Right. Somehow it’s August and seven months have passed since I last posted an Eats, Sips and Snaps round-up. It’s too late to apologise, let’s just get on with this. It’ll make my OCD mind feel a touch better if nothing else. Where to start? Probably somewhere in February. There were pizzas at Made In Italy (there’s a silly video here); Lost & Grounded lagers at Fountain & Ink; Dumpling Shack noodles and Happy Endings ice cream sandwiches at The Kitchens; more beers at Craft Beer Rising; an Amalfi Coast inspired lunch at Sorella; and a half term adventure to the Peak District via Buxton Brewery – hopefully a full post and video on that to follow!
On we March! There was food, booze and fun galore at #MattTheParty at The Pelt Trader including some bloody delicous babka from The Good Egg, alongside great contributions from Anspach & Hobday, Renegade London Wine, Longflint Cocktails, and Regal Rogue Vermouth. We also squeezed in some minigolf at Swingers West End; caffeine hits at Birds Hill Coffee in Borough; drone flights around Walthamstow followed by beers at Pressure Drop and pizza at LovenPresents in Tottenham; wine and live music at Good Neighbour in Camberwell; cocktails at Every Cloud in Hackney; cask ales at Moor Vaults in Bermondsey; limited ediition burgers at the Smokestak x Bleecker collaboration night; and good times at Anspach & Hobday’s 4th Birthday party. Phew. Oh and there was a sneaky trip to Stockholm right at the end which you can read about here.
Dearie me, I’m regretting this already. Where are we upto? April! Most of the month was taken up with trips to Malvern, New York, Montauk and the Dominican Republic – I’ll address those at a different time! MTL regular Ella threw a killer dodecadenim dinner party, which we chased with Clapton exploring at the likes of Bernsteins, P Franco and My Neighbours The Dumplings.
If I May (sorry, not sorry) – there were sticky wings at Beer & Buns; several glasses of wine at Enoteca Rabezzana and Vinery’s honesty bar popup; regular BBQs and South Bank outings as the three month heatwave started; dinosaurs and beer at Yeastie Boys #RexDay2018 at East London Liquor Co; serious street food at Model Market in Lewisham; Brixton beers, wine and eats at London Beer Lab, Salon Wine Store and Kricket; booze and games galore at the impressive Brigadiers; and an evening with Massimo Bottura and Grundig at Refettorio Felix to discuss the future of food waste. Still with me? Didn’t think so.
Dune. Just checking you are still paying attention – does it make you think of David Lynch, Frank Herbert or shoes? I digress – June was the month of getting back up to speed with the London restaurant scene, with trips to Brat, Leroy, Legs and St.Leonard’s. It was also World Cup season, so we spent most evenings tracking down fans of various nationalities to leech off their patriotism – highly recommended. There were early morning flat whites at Lazy Coffee in Abchurch Yard; Italian drams at Black Rock; run-ins with the Gin Journey at Whistling Shop; beers, kebabs and beautiful interiors at St.John at Hackney Brewery; a pizza pile-up at Crust Bros with the London Cheap Eats team; and a flying visit to Flanders to take snaps at Alvinne Brewery for their new website.
Wimbledon and the World Cup rolled over in to July which I mostly spent out of London again, in Norfolk, Dublin (for Guinness x Meatopia), and Canada. Whilst I was at home, I consumed beers and cocktails on tap in Tooting at zero waste bar Tap 13, and rooftop pina coladas aplenty at Belsazar’s Summer Riesling Party. And to round it all off nicely, I somehow won the Beer Photographer award and European & World Biggest Beer Geek prizes at the Brewdog Beer Geek Awards. Needless to say, I was pretty surprised and overjoyed! You can read more about the awards here. Many thanks to all the judges and organisers – San Diego and Barcelona here I come!
Oof, I’m glad that’s over. Oh bloody hell I forgot August. Leave me alone.
