Meal for 1: $9.50 with a small soda

So in the interest of full disclosure I must start this post by admitting that I have a serious love of all things cornmeal.  Polenta, grits, masa – all of it.  I am powerless when there are arepa, papusa or especially tamales on a menu.   So it was no surprise to me that when I walked by Uncle Moe’s while out for a stroll enjoying one of the first lovely sunny spring days, that I had no choice but to go in for a snack.

Uncle Moe’s is the perfect place to go to on your own for a quick meal or takeout.  The Brooklyn location completely lacks atmosphere of any kind so do not be disappointed when you find it missing.  The Manhattan location has slightly more atmosphere – but not much.

The nice man behind the counter will build an excellent burrito or taco for you but no matter how often I tell myself that I am going to order either when I open my mouth the word tamale inexplicably leaps out.

Beef and Vegetable Tamales

Today they had beef and vegetable so I of course ordered one of each.  I smothered them in some of the salsa’s and sauces and took them to one of the tables out on the street to tuck in.  The fillings were nicely spiced and the masa itself was moist and of perfect consistency.

As I people watched I noticed that the folks strolling by were looking enviously at my lovely little meal.  I had to resist the urge to tell them that – yes – they really should stop and try one.  I will be back.

Uncle Moe’s
341 7th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215

Meal for 1:  £15.00 for a ludicrous amount of food and wine

Curry Club was born out of a desire by some friends from my office in London to beat me with chili – to find food that was too hot even for me to enjoy.   Really it is just a good excuse to go out for excellent food.

Our most recent outing was to Saravnna Bhavan a South Indian restaurant in Harrow, London.  9 of us made the trek down on a Wednesday night right after work to find the place packed to the rafters.  Even though we had reserved we had to wait a few minutes for our table.  While waiting a steady stream of diners arrived  to swell the place seemingly to capacity.

I started with a dish recommended to me by Rathna who’s favorite thing are idly – little lentil flour doughnuts (not the fried kind) swimming in a buttery light lentil sambar.  They were so good I seriously considered refusing to share a single one of the 14 with any of my friends.

Mini Idly Ghee Sambar

Next up was a chili, tomato and onion uthappam a fluffly crepe served with a nice trio of sambals and sambar.  Yum Yum YUM!  One of my friends ordered the chili paneer which was definitely one of the winners of the evening.

Uthappam

And because the stated aim of curry club is to kill me with the chili I had to order the Deviled Potatoes.  Rather than just being a flash of heat this dish had a complex and lovely smokey heat that I really enjoyed.   I was stuffed to the gills at this point but it was so good I just had to keep eating.  In the front of the restaurant is a case of different sweets which I can also recommend – if you can possibly eat any more after your meal.

Deviled Potatoes

We all overate to the point of needing to lie down on the tube on the way home just to be able to breathe.

This is by far the best Indian meal I have had in London to date.  It is really far out of the way (at least 45 mins by tube to anywhere in central London) and it is probably a place I would bring at least one friend along rather than going by myself.   This is a fun place for a group.  I will definitely be going back.

Saravanna Bhavan
403 Alexandra Avenue
Rayners Lane, Harrow HA2 9SG

Meal for 1: £20.00 (no drinks)

I’ve walked passed Inaho several times on my way to and from Westbourne Grove and at first I didn’t realize it was a restaurant.  This tiny little place is tucked away on a side road with a postage stamp sign out front which makes it a little hard to find.

Indoors the tiny theme continues with 8 tables all scrunched together.  The tables are so tight that when a couple was seated at a table next to me the guy smacked me in the head with his coat as he took it off.

The waitress was very friendly and did not seem at all put-off by my occupying 1/8 of the restaurant all by myself.  The lights are turned down low which makes reading a bit difficult but the smallness also makes it possible to eavesdrop on your fellow diners while pretending to read.

The menu is small – not an overwhelming choice of options.  Even so I was not in the mood for making decisions so I ordered the chirashi – a mix of sashimi over a bed of sushi rice.

Chirashi

The chirashi was served in a lovely double decker lacquer box and though the amount of fish was small it was amazingly fresh and delicious.  The sushi rice was near perfect – not too sticky or sweet.  I suspect the menu is small as they focus on quality rather than quantity.  Definitely a keeper.

Book I was reading: The Yiddish Policeman’s Union

Inaho
4 Hereford Rd
London, W2 4AA

Meal for 1: £20.00 for lunch

Went to the British Museum on Saturday with Martin and Tim B and in between the Shah Abbas and Babylon exhibits we decided to slip outside for lunch rather than settle for blah museum cafe food.  There are a handful of Korean BBQ places near the museum and since neither of my mates had ever had Korean that is what we aimed for.

Bi Won is a nice, small and cozy space – quite a bit different from the enormous, multistory Korean BBQs I am used to in New York.

Since it was lunch and we had a vegetarian on board we decided to skip the gluttonous grill your own meat experience.  We started off with a selection of namool – cold pickled vegetables.  Really nicely done with just a hint of heat on the daikon, some pickled sprouts and light spinach.  The portions could have been a little more generous.  For my main I ordered a kimchi, tofu and pork stew which turned out to be more of a soup.  It was tasty but eensy weensy.

Tiny Kimchi Stew - shown actual size

The Korean food neophytes enjoyed their meal – the veggie having vegetarian Bi Bim Bop and the non-veggie a chicken stew both of which were tasty and more adequately sized for an adult human.

I would love to go back here with some carnivores to try their BBQ.  I would however make sure to order more next time to avoid starvation.

Bi Won
24 Coptic St
London, WC1A 1NT

Mandalay

Meal for 1: £12.00 for a starter and main with soda

After being turned away the previous evening because they were fully booked up (reservations are definitely required on a weekend evening) I was intrigued. It is not often that a tiny, brightly lit joint with fewer than 10 tables, plastic table cloths and no decor to speak of is booked solid. How amazing must the food be at this far out of the way cheap and cheerful to warrant a reservation?

The following day (Saturday) I decided to make another attempt – lunch this time – and found the restaurant busy but not overcrowded and was able to snag a table.

The first thing I notice is that the food at the table next to mine smells fantastic. I ordered the calabash fritters and chicken coconut noodles based on the waiters recommendation.

The calabash (bottle gourd) fritters were nice and light – more of a foil for the trio of sauces they were served with. Great for a vegetarian but I think next time I will try one of the other fritters.

Calabash Fritters

The chicken coconut noodles were seriously yummy. A nice comforting mild yellow curry with moist bits of chicken and nice fresh noodles. The curry had quite a different flavor than Thai or Malaysian yellow curries I have had. Comforting and definitely a dish I would order again.

Chicken Coconut Fritters

Book I was reading: What Einstein Told His Cook – Kitchen Science Explained

Mandalay
444 Edgware Road
London, W2 1EG