Bored of the Distillery and looking for coffee shops nearby but not among all that old brick and moody atmosphere? I wandered up past a quaint church and into this quiet sliver of a cafe. The walls displayed pinned up polaroids, bushels of vibrant plants and a peaceful, pleasant, if hipsters, ambience. My cappuccino was …
Dinner with the Opaque Dancer, as those evenings draw to a close. We met at the foot of my building and go for KBBQ, something she’s never had, but she assured me she was very hungry. we shall see. Throughout the hurricane of touting fire and slightly charred metal, we chat and swap stories from …
Currywurst for me comes from my time in Vienna: a hearty street meat sausage, sliced, juicy and steaming, semmelbrot beside, dusted with curry powder. I have to presume they do this dish different in Berlin, as what arrived to the Opaque Dancer and I was a box loaded with stringy fries and a sausage covered …
Good thing I beat the Human Engineer to lunch; I was able to grab seats at the bar, the only spots left without a reserved tag. Within minutes, the lunch hour struck and the execs piled in, packing the tables around the circular bar at Leña’s centre. Do you have a palate refined enough to …
The Cheery Milliner and I pushed through the heavy drapes shielded the door. We were seated at the back next to a table of three bottle blonds sharing a salad: one wears a red dress, while the other two wear much more respectable affairs (the trio’s snippets of conversation provide us endless amusement throughout the …
The Human Engineer and I were seated during the height of the late lunch rush, a sizzling hotpot of ribs and a mound of cheese on the table next to us, bowls of rice and bbq meat on the other. Despite the bustle, our bei shumai appear quicklike. Cute little dumplings topped with green onions …
We entered through the brownstone building’s guts, wandering through passages and sheer, modern hallways to find the side door: inside b espresso bar (all lower case), the Strange Baker and I were alone with the barista. We shuffled into an awkward loop of a booth, then I had to fight the cushions and our coats …
11pm and every table’s full as the Opaque Dancer and I sit down to eat. Thick chow mein noodles tossed and browned in soy. Three seafood (scallops, shrimp, squid spirals) and veggies, broccoli predominantly. Scrubbed-clean metal pots of steaming jasmine tea. Just what you need on a cold night.
Experimentation sometimes produces amazing results, but the vast majority of times it’s a reminder that the status quo is quo for a reason, despite our hopes of discovery. That is to say that my adventure into cooking tongue wasn’t as fruitful as I aspired, but such is the mundane truth of science. “Not worth it” …
Over reliant on tomato, both our carnita and chicken tacos were dry and placid, consumed rather than savoured. The fish taco effectively balanced cabbage, crunchy batter, white fish, and sweet mango. The warm decor featured bright colours and Luchador masks, but music so loud the Strange Baker and I couldn’t hear each other. Tacos 101 …