Day 424 - 5 Random Things About Our Trip to London

At some point this week, I'll go into full-recap-mode...but for now, here's a few thoughts.

Sometimes, English is Hard to Understand

I've gotten so used to Danes speaking English that it - at times - was almost impossible to understand the various the English accents bombarding me in London. It was - at times - like this. I am ashamed.

David Mitchell's 3 Point Pen Policy

Ceviche

So, yeah, there's a Peruvian place in Soho called Ceviche. It is awesome. You should go there. Personal favorite? Note; I did not take this picture, I stole borrowed it from Paul Winch-Furness. Please visit this review featuring this picture, among other great ones.

It is Sakura Maru. It is salmon marinated in satsuma / mirin / chili / other stuff. It is delicious. You should order it.

Please and Thank You and I'm Sorry \ Thank You for Your Hospitality

I know that it has been a year in Copenhagen, but this was refreshing. Others routinely held doors for me and thanked me when I did so for them! Others noticed my need to pass / walk by and *gasp* moved out of the way without me asking! Someone accidentally bumped into me in the Underground and profusely apologized! Twice! Everyone stands to the right on Underground escalators!

Thanks Londoners!

Musicals, Musicals, Musicals

Much like NYC, there are always a ton of musicals going on in The Capital. There are the ones that  you would probably expect - Phantom of the Opera, Lion King, Mamma Mia, Book of Mormon, etc. There is a Michael Jackson musical, a Queen musical, and a The Bodyguard musical. There is also this musical.

Day 421 - Math by easyJet

Cup of Heinz + Ham Sandwich = Twix

Today we arrived at London-Gatwick without any issues. Transport from the airport to Victoria was about 30 minutes by train - pricey but comfortable and convenient.

We're staying at the Holiday Inn Mayfair, very central. At this point I would probably add some links but this Blogger iPad app is horrible. So horrible. Horrible enough that I just considered spending $5 on a new app. Maybe I'll give in tomorrow.

We wandered around Carnaby St, doing some window shopping, and made our way to Mother Mash for some much needed lunch.

http://mothermash.co.uk/lunch+dinner.pdf

Tasty. You pick a style of mash, a meat or meat pie, and a gravy. The pile of mash was massive. Emily and I went half and half with a lamb pie and some Moroccan sausages.

Day 420 - Possible / Probable London Food Itinerary

Breakfast / Brunch / Food in the Morning

The Breakfast Club
Regency Café
Duck & Waffle

I'm particularly excited / entrigued by Duck & Waffle. It's sort of weird that I'll have had Duck and Waffles before I've had Chicken and Waffles. I am a fancy guy.

I think we still need one more breakfast place.

Lunch

We'll be headed to the Tate Modern at some point and as such were looking for lunch somewhere in the area...

El Vergel
Masters Super Fish
Tsuru

Other than this I plan on pubbing it as much as possible. Please lavish me with meat pies.

Dinner

Sadly, most of the places I had my eye on have no bookings - I am a terrible planner. These should be good though.

MOMO
Ceviche

We'll have dinner in High Wycombe on Saturday and there weren't a ton of options. We went with Eat Thai. It sounds / looks good.

Day 419 - The in-house haircut

I have cycled through many hair "styles" - if you can really say that - from my teen years until now. New colors. New lengths. Goatees. Full beards. Lambchop sideburns. Blonde hair. Red hair. No hair. You name it.

Once-upon-a-time in Emily's above-Jimmy-John's-apartment, our friend Francesca asked Emily - repeatedly, when browsing framed pictures - and who is this? That's Collin. What about this guy? That's Collin. And this dude? Yeah, that's Collin. The questions and answers flew back and forth SO FAST YOU'LL FREAK.

So yes, I have, in a way, drifted through life without a "look" as it were. The most consistent "look" - and I might add the easiest and the one I most identify with - is the bald head (facial hair optional). Today it feels like "me".

This look started in 1995 or 1996, I can't remember. At this point I rocked a horrible horrible bowl haircut. Soon we wouldn't even need the bowl! (SPOILER ALERT, COLLIN SHAVES HIS HEAD)

There was an incident.

An embarrassing incident.

In my infinite wisdom, to deflect said embarrassment I had my friend Ken Sabino shave my head. It didn't necessarily deflect all embarrassment, but I was in a very high-school-way, new. Newly defined.

No longer was I the-guy-that-ripped-a-ridiculously-massive-fart-during-a-Spanish-club-meeting. Now I was also bald. Juan Carlos may have cut the queso, but now he had a new affectation, or lack there of. I dug it, not everyone did, but I was - and still am - a fan.

Anyway, fast-forward past more terrible hairstyles / colors to 1998. I had a live-in barber!

James. Custodio. Jay faded-me-up for the better part of two years. I've never looked better. Sadly, college ends and I lost my barber and had to cut my own hair or pay others to do so.

The paying others to do so bit...I am cheap. My paying others to do so resulted in trips to Hair Cuttery / Cost Cutters / others. Others did not include Fantastic Sam's and / or BoRics. It resulted badly. So I bought some clippers.

My clipper cuts were always one length. Always no-guard. Always bald. Easy. Cheap. Effective. Ridiculously-good-looking.

Occasionally, my hair has grown to very very very long lengths and I've thought, what can I do with this hair? Can I cut it myself? With clippers? I chose not to.

Fast-forward to today to 2013-2014 in a new country with new European-voltage Wahl clippers. I gave it a go. And guess what? The first time looked great! So many compliments, so many amazed that I "did it myself". With confidence growing, I tried again...not as good. Passable, but not as good.

Today, I tried for a third time. Results? Predictably amazing and terrible. I feel like this haircut is like some sort of terrible brownhaired-somewhatcurly-longer-poorlycut Macklemore facsimile. Dear Macklemore, I'm sorry. Imagine Ivan Drago, but with a pompadour that just won't stay up.


There's another 80's reference that I can't quite place. It's not Flock of Seagulls. But it could be. It's bad.

At any rate, I'll be suffering with this haircut. I thought about shaving it again, but I have put too much effort into growing this hair. This glorious terrible hair.

Copenhagen Dining Week - Marv & Ben / Grønbech & Churchill

Yes it's that time of year again, Copenhagen Dining Week! It's a great opportunity to try out new restaurants for a reasonable price - 200 kroner for 3 courses, that's about $36 - including tax. Reservations fill up quickly and there's always difficulty in paring down the list and figuring out where to go.

We tend to take one of two paths when choosing for Dining Week / Restaurant Week. Path one; find the best deal / savings. Path two; pick a restaurant that has been on our "list".

So yes, we chose Marv og Ben and Grønbech & Churchill. The second has a Michelin Star!

I apologize in advance for zero pictures of any of the food we ate. Actually, check that, I don't apologize. I hate hate hate watching people pull out their cameras to take pictures of the food they're about to eat. When the act of cataloging / reporting supersedes the act of actually eating and enjoying...well...it makes me want to vomit. Screw those people.

Sorry for the digression. Sorry again for the lack of pictures. Still not sorry.

No, Marv og Ben was not - as I had originally imagined - started by a guy named Marv and a guy named Ben. Marv og Ben actually means Marrow and Bone. We ate here on Friday the 14th - Valentines Day. Here were the offerings (courtesy of Google Translate!);

Rimet cod cod roe, sour cream and cucumber.
---
Glazed beef brisket lingonberry, artichokes and tarragon.
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Chocolate & Caramel Fudge, ice cream and crunchy.

I was generally bummed by the first course. Crummy - for me - texture and pretty much zero flavor. Bummer. The second course saved things. Just a wonderful brisket, pulled in ribbons, topped with lingonberry with two types of cream sauce edging the plate. The artichokes here are actually jordskokker, Jerusalem artichokes. Delicious. The dessert was good but forgettable.

Next, Grønbech & Churchill on Saturday.

As with most starred restaurants, the level of service is - well - excellent. I think that our waiter looked very Taran Killam. Yes, this Taran Killam.



I like to think that the "Weird / Awesome French Dancing" sketch is Killam's brainchild as he owns it. Epically. It also falls under sketches-only-Collin-could-possibly-like. Fun times.

Anyway, great service. Great food. Here's the recap;

Cauliflower as "airy & creamy" soup piece of North Sea cod "carefully prepared" in mild curry & vanilla  

Endive steamed in rosemary honey and baked lemons Bright poultry with caramelized butter sauce, dried legumes and bitter February salads  

Pear & yogurt as marbled cream Clotted cream set with white chocolate, flavored with licorice root and green aniseed 

So the starter. Delicious. Imagine a very very very luxurious cream chowder with a touch of curry. The cod was perfect. The cauliflower provided some crunch. Awesome.

The main - oh my the sauce! It was a sort of lemon curd / brown butter sauce. Ridiculous. The poultry was a very nice cut of turkey breast. Normally this would be a bit on the boring side but it was cooked perfectly and that sauce...oh that sauce...it could make just about anything delicious.

I've spent so much time thinking of that sauce that I've totally forgotten the dessert. I totally dug the pear, but that's really most of my memory of things. Emily can fill us in here.

All in all, another great year doing this. Copenhagen Dining Week. Do it. It's awesome.

Day 418 - Pandora / Honda / Honest Abe

Fact. I am a huge fan of Pandora Radio. You build stations based on likes / dislikes. Awesome. It isn't perfect - I get waaaayyyyy too much Common on my favorite station, but it's a small price to pay for a free service providing awesome music.

As I do not pay for my Pandora and I am forced to listen to adverts for the privilege of doing so, and it is the month of Presidents, and it is the month of selling cars I have been subjected to tons of car ads. Specifically from Honda North of Danvers. Most follow the format of "Famous President X did Y and that's awesome. Guess what?! Honda North is also Awesome! Buy a Honda".

At some point - as would be with every President's Day / Month celebration - we get to Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's greatest Honda-selling-achievement? The transcontinental railroad. The transcontinental railroad!

Preserving the union? Eh. Ending slavery? Eh. Thanks Honda North of Danvers!

Correction / Jerky-date to a Previous Post Involving "Jerky"

I cannot - in good conscience - allow misinformation to spew from this blog. The Jack Link's "beef jerky" I spoke on earlier is, in reality, a "Steak Bar" / "Ready-To-Eat-Beef-Snack".

I can only report back on the "original" version thus far. I hate to say it, but I'm not a fan. There wasn't that tear / pull and eat of glorious beef jerky. There's a very specific processed texture / flavor here that I can't place. McRib? Maybe. For those of you who don't know me very well, I'll expound on this by saying that my enjoyment-bar for this kind of stuff is very low. I'll snap into a Slim Jim with the best of them - RIP Randy. But for Jebus' sake, this texture / flavor?! I am not a fan.

As an aside, that might be one of my favorite commercials of all time. Art thou bored!?

It looked / smelled / felt remarkably like a dog treat and, very predictably, Charlie was intrigued. He may have enjoyed some Ready-To-Eat-Beef-Snack residue off of my fingers / napkin (jeans).

Perhaps that's why it's correctly labeled as a Beef-Snack. I can't describe how much I enjoy the Ready-To-Eat portion of that. Radical! I don't have to cook this!?

I'm holding out hope for the "Peppered" version, but my expectations are very low.