooking for me, is an end into itself. Sure I love eating – and eating well, that is after all what led me into the kitchen in the first place – but it’s also solitary time for me to unwind. To really lose myself in the hypnotic rhythm of slicing, stirring, chopping that is the mainstay of making any meal. Continue reading →

Tasting tea at the Cookbook cafe

Posted on 10 June 2010 by The Grubworm

Tea leaves

Okay. Confession time. I’m a bit of a tea addict. And it’s long past the point where I will carefully pick choose the high grade stuff. When I need tea, I really need it. And more often than not, it’s the dirty, adulterated, “dust” you find in those little porous baggies. I don’t care. I need my hit.

At other times, when the raging need is quiescent, I happily rifle through my modest collection of ten or so teas picking and choosing to suit my mood. Feeling low? A cup of nutty Genmaicha to sooth and lift my mood. If I’m in a pondering mood, then silver tip white tea, so delicate and purifying, is the way to go. Continue reading →

Cellar Gascon

Posted on 7 June 2010 by The Grubworm

This wine bar attached to the feted Club Gascon of foie gras fame is a bit like a virgin visit to France after seeing loads of nouvelle vague films. It’s as smart, swish and chic as you expect, with the odd seemingly familiar thing that turns out to be not quite what you think.

So there we were, the estimable Meemalee, Chris and myself, perched at a high table in an almost empty bar eyeing the specials speculatively. I, for one, was feeling terribly decadent. This is not the sort of place I usually head for a Friday lunch. And it all seemed rather good, in a cool Alain Delon kind of way. Continue reading →

Clerkenwell Kitchen

Posted on 4 June 2010 by The Grubworm

The Clerkenwell Workshops, 27-31 Clerkenwell Close, London, EC1R 0AT 020 7101 9959 www.theclerkenwellkitchen.co.uk

This is a very “Clerkenwell” place to eat. A stripped back factory/workshop space all exposed brick and wooden floors, full of media types in their converse shoes and pinstripe jackets earnestly chatting over a latte and custard tart. And every lunchtime it’s packed out.

The reason is that the food is fresh and fabulous, the cooking simple and unfussy. The menu shifts chameleon like with the seasons, depending on what the chefs find that morning. One day might see onglet and chips, the next beetroot cakes and salad. Those converse clad media people obviously know when they’re on to a good thing. Continue reading →

The View

Posted on 2 June 2010 by The Grubworm

Treninnow Cliff Road, Milbrook, Cornwall, PL10 1JY 01752 822345 www.theview-restaurant.co.uk

Perched atop a cliff looking out over waves rolling in to Whitsand Bay in Cornwall, The View was a most unexpected gem. Forget Jamie’s 15 in Newquay, or Steinsville in Padstow, this remote restaurant is where you’ll get the best of Cornish cooking, and in a setting that knocks the socks off any other.

Housed in cabin, rather nondescript from the outside, are a scattering of plain tables on a warm wood floor, surrounded by white walls hung with local art. And some of the most consistently well cooked – and freshest – fish I’ve eaten in a long time. Continue reading →