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Archive for May 2011

Last Day in London

by Gabriela
May 28th, 2011

I can’t believe I’ll be heading home in less than 24 hours! Overall, it’s been an incredible trip, and today was no exception.

This morning, my dad and I headed out early to see the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, located near Buckingham Palace. As usual, we walked to our destination. While I love New York, I definitely think that walking in London feels more relaxing. The parks are so lush and green- truly like an oasis in the middle of all the chaos.

I’m not a big fan of art museums, but I’m a total nerd and really get into the historical ones. I even wore the audio headset around my neck.

Me and my new boyfriend. Sorry, Mike.

Amazingly, the British involvement in World War II was coordinated entirely from a converted basement in the civil service building. It was a dark, gloomy place, but most of Churchill’s cabinet and staff stayed there almost exclusively for six years. The sacrifices people made!

Attached to the war rooms was the Churchill Museum, a tribute to his life, accomplishments and time as Prime Minister. I actually learned a ton of fun facts! For instance:

  • Churchill usually drank with all three meals, and supposedly said that “life would not be worth living” without alcohol.
  • He often wore one-piece velour zip-up suits, which his family called rompers. Guess we have Winnie to thank for that fashion trend, eh?
  • He smoked up to 8 cigars a day, but never inhaled them.
  • His parents were married in April of 1874, and he was born in November of the same year. You do the math.
  • Despite being a smoker, heavy drinker and overweight, he lived to be 91. Proof that there’s more to long life than good health.
* * *
It was around 11 when we left the museum, and I was getting hungry! My lunch date wasn’t for a few hours, so we stopped in a Pret A Manger, where I bought a prawn and avocado salad with honey-dijon dressing. It was the perfect thing to tide me over.
Then, we took a long walk to the Kensington Whole Foods (the second largest in the world!) where I was meeting Carrie and Freya for lunch at Saf, a raw vegan restaurant in their upstairs food court.
I met Freya at last year’s Healthy Living Summit in Chicago, but this was my first time meeting Carrie. It’s so neat to have blog friends in other countries!
Saf had a really interesting, delicious-sounding menu. I had trouble narrowing down the options, but eventually I went with a CBK juice, made with pear, carrot, pineapple, ginger and cayenne.
It was fruity and sweet, with just a hint of spice in the aftertaste. Excellent.
When we placed our entree orders, the waiter asked us if we’d like any appetizers; while we declined his recommendation of the cheese trio, he misunderstood us and we ended up with it anyway.
Three different cashew cheeses served with raw flaxseed crackers. I’m not sure what each flavor was, but I liked the green one the best, while the other ladies preferred the orangey one.
For our entrees, Freya and I both chose the rustic farinata: slow roasted seasonal vegetables and mushrooms in a homemade chickpea crepe topped with tarragon aioli and served with fresh greens dressed in olive oil and spices.
It was delicious. Freya said it reminded her of socca, and while I’ve never made the stuff myself, now I really want to. This dish would be pretty easy to recreate at home, too!
Carrie, meanwhile, ordered the Saf burger, a seasonal vegetable patty with pickles, onion and tomato fig jam on a whole-wheat bun.
The meal itself was a lot of fun- as I’ve said many times before, there’s just a special connection between food bloggers. Not many people can understand what it’s like to take pictures of your food or get excited over a new foodie find. Carrie and Freya are both such sweet girls, too!
After our meal, we headed down to the grocery section of the store, where I picked out a ton of bars both for myself and for you guys. Giveaway coming soon ;)
Apparently tonight there’s some big-deal soccer game, so my pops and I are gonna head out to watch it at some point this evening. Then it will be packing and sleep- we’re leaving pretty early tomorrow!
Tell me: your favorite random fact or tidbit of trivia. Mine: The word “nerd” was actually invented by Dr. Seuss. He had me in mind.
Categories blogger meetup, Churchill Museum, Saf Kensington, Whole Foods London
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Ice Cream > Fish Head

by Gabriela
May 28th, 2011

If anyone reading works in TV, I’ve got a new show idea for you. It’s called “Gabriela Eats Her Way Through London.”Any takers?

(Seriously though, wouldn’t that be fun?)

This evening, my dad and I returned to Harrod’s for dinner. When we were in the food hall yesterday we noticed a tasty-looking Italian restaurant and wine bar called Dei Frescobaldi, so we decided to try it out.

The restaurant was almost empty when we arrived at 6, and we later realized that while the rest of the store closes at 8, this particular place closes at 7. For that reason, we found that our service was kind of rushed- while the waitress was polite, she definitely wanted to get out of there! To start, I had a glass of Prosecco sparkling wine.

My favorite drinks all have bubbles: beer, champagne, seltzer and soda. I love fizz!

For my entree, I chose the baked whole sea bass with fennel, spinach and tomatoes.

I was expecting the whole fish to be filleted at the table, but this thing was plopped down in front of me, head and all.

Here’s the thing: seeing dead fish really does not bother me. I’m of the belief that if you’re going to eat something, you have to be okay with how it’s made and where it comes from, and while that’s one of several reasons I choose not to eat meat, fish and crustaceans are different to me personally. However, beheading your own meal and picking out the bones in a nice restaurant kind of ruins the dining experience. Thankfully, the taste of the fish made up for it! And I loved the vegetables, especially the fennel.

My dad went the vegetarian route, with mixed grill vegetables with goat cheese and basil pesto.

A basket of bread was also demolished.

Overall, the meal was pretty good taste-wise and by no means bad, but it was probably my least favorite dining experience in London thus far. You win some, you lose some.

That being said, Harrods totally redeemed itself through dessert.

We went to the crowded Morelli’s Gelato bar, also in the Harrod’s food hall, and ordered a Baci sundae: vanilla, chocolate and hazelnut ice creams, served with a dark chocolate cup filled with Nutella, sprinkled with hazelnuts, drizzled with melted Magnum chocolate, piled with whipped cream and finished with a chocolate swizzle stick, a chocolate-hazelnut truffle and a wafer cookie.

Oh. My. Gosh. Let it be known that I am far more a baked dessert girl than a frozen one, but this was insane. HUGE, creamy, rich, decadent…I could go on and on. Interestingly, the simple vanilla ice cream was my favorite flavor, especially with eaten with the whipped cream and Nutella cup.

Can you just think about this for a second? A dark chocolate cup. Filled with Nutella. Eaten with ice cream and whipped cream. Yeah.

My dad and I didn’t leave a single spoonful, and I couldn’t have been happier. I can’t even remember the last time I had a real, old-school ice cream sundae, so this was long overdue.

Categories Del Frescobaldi Harrod's, London, Morelli's Harrod's
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London Eye and Borough Market

by Gabriela
May 27th, 2011

When traveling in foreign countries, it’s neat to see the popular tourist destination, but in my opinion it’s way more fun to go off the beaten path a little and find some not as well known attractions. Today’s adventures were a balance of standard tourism and fun exploring, as we hit up both the London Eye and the Borough Market!

This morning, we had tickets for the London Eye at 10 AM, so we left our flat around 8:30 and made the trip by foot. Stupid Gabriela neglected to take a photo of the Eye itself, but it’s just a ginormous ferris wheel with massive “capsules.”

Each ride lasts about 30 minutes, and offers beautiful views of the entire city.
Definitely not for those with a fear of heights!

The House of Parliament from the bottom, midway and top:

Me and the pops!

* * *

It was still pretty early by the time we got down, so we grabbed some tea and a snack at a cafe and slowly meandered over to Borough Market, our next stop on the agenda. It was a long (and chilly, for this sandal-wearing girl!) walk, so the first thing our minds when we reached the market area was lunch! We found a cute little bistro and wine bar called Bedales.

I got a delicious salad with greens, tomatoes, half an avocado and a small mountain of prawns, all topped with creamy dressing and served with super soft French bread.

My only qualm was the amount of dressing- I scraped a decent amount off of each bite, but it was still pretty doused!

My dad, meanwhile, got a vegetable sandwich with mozzarella cheese, which he also raved about.

Once our tummies were satisfied, it was time to explore the market! Oh….my…gosh. There were no words.
It reminded me a lot of the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market in San Francisco. Stall after stall of food vendors, delicious smells wafting everywhere, tons of free samples….WHY does New York City not have one of these?!

My dad and I were instantly intrigued by a beer market, where I found a completely life-changing beverage…

Why yes, yes indeed. That would be a Titanic Brewery “Iceberg” beer. There were three varieties, and I wanted to buy them all, but then I would have had to carry them home. We settled on just one, and it’s currently chilling in the fridge for later consumption!

Not impressed by ship-named beer, my dad bought himself a cider. Suit yourself, dad, but the Titanic will be better.

We also had a few samples, including cheese, fig bars, olive oil and bread topped with amazing sea-salted butter.

Initially I was wondering where all the dessert was, but once we crossed the street to a different section of the market, I realized we’d just been looking in the wrong place! We stopped by a fudge place and bought a few treats, including treacle fudge, chocolate tangerine fudge, chocolate covered honeycomb and a chili-chocolate fudge that had a definite kick to it.

Gone in .1 seconds. I choked a bit on a piece of fudge from eating it so quickly, but hey, it’s all good ;)

We also picked up a few miniature Lebanese treats, including a pistachio pastry, a pistachio “nest,” baklava and tiny phyllo fingers.

Now, we’re just back at the apartment hanging out for a bit. My feet are so sore from all the walking we’ve been doing- it’s nice to just sit on the couch!

Does your city have a farmer’s market? What about something even better, like the Borough Market? The Union Square Farmer’s Market is really neat, but it wasn’t a patch on this place.

Categories Bedales London, Borough Market, London Eye, Titanic Brewery
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