I can’t stop thinking about this place, so I thought I would write a review on the restaurant I stumbled into yesterday. Now, mind you, I was famished and very jet-lagged when I came here so perhaps that’s why it seemed angelic… but also there are some legitimate bragging points. The toast, for instance. I am definitely a carb-ivore, so having European bread after choking down American for a year is always an interesting switch. Think of it as always drinking La Croix and never realizing there’s real fruit juice in the world. Yeah, I went there.
My one down talk on this place was that there were a lot of Americans there and usually I don’t recommend a place that’s built for tourists. But I don’t get the feel that was the story here. I think the main reason was because of the location (within a few minutes walk from Victoria station). Oh, and if you’re looking for some Instagram worthy food then this is the spot you’re gonna want to hit up.
Ordered: Scrambled eggs on toast, sausage, and English Breakfast tea
Where: 86 Wilton Rd London SW1V 1DE
Went: September 2018
Wifi: No
Reservation Needed: No
Website: None. Ha.
Tip: This spot is right by Victoria station and has bread and tea to die for. The seating is set up with big tables so don’t be afraid to sit down next to a stranger to eat your food.
It’s been a while since I’ve written a review, and there are a couple of reasons for that, but I’ve been sitting here for months thinking about a particular donut shop that I went to when I was in Dublin, last time I was there. Now, to start things off, you should know that I LOVE donuts. Of the five things I missed the most, when I was living in France, it was donuts—that’s how serious I am.
That being said, I was so happy to find a donut shop the last time I was in Dublin. The sad news is that it was pretty empty every time I walked by (despite being located in a very busy area), and the workers looked like they hadn’t spoken to anyone in days. BUT, that didn’t stop me from popping in and having chat. The workers were SO nice, and they gave me not one, but two, delicious raspberry filled donuts that were out of this world.
I mean, really, I’m still sitting here thinking about them and that was almost six months ago. If you’re in Dublin, I would definitely recommend taking quick trip to this little shop. It’s one of my absolute favorites.
Ordered: Two raspberry filled donuts
Where: 34 Bachelors Walk, North City, Dublin 1, D01 YN15, Ireland
Tip: All of the sourdough donuts are made fresh every day in the bakery with all fillings, glazes and toppings produced in-house. They use only fresh & locally sourced ingredients where possible. AND they have Vegan donuts!
Seattle isn’t exactly the Italian capital of the world, but there are a few spots that are well worth the visit. I’ve posted this place before, but I wanted to do a review just for good measure. We went there last night, and apparently I’m not the only person who agrees that the food is fresh, well made and an absolute pleasure to eat.
I’ve loved this place since the first time we went there, last memorial day weekend, and after last night I just had to share. This spot is small, quaint and you might even drive passed it, if you didn’t know to stop.
Ordered: Spaghetti Bolognese, House salad, Bruschetta (which is the best thing ever)
Where: 5909 15th Ave NW Seattle, WA 98107
Went: Friday October 28th, 2016
Wifi: Don’t know, don’t care.
Reservation Needed: No, but it might be a good idea to call ahead to see if you need one. Every time we’ve been there it’s getting busier. They do take reservations, and you can call for pick-up.
Let me tell you about a story about a girl who missed Scotland and never thought she’d find anything close in comparison to the food she had eaten there. Fish and chips were her favorite food in all of the world, but she never thought she would find anything close to the glory of the British Isles (and Ireland – duh). Then she stumbled upon this place: Macleod’s Scottish Pub.
Can I just tell you: This place has the best fish and chips that I’ve ever had in the United States, and the only thing that comes even close is 4,000 miles away. I don’t know what the recipe is, and to be honest I don’t really care. If you have any self respect for fish and chips (and a bunch of other yummy British inspired dishes) make your way to this bar.
The music, the vibe. We didn’t even know how to handle how great a time we had. The service was great, the food was amazing and I’m so happy to have found a nearby spot to help with those “homesick” days (aka every day that I just feel like I need buy a plane ticket to Europe). The best part? The price. My plate, steaming with chips (for you Americans, that means fries) and a giant burger filled with in-house tarter sauce and a hearty size piece of fried and battered line-caught cod. All this accompanied by a tall glass of the best Lemonade ever. Total cost? $15. Come. On.
This is not my picture, but it is what it looked like. I was too busy eating mine to take glam pictures.
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the part of the show when I cook things in France that are not French. It’s true that France is known for it’s cuisine and, as an American living here, I feel incredibly inspired by that. But, the facts are – living here is like living in a box with baguettes, some wine and an assortment of cheese. Yes, you can survive, but since 2/3 of those things are personal allergies, it’s not going to be very fun for me.
With today’s kitchen adventures, I went through quite the adventure to bring everything together, but here goes nothing.
First off, rules of the kitchen:
1. Make sure there are measuring cups/spoons BEFORE you start.
2. Check to see if the country you live in sells baking powder/baking soda.
3. Don’t get discouraged if it takes you an hour to find 6 ingredients in the store.
4. Suggested soundtrack cleanse: Taylor Swift (to make you happy), Sam Smith (to make you sad) and Frozen (so you can let it all go).
For this episode, I decided I would take advantage of the absolute OBSESSION with peaches in this part of France, and make a crumble (which also doesn’t require baking soda or powder) and voila!
1. Spend an hour in the “Supermarché” trying to find ingredients. Shake the boxes and cross your fingers that they’re actually what you need – cause, let’s be real, you can’t read the packages.
2. Grease your pan with butter, because there’s not enough of that in the recipe itself…just grab whatever looks like it will fit your stuff. Set the oven to something that’s not 250 degrees – because in France it’s CELSIUS, yo. Push some buttons, turn some nobs and eventually get it to somewhere around 180 degrees (which is something close to 350 degrees in Farenheight, don’t ask me, I’m just here for the food).
3. Use a knife, cave man style, to skin the peaches (because there isn’t a peeler, duh).
4. Throw them in a bowl with some sugar that looks about 3 tbsp, some cinnamon (3/4 tsp(ish)) and a couple of squeezes of vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon). It’s probably going to look your dog threw it up, but it will smell like autumn and happy thoughts.
5. Dump everything in the pan you’ll be baking in. Wash the bowl in the cold water, since the hot water takes 3 hours to warm. Dry it thoroughly. Combine “dry ingredients” aka 1 cup of flour…as in an actual kids cup. Plastic rainbow, yes please. Same amount for oats, and 1 cup brown sugar. Mix.
Maybe just a bit more, butter — for a snack.
6. After everything dry is mixed, add in 1 cup of butter. But, since the butter isn’t labeled with measurements, just go ahead and cut as much as you want. It’s France. There’s no such things as too much butter.
7. After everything gets crumblyumtious, sprinkle it like fairy dust over the top of the peach dog barf filling, you have in the pan.
It should look like this.
8. Throw it in the oven for about 45 minutes. But, since you can’t figure out the heating system until half way through, you might want to leave it in a little longer. Especially since the heat was set only for the bottom elements.
9. Take out of oven gingerly, trying your very best not to burn yourself, break the ceramic pan or permanently burn a counter. Allow to cool for a couple of hours.
10. Feed to darling brats, who will exclaim, through malicious grins, that they can’t stand it because they don’t like sugar…Share with parents, instead, and have them find value in you for something miraculously good.
The End.
And for those of you who would like the ACTUAL Recipe, here it is:
Fresh Peach Crisp
Prep Time: 15mn
Cook Time: 45mn
Total Time: 1hr
INGREDIENTS
6 cups fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced – about 6-7 peaches
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup + 3 tablespoons flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, cold, cut into cubes
DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish.
In a large bowl, toss peaches with cinnamon, vanilla, 3 tablespoons sugar and 3 tablespoons flour. Pour the peaches into the greased casserole dish.
In a separate large bowl, combine 1 cup flour with old fashioned oats, and brown sugar. Cut in butter until you have a crumbly consistency.
Pour the crumbly topping on top of the peaches.
Bake in the oven, uncovered for 45-50 minutes.
*Notes: Some of you have suggested that this calls for too much butter. If a cup seems like too much for you, feel free to reduce the amount to 1/2 cup. If you want your Fresh Peach Crisp to be extra crisp, bake for 5-10 minutes longer, making sure to keep a close eye on it. I personally love the end result using a full cup of butter.
ther yummy British inspired dishes) make your way to this bar.
Darkk Horse Travel 