UK
Spring is coming. The sun is coming. My London is coming.
These days I live in Norwich, but I’ve had a couple Londoner summer seasons, discovering the corners of the what would become my way of loving the city.
One of those places that I found to be kissed by the so long-awaited sunny days is the Towpath Cafe, in Hoxton, east London.
It is on a hidden spot of the Regent Canal, a walk path that takes you to a picturesque scenario of unusual-shaped buildings, boats that seem crazy tight and birds gracefully passing by.
The mismatch of tables and chairs around the path, the stalls where is the kitchen and the bar, the format of purchasing your meal and taking a written paper to the kitchen, the vintage plates and glass, the blackboard menu changed every day, the people informally dressed up waiting on the queue to order…
Everything says yes, we breath the hipster style.
But there is more than the hype to Towpath. The kitchen is consistent on enhancing the natural flavours of ingredients to their best performance.
It has a Mediterranean accent that is very often expressed through Spanish and Moorish influences.
There is a simplicity to some dishes descriptions that intrigues. ‘Beef tomatoes + mozzarella’, ‘Green salad’, ‘Grilled cheese’. Don’t be fooled. It is huge in taste and balance.
A certain day I went for the confit with lentils and green sauce. The meat coming off the bone bedded by the delicate seed stew with tiny pieces of carrots and celery…
And suddenly came the green sauce, ‘bum’ a delicate mint marinate that gave a whole unexpected freshness. Sensational.
Oh, that same meal I had coconut ice cream, which took me straight to the city where my grandmother was born, Goiás Velho, when we used to sit by the ancient bandstand in the melting heat and enjoy the handmade ice cream.
A little trip to memory lane.
#Mem #Tripper #Bistro