Foodage

Another reason for wanting to write this blog now is, I suppose, that I am currently feeling particularly turned on to food (note: that's turned on to, not turned on by). I've always loved to eat, of course. Like a horse, you could say. For some time now I've taken an interest in what and where I'll be eating...but I suppose there was also a fair amount of convenience-eating going on. At the moment I'm trying to eat well, my new year's resolution being to cook more. 


Since the new year began, I've had a crash course in cooking, quite literally, for the magazines. I had a Chinese Cookery Lesson (courtesy of Jeremy at School of Wok) which was enlightening, I've interviewed Yotam Ottolenghi and Gizzi Erskine and have some more eateries to add to the (ever-increasing) list - both chefs highlighted St John's in Clerkenwell to me, so I am keen to cover it for a food review. I also tried a Detox for the Beauty Page (and lapsed, of course) but still, it was interesting to be reminded of alternative, sugar-free snacks, fresh, quality, seasonal meals that are low-carb but delicious (they really were). No sooner was the detox over, the lovely Natalie over at Sweet Things in Primrose Hill sent me the latest cupcake offerings from her busy cakery (perfect timing) and next week I am learning how to make truffles with a chocolatier. 


Oishiii Japanese in Stoke Newington tonight...review soon. 

First Up: Pizza East

Ooh, am excited to have finally found a quiet mo to start this: a repository of my tasting experiences henceforth. At least, I'll update with food reviews written specifically for the magazines as well as pics from my 'extra-curricular' culinary forays as far as is possible - sometimes it's too dimly lit to take shots on my phone, sometimes I'm overcome with a strange embarrassment for wanting to take pictures of my food (lest I annoy my fellow diners). Am a bit bummed that I've started this late, having eaten in so many great places in my lifetime (it actually makes me feel amazingly grateful to realise this), but maybe those that have been memorable warrant a revisit. And those that are nigh on impossible to revisit for reasons of distance might deserve a mention here and there.


First up is my review for Pizza East. I'm obsessed with the place at the moment and it's becoming my regular Monday night haunt thanks to its 50% off deal. Is quite nice to go with different friends each time and have a catch up. Taste bud = Sister, Gret.

I’d been meaning to try Pizza East ever since it opened in 2009, but somehow I’d never got around to it. The restaurant is housed within the imposing Tea building on Shoreditch High Street, a venue I knew from my clubbing days, and though I was curious to try the new eatery for myself, this sense of familiarity seemed to remove any urgency from my efforts. I added Pizza East to my ever-growing ‘must do’ list, and was quickly distracted by a million other things.

I am regretting that now.

A self-proclaimed ‘modern take on the pizzeria’, Pizza East is another feather in the cap of the Soho House Group – which also owns private members club Shoreditch House, right next door. The restaurant’s professed ethos centres on a commitment to seasonal and local produce and an ‘inventive’ approach to rustic Italian cooking. Which sounds good – but just how easy can it be, to make something fresh out of one of the most popular cuisines on earth?

Easy it may not have been, but Pizza East has managed it nonetheless – from the architecture onwards. The Tea building looks stunning, benefitting from a refit that plays up all its strengths – the open plan space, the industrial vibe of its exposed brick walls and gleaming ventilation pipes. There’s something very New York City about Pizza East; it’s the kind of establishment you’d find heaving with happy diners in the Brooklyn artistic enclave of Dumbo (for those unfamiliar with NYC parlance, this means Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). The restaurant is packed on the night of our visit, and possessed of the kind of buzz that money can’t buy. Quite simply, it feels like the place to be – and in an area not short of supposed places to be, that’s no small feat. That said, there’s nothing off-putting about the place, and the greeting we get from our maître d’ – one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen – is as warm and welcoming as you could wish for.

That greeting, it should be said, included a glass of prosecco as we eye up the menu. I’d bargained on fairly typical pizzeria fare but this far exceeded my expectations. The options – all rustically themed – sounded delightful and our lovely waiter Davide was on hand to tell us about the varied ingredients, some of which I’ve actually never heard of before. Everything was reasonably priced too – my companion and I began to feel like we were in for something special.

We weren’t wrong. The first dishes arrived soon afterwards and were charged with flavour, authentically Italian but inventive. We had the baby artichoke with lemon and almonds and the mackerel with Umbrian lentils to start, followed by skate with puntarelle, anchovies and celery and a four cheese pizza laden with gorgonzola, puzzone, taleggio and parmesan. A side of spinach completed the feast, and we munched our way through it all happily. The different flavours in each dish were combined with perfect subtlety, while the quality and freshness of the ingredients meant that we felt pleasantly sated fairly quickly. In fact, with the addition of an amazing Montepulciano we were drinking, we felt as though we’d been blessed with a supper fit for a king.