Food & Drink

Reviewed: Wandsworth Common Beer Festival Day One

/ swishjunction / 1 Comment

At SwishJunction we felt it was our moral duty to take time out on a Thursday night and investigate this Beer Festival. The setting was beautiful; the bar is set up in Le Gothique‘s grassy courtyard framed by trees and golden leaves on the ground. The smokers dotted around added to the gorgeous bonfire night atmosphere that we love about Autumn.

 

 

Entry on the door costs £4 and an extra £2 deposit for your souvenir pint glass. Plenty of the booze on offer boasted Halloween-themed names, suited to the occasion, so naturally SwishJunction made the mission to sample as many spookily-named (ok, slightly daft but fun) beverages as possible. Our favourites include:

Coffin Dodger (Northumberland) – smells like caramel with a smooth, not-too-rich taste. Only brewed in October apparently and rare to find (typical, a proper favourite and we’ll probably never find it again).

Screech Owl (Nottingham) – fab if you like a lighter ale. A great option for daytime ale drinking, or that transition from Indian summer to cooler autumn.

Barman’s Ghoulies (Cumbria) – now, this had a unique smell… almost like cheese (cue hilarious ghoulie-themed banter last night) but don’t let that put you off this perfectly-quaffable pint.

Black Widow (Worcestershire) – a dark stout option, our tester likened it to Guinness but with a thinner consistency.

Witches Cauldron (Aviemore) – sweet and rich, dark in colour, smells like vanilla. Try it if you’re a beginner to ale wanting to sample richer tastes.

The festival continues today and tomorrow from 1pm until 11pm both days. Reserve tickets here and pay on the door. A great way to kick off the weekend, if you ask us.

Reviewed: London Farmers’ Market & Hildreth Street Market

/ swishjunction / 1 Comment

There’s nothing more dangerous for your wallet or your waistline than a farmers’ market, but hey, it’s worth it. Besides, there’s so much healthy, fresh produce in gigantic proportions (did you SEE the size of those garlic bulbs? Enormous!) that the satisfaction levels are much higher than just sticking to your weekly shop in your local supermarket.

Highlights from this weekend’s London Farmers’ Market and Hildreth Street Market include:

*Wild Country Organics – (Chestnut Grove School & Hildreth Street) who knew that so many types of edible leaf existed? We purchased sorrel leaf, which had a light, citrusy flavour; indeed the stall holder used to find them in fields as a child and call them ‘yummy leaves’.

*Artisan Foods – (Chestnut Grove) small savoury tarts full of bite, plus cakes baked in loaf tins served by the slice; our favourite so far was lemon and poppy seed – the perfect, light flavour for this weather.

*Seafayre – (Chestnut Grove) huge chunks of upmarket restaurant-worthy fish from the Kent coast at incredible value (6 scallops for £5.50, anyone)? Plus ask and you’ll get recipe suggestions with your purchase.

*Little Jack Horner’s -(CG)  buy a pie, keep the dish, or return it next time for a small refund. Foolproof dinner party fayre.

*Bread-Ahead Bakery – (CG) a decent variety of bread (soda, rock salt, walnut) at very reasonable prices. We picked up a wholemeal pain for £2.50. Keep it plain; a smear of butter is all this loaf needs.

* Comptoir Gourmand – (HS) a beautiful patisserie selling doorstep brownies and the biggest meringues we’ve ever seen.

*Kath’s Cakes – so, so pretty, almost too good to eat (but it’d be rude not to). The chocolate and beetroot cupcakes are ones to look out for (that’s healthy, right?). Next time we’ll be trying their vanilla and blackcurrant flavour.

Camden Coffee House comes to Balham

/ swishjunction / Leave a comment

That little spot next to the tube where Balham Blooms used to be? We’re getting a new neighbour. Camden Coffee House is coming to town, if a little late of schedule; after a little delay (gotta love those builders) the lovely Sunni is flinging open the doors around 5th October, with a grand opening on Saturday 8th October. These sneaky preview pics show that the place is ever-so-nearly there and if like us you walk past it every day, you’ve seen the speedy rate that it’s developed in the past couple of weeks.

If you have time on the Saturday, pop along and take advantage of the free espressos, £1 lattes and flat whites (as well as other delightful coffee options), and free cake with every drink purchase. Nom indeed. As with their Camden and Croydon outlets, there’ll be a continuing loyalty scheme where after five drinks, you’ll get your sixth free. We’ll drink to that.

Camden Coffee House, 208 Balham High Road, SW12 9BS