From the moment I woke
up, I had an overwhelming craving for whitebait. I'm not sure why, or
where it came from, just that I hadn't had them for ages and had
to have them. I really fancied chomping on the little , whole
battered, deep fried fish no larger than my little finger. I never
liked them much as a kid but over the years learned to love the
crunchy morsels of goodness.
I'd had some work
drinks the night before celebrating my birthday, I'd just turned 27.
I was at work but as soon as I ran the bell at midnight and killed
the music, the whole pub burst into song. It was embarrassing seeing
both customers and staff singing me 'happy birthday' and 'for he's a
jolly good fellow', I hate being the centre of attention, especially
being sung to.
It ended up being a
really heavy night, with drinking games an' all. Luckily I'd been
given the whole day off so took advantage and lounged around in bed
all morning. I had no plans, only that I was desperate to conquer my
craving for whitebait.
I finally got up,
showered and set off to meet my uncle at his. It was about 4pm by
this point and I think I'd just started to sober up as I felt I was
ready to prostrate. No matter how much water I drank, it didn't seem
to quench my thirst. What I needed was a beer... and some whitebait.
Frank wanted to show my
this street he'd recently rediscovered around the corner from his in
Somerstown, London. It was about a five minute walk and as we'd
decided to head in the direction of Camden, it was on the way. We
walked past estate after estate, it seemed to me that all Somerstown
had to offer was a series of housing estates old and new, council and
private. There was a pub that I hadn't seen the likes of for years.
It was like the pubs you see in costume dramas where the men are
drunk on ales, swinging and spilling their beer over the floor,
always a fight breaking out in one of its many nooks and crannies and
ladies of the night prowling, eyeing up their next paid encounter or
two. Only this place was set in the present day.
We ended up walking to
Primrose Hill with no success finding any whitebait. I made sure to
check every menu that we walked past, not only pubs but restaurants
too. We'd search high and low for this elusive whitebait with no
luck. I'd been told that somehow whitebait had 'gone out of fashion'
but I dismissed that, I should have listened. It was time to call it
a day I thought, a more important thing was locating a suitable venue
for rehabilitating myself with more beer, the 'hair of the dog' as
some call it.
We were lured into this
rather upmarket cocktail bar on the fringe between Camden and
Primrose hill. I spotted a sign saying '2 pizzas for £15', it caught
my eye and I was pulled in. Obviously I'd misread it completely
failing to notice the big lettering saying 'take away only'.
We wondered inside and
instantly felt under dressed. The bar area had its own what I would
call a concierge. It was a very posh place with elaborate
chandeliers, wide stainless steel topped bar and bar staff wearing
waistcoats and bow-ties. Frank ordered two pints of Meantime London
Pale Ale which seems to be a popular choice for me these days. I
excused myself whilst I received a barrage of phone calls from people
wishing me happy birthday, as not to be rude and talk loudly on my
phone at the bar. I shortly returned to Frank who I'd left on his own
at the bar and continued to drink. The beer had an almost unpleasant
metallicy taste to it, but with only the expected after taste it was
fine and not worth complaining about. As we were nearing the end of
our pints and the time reached about 8pm, the place suddenly swarmed
with activity, It was time to take our leave.
Oh, in reading more
about the bar I have just discovered that it is one of Gordon
Ramsay's restaurants, The York and Albany Hotel, Parkway, London.
With a defeatist
attitude, especially being unable to find my much desired whitebait,
I recommended an Italian restaurant near Chalk Farm called Bar
Centrale where we could at least get a fairly priced and decent
pizza. You never know, they could have had whitebait on the menu.
I was hungry, very
hungry and the pizza soon disappeared into my belly and I was full.
So full in fact I was unable to move comfortably let alone drink
another beer.
We walked slowly and
steadily back towards Kings Cross, hopefully to aid in the digestion
of the mammoth pizzas we had both just finished.
With 'Mabels Tavern' in
our sights, we decided on one last pint before retiring to Frank's
flat and eventually succumbing to fatigue and sleep. Annoying as I
sat down and took a sip of my pint I noticed a menu to my side. Frank
was outside with a cigarette so I glanced over the menu. They had
whitebait and calamari as a started. I was far to full and tired to
even consider it. It took an hour and a game of cards to finish a
lovely autumnal ale by Shepherds Neame called 'Late Red'. I wasn't up
for drinking at any faster rate if at all.
My search continues...
If only I had realised at the time that we'd stumbled upon greatness...
If you're in Camden and fancy a decent pizza without breaking the bank.
While it's still autumn, give this one a go!
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