Previously on The Blog About Nothing... in London!

  • stamaria Santa Maria
    Best Pizza in London
  • tapcoffee Tap Coffee
    Coffee time in Warren St
  • exmouthespresso Bean Review
    Exmouth Espresso Blend
  • kurobuta Kurobuta
    Japanese Tapas
  • oddonos Oddono's
    Gelato in Chiswick
  • smokehouse Smokehouse
    Mouthwatering Burgers and BBQ
  • firehouse No 197 Fire Station
    Complete disaster
  • irisandjune Iris & June
    Independent Coffee Shop in Victoria
  • coffeeguide The Not Official London Coffee Guide
    Humble take on the independent scene
  • dumdum Dum Dum Donutterie
    They don't have Cronuts but they do Cros
  • bonanza Bean Review
    Bonanza's Espresso Blend
  • moo Moo Cantina
    Lomito Time
  • chorbizarre Chor Bizarre
    Restaurant with personality
  • squaremilebelen Bean Review
    Square Mile's Belen Espresso
  • ottolenghi Ottolenghi
    Not as good as usual!
  • quantus Quantus
    European cuisine in Chiswick
  • pearlliang Pearl Liang
    About Time for a Chinese
Showing posts with label bbq. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bbq. Show all posts

Burger Wars Episode XC: Smokehouse in Chiswick [BurgeReview]

You know, just because a person's a smoker, that doesn't mean he's not a human being
Cosmo Kramer (Seinfeld episode “The Abstinence”)

I have said before that it is a bit of a challenge to find a decent bbq place in London. There are several but none hit all the marks. That was until I visited Smokehouse in Chiswick, a sister place of the original in Islington.

Just in case
I have been in two occasions already, and one of them was a feast, where they smoked, and slow cooked three types of meat, short rib, ox cheek, and Korean pulled pork. The feast was amazing, everything spot on, one of the best meals I have had.

Feast time
But now on to the burgers, they also have burgers a la carte, especially for lunch time. I went for the fried chicken burger with guacamole, chipotle, and fried egg, and my wife got the Cheese Hereford burger with a lovely melted comte.

Say cheese!
The verdict, both burgers were fantastic but if you’re a cheese aficionado you have to go with the cheesy one

The damage,  £15 for the burger with fries


The conclusion, amazing place, nice burgers, and great smoked meats, can’t recommend highly enough, top marks

Smokehouse
T: 020 3819 6066
Pub / BBQ Place
Approx Damage: £50pp
Area: Chiswick
Borough: Hounslow
Twitter: smokehouseN1
Smokehouse Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato



Barbecue London Style

I bought a bottle of BBQ sauce in Memphis. I think the stewardess broke it when she tried to jam it into the overhead compartment
Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld episode “The Doll”)

The other day I went out with my University mates to catch up over a couple beers and some bites. We ended in Red’s True Barbecue in Shoreditch. The place brings true barbecue to London, low and slows smoked prime cuts, and flavours from Carolina to Texas.

Place is noisy with dimmed lights and smells of smoked meats. We went with the BBQ Feast and washed it down with lone star beers. Flavours were ok but can’t say they are close to the original American barbecue. Meat was a bit dry, there were a couple highs like the cheese and jalapeno sausage and the burnt ends but also some lows like most of the ribs.

Feast Time

Nice place to have some drink with friends and you don’t want to think too much, but not if you want the real deal, in that case I would recommend looking somewhere else.

Red's True Barbecue
T: 0203 021 2302
American Barbecue
Approx Damage: £40pp
Area: Shoreditch
Borough: Hackney
Twitter: RedsTrueBBQ
Red's True Barbecue Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato Square Meal


A Posh BBQ Joint

I'm not force-feeding myself a steak at four thirty to save a couple bucks, I'll tell you that! 
Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld episode “The Cadillac”) 

I got my friends Jason and Richard and Peter came back from Singapore for a weekend and we decided to go out for some drinks and food. As Jason is from Texas I decided BBQ was in order. The place Blue Boar Smokehouse, an upscale, quite nice, dark colours restaurant offering British seasonal ingredients to give a twits to the traditional American BBQ. 

Blue Boar
We started with the Blue Boar ribs, they were amazing. Meaty, juicy, and tender. They are like butter, so you will end licking the bones. Great seasoning, intense spices. The meat is smoked over fruity wood chips, marinated, and then charcoaled. The result a perfect finger licking ribs. 

Ribs
Our main was the Tomahawk steak. The house specialty, a monster steak with 32 ounces, perfectly cooked medium rare, perfect flavour, the best way to describe it is just succulent. 

Tomahawk
As a side we got creamy greens with shredded ribs, really nice, perfect indulgence, guilty but tasty pleasure. We washed down the food with a lovely Chianti Nipozzano Riserva 2009, a revelation, it was absolutely fantastic.

Greens
Wine
All in all a perfect meal, great food, nice drinks, service was ok, a bit hectic they should relax a bit but overall great experience.

Tomagram!
Singapore Team
Blue Boar Smokehouse
T: 020 3301 1400
Steakhouse / BBQ
Approx Damage: £40pp
Area: Westminster
Borough: City of Westminster
Twitter: BlueBoarLondon
Blue Boar Smokehouse on Urbanspoon Square Meal


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American BBQ Smokehouse in London

The other day I went to a Chelsea’s match and decided to eat after the game. I have to tell you it’s not an easy task to find a decent place open that late in Fulham Broadway. I ended in Bodean’s, original American BBQ smokehouse. All meats slow cook to enhance flavours and keep their juices, with 4 branches in London to try the Kansas City BBQ style. 

Stamford Bridge
BBQ Time
The place is a bit small and cosy, some booths, red light ambience, full of American memorabilia, and ESPN with American sports on the monitors. After a couple minutes and a beer in hand I went for the game day special 15 quid for their buffalo wings, a full rack of baby back ribs, chips, coleslaw, and a beer. 

Smokehouse
Game day special
The wings had a nice flavour but were completely overcooked. The ribs were outstanding. Great flavour, nice seasoning, traditional American BBQ. I ate the full rack with a big smile on my face. 

Ribs and Wings
Barbecue reminds me the Seinfeld episode “The Millennium” 

Jerry: Hi. Sorry I'm late. There're a lot of chairs and balloons in my apartment. How about I make it up to you with dinner?
Valerie: Someplace nice this time?
Jerry: Yeah, I'm sorry about that Mongolian barbecue last night. I'd heard good things
Valerie: I don't know, got a two in Zagat's
Jerry: Let me just check my messages. Maybe a nicer girl called
Voice (O.C.): Hello?
Jerry: Hello? Who's this?
Voice (O.C.): Jane. What number did you dial?
Jerry: Seven?

Bodean's
T: 020 7610 0440
American BBQ
Approx Damage: £20pp
Area: Fulham
Borough: Hammersmith & Fulham
Twitter: BodeansBBQ
Bodean's on Urbanspoon
Square Meal


Cachaco's Ribs Venezuelan Style [On The Road: Caracas/Recipe]

You know Venezuelans love BBQing, so every time I go visiting the family I ask my friends to prepare a nice one to get together and enjoy some steaks, chicken, sausages, and in this occasion ribs. My friend Cachaco is a master doing the ribs, he let’s them marinating in his special and secret recipe that includes onions, lots of garlic, malt and coke, at least that’s a couple things I have seen when he’s prepping. 

The artifact
For the BBQ he uses a mix of coal and wood, it’s kind of funny watching him cutting the wood as a proper lumberjack. We got two cuts of meat sirloin and skirt, and the famous ribs, as a side potatoes and guasacaca which is basically the Venezuelan interpretation of guacamole. 

Meat selection
Starting
Flipping
Skirt in action
The ribs were superb even tough Cachaco was nagging they weren't as good as he expected, whatever! The sirloin perfectly cooked medium rare, and the skirt was juicy and the flavour beyond imagination. The ribs were magic, great the flavour, and it's like butter they disintegrate in your mouth, I should bring Cachaco here to London and open a food truck, that would be a hit. The guasacaca was rustic, powerful, and very typical. I will let you with my recipe for a real and authentic Venezuelan Guasacaca, just like my mom used to make. 

Who said ribs?
Meat time
Ready, set, go!
Guasacaca 

1 Onion 
2 Green peppers 
2 Ripe avocados 
4 Garlic cloves 
½ Tomato 
¼ Cup chopped coriander 
¼ Cup chopped parsley 
½ Teaspoon of chopped chilli pepper 
1 Tablespoon olive oil 
2 Tablespoon vinegar 
1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce 
Salt and black pepper to taste 

For a rustic look, chop the avocados, the peppers, tomato, and the onion, mix them in a bowl, then finely chop the garlic, coriander, parsley, and chilli pepper, add to the bowl stir and mix, finally add the olive oil, vinegar, the Worcestershire sauce, salt and black pepper to taste. If you prefer a more fine and sauce like look, you can add all the ingredients in a food processor and blend. Also if you’re not too much into spicy kicks get rid of the chilli pepper. 

Guasacaca on the making
The recipe reminds me the Seinfeld episode “The Statue” 

George: Oh my God, it’s exactly the same! 
Jerry: What? 
George: When I was ten years old, my parents had this very same statue on the mantle of our apartment, exactly and one day, I grabbed it, and I was using it as a microphone. I was singing, MacArthur Park, and I got to the part about, I’ll never have that recipe again, and it slipped out of my hand and it broke. My parents looked at me like I smashed the Ten Commandments. To this day, they bring it up. It was the single most damaging experience in my life, aside from seeing my father naked

Caracas
Venezuela


Chapa’s Burger [On The Road/BurgeReview: Caracas]

My compadre Chapa is almost as obsess as me with burgers, we are always discussing which place is good, what worked what didn't, he loves Five Guys, I think they’re pretty decent, and I still have the benefit of the doubt regarding In n Out he basically hate them. The thing is he always tells me at the end that his burgers are the best ones. I usually see him when visiting my hometown, see the family, godson, and friends, as he prepares a pretty good solid 5 star BBQ, some might say not as good as the one that Cachaco does but a pretty good one. 

Chapa on the grill, Merengue relaxing
After a fiasco in Caracas, which I will tell you more in a later post, he decided finally to invite me to try his creation. Coal BBQ to cook the patties, they were sourced from a local butcher to be sure to have good meat quality. The toys for the burger, caramelized onions with a balsamic reduction, a special curry mustard/mayo, rocket, bacon, and melted brie, sounds good isn't? 

Patties ready
Chapa's creation
Let me tell you it was awesome and is not because he’s my compadre I would have enjoyed criticising him if the burger wasn't right, but everything was spot on, the flavour of the meat, the melted brie, the onions, the sauce, the bacon, the rocket, everything in balance, awesome. The only thing I would have change is to have the meat cook less to get a medium rare but that’s just me. 

Burger time
Ready to toll
The best burger in Caracas, sadly it’s off the menu. 

Close up
Chapa is also a Seinfeld fan and we always make jokes with Art Vandeley that reminds me the episode “The Stakeout” 

Jerry: Wait a second. That’s her. On the right 
George: I forgot who I am! Who am I? 
Jerry: You’re you. We’re having lunch with Art Corvelay 
George: Vandelay! 
Jerry: Corvelay! 
George: Let me be the architect! I can do it! 
Jerry: Hey, hey, Pamela’s birthday party, didn’t I see you there? Jerry 
Vanessa: Sure! Hi! 
Jerry: This is George. I’m sorry 
Vanessa: Vanessa 
George: Nice to meet you 
Jerry: Ah, Sagman, Bennet, Robbins, Oppenheim and Taft 
Vanessa: That’s right! Yea, what’re you doing here? 
Jerry: Oh, we’re meeting a friend of ours for lunch. He works here in the building 
George: Yeah, Art Vandelay 
Vanessa: Really? Which company? 
Jerry: I don’t know. He’s an importer 
Vanessa: Importer? 
George: And exporter 
Jerry: He’s an importer, exporter

Caracas
Venezuela


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