As I was researching (some prefer to say wikipedia) the origins of Pizza, I stumbled across the valiant efforts of an organisation known as Vera Pizza Napoletana (VPN) , or the Real Neopolitan Pizza Association. Obviously, they are non-profit and their goal is to preserve the ‘authenticity’ of restaurant pizza recipes around the world, and they do this by flying around the world, visiting restaurants either to rubber stamp or to reject pizzas. These guys have created a set of hardcore guidelines which only recognises Magherita and Marinara as true Neopolitan pizzas. They even have a very specific description of what the real thing ought to taste like, and I quote:

(The pizza)… should be soft, elastic, easy to manipulate and fold….

Talk about Pizza police eh, I wonder if there are any VPN certified doughs in London… Franco?

Made in Italy is part of a franchise of six London based Italian eateries which claim to serve up wholesome Southern Italian recipes, and allege that 90% of their ingredients are flown in from the homeland. I’ll admit that this wasn’t the one which we wanted to visit. We originally wanted to drop in on the sister restaurant Marechiaro – just a few doors from Made in Italy on Kings road – but it was shut for refurbishments. So back to pizza certification. The VPN regularly sends their master pizza chefs to restaurants that are keen on attaining this supposedly illustrious designation. One of the key considerations of true Neopolitan dough is dimension: 35cm in diameter to be exact – I guess that means disqualification for Made in Italy’s ‘Pizza Metros’. It translates to Pizza metre and legend has it, this mythical technique was descended from grand old Neopolitan doughmasters, serving their prized products on a wooden chopping board and they are unique for different choices of toppings (of separate orders) are prepared and served on the same adjoining base.

I was mightily surprised at the spectacle when they brought the pizzas out – which does smell amazing – and the wooden chopping board ceremonious placed on a literary equivalent of a pedestal. Diners had to almost respect the cheese by half getting up from their seats to grab a slice. If memory served me right, we ordered a Capricciosa (£8.50) with Mozzarella, tomato sauce, sausage, mushrooms, artichokes, roasted ham and a Ortolana (£7.95) with Mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, olives, grilled aubergines, sun dried tomatoes. I didn’t whip a tape measure out, but I believed it was half a metre’s worth of proper pizza. It did look massive, and we had to box it up for takeaway afterward. Overall I thought the pizzas were OK… It tasted better than most, with evidence of the smokey goodness of the wood oven being quite evident. However, the pizza didn’t really have an x factor, the dough in particular was too dense for my gentle buds, more plastic than plastecine and the difficulty we had in finishing the pizza (three of us) sort of said it all. Not quite Franco Manca, but it did make for a good cold pizza the morning after.

Being the gluttonous monster that I am, I forced the two tiny female frames to order a couple of starters.

A generous portion of Bresaola, which still carried the rawness of the cured beef (a good thing) and man sized parmesan shavings. On the other side of the table, the girls were tucking away a surprisingly hearty bowl of steamed mussels made with garlic, parsley, red chilli, cherry tomatoes & white wine. Sweet, juicy, appetising, done.

I also wanted to try a pasta dish which sounded outstanding on the menu – PACCHERI ‘A CORE E MAMMÁ’ or Paccheri pasta with button mushrooms, Italian sausage, pecorino cheese & ttruffle oil (£10)

The flavours were really bursting with life and filled the room with a whiff of mushroom. The sauce in particular – with but a creamy touch of umami, probably courtesy of the pecorino and oil; tinged with a biting spiciness most possibly from the seemingly pan-fried sausages. The deep intensity lingered on…

…On the other hand, I couldn’t finish this dish, as the same deep intensity became too salty and that creaminess became too loud. The pasta was annoyingly heavy and chewy, that eating it was progressively turning into a chore; I simply lost interest. In the end, I thought that the meal was above average. The pizzas were certainly eye opening at first and while it was good, it did not approach the Franco Manca benchmark. Antipasti & pastas were reasonable both in terms of value & taste and overall, mildly exciting at first, but once we got to know each other, it was just another familiar affair. Enjoyable if a little forgettable.

The Gist of It

Made in Italy official site £25pp
249 King’s Road SW3 5EL
Tel: 020 7352 1880
Tube: South Kensington

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Cast your mind back a couple of years ago and the emergence of the gourmet burger in this country, particularly London. I contributed my two pennies with a burger shoot-out of my own last year, pitching some of the well regarded burger bars against one another. Since then, the momentum for sleek burgers have subsided. And then I saw this post about what our NY cousins have for lunch.. oh man, it blew my insides away and then some. I am told that we are still lightyears behind American burger places. This year’s burger battle is a much more quiet affair, I’ve decided to focus only on the top two burger joints (arguably) in the smoke: Hache and Byron.

I’m no burger connoisseur, I haven’t tried every burger in the city (if I had I probably won’t be writing this), but I have tried most of the big hitters, and on a pretty regular basis. I live in a unique location in West London where I am within about 10 minutes walking distance from a Byron, Hache and two GBKs. Now, I’ve heard much about the Hawksmoor burger but that’s still on my to-eat list so can’t comment as yet. In anycase, feel free to chime in with a recommendation or two if you know something I don’t.

The Case of the Byron

When I did my burger battle last year, Byron was still the new kid on the block, but today it is very much ‘the’ burger joint, springing up in loads of locations (including twitter) and garnering many an internet fan.

One thing I really like about Byron is that they seem to take feedback seriously and make the little adjustments. Take for instance the mini burgers they once had on their menu – now gone, since people thought the portions were too paltry. Byron are also abit like zen masters, preferring to keep their menu short and focused on the delivery of ‘the perfect burger’. Prices start at £5.95 for the classic. Before we get into food, let’s talk abit about the atmosphere. I think it reflects the Byron mantra, steely, calm, controlled.

Alright – let’s get into the food: We have the blue-cheese burger, £6.95.

Let me just start by saying that I was the biggest GBK fan, the tomato relish is still unbeatable in my humble opinion.

I pick up a Byron about once a month (because its so close) and over the months, I had noticed how the Byron got better, and better and better. The bun is much like a floury sponge capable of soaking up all the good juices without falling to pieces. I’ve noticed how the bun seems to get better and better at holding the burger in when you take a bite. Right now, I think it is at that point where it’s abit special, and miles ahead of the competition (especially GBK). As for the burger itself, well its juicy, its beefy, its flavoursome and its sizzles; It is very nearly perfect to my humble palate.

The strength of the Byron is how all the elements gel together to form one consistent taste – a signature taste I might add – which leaves a real impression on you and makes you want to go back, which is to say that th Byron is something I can eat again and again and again.

I used to be Byron skeptic when they first came on the scene, but as the months rolled by, I actually think that they are continually refining the perfect burger and they’ve now got something distinctive.

The Case of Hache

Hache has universally been hailed as the best burger makers in town and few can fault them. Their secret to burger success, is to not to serve burger with their burgers…. They serve steak haches instead. As I said, I’m no connoisseur, but with Hache, I believe the main difference with their burgers is that it is made from chopped steak as opposed to minced beef.

I think the décor at Hache has infinitely more ambiance than any other burger place in town. It has lots of warming lights and it feels more like a neighbourhood restaurant. I especially liked that they were playing Ella Fitzgerald at the Fulham Road branch, it’s magic, especially on a lonely Wednesday night. I was glad that they have relaxed their photography policy, which really ticked me off. When I was there last week, they didn’t seem to mind my D700.

The Hache burgers are just a tad dearer with the classic steak au naturel starting at £6.95. Now, the Hache menu is much longer and has more variety. In addition to steak haches, there are fish burgers, duck burgers and lamb burgers. I was a little disappointed to see the cod burger being taken off, I loved it when I had it.

Anywho – I ordered the Sicilian: parma ham and melted premium mozzarella cheese, £8.95.

I asked for it medium rare, it was cooked as requested. Tick. The hache texture is rubbery and bouncy compared to a ‘normal’ mince burger. I was disappointed that my burger was abit dry and unenthusiastic. It was tepid and it didn’t impart that grilled sensation. Flavourwise, a lot beefiness but on the whole it didn’t feel alive in my mouth. The hache bun is probably its weakest link – in short it’s crap. You cannot palm a hache in your hand, this posh cow requires you to eat it with a fork and knife. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but compared to Byron who have perfected the dark arts of the burger experience, I think Hache has lost abit of its bite.

The king is dead, long live the king

I tell you what was smashing at Hache: the mocha (£2.50) , the deep chocolate infused coffee was a devilish way to end my meal.

I think Hache has taken a step back, I distinctly remember being properly blown to bits once upon a time, last week it was good but not memorable. On the other hand, Byron continues to wow, everytime I go back, I feel like I’m having yet another enhanced version of an already perfect recipe. I just get the feeling that Byron are obsessed with their product, and that can only be good news for this regular burger goer.

If you have yet to give Hache a try, I would still recommend it because it is still pretty special in its own right. But for me, given the choice, I would go to Byron again and again. Long live the king, baby.

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I can only ever focus on one thing at any given chunk of time, everything else seems to just be neglected in the process. Take photography for instance. At the moment, my leisure time consists mainly of stealth street corner hugging, punctuated by fleeting moments of inspiration. I’m so totally engrossed in ‘deciding the moment’ that I don’t even care if passerbys give me stern looks anymore…call me Kang Winogrand. And that’s why the bank holiday is a real godsend – that’s twenty four extra hours of Me time to go through my safari bookmarks, like this London steak club for example.

My better half so happened to be entertaining her faraway pal, so that meant the whole Saturday afternoon to myself. I was contemplating (and still am) watching Eric Bana pull off a convincing Henry in Time Traveller’s wife, but I was intrigued by Guy Dimond‘s five star review of the Cadogan arms. It seemed the perfect place to hit many birds with the same stone; I could clear my then (and still) massive inbox, perhaps work on the much delayed (and still is) issue of my newsletter, while indulging in critically acclaimed grub. Plus its also the perfect opportunity to test out my latest lens acquisition: A used nikkor 28mm f2.8 AIS manual lens (that’s right, I shot this review completely manual) that focuses down to a mere 7 inches. Yowza.

Yes the Arms is very cosy, a nice looking wooden bar and pillars made of bricks. I called to make a reservation (I thought about Peter Griffin but used my own name instead), and they sat me down in the middle of the isolated dining area, which was empty at high noon. I switched to the livelier bar area instead. Perhaps its still new (I’m not exactly sure when this place opened) but the ambiance feels artificial, the smell of alcohol yet to seep into the floorboards, on the other hand, that could well be a good thing. I asked for tap water, but that made for frowning eyebrows, and the waitress quite adamantly insisted that I order not one, but two big bottles of sparkling water, citing that I would need it in case the sunshine would dry me out. I succumbed to one bottle, naturally I was annoyed being ordered to order something I didn’t want, and the idea of wolfing down 1.5 litres of sparkling was not my idea of an easy lunch. Minus one Cadogan Arms, minus one.

Water issues aside, I was expecting proper pub grub from the no-nonsense menu. Starters included several attention-grabbing items such as dorset crab bisque – sounds very nice. A pint of prawns and mayonnaise – Oof! Dexter beef carpaccio, horseradish dressing, rocket, shaved parmesan – yummy. Maybe it was the heat from outside, I was feeling fishy, and choose Atlantic cod fishcakes, minted pea purée, aioli, chervil (£6.50).

Warm. Mushy. Flaky. Fishy. Crumbly. So far, so good. I was expecting two large – and flat – cakes, instead of three balls of breadcrumbs. The pea puree brought about textured umami graininess, and aioli carried hints of zestiness which contrasted well with the pastey texture of the fishcakes. My issue with this was size. Perhaps a quadruplet, instead of a trio, and really, more of that brilliant pea puree please.

The mains were much more of a boring read. Pan fried salmon, angus burger, angus steak, lamb rack, ceasar salad, bit stiff there lads, come on, don’t be afraid to let loose yer imaginative loose a little, its a pub afterall. I hadn’t tried a proper chippy in a while and this description looked to tried the hardest: Adnam’s Broadside ale battered haddock, hand cut chips, mushy peas, tartare sauce (£13.50)

Doesn’t it look charming? If a dish ever fit in with the surrounding area, this was it: it screamed Fish n’ Chips, Chelsea Style. Two pots of sauce were served on the side and the waiter also provided me another with ketchup. The tartare was mild and didn’t sting; the mushy peas were sugary, as smooth as warm butter and it was more of a puree than a mushy mash. I had wondered if this was the same puree as was served with the fishcakes, although, this one was noticeably sweet, distractingly so. The chips were a little hit and miss, some were crispy and golden while most were just soggy.

Ah but the fish was astoundingly good, the batter in particular, was brilliant. It was so light, the crunch fluttered and fizzed, carrying with it hints of fruity fragrance, most probably due to the ale. The fish was only slightly undercooked, still juicy and ever so silky. The sweetness in the mushy peas made for a surprisingly good compliment to the fish. I’m no traditionalist, and have not sampled enough chippies around the nation, but this was one of the most pleasant iterations I had had. Much better than Geales, better than my local taproom, The Prince Regent, and it would have made for an able ambassador for what was the trendy fast food remixed for deep pockets of 2008. Better late than never.

The final bill, plus a large bottle of sparkles came to £20. Wi-fi wasn’t blazingly fast, but it was quick enough to load youtube videos, and the space inside – especially the huge leather couches – was adequate for those of you (like me) who enjoy reading/web-surfing during the day. As for food, well it was pretty good, no-nonsense and clinical in execution. I am holding back from giving the Arms a gold star after I re-visit to try the lamb rack and the 35 day aged steak. But that will have to wait for another sunday afternoon when the Prince Regent is shut and when I feel the whiff for the golden stuff.

The Gist of It

The Cadogan Arms Official Site
298 King’s Road SW3 5UG
Tel: 020 7352 6500
Tube: South Kensington or Sloane Square

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I’m excited to continue to have my guest posts kindly accepted by fellow food bloggers. This one goes out to a very dear foodie pal of mine – Jessie over at The Hungry Mouse , I’ve known her and followed her blog since my early days and she’s been an inspiration to me over the past few months. The Hungry mouse is the definitive visual guide to good cooking, she’s got a unique approach to recipes in the detailed pictures of everything she cooks from conception to plate up. It’s great for people like me who eat alot but are a mess in the kitchen! You’ll notice I reference some of her recipes in my stuff sometimes and my favourite so far is still her deep fried ravioli recipe. Simply brilliant!   

Her blog has gone through a redesign recently and it now looks slicker than ever, I am loving the rotating popular posts thingie. The guest post is a photo tour around the food market in King’s road, bit overdue really as these were taken in last summer’s sunshine, hope you folks enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it!