Category: Expat

Britain, Expat, Food, Humor, Husband, London, Shopping, Weekend July 31, 2014July 31, 2014

I scream, you scream, etc.

“Forget art. Put your trust in ice cream.”
― Charles Baxter, The Feast of Love

One of the great tourist-y pleasurable things you can enjoy in London is exploring the famed shopping area in the West End. Bond Street, Regent Street, and Oxford Street have a bunch of high street shops that are plenty interesting, plus the city of Westminster goes to great lengths to make it accessible, especially during the summer, but the ream gems are the remarkable department stores like Liberty and Selfridges. Not only are they noted for stocking all the luxury brands, but many of the great British department stores are great at forming partnerships with brands (some big, some new) for events and launches. This year the European ice cream company Magnum is celebrating 25 years, and apparently this is a Really Big Deal on this side of the Atlantic. I thought the idea of throwing a celebrity-studded bash over ice cream was a bit much myself…but my grinch-like heart softened eventually. Because, ice cream.

Last Sunday, Regent Street closed to traffic (something they’ve done every Sunday in July) and Magnum set up booths by the dozen to give away thousands of free ice cream bars.

However, Jeff and I didn’t feel like standing in one of these lines. We decided to stand in a much snootier line instead!

Selfridges had a super-fancy exhibit for Magnum in their famous Wonder Room, where participants could create their own ice cream bars with super-fancy dipping chocolate and super-fancy toppings. Alas these were not free, but we figured that VIP ice cream would be a fun weekend treat so we sprung for it anyway.

The decor was, of course, delightful. Selfridges is famous for their displays, primarily in their windows; I love their emphasis on visual design and engagement. But on to the main event!

Toppings were tossed together in cocktail shakers before being lovingly spread over the hand dipped bars. Jeff and I managed a combination of ice cream, dip, and drizzle that included all the chocolate variations, plus toppings that were just wacky enough to be interesting—hazelnuts, brownie bits…and cornflowers!

Too weird for your taste? Trust me, it was delicious.

Britain, Expat, Food, History, Humor, London July 21, 2014July 21, 2014

There is only one fish and chip shop in London

“Alive without breath,
As cold as death;
Never thirsty, ever drinking,
All in mail never clinking.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

At least, one worth knowing. The Golden Hind, named for Sir Francis Drake’s famous ship, is 100 years old and has been serving acclaimed fish and chips for the entire time. It’s an absolute culinary landmark in London and a required stop on any gastronomic tour of the city.

The shop itself is not grand. The tables and chairs are beat up and wooden, I’m not entirely sure they all matched, and the crockery is utilitarian. The cash registers are straight out of the 80s and the decor is minimal and mostly involves photographs from the city area in the early 20th century. Don’t let that fool you. There is almost always a line to get in, and you need to go in slightly off-peak hours to guarantee a seat.

The plaque detailing the ownership of the Hind.

The only major deviation in the menu is the type of fish you can serve, and the sides that can accompany your main course. I recommend the cod, which along with haddock is the traditional choice. The fish slabs are absolutely massive, I could barely finish a third of mine on our last visit, it was easily the length of my arm from fingertip to elbow. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t order the chips, though. Slather those suckers in vinegar and get stuck in!

Britain, Expat, Food, Humor, Husband, London, Travel July 8, 2014June 26, 2014

Let’s talk sandwiches, specifically at Monty’s Deli

“A man’s social rank is determined by the amount of bread he eats in a sandwich.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald

Jeff occasionally gets an idea into his head (usually involving food) that can only be exorcised by action. After our previous favorite brownie changed their recipe, he went on a bit of a tear to locate a replacement, which is how we discovered Maltby Market. He’s been going through a similar rough time in the hunt for some proper pastrami sandwiches, so you can imagine how thrilled he was to find Monty’s Deli in the same area.

There are certain kinds of sandwiches where the British are the unquestioned champions; tea sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, and the much vaunted bacon roll are among them. I’m still trying to figure out what the pinkish-red bread Liberty’s cafe uses is exactly, and we’ve even found a really good pulled pork. Not as good as American barbeque, admittedly, but delicious in their own right. However there are some areas of sandwich-dom where we have found our new abode somewhat wanting. We didn’t think we could find a good Reuben, but I’m happy to report we were wrong.

I mentioned before that there is a whole slew of businesses that have set up shop in the arches beneath the train tracks, Monty’s Deli is one of them. Serving up “Jewish soul food,” they set up shop in the arches on Saturdays and Sundays only, so coming here is a treat.

It’s not high tech…

But the results are pretty damn great. Instead of fries they offer potato latkes and share space with an organic Greek wine merchant. That’s just how Druid Street rolls!

Not his best photographic moment, but let me assure you there were sounds of delight coming out between bites of that pile of meat! Something that isn’t always appreciated is that British street food sometimes gives people sticker shock, but the portions are incredibly generous. You get what you pay for. I couldn’t even finish my own sandwich, I dragged the boxed remains home for a later afternoon snack. Which Jeff ended up eating…

But nevertheless, let me heartily recommend the salted beef sandwich with a great helping of some pretty spectacular slaw.

Britain, Expat, Friday, Humor, Linkstorm, London, Travel, Weekend July 4, 2014July 4, 2014

Friday Links (Expats and Independence Day, Edition)

“I want to grill something!”
– Jeff

Happy Independence Day for Yank minions. I’m currently celebrating our freedom from Britain by eating the most British thing possible for summer, strawberries and cream, and admiring my view of the London skyline while I work. Hashtag traitor, or something.

In any event, it’s a gorgeous Friday with blue skies and bright sun. We’re hoping it stays fine since Jeff’s brother and sister-in-law are coming into town and we have great hopes of showing off our tiny flat and the big city. In the meantime, I’ve got about 10,000 projects to try and bang out before they get here. My freelance team has taken on new clients so we’re all terribly busy and important. Enjoy your links, add anything worth reading in the comments and let me know how you are spending the weekend. Stateside kittens eat barbeque for me, please.

But please, in your celebrations, remember dignity.

These would not typically be my art style at all, but I’m finding these pieces summery. I’m also wishing it were physically possible to hang paintings and photos in our concrete walls.

Also crushing on the gallery wall from this apartment tour. We’re acquiring a staggering collection of prints and papery goodness living in London that are going to need to be prominently displayed someday.

I’ve had marriage on the brain this week, so I really enjoyed this unexpected piece on an arranged one.

In the list of attributes I thought I would never really admire in a wedding getup, shorts rank pretty high. Olivia Palermo shatters my preconceived notions.

…everyone has a skill…

Holy cow, this should stock my links list for at least the rest of the summer!

Sherlock returns! …in 2016. I swear, that show feels more like the Olympics than anything else.

In other public broadcasting news, This American Life is taking a couple of gambles on their production. Their first one is the biggest, but I’m also excited about their show Serial. I’m a huge fan of the radio show, let’s bring it back!

This photographer is just 15. And what have you done with your life, lately?

Disney will be thrilled, children who actually read the original tales will be traumatazied. 500 new German fairy tales have been discovered!

Tomato Nation is doing the work of the righteous and ranking Wimbledon players by hotness on your behalf. You are welcome.

Lastly, some pretty for your weekend: films inspired by art.

Britain, Expat, Food, Humor, London, Travel July 3, 2014July 3, 2014

Sugar Sin in Covent Garden

“You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jellybeans. ”
― Ronald Reagan

Last week was clearly an eat-your-feelings sort of week for me, so in the spirit of (over)indulgence let me introduce you to nirvana for a sweet tooth. On Tuesday I was working hard on a project, answering a lot of emails, and doing my best to take in news in healthy, moderated chunks when Jeff insisted we grab a burrito for dinner and go for a wander in the West End when we both finished the business day.

Wandering up New Row, we were both seized with a sugar craving and darted over to Long Acre to get a grab bag of candy at Sugar Sin.

British sweet shops are legendary, there’s a reason Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was written by Roald Dahl. The most traditional still have rows and rows of glass jars like an apothecary shop, filled with strange and interesting candies in addition to the more typical ones. Think of the quirky candies from Harry Potter, some of those are based in traditional British sweets.

The British sweet tooth is also a thing apart because it relies so heavily on tradition. Flowers, herbs, and spices are usually to be found included in the older recipes, as well as modern day riffs on them. Rhubarb is a popular candy flavor here, for example, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it marketed elsewhere – at least certainly not in the local grocery store. But from funny names, to interesting shapes, to old-fashioned, British candy is where it’s at.

Sugar Sin has certainly modernized the idea, but don’t let the pink decor and flowery atmosphere fool you, at its heart it shares the cultural DNA of Golden Tickets and Chocolate Frogs. And best of all, it sells by weight. You can load up enough sweets for a month for a fraction of what you’d pay for equal amounts of branded, packaged candy.

Sometimes, after a hard week, small pleasures work wonders.

Britain, Expat, Food, Humor, London, Travel June 16, 2014June 17, 2014

Maltby Street Market

“It is the job of the market to turn the base material of our emotions into gold.”
― Andrei Codrescu, Zombification: Stories from National Public Radio

We discovered Maltby after Jeff went on a google hunt for nearby brownies after our previous favorite at Borough Market changed their recipe and we couldn’t cope with the development. Pathetic, yes, but also poetic for this is the sort of emotional cleaving that lead one to discovery, well beloved kittens. I was working away on a project when Jeff cryptically declared he’d be back in a while and returned with treasure: a box filled with Bad Brownies.

Whoa, golly.

The next weekend we both trucked to Maltby Street, the home of a small but truly impressive little cache of stalls and shops operating mostly from the archways beneath our nearby train tracks. Shops like this have always existed in Britain, anywhere you got an opening in a wall was usable space in previous centuries and utilized, so I love seeing something that could easily be forgotten or even turn shady become a thriving spot for food and trade. There are butchers, delis, patisseries, cheesemongers, fishmongers (all the mongers, really), tapas eateries, and specialty brewers all crammed in together in the loveliest way.

I only caught a few snaps because the weather was being…British…on our last trip, but I’m entirely positive you’ll be hearing more about Maltby over the summer. In the meantime, here’s something to whet your appetite!

Bad Brownie does amazing “normal” brownies, but take a pro-tip and go for their less usual flavours. You will thank me profusely.

I mean, just look at those…

London’s beverage is gin. It plagued the poor in the 18th century, well cataloged by Hogarth, and was tippled by the rich only slightly less sordidly. It’s socially acceptable version today is the G&T with cucumber and there are a lot of tasting bars, of which it must be said Little Bird looks the most charming to photograph to a girl who knows precisely nothing about such things. You can really get a sense of how the arches are decorated and turned into beautiful and unique shop spaces here. Maltby really goes for shabby, British chic and it works.

Farmhouse cheeses on English sourdough. It is impossible to properly demonstrate the portion sizes here except that one of these glories could conceivably give a fit person heart failure. Perfect!

I will have one of each by the end of summer, I vow it.

Finally, helping us class up the joint, that other British summer staple, smoked salmon.

Delicious!

Britain, Expat, Humor, Life, London June 12, 2014June 7, 2014

London Snapshot

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

No biggie, just Hyde Park in early summer.

Britain, Expat, Friends, Humor, London, Travel, Weekend June 9, 2014June 8, 2014

An after the fact adventure in Little Venice

“There’s nothing––absolutely nothing––half so much worth doing as messing about in boats.”
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind In The Willows

Katie and Adam have left the typically-less-sunny-climes of London for the infinitely sunnier climes of California as Adam finishes up the last leg of his business program. We’re missing our buddies, but lucky we got to hang out with them one last time in Little Venice for a weekend market and festival.

Little Venice is a portion of Victorian canals in Paddington, that is about as charming an area of London as you could possibly find. It’s packed full of Edwardian houses, beautiful houseboats, and lovely (if somewhat pricey) restaurants.

Some of the houseboats have been transformed into businesses, even though most are still residences, it’s kind of impressive to see what people can create in a limited space. (In other words, I have no excuses not to have our flat in order.)

This one was turned into a second-hand bookstore, but I saw artist galleries, full cafes, shops, and I’m pretty sure at least one yoga studio. Resident house/boat cats abound, there were full gardens on the roofs of boats, and many captains hats to be seen. I approve all of this.

There’s an entire culture related to houseboat dwelling in London, and I wish I knew more about it! Just wandering around Regent’s Canal, there was a common style of dress, a shared aesthetic taste (a colorful, out-of-time sense of color and composition that clearly calls back to the days when the canals were first built and used). Houseboat doors were open to reveal furniture that intentionally rustic rather than modern, crockery on display like old farm kitchens. It’s an interesting take on minimalist or small home living.

Frankly there are few better ways to spend a weekend than wandering through the city, eating from food stalls and ending up in Hyde Park for a long talk over cheese and olives.

Britain, Expat, Freelance, History, Humor, Linkstorm, London, Weekend, Work June 6, 2014June 6, 2014

Friday Links (Farewell, Ben Edition)

“Remember that time is money.”
– Benjamin Franklin

It’s the end of an era, kittens, my last day at the Franklin House. It’s been a good ride and I’ve been able to learn a lot about this industry and meet some truly fantastic people who you are definintely going to be hearing more about in the future (some of us may or may not already be planning summer barbeques together). On the freelance front, work is picking up with some new projects, but I get to pay another round of taxes (blech). Here are you links, let me know what you’re up to in the comments!

Fascinating look at how news organization manage their social media.

This is brilliant (PS, congratulations to Georgina who just got a cultural heritage and education job at Kensington Palace), but I watched the entire vid with wide eyes imagining what would have happened had they dropped that thing. This are the dark places a history person’s mind goes.

I bow to others’ wisdom, is this the most Canadian headline ever? Caitlin Kelly, please advise!

Color me mesmerized… I love ballet. I haven’t yet converted Jeff to it like I have the opera, but I have high hopes.

Speaking of the ballet, here’s a great profile on a dancer who is making history.

This girl is only six years old, but she kindly invites the haterz to eat it.

There is (yet another) reality television show for me to hate, but now with the added bonus of making me want to bury my head in the sand as an adopted Londoner. It’s called, “I Wanna Marry Harry,” and it’s dreadful. We may not have inherited rank in America, but really, countrymen? Really? The only redeeming side effect for this embarrassment is the Fug Girls’ incredible recaps. They watch, so you don’t have to. Because you really, really shouldn’t.

One last bit of royally themed goodness: emeralds. (Whispered in a voice not entirely unlike Smeagol’s.)

In case you had any doubts on the matter. But have we not all of us, at one time or another, developed resentment at a public dance? And as for being in a garden and being astonished!

This child has a future. In the J. Crew children’s section.

If you watch Game of Thones and have not yet seen Gay of Thrones from Funny or Die, I urge you to rectify this shameful lapse. (Standard warning for pearl clutchers, there is language and they discuss…well, everything that Game of Thrones does. Which basically ancient Rome on a really hedonistic day.)

Big news from my buddy Teri, the outrageously talented and designer over at The Lovely Drawer has launched her Etsy shop. Check it out! (Also, if you’re not following her blog, you should be. Not only does she keep you abreast of design and the good things in life, she’s unbelievable generous with beautiful free offerings.)

Pleases me, this does.

Hm, you mean that the ability to nurture children isn’t a strictly or even predominately female trait, but a skill? One you develop by doing? And men’s brains are just as capable as women’s to develop in the similar ways? There are are so many people (primarily former youth religious leaders with fixed ideas about gender roles) that I want to send this too, it’s almost tempting to put together a mass email.

Well shoot, I am officially out of excuses. (The NYT offers some additional information.)

Bestie and New York journalist Xarissa Holdaway’s new piece on Orange Is the New Black‘s portrayal of faith behind bars.

Britain, Expat, Humor, London, Travel May 28, 2014May 28, 2014

London Snapshot

“London is a modern Babylon.”
– Benjamin Disraeli

It’s be a crazy couple of days here at SDS headquarters, but thanks to everyone who emailed or tweeted me about my last post. It was a bit scary to write, but the response really overwhelmed me, in a positive way. I’ll try to address it more articulately in a day or two, in the meantime we return you to your regularly scheduled programing. History, London, freelancing, and humor. Oh, and pics.

Where bad (or perhaps very good) skateboards go to die: a pylon in the Thames.

Small Dog Syndrome

Category: Expat

I scream, you scream, etc.

There is only one fish and chip shop in London

Let’s talk sandwiches, specifically at Monty’s Deli

Friday Links (Expats and Independence Day, Edition)

Sugar Sin in Covent Garden

Maltby Street Market

London Snapshot

An after the fact adventure in Little Venice

Friday Links (Farewell, Ben Edition)

London Snapshot

Humor. Opinions. Life in London.

Humor. Opinions. Life in London.

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