Dublin!

So, I’m off to Dublin for the weekend tomorrow...a very quick trip, with not quite 48 hours to be in Dublin, but still, I’m excited. And I might even drink beer (gasp!). I’m going with a friend, a friend of hers (who I haven’t met) and a friend of that friend’s, who neither of us have met. So, it’s going to be one of those weekends where we’re all having to compromise on what to do and see…and since I have to admit, I do regret that I didn’t even try a single beer whilst in Brussels, I plan to at least try a beer or two in Dublin, especially since it seems we’re going on at least one pub crawl. And really, how can I go on a pub crawl and drink wine? Whilst London’s pubs have come of age and most have lengthy wine lists, I’m going to guess that in Dublin, they’re still beer-centric.

It’s ok, my girliness won’t crumble the second my lips touch the beer. At least, I hope not :D

And then I’m going to Cardiff (Wales) for part of Easter weekend. I decided that rather than jet off to the Continent, I’d just stay local and uber-relax. There won’t be much open anywhere, so the weekend is better spent vegging than sightseeing. So, I’m going to a spa hotel right on the water and I plan to eat fantastic food, get massages, walk along the pier...do not much of anything, really. Since food is the very centre of my universe, I’ll be commencing the 4-day Easter weekend with a late afternoon tea at the Ritz...considered one of the best hotel teas in London, it’s also all-you-can-eat ;)

Then of course, there’s the trip to Champagne next month, to tour a bunch of vineyards. It’s going to be a busy spring!

Going back to the land of food news, I’m telling you, this city is a food heaven. With the days of poking fun at London food a good 3 decades or so behind us, the city has moved to nearly the world forefront of food.

I’ve done some poking around in Marylebone, now that I live right down the street. Marylebone, I may have already mentioned, is one of the newer gourmet meccas in London. I discovered that the Sunday morning farmer’s market includes things like fresh cream, all kinds of veggies and fruit and many tempting desserts and savoury dishes. I behaved, because I’m nearly at the end of this torturous diet, but I’m definitely going back.

And after a yummy breakfast at Fortnum and Mason a few weeks ago with a friend, I discovered that duck eggs are heaven on earth. At Fortnum & Mason, any egg dish you order comes with your choice of hen eggs or duck eggs...and being the wannabe gourmand that I think I am, I decided to try the duck eggs. They are equivalent in size to a jumbo hen egg and the yolk is much more flavourful (and for poaching purposes, the white behaves itself much better than with hen eggs and doesn’t fall apart)...and Nigella Lawson, one of my heroes, says that Selfridges has the best duck eggs in London. Since Selfridges is now dangerously close to me, I decided to test her theory...and the eggs are heaven. I did discover the same brand at Waitrose (a Harris Teeter equivalent), but the Selfridges ones were quite a bit fresher, based on the sell by dates.

Yesterday, I discovered that I can have fresh fruits and veggies from British farmers delivered to my door every week, with no delivery charge. So fresh and local, in fact, that you can only order what’s currently in season. Yum.

I think I’ve already mentioned that the best cheese shop and the best butcher in London are next door to each other, around the corner from me. One of the best herb shops in the world is right here in London...the list is endless.

At a dinner with my boss last night – my first flavourful treat to myself in weeks and an impromptu celebration that our project is finally on its way – I discovered yet another absolutely delicious restaurant. I’d frantically and neurotically researched various online menus for the perfect meal – being a bit dessert obsessed at the time and being the venue was to be my choice and I ended up somewhat accidentally picking an absolute gem...Alloro, off Piccadilly. Our wine was phenomenal, the breads were divine, and all 3 courses were perfect. Even if they didn’t have the specific dessert I’d obsessed over on their online menu ;) The cost might have us in trouble with the big boss later, but I’ve promised to take most of the blame. It was totally worth it :P

So my new quest is to finally marry my love affair with food, my love affair with London and my love affair with being thin. I’m now walking/running a combined nearly 35 miles a week. Which should, you know, help a little.

My beloved kitchen stuff left my mother's garage on Tuesday and is making its slow journey across the Pond and soon, I’ll be making pained decisions about whether to make my own breads (and butter!) or go out to eat. The food and travel choices do boggle the mind a bit ;)

I'll just end with sincere apologies for any hunger pangs I may have induced :)