A Soulless Factory (Review: Izakaya Nana)

15 October 2023

My trip to NYC was extremely busy. I was already running low on energy after a long week in Europe, and tomorrow morning I have to wake up at 4am, run to La Guardia for the very early flight into O’Hare, and then literally from taxi into a meeting. So it wasn’t easy to relax this final day.

I had a good day around Long Island, where I had planned to go. Lucky the weather cooperated far more than yesterday’s disgusting downpour and flooding. But I was tired, as this trip is finally near an end.

I didn’t want to venture far for dinner, so I took a risk on a highly-hyped izakaya not too far from my hotel in Flushing, Izakaya Nana. When I got it, I was thinking it’s big, and was like a parody of a more proper NYC izakaya like Sakagura in Manhattan…

The staff seems disinterested and it was not a busy night this Sunday. I eventually placed my order and relaxed with some sake. Annoyingly, it was chilling in an ice bath, but there was absolutely nothing to wipe up the drips. It’s like they just didn’t care. Oh well. Then the food started to arrive.

The takowasa was okay, but very neutral, like it was tempered down for the local crowd. But overall not bad. Sadly the ankimo was pretty bland.

Is it the sourcing? After the poor ankimo at Hakata Tonton last night, I’m starting to wonder about the sourcing of monkfish livers in this region… Then we have a set of hakozushi…

A bit of misselling here, but what do you expect when it comes with…sauces. I really hate what this country has done with traditional Japanese cuisine… And this wasn’t much more than a stomach filler, to be honest…

I kept at my bottle of sake, and still annoyed they didn’t provide a wipe for the ice bucket. Confused service. But now we move to some kushiyaki…

Most of them were pretty good, especially the pork belly and eel, but the chicken was tired and old. I thought about ordering more, but this place is emptied out and the staff parading next to me with large bags of trash, so I don’t want to push this further. I ordered one last thing so I can finish my bottle.

And this saba is, sadly, tired too. Compared to the mackerel I got at the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at London Heathrow, this was very sad. And compared to anything I’ve had in Japan, or at Cocoro in Chicago or anywhere else really, it’s sad.

I’m sad, and this is my last meal in NYC and on this long trip, and it’s a sad way to end it. I drained the rest of my sake and headed out for the long walk back to my hotel, not ready for a 4am alarm.

Just avoid this place despite any hype you hear. Awful, a basterdisation of an izakaya that has defined modern trendy US ethnic dining.

Izakaya Nana
141-26 Northern Boulevard
Flushing, Queens, New York

Sadly Not a Resurrection but a Zombie (Review #4: Hakata Tonton)

14 October 2023

When Hakata Tonton in NYC closed a few years ago, there was a collective sigh from the truly happy eaters of the city. Their unique hideout, one that featured amazing “Japanese soul food” was gone. It was where so many of the industry would hide on a rare off night, to feast on some unique dishes of offal and trotter.

I’ve had a lot of good nights there going back over a decade. Some were absolutely excellent, and others were just fabulous.

When news came that Hakata Tonton was being resurrected, eaters rejoyced. I rejoyced. But since they re-opened, I’ve not heard much buzz from those voices that were the loudest when the closure announcement came. I didn’t think much of it, but I was a little surprised at the location where this resurrection was happening.

So when I dropped into NYC after this last European trip, I had to go there to see what’s up. Conveniently I met up with a friend there for an early dinner. It was a disgusting day, downpours. I had somehow hiked more than 10 miles in Brooklyn in the crappy weather, and I was soaked and absolutely out of energy.

I made a quick stop at my old haunt, El Pote, in Murray Hill, where I have been a regular since the mid 2000s. Sad to not see a few faces who left us over the few years since I last visited, but good to see many friendly faces – and to enjoy a few classic dishes, especially the caracoles with the amazing garlic sauce I’ve been trying to replicate for over 15 years.

I ran across town on foot, despite being so tired, as traffic was still a mess. I got to the new Hakata Tonton in the middle of Koreatown and my friend was just arriving. We walked in and I gasped…goodness, this is now a factory. This has no soul. I just hope the food was the same.

We sat down and the vibe was already 180-degrees different from the old place, and it’s already a turn-off. We looked over the menu…some old stuff, some new stuff, some old stuff with unnecessary embellishments…and a few much-loved items missing. Sigh… So we ordered and chilled.

It was great to catch up with an old friend, as it’s been a few years. A good conversation as always just before the food began to arrive.

The veal liver sashimi is one of the dishes I missed the most, and it was quite nice – although I’m not sure my friend liked it! However, the ankimo didn’t work at all…

Why does this amazing ingredient need all this BS around it? You can barely taste the ankimo with this unnecessary “overcheffing” here. Sigh…

The salad was not bad (obviously my friend ordered it), and the scallops topped by uni was okay.

I’m definitely sensing that it’s not just the vibe that’s changed about this place, but the whole kitchen philosophy. Let’s see if one of their specialty dishes hold up, the gyoza.

Not bad, but it just feels very ordinary. It used to be so special…

And the tongue was especially chewy, which never used to happen. Disappointed… Lucky it was a wonderful time catching up with one of my oldest friends, but too bad the food failed to deliver.

We both had desserts. My friend went with the goma ice cream, and me with the matcha. I just sipped on my shochu as we enjoyed the conversation. Unfortunately he had to run, and I have a very long ride on the very slow 7 train from end to end, so we headed out.

Sadly, Hakata Tonton has not been resurrected. It’s a zombie of the Hakata Tonton we all loved and miss. The vibe’s totally different, and the uniqueness about the old Hakata Tonton is gone. A few of the dishes remain, but not done well. It’s not the same, and instead of recognizing this zombie of it, I will instead mourn the loss of what was once a culinary giant in NYC.

Hakata Tonton
35 West 35th Street
New York, New York

Review #4 (and Final One): Bocca di Lupo

12 October 2023

It’s my final meal in Europe, and once again I end up at Bocca di Lupo. The last time I was here in 2019 – the last time I was in Europe before the pandemic, literally my last meal in Europe until this year – I had an awful time, like the restaurant didn’t care anymore. A far cry from a better visit in 2016, when it was better, but the trend had been going downward almost every visit.

I think the only stellar review I wrote was during my 10th visit (and my first review). Yet, despite all that, I decided to give it another go.

One thing you always expect at Bocca di Lupo is that it’s a shitshow. It’s crazy busy, the counter is packed to the brim and it’s uncomfortable to eat – especially solo, doing different plates. Why do I keep coming back? It’s a puzzle.

I arrived during a very wet evening at about 8pm, hopefully missing the theatre crowd. It was just starting to turnover, and had to wait a little but got a counter space. They kept the spot next to me open, which sounded great, but I was sandwiched next to the service area and it’s always extremely crazy there. At least I have room for more than 1 dish tonight, physically…

It took awhile to get service, as the norm here, but I got a cocktail and looked over the ever-changing menu. I ordered a few things and decided on a bottle of Lagrein from Alto Adige, one of my favourite wines. I relaxed and lucky I got the wine, as I was drinking a bit with how long the starters took. A good 20 minutes, but that’s normal for this insanely overcrowded place.

Remember how I said Kiln was busy, but never uncomfortably busy? Well, Bocca di Lupo is always uncomfortably busy.

The baccalà was okay, but they forgot to season it. Sitting at the counter watching the overworked kitchen crew, with a manager barking at them rather rudely, tells me this is normal. And the sage leaf with anchovy was not bad, although unseasoned – except for one edge that tasted like it was fried in a salt crust…

They brought out only one stuffed olive, and I had to wait another 10 minutes for the other… The second one was far better, and seasoned too. Sigh…maybe I should have gone somewhere else.

I sipped my wine and the place was slowing down a little, and a total shock: I actually see a few empty seats on the counter! All of my trips, since the first few weeks this place opened many moons ago, I’ve never seen empty seats. But the orders kept going and the barking at the kitchen line continued. It’s a little annoying when the orders come with unnecessary attitude, especially from the service manager and not the sous of the day…

This tripe was pretty good, so I was starting to feel a little relieved. This is a dish you really cannot mess up for how long they’ve done it. But now we have another long gap, as it took another 20 minutes before the buristo came out. And I can see when they make it, because the grill station is right in front of me.

Sadly very boring buristo, cooked unevenly and again seasoned badly. I should have called it a day, but I had wine left, and I saw how good some of the meats are doing tonight, being in front of the grill. I was going to do the fish but they cut the best parts (head) off, so I went with the pork chop.

Took a little while, but it was worth it. A solid dish that’s for sure, a little excessive as I had to take some of it with me afterwards, but finally a dish that was cooked right and seasoned right.

Some caponata made it all go down better. This is why I am always puzzled. They would disappoint me to the point of almost walking out, then come up with a winner. So let’s just close this account after 15 years…

For that, I had my usual grappa and some sorbetti – something they cannot mess up with a gelateria next door.

Coconut and bitter chocolate, so that was excellent. But the post-theatre crowd has come in and the shitshow was beginning again, and a few times the service manager was being so rude the line cooks stopped and stared at each other. I hear the service staff grumbling too.

I headed out now knowing I will not come back again. I think the model of business here is poor, no matter if the food was good or what. This is a factory, and the toll it takes on staff is ridiculous. I’ve seen enough kitchens and restaurants in my life to see that this place is made to just pile people in, stuff them uncomfortably, and ring up the bills. And the staff suffers from the grind. It’s one thing when it’s super busy, but this place is designed to be a daily marathon at sprinting speed because the kitchen is too small for its purpose. The counter is also packed too dense to be comfortable. All to make a few extra quid.

This is probably my 20th dining experience here at Bocca di Lupo over its 15 year run, and it’s time to let it go.

Bocca di Lupo
12 Archer Street
London, England

PS: And of course I got utterly drenched going back to my hotel…

PPS: Surprised by the excellent pan-fried mackerel at the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at Deathrow…I mean Heathrow…before flying back over the Atlantic the next day…

Review #3: Kiln

12 October 2023

One thing about being back in London is the ability to visit your haunts. Some are sadly gone, some have gone pear-shaped even before the Pandemic, but some are still going strong. So one of the ones going strong was one of my destinations for lunch this rainy morning, Kiln.

I had a long early morning up north, and was rather soaked from the rain. I headed back towards central London and to Soho for lunch at one of my usual places. My last visit was wonderful, from my last trip to Europe before the Pandemic. It was even better than my first visit, when it was a rather new restaurant.

I am seated at my “usual” place at the very end of the bar, in front of the turntable. So comfortable to see the same view and smell the same wonderful aroma… I enjoyed a drink and ordered, knowing I’ll be here for awhile. They told me no rush, so…

And a wonderful return greeting with some awesome grilled culled yaw with cumin. Love animals with seniority, bringing some very deep, muttony flavours that come out great with the fire. And of course my beloved sausage…

So good, I always love their sausages here. I’m so glad my schedule worked out today to visit, thanks to some nifty re-planning yesterday seeing today’s crappy weather. The place is nice and busy, but it’s always fun. It’s never uncomfortably busy.

Then we have a nice dish of cockles, absolutely lovely. It went so well with the plaice at Iluka in Copenhagen the other night I wanted more, and this was fabulous. I was happy so I ordered a bigger dish, and got another glass of wine.

Oh, this is wonderful. This is monkfish in a curry made from its liver. Familiar to many as ankimo in Japanese, this gives the curry such a unique flavour. With a good bite to it, it was easy to hoover up the bowl of brown rice I ordered. So good…

But it was ugly outside and I was thinking this is my last day in Europe, so why not? I ordered a big dish and relaxed with more wine…

Oh my, maybe too much after last night’s excessive meat at Lurra? But this bavette was actually far better, with a sweet chilli glaze. Cooked perfectly and absolutely delicious.

But also absolutely excessive. I was stuffed. I thanked my excellent servers and headed out into the ugly rainy afternoon. One last hike to go on, to help burn this wonderful lunch off…

As always, totally recommended!

Kiln
58 Brewer Street
London, England

Review: Lurra

11 October 2023

I left Copenhagen full but sad, as it was an excellent albeit short stay in one of the cities I’ve spent most time yet never lived in. Now off to somewhere I have indeed lived in, London. Not even the crappy, ridiculously long queues at Gatwick passport control and train station (my Oyster Card didn’t have enough value…) stopped me on my way back to this city where I have a love-hate relationship with.

It’s drifted towards the latter over the years, to be perfectly honest…

But I dropped my bag off in my old Bayswater neighbourhood, where I lived in 1996, and headed out for a very long day of trekking. Skipping lunch, but fuelled by that excellent dinner at Iluka last night, I managed another crazy amount of steps. I was spent by the time I got back to my hotel in Bayswater, but I need to turn around and head out soon again.

I was meeting a friend for dinner at Lurra this evening. I was hungry for a proper Basque txuleta, so made this reservation. I preferred another place out in East London, but this place was easier location-wise for the both of us. I was a little apprehensive because I had a terrible experience at their flagship restaurant Donostia when it first opened, but that was 11 years ago so I’m hoping for a good experience.

A busy night in London, I’ve forgotten how loud this city is indoors. A table in the back, and my friend arrived as I was sipping at a glass of wine. We ordered some drinks and a bottle of wine and caught up, which was the best part of the evening. Soon the starters began to arrive.

The anchovy was pretty good, as you would expect. Then we have a corgette flower…

We split it, and it was also good, stuffed with manchego, and cooked well. That got us ready for the main dish, which arrived soon.

A Rubia Gallega ribeye, always a treat to enjoy the meat from a very senior cow (16 years old). Lovely stuff, which is not for everyone as it is fatty, but it was excellent. Not the best I’ve had, but quite good. We managed to destroy it pretty easily.

Sadly the piquillos were not very good and ridiculously overpriced, cooked poorly as well. Oh well.

But the point of the night was to chat with a friend, so that went totally to plan. Honestly this was good, but could have been better. I think the Donostia experience from 2012 stayed in my head and influenced my dinner, to be honest. I kind of wish we went out east for this dinner, but it worked well enough.

A good night, considering everything. And I’m absolutely knackered…

Lurra
9 Seymour Place
London, England

Review: Iluka

10 October 2023

I was tired. It’s been days of non-stop exploration and the jetlag is starting to finally affect me. So after that good dimsum late lunch, I just took it easy. And plus, my short trip to Copenhagen is ending, so I had to deal with some trip logistics for my departure tomorrow morning.

But whether my Copenhagen food curse is really over will depend on tonight, where I am having dinner at Iluka. Again, the menu intrigued me when I looked at it. Plus, it’s one of the very few good restaurants that’s open on a Tuesday night. So after a Metro ride on the new line that wasn’t here the last time I visited, I got to Iluka.

Busy night, but I fit right in at the bar. Relaxed and was surprised (or was I?) by mostly American accents all around the restaurant (alongside a very broad Aussie accent cutting through it all). And my bartender/server was from Scotland, so it was a sign of Copenhagen 2023 that’s for sure. It’s an international magnet for food lovers and lovers of a good life.

I enjoyed a tipple as I looked over the menu. I thought about the tasting, but I felt like I wanted to control the food this evening. So I ordered some dishes to start. Let’s see where this goes.

And it starts off quite amazing with the tomato broth. This was absolutely stunning of a dish, graced by oysters and samphire, which I absolutely love. The flavours are so deep and rich I almost had a reminder of Chef Andrea Camastra’s style of cooking from Nuta a few nights ago! A wonderful start!

The baked corn was odd, to be honest. Tasty, but odd. The corn was cut in a way that you need to almost eat it separately from the other major elements in the dish, squid. It was messy, but pretty good.

Next up is the pike skewer. It’s a fish I’m very familiar with having lived in Northern Europe for many years, and this was a delicious rendition – powered on by a bit of squid innards. Excellent idea, and made it even more interesting!

I’m pretty confident this kitchen is skilled and able to bring out the best of the high-quality ingredients, so I decided to order a big dish for a main course. I enjoyed some wine as this cooked, and when it came out I was very pleased.

Yep, local plaice. This was delicious, helped on by some seaweed butter and choice selection of herby greens, as well as the unexpected cockles that was very good. The meat was tasty, but one of the best things is to have the entire fish – meaning the head. I spent some time devouring it to the point that you can’t even tell this thing had a head. Some of the kitchen staff that walked by nodded their approval at my appreciation of the entire fish.

So many people would waste some of the best parts of this dish because they don’t know how to enjoy all of the fish. That’s too bad, as they are just missing out. Oh that was good, but very filling!

I was full, like last night, but needed a dessert. A good bit of chatting with fellow diners and staff, and I ordered their one dessert: a red chocolate sorbet, which sits under a merengue. Pretty good, worked well with the scotch that the Scottish bartender suggested. I did some post-graduate studies in Aberdeen, near this distillery, so this was a welcomed treat.

Oh, so good, my Copenhagen curse is certainly lifted, with tonight and last night’s excellent dinner at Contento! I thanked the crew and headed out, and luckily a bus came by soon after so I didn’t even dive underground to get back to Københavns Hovedbanegård for my short walk to my hotel.

Thank you, Copenhagen, this short trip was delicious and fun! Hope next time won’t be 5 years in the waiting!

Iluka
Peder Skrams Gade 15
København, Danmark

Why Dimsum in Denmark? (Review: Fu Hao)

10 October 2023

Now why would I be eating dimsum in Copenhagen? Why am I not having a pølse for lunch instead? Well, this goes back several trips. As I mentioned before, I tend to stay at hotels very near the central station for convenience sake. And almost every time, I’ve been absolutely knackered from exploring the city so I wanted food near my hotel. And it happened again, and a return to Fu Hao – where I have eaten many times before.

Gruff service as usual. I relaxed with the odd combination of beer and soy milk (not together, in separate glasses!) and ordered my lunch. I was sore as heck. I went a bit out of town early in the morning past Roskilde, before heading back to explore various places – including the amazing Thorvaldsens Museum, celebraing the work on one of my favourite sculptors, Bertel Thorvaldsen. I love exploring this place…

But I was tired. Only about 15km today, but cumulatively I was tired, so that’s a good excuse for my dimsum. And I love the fact they bring you a tub of sugar with the soy milk so you can sweeten as you like – without getting ones that are ridiculously sweet. But this one-sip-of-bitter-beer-and-one-sip-of-mildly-sweeteened-soy milk seems to work…

As does this. The first item to arrive is some tripe. This is always done very well here, a touch of spice too. Really delicious. Then some tofu skin rolls.

Also good, so far enjoying this lunch. Then the brought out the sticky rice.

I love this, although not totally traditional (no huge huck of pork belly inside) it was very tasty.

A wee break then the second set came out. First was some ribs.

Quite nice, a generous portion for the price. Then finally, shumai, which oddly came out last.

But as good as always. This was a delicious lunch. Not too expensive, and quick. I finished my beer-and-soy milk double pairing and thanked the server as I headed out. Ouch, my feet hurt. Lucky my hotel isn’t far…

So yes, this is why I have dimsum in Copenhagen!

Fu Hao
Colbjørnsensgade 15
København, Danmark

Review: Contento

9 October 2023

I sadly departed from Warsaw early this Monday morning, headed to a city that I have visited over a dozen times over the years, Copenhagen. It’s certainly changed plenty since my very first trip there, also in 1994. For one thing, the area around Københavns Hovedbanegård (the central station) – especially the western side – has cleaned up immensely.

I dropped my bag off at my hotel in the aforementioned neighbourhood and had a extremely long day of exploration. Even after a dozen trips, there are still plenty to see in this amazing city. By the end of the day, skipping lunch, I was exhausted having covered another 20km (12 miles) on foot. I’m glad I got a bit of an upgrade at my relatively nice hotel. I don’t need anything fancy, just a clean, convenient place and I’m good.

I’ve not been back to Copenhagen since February 2018, so was looking to see what has changed in the food scene. Was it still stuck in the acid-heavy style of the 2010s that utterly destroys my GI track and tastebuds? Or has it evolved? Tonight I’ll find out at Contento, which focuses on Iberian cuisine. I was intrigued by what I heard. Plus, it was one of very few good restaurants in town open on a Monday night!

It began well with an extremely friendly crew taking care of me at the bar. A good cocktail in hand and I looked over the menu. Wow, so many good things! I ordered a few snacks to get started, and soon it began to appear.

Mmmm, a delicious deviled egg with anchovy and shrimp. A very tasty combination, it made me even hungrier. I could have had more of this, but my attention quickly fixated on my next item.

Oh. My. Goodness. These txistorras were absolutely amazing. Perfect flavours and perfect texture. I could have eaten about 20 plates of these and be absolutely happy.

These padrons are excellent, balancing things out with the amazing but rich txistorras. I’m loving this food so far!

I’ve got a lot of confidence in this kitchen (and wonderful service staff) so I went with a big main item for the next item. I shouldn’t, but why not… So I enjoyed some good wine as this item eventually drifted out from the kitchen…

Yeah, I got a txuleta. Why not? I skipped lunch and burned a lot of energy all day now clean over 20km on foot. And this was delicious. I love excellent beef, especially when cooked right. With a lot of wine, I devoured everything on the plate, smiling as I do it. Oh, so good…

I was full, but couldn’t pass up a cheesecake. A delicious way to end the feasting! Lovely stuff. I had a few more drinks chatting with the fun and excellent crew. This was a wonderful way to spend a Monday evening!

And for Copenhagen, this place was ridiculously inexpensive. Good and easy on the wallet? It’s a winner!

I thanked them and headed out for the long walk to the nearest bus stop that would get me back to my hotel, with a nice evening stroll through the central station. Oh, so worth it. And the big question: is my Copenhagen food curse finally breaking?

¿Contento? ¡Estoy muy contento!

Contento
Ryesgade 25
København, Danmark

…the Warsaw That’s Stuck in the Past (Review: Mokotowska 69)

8 October 2023

As my Warsaw trip was sadly already coming to an end, I had to deal with some trip logistics – and rest my aching feet after a 20km+ day of exploring. One of the minor headaches of visiting Warsaw on a Sunday was limited options for non-ethnic cuisine. I was originally planning to do dinner at Butchery & Wine, but as you know I went there for a spectacular lunch.

So for dinner I decided on Mokotowska 69. Not read much about it, but seems fine enough. I took the long walk and arrived there to a rather empty restaurant. Hmmm, it’s Sunday, but still, a bad sign?

The service was nice enough so I got a nice local bottle of red, ironically one of the ones I enjoyed during that amazing tasting menu and pairing at Nuta last night. I ordered and relaxed. Soon the food started to arrive, and immediately I had a sinking feeling…

I had hoped for fresh eel, but this was jellied, and not of great quality. Even if the weird colour lighting didn’t mess up the photos, this wouldn’t have looked that much better. Cooking eel normally without smoking or jellying is so delightful, why do so many people waste eel with these stale and extremely dated techniques?

And then the flaki was bland and nowhere as good as the same I had for lunch. Now if a Polish restaurant can’t do this dish right, it says plenty.

And worse, a Polish restaurant that can’t do duck right. I love duck, and I’ve never had a bad roasted duck in Poland before. Until this evening…this was just awful. It’s like the duck’s been inside the oven since yesterday’s dinner service when no one ordered it. I nearly choked on it at times it was so dry, I ended up finishing that bottle of wine and gave up.

It’s too bad my Warsaw trip ends on such a sad note. It really reminded me of the quality of Polish cooking from decades past, when restaurants were mostly awful. It could have fit my first trip here nearly 30 years ago, but alas, this is 2023. Maybe it was a poor night, but when every dish fell flat, it says something else.

There are far better choices in this dining-rich city. Unless you are really nostalgic for some early-1990s-quality cooking, keep off Ulica Mokotowska for your dining sanity.

Mokotowska 69
Mokotowska 69
Warszawa, Polska

The Warsaw That’s Looking to the Future (Review #3: Butchery & Wine)

8 October 2023

Woke up early the next morning despite drinking and chatting with my dear friend Chef Andrea Camastra way into the night, but that amazing dinner at Nuta fuelled me for a very long morning of exploration in one of my favourite cities in the world. I stepped out before dawn, and by the time I wandered back towards my hotel, it was early afternoon, and I was spent, clocking about 22km (13.67 miles) of trekking…

I needed some fuel, again, and after making a stop somewhere I won’t mention because they basically ran out of food, I walked another few blocks with what little energy I had left and made it to one of my regulars, Butchery & Wine.

I discovered this place 8 years ago and have kept it as one of the places I like to visit, the last time also being 2018 when I last visited Warsaw. I relaxed and rested my sore feet as I enjoyed some much-needed wine pouring through the menu. Unlike usual, I decided to do a few starters and no steak, even though the local aged beef looked good…

But it was a good move, as the first item was a delicious bowl of flaki – my favourite Polish tripe stew. This one had a nice bite to it, making it even more delicious. A wonderful start.

Next up was some spectacular bone marrow, graced by some escargots and flanked by a generous amount of chanterelles – three of my favourite things on one dish. Wow, I’m loving this, but starting to worry that this was too much for a late lunch… So rich, there was no bread left after this.

I think I over-ordered when another of my faves arrives – beef tongue. This was also delicious, with a tinge of sweetness in the marinade. Perfectly cooked, with texture but not hard. I admit I strugged to finish this, not because it wasn’t absolutely delicious, but I was too full – and my GI system is still messed up from that nearly 1.5 days of no eating.

A spectacular lunch, once again thank you Warsaw! I thanked my server and headed out, struggling to walk the few blocks back to my hotel as my feet were still aching and now I’m too full…

What a wonderful moment to enjoy!

Butchery & Wine
Żurawia 22
Warszawa, Polska