Rita's Bar and Dining

Well call me late off the mark but on Tuesday night I visited Rita’s Bar and Dining who are doing a current residency at Birthdays on Stoke Newington Road. OK, I will be honest – I was actually driven there by a sense of panic after seeing that they plan to move location in April so I dashed to try it out whilst they are still on my doorstep. Apologies in advance for the photos - the place is pretty dark/ not iphone photo friendly! 

I took with me my old school friend Vanessa (a Dalston virgin). Rita’s opens at 7 so we arrived at 7.15. Thank god we weren't any later as by 7.30 all the tables were full with a nice mixed east end crowd who were all there for one reason – fried food. Whilst sipping on a pretty darn good Margarita – nicely named ‘Rita’s, we tackled the menu. 

The menu is pretty small, a good thing because as it was I wanted everything. We went for the Sichuan Sticky Squid to start. I then decided to try the Friend Chicken Roll as I had read rave reviews and V opted for the Pulled Pork Sandwich special. We also decided that we obviously needed some Mac’ and Cheese to wash it down.

The squid was a big bowl full of sweet sticky squid strips, and after a few seconds I felt the familiar mouth numbing tingling brought on by Sichuan pepper. Then the pulled pork arrived… the sandwich was a full on 12 inch sub type number. I tried some and the pork was melt in the mouth good – this has been my second pulled pork experience in less than a week after StreetKitchen’s pulled pork burger last Thursday and I think it’s safe to say I’m a pulled pork fan (I’m not quite sure how many more times I can write pulled pork in this sentence). 

The Mac’ and Cheese was just what you would want it to be – cheesy and addictive. To be honest though, if you put guacamole and jalapenos on anything, I’m happy. Then my Chicken Roll arrived in a paper brown bag with the Rita’s logo – a nice original touch though possibly a bit of a waste of paper if I’m going to be picky. The fried chicken was the crunchiest I've had and the garlic mayo added a nice kick. My only complaint was that it fell apart a bit and let’s just says I was quickly a mayonnaise monster face (but it was worth it). 

The meal came to £38 (without service) for cocktails and the food and we were both stuffed - pretty good value if you ask me! As I said, Rita’s have recently announced that they are leaving Birthday’s in Dalston soon and have yet to announce their next location (the waiter pretended not to know despite my pretty desperate questioning). I hope they stay East but wherever they go, I will be close behind begging for more. 

Rita's Bar and Dining
Birthdays, 33-35 Stoke Newington Road, 
London N16 8BJ 

For One Night Only - Monkey Shoulder

On Thursday night I was lucky enough to attend Monkey Shoulder’s For One Night Only event in Shoreditch. Monkey Shoulder is a great whisky brand (this is coming from someone who beforehand was not a whisky lover), who throw brilliant parties. The night itself was racing themed with the star cocktail being the Malt Jockey (Monkey Shoulder whisky, Martini Rosso and Maraschino with chocolate bitters). Usually I’m not a whisky drinker but the Monkey Shoulder cocktails are always really yummy!

Hannah and myself put on our riding caps, braved the wind and freezing cold and made our way to the place which was a factory warehouse just off Curtain Road in Shoreditch. Upon arrival we were given a free Riding Jockey shirt (hello new pyjama top) and a card which allowed us 3 free whisky cocktails and a voucher for food.

Having been to a Monkey Shoulder event before in November, I know these guys know how to throw a pretty cool event and once again was not disappointed. Hay bales to sit on, a massive horse racing skalextrics type game, bars, a Malt Jockey making masterclass. Sadly the racing horses were put down/ wasn’t working.

Another high point was the food provided by Street Kitchen. The offering was a pulled pork brioche roll with bacon, coleslaw and mustard mayonnaise. Having had my fair share of burgers recently (who hasn’t in Londonthese days?), I was still blown away by how good this was! Will definitely be checking out Street Kitchen (who I believe have moved themselves to Shoreditch High Street)... 

Hannah didn't think the burger was bad either! 

The next day I found my drinks booklet well and truly stamped. All I can say is keep an eye out for the next Monkey Shoulder event for a night full of Whisky fuelled fun - I know I will be!

White Rabbit

Last night I finally got a chance to try out White Rabbit. We took my mum who despite having two daughters living in Dalston and only living in Spitalfields, has rarely made it out further than Shoreditch (apart from one incident when I bumped into her at 10pm on a Saturday night at The Haggerston... which I don't want to talk about).

Anyway White Rabbit is tucked down Bradbury Street just opposite Dalston Jazz Bar. I started with a very yummy Elderflower Tom Collins whilst we looked through the menu. The main problem was the fact that we wanted to try everything. The very helpful waitress suggested 2 dishes per person with a couple of sides.

We started with a HamHock Terrine which was served with warm bread and chutney - delish. Then the sharing plates started to trickle in. The sardines were prettily presented and perfectly cooked. The mussels and cockles were in a really tasty broth which I would have drunk with a ladle if one had been there. 

The surprising star of the show was the Jerusalem Artichokes with puree and a parsley dust. It was pretty much everyone's favourite despite all 3 of us being the least vegetarian people you will ever meet. It got devoured before I even had a chance to take a snap which says it all. 

Even though we were all stuffed my mum's sweet tooth got the better of her and she ordered a desert. It was a type of deconstructed rhubarb panacotta and it was polished off quicker than I would like to admit. 

Overall I cannot recommend this place enough. I would maybe say 2 plates each with extras is a bit much - we were full by the time the potato waffles and duck arrived (I struggled through). Apart from that the only criticism I can come up with is possible some bread would have helped to mop up the sauce in the mussels. All in all it was one of the best meals I've had in a very long time and all of us hopped home happy little bunnies.

Feast

I'm a bad blogger. I apologise. But I am now going to tell you about last night. Last night was Feast at Tobacco Docks in Wapping. I bought a ticket for my sister and myself to go and indulge all of our foodie cravings. We weren't disappointed. 

We started with Bone Daddies as soon as we walked in. I had been wanting to try this for ages and this little taster just made me want to go and have a mega-sized portion. We had their classic Tontanmen. Rich broth with a real kick, pork mince and half a soft boiled egg. Delicious. 

Next up we headed to the upstairs and had a wonder with a glass of wine to tactfully choose our next victim. We were drawn in by a massive queue for Anna Mae's Mac and Cheese. It's true what they say about the British and queues... we have to join them. 

We went for the Spicy Juan. I can't resist a chilli. It was the ultimate bowl of comfort food and I was surprised how well the coriander worked. 

Next we needed a food break/ wine stop but then eventually I psyched myself up for trying my first oyster in over 14 years. My memories of oysters were not pleasant... chewy salt water. But I was told by the lovely staff at The Wright Brothers to add some of the shallot vinegar and braved it..... and it wasn't too bad. Would I order 6 of them.. I'm probably not quite there yet. But I didn't hate it - must be growing up. 

We went back upstairs and decided we wanted something meaty. I spotted a stall for Beagle, a new restaurant opening next month in Hoxton. We went for the fried rabbit with black bean salsa. I'm afraid to say I didn't take a picture as it looked so good I forgot all about documenting it! It was probably the most surprisingly good thing I ate all night. Am definitely going to be booking a table there ASAP. 

We rolled home at about 11pm. We had a great time and got to try all sorts and between the 2 of us we probably spent about £25 on food. Not bad at all. If I had to pick a winner it would be the fried rabbit from Beagle.. But quite frankly it was all really amazing and I would have stayed for days and tried everything if I could. 

If you can get yourself a ticket for this weekend all I can say is go. And go hungry.