posted by
owlfish at 11:59pm on 25/07/2006
I spent my day loitering around, cosseting myself with sashimi, sushi, and a new bathrobe, not all from the same shop. It's been tranquil and pleasant, with flowers and cards, including one whose envelope was addressed to "Dr. Worthen"!
In the evening, I started to feel as if I've at last really begun to settle in London. I've known Zeenab since I was 10, C. and
mirrorshard from York,
haggisthesecond and
fjm from Toronto, and everyone else from the past year of living in London. If only Catherine had been able to come - from my time at Smith - this would have been the best distribution of friends I've ever managed to assemble in one place. Even without her, it was wonderful to have people together from so many parts and places of my life.
Lola's very thoughtfully was celebrating its 10th anniversary, which means that those of us who ordered off of the set menu were generously given free matching wine. The salmon was smooth and fresh, good on its own in a gentle marinade, but enlivened by the crunch of accompanying beet salad. Lime cheesecake was light and friendly, with a laid-back tang to the lime. It was good in a way which comes closer to approximating my ideal of cheesecake than most I've tried in my life. It needn't be a heavy dish; I prefer it lighter. The dessert wine (not part of the deal) was smooth and restrained, grape with undercurrent of citrus.
For those that were there and wondered who the others were on LJ, here's the list, counter-clockwise from me:
purplecthulhu,
fjm,
hairyears,
ewtikins,
pfy, Zeenab WINOLJ,
nou,
mirrorshard, Colin (
colins_journal), and
haggisthesecond.
In the evening, I started to feel as if I've at last really begun to settle in London. I've known Zeenab since I was 10, C. and
Lola's very thoughtfully was celebrating its 10th anniversary, which means that those of us who ordered off of the set menu were generously given free matching wine. The salmon was smooth and fresh, good on its own in a gentle marinade, but enlivened by the crunch of accompanying beet salad. Lime cheesecake was light and friendly, with a laid-back tang to the lime. It was good in a way which comes closer to approximating my ideal of cheesecake than most I've tried in my life. It needn't be a heavy dish; I prefer it lighter. The dessert wine (not part of the deal) was smooth and restrained, grape with undercurrent of citrus.
For those that were there and wondered who the others were on LJ, here's the list, counter-clockwise from me:
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*hugs*
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I'm not normally much of a wine drinker, but I did enjoy the complimentary complementary wines. The minestrone came with a smooth, rounded white wine that formed a pleasant background to the mixed flavours of the summer vegetables, and the steak came with a deliciously strong, peppery red that would have been a bit overpowering with any other meat.
I was surprised by how light the cheesecake was. With cheesecake, I tend to expect something rather solid that will crush any last traces of hunger, and I usually enjoy it that way. But for a meal on this hot summer evening, it was a welcome conclusion.
It was really good to see you again. I hope you had a wonderful birthday.
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And we need to Discuss Food sometime. I've been salivating over your reports.
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Thank you for coming!
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I found the artichoke salad (or whatever they called it; to me, it was made mostly of green things and was served cold, so it's a salad) nice, but extremely mild. Black olives, parmesan, and rocket are all supposed to have a bit more bite to them than that.
The pork chop was good, very nicely cooked, but the potatoes were the best part of that course, just the right combination of moist and crunchy.
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I always forget how picky I am about pork chops. It was succulently cooked, but not as flavorsome as the ones back home. But then, I grew up in a pork-producing state.
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I'm neutral on the subject of pork normally, and I usually dislike the "chop" form factor, but that was entirely edible. I decided on seeing the menu that I didn't feel like steak, and whatever the third dish was (something with courgettes?) it didn't stick in my memory long enough to be really considered, so the pork chop was almost a default choice.
(I really should make more of an effort to think about vegetarian meals in restaurants - it feels sometimes as though my brain starts with the meat involved in any given thing and considers from there. A very millennium-before-last way of eating, really. I know I don't do this when I cook or plan meals myself, so it may just be a reflex from being taken out to eat as a child and getting steak or even duck as a treat. Not often by any means, but my family weren't entirely opposed to the idea.)
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Do you think the beetroot was raw? (I've never tried eating it raw, for some reason.) I couldn't work out if it was actually raw, or just very lightly cooked.
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My very best, fullest, and happiest birthday wishes to you!
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