Beefsteak Bacchanalia at the Fat Bear

So here's a question: When an email pops up in your inbox offering infinite steaks at a beefsteak bacchanalia, what is the correct response?  Well, obviously, book yourself a spot at The Fat Bear's beefsteak bacchanalia event - which generates you the amusingly entitled ticket typer "Mountains of Beef".  Sounds like my sort of thing.

The Fat Bear is situated in the upstairs rooms of The Rising Sun pub, an ale house in the quite backstreets just a couple of minutes stroll from the hustle and bustle of St Paul's Cathedral.  We've been in before, actually - way back, before it was the Fat Bear, GrubsterGirl and I visited when the upstairs rooms were B.O.B.'s Lobster's pop-up.  Pretty much since then, however, the Fat Bear has been in residence, moving from a pop-up to more of an established restaurant in its own right.

First up, there's a fully stocked bar - with, in the far left of the picture, the largest section cocktail bitters I have ever seen.  There's clearly a great deal of passion, commitment and professionalism behind the mixology here.  From the house creations to the classics, the drinks at the Fat bear are excellent.

GrubsterGirl started with the self-styled "Really Bloody Good Martini@ - served wet, which effectively means a larger measure of vermouth than usual.  This was delicious, a complete revelation - the use of Cocchi Americano (a more authentic substitute for Kina Lillet in a Vesper, if you're interested) was fantastic and really changed the drink.  Thinking back, actually, to Dry Martini in Barcelona, their historic martini recipe used half-and-half gin and vermouth.  Whilst I would't go that far (and they haven't here) I can certainly see why a larger measure of vermouth can, in the right context, work pretty bloody well.

I had a Problem Solved, a combination of rye whiskey and cherry Heering.  I do love a good whiskey cocktail, and this was no exception.  Complex and family sophisticated - my only note is that it might have been better at the end of the meal, being a bit sweeter.  But excellent generally.

Round 2 (when did we ever limit ourselves to one) for GrubsterGirl was the 1934 Cosmopolitan.  Using a more traditional array of ingredients, this was seriously good.  A great twist on a classic.

It is also quite possibly the prettiest drink I've ever seen.

I'm going through a bit of a Negroni phase at the moment, so thought I'd see if they could knock one up for me - which was done to great aplomb.  The barman's personal house blend of red vermouth - a combination of Martini Rossi and Carpano Antica - it makes a brilliant drink.  I was also advised to have it straight up, rather than over ice, on the basis that it would avoid dilution and that further flavours would come out over time.

Then onto the food.  The event was held around large, communal tables, which is always fun.

On the tables were pots of quick, mixed pickles - all of which I expect had been made the same day, so were beautifully fresh and crisp, and mixed in a sweet vinegar brine.  Perfect as a palate cleanser.

Also available was a bone marrow whipped butter.  No two ways about it, this was incredible.

Then the meat started coming out.  And it didn't stop.

Smoked brisket with a devilled gravy on toast.  Deeply, deeply smokey - but avoiding the over-sweatness that most brisket is dredged in.

Pulled brisket in BBQ sauce.  Perfectly done, the meat was still moist and had been cooked to perfect tenderness.  The sauce was good as well - classically BBQ, but not too sticky or cloying.

The star of the show, in our view: Korean-marinated onglet with a Korean inspired dipping sauce.  This was a proper steak.  Cooked rare - very rare in some cases - which was smashing, and it was wonderfully tender and tasty.  The marinade also shone through and perfectly set-off the beef.

Hot link sausages.  Perhaps slightly more chorizo-esque than I would have expected, they were nevertheless great.

And then...

...round two.  Seriously, that lot wasn't enough between two?  Fine, here's the next batch.  We were pretty much driven to a standstill by now, but bravely had a good stab at our next round.  I have no idea if it would have kept coming, but I expect it would have.  You need to be pretty hungry...!

After a lot of food, though, there really is only one cure: more cocktails.  I had a classic old fashioned, made with Buffalo Trace, that was expertly put together.

Whereas GrubsterGirl had another house cocktail, the Pendennis.  This was a gin, lime and apricot liqueur concoction that was good - if perhaps not as good as the very excellent 1934 Cosmo GG had enjoyed earlier.

And with the bill?  Well, just to finish off: a quick round of classic pricklebacks - a shot of bourbon chased immediately by a shot of sweet pickling liquor.  Perfect ending to such a heavy meal.

The City of London Distillery

Tucked away down a little alley off Fleet Street is the City of London's first gin distillery since to be opened since the last one shut up shop in 1825.

Now, the last time I went to The City of London Distillery, or "C.O.L.D." as they like to brand it, was some time ago and before it changed hands.  Back then it basically ran a fantastic concept of re-imagining the venerable gin and tonic: Umpteen different gins, as many matching tonics (yes, actually – multiple different iterations of a drink I had previously believed to come only in one, Schweppes-esque form) and varying garnishes – each G&T served either English style (highball) or Spanish style (big, balloon-like wine glass).  It worked really well – and gave you the opportunity to try a drink we all know like the back of our hand in a new format.

Since then the bar has been acquired, taken over and revamped.  I was expecting big changes.

Fortunately, there were few to be seen – the bar space is exactly the same as it was before, dark and cozy, low ceilinged but spacious, full of comfortable sofas and leather wingbacks, as well as a few more conventional tables.

The bar still stocks its mind blowing array of gins.

And in the corner are the two wonderful stills, there waiting to brew up the next batch of The City of London Distillery's award winning gin.

But the bar list, sadly, has changed.  Gone are the G&T creations, and in have come the cocktails.  Now, I love a good cocktail, but I loved the concept of the old joint even more – it was unique, special.  It seemed entirely right that the only gin distillery in the City should be encouraging its patrons to drink gins with tonic in a new and exciting way.  My worry was that the new management had simply swapped out the imagination of the old menu with a lazy cocktail menu serving solely their own brew.

I need not have worried.  Sure, it's a cocktail menu.  And sure, every single drink is punctuated by The City of London Distillery's own gins.  But none of that is a problem if you absolutely nail it.  Which I'm glad to say they have.

My friend, Ravi, kicked off proceedings with a COLD Distiller's Martini.  A very sound choice, I think there are few better ways of taste-testing a gin than drinking it as a martini, so uncompromising is it as a drink, with nowhere for the gin to hide.

The City of London Distillery's version contained a dash of bitters (I approve, for the avoidance of doubt) and was very dry (again, good) whilst still being light – as Ravi put it: "you feel like you could drink a lot more of them" (again, definitely, good – albeit risky).  A solid start from COLD.

Given Ravi's purist start, I had to explore a similar vein - a Martinez.  If you've not heard of the Martinez I wouldn’t let that bother you, it's not that well renown despite the resurgence of classic cocktails.  It's said to be the predecessor to the martini, although it's a lot more complex, first appearing in popular vernacular sometime between 1860 and 1880 and said to be the 'missing link' between sweet cocktails (e.g. the old fashioned, the Manhattan) and dry cocktails (e.g. the martini). It absolutely demands the sweeter notes of Old Tom gin – or even traditional genever (the Dutch predecessor of the gin we know and love) if you can get it - and is to be mixed with the red martini, not the drier white.

COLD's version combines two red vermouths – Cocchi's Vermoutb di Torino (red berries, menthol, herbs and spices) and Punt e Mes (bitter, quinine), as well as maraschino liqueur and bitters.  The effect was a slightly medicinal taste, albeit refreshing - although I can see why, at least as a pre-prandial – the martini outlived the Martinez.

Round two: Ravi went for the Sunflower – a cocktail I believe created by Sam Ross, mixologist at New York's Milk & Honey, Little Branch.

It's a curious mix – London dry gin (although ross originally uses Plymouth, I expect there's not too much to choose between them), lemon, St Germain (elderflower liqueur), Cointreau, absinthe.  Not a list of ingredients I would usually jump at, it was nevertheless marvellous.  A real zinger, both sharp and sweet, it was almost sherbet like, as if it were effervescent without actually having a single bubble in it.

My final drink was the COLD Fashioned.  Those who know me know I will always, whenever I can get my hands on one, order up an old fashioned.  I just love the things.  So I couldn’t really pass this up, being a mix of London dry gin, whiskey syrup (good innovation there, I like it), Angostura and house bitters and cucumber.

This was amazing.  I loved it.  It was hardly like an old fashioned at all (except the whiskey syrup did peek through) but was nevertheless fantastic.  It was strong but palatable, with the cucumber roaring through and complimenting the gin perfectly.  My only slight criticism is that it veered towards being too sweet – a slice of lemon might have balanced it more perfectly.  Otherwise, top marks.

 - GrubsterBoy -

Smoked Bacon Infused Bourbon

A little while ago I stumbled across this recipe for smokey bacon infused bourbon.  This is a medly of two of life's greatest things: bourbon and bacon.  As a friend of mine, a professional wine merchant no loss, so someone who knows his drinks (and his palate), put it: "Bacon good, bourbon good, bacon-bourbon? What's not to like surely?" 

Being an Old Fashioned fan (and a serious one) I had this beautiful vision of making a bacon old fashioned with maple syrup, burnt orange peel and chipotle infused ice.  It was going to be EPIC.  I was going to win a prize.

So I was slightly deflated when I came across this at the weekend:

It's a Porky's Revenge, produced by those wonderful folks at The Dime Bar & Diner.  It's basically exactly as I've described above, with the exception that it doesn't include the chipotle ice (that's my shout).  Damn. 

Still, I had to try it – if for no other reason that research.

Presentation: 10 out of 10.  Cut glass (effect) tumbler, great garnish (that's a slice of apple and a slice of smoked cheese.  No, seriously, that's smoked cheese.  What kind of genius garnishes a smoked bacon Old Fashioned with smoked cheese?).  Looks pretty.

Taste: This was, genuinely, one of life's bitterest disappointments.  Because it tasted absolutely fucking disgusting.  I couldn’t even finish it, seriously.  So, no.  Just no.  Sorry, Dime Bar, you're great in many other ways, but how can you possibly drink this?

- GrubsterBoy -

Postsrcipt, 12 August 2013: I found myself having Sunday lunch at The Avalon recently, and ordering the obligatory Sunday Lunch Bloody Mary, upon which I was asked to request spirits, the choice being: ordinary vodka, bacon infused vodka or bacon infused bourbon.  Still smarting from my Dime Bar experience I was cautious.  However, feigning ignorance and interest, I requested a sample of the bacon infused bourbon to test.  I can now safely say that it is still absolutely fucking disgusting.  I was also given a shot glass sample of the bacon infused bourbon with Bloody Mary mix.  This does not improve bacon infused bourbon.  Not one bit.

Oblix at The Shard

GrubsterGirl took me to The Shard. 

I still can’t get over this, it was a complete surprise – even if it was a wee while ago when we went.  Lunch in the bar at Oblix, overlooking the city from the 32nd floor of the tallest building in the EU.  The views were, frankly, epic.

Oblix itself has a weird vibe.  Extremely weird.  The entrance is what you might expect from a City nightclub / restaurant: lighting so low you trip over (this became a real hazard in the loo – no, really), ever-so-petite girls on the door in ever-so-even-more-petite black dresses that they must have been sewn into, loud intrusive music, etc…  Then you get inside, and it all changes.  Bright, airy, tall ceilings, big views and waitresses dressed in floral print shirts.  It's like falling out of Mahiki into Enid Blyton.  I would imagine.

First up was the starter buffet: a massive counter of meats, cheeses, salads, grilled things and pickled stuff.  All very good and all fresh.  It was all you can eat starters, and I have to admit that I was half tempted just to keep going back and forgo the main.

But mains were had.  We could have had minute steaks and fries – I mention this only so that no one thinks that the fixed rate menu was just the cheap stuff – but we opted for backed aubergines, as we knew we were heading on to a very big supper.  Again, all went well – presentation (which is not everything, granted, but is too often overlooked) was spot on.  I mean, look at it. 

Pudding was another epic buffet.  However, after a mountain of antipasti and basically an entire aubergine stuffed with all manner of goodness, I had to pass. Sadly.

Oh, and what is this, I hear you cry?  I'll tell you what it is: it's a blood orange Old Fashioned, basically.  It also happens to be one of the best drinks I have ever tasted, and I have tasted a lot of drinks – specifically, I have tasted a lot of Old Fashioneds, and I mean a lot.  Nevermind that it looks really flipping cool (which it does).  Nevermind that it’s got that whacking great big ice block in it, which is pretty trendy.  The ice itself was sawn from a gigantic block by a chap with an enormous tree saw.  No, really.  What's more, it tastes fantastic.  And that's really all you need.
We went when Oblix had just opened – and I mean that, I think it was their third day's service – but to be honest there wasn't anything that felt like they were just finding their way.  Price-wise, I thought it was very reasonable: prix fixe for £30 – only a bit more than going up the top, and you get your food thrown in.  Of course, irresponsible cocktails aren't cheap, but what can one expect?

 - GrubsterBoy -