Tapas'd up at Barrafina

If you like the idea of a tapas bar serving fresh sea food, chances are that you will like Barrafina. This small L shaped bar opened in 2007 and judging by the queue outside its door, its pretty popular. The interior is quite compact, with stools dotted along the bar and the chefs cooking away in front of you. As there is no reservation you have to be prepared to wait, we ordered glasses of white wine, olives and  bread and deliberated on the specials.

I decided on the Carabinero and some Padro Peppers, the hubby went for the Octopus and Milk Fed Lamb from the regular menu.

Both the Octopus and the Lamb were quite good (I had a taste of both) but it wasn't as good as my Carabinero, I mean look at that big fat shrimp in all its red glory: cue picture of very happy me.

Of course while all this eating was taking place, I saw the person next to me order a Tuna Tartar. Just looking at it made me want to try it, but too late, the tuna's finished. But at that point I saw someone loading fresh lobsters onto the ice tray and I went for that instead. And it was a treat.

Nice and juicy with a light salad, the lobster was the star for me. Besides all the food and wine, the bar is also a great spot to people watch. You see a good mix of people and the atmosphere is buzzing. Watching the chefs get on with their food preparations is fascinating, sort of like a live cooking show.

We ended our meal with a much needed coffee and two Crema Catalans, caramelised on the outside and creamy on the inside.

If you are in and around London this summer, pop over for a visit. I visited the Frith Street one but there is a new Barrafina in Covent Garden too.

Lunch at Flesh & Buns, London

Since I have already written about Bone Daddies, let me now show you around its sister concern Flesh and Buns. If I have to choose from either of these two places, I would definitely go for Flesh & Buns. The place is bigger and brighter, the foods great and made in front of you (its an open kitchen) and you have a variety of seating options: sharing tables, booths and round tables if you go with your friends and family. Its also located near a very cute pet store which houses loads of interesting stuff, sort of Korean fashion for man's best friend. I bought a faux fur pink jacket for Lilly and she was quite a fashionista in our nook of the woods last winter. Anyways back to Flesh & Buns, here's what it looks like:

And here's the menu, lots of options for everyone. The drinks here were better than Bone Daddies or maybe my selection was better. Who knows but this meal was a success.

And one more thing, this place has interesting anime wall paper in the loo, so basically you have something to read while you pee or do the number two. I actually have an uncle who always checks the loo before ordering food in a restaurant, this would have been a good fit for him. When we went in the place was quite empty but slowly it filled up, a good mix of families, groups of friends and city types. So now to the business of food, we ordered a plate of sashimi and a whole load of sticky pork belly and fried sole as our mains.

 
The sashimi was good, the fried sole was better, perfectly crispy and great with a spritz of lemon on top. But the pork, aah it was heaven. I always have a soft spot for pork and this was awesome, sticky, slightly sweet with light fluffy buns to sandwich them in. The buns reminded me of the thukpas at Tee Dee, Majnu ka Tila in Delhi.

It does require a bit of an assembly job, but the end result is pretty awesome, so no complaints. Flesh & Buns do dessert as well but we were pretty stuffed by the end of the meal. No complaints though.

Where to eat- 4Rivers Smokehouse

Since we are on the subject of food, let me introduce you to the sandwich from heaven otherwise known as the Southern Pulled Pork sandwich from 4Rivers Smokehouse. In Scotland, its a bit difficult to get a good man sized smoked meat sandwich, so I didn't waste time heading off to the 4R. I was craving some comfort food after a long flight and went a bit crazy with the amount I ordered.

Everything on the menu looked good and we finally settled for a bit of everything: smokehouse prime ribs,  southern pulled pork sandwich and the messy pig, pulled pork with slaw, jalapeño, pickles and smothered with 4R sauce. For sides we selected the sweet potato mash (loved it), smoked jalapeños (a bit meh), french fries (perfect), corn on the cob (sweet and tender) and a huge blueberry cupcake.

The eating area is an open patio with old fashioned fans lazily going round, and since the portions are so huge, there are take away containers kept on the side in which you can pack and dash if need be.  Am quite proud to admit that we managed to clean our plates. I won't lie, it was an effort resulting in a most ungracious waddle back to our car. But it was worth it.

My verdict, if you want a burger, go for Five Guys, but if its man sandwiches you crave, especially a melt in the mouth pork one, then it doesn't get better than 4 Rivers.

Joe's Stone Crab, Miami

There's some sense in shunning touristy eating joints and gunning for a local gastronomical meccas when you are holidaying, but when a restaurant becomes an institution, you just have to go, touristy or not. And that was the case with us when we went to Joe's Stone Crab in Miami. Now this is a place notorious for not taking reservation, but, it is still jam packed with people patiently waiting for their turn to eat the famous stone crabs. A word of warning, dress up, really. I went there after a day on the beach and an afternoon hauling faux Cuban cigars (America has a trade ban with Cuba, hence all Cuban cigars are not made in Cuba but in-store factories in little Havana). So when we landed up at Joe's, the hubby was in wrinkled cotton shirt and shorts and I was in a sun dress circa 2008 and rubber flip-flops. And we were surrounded by a Pucci-Cavalli mass. And there's a difference when Europeans do designer beachwear, the vibe is more casual and boho-luxe. But the Americans, boy when they play dress up, its the every piece of hair in place kind. It's very disconcerting. I took comfort from the only thing I had going, a hot pink-red lip courtesy Georgio Armani Lip Maestro, this is something that every lip girl should try, the texture and lasting quality is amazing. And the fact that I still fitted into a dress bought five years ago.  

Back to the restaurant, our wait time was somewhere around 30 minutes, pretty reasonable for a weekend I think. We we were ushered into the bar area, which was jam packed with fellow would be diners. We somehow managed to order our cocktails and squeeze into a corner and people watch. The hubby was a bit bemused by my fashion policing, especially my reaction to a pair of Louboutins on the spindliest legs and the knobbiest knees possible. Seriously ladies, baggy knees don't do a Léger dress credit. The cocktails were okay, I had better ones out on the Miami street, but the stone crabs, ah they were the jam. I didn't fill up on breads and starters which was just as well because the stone crabs are huge. We weren't very clear about the helping and ended up ordering for four people, but, nothing was wasted, trust me. One of the most helpful trick when you over order is to take some time out in between, sit, relax, sip your wine, and then, go for round two or three, as may be the case. 

For me, this was a stand out meal and I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area. Just make sure that the restaurant is open. Stone crab harvesting is legal only from the 15th of October to the 15th of May. And please dress up, not in a bandage dress, you are going there to eat, but in something that allows you to tuck in well. 

Where to eat: Tampa Bay Brewing Company, Ybor City

Do you watch cooking shows, I do. The Nigellas, Steins, Jamies and Blancs make regular appearances in my living room and both me and Captain ogle at the food cooked to perfection on screen. But one of my favourite show is the Diners, Drive-ins and Dives hosted by Guy Fieri. I love American food in all its excess, lots of flavour, no delicate knife-fork handling and huge portion servings. So while we were in Florida, we made a trip to Ybor. Actually what we had was a sort of comfortable road trip crisscrossing Florida. And while we were in Ybor, we made a trip to the Tampa Bay Brewing Company for a long and lazy brunch.

As the name suggests, Tampa Bay Brewing Company is actually a microbrewery. I remain loyal to my Desperadoes, so for me, more than the beer it was the food. Oh the food. To be honest, we ordered more than we could eat, but no complaints. In the DDD show, Tampa Bay's chef Ryan Kelly spoke of his cooking as "comfort food with a gourmet touch" and really there is no better way to describe it. For starters, we ordered the Cider Wings with blue cheese sauce. The chicken is tangy because of the cider but the sauce balances it out with its creamy sweetness.

 For my mains I went in for the Wild Warthog Thai Style Spicy Curry Mussels served over udon noodles. And boy was it good. Till date, its been the best mussels dish ever.

I forgot what the hubby order, either the Onion Porter Pork Chop or the New York Strip Steak, my guess is that its the steak.

My only meh was the dessert, I ordered the Cherry bread pudding which I had to get packed. the pudding was nice but I have had better desserts so that's not making it into my list.

If you are visiting that part of the world, haul yourself to Tampa Bay Brewing Company and order the mussels. And yes, you are welcome.

Skin aid kit for beginners

I am not a frequent flyer and I have had precisely two long haul flights. And by long haul I mean really long ones, where you need to have stopovers and cross an ocean before reaching your destination. For the first trip, I didn't have any in flight skin care kit. I was travelling with my cousin and both of us had stuffed our face with chicken rolls before boarding the flight. Once aboard we consumed copious amount of complimentary wine and had middle of the night meeting in front of the toilet with my mom and aunt where we proceeded to make fun of my father who was sleeping with his mouth open. Suffice to say, by the time I reached Down Under, my face had a distinctly puffed look. In my defence, this was a pre youtube era where a long haul skincare vid wasn't de rigour.

My next long haul flight was a totally different ballgame. For starters, I had an extremely painful and angry cyst on my cheek which no amount of concealers could cover. I was also travelling in the peak of winter, from a sub zero temperature to a certainly plus degree one in Miami. And so when push came to shove, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. I plugged into the staples, Caroline Hirons, Makeupalley and Ruth Crilly and made my own skin aid kit. The list is as follows:

Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm decanted into tub with spatula. Hot towel would be kindly provided by the airlines (not ideal, but I refuse to carry a dirty wet towel in my bag). La Roche Posay glycerin based toner, decanted into stopper. My most effective under eye gel by Ole Henriksen, a glycolic based treatment in a travel friendly tube. Indeed Labs Hydraluron, a hyaluronic based serum for maximum moisture retention followed by a travel sized cream (I used the Alpha-H hydrating cream). And finally a bit of Elizabeth Arden eight hour cream for lips, elbows and cuticles. All popped into a clear zip bag to prevent the grope in the bag syndrome. 

And yes, I was a good girl on the flight. No wine, I compensated by having two ice lollies while watching Pitch Perfect, and no my husband wasn't interested in the nail art of the 65 year old twins who were sitting on the aisle seats. Men just don't get it, do they? 

Where to eat - Burger & Lobster London

Going by the number of tweets and instagrams, I can safely say that Burger and Lobster has become a London institution. Concept wise its pretty neat, serve only burgers and lobsters with chips and garlic butter sauce, add a good mix of cocktails/beers/wine, and you will be guaranteed to never find an empty seat in the restaurant. Everything is for £20 (with sides) so price wise its a bargain in London. They don't take table reservation unless its a party of 6 or more so the wait line is huge. My suggestion is that you pop in before the rush hour, around 5-5.30ish in the evening, grab a drink and enjoy your meal in peace. Location wise, B&L have four branches, Soho, Mayfair, Farringdon and the City. I went to the Soho one and here's what I ordered.

I went for the Lobster instead of the burger and it came with chips, salad and garlic butter sauce. You need to get a bit grubby with your hands while eating this so don't be shy. I had a trendy Topshopy set on one side and a YSL and Chanel flag bearer on the other, and trust me, they were all getting down and dirty with their meal. So bib on and attack. 

Just a word of warning, this is not a place for vegetarians unless you are happy with chips and salads. Another thing I really liked about this place was that they never hurried us, even when there was a huge waiting line outside. Burger & Lobster is a lively place where you can catch up with friends or just unwind after a long London day. If you are visiting London or planning to, pop in for a meal. You won't be disappointed.   

Quick weekend trip - Dunblane

Room with a view

A few weeks back we decided to cash in on their hotel points and take a trip down South to visit a very important potential family member. Our hotel of choice was the Hilton One tree Lodge in Dunblane. A far as views go, this one was a killer. Situated on a hilltop, this yellow stone building looked majestic. There was a wedding going on but we still found the service to be quite good. I am generally a bit iffy about pet friendly hotels because they have a very suspicious view about your pets. But this one was not so bad. there were enough grounds for Captain to stretch his legs. Of course there was one moment of fraught tension when my husband decided to use the front entrance instead of the rear with Captain in tow. The bride wearing a confection in white was guzzling away on champagne in a corner while a couple of kilted best men were blocking our way into the corridor. Captain tired of waiting decided to give a tiny piss of joy. It was pure reflex action on my part which saved the brides train from smelling of dog pee the whole night. Phew.

Blue for the boy

My baby is a well travelled pup and has a bit of a fetish for campy travelling bags. His tote of choice is the navy blue Panam bag, big enough for his toys, leashes, food bowls and meals; strong enough to withstand the rough and tumble of airport security.

Cuddle sesh with mommy

Captain approved bedding

If you have a pet with you the hotel always gives you rooms on the ground floor so that its easy to take your pets out for walks without disturbing the other guests. This is very effective if your dog has a leaky bladder but Captain takes after his mom. Both of us are not early morning risers and we take solid food only after 10 o'clock in the morning. I mean in a pinch we can be up at crack of dawn, but its not worth doing it unless you need to catch a train/plane right. After exploring the hotel grounds, our family of three settled down for some room service and TV watching. We caught up with The Big Bang and a late night movie, Tokyo Drift to be exact. Was it only me or were there others who grooved to the annoying TD soundtrack in clubs a couple of years back?

Yup, the kids a couch potato all right

Room service was very good, and along with a very tasty burger and choice of glossies, you also get warm chocolate cookies when you check in. Perfect for a night in.

The hotel also has a very good spa and a swimming pool if you feel like taking a quick dip. Other amenities include breakfast buffet (okaish, for me nothing beats the American breakfast buffet in Hilton Orlando), bar and a cozy siting area out front, a hybrid of Scottish/country. Very comfortable though with an amazing view down the grounds. All in all, very enjoyable.