Hail Britannia: Comestibles

One of the biggest jokes about my going to London was how excited I was to eat British food. I was particularly excited because we had the chance to go to St. John’s Restaurant. You may have seen this place on TV. It serves locally raised food prepared in the most old-school British way possible. That means trotters, kidneys, tripe, and a variety of fish with comical sounding names. Frankly, I couldn’t wait.

My goal for the trip was to eat one thing every day that would gross out my sister-in-law, she of the no bacon. Also, we both wanted to have some great Indian food, many pints of ale, some real tea, and a full English breakfast. So here is what I ate:

1. Steak pie (no kidneys though!)

2. Sushi from a conveyor belt

3. The meal at St John’s: Roast Bone Marrow, Veal Tongue with Butterbeans and Anchovies, and Honey Cake for me; Pea and Ham soup, Saddle of Rabbit with Dandelion, and Eccles Cake and Cheese for Dan. I had to stop Dan from gnawing on the bones of the rabbit, by the way.

4. A crappy microwaved scone from the Hotel for tea (lousy hotel!)

5. Some of the most delicious chicken tikka I will ever eat

6. British bacon and mushroom sandwich

7. Many chips with Malt vinegar

Also, we discovered that the beer was not as warm as we thought it would be. And we didn’t drink nearly enough.

Finally, on our way home, we bought a bottle of Absinthe at the duty-free shop, just because. It tastes exactly like Nyquil. Lucky for me, I like Nyquil.