ICE CREAM REHAB.....

We're pretty certain if you asked good old Wino if she wanted to go to this rehab she would say yes, yes, yes. The Icecreamists are launching 'Ice Cream Rehab' on 25th February in Covent Garden, anybody who visited the guerilla pop up in Selfridges will know this is one rehab everybody should check-in to.

The new store will feature a treatment and research centre called the ‘Incubator Unit’ which includes a ‘Lick Your Addiction’ programme of sub-zero elixirs curated by founder Matt O’Connor and renowned mixologist Alex Kammerling. Alex just so happened to create the cocktails for Elton John’s 12th Annual White Tie & Tiara Ball. The unit will be dispensing what is described as a ‘hallucinatory freezer cabinet of nitrogen-tipped vice creams and guilty pleasures’.

‘Patients’ will be offered a kaleidoscopic assortment of medications including an ice cream transfusion with a syringe, toast, flames, bombes, cold sweats, a baby’s bottle and liquid nitrogen alongside what are described as some ‘challenging and shocking’ ingredients.

So make a date in your diary people, this is one not to be missed!

Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, WC2E
www.theicecreamists.com

POSH NOSH: CECCONI’S

I said what about breakfast at Tiffany's Cecconi‘s? She said “Yeah alright then” and so off we went. Cecconi’s is glam, very glam. When we visited we were surprised by the amount of business men, celeb looking, botox wearing and designer clad customers.

At 9am the atmosphere was electric, it felt like we were in Paris during the 60’s. The food we have to admit wasn’t anything special although we did only have the All Bran which at £4 a bowl isn’t cheap. We drank orange and grapefruit juice, £3.75 a pop and we have to say it tasted suspiciously like concentrated carton juice.

The coffee was good - hot and fresh although the service was a little full on for our liking, the staff literally kept checking for dishes every 2 minutes. But even with all of these niggles we will definitely return just because of atmosphere, it really does feel like the hub of London. It’s the place to see and be seen at breakfast time, the place where deals are sealed and we have to admit it we left feeling slightly more glam than when we arrived.

Cecconi’s, 5a Burlington Gardens, W1S
www.cecconis.co.uk

MEAT WEEK…

Are you man enough for meat week? Eight nights of BBQ’s back2back? If you think you have what it takes then check out the 2011 London Schedule……

Kicking off on Jan 30th Round 1 takes place at Bodeans (Clapham branch), followed by Round 2 at the Big Easy (Chelsea) Jan 31st, The Ship Feb 1st, Cattle Grid Feb 2nd, Texas Embassy Cantina Feb 3rd, Bodeans (Soho) Feb 4th, The Chicago Rib Shack Feb 5th and for those still alive and standing the finale takes place in someone’s flat on Feb 6th - email the captains for directions.

Remember Meat Matters people!
http://www.meatweekisreal.com/

REVIEW: THE BATHHOUSE

LondOntheInside visited The Bathhouse to road test new night “The Tassles Club Dinner Party”. The Bathhouse is one of our favourite venues with its spiral staircase leading down to a Victorian style basement den. We’ve spent many a night in there out of our tree, sprawled on the benches after downing copious amounts of wine but on Thursday we were there to experience the food.


The Tassles Club Dinner Party costs £45 which includes a three course meal and a show of singers, burlesque dancers and some rather weird characters. To start we had the Parmesan sable with creamed goat’s cheese, oven dried tomatoes and micro salad. The dish was well thought out and tasted great but it was more like a large canapé than a starter.

For main we opted for Sea Bass with a crab and chilli potato cake and stir-fried mange tout, a nice piece of fish, cooked and presented well. For dessert we choose the Apple tart with vanilla mascarpone and caramel sauce. This was lovely, nice tart apples with sweet caramel served on a round of filo pastry, although again a little too small.

By the time dessert arrived the show had begun, opened by a cabaret singer who was followed by a couple of burlesque performances - plenty of thongs, feathers and fake boobs. To sum it up the venue is beautiful and the food was ace just a little on the small side. Worth a shot if you're looking to try something a bit different.

8 Bishopsgate Churchyard, City of London, EC2M
www.thebathhousevenue.com

REVIEW: ALL STAR LANES

LondONtheInside went along to check out the All Star Lanes Eat, Drink, Bowl offer and we did exactly that, only in a different order......

We tried out All Star Lanes in Brick Lane which still looks brand spanking new, even though it’s 2 years old. First we got down to business on the lanes which were so polished the ball seemed to glide down at lightning speed, resulting in the boy winning. (Well that's my excuse anyway!)

After bowling we hit the diner and started with the shakes, as you do. We had the Oh Sweet Jeez milkshake with malt. Oh SWEET JEEZ indeed! This was the bomb, made up from chocolate, peanut butter, caramel and banana. If you ain’t tried one already we strongly recommend you do ASAP.

For starters we ordered the Californian Seared Tuna and Red Slaw Taco. This was quite a strange dish, fresh and nice tasting but we’re not sure seared tuna goes that well with tacos.

For mains we choose the All Star Lanes Prime burger cooked medium. The burgers were huge and tasted great, definitely up there with the best we’ve had in London, as were the French fries.


We left happy, chappies in fact so happy we’ve booked a group of us in before the Eat, Drink, Bowl, Sing deal ends. All Star Bowling maybe a little more expensive than other bowling alleys/diners but it’s easy to see why when you’re in there. Everything is clean and well looked after and the staff are chirpy and helpful.

All Star Lanes, Brick Lane, E1
http://www.allstarlanes.co.uk/

REVIEW: RED ART CAFÉ

The Red Art Café is located on Kingsland Road next door to Dalston Superstore. The Turkish café serves up the usual Turkish breakfasts, brunch and lunch with a couple of full English options thrown in for good measure. We visited last Sunday afternoon to see what was going down.

The café was half full, the décor was simple and the food was cheap. We ate the Set 3, a full English breakfast - sausage, bacon, toast, egg, beans, hash brown, mushrooms and toast. At only £4.50 including a tea or coffee it was an absolute bargain.

The coffee was nice cup of fresh, strong coffee and the breakfasts were a fair size, stodgy and slightly greasy but good for the hangover. We also ordered a fresh orange and were delighted when a large, freshly squeezed glass of proper orange arrived for only 2 squid.

If the hangover demands stodge but monies are low check it out dudes!

Red Art Café, 54-56 Kingsland Rd, E2

REVIEW: INAMO ST. JAMES

inamo is the future……

It’s also an Asian restaurant which uses an interactive ordering system to give diners control of their own experience. You can order drinks, food, the bill, a taxi, change the virtual table cloth, watch the chefs in the kitchen on ‘chef cam’ and play games all at the touch of a pad and without saying a word.

We visited the newest inamo located on Regent Street to test out our technology skills. At first we found the navigation a little strange but once we got used to it, it was easy. We started with a couple of cocktails reasonably priced (between £6.50 - £8.50) with plenty of fresh fruit - after all we’re on a detox.

The food comes out when it’s ready so it’s best to order a bit at a time. To begin with we had the Dragon Roll, Baby Crispy Prawns, Seared Scallops, Grilled Seabass and Edamame beans from the small dish selection. Each one was careful thought out and prepared from fresh, tasty ingredients. The Dragon Roll was our favourite but the Scallops with Yuzu and Wasabi dressing were also pretty special.

Once we were done, we selected our large dishes, hit the button and Ta Da - 15 minutes later they arrived. We choose the Black Cod and Beef buri bop which was served raw in a sizzle dish meaning you could cook it as much or little as you wanted.

To finish off we tried a couple of desserts, the Brulee - all good and the Macaroon which we have to admit was too salty for us, we're all about the sweet. inamo is unlike anywhere we’ve ever been before and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a little more expensive than your usual Asian restaurant but we think it’s worth it. Ideal for a first date or impressing a client.

4- 12 Regent Street & 134-136 Wardour Street,
www.inamo-stjames.com/

REVIEW: THAI CAFÉ

Big up to the Thai Café in Stoke Newington which dishes out unpretentious, authentic, cheap Thai food to people like us. We visited for a takeaway on Saturday night and the small café barely had a free seat. We had the Battered Prawns, Rice Pancake filled with minced pork, Pad Thai, Fried Rice with chicken and veg and two Chang beers.

The food was fresh and tasty, our only mistake was ordering battered dishes which were a little cold and soggy by the time we got home. If only they did delivery! The dishes were generous portions and by the end of it we were well and truly stuffed. Definitely some of the most authentic Thai food we’ve had in London.The whole she-bang checked in at £23 - cheap as chips.

We’ll be back only next time we’ll dine in.

Thai Café, 3 Northwold Road, Stoke Newington, N16
Mon - Sat, 6pm - 10:30pm

REVIEW: BYRON

After hearing nothing but good things about Byron we thought it high time we checked it out. We hit the Islington branch to see what was on offer. The décor is no fuss - striped back wood floors, an open plan kitchen, old wooden tables and chairs.

We dived straight in with the Byron Burger (a hamburger with bacon, cheddar
and Byron sauce), Onion Rings, Hand Made Skin On Chips and Coleslaw. All washed down with a Vanilla Shake.

The burgers were kick ass huge! Served in a big white bun with the usual suspects - lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickle and mayonnaise.


The chips were real chips, none of those skinny frozen substitutes. The onion rings in herbed batter were fresh and crispy and the homemade coleslaw was nice and chunky .

Everything including the milkshakes and especially the knickerbocker glory got a big thumbs up. The only grumbles we had was that the bacon was so over cooked it resembled a piece of leather and was actually hard/impossible to chew. We quickly removed it from the burger as it ruined the texture.  And as a personal preference we’d like to be given the option of a brown bun please.

If you haven’t tried Byron we suggest you do. We will be again soon - the boyfriend was well jealous when he saw the photos......

Burgers (£6.50 - £8.75), Sides (£2.25 - £3.25), Milkshakes £4
341 Upper Street, N1
www.byronhamburgers.com

REVIEW: BATTERSEA PIE STATION

We hit Battersea Pie Station in Covent Garden for a quick refuel during our sales shopping marathon. The pie shop recently launched a Reindeer pie aptly named “Rudolf” but we couldn’t do it - The thought of those poor Reindeers was too much for us.

Instead we opted for a Mince Beef and Onion and a Free Range Chicken and Bacon served with mash, beans and gravy. The portions are big and the pies are good but it was the soup which we enjoyed the most. The Free Range Chicken, Barley and Greens soup served with a crusty baguette was a bargain for £4. A big bowl of fresh soup full of vegetables and chicken. The perfect winter warmer.

Battersea Pie Station, Lower Ground Floor, 28 The Market, Covent Garden, WC2E
www.batterseapiestation.co.uk