S. Worthen | Weblog

There used to be a place that specialised in trad English puds - made by Women's Institutes or some such - but I've completely forgotten the name. There also used to be a place called something like 'School Dinners', but I think the spotted dick, etc, took second place to waitresses in abbreviated school uniforms... Most gastropubs I've been to have things like bread and butter or sticky toffee pudding on their menus. Maybe it was a combination of the area and the time of year.

A bit off the topic: Cornish pasties have been adopted by various other ethnic groups in parts of the US. Mining areas, where Cornishmen were initially the experts.

Intended mostly for sale in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan: "Toivo and Eino's really secret pasty sauce." Toivo and Eino are apparently the standard names of the two Finnish-Americans in jokes. It's basically American-style catsup with jalapeno flavoring added (which doesn't sound either Cornish or Finnish to me).

I recall reading some time back in the Los Angeles Times food section that a mining town in Mexico has pasties as a common food -- somewhat spiced up from the UK version.

met up with me at the British Library for a visit to Beowulf

Many, many years ago, when the British Library was still in the British Museum, "my friend the medievalist" was working on her thesis on vertancular manuscripts in medieval monastic houses. Not surprisingly, she spent a lot of time there. One morning she handed in a chit for the manuscript she wanted to look at that day (she was going through the whole darned lot because even a sentence in something other than Latin counted) but to her surprise what turned up was a very apologetic person who asked whether she absolutely had to study that particular manuscript that morning, or would the afternoon be all right?

Startled, she said, yes, it would. He sighed a big sigh of relief and explained that there was a museum lecture due on it in ten minutes: it had completely slipped her mind that that was the one with Beowulf in it.

For an excellent cream tea without the wait, try the Dorchester. The Marriott in the old County Hall has also recently started doing a cream tea that's been recommended in their restaurant overlooking the Thames.

Also at the Ritz, you can often not have to wait if you take the early sitting for cream tea. They have two, and it's the 'proper' tea time one that gets full up (there's always been a six-week queue for the Ritz because it's so famous). I've been there several times, as I like to take visitors there, and never had to wait lke that. they also get last-minute cancellations, so that's worth a try. Fortnum and Masons is not worth the wait imho.

Pubs don' tend to serve that kind of food, as it's time-consuming to prepare. Although having said that, I once had a delightful Figgy Pudding in a pub in Bingley.

Bakewell Tart, you need to come to Bakewell itself (although its correct name is a bakewell pudding!). Come visit me and I'll take you for one! ;)

In London, at the mid-range spectrum Gary Rhodes W1 is a good place. Mr Rhodes is renowned for using traditional British cuisine very well, sometimes with a bit of a twist but he does like his puddings. There's also Porter's English Restaurant in Covent Garden, which is highly recommended and good value for money. Simpson's Tavern in Cornhill, is a recommended as a pub serving British puddings. The classic place has to be Simpsons in the Strand, but that's slightly more pricey.

If you do resume your cream tea tour of London, can I come too? ;)

If you want to see what a really good chef can do with English puddings (and other traditional English food) I recommend Heston Blumenthal's other restaurant, The Hinds Head Inn in Bray (about 25 yards from The Fat Duck).

See http://www.thehindsheadhotel.com/menu-dessert.aspx