The Breakfast Club - Soho

The Breakfast Club

The idea of breakfast for dinner really appeals to me. Simple, delicious and filling. Perfect meal for any time of the day really. So when a friend mentioned to me that we should try The Breakfast Club in Soho I jumped at the opportunity.

A group of us went down for a mid week banquet expecting a feast of breakfast options, some initially unsure of the idea, especially as the cafe was BYO. To be honest the idea of mixing wine with a breakfast meal didn't tickle my fancy however others brought along bottles to down throughout the evening.

The Breakfast Club decor had a quirky, vintage, and American kitsch feel to it. Almost like we should be in a milkshake and burger shack in California in the 80's. On the bright yellow feature walls there were street signs, old records and pictures stuck to the wall and we were seated on vintage wooden chairs and tables, those similar to what we used to use at primary school. The outside of the building is painted in the brand yellow and therefore sticks out with the brickwork in the Soho street. Which makes it easy to find for newcomers like us.

The menu boasts a plethora of breakfast options however disappointingly that they only serve this until 5pm. The evening menu consists of classic burgers, burritos, hot and cold sandwiches, all with a range of fries and salads. They only have three options breakfast on the menu after 5pm which involves eggs bene, big breakfast and pancakes. Despite having been very keen for breakfast at dinner time I ended up choosing the 'The Number 3 Wrap' which consisted of goats cheese, roast aubergine, peppers, pesto and 3 tomato chutney. 

In fact none of our group ended up getting a breakfast option, disappointing really. Maybe it was because the rest of the options sounded more appealing for dinner time. My other companions chose dishes of the Chorizo Burrito, Chicken Burrito, a Hot Pastrami sandwich and a massive burger that had a good name and a fried egg.
Feedback consisted of "this burger is huge", "the chorizo's so spicy" and "this is tasty".  All the meals came out in good time, and were all appealing in looks, despite my somewhat unflattering photos.

The service was good, my peanut butter milkshake rocked my socks off, as it did to the rest of my team as the waitress brought out the excess shake which wouldn't fit into the glass.

Overall the Breakfast Club was a fun idea, good service and tasty meals. I am not sure I would dine there for dinner again unless I ordered the breakfast options, but I will definitely be back for breakfast, brunch or lunch on more than one occasion.

Instagram

Follow me on instagram for some fresh food for thought pics @love_bites

So.... I Cooked a Chicken Roast for the First Time

Recently I embarked on the challenge of cooking my first chicken Roast....

Now I know you are probably  thinking 'how has she never cooked a roast chicken when she considers herself a foodie?' Well I will tell you, quite simply;  I've discovered that I am not a fan of cooking meat on bones. Anything I have cooked as of lately (in the past year or two) was either of breast or steak form, sans bones. I'm just not a huge bone in meat kinda gal. However I have cooked a roast before, a lamb rack roast to be exact. Although as there is not that much meat on the rack, and I had thought I cooked enough vegetables to compensate for this but it turns out my other half was still hungry at the end of it despite being a good feed (mainly of vegetables). I have also assisted my darling mother cook many a roast and also chowed down on a good few hundred (I think!) of them in my time, so I thought to myself 'It. Is. Time.'

I will not bore you with the details of my cooking process as most of you may have cooked a chicken roast before but all I want to tell you is that it was PHENOM. Really moist, full of flavour, and tastiness.  The chicken itself was brought from a Tesco supermarket, flavoured already with parsley sea salt and pepper and filled with a pork, onion and sage stuffing. I really could not have done better myself (although - the challenge is noted!) My vegetables consisted of roasted potatoes (golden brown with the perfect crunch), sweet potato, carrots and parsnip. I also cooked minted peas and even made gravy. Yes I went ALL out and it was FAN-TAS-TIC.

I was so impressed with myself I even had to snap some photo evidence:

And I can say one of the best things about a homemade roast is that there is usually leftovers when cooking for a smaller group. Leftovers are brilliant.

Domestic Goddess Phase One Complete... until next time Roast Chicky!

On a Side Note: European Hot Choc

European version - glorified

I felt the need to discuss Hot Chocolate. Not the nice fluffy, frothy chocolate milk type that us 'Southerners' are used to. But the thick, mud-like, syrup that calls itself Hot Chocolate in Europe (please see the glorified picture above).

I have now had this sludge in more than one European country and I am most disgusted. First in Poland and I thought that was a fluke. And now, most recently in Venice and I am shocked. I cannot believe in such a food-forward country like Italy that they serve this poor excuse for Hot Chocolate, especially when their coffee is so delish.

Getting that smooth frothy milk chocolate flavoured craving was not even close to being satisfied when I was served with the sickly brown imitation chocolate-flavoured syrup.  So disappointed in fact it only lasted one (okay two) sips and then was thrown in the bin. It also burned a hole in the pocket with three euros for a polystyrene 200ml cup. You also do not get any froth, or sprinkles or marshmallows. Not that I am a marshmallow fan but still. Yeuck.

Not only is it calling itself Hot Chocolate, the traditional milky version is not even an option. You only have the one version. It's like drinking chocolate icing which sounds fun for a while but when its so dense it verges on being a pudding it doesn't only look like poo but tastes like it too.

I can only hope that the Hot Chocolate in England is better (and I'm not talking the Starbucks kind)....watch this space.


Ciao

Kiwi version - I miss you!!