em@home

This is just brilliant. I took this photo last year at the Tesco’s in Hackney central, which (since moving this summer) I gladly don’t have to see on my way home anymore. Every time I cycled passed this sign I couldn’t help have an inward rant about the sheer nonesense of its message. It clearly says, “We’re open 24 hours”, which I knew was a lie because I’d seen them closed of a Sunday evening. And sure enough, in the small print, it gives their opening hours - they close early Saturdays and Sundays. So OK, they don’t say “We’re open 24 - 7″ but that’s what they’re leading us to believe right?

Now it turns out that I’m not the only one to feel enraged at being lied to by a big supermarket. Luke Green has taken it upon himself to submit a Petition to Number 10.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Stop large supermarket stores claiming they are open 24 hours when they are not.

I’ve come across these E-Petitions before - I’ve even signed a few of them, but I hadn’t been aware of quite how trivial they could get. I can’t imagine it really helps more important petitions get taken seriously, especially when they only need to have 200 names on it before it gets forwarded to a government official - in this age of viral marketing 200 views is nothing. Still, if you feel as incensed over misleading sign’s like this one here, or just fancy taking another stab at big supermarkets, why not put you name on the list - its just a click away!

Incidentally, Number 10 has recently redesigned their website - it is now relaunched as a Beta. This is a term usually associated with the first release of a new web application (like a social networking site) to indicate that they might not have fixed all the bugs yet (so don’t all complain at once!), but in this case it looks to be a blatant use of a Web 2.0 gimmic to make them look oh,
soooo cool.

A friend of mine is going to be visiting Montreal on her honeymoon soon, so I thought it was a good excuse to get my recommendations for where to eat there out in the open. Though I moved back to the UK in 2003 so I’m afraid they might not all still be there, but from what I’ve seen online, they mostly seem to still be going. (Please add comments with any corrections or further recommendations you have!)

There are many wonderful things about Montreal, that would require several posts here, but what I tend to focus on most is the food. Eating out in Montreal is cheap, easy and absolutely delicious. I think it is quite impressive that I only went up one clothes size in the 3 years I lived there, because the food is irresistable!

On “the Main” or St. Laurent, just south of Duluth is Schwartz’s Smoked Meat Deli. I’m afraid my friend’s vegetarian husband is going to have to close his eyes and nose while she indulges in this most delightful sandwich. Mounds of steaming tender smoked beef quivering between two slices of sour dough bread. STUNNING.

Just next door, at Mondo Fritz, is something for meat eaters and veggies alike. If you like chips and gravy, you will just adore this Quebec speciality, Poutine. Poutine is chips served with gravy and melted cheese curds, which are like lumps of cheese. You get this dish at all fast food joints in francophone Canada but Mondo Fritz has a gourmet version which I’d say is unbeatable. You might want to go for the Gardinier version which has some green vegetables like peas or brocolli in it. Their gravy is vegetarian, but they also do Poutine au Steak and other meaty delights. Or you can just go for their chips straight up with a choice of about 6 different mayos. All this washed down with a nice big pitcher of beer! YUM!

Still in the same area, you must try some lovely Empanadas from La Chilenita, there are 2 branches: one on the corner of Napoleon and de Bullion, the other further up the Plateau at 4348 Rue Clark. There are lots of veggie options here, I remember one that had olives and artichokes amongst other ingredients - it was always a tough decision choosing! This is great to eat on the go, or you can sit down at one of a couple small tables to eat it - but watch out, then you will be in danger of go back to the counter and eating up their whole stock!

Next up is some proper Jewish Montreal bagels. We’re not talking any of this American doughy bread in the shape of a fat doughnut business. No. These are genuine boiled and baked bagels, and at my particular favourite St Viateur Bagel shop and you see them sliding down a big runner as they come out of the oven en masse. Pick up a tub of smoked fish paté to spread on them and buy lots, you’ll eat ‘em! [Cripes! They even have a website and do deliveries - I wonder how much it cost to send to London UK?!]

I’ve just been doing some research online and have an awful feeling that Mondo Fritz has closed down, which seems impossible given my rave review, but perhaps my review has come too late! Anyway, just incase, or as well, you might visit Patati Patata Friterie. It is a tiny eatery right on the corner of Rachel and St Laurent. They do a lovely little burger and great french fries - maybe they do poutine too?

Ok, so you’ve been well fed on the Plateau, so now you just want to roll yourself downtown to try out an exquisite Laham Bagine from Al-Taib, a Lebanese Bakery on rue Guy (corner de Maisonneuve). This place gets a lot of business selling pizza slices to the Concordia University students, on the downtown campus, but those really in the know will go for their own Lebanese Laham Bagine*. Its like a pizza, very thin dough with a thin spread of a spinach or ground meat topping, but the best bit is that they serve it rolled up and filled with salad. What I love about this salad in particular (though you can choose your own selection) is the pickled turnip option. This is a bright pink (they dye it with beetroot juice) chunk of pickled goodness, which you can also get served with falafel all over town.
[*In my part of London, we can get something similar known as Lahmacun which I believe is the Turkish name for the same thing.]

Speaking of falafel, they’re also worth trying if you’re on the move. Montreal has the best served falafel I’ve had worldwide: well, you know how difficult they can be to keep together in the pita bread right? Here they use a thin, round pita bread, and roll the whole thing up wrapped in parchement paper. Easy!

I’m afraid I’m going on a little too long here, and you will be running out of stomachs by the time you’ve sampled all my recommendations, but I have one more to give you, back in the Plateau. (I have to say that downtown Montreal just isn’t that great for food options, REALLY. Theres so many better choices on the Plateau, don’t even bother). Au 917 is a proper French restaurant on Rachel, near Parc La Fontaine. They serve 5 courses, and the salad comes after the main, to clean your palate before your dessert. The menu isn’t huge, but it has good traditional French options, and it isn’t so expensive, although this is somewhere to go of an evening for a special occasion. As I remember they have 2 sittings, like at 6pm and 9pm - don’t quote me on that one, call them and find out (514) 524-0094.

Schwartz’s Montreal Hebrew Delicatessan, 3895 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
Mondo Fritz, 3899 St-Laurent Blvd
Montreal Poutine - everything you need to know! (reviews are a bit out of date)
La Chilenita Bakery at both 4348 Rue Clark and 152 RUE NAPOLÉON
Hot Bagels and Polish Jokes blogpost on Hungry Mag
Article about eating out in Montreal by An Endless Banquet bloggers A.J. Kinik and Michelle Marek.

See all of my recommendations marked on Google maps, plus some others not mentioned here.

Best wishes to Lucy and her soon-to-be husband on their honeymoon!

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo. This is absolutely brilliant! I actually recommend you go watch it on Vimeo (click the player above) because Vimeo is a beautifully designed website which has High Definition (larger) video players on it.

Big up for my cousin Jem who just came out of the studio where she sang and recorded 16 songs in front of video cameras to promote her talents on You Tube.

“It’s bluesy-smokey pop with a vocal that draws on the sensual laments of Dusty Springfield”

While her music is not a style I usually choose to listen to, her amazing voice is worth checking out and she’s not bad to look at either !

You can hear more of Jem’s music on her Myspace page Jem Cooke.

Blanched jerusalem artichoke and celeriac with toasted sour dough bread and pomegranate seeds, in a tahini and lemon juice dressing. So GOOD! Antother one of Yotam Ottonlenghi’s fantastic recipes in his The New Vegetarian column for the Guardian, which you can read following this link below.
www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2007/dec/15/weekend7.weekend9

I’ve been cooking big field mushrooms like this for a long time now, since finding the recipe in Robert Carrier’s Great Dishes of the World cookbook. Its really easy: just saute the mushroom in a little olive oil with some chopped garlic and a sprinkling of marigold powder (veg stock). Then add a good glug of red wine and let that simmer down to a syrupy jus. To serve, add a squeeze of lemon juice, chopped chives and some freshly ground pepper.

Cripes I’m crap. This article was drafted yonks ago. For some reason I hesitated from publishing it… well Cibelle is still fantastic and still not got big enough a profile for my liking so here she is. Cibelle is one of the most underated artists out there, I know there are a lot of them, but this gig i went to, below, was f**king brilliant! And i just checked Cibelle’s website and she still doesn’t have the kind of size gigs I’d be hoping for her. Bardon’s Boudoir in April, tho’ there are plenty before that not in London. GO CHECK HER OUT!

Cibelle did a fantastic set at the Jungle Drums party last week. Its a shame so few people actually stopped talking to listen - they’d have discovered some real magic and we would’ve all been able to enjoy the music a lot better. But still, it was better than not seeing/hearing Cibelle live at all… her live set is really something special.

If you only know her albums you’ll be surprised at the experimental / electro / rock twist to her live sound, but it makes seeing her play so interesting and engaging. The live show is heavy on the electric guitar, which is coupled with the use of a sampler to effect, and set backing sounds with, her voice. The drums were an important player too, setting down some really great rhythms.

Cultural flotsam: Thoughts on Christmas

The time has finally come for me to write the obilgatory ‘about me’ page of my blog - I don’t know why it has taken me so long to do this… I guess for a long time I thought it would be obvious from my categories list what I’m interested in. I’m now a lot more web savvy and know that not having an about me page is a major faux pas, not to mention that it is the 2nd page I look for on every website I stumble upon.
So until I can be bothered to re-instate the default wordpress ‘about me’ area I’m posting it here.

All about me

I am a (count years from 1978 until today) years young female living in east London, UK. I’ve been blogging since 2003, though this website documents only my posts since 2005 (I was doing it by hand before then - don’t ask me why?). I was born and bred in London but before settling here as an adult I lived in Glasgow and Montreal for 3 years each. They are both absolutely fantastic cities that I wish I could live in both at the same time. Instead I’m in neither, so I miss many things, that perhaps I should post about separately.

Art

I am/was an artist (depending on my state of mind) who started designing websites for a living and now I do a lot more web work and spend a lot more time online than I do in the studio or at art galleries. Still, art is always of interest to me and I post about it whenever I see some art worth mentioning.

Music

I also like music - currently on a big electro-folk kick, but my Last.fm profile will give you a better picture, though it does lack the ability to feed in the music I listen to live or on CD only. That will be Leafcutter John, Martha Tilston and Mishka Adams - check these experimental-melancholic-electro, modern-folk and nu-jazz (respectively) stars out.

Food

I love to cook. Everyday. I agree with Nadine Abensur of Cranks, that there is something incredibly grounding about cooking, so that after a busy day at work it is the perfect segue into the evening, to spend some time preparing food. I’m also just into food porn of every kind, so from cookery books (with illustrations or not) to the local grocery store, I’m all over it. Actually, raw ingredients of any kind are gorgeous to me - jars of dried pulses and spices decorate my kitchen shelves and cupboards as a constant comfort and aesthetic pleasure.

…the rest, is all around you. Browse happy.

I just have to sing the praises of this fantastic north London family bakers, Grodzinski. For a year I lived a short walk from this wonderful bakery’s Stamford Hill branch and I’m not sure I appreciated just how good it was, but now I’m a little further away in Lower Clapton I’ve started to make a point of cycling up there once a week.

My usual shop includes sesame seed bagels, a handful of doughnut balls and a big loaf of granary bread. I only just noticed that it has Hot Bread Shop written on the sign - I’m not quite sure if that is some confused translation of baking or what it means exactly, but it does add to the charm!

Fresh or toasted bagels are probably the best lunch ever, in my mind, and there are just so many different things to do with them. One of the more elaborate ways I like to eat them is toasted, spread with hummus, thin slices of feta cheese, lots of crispy fried onions and a good sprinkling of parsley. You might also throw a slice of tomato into the mix but this idea was quashed when we made them at home this week.
Find your nearest J Grodzinski and Daughters store!

I recently acquired a copy of a great cookbook called Chinese Regional Cooking by Deh-Ta Hsiung from 1979. I have been learning all sorts of interesting recipes and the methods and ingredients common in Chinese cooking. Coincidentally a new Chinese supermarket has opened up at the end of my road so I’m pretty sorted for ingredients. This dish is always a weakness of mine when ordering Chinese takeaway but I always find myself disappointed by the tiny amount of pork they put in there surrounded by tonnes of batter and in a too sweet/simply flavoured sauce. Turns out the sauce is quite simple to make and in terms of ingredients, but it tastes a whole lot better made at home and with proper sized portions of pork. I’ll post the recipe here later.