Green Goat: some mighty tasty fish

Street food has been buzzing in London for years now - from Eat Street to Whitecross Street, Broadway to Borough, Brockley Market to Brick Lane - traders such as The Rib Man and Big Apple Hot Dogs have obtained near legendary status.  Cue five minute segment on prime-time BBC series with standard celebrity chef on street food in the Capital.

In fairness to Lorraine Pascale, other than for The Rib Man, she (or should I say her team of researchers) has not gone for the obvious choices.  And so she ended up at the Green Goat on Whitecross Street -  the daily strip of street traders that satisfies the crowds of suits billowing out from the City.  Now I am a regular here (my office is round the corner), but never had I made it past the delights of Luardos (excellent burritos), Hoxton Beach (best falafel in London - freshly cooked), and Wild Game Co. (simply incredible venison steak roll).

So when LP started banging on about this van at the top of Whitecross Street serving up the freshest fish in London (shipped up overnight from the small Cornish fishing fleet), cooked by two chefs - one ex-Caprice, the other formerly of Petersham Nurseries and Club Gascon - I really was taken aback.  How long had this been going on?  Why had I not eaten there?

I've been a few times now - I had the mussels the first time in a fresh mariniere sauce (with pancetta), hard to eat as street food but tasty nonetheless.  Th second time I had the sardine burger - super fresh, it went down a treat.

While both were good, I just didn't get round to writing about them.  This week though I had their whiting with a slow cooked chorizo and bean stew.  It was, in their words, a "bangin' eat".  If this was being served  at a "proper" sit-down restaurant, the Jay Rayners and AA Gills of this world would be beside themselves with joy.

Needless to say, I now need to try their signature chorizo and mackerel burger pronto.  Bringing sustainable, fresh, delicious fish to the masses at incredibly reasonable prices -  these guys deserve a standing ovation.

Eat Street at Kings Cross: The Rib Man

It being my birthday I decided to do something I had been meaning to do for a while - make an ambitious attempt to get from Moorgate to Kings Cross, eat a mean rib roll from The Rib Man (aka Mark Gevaux), and back again - all in one hour flat.  I succeeded and my was it worth it.

Eat Street at Kings Cross is a really exciting development.  They are a collective of street traders, all tried and tested by the people at Eat Street and showcasing some of the best street food you can find anywhere in the capital.  The stalls vary from day to day and include some of my favourites in London, such as Banh Mi 11 who, in my opinion, serve far and away the best Pho and Vietnamese baguettes in London.

But on this visit it wasn't Vietnamese I was after, I was going to go get myself some ribs.  The Rib Man, originally only resident at Brick Lane on a Sunday, now pops up at Eat Street from time to time.  The babyback ribs from pigs which are outdoor reared on Norfolk and Suffolk farms, cooked slowly from midnight each night for twelve hours (if you follow him on twitter, the Rib Man gives blow by blow updates on his prep).  Taken off the bone, shredded and served in either a roll or wrap, this is what ribs are all about.

To go with the ribs Mark Gevaux makes an incredible chili sauce (made with scotch bonnet peppers and naga jolokia- formerly thought to be the world's hottest chili) which is fast gaining a cult following.  Christened by his regulars "Holy Fuck Sauce", this stuff is incredibly hot but also has a wonderful depth of flavour.  Also served by Big Apple Hot Dogs - you have to try this stuff, it is awesome! 

If you can make it one lunchtime, you should definitely get yourself along to Eat Street, even if the Rib Man is not there, there will still be plenty of other tasty treats on offer! 



Tasty Treats at the Long Table

And so London's enduring love with all things pop up continues, this time in the form of The Long Table.  This Friday night market which is running for four weeks in December 2011 in a small car park tucked in behind Dalston Roof Gardens is a who's who of the London foodie scene -  from Big Apple Hot Dogs to Yum Bun and Moro they are all here. The highlight, however was a pop up rib shack from The Loft Project, the underground food society headed up by Viajante's Nuno Mendes (but more on that later).

The Fashionista and I headed straight from work on Friday night and managed to get there for just after half past six - we had hoped to beat the queue but unfortunately even by that time a large queue had already formed (apparently the week before had been even worse).  Having queued for about about forty minutes we were unleashed on the small car park stuffed full with food stalls and fire-filled oil drums - to say we were excited is an understatement.

Having done a quick initial circuit we started with duck and chorizo arroz with aioli  from Moro- a generous portion of super tasty rice with melt in your mouth chorizo and duck but with a couple of crispy bits of duck dropped in for a different texture. A great way to start the night!

By this time we were on a roll and so started the long queue for The Loft Project ribs - such was the queue that we carried out scavenger missions to keep us topped up - a pilsner from Meantime here, a croque monsieur from Petit Paris (a little disappointing, not enough ham) there.  At last we got to the front: having queried whether there was really any difference between a seven pound or five pound portion, I think the the girl at the grill felt obliged to give us a particularly large helping- delighted!

Apparently the ribs are marinated for 13 hours, they were sweet, char grilled, sticky, incredible.  They came with some wilted greens, mushrooms and a smear of sauce.  To my surprise it was the sauce that stole the show (even from the ribs).  I have no idea what was in it (although if I was to guess I reckon it must have included mushrooms, peanuts, chocolate - a kind of mushroom mole but with no chilies) - if anyone has any tips as to how to make this it would be much appreciated!

After the ribs we both agreed that we were done - and so, five minutes later with a beer in hand from the London Fields Brewery (called the Landlord - puts Timothy Taylors to shame), we were in the queue for Yum Buns.

While waiting in the queue we ended up standing next to a drinks place which looked like it was serving coffee.  Only when we got close (and having been informed by a rather excited chap in front of us) did we realise that they were in fact serving some of the most creative cocktails I have ever had: served by the former barman of Viajante, @kuckoos_nest.  And so the beer was suitably disposed of and we moved on to cocktails - my one consisted of old navy rum, lemon bitters and beer foam- innovative, brilliant!  The Fashionista had a cocktail of gin, mint, elderflower cordial and lemon foam, also very good.

A couple of cocktails down, we got to the front of the queue for Yum Buns- no vegetarian option left so we got one each of the pork buns -  soft bun, cucumber, spring onion, delicious pork with hoisin and chili sauce - very good.

And so, smiling cheek to cheek we headed off, thereby letting another two people from the queue in to the enjoy the delights of the Long Table.  If you can make it along in the next couple of weeks before the Long Table shuts up shop I would highly recommend it -  if you can't make it to Dalston by half five you will have to queue but its worth it even if its just to try those ribs! 

The Wild Game Company- Whitecross Street Market

I have noticed the Wild Game Company stall at Broadway market a number of times but have never quite got round to buying anything- after my tasty lunch today though at their stall in Whitecross Street Market I definitely will.

Whitecross Street Market is a mish-mash of food stalls running from Monday to Friday selling everything from (really very good) burritos through average looking curries and Chinese to paninis and hog roasts.  There really is a mixture of everything- and if you're not hungry there is even a stall selling batteries and another one selling all manner of household tools (what's not to like!).

As the Fashionista had a day off today, we decided to meet at the market as its only a few minutes walk from where I work. Having wandered up and down I noticed the Wild Game Company stall.  They had lots of tasty things on offer from wild venison fillet sandwiches to venison burgers. The thing that caught my eye, though, was a pigeon and chorizo roll- I am a big fan of pigeon which is, apart from being absolutely delicious, apparently very "healthy".

The roll was delicious- two pigeon breasts cooked nice and rare, a couple of slices of chorizo, some rocket, balsamic reduction with what I think was a little chili jam (although I couldn't swear on it).  The only thing I would maybe change is swapping the pre-sliced chorizo for some cooking chorizo (a la Brindisa's amazing chorizo, char grilled pepper and rocket rolls at Borough market) which would take it from being good to absolutely superb.  At £6 it was on the more expensive side of things at the market but you get what you pay for as the Fashionista discovered to her cost with a rather lacklustre pad thai at £4.50.

If you're nearby one day I would really recommend giving Whitecross Market, and especially the Wild Game Company, a try- I now know where I will be going at Broadway Market this Saturday to source some genuinely good game.