Thursday 18 April 2013

Pop Art & Pot Bellies

Recently I went to visit the Lichtenstein exhibition at the Tate Modern. I managed to scrape through A level Art all those years ago, and unfortunately all this left me with was a vague interest in modern art. Unfortunately I cannot profess to be a culture vulture and hadn't been to the Tate for years.


I dragged along two buddies who did Art A level with me (probably to a much better standard than me, those A level years are a haze of doing as little as possible and having far too much fun) and we mooched around the exhibition, choosing our favourite in each room and, despite Annie's best efforts at intelligent comments and knowledge, not taking ourselves too seriously. Proven by the decision to lie on the floor of the Turbine Hall and a bit of impromptu yoga training from Luce....

Me, Lucy and Annie
After more culture than we could bear, we hopped across the Millenium Bridge for something to eat and a much needed glass of wine (ok ok I was the one desperate for the wine - it was well after noon on a Saturday after all). I'd been into Bread Street Kitchen a couple of times just for a drink or two, so I was looking forward to chowing down on their burger.

Photo Credit goes to Annie (I scoffed mine)
It didn't disappoint. It was a juicy, meaty treat. Really nice amount of cheese and good pickles. I normally really dislike ketchup on anything, especially burgers which is a bit controversial but this was just the right amount to compliment the burger. I blame my parents for the summer trips to France for my obsession with mayo on chips. Anyway, the burger was delicious, as was the homemade mayo I had with the enormous chips. I normally prefer slightly less wedge-like chips but these were fluffy and crispy. My only criticism is that the burger doesn't come with chips, so £16 for burger and chips isn't cheap but it's worth it. For a much better review, have a look at what Burgerac thought.

Oh hi St Pauls, don't you look beaut
After we had decided we couldn't eat another thing, we decided we could definitely fit in some more beverages so we headed upstairs to Madison. I should add that we were right opposite St Paul's in a complex - for want of a much better word! - that houses Bread Street, Barbecoa, and lots of shops and restaurants called One New Change. On the top floor is Madison, a large bar and restaurant with pretty dam good views. I'd been up before but you would not know this was here unless you had the inside track, and quite a few people do. DesignMyNight.com always help me out and they introduced me to Madison.

Quite the view
As the sun went down over St Pauls, we decided to go in search of Disco Bistro because we hadn't eaten enough... Thanks to my iPhone we found it - above a closed pub with only a sign to lead us to this fabled place. You would not know it's there unless you go looking, which is kinda the point.


I ran up the stairs to suss it out as I didn't imagine it was going to be that busy at 6.30 on a Saturday - and I was right. Running up the stairs, I passed who I now realise was Carl Clarke, who is at the helm of this much-reviewed, much-loved pop up. He offered chicken wings and cocktails and I managed to persuade the girls to give it a run. We got straight into a cosy little table in the corner and commenced the consumption of a few too many cocktails called something like 'Live East Die' - champagne & gin, you can't go wrong.


There was no way I was leaving without some wings, having read numerous blogs about their fabulousness. So we chowed down and they were truly fabulous. I'm not a massive fan of wings normally but I find myself scouring my diary for a time when I can return before this amazing pop up closes on 26th May.

Sadly, there are no pictures of the wings as they were gone before you could say 'Another round of Live East Die please' but we did order more. Annie's one true love is white chocolate, so a basket of doughnuts with white chocolate and rhubarb sauces were ordered.


Being devoid of a sweet tooth, I ordered 'Cheese Crackers'. These came.



Probably the best 'Cheese Crackers' I've ever had. Cashel Blue, micro herbs, and a strange but delicious miniature broccoli type veggie. They were amazing, I loved them. I can still taste them now!

If you can get to Disco Bistro, I would really recommend it. I've heard it gets very busy and becomes as much a Disco as a Bistro... I've heard their burgers aren't too shabby either.

After paying the bill, which was really not much considering the cocktails we'd consumed, we disappeared into the night with full bellies and happy thoughts of a fantabulous day spent with lovely friends.



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2 comments:

  1. What an amazing day :) All that food sounds delicious, what did you think of the exhibition?x x

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    1. Thanks for commenting Ibbs! The exhibition was good... I'm not sure it was worth the £15 entry fee, but I do love his art and it was nice to do something other than end up in the nearest bar with wine in hand!!

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