eating Camden

When eating out at home, 90% of the time it’s within walking distance. For my week in London I followed the same motto. After all it’s a huge city, time consuming to traverse and after a day of crawling through medical museums, art galleries and shops it’s nice to hang out with the locals.

Market 

43 Parkway, Camden, London NW1

This place is exactly what I look for in a ‘local’ - a relaxed atmosphere, unpretentious service and reliable tasty food that provokes a little bit of menu indecision.

Market, is a far cry from the grime and tat of Camden Lock. It’s a comfortable restaurant, with warm brick walls, uncluttered lines and generous serves of seasonal food. The cuisine is British with a French influence. Which really means English food, done well.

Other than side dishes there’s nothing that would sate a vegan but the seafood offerings meant I could eat rather well. There are a handful of daily specials and a small but well-formed menu. The oil based prawn linguine with a decent dash of chilli on the specials board spoke my name. As it was a very large entrée, it was lucky I was hungry as the whole fish (the type now escapes me, possibly bass), cooked simply with lemon, accompanied by a bucket of chunky chips should have been more than enough on it’s own.

My hosts ate with glee. They loved the meaty offerings. Though they left the large side order of braised greens entirely for me to devour. We drank a delightful French rose, perfect on a warm early autumn evening.

I was too full for dessert, even though the apple sorbet was tempting. From the mouthful I tasted, it was refreshing alternative to the heavier options on the menu.

Cost for three people, 2-3 courses each, plus a bottle of wine $175 (including tax and tip). They advertise 2 course meal deals for those who want to dine earlier in the evening.

It was a faultless night and my pick of places to eat in the area. Though the most amusing thing about the evening was a rather obvious first date being conducted at the next table. The poor woman was literally bored to tears as the guy, around 50, droned on and on about himself. It was so awful, at times we couldn’t help but eavesdrop. It took all my willpower to not cheer her on to walk out on the self-centred prick. 

York and Albany

127-129 Parkway, London, NW1

Away from the rabble, heading towards Regent’s Park, sits a restrained former pub. York and Albany is a boutique hotel in the Ramsay empire. There’s a relaxed front dinning room/ bar where we breakfasted. The menu offered standard options but was well done, with coffee better than average. I ate a perfectly executed eggs Florentine and the boys went for lashings of bacon and posh sausages.

The staff appeared to be have chosen on their looks and were restrained, bordering on snooty. It’s the kind of place you go when you want to impress, rather than for an outstanding dinning experience. Or perhaps if you’re a poor Antipodean who wants to sample an offshoot of Ramsay-dom, without lashing out on an expensive meal.

inSpiral Lounge

250 Camden High Street, London NW1

From the sublime to the ridiculous, this was a solo visit. Not the carnivorous hosts cup of tea at all. Camden’s hippy roots live on in the sadly shabby but not chic market district. In need of some vegan food to balance out weeks of daily fish eating, I took one of Lisa’s tips. After a lovely early morning walk down the canal I spied the open sign on the inSpiral Lounge door. Well they said they were open but only just. None the less the bloke behind the counter said that my veggie breakfast would be out in 5 minutes. Twenty-five minutes and one rather pedestrian coffee later, it arrived. What a blast from the past – veggie sausage, button mushrooms, half a barely cooked tomato, scrambled tofu and a patty of some description possibly a variation on a hash brown.

According to their site, “inSpiral specialises in gourmet optimum nutrition for connoisseurs, all freshly handmade onsite and served from our vibrant counter.”  Not sure my breakfast could be classified as gourmet or 'handmade onsite' (considering the two obviously commercially made components plus bog standard sliced brown bread) but it was exactly what I needed to counterpoint the (actual) gourmet food of the previous three weeks.

Vegan pickings are hard to find in Camden and inSpiral has plenty of raw and organic options. I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast looking out over the canal in the almost empty café. Reviews online describe it differently, noting by lunchtime it’s hectic. Many mentioned that the food is overpriced and not as good as it looks on the website. 

Like many vego establishments in the UK, inSpiral is deeply entrenched in 70's vegetarianism and neo-hippy decor. Something we've fortunately moved on from in Melbourne.

Queenstown: a town for all seasons and appetites

Gold first bought European settlers to Queenstown in the 1860’s, 150 years on the rush continues. This time the precious commodity is tourism and the southern New Zealand town has hit on a formula for all seasons and almost every kind of traveller. It’s extraordinary to find an area that can equally satisfies both backpackers and well coiffed retirees, offering high adrenaline activities alongside more sedate ways of taking in the scenery.

We were a motley lot of mostly Kiwis and Aussies, not exactly in the flush of youth, looking for a different kind of experience; a six-day stroll through the beach forests and a hike over the mountains. Like the backpackers we wanted physical adventures but like the latte set, also craved some semblance of comfort after a day of rock hopping down steep inclines in pouring rain. Ultimate Hikes managed to deliver both, through it’s guided tramp on the Greenstone and Routeburn tracks.

A walk like that creates quite an appetite. Back in Queenstown we ate with gusto. Understandably we gave lauded eateries like the Botswana Butchery and Flame a wide berth. Our favourites included:

Kappa (Upstairs, 36 The Mall): A small, authentic Japanese restaurant that’s been serving the locals for over 10 years. The sushi is fresh and varied; tempura crisp and light. The Born Again Vegan managed to find enough to satisfy (not always easy with this type of cuisine) including an excellent soba salad (it’s bigger than it looks in this photo). In kiwi dollars this place is reasonably priced, even cheaper with the current exchange rate.

AtThai (Upstairs, 24 Beach Street): Another local recommendation that’s stood the test of time. A good range of specials and the usual Thai fare. Here “hot” will mean just that, so be aware when ordering. We had the added bonus of a window seat with a view of the backpackers hostel opposite, watching the sweet young things preening for a night out on the town. In Queenstown, every night is party night!

Halo Café (1 Earl St): served us a hearty bowl of porridge at 7am and the last city espresso before the tramp. Both hit the spot. We also enjoyed another late lunch in the sunny courtyard, eating burgers (fish and vegan options included). Better than average daytime food, in a quiet, comfortable setting.

Vudo Café (23 Beach St): This place felt like home, except for the NZ café culture that tends to lack table service. The retro décor, great stack of interesting magazines to browse through, a sunny corner table, the best cup of coffee in town and hearty, even vegan-friendly, breakfasts made this place a winner. A steady stream of locals poured in to grab a tasty sweet treat from the cabinet and a takeaway coffee. Vudo’s generosity extends to a computer with free internet access and giving away their trade secrets with monthly recipes on the website.

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incentive based fitness training aka lunch at Wesley Anne

This is not a restaurant review, just remembering the good days when I have them. The Summer of Vegan cooking is coming…soon…I promise.

It’s 8 kilometres from home to Wesley Anne in Northcote and back. The walk involves a hill a hill or two and the lure of good food in the middle.

While this is probably not what a personal trainer would have in mind, my fitness program for The Grand Traverse by necessity has to be incentive based. It’s far too scary to contemplate tramping 18 kms a day up mountains without a tasty lure.

The menu at Wesley Anne always pleasantly surprises me. It’s better than average pub food, pitched at a wide variety of dietary requirements and at a decent price. Any place that I have the luxury of choice (heaps of vegetarian, a few pecterarian and a number of dairy-free offerings) deserves a mention. But would it suit the Born Again Vegan (aka the Significant Eater)? I so hoped after the hike up the hill that she wouldn’t let us down.

While there’s not a heap of vegan options (sides like the delicious roast potatoes or the asparagus and almonds make delightful mouthfuls but they’re not a meal), beyond the smoked tofu salad the menu promises, “Certain meals can be made vegan and vegetarian”.

The SE did just that. A veganised version of the Rustic Plate dished up a better than average shared platter, or in this case a substantial lunch for a hungry man.

This over-exposed photo doesn't do the plate justice, it was huge and that's before you tuck into the warm mini-loaf of bread.

For almost half the price I got a damn fine calamari salad. The lemon dressing and wafer thin croutons made my weekly non-vegan hit an absolute treat. It was one of the best I’ve had.

The walk home took us past the Westgarth, perfectly timed to see the Descendants. Great film. I was the one sobbing in the middle row every time death and dying was mentioned. Still, it was most cathartic.

Now if only the walk offers such great food and entertainment….

Coffee and art: a wet weekend in Newcastle

I came to wander around the foreshore but ended up hiding out in cafes and bookshops. All is not lost when the rain buckets down on the 9th best city in the world.


I’ll be honest, when I hit the Newcastle CBD early on a drizzly Saturday afternoon I wondered if the city was closed for the weekend. When the first of the recommended cafes came into sight I brightened. One Penny Black gets repeated mention in social media for the best coffee in Newcastle. Barely bigger than a hole in the wall, it’d be more at home in a Melbourne laneway than a rather sad looking mall. The food also hit the spot. Though the menu is limited to mainly toasties, they had a better than average vegan offering of falafel on toast with hommos, rocket and sweet chilli sauce. It worked.


The coffee was good.


Just above OPB, one of the many Renew Newcastle initiatives has set up shop. Currently showing at the ARThive gallery is Art Vandelay: an exhibition about nothing, a quirky homage to Seinfeld group show. I loved the stuffed dolls depicting the main characters.

For an art loving visitor artist run initiatives are a boon. It means there’ll always be an artist on hand to pick their brains for local knowledge. The exhibitor at ARThive sent us up the road to the Lock Up to catch the end of an artist talk and exhibition. Happily Ever After explores female narratives within the fairy tale genre. This group show covers a variety of media, including some exquisite artists books. The exhibition will be touring later in the year so keep an eye on the blog for details. It’s worth a look.

The Lock-up museum documents both the inmates and the police who locked them up. The Dickensian cells were in use ‘til the early 1980’s. Some are now incorporated into the gallery space but the padded cell is a statement in itself. Not for the claustrophobic.

Just opposite the Cultural Centre we spied a Balinese Restaurant. The friendly people at the surf shop next door gave it the thumbs up, so it was earmarked for dinner later that night. Bali Corner smelt great, a sure sign that fragrant fresh herbs are used rather than pre-made substitutes. Actually it was the aroma wafting from the closed restaurant that made me want to come back. The owner/chef chatted to me as I eyed up the menu on the door, she’s the real deal and I’m happy we trekked back up Hunter Street once the sun went down. We sampled some prawn and corn fritters, fish cakes (more Thai in flavour than Indonesian), a steamed fish curry (great flavour and presentation but a little over cooked) and the omnivore ate something meaty. The food was good, though Warung Agus in Melbourne sets a higher bar. Sadly we’d headed off without an umbrella and the clouds had opened. Once there was a break in the deluge we didn’t linger and set off at a fast to walk back to our hotel.

The plan had been to leisurely wander back via the waterfront, have a drink by the water and make it a late night. Oh well. Maybe next time.

Another recommendation for coffee and food was “anywhere in Darby Street”. Like a mini-Brunswick Street, the road connects the CBD with the inner suburb of Cooks Hill. It’s a short walk from Hunter Street. There was a good selection of cafes to choose from but we headed for another pick from a friendly local (can you see a trend here? All the Novocastrians we met were delightful and helpful). Grind was packed but we managed to nab the last table as the torrential rain ramped up once more. It’s cosy inside and the staff did a great job at delivering service with a smile and efficiency. The architecture and layout in Newcastle reminded me a lot of Wellington but it was the cafes that nailed the connection. Almost every breakfast menu had fritters of some sort. As I can’t pass up a taste of home, I opted for the corn and shallot fritters and wasn’t disappointed. The waitress helped me vegetarian-ise the order, swapping bacon for mushrooms, but it didn’t need the additional side as the fritters, stacked with crushed avocado and tomatoes, were whoppers. We lingered in the warmth over a second excellent cup of coffee and headed out into the damp once more.

Darby Street is dotted with independent stores, including the whimsical Blackbird Corner. It’s a handmade haven packed with clothes, magazines, jewellery, cards, decorations and Lomo cameras. Pop in and chat to the delightful owners and buy yourself a treat from the reasonable priced goods on offer.

But when it came to bargains, a second hand store down the road won the prize. We got lost in the shelves of Cooks Hill Books and Records for over an hour. A great mix of quality recently released novels, genre fiction and non-fiction. Oh and they have vinyl too. Judy Garland for $5? Yes thank you very much. The shop flows through a number of rooms but is well displayed, not overwhelming like some second hand book stores. I have to wait for my stash of books (including a 1930s British Grocers handbook) to arrive when the Significant Eater drives south next week, as my carry-on only baggage couldn’t fit them.

Opposite the Queen Street entrance to the shop is the rear of the Newcastle Regional Art Gallery. Their exhibitions were the jewel in the crown of our art crawl. A well proportioned gallery, big enough to spend an hour or two but not so large you have to bolt through the shows to see everything. Currently on display are two collections of Australian art, both studded with gems, Citizen Collectors and Laverty 2. These included works by Richard Larter, Patricia Piccinini and Rosalie Gascoigne, as well as some stunning indigenous art.

Outside the rain continued to pour and the drains over-flowed. Time to hit the road for Sydney, with promises to return. But perhaps, next time, it will be in summer.


Don’t go to Newcastle without:

Printing off the Renew Newcastle map to inform your art and craft crawl.

Flicking through the Novocastrian Files, a great blog chronicling the best of indie Newcastle. The interviewees’ favourite places to eat, drink and shop are also a wonderful resource.

Visit

One Penny Black
111 Hunter Street, Newcastle

ARThive Gallery
1/111 Hunter Street, Newcastle

The Lock-up Cultural Centre
90 Hunter Street, Newcastle

Bali Corner
95 Hunter St, Newcastle

Grind Coffee Co
127 Darby St, Cooks Hill

Blackbird Corner
90 Darby St, Cooks Hill

Cooks Hill Books and Records
72 Darby St, Cooks Hill

Newcastle Regional Art Gallery
Laman Street Newcastle