Posts filed under 'Food'
Back in 1998 (Yikes, ten years!) when I first moved to London and was working for a hip, young noo media agency in Shoreditch, we couldn’t have dress-down Friday as we all wore whatever we found on the floor that morning anyway. We found a different way to make Friday special, which basically involved eating really fattening and unhealthy food for lunch. We christened it Bad Food Friday.
BFF continued for me in various forms throughout the rest of my design career, at various different places of work, but the golden age was during my time at Tonic when we used to visit the local greasy spoon café, Parma. During my last stint of employment in Bermondsey Street I came close to recreating these halcyon days by attending Al’s Café. Cooked breakfast to die for, as well as curry, rice and chips.
Since going self-employed, group activities is one of the things I have missed the most. It is a solitary existence, and moving 50-odd miles from London hasn’t really helped! But I am clinging to my day of bad food by persuading the missus to join me at a greasy spoon in town for bad food on a Wednesday (Jess works at a different campus on Fridays). Not quite up to the standard or atmosphere of Parma or Al’s, but near enough.
February 29th, 2008
Not all milk has to be purchased from the supermarket, or from the all-night corner shop. There are still milkmen out there. You can still wake up to a bottle on your doorstep, without fear of someone stealing it. The only difference from my previous experience of milkmen (BL - Before London) is that the ‘Use By’ date is embossed on the little foil lid now.
Of course in the old days we had full-fat milk in tall bottles. Now we’re getting skimmed milk, which the milkman scoffed at and called ‘dishwater’.
January 17th, 2008
This stuff is supposed to be the backbone of the detox week of my diet. After downing a glass on Saturday I had a feeling it wouldn’t last. After Sunday’s glass I knew that was the end of that. So now I have carrot sticks instead. I’m sure I’m missing some vital vitamins somewhere but at least I can go through the day without gagging.
Back at work I’m dodging biscuits and trips to the cafe. I’m not known for my self-control, but I’m finding it surprisingly easy to resist. A quick glance down at the belly every now and then always helps.
January 23rd, 2007
The new year weight-loss programme begins today. Originally I wasn’t as against the whole thing as usual as my gut is becoming a problem. I wear a lot of t-shirts, and the majority of those t-shirts are medium in size. Most of those are currently unwearable for fear of looking like Matt Lucas in a PVC fetish outfit. So the plan was to embrace the diet and the regime like my life depended on it.
That was until I had my first ‘Mid-morning snack’ of vegetable juice, mixed with carrot juice, orange juice, lemon juice and watercress. I’ve never been a fan of vegetable in liquid form eschewing Bloody Marys and carrot smoothies in my time, and as I sit here with the rancid taste of pureed gherkin at the back of my throat I can tell this diet has a danger of being very short-lived. Sent off to the safety of work with my tub of vegetable spew there is a distinct danger that I will substitute it for a chocolate Hob-Nob.
To make things worse, Jess has woken with the mother of all black clouds over her head. It could be a very long (and unsatisfying) day.
January 20th, 2007
Only a greasy spoon cafe could combine spaghetti bolognese with chips. Only the customers of a greasy spoon cafe could find spaghetti bolognese not quite filling enough on its own. Enough carbs to sink a ship. Crazy.
I won a phone! All I had to do was list my top 5 influential designs of the 21st century on my blog, and then hope no-one else did. The plan worked and I will soon be the owner of an LG Chocolate phone. Not sure if it’s better or worse than my Motorola SLVR, but me and the SLVR aren’t that compatible so it stands a good chance.
I have a habit of winning competitions if I get around to entering them. Shame I’m too lazy to lift my competition entering finger most of the time.
October 2nd, 2006
A relic from the Deepend days, at Or Media I have managed to resurrect the ceremony of going to a purveyor of greasy badness on a Friday lunchtime.
Our weapon of choice is Al’s Cafe on Bermondsey Street. A greasy spoon in the classic mould, run by a hyper-active Mediterranean fella that shouts at you to sit down before you’re even one toe through the door. I went for the special breakfast. Special is one of those words that has taken on multiple meanings these days, and my breakfast could be described using two or three of them.
May have to opt for Pie and Mash next Friday.
September 29th, 2006
I could eat bread all day long. I’d be a fat bastard, but it would be worth it. I’d sit in a big doughy chair being fed ciabatta and olives, farting away. Any type of bread will do, except maybe that really heavy Caribbean stuff.
Above is a new product that the Italian bakers next door to where I work are trying out. We have become their testers as we are the only people on the street that don’t complain about the smell of the bread baking(!) and the flour in the air.
My review: It’s light and soft with just the right amount of oil and just the right amount of tomatoes. It may be the closest thing to God-like I have come across in a baked item. 1 down, ten to go.
September 28th, 2006
Maybe it’s global warming? Maybe it’s an obsession with consumerism? Either way, it’s good news for my pre-winter, fattening-up exercise as the Christmas food is in the shops.
I’d heard reports of things appearing, but I hadn’t seen it myself until I almost barrelled into a huge stack of mince pies in M&S at lunch. Couldn’t resist, obviously. Am now worried that with Christmas coming even earlier that the enjoyment is spread a lot thinner. I’m going to make a point this year of not over-doing Christmas.
Plenty of time for that when there are kids around.
September 26th, 2006
You could have predicted it months ago. My employers are big cricket fans, and the Ashes means a lot to them, but having an Aussie start work in the office at the begining of the series just made it all the more important.
So today, the last day of the summer’s games, meant they would be down the pub. I’m surprised they made it to noon to be honest. A quick break for a meeting, then back to the pub. After a full working (ha!) day, we joined them as the match came to an end. A couple of beers later and the day out of the office came and bit them on the ass. Bad moods, awkward phone-calls, threats of heading home.
Excuses made, we left them to drown their sorrows. And after an ‘on-plan’ goats cheese and asparagus sarnie at Charing Cross, the chip shop called. The Chicken and Mushroom Pukka Pie was unecessary, but the chips were just what the doctor ordered.
Only Monday, you say?
September 12th, 2005
How can it possibly be the last day of August? I know the weather is making a last ditch attempt at summer, but it doesn’t disguise the fact that autumn is about to lay waste to the garden. And we have only had 5 barbeques this year! This weekend is probably the last chance to top-up my quota of red meat.
Need to perfect the burger recipes for next summer. More flavour needed all round. More parmesan in the tuna burgers and more spice in the beef burgers methinks.
Still feeling a bit rough, but starting to think it’s some sort of lurgy. Headache, bit sniffly, can’t be arsed to do anything…
August 31st, 2005
