A Mean Bean Cappuccino - the Only Way to Start the Day

This is my first coffee post. Not because I don't like it, au contraire. Coffee is a big weakness of mine. I need my cappuccino fix daily. The vicinities of my work have not been too promising when it comes to coffee joints, and I find myself struggling to find my fave and regular coffee-on-the run spot.

But wait no more, the best coffee in the West End has made its self known! And the winner is...Reynolds on Eastcastle Street. With a coffee blend so rich and so flavourful, you'll find that this mean cappuccino gives you that amazing sensation any good cappuccino should give you: the feeling of being bad. Like you've just sinned so badly, you're gonna get whipped. Like you're eating a sweet so vicious, a piece of chocolate so delightful, or a chewy chunk of toffee. But actually, it's just coffee. And it's good.

They offer a range of other products as well: fresh and healthy salads, cute and plumpy sandwhiches, organic crisps and delicious snacks. Their selection of sweets is even better. Pain au chocs, croissants and more. Dip their scrumptious banana cake from Borough Market into it, and then you've got yourself a sinfully good breakfast feast or an even better snack attack. 

Make Mine, Make Yours

Who would have thought seeking out a New York style "make your own" salad bar was going to be this challenging? I guess it's that much harder to find something you like when you have your heart set on something in particular. Like when you have to pick out a dress for an event and you know exactly what you want. Somehow, the stores never carry that one dress that you have a perfect picture of in your head. Well, for salads, it's pretty much the same deal. 

I have had my heart set on finding that one salad bar, that New York Style salad bar that would make all of my tough lunch questions go away. My ten minute walk down Dean Street on our only sunny day this week, led me to this fantastic place called Make Mine- a Make Your Own Salad Bar, and I had my answer.

At Make Mine, they make it for you. For £4.35 a pop, you can add 4 ingredients of your choice, which are close to your heart. No additional cost-surprises. Choose your type of lettuce, romaine, mixed or rocket and add on top of that butter beans, avocado, sundried tomatoes, parmesan, jerk chicken or even Hoisin duck! Fresh ingredients and exciting salad dressings are sure to make you salivate in the queue on your way to the counter. From pesto and lemon to French and balsamic, a perfect vinaigrette is key in the making of a perfect salad. So if you're in the mood for some salad individuality and you're in Soho on your lunch hour or shopping hour or whatever hour, stop by Make Mine for a bowl of your own salad to go. You'll love every bite of it.

ps: For the boys who think salad is a waste of stomach space, you can make your own sandwich.

Salad Bar Magic in Covent Garden

There is one thing I have been missing here in London and that is a decent salad bar. New York, for example, is spoiled with them. If you're walking around midtown, you see them left and right. Not only the cheap delis offer them, but you can find them at places like Chop't, Tossed, Cosi or Cafe Europa etc. They are certainly not a luxury over there. And for some reason, London has not reached that point yet. When I worked in Midtown, I used to start jiggling in my office chair, counting the minutes til I could run downstairs to my usual salad place. This was the typical drill: pick a meat/protein: $2, pick a cheese: $1.75, pick a fancy veggie (avocado, asparagus): $2,00, then just add on at your leisure. Your salad would cost at most $8.50...$10 if you were really hungry. I miss that so much! Now I may not  be working here, but I've had my fair share of lunches outside of home. London just doesn't have them! And I have no idea why. Maybe the salad bar culture hasn't arrived yet on this side of the Atlantic...or maybe there are a couple, haphazardly sprinkled around town, and if there are a few, the costs certainly reflect that lack of demand. One thing is for sure though, the salad bar culture has definitely not colonized this town like it has New York.

Occasionally, I find myself in Covent Garden for the lunch hour. Covent Garden is so underrated. You just have to know it to like it. There is this one salad place that you just have to check out. It's called Kastner & Ovens. It is tucked away somewhere between Floral Street and Long Acre, and because there is no sitting area, it is best to take it away and back to the office or to pick a sunny day to go sit in a neighboring park and enjoy its pure deliciousness. They offer some wonderful salads and hot meals, from grilled aubergine and zucchini and feta, to chili con carne and beef stroganoff, which appear to be coming straight out of  a cookbook or your grandmother's kitchen. It certainly is no New York salad bar with salad bar prices, but it is worth your while if you're around the hood.

                               Kastner & Ovens in Covent Garden

                                                                    

     

Don't go home or back to the office without making a detour via the adorable Monmouth Street, where you can grab the best coffee in town at Monmouth Coffee Company (you can also find it at Borough Market).


                            The Monmouth Coffee Company