Week Forty One: VQ and Electric Brixton

Week Thirty Forty One

  Hello again and welcome back to another week as the year draws to a close.  This week another two places visited with one being a 24 hour restaurant diner and another being a nightclub/venue.
  

Special guests include: Jack Measom, Chris Kroeger, Harriet Scott, Tom Grimes, Luke Chopper Harris, Katie Siese, Georgie Gibbs, Alex Felton, Will Wright, Ed Greensmith, Gabes Langford, Milly Langford and Rob Buchanon

Summary of VQ

Name: VQ

Type: 24 Hour Cafe and Diner

Location: 325 Fulham Road, Chelsea, London, SW10 9QL

Website: http://www.vq24hours.com/vq-chelsea/

Date Visited: 17/10/14

Price: Ok but fair

Rating: 3.3/5

Review

  It had been a big night around the corner at the classic Mare Moto as Dave and James Brown (not the late soul singer) were having their farewell evening before heading off to Australia.   2am had arrived and everyone was feeling it was time to go home but one man wasn't quite finished.  Chris Kroeger, who has a plethora of places up his sleeve, was insistent that instead of going to a standard kebab house for post lash food, that we should go for some high quality food.  I questioned whether this was possible at this time but I was to be proven wrong.

  VQ was the place and it is a 24 hour restaurant/diner. Genius.  Kroeger, Measom, Grubby, Scotty and Rob were the attendees and We were at the Chelsea branch of VW.  To my disbelief there was a queue outside despite it approaching 2.30am.  Once in after a small wait, we were seated at the table and greeted by a very pleasant but sleep deprived waiter.  Wine and beers (Even at that time you head cases!?) were ordered along with the food.

The only photo I have of VQ.  What a great photo of the queue eh?

 I went for the 6oz Cheeseburger with the added extras of caramelised onions and crispy bacon.  I didn't go for the double up option as I didn't have it in me.  Now I can't give it the most accurate review in terms of taste but I can remember mumbling that it was decent and it was certainly better than the local kebab.  More importantly the consistency of the bun was true.

  Overall you can't bloody argue with this place.   It sells decent food and is open for 24 hours while also offering table service.   Pretty impressive and it certainly helped the hangover the next day.  Another great recommendation from you Mr Kroeger.  It isn't the cheapest but still fairly priced considering what it offers and it being in the early hours of the morning.  The waiters did refuse to take a photo of us but to be fair there was a large queue outside the door, the place was full and it was 3am.  I think on this occasion I will let them off.

  I can see myself ending up here again after another Mare Motos or Kings Road session in the future.  Worth a visit.

Summary of Electric Brixton

Name: Electric Brixton

Type: Nightclub/Venue

Location: Electric Brixton, Town Hall Parade, Brixton, London, SW2 1RJ

Website: http://electricbrixton.uk.com

Date Visited: 18/10/14

Price: Fair

Rating: 4/5

Review

  Well well well, what a cracking venue this is.  The place was formerly known as the famous nightclub The Fridge but reopened around 5 years ago as Electric Brixton.  It's massive and very impressive due to it being it converted from an old Cinema in the early 1900's.  Theres the history behind it, for those of you who like the History Channel and a bit of background. 

The front of the crowd.  Edgy shot number 1 by Luke Chopper Harris

  The reason for the visit was because Groove Armada, along with other acts such as Chris Malinchak, were DJ'ing.  What a brilliant night it was. This sort of music is right up my street....chilled house (oh Jack you're so relevant and so scene!)  It's not for the faint hearted as Electric Brixton doesn't shut its doors until very late but despite the serious fatigue and sore calves you suffer from the next day, its worth it.

Siese, Felton and I

  One of the main benefits of this place is it's atmosphere.  It is a huge arena but it still compacts everybody together in a way to create that buzz you want, very similar to the Brixton 02 Academy.  Brixton does seem to get its venue right.  Other cool features of this place is the balcony, again like the 02, which overlooks the stage and dance floor.  It also has a wicked roof top smoking area which takes about an hour to get to and in all honesty is a little small but still cool.

Not my photo but shows you the set up of the venue well.

  There are people I know who swear by this place and attend it regularly.  I wouldn't go that far but if you are watching the right act then this is a great venue to come to.  Definitely one for watching a DJ or an act but not to come to simply as a nightclub.   I was impressed.

Nice edgy shot number 2 taken by Luke Chopper Harris

Special Shoutout
Winner: Rob Buchanon

Another one of my more famous readers and this guy created history in the early parts of this year.  Not in his profession of rugby but by becoming the first reader of this blog to subscribe to it!  That support cannot and will not be ignored.  Many thanks Rob for the support and starting that avalanche effect of new subscribers.  The total now is at 19.....


Poem Advice

Finished a night out
And wanting high quality food
VQ is that place for you
The staff busy but not rude

So Electric Brixton
Very impressive for sure
Though to get to the smoking area
Feels like a tour

  Many thanks once again.  Christmas is approaching so expect more blog posts to cheer up your festive period.  It's my pleasure.

Remember to do the three most important things:

Like

Share

Subscribe

See you next week fans

X

Follow me on Twitter @jackgravestock

Week Forty: Circus and Daytona Karting

Week Forty

  The comeback of the blog continues and this week there are are two very different places attended.  Birthday celebrations is the theme for blog number 40, with two birthdays in total celebrated (wow that many?)
  

Special guests include: Joscelyn Lester, Tom Wright, Tom Goldwater, Lucy Tedstone, Bex Murphy, Tariq, Browning, Oli Grove, Mike Tame, Arthur Johnson, Nix Brown, Phoebe Nockolds, Charlie Jordan, Briony Jones, Aimee Pyatt, Bex Webb, Josh Beebee, Basti Beebee, Rob Beebee, Jake Huntley, Angus Huntley, Freddie Dixon, Richard Pearce, Brynne McCord and Jack Measom.

Summary of Circus

Name: Circus

Type: Cabaret Pan Asian Restaurant/Bar

Location: 27-29 Endell Street, London, WC2H 9BA

Website: http://circus-london.co.uk

Date Visited: 10/10/14

Price: It's not cheap

Rating: 3.85/5

Review

  At one stage my attendance looked unlikely due to a car crash on the way.  Have no fear everything was ok, including both people involved, and I was able to attend the birthday night.  A somewhat relieved Aimee Pyatt was the birthday girl and she had carefully chosen the venue as she was keen to visit this highly recommended venue.  

A relieved birthday girl and an unscratched Partyman

The main table at the venue had been booked and only a carefully chosen select group of guests were invited as space was limited.  On the website the place advertises itself as a pan asian restaurant which is also a bar with cabaret thrown in too.  It's not wrong and i'm afraid there are no lion tamers at this place or fire breathers but some talented performances nonetheless. 

Not getting any attention.  Clearly enthralling chat from me as Breester's busy on her phone.

 In fact the performances were very impressive and reminded me a lot of the athleticism we had seen a few weeks earlier at The Box in Soho.  No guys sitting on traffic cones here but the acts did kick off with a couple of men in their pants thrusting.  This was the one act I was disappointed to be sitting at crotch level, due to all the acts performing on our table.  The 'benefit' of sitting at the main table the girls would argue.  

Act one.

  Not to worry as next up were female gymnasts, who were wearing limited clothing, which grabbed all of the lads (Whey whey) attention quickly.  Apologies...that's very very sexist! They were unbelievable as one girl was performing some incredible gymnastic with incredible flexibility.  Some of the positions she got into were remarkable.  Some of them seemed impossible which would make some people queasy.  One member of our party unfortunately was sick but I don't think this was due to the acts.

Act two. Better

This displays how close we are.  That and spot the nutters in the background

  The acts were awesome and due to us having ringside seats it was pretty spectacular, especially watching all of these so close.  The food I thought was fantastic and the steak, that classic asian dish, being incredibly tasty.  The waitresses were a little harsh with us on the desserts as they took them away from our table after 15 minutes.  I hadn't finished and they wouldn't return them when I asked, but maybe this was due to me splattering a spoonful of souffle on my forehead.  Quite legitimate in hindsight but I still thought it was a little rude.  I suppose we hadn't been the easiest customers up to this point, with members of our party a little intoxicated (you flaming nutters, whatever next?) and a few people having impromptu naps.  

Post soufflé

  After dinner was finished and the acts are done, the tables become the dance floor. What better way to end than dancing on tables for the rest of the evening? Not much is the answer.  

A cracking evening it must be said.  Not the cheapest, as is my duty to point out, with £65- £70 per head for dinner, drinks and cabaret.  You'll probably have to get a few more drinks on top so my advise to you, unless your a city slicker and made of money, is come here for a special occasion.  Which this was.  

  A cracking evening.  Well done Aims.

Jordane and Breester. 

Goldy and Luce.

Just Luce.

Summary of Daytona Karting

Name: Daytona Karting

Type: Go Karting Track

Location: Dansteed Way, Rooksley, Milton Keynes, MK13 8LD

Website: https://www.daytona.co.uk/venues/miltonkeynes/

Date Visited: 11/10/14

Price: Again, it's not cheap

Rating: 3.3/5

Review

 After quite a heavy night at the Circus (Lad!) and the sudden realisation of my crashed car from the night before, I wasn't entirely convinced that a trip out to go karting was going to be the perfect tonic.  It was Josh Beebee's birthday this time and a good bunch of us met at London Euston to get a train down to Milton Keynes for a spot of racing.  On the way done we bumped into Owen Farrel and Josh begged him for a photo which he duly obliged.

Owen Faz making Josh's day.

  Upon arrival we firstly had to watch the safety video presented by Martin Bundle.  For those of you who have been to Daytona before, you will know how comical that video is.  After the important safety video, its then down to the track for 10 minutes qualifying followed by a 40 minute race.  

  The go karts were very nippy and I thought they spun very easily.  Well that was my issue and no one else's it seemed, as out of the 31 laps I completed, I span on 29 of them.  Some laps I frustratingly span on multiple occasions.  To say I am good a racing driver would be wholly incorrect.  In fact the one thing I have probably learned this weekend is that I am not a good driver in any occasion. (Disclaimer: That last comment is said in jest and has no bearing in a court of law).

  I finished 24th out of 27th.  I blame it on the car and that I wasn't in the right psychological state after the car crash the night before.  Did I tell you I had a car crash?  I'll put the violin away and in all seriousness, it was really good fun.  This was due to it being a nice long track in fast go karts, which is what you want when go karting.  Again not cheap at £67.  That said we did get 50 minutes track time, which isn't bad.  Josh finished a respectable second which was a stirling achievement considering the guy who won, just seemed to give off that vibe that he was there most Saturdays.  Lovely day out.

Pre race.  Judging from my face, I knew what was in store for me.

Special Shoutout
Winner: Aimee Pyatt

This weeks winner is more famously known for being a talented flautist.  This week 'small pipes' wins the coveted award and not just because it was her birthday.  She organised the whole thing, picked a very good venue, we had the best table in the house and she, more importantly, arranged one of the best seating plans I have witnessed in the modern era.  Picking myself to sit next to the birthday girl was inspired and didn't go unnoticed.  Well done Aims on a cracking night, happy birthday (even though it was now two months ago) and keep spreading that christmas cheer!

Poem Advice

Cabaret, food and drink
Circus has got it all
Impressive acrobatics
Its a wonder they didn't fall

Fancy yourself as a kart racer
Like Lewis Hamilton's past
Then head on down to Daytona
It's a shame that I came last


  Thanks again for the read guys.  Keep recommending places to me as that's what its all about.  Your love and support is always very much appreciated.

VIVA LA BLOG 

T-shirts and other merchandise will soon be available for you guys to purchase.

Remember to do the three most important things:

Like

Share

Subscribe

See you next week fans

X

Follow me on Twitter @jackgravestock

Week Thirty Nine: Yalla Yalla

Week Thirty Nine

  Welcome again readers and I am pleased to say I think I have finally gotten over the writers block.  Thank goodness for that.  The eagle eyed readers out there have been keen to point out how far behind I am.  That is being rectified and it will be up to date before year end.  The race is on.

  This week saw only the one place visited so a nice and short one for you guys to read.  Complaints at the length of the blogs being to long have been noted also.

Special guests include: Ellie Stimpson, Laura Cramphorn, Sophie Avent and Mike Sedcole

Summary of Yalla Yalla

Name: Yalla Yalla

Type: Lebanese Restaurant

Location: 12 Winsley Street, Oxford Circus, London, W1W 8HQ

Website: http://www.yalla-yalla.co.uk

Date Visited: 01/10/14

Price: Superb

Rating: 4.1/5

Review

  Cramphorn was back home from Kenya for a month and she was keen to feature on the blog again.  She booked us all a table at a Lebanese restaurant near Oxford Circus which she had highly recommended.  Gabriel was unable to join us so it was four of us for dinner with Stimpo and Sophie Avent, which was nice as I hadn't seen for a number of years.  Anyway back to the dinner as it's not a journal.  

  This restaurant is conveniently located a short walk away from Oxford Circus, on a nice quiet street set back away from Oxford Street.  The place has a very buzzy atmosphere about it as soon as you walk through the door and thats probably helped due to a similar seating policy as wagamas.  There are effectively a lot of big nice wooden tables dotted around, with numerous different groups accompanying the same table.  This I think helps to create that buzz you want to have when eating at a restaurant.  

Girls night out

 The staff were incredibly friendly too.  In fact the whole place has a great feel to it and as soon as you walk through the entrance, you're at the bar and greeted by a grinning (but not in a creepy way) member of staff.  

  On to the food and I must say that didn't disappoint too. We all went for the traditional approach when ordering Lebanese, get a lot of dishes and share amongst us all.  The dishes came quickly and were very tasty indeed.  I was a little apprehensive before it arrived, as the girls seemed keen to order a few dishes which included the words spicy and chilli in them.  They weren't spicy at all, which was good and makes think that I may be training myself up in the spice world?  Who'd of thought it.

  The dishes were all fantastic and is a place I really recommend going to if you work near here. Also a classic date spot I reckon for the Lothario's amongst the readers.  The dishes in particular that  I liked were the Hommos Shawarma, which was chickpea puree topped with marinated thin slices of lamb fillet.  It was beaut.  The falafels were also superb it must be said.  However my favourite was the Soujoc.  This is somewhat surprising considering these are home made spicy Lebanese sausages with tomato, parsley and lemon juice.  I told you I am training myself up.

Here is the bill.  Decent effort.

  To conclude, a restaurant I highly recommend visiting for the Lebanese lovers.  Well priced too at £31 a head all in.

Special Shoutout
Winner: Mike Sedcole

This week goes to another loyal reader who I feel deserves the recognition.  I receive a weekly phone call from this man giving me honest, sometimes brutal, feedback on each weeks blog entry.  Your support is much appreciated and I hope to see you feature more frequently on this blog.  Well done buddy and keep the feedback coming.

Poem Advice

Yalla Yalla off Oxford Street,
A cracking Lebanese place
All the staff nice and friendly,
With Cheshire grins on their face

  Told you it was a nice and short entry folks.  Another will be published in a few days with a nice trip to the Circus.  Thanks for the read.

Remember to do the three most important things:

Like

Share

Subscribe

See you next week fans

X

Follow me on Twitter @jackgravestock

Week Thirty Eight: The Ryder Cup Weekend

Week Thirty Eight

 Bonjourno readers and I must apologise for the lack of entries recently.  The reason for this hiatus was similar to what many other talented authors have suffered from.  The thing I had dreaded since starting this blog in week 1.  The wretched writers block.  But fear not fans and let off a huge sigh of relief, I have overcome it and I am now back doing what I love.  Entertaining through the power of words.

  This week I ask you to cast your heads back to September where I had a trip up to Scotland to watch the Ryder Cup.  What a weekend it was.

Special guests include: Ed Cracknell, Freddie Allen, Tom Strickland, Tom Goldwater, Jack Goldwater and Charlie Banks

Summary of Meat Bar

Name: The Meat Bar

Type: Restaurant

Location: 142 West Regent Street, Glasgow, G2 2RQ

Website: http://www.themeatbar.co.uk

Date Visited: 25/09/14

Price: Phenomenal value

Rating: 3.95/5

Review

 It was the night before day one of the Ryder Cup and I had just arrived in Glasgow to meet Ed Cracknell, who had kindly offered me a free ticket to this magnificent sporting event.  Before going to bed nice and early in anticipation of the following day, it was time for some dinner.  While Ed had been waiting for me to arrive from London, he had been doing some research on good restaurants in Glasgow.   The Meat Bar was chosen and off we went.

  After getting a bit lost for a bit we eventually found the restaurant and took our seats at the highly recommended Meat Bar.  This place is like the Scottish version of Bodeans and on arrival we were quickly greeted by the waiter who seated us and subsequently served us for the rest of the evening  with impeccable service, the lad was very switched on.  He gave us very good advice on what to order from the menu and served us a variety of craft beers which were all exceptional.

Mr Cracknell, the man responsible for my Ryder Cup weekend.  Bigup yourself!

  The food itself was extremely tasty and god did we order a lot of it.  We had many sides and small platters, which went with our pulled pork (what else?!) burgers, which were also accompanied with 3 or 4 beers (wahey!).  This meant we left the place feeling extremely full and very satisfied.  In addition, the atmosphere of the place was decent and so was the decor.

The impressive restaurant although not displaying its famously good atmosphere here

  Meatbar was yet another place I had been to in Scotland, which was situated in the lower ground floor (basement in my eyes) of a big town house style building.   Not sure if that made any sense but this does seem to be the common theme in Scotland, as pretty much every place we went to in Edinburgh (See Week 20: http://newplaceeveryweek.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/week-twenty-trip-up-to-scotland-and-big.html) also seemed to be situated in the basement.  Maybe I'm exaggerating slightly but the fact that the place is lower ground floor, I do actually think adds to the ambience and atmosphere.

 Anyway enough rambling and I must say both I and Ed were very impressed with this place, as it came to roughly £30 quid a head and we had a hell of a lot of food and beer (hey hey you nutter!).  Waiter was very impressive and the only criticism of the place was that we woke up the next day with what felt like a stinking hangover.  This couldn't be the case as we hadn't had any more than 4 beers (child's play), so we came to the conclusion that the salt content of these dishes must be at a dangerous chelterstol high. 

A lot of  sides as per usual

  Tidy little joint this but just make sure you regularly hydrate or you'll suffer the next day.

One of the many (3) beers I had that evening

Summary of Gleneagles

Name: Gleneagles Golf Course: PGA Centenary Course

Type: Luxury Golf Resort

Location: Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross, PH3 1NF

Website: http://gleneagles.com/golf/ryder-cup-2014/the-ryder-cup/

Date Visited: 26/09/14

Price: Can't beat free

Rating: 4.85/5

Review

  Despite suffering from the worst meat hangover I have ever had, we still managed to wake up at 4.00am to make sure we were able to catch the first park and ride to the course.  This was to ensure that we could get our places in the grandstand to watch the first tee shot of this years Ryder Cup.  We didn't quite catch the first bus going to the ground, mainly due to a taxi driver who refused to go above the speed of 60mph on the motorway and his strange inability to read the heavily signposted 'Park and Ride this way' signs.

 However we must of been on the fourth or fifth bus on its way to the course and on arrival, we jumped off the bus and sprinted to the first tee.  Ed's girlfriend/wife/boss Charlie Bank's was part of the team that were responsible for organising the whole Ryder Cup.  4 years of hard planning to put on the greatest show sport has to offer? Well played.  

  Due to this inside knowledge, Ed knew exactly where the first tee was, so we were able to get one of the last remaining seats in the grandstand due to our raw pace demonstrated from the bus.  It was 6am asd we stood there for 2 hours while the sun rose and the atmosphere built.   The players then came out and it was without doubt the most electric atmosphere I have ever been part of at any sporting event.

The first tee at Gleneagles.  Special stuff.

  After watching all the tee shots we left the grandstand and quickly went to say hello to Banksy (Ed's girlfriend not the inconspicuous graffiti artist).  She then proceeded to give us the best advice which sorted us out for the rest of the day.  Her advice (take note golf fans) is to go to the viewing position at the 7th, as you can get right by the green.  The other place is in between the 15th and 16th, here you will see the matches come to a close while having perfect viewing positions of both greens.  It was superb.

Ian 'Mr Ryder Cup' Poulter in action at the 7th

The phenomenal setting on the 16th Green

  It was truly one of the greatest sporting days out I have ever hard.  The course was stunning, the setting magnificent and the whole place has been designed perfectly to ensure everything is within a short walk away.  The games itself were very close and exciting which added to the occasion.  We then bumped into Tom and Jack Goldwater after the final thrilling match which concluded with a stunning Garcia Shot.  After that came to a close it was off to the beer tent for post golf celebrations. 

Big Phil.

  The live band playing in the middle of this marquee was a band fronted by Eddie Jordan from Formula 1.  I kid you not.  It was quite an interesting experience.  Eddie was loving it and worked the crowd like a pro.

The main man Eddie Jordan.

  It was a fitting way to finsih a truly great day.  Gleneagles golf course/resort, what a magnificent beast it is, even if it is in the middle of nowhere.   Thanks Miss Charlie Banks for not only giving me the free ticket but for sorting us out all day.  Magnificent.

Summary of Tony Macaroni

Name: Tony Macaroni

Type: Italian Restaurant

Location: 133 West George Street, Glasgow, G2 2HG

Website: http://www.tonymacaroni.co.uk/italian-restaurants/glasgow-city-centre/

Date Visited: 26/09/14

Price: Decent

Rating: 2.6/5

Review

  I am not going to be able to give this an absolutely glistening review as we only came in here for a quick pizza before bed.  Strickland and Freddie Allen had joined us, as they were watching day two with Ed, while I was shooting off the following day back to London.  Strickland had chosen the restaurant, as he fancied an Italian and he picked a restaurant with a name which sounds like something straight out of the Sopranos.

  Ed and I were relatively shattered.  Walking around for 18 holes 4 times, does take it out of you I tell thee.  We decided to skip starters, order pints of coke and a pizza each.  The pizza I went for was the Tirolese, which is tomato sauce, mozzarella, italian sausage and french fries.  Chip pizza basically. Perfect.

  Unfortunately the pizza wasn't perfect.  It was ok but I felt the chips were slightly undercooked. Everyone else seemed fairly content with their and the place itself, although lacking atmosphere, was nice.

  It is your classic average italian.  Nothing spectacular, even if it did have a pizza involving chips on top.  Inspired.

Summary of Fratelli Sarti

Name: Fratelli Sarti

Type: Traditional Italian Restaurant

Location: 133 Wellington Street, Glasgow, G2 2XD

Website: http://fratelli-sarti.co.uk/index

Date Visited: 27/09/14

Price: Well priced breakfast

Rating: 3.2/5

Review

    After spending the night on the concrete floor of the hostel we were all staying in Glasgow, I woke up early and relatively hungry.  The reason I was on the floor, was because the personnel in my 12 man communal hostel room was questionable to be polite, so I stayed on the other lads room concrete floor.  I woke up the following morning with a back problem and a few hours to spare before my train home to London.  I decided to set off and find myself some breakfast.

  Eventually I found one which wasn't too far from the station and the menu looked relatively half decent.  This cafe was again situated in the lower ground floor (standard!) and had a very Sicilian feel to it.  The waitress was very pleasant and I ordered the scrambled eggs and italian sausage.  This wasn't the best, as the sausage had been cut up to a similar size to hundreds and thousands.  That said the Latte, which was with it, was very nice and the food wasn't too bad.

Dining alone selfie.  New craze I'm starting

  The whole meal came to under £10, which I did find impressive.  Despite tragicallly eating on my own, I did actually really enjoy my visit to this place and the Sicilian feel to it along with the nice atmosphere made this lonesome visit far from awkward.  Well not that awkward.

Special Shoutout
Winner: Charlie Banks

No contest this week.  I mean who else was going to bag themself the highly coveted award of special shoutout.  Not only does Charlie deserve to be in this section for being part responsible for organising the phenomenal Ryder Cup itself, but she sorted me a free ticket for too!  For that alone I am extremely grateful.  However on top of that she gave us advice on where to watch the best golf, she provided us with a free goody bag (included commentary link, flag, programme, etc...) but she topped it off by getting us free lunch.  Well done Charlie and thank you very much for a great weekend.  Ed, also it must be mentioned, thanks very much for the invite too.  Congrats Mr and Mrs Cracknell. x

Poem Advice

Are you in Glasgow
Searching for a Bodeans style place
Meatbar it is then
Although the salt levels make your heart race

Golf or a sporting fan
Then Gleneagles it must be
The best atmosphere I've been too
No word of a lie from me

A Classic Italian restaurant
Tony Mascaroni is another
The pizza's ok 
from Tony Sopranos brother

Fratelli Sarti for breakfast
for that Sicilian feel
Perfect place to eat
If its just you having the meal


Ladies and gentleman, thanks again for reading and especially to those who have read this week who don't like sport or don't like Scotland.  I am back in London next week and the writers block appears to have disappeared.  Well lets hope so.  Your support during this dark time was noted.

Thanks folks.




Remember to do the three most important things:

Like

Share

Subscribe

See you next week fans

X

Follow me on Twitter @jackgravestock

Week Thirty Seven: Meat and Shake, Cattle Grid and The Box

Week Thirty Seven

 Well hello there again friends and I apologise once more for the backlog.  I will be catching up on the entries as my debut blogging year comes to a close.  This week saw quite a few new places, with a trip to the Meat and Shake on Tooting High Street and a big night out on Saturday to celebrate Brynne's birthday.  Lot of variety this week, in both the type of places visited and the standard.

Special guests include: Maisie Hancock, Emma Roach, Katrina Lennon, Tom Hupfield, Jamie Collins, Tom Grimes, Josh Beebee, Basti Beebee, Rob Beebee, Sarah Beebee, Imogen Beebee, Frank McCord, Janet McCord and Brynne McCord

Summary of Meat and Shake

Name: Honest Burger

Type: Burger Restaurant

Location: 47 Upper Tooting Road, Tooting Bec, London, SW17 7TR

Website: http://meatandshake.com

Date Visited: 16/09/14

Price: Waste of money

Rating: 1.2/5

Review

  I had been wanting to visit this place for bloody ages, as it has been open for almost two years now and was given very favourable reviews on a lot of websites.  In fact, some would go as far as to say that this was the beginning of many new trendy places and restaurants opening in Tooting, to signal that the area was changing and was beginning to earn the tag of 'up and coming'.  

  Those reviews are wrong and as a resident of the Tooting area, I am keen to state to you all that if you come to Meat and Shake, please do not judge it as a representation of Tooting.  The place is a horror show and is incredibly overrated.  The reason for the visit was to catch up with Maisie who I had not seen since Week 3 (http://newplaceeveryweek.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/week-three-lounge-and-kaff-bar-new.html) and as she is an avid reader of the blog, she was desperate to visit a new place to feature once again.

  The Meat and Shake seemed like the wise decision as I hadn't been able to get in a few weeks before with Chloe.  The first surprising thing about this place is that they don't serve alcohol.  Now I shouldn't mark a place down on that fact, as I am able to go for a meal without a drink but I was desperate for a beer (you ruddy lad!).  What's annoying about this, is that it isn't really made clear at all and that when I asked for a beer the waitress looked at me as if I was absolutely nuts.   They did offer me alcohol free beer but whats the bloody point? (again you ruddy lad!)

Maisie and I at the only booze free restaurant I've come across in London

  Well after the drinks fiasco it was onto the burgers and I went for the Von Longhorn burger which had Aioli, tomato, monterey cheese, sautéed onions, turkey bacon, matchstick fries, onion ring and stanton sauce.   So many toppings, it must be good? Incorrect, the burger was very plain and utterly tasteless.  For a burger with so much crammed in you would expect quite an epic burger.  Not the case as I couldn't taste any of the supposed fillings.

 It is relatively cheap in its defence but I would still rather pay an extra couple of quid for something that is decent.  Bitterly disappointing place and can't think of anywhere else in London that doesn't serve alcohol.

Summary of Cattle Grid

Name: Cattle Grid

Type: Burger Restaurant

Location: 1 Balham Station Road, Balham, London, SW12 9SG

Website: http://www.cattlegridrestaurant.com/cattle-grid-restaurant-balham.html

Date Visited: 20/09/14

Price: Good value

Rating: 3.7/5

Review

  

  Saturday night had arrived and it was time to celebrate Brynne Mccord's birthday.  Before we joined up with her and Josh's family at The Box in Soho, it was time for the rest of us to have some food in Balham.   Cattle Grid was the destination booked by Katrina Lennon and it didn't get off to a great start.  Despite Katrina booking on the phone, it hadn't been transferred onto their computer booking system so when we arrived, the place was full.  This meant that we had to initially leave much to our disgust.

 Word must have slowly filtered back to them that The Blogger had been in the group that they had turned away, as we received a call from them sincerely apologising and offering us free sides to make up for the serious error with a table waiting for us.  All feelings of disharmony disappeared and the Catttle Grid had just shown some outstanding bouncebackability.  

The gang at Cattle Grid

  We sat at our table and ordered a round of drinks (here we go!).  I ordered a Becks of course but what I didn't expect was to get a very public dressing down from Tom Hupfield.  Much to my dismay, he went onto slate my go to beverage as an average beer (What!) and that I should be drinking Brooklyn Lager like a real man.  After attempting to hide my tears at the public attack on my beloved Becks, I reluctantly decided to order the recommended Brooklyn.  Well I'll give it to you Tom, it really is a truly stupendous lager and if I'm having a beer with dinner again, this will be my new choice.  Fair play.

  It was time to order mains and I initially had my eyes on one of the steaks or burgers (felt like mixing it up) until Tom again advised me that the ribs were absolutely fantastic the last time he had come here.  On the back of his advice on the lager, I decided to go with him and ordered the half rack of baby back ribs along with a lot of sides which included the Mac & Cheese, green beans, wilted spinach, chips and onion strings.  I do love a side.

  Mr Hupfield for the second time was spot on and the ribs were absolutely fantastic and extremely tasty.  With regards to the sides, they were also brilliant too (Always does taste better when its free) apart from the onion strings which I thought were distinctly average and actually just really annoying to eat.  It should be onion rings not strings.  Didn't work for me.

  Our waiter had good chat and his service was relatively decent, so all in all I thoroughly enjoyed my visit here.  It recovered well from the original cock-up and I could have no complaints.  Due to the free sides it was well priced too.  The bill was paid and it was off to celebrate Brynne's birthday.  

Summary of The Box

Name: The Box Soho

Type: Theatre of varieties 

Location: 11-12 Walker's Court, Soho, London, W1F 0ED

Website: http://theboxsoho.com

Date Visited: 20/09/14

Price: Ask Frank

Rating: 4.4/5

Review

After a quick Gin and Tonic in Dorchester Hotel (£20 a pop that cost!) we set off to The Box, as Josh had booked a table there which had kindly been paid for by Brynne's dad, Frank.

The main man Frank the Tank

  The place is pretty exclusive and hush hush, with the website revealing very little about what happens there.  Guestlist and tables are hard to come by and strictly no photography is allowed during the performances.  This was all the information we were told before going and I have to say it got everyone very excited and on arrival our group was buzzing with anticipation.

Collo and Grubby 'looking player'

  We were escorted to our table which was situated in the VIP area and perfectly located in relation to both stages, to ensure we had a good view of all the acts.  Cue the arrival of bottles of spirits, numerous mixers and the crowd favourite magnum of Champagne with a sparkler lit at the end, which just makes sure that everyone else in the place knows you're having a ruddy good time.  Just the way I like it and the sparkler show always adds to the excitement within the group and ensures everyone really is ready to partay and that we were (oh you bloody legends!)

Sparkler time

  The place describes it's shows as the 'theatre of the varieties,' which is although true but also almightily playing down the performances too.  The way I would describe them, would be a 'phenomenally athletic burlesque with shocking and unexpected twists.'  To give you a little insight into this, we first had one woman and a man spinning at about a thousand miles an hour, while suspended in the air doing numerous gymnastic moves showing off their flexibility.

  This was followed by a rather raunchy scene which involved a man spraying diet coke over two women, who's tops had been misplaced, before he then lubricated a traffic cone and then.....I can't write anymore, it's a family blog.  All I can say is that the older generation in our group, and myself in all honesty, were relatively shocked.  Brynne's Mum in particular had a look of true shock and devastation at the sight or lack of the traffic cone.

Could get prosecuted for this... action shot the show. Photography courtesy of Katrina Lennon

  It was a superb evening and it was thoroughly enjoyable as everyone was on good form, the shows were both impressive to horrifying and all drinks were paid for by Frank McCord.   Good lad and thanks for a great evening Frank and readers if you haven't been here before, then it is certainly worth a visit.

\

Brynne the birthday girl

Special Shoutout
Winner: Brynne McCord

This week's special shoutout goes to Brynne McCord as she celebrated her 21st birthday and was kind enough to invite me to the small guest list to attend the evening.  It was a fantastic evening and thoroughly enjoyable with a further thanks to both Frank and Josh.  Frank, who kindly paid for the evening and Josh for organising.  Top work all round.

Poem Advice

The best burger in Tooting
rumoured to be Meat and Shake
Absolute balderdash
All online reviews are wrong and fake.

Wanting a Steak and meat restaurant
in Balham with a couple of beers
Cattle Grids the place to go to
It did help with free sides, so cheers

Theatre of the varieties 
At The Box in Soho
But for people easily offended
I'm afraid the place is a no go.

  Cheers folks for reading and next week I will be running another competition to determine another free meal.  Peace out my friends.

Remember to do the three most important things:

Like

Share

Subscribe

See you next week fans

X

Follow me on Twitter @jackgravestock