Cheap Eats: Lou Loves Moolis

(or, Mooli's: Roti vs. Buritto)

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I seem to spend half my life in Shoreditch and half in Soho. I just love Soho- it's where life seems to happen. It's the little beating heart in the centre of London, pumping life into the city.
Naturally, it's unlikely I would spend long in somewhere without a great variety of food- Shoreditch has its big Bangla Cash and Carrys, Soho has its huge array of cafes, restaurants and bakeries. (Not to mention China Town... )
You may remember my 'Focus On... Wardour Street'; One road alone that could feed me for a month.

So it came as no surprise to me that the cafe that seems to be on every one's lips right now- Mooli's- was to be found on Frith Street. I had heard about it from a number of food bloggers and friends so it seemed natural that when I found myself aimless in Soho one lunch time I should drag myself away from my usual haunts and try it out.

Photography by Mowie, from www.moolis.com

Stepping in (and they will hate me for this) my first impression was how similar it was to it's Mexican counterpart Benito's Hat. The walls were painted cheerful colours, the tables flanked with high stools and the serving counter squatting at the back. But in the design stakes, Mooli's wins out. Bright patterns, blossom and birds designed by Rachel Mikulsky adorn the walls, one of which is dedicated to a series of bold statements- "Not to be consumed with low grain cocaine" and "This is not a f**king Burrito".

... You understand my reticence in name dropping Benito's Hat now?

It's very simple. Mooli's serves mooli's. And not a lot else. But really, who needs anything else from a place like this?
The premise of these mooli's are filling home made roti (Indian flat bread) with meat, veg or paneer and plenty of additional flavours; in the forms of sharp salsas, fruity chutneys and spicy potatoes.

They may have a limited menu, but the mooli's do come in six flavours- Chicken with a mint and coriander dressing and apple, spicy beef with coconut and cucumber raita, and Pork with pomegranate salsa (oooh!). The most popular flavour seems to be the Goat, spiced with cumin, coriander cloves, chilli's and Cinnamon and accompanied by potatoes sautéed with dry mango, red onion and lime.
There are also vegetarian options; Asparagus with potatoes, roasted cumin seeds, dried mango, yoghurt and tamarind or Paneer; Indian cheese scrambled in spices with tomato chutney and grated carrot.

Ok, so it doesn't look *quite* like this when it's served up... But considering how completely impossible it is not to make a mess of anything that comes in a wrap, does it really matter..?
Photography again, by Mowie. I am a big fan of his beaauutiful work!

It was, based on this, tough to choose. I went with the chicken, though in retrospect I'm now fantasising about the paneer... Though I do love the sound of the potato and cumin... And the pomegranate salsa... and the coconut with the beef... Oh dear.
We also bowed to pressure and got the goat.

They were both gorgeous! (£4.45) The sheer quantity of ingredients they crammed in all complimented and contrasted each other nicely. The cinnamon, cloves and cumin gave them a distinctively Indian taste without in any way resembling your local generic Indian restaurant.
Chunky, flavoursome and compact, these Mooli's makes for a great lunch break pit-stop. Amazingly, although they aren't in any way obscenely over-sized, I remained so full all day that even by the end of the night (I would say we had lunch about 2 o clock) I still wasn't hungry, and ate nothing more than an apple that day. That's value for money, right?
I don't want for burritos to keep rearing their ugly heads, but you do get more from your money with a mooli. Instead of chicken with salsa, guacamole and soured cream, beef with salsa, guacamole and soured cream or vegetables with salsa, guacamole and soured cream, you do get a lot more carefully considered ingredients rammed in. Don't get me wrong, I love a burrito... But in this race (for me) there can only be one winner.

So if you're looking for somewhere new to eat in the West End, or you want a food lovers variation on the (pale by comparison) Burrito, check out Mooli's.

50 Frith St
Westminster, London W1D 4
020 7494 9075
http://www.moolis.com/

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Lou Loves: Foxcroft and Ginger

Foxcroft and Ginger

I don't know what it is that makes this such a legend of a place for me. Or why I keep finding myself being drawn back there like an insatiable moth... Maybe it is the basement, with the leather horse and huge, comfy battered armchairs. Maybe it is the mismatched old fashioned bone china in which they serve their coffee, the wooden banister and exposed pipes or the incredible array of sandwiches and fritata... Maybe it is the fact that it is comfortably tucked away on Berwick Street in the heart of Soho... Most likely, it's all of the above.



I was first alerted to Foxcroft when researching for my Wardour Street post. A friend of mine worked in the area and heard that I was heading for Beatroot, across the road. He told me that he had recently switched allegiances and often got lunch at his new favourite cafe, and that it was the kind of place that I would love. It was called Foxcroft and Ginger. And so, Helena and I went to explore...

From the outside, it is easy to miss. Next door to an empty shop, it is dark and simple. When you step in it is small, with only a few upstairs seats. But it is an attractive little place- tiled walls, brickwork and wooden floors. The counter is laden with food, and it all looks home made and generous and gorgeous. A coffee break escalated into a lunch stop.

We went for the pumpkin fritata and a mammoth sandwich with (thick wedges of) goats cheese, fig, roast pepper, rocket, red onion in ciabatta bread. I like to think that LouLovesFood knows good food- and this was good. I go wild for anything with pumpkin in, and so the fritata was an obvious choice. It had an unusual but enjoyable texture; bubbly and soft like savoury blancmange.
The ciabatta was the best- our favourite- with a coating of oil, salt and herbs, as ciabatta should. It seemed to be made by someone who was slightly over excited by the task- filled with generous helpings of a massive variety of ingredients, resulting in an almost overwhelming depth and variety of flavour.
They were brought to us on wooden boards (cut in two so we could share= serious brownie points!) with super cute skinny knives and skinny forks. So full marks for presentation, too.

Every time I go in (and it has now been a few times...) I always eye up the hefty looking Toulouse sausage and onion jam ciabatta sandwiches- that might have to be on the agenda next time. Other food options include chorizo, honey roasted squash, basil and chilli mayo or halloumi and sweet potato salads. They have a brunch menu (my obsession with brunch is gathering momentum...) which boasts a selection of pastries, muesli, Eggs Benedict and English muffins with black pudding, scrambled egg and chives.

The ambiance is lovely; the staff are friendly and it is stylish whilst still being quiet and laid back. You can also pick up a loyalty card- I am steam rolling my way through mine.

Foxcroft and Ginger
3 Berwick Street, Soho, W14 ODR
www.foxcroftandginger.com

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Salted Caramel at Artisan du Chocolat

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Chocolate and Salted Caramel Tart

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I love salt in my chocolate, its my favourite way to do it. Salted caramel in particular just does something to me that I cannot describe.

So after taking a friend to try the salted caramel range at L'Artisan du Chocolat, it was almost inevitable that our attention would turn to their cafe menu, which features chocolate cocktails, 'tapas' and a range of palpitation inducing puddings- including the Chocolate and salted caramel tart.

I was born to eat this pudding. This pudding was made to be in my life.

Imagine getting a box of the L'Artisan du Chocolat original salted caramels and melting them into a little pastry case so the chocolate shell and caramel centre ooze together into a rich, oily goo. This is the Artisan Tart.
There are a many many ways I could describe this dessert, but none of them are suitable for polite conversation. I would do terrible things to this dessert, and this dessert does terrible terrible things to me.

At £5 I could not recommend it enough, but if you can't get down right now then you can always get yourself all excited by doing a bit of Internet perving at www.artisanduchocolat.com

L'artisan du Chocolat, 020 7824 8365, 81 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, W2 4UL

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Cheap Eats: Benito's Hat, Covent Garden

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There's been a few new places opening up in the Covent Garden area recently that I've wanted to try out, so when a friend and I decided to go for dinner, I busied myself in research. One of these places was Benito's Hat Mexican Kitchen.

I had seen it a week prior whilst hunched over an espresso after work in the cafe opposite. There was a couple sat in the window with big foil wrapped food packages and little plastic take away cups of what appeared to be milk. I had heard a thing or two about its arrival on New Row at work, but that had sold it to me.

So, we headed down to check it out. Benito's Hat is an unassuming little place with a table arrangement not dissimilar to Wagamama's take on Japanese canteens. The menu is instructions painted boldly on bright green walls and the service counter sits at the back, with the ingredients laid out in front of you in metallic containers.

The staff are bubbling over with children's entertainer levels are perkiness, which makes a socially inept and quintessentially English lady like me die a little inside. But even I was amused by some of their banter with the customers and it added to the lively Friday night atmosphere of the place.

Looking at the wall-menu, there are options of burritos or tacos, beef, chicken or veg, black beans or refried beans and a selection of fillers including guacamole, sour cream and cheese. We both opted for the vegetable burritos, with anything extra going that was free. Guacamole is 50p for meat burritos but if you're going meat free, then you get guacamole free, too. So to speak.

I almost said no to the sour cream due to it being waved in my face in a America Diner ketchup-esque squeeze-y bottle. Sour cream in a squeeze-y bottle? I don't care how low-fi the joint is; this does not seem right to me.

After having our tortillas stuffed with veg and fillings and (free!) guacamole and then wrapped up and mashed within an inch of their life (which looked kind of fun) we were scooted down to the till. The burritos were enormous. As in, actually the size of my stomach, possibly larger. Loaded up with filling and wrapped up like a little tin foil parcel, they came to £5 each, which I think considering the size, was pretty good.

We sat down and unwrapped our food. The canteen was filled with people and had a lively buzzing atmosphere. Sat next to a table of Spaniards drinking Sol with wedges of lime in the neck, there was a real continental vibe.

I have to admit that I was quite convinced that the vegetables would be cooked to oblivion until they were a flavour and nutrition-less mush, but this was not the case. Amongst the sloppy mix of cheese and guacamole there were large chunks of courgette that verged on al dente (a source of consternation for my friend, who harbours an uneasy relationship with them) and crisp slices of a vegetable I identified as green heirloom tomatoes and was subsequently excited by.

Whilst playing with my food and watching the staff serve up tacos, I did notice the Soup of the Day board, featuring 'Chilli Con Carne'. Now is it just me, or is Chilli Con Carne not a soup, but in actual fact... Chilli Con Carne..? Yeah- that did not tempt me much.

The offering on the Cocktail of the Week board also made me laugh. Margherita. Hardly unsurprising really. I can only assume that next week will be Pina Colada- but after that..? Back to the Margherita? Seriously, I want to go back just to see where they go with that.

In conclusion? Benito's Hat was fun. Sure, its not somewhere you go for fine dining, 0r if you're going to take eating too seriously- and I have a real hunch its not even somewhere you would go for authentic Mexican food- but for a casual drop-by dinner with friends, its cheap, fresh and has a lively atmosphere. I love the little tray service, simple three option menu, and the portions are huge. For a quick and fun feed in an expensive part of town, its worth dropping in.

Benito's Hat, 19 New Row, London WC2N 4L, www.benitos-hat.com

Boho Gelato!

Its ice cream weather! Head down to Brighton and get yourself an icecream to take down to the sea front... I recently found myself open mouthed in Boho Gelato.

They have a great range of unusual and tempting flavours including Birthday Cake, Ginger Snap and Popcorn all made in store.

We went for sour cherry, white chocolate and almond, chilli chocolate, pink lemonade, and mojito and they all passed with flying colours, tasting not only genuinely like the name on the label (Though Birthday Cake not so much...) but also tasting distinctly home made.

Pink lemonade

Sour Cherry

My personal favourites? Chilli chocolate, which has a real kick (the cold tongue and warm throat combo is a winner) and Mojito, which actually tastes like a frozen mojito. Perfect for a sunny afternoon.

New flavours now out... Hazlenut ("our best flavour yet?") and pink grapefruit!
They also do icecream milkshakes...

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