Rachel Maddow is known as a very liberal pundit, but, Forbes is about as Republican as Goldwater and Reagan. This approaches on fascism in my home state.
Sunday Roast
Only two months in and I’m writing a blog about a British tradition. Sunday Roast is a culinary institution here in the UK, usually served at lunch with roast beast, vegetables, different types of potatoes and in the case of roast beef – Yorkshire pudding. This is a meal on which I was raised. My Memaw (maternal grandmother) made this all the time, as my maternal grandfather loved this tradtional British meal. I vividly remember her creamy mashed potatoes, savory roasted potatoes tossed in beef dripping, airy Yorkshire pudding, the vegetables that I never ate, and the pungent horseradish that was served along side. I can almost taste the combination of the horseradish, beef gravy, roast sirloin and mashed potatoes if I think about it for a minute.
It also happens to be one of my favorite meals to cook for a group of friends. There’s nothing more satisfying than this type of meal, whether it is a roast chicken served with potatoes Dauphinoise and Petit Pois cooked with shallots and chicken stock, or roast turkey, Thanksgiving style – with homemade cornbread stuffing and glazed carrots, or even roast lamb, which I never do, but it tastes great nonetheless. In fact, the best meal I have ever cooked was Roast Tenderloin with mashed Yukon Golds, caramelized onion gravy, glazed carrots and Yorkshire pudding, with a homemade blueberry buckle for dessert for my friend Rachel’s going away party in 2008. The meal was sublime, due to the company, the food and the overall goodwill.
That goodwill is the spirit of Sunday Roast here in the UK. Hence, why it is served in almost every pub here in London. Believe me, you will see all makes and models of the Sunday roast meal from the downscale £5 meal to a £50 full on meat fest at other locations. I have eaten Sunday roast at four places and each of them has their own “joie de vivre”.
First there is my local pub, the Victoria, aptly named after the Queen who was reigning when the pub opened in the late 1800’s. It is a small pub, with a large bar and about seven tables on the ground floor and two chatting rooms on the first floor, one with wing chairs and a fireplace called the Library. It is exactly what you think about when you think historic English pub. They have a great pub quiz on Tuesday nights and they serve Crabbie’s alcoholic Ginger Beer, which may turn me into a raging alcoholic, if I have too many. Their Sunday roast is pretty basic, but absolutely still homemade. You get your choice of Roast Beef with Gravy and Yorkshire pudding or Roast Pork with spiced applesauce and sage stuffing or a veggie roast for which I have no need. All of these are served with roast potatoes, a few haricots verts, roasted root vegetables, glazed carrots and a couple broccoli florets. The thing about Sunday roast is that while the meat is the shining star, the vegetables are a supporting cast worthy of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. At the Victoria, the meat is roast Sirloin, sliced very, very thin, and the vegetables are all fresh, cooked just right, with a thyme beef gravy slathered on the plate. It is simply lovely, and a good value for £8.00.
Next up is actually the second place that I had Sunday Roast here in London. My friend, Jeff, who is also another American expat, working here in the banking industry. We decided to meet up at a place that was very near my corporate apartment in Notting Hill, the overpriced, trendy neighborhood that was pretty sketchy prior to the Hugh Grant/Julia Roberts film of the same name. We met at the Notting Hill Brasserie, an amazing local restaurant in a row of immaculately restored Edwardian townhomes about four blocks from the main commercial of Notting Hill. This is not a restaurant you would find by accident, as they state on their website. But, it is definitely one that you will return to again and again due to their succulent meats and spectacularly prepared sides. You choose from Roast Prime Rib of British Grass Fed beef or Roast Rump of Elwy Valley lamb, services with green beans, glazed carrots, celeriac puree, roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. The meat is absolutely divine, better than any prime rib that I have ever had before – (and I managed a steakhouse where prime rib was our specialty.) – in a relaxed setting with pure white tablecloths, a fantastic bottle of Argentine Malbec and a Dinah Washington soundalike, singing jazz standards in the main room. Dessert was a chocolate fondant, a molten flourless cake made with bittersweet dark chocolate, a tinge of orange zest and a small scoop of vanilla bean gelato. I think I died and went to heaven with that stroke of brilliance. One thing that also struck me was that this place was a cocktail haven. The bartender makes his own bitters, and classic cocktails like the Sidecar, Pink Lady and the French 75 actually are made and drank here. I will definitely go back when I have an extra £50 to spend.
Last but not least is my favorite of the three – Roast, in Borough Market. My friend Aishling and I had an outing last Sunday that included the Tate Modern, the Imperial War Museum and Sunday lunch at Roast. More on the two museums later, but, our meal at Roast was truly sublime. By the time that we arrived there, we both could have eaten a whole side of beef after walking all over South London and viewing great art and military might. Roast is in Borough Market, in Southwark by London Bridge Tube and Rail stations. Borough Market is a working wholesale and retail food market that makes Pike Place market in Seattle or Eastern Market in Detroit look like your local A&P. It is absolutely abuzz during the week as the creme de la creme of London restaurateurs procure their organic produce, grass fed beef, and locally fished wild seafood to serve at the Michelin starred restaurants around the city. It has a smell and feel unlike any other, and is thankfully closed on Sundays. We arrived there at 3pm for our reservation to this open dining room with 12 foot ceilings and pane glass windows overlooking the market and the street outside. Roast has a deal – 2 courses for £24, 3 courses for £30. Our choices of mains were Roasted Prime Rib of Organic British Beef, Pork Belly with Bramley Applesauce, Roast Lamb with fresh mint jelly, and Roast Chicken with forty cloves of garlic. I went for the beef because I am predictable, Aishling went for the pork belly because pork is God’s food. The beef was absolutely perfect, served with fresh horseradish sauce and English mustard, looking like a fried egg on the side of the plate, and sides galore – braised Swiss Chard, roasted potatoes, roasted parsnips and haricots verts. There were enough vegetables to feed an army. We were that army, and we ate them all. Then, there was the dessert. I had a Lemon Pot de Creme with a vanilla biscuit, that was decadent and crisp at the same time, and Aishling had the Apple crumble with steamed custard – a traditional finish to a regally British dish.
As soon as I have my kitchen utensils, I will make this at home, as the leftovers lead into other meals for the rest of the week. Bubble and Squeak anyone?
American Expat in London 