Breakfast At Leon
I left home to do some photography without having any breakfast, so in the end I went to Leon in the depths of Canary Wharf to have one of their poached egg pots and a cup of tea.
A Proper Mug Of Tea
How often have you had tea in a fast food restaurant in a proper china mug, that was virtually full-up? Especially, when the two items cost just £3.75 together. I took a picture of the poached egg pot in this post.
To The Other Side Of Hackney For Lunch
My youngest son used to live near Victoria Park and to get there I used to drive down Lauriston Road. I also used to go there to get postcards for various clients and businesses from a company called Just Postcards. The company did move to Norfolk I think, but they are no longer on the web. A pity, because they did a good job.
So today, I went to the area to check out a pub called the Empress of India. I was not disappointed with my lunch.
Lunch At The Empress Of India
As you can see I had some beef with cauliflower, capers and kale. It was gluten-free of course. I washed it down with a glass of Hogan’s cider.
I chose it because I’m very much a sucker for capers, but then if you’ve been to the Aeolian Islands, you always are.
History doesn’t record much of Queen Victoria’s taste in food, but would she be amused that a good pub/restaurant is named after her.
It is one of these places that is very convenient for me, as I just get a 277 bus all of the way.
The Arches Underneath
I had gone to London Fields station to find the E5 Bakehouse, that delivers bread to the pub next door. I hadn’t expected this line of railway arches, that had been creatively turned into small business units.
The E5 Bakehouse has a rather good cafe and I had an excellent cup of tea before moving on. There was no gluten-free bread or cakes, but there was at the Happy Kitchen.
I bought a cake for later and it was certainly worth the couple of pounds I paid for it. They said it was a bit stale and that they would have some new ones tomorrow, which they were baking for their stall in Broadway Market.
My one problem with the cake, was that if this was a stale one, just how good is a freshly-baked one? I shall go and get another in a few days.
As I look back on my visit to this immaculate row of railway arches, I can imagine C, my late wife, swooning over that bread in the bakehouse and I was almost feeling resentful at being a coeliac. But then I did have that glorious cake!
Good luck to all, who try to run a business in these difficult times! And especially those, in a small niche market like gluten and everything else free cakes. Except of course quality!
It’s Burgers Tonight!
After the horseburger scare, I thought I’d have burgers tonight.
It’s Burgers Tonight!
Those in Waitrose, had another pollutant in them; gluten. So as you can see, I got these next door in Marks and Spencer. Note the gluten-free label on the front of the packet where it should be.
Incidentally, I met a couple of ladies, who were buying burgers for their families’ suppers. Perhaps the publicity had jogged their minds, that they hadn’t had them recently? But then we weren’t buying low-cost and/or low quality burgers.
The Food Market At One New Change
One New Change is a shopping centre in the City of London. I walked past it yesterday and stumbled on their monthly food market.
The Food Market At One New Change
This stall was selling, what looked to be a delicious paella, which was gluten-free of course. There are more details here on the centre’s web site. The next one is at 11 to 3 on the sixth of February.
Waitrose’s Fish Pies
I find them very confusing and I’ve written to the company.
I am a coeliac and some of your pies have gluten and some don’t. I of course must have the gluten-free ones.
This means that when I want a fish pie, I have to turn it upside down to check. The only ones I can eat are the Fish Pie for One in, I think, the Essentials range.
Perhaps a gluten-free symbol on the front would be the best solution.
In fact your ready meals puzzle me, as some that when I cook a similar dish from scratch don’t have gluten. But yours do!
I have been looked at rather strangely by some of your staff, as I go through all the meals looking for the gluten-free ones.
I shall be interested to see what they say.
I Bet They See A Coeliac Is Treated Correctly
I haven’t been to Bologna for many years, but I enjoyed the food there. However, this lady, who is a vegetarian, finds the city difficult as she reports.
I suspect though, as it’s Italy, coeliacs get treated correctly.
Breakfast At Kings Cross Station
This morning, I went to Leon’s in Kings Cross Station for breakfast.
As the pictures show, I just had an orange juice and a small pot with a poached egg in the bottom and beans and chorizo on the top.
Some belabour the passing of the gluten and fat rich British Rail breakfast. I don’t!
The two items cost under a fiver and the meal was delicious. On as cold a day as today is, the restaurant was also nicely warm.
Supporting Your Team Away
This morning on BBC Radio 5, they are talking about the high cost of watching your team in away matches. Admittedly, they were talking mainly about supporting Premiership teams, but there are various issues. The Football Supporters Federation is probably going to start a campaign about it all.
I didn’t go yesterday to see Ipswich play at Cardiff, as the weather just seemed it might be a bit too much. The cost didn’t deter me, although it would have been about £80 return to the Welsh capital. That is First Class with a Senior Railcard.
If I look at other matches I’ve been to I could make a list. Note that I live in London, so although I’m supporting Ipswich, any prices are from the London station, which of course is free for me to get to.
Barnsley – This is one of my favourite trips, as the ticket is always good value and for some reason you can often get good value on the trains. This year I paid £40.95. The stadium is a short uphill walk from the station and everyone was their usual friendly selves, although the seats aren’t the most comfortable. The view is good though. I’d give the whole experience 8/10. It could be improved by a better train service from Sheffield.
Birmingham – I seem to remember this was an expensive ticket and because I was coming from a dinner in Liverpool, can’t quote a ticket price. But I did do the trip for the Aston Villa cup game for £31. The walk to the ground from the local station is very dangerous, as is the station, but the ground was friendly, even if the seats and the view weren’t the best. I’ll give it 4/10, mainly because of that walk and the dreadful local station.
Bolton – This ticket was good value, I seem to remember, and it was a good trip up by train for £79. Everyone was friendly and the seat and view were excellent. I had got my lunch in Carluccio’s in Piccadilly station. I’ll give it 7/10. The only bad bit was the overcrowded trains from Manchester to and from the Reebok.
Brighton – The ticket was again good value, but I got there by a deliberately roundabout route for virtually nothing. Everything at the stadium was excellent, although I did eat in the city centre. I’d give the experience 9/10 and the weather -5/10. It was not a day for doing anything except swimming.
Charlton – I got to this ground free and the ticket was expensive for a crowded seat and a bad view. I’d just give it 5/10.
Crystal Palace – I bought this ticket at the gate and there was no discount, but as I got there for nothing on my Freedom Pass, I can’t complain. But I can complain about the state of the ground, the seat and the view. I’d give it 5/10 at most.
Hull – This was another good value ticket and I got home from Hull for £42.25. I’d gone up to York to see a friend and have lunch, so as I had an excellent gluten free meal on the train coming down, it was a day when I ate very well. I walked to the excellent stadium and everyone was a clone of those at Brighton. i.e. friendly and helpful. Like Brighton, I’ll give it 9/10.
Leeds – The ticket was one of the more expensive, as Leeds don’t do Seniors and the fare up on East Coast was £78.80. We got a reasonably friendly reception from stewards, a hard seat with a reasonable view and I can’t comment on the food as I ate in Carluccio’s in the City Centre, with my friend and her daughter. I’d rate the experience at 4/10. A bus from the station would help a lot here.
Leicester – This was a disastrous game, but I can’t complain about the ticket, the stadium and the stewarding. The train was expensive and virtually empty at £64.35 and there is no easy way to get to the stadium except a long walk. It’s worth no better than 6/10.
Wolverhampton – I actually forgot the ticket I’d bought for £24, so I bought another at the ground for just £14. The return ticket from Euston was just £30 or so. Everybody was very friendly, including the Police, the seats and the view were excellent and I wrote a post about it. My rating would be 10/10, as I can’t think of anything that could have been better.
I shall be adding to this list with visits for the rest of this season. I shall also probably add a few views of other stadia, I’ve been to since I moved to London.
I can split the clubs into groups.
Clubs to Always Visit
Barnsley, Brighton, Hull, Wolverhampton
Clubs to Possibly Avoid
Birmingham, Charlton, Crystal Palace, Leeds
I think too, if you look at the train prices, you would avoid any train company with East in the name, as they aren’t good value. First Hull trains were the best. It also seems that if you book a few days before Virgin’s Senior Advance First is generally good value at a weekend. But then it should be as it is generally empty.
Pizza Hut Go Gluten Free
I heard they had and I saw this menu in a window in the City today.
Pizza Hut Go Gluten Free
note the note about gluten-free bases at the top right. It’s here on their web site. As I found it through an advert places in Google, when I searched for “Pizza Hut gluten free”, I think they must be serious about it. They also say this about their gluten-free bases.
A light, square, gluten-free dough, perfect for those who want to avoid wheatflour or for trailblazers who love to try something different!
It l0oks like the Marketing Department has got behind this menu enhancement.
I shall try one in a few days. But if this is to be universal, it does help to solve the gluten-free desert problem.
The Anonymous Widower 