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St. John - Smithfield review.

Back in 2019, I went to London for the first time, and I visited St. John with my dear friend Effy. I was broke as hell at the time and knew much less about food, and while we will still enjoyed the experience (the poached pear pavlova I still think about) I wanted to try again with more class and cash. Luckily Sam is up for eating gross shit, so we went again for lunch, nearly missing our flight back to Brussels to do so.

The concept of the restaurant group is to utilize all parts of the animal when cooking, so pretty foreign in my typical restaurant rotation (Tacos El Gordo aside).

We started with liver, kohlrabi and the famous bone marrow, of which I didn't grab a pic. The liver was served cold and sliced in a potato-salad-esque preparation with a heavy emphasis on horseradish and herbs, I think dill and parsley but not sure. The liver freaked me out based on our waiter's description, as she said it was quite "iron-y" but it was actually a really nice foil to the rich mayo dressing and sharp horseradish flavor. Texturally, it wasn't my favorite, it was almost the texture of a thick cold cut from a deli, but with the soft yellow potatoes it blended into each bite. Paired with the cold kohlrabi salad with a bright and herby dressing it was like the fanciest potato salad I'd ever had.

The bone marrow is served as three big cuts of beef bone with little picks for digging it out, a slice of sourdough bread toasted (burned, yum) and a parsley and shallot salad, just as I'd had in 2019. It also comes with a slick of smoked chunky salt that combines with the residual fat from the marrow on the plate. Piled up with the cold salad's we ordered, the salty and rich spread of the marrow on the crunchy bread was a cold, crunchy, salty, beefy flavor that I'd like to eat on a beach someday. Unintentionally, I think the kohlrabi was the win of the day, as the rich fatty flavors we had in everything else probably would have made a lesser man gag - the only other flavor I think could have added to the meal would be some crisp green apple or something similarly acidic and sweet.

Our entrees were the ham cut, served with a mustard sauce and some horseradish-y broccolini ? and the roasted squash, with white beans, some greens and a big scoop of a soft, milky goat cheese. The waiter who dropped our plates commended us on our pairing and we pretended we knew what we were doing. The point of St. John is the meat but honestly this meal kind of showed me their veg is slept on. I don't know what kind of squash they used, but the skin was soft and easy to chew, the flavor was sweet and paired with a rich creamy pan sauce and the milky cheese, wheew. The ham was braised I think, the outer layers of fat and skin rendered to soft edible consistency, and the inside salty but light in texture. The combination of the sweetness of the squash, creamy goat cheese, salty ham, and mustard/horseradish was superb. Sam watched me finish my last bites and laughed at me because I wouldn't stop nodding.

We finished the meal with a half dozen Madeleines and the spotted dick, because we were in London. The spotted dick is a suet pudding with raisin and I guess boiled? In sugar? I don't know. it was fudgey and dense and mild, served with fresh cream. I went to the bathroom right before it came out and the table next to us allegedly asked Sam what it was and he almost offered a bite, I'm glad he didn't so I could have my share...

The Madeleines are perfect, but they're famous for them, so I wasn't surprised. I really wish I could go back and try more of the desserts but I'll have to wait til next time.

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Brussels, in pictures. I know that because I am American, anything with even the facade of old age impresses me, but I have really enjoyed the architecture and sense of style in the main part of the city. I also have enjoyed it in the small suburb we are staying in but the pics are not as impressive. Things that have stuck out: the cheese, the bread, and the vegetarian pho, surprisingly, from Yummy Bowl.

I had some Belgian cheese, I'd like to learn more about cheese so I thought eating some would help. I couldn't understand a thing the cheese man said to me however so I didn't really learn a lot, and honestly he didn't seem to care to elaborate - what I did learn was the most disgusting, wet, smelly, blue mold covered cheese was my favorite. The cheese here is 1) incredibly creamy 2) incredibly cheap in comparison to the usa. The stench is overridden by the thickness and sweetness of the cream it once was... I reflected on how much american cheese tastes like plastic.

I also really enjoyed the Manneken Pis Cafe. Sam and I went to a touristy Belgian spot in the city center with meh food, and then pivoted here for some tapas. Beef carpaccio, baked goat cheese, pesto ravioli and a fish vol-au-vent. The carpaccio stole the show, it was different than many I've had, with 1cm thick slices of cold beef that left a really yummy raw meat juice on the plate to be absorbed by the pile of potato chips and the mayo dip that came with. Something about it reminded me of beef on weck, not sure if there was some fennel or something in the dip. The vol-au-vent has made me reconsider my relationship with little grubby mini shrimp. The restaurant portion is an intimate and warm upper level of a trendy pub, with an accompanying pissing child outside. Why the fuck is that the symbol of Belgium, I don't care, but I can't wait to try it again, the food was flavorful and the chef prepares everything right in the dining area of the restaurant.

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London this past weekend, in snacks. We had a wonderful time and saw one of my dear friends. We ate a lot of meat and potatoes, as God intended. Fortitude Baskehouse, we tried the sausage roll (pictured), the apple and toffee beignet (not pictured because Sam took a photo of it with my face looking like a conehead) and the blueberry morning bun (also not pictured because we ate it too fast.) It had a soft brioche-ish bun stuffed with blueberry compote and a light custard, the outside coated with a fine but not powdered sugar. The line was busy but moved quickly, we went twice in one weekend and will most def be back. I would buy ten sausage rolls if I thought I wouldn't have to share.

Squashies, self explanatory, gifts for the girls. A new strawberry flavor! Or at least, new to me. I bought all of the ones on the shelf at the Tesco we visited.

Borough Market visit, we had lots of delicious snacks but the star of the show was The Black Pig's The Best One sandwich. Ciabatta roll, a variety of spicy and fatty sauces, grated Parmesan cheese, thinly sliced green apple and cabbage slaw, and the most delish pulled pork I've ever had. We didn't say a word to each other while eating. It was dangerous to eat while standing as we were dripping all over our shoes, but it was worth it. Half a sandwich was fine for me and the gin hot toddy I had helped it go down quick.

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Brussels Airbnb food. I like how there are lots of small individually portioned things here, like milk or wine or butter. I don't like how all food in Belgium seems to be fried or cooked in cream (or, I do like it, but my body does not.) The produce at the Aldi down the street is very cheap, I'm not sure if that's just because I live in the most expensive place in the world (?) so everywhere else seems cheap by comparison. It's really annoying here that not all shops accept credit cards though. Luckily, my google overlords have assisted me in getting cash back at the grocery store, so I am able to eat today. Paprika Lays review - good. Tastes like lays chips. I should have got the black pepper ones. Last night we made a big greek salad with roasted veg and chicken, because we were tired of eating delicious and rich food cooked in cream and butter, tonight the leftovers have become a veggie stew. The bread here is really superb and I am jealous as hell that you can just pop down the street and grab something like this for a few bucks.

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First post

this is the first post of my new blog. I am going to try and update this with an archive of my online presence from instagram. If I were to archive my twitter content here, everyone would realize how funny I am and try to talk to me, so I won't be doing that.

I am currently sitting in an airbnb in Brussels, it is January 2025 and despite my windy morning drinking espresso and attempting to buy bread in French, I am scared. I do not like the billionaires. I do not like the UI of their platforms or the color of their politics. I do not feel comfortable with the overinflation of the concept of artificial intelligence. I do not like hearing, "I know I know, but they're really nice cars, the self driving is awesome." I feel sad hearing the words Efficiency Democratization of Content New Era of Creative Production chanted at trade show after trade show as I watch my friends get laid off, fired, or made redundant. That is, if there was even a show to hire them in the first place. I do not like being body checked onto the subway car of progress by thousands of others trying to shove in behind me, quasi-anime girls with perfectly shaded porcelain skin and a cyan rim light, all twelve fingers beckoning me inside, the crowd whispering "It's only a tool meant to make your life easier," in my ears as the fire burns the palm trees outside and people's bodies lay under my feet. I'm tired. And after all this time, I still just don't really get the incentive anymore. Surely the pie can't be this big? There can't nearly be enough slices for everyone. What are we working towards, if not our own redundancy. When will the client be the creator? Next year? Thank god there isn't a commercially available ai replicating little fingers unscrewing mini BNC connectors yet, or I'd really be fucked.

I'm a very cynical person, and I want to be able to post what I think. I want to be able to discuss politics with people without feeling like I'm on the verge of losing my personal and professional connections. But I'm a doomer so perhaps this is my curse. Even if it doesn't happen, I'll probably move forward like it will. I could just keep it to myself, but for some reason that feels like losing. I'm sure my opinions will change. I regularly consult Chat GPT for jokes and facts to make myself sound smarter, then stay awake at night thinking about the energy costs of me trying to get a good punchline. My life is almost entirely funded by the very organizations I fear the power and influence of. I'm no better than the people I shake my head at. But at least I'm honest! And that has to count for something. ?

This will be my only doomer post and it might just get deleted later. The real purpose of this blog is to post human generated art (mine) and the wonderful culinary adventures I partake in. If you're my friend, I miss you and I hope we can talk soon. There's a button on my blog where you can send me messages, and I also unbelievably still have a cell phone. I'm thinking of going Android though, so get me while you can, before I'm an untouchable social pariah (green text).