Grabbed dinner yesterday on the way back through St Pancras at the Fine Burger Co., which is an interesting concept. It's half way between McDonalds and somewhere like Gourmet Burger Kitchen. They sold me a fantastic fresh burger with loads of veg, great chips and a coke, but (unlike GBK) delivered to fast food timescales and in a grab and go setting rather than sit-down. It's very nicely done indeed and will make me very likely to head home via St Pancras on a future occasion when I need a quick bite to eat on the way back from London.
A bit of a hidden gem this, on the Broadway in Cricklewood near the Crown hotel. Great range of cakes, all very fresh, and good coffee.
Grabbed breakfast this morning at Café Pascucci on St John's Road near Clapham Junction. Great little Italian cafe with comfortable modern surroundings and fantastic espresso. Their English breakfast was also very good.
If the fancy takes you, you can now download the entire National Rail Timetable in pdf format from the Network Rail website. Not as easy to use as the web-based journey planners, but good for finding slow routes that wouldn't show up on the web - like the direct Exeter to Brighton trains on Saturday mornings that are as slow as anything but also eliminate changes at Salisbury and Fratton for my mum.
Two disappointing pub experiences in Horsham this afternoon. The Black Jug - an occasional venue for me after meetings in the office complex nearby - turns out to be one of those sour-faced pubs that doesn't let in children under 10, even into the beer garden. They also make some snotty remark about "well-behaved" children, which makes me want to have a tantrum in their saloon bar.
So we headed on to the Crown, a nicely done up pub on Carfax, where we got super-friendly service and very average food.
Useful PDF guide to the polite amount to tip in various countries is here. (Via a discussion at Word of Mouth).
A dinner stop on the way back from Basingstoke at the Bell Hotel in the pretty town of New Alresford in Hampshire. Very friendly service on a quiet Sunday evening and OK food. Steak was nicely presented with good accompaniments, but was a very English medium. Tom had kid-sized cod and chips which looked properly prepared. Desserts: a bland chocolate pudding for me but a much better apple crumble and ice cream for the little one.
Dinner tonight at the very cool and clean Alba restaurant on the harbour in St Ives. Friendly service and thoughtful local food on the upside, slightly overpriced and portions on the small side, however. Probably one of the best places to eat in the town, but you pay for the reputation - and the fantastic view.
