Little Bay calls itself a bistro, which fits well with the cosy tavern-like setting. The décor is faux royal – gold painted banisters and ornate picture frames are ubiquitous. But there is no pretension. Red dripping candles in wine bottles adorn every table and copies of centuries’ old masterpieces have been lacquered on to the tabletops.

The layout of the restaurant is very unique. There are semi-hidden tables, some which are suspended in the air with their own staircase. You can find very intimate seating and romantic coves, but also open wooden booths. There are two other larger rooms attached next door so the restaurant can accommodate large groups.

While the atmosphere is great – the place was packed on a Thursday night – the food is even better. Or perhaps the price of the food is. If you dine before 7pm a two-course meal only sets you back a measly £7.50. Dishes range from pan-fried fillet of salmon with crashed new potatoes and avocado coriander salsa to char-grilled lamb steak with honey-glazed vegetables and green peppercorn sauce. There are plenty of vegetarian options too.

There are four Little Bay restaurants in London. Check out their website for more information.

By Phoebe Ferris-Rotman from SpottedByLocals.com/london
See full original article including details & map

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You can’t visit London without trying the traditional Fish and Chips dish, one of the few culinary picks the UK are popular for.

Finding the original Fish and Chips atmosphere is getting harder these days, as you’ve to avoid tourist traps and sophisticated restaurants.

London’s oldest fish and chips miraculously survives in Covent Garden, among glamorous shops and shiny restaurants, Rock & Sole Plaice stands since 1871.

In this traditional cosy restaurant you’ll find the real fish and chips, for you to enjoy in a small dining area full of history.

This unmissable spot is located close enough to Covent Garden tube station (on the Piccadilly Line): 47 Endell Street, open Mon-Sat 11.30am-11pm, Sun 12pm-10pm.

Photo “Fresh fish n chips” by f10n4 on Flickr

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After spending six weeks in Thailand, I had a new appreciation for how Asians like to dine. My boyfriend and I didn’t get sick (at least not from the food), and we enjoyed all manner of Thai eateries. Here are some highlights (and otherwise) of our culinary adventures

Street Food: Are You Brave?

For those with an iron constitution and a little courage, the street food in Asia is not only cheap and cheerful, but also a staple for many residents. Usually for less than a dollar, you can help yourself to a serving of your favourite meal, cooked right in front of you. Pad Thai, curries, sweet roti, fried rice, green papaya salad, fried meats and fish, and yes – even insects, are available for sampling.

Some of the best places to enjoy a street-food-meal are at the local markets, where in between shopping for local crafts and souvenirs, you can stop off for a meal or drink.

The best way to avoid a case of digestive distress from eating street food is to choose stands that are frequented by locals, and have a high turnover. In fact, some would argue that street food is more sanitary; you can watch the food being prepared in front of you, which takes some of the mystery out of the matter compared to eating at a restaurant.

We enjoyed the street food of Asia, and had no incidents to speak of (as many people worry about). I will say though, that after many weeks of this type of eating (ie: eating while standing or walking through thick crowds, and typically shoveling the food down whilst in search of our next street-food course), we found that our ability to simply sit down and enjoy a meal is now hindered. But at restaurants they tend to look at us funny if we say we want to eat standing up, so we sit down, try to slow down, and not rush off to another restaurant as soon as we’re finished.

“To Go, Please”

Asian people also don’t like to eat while standing and walking, so when they choose to eat street food, they often get it to go. And when you order this way, you can expect your meal to be served up…in a plastic bag.

Order curry, and you’ll get a small bag of rice, another with curry in it, and maybe a third with various condiments. They have a great way of tying the bags with an elastic so they are full of air and securely fastened, and yet easy to open. I tried and tried to emulate their bag-tying prowess, but to no avail.

It was when I saw people getting drinks to go – also in plastic bags – that I realized fast food is an art form in Asia.

I guess it is a good thing – plastic in general isn’t good, but a few plastic bags is less wasteful and harmful for the environment than hard plastic cups, or Styrofoam.

Food Court

While in Chiang Mai, we had one of the best food court experiences of all time. In a temple courtyard on the night of a weekly local market, dozens of street food stalls set up along the perimeter of the square. In the middle were some beautiful thick richly-coloured wooden picnic tables and benches. And typical of so many public eating establishments in Thailand, we found it to be impeccably clean.

What capped off the experience and made it memorable for us was the accompaniment: monks chanting. The hum and low lull of their voices in unison provided all the ambiance we needed for an incredible experience.

Mongolian Grill?

One night in search of a new set of street food stalls, we passed by what appeared to be a Mongolian Grill. We had dined at such establishments many times back home in Toronto; a large round grill occupies the middle of your table, and you are brought trays of various meats, fish, and vegetables to cook up and dip in a variety of delicious sauces.

“Sweet”! We said, as we excitedly took our places at a table. What fun this will be.

When we looked around at the other customers, we were pleased to discover that the place was not only packed (a good sign), but we were the only white people there (also a good sign).

The server spoke absolutely no English (this evening was full of good signs), so she basically brought us the standard fare for this restaurant. We immediately recognized the little plastic trays as they were brought to our table. Via sign language the server asked if we knew what we were doing, to which we casually indicated that we were old pros at this form of dining. She filled the perimeter of the grill with water (our first sign that maybe we were in over our heads), and walked away with what in retrospect I can only imagine was a slight smirk.

Still sure we knew what we were doing, but wanting to confirm our knowledge, we stole glances at the couples and families enjoying their meals near to us. Lettuce and fish went into the water (which was now boiling), and the meat went on the grill.

“Okay, this is no problem. It’s a little different, but still a Mongolian Grill, just as we thought,” we said with a sigh of relief.

Then, we took a look at the meat in front of us. Something fatty – bacon? Something pink. Something resembling ribs. Something else shiny, something that looks like liver, and two more trays of bacon-looking meat. It appeared that instead of getting a selection of different meats, we got a selection of different parts of a pig.

It was the intestine/colon that got to me. I won’t go into specifics, but suffice it to say that from the overly chewy consistency to whatever it was that squirted out when I bit down on it, I had discovered a culinary limit. The entire time, I couldn’t get out of my head an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, where he was relegated to eating wild boar colon over a fire in the African bush. What was in my mouth could well have been something relatively innocuous; but there was no convincing me that it wasn’t pig ass.

We muscled our way through the rest of the meal, noticing that we weren’t as smoothly getting through the dinner as our neighbouring tables were. We had huge amounts of meat charred and stuck to the grill, and we certainly did not ask for seconds, like most of the other diners were so eagerly doing. They seemed to be having a gay old time of it – we seemed to want to puke.

And sadly, I don’t think I will ever look at a Mongolian grill the same way again.

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What follows is a round-up of the restaurants we went to in Lisbon, all of which I’d recommend for different reasons. So if in Lisbon, here are some ideas on where to eat.

For a light lunch in a subtly chic environment, Royale Café (Largo Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro 29) has lovely salads, soups and sandwiches, and a nice selection of teas.

For city views, bohemian atmosphere and tasty tapas, check out Chapitô (Rua Costa do Castelo 1–7), a multipurpose space with a circus school and theater, a cafe-bar and a restaurant. Located near the castle in Alfama, it has a great terrace as its highlight.

For a hearty traditional Portuguese meal, 1 de Maio (Rua da Atalaia 8; phone 021.342.6840) in a basement at the bottom of Bairro Alto is a great choice. In addition to fantastic and filling mainstays, it stars a fabulously theatrical waiter (he seems to be a fixture) who will add a touch of drama to your meal.

To sample African dishes and live music in a no-frills environment, head to En’Clave (Rua do Sol ao Rato 71A; 021.388.8738). Try cachupa, a delicious bean and meat stew from Cabo Verde; kalulú, a fish stew from São Tomé and Príncipe; or cafriela, Guinea Bissau-style chicken.

Photo “Sunstet at Lisboa” by Fr Antunes on Flickr

Visit everthenomad.com for more by Anja Mutic

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I come from a country that doesn’t exist. Yugoslavia is no longer, apart from in our memories – and in the food that lives on. In New York, you can travel to almost all the former Yugo republics and sample the specialties that once made our country so unique and varied.

Let’s start with Bosnia. Expats flock to Old Bridge (28-51 42nd St; 718.932.7683) in Astoria to chow down ćevapi, minced beef sausages served with a flatbread and two yummy sides – a cheesy spread called kajmak and a spicy red-pepper purée by the name of ajvar.

For best burek in town, head to one of three New York locations of Djerdan Burek – in Astoria, Brooklyn or Midtown West. Burek is a deliciously flaky pie made of phyllo pastry and stuffed with either spinach (zeljanica), cheese (sirnica), potato (krompiruša) or ground beef. It’s traditionally washed down with a glass of yogurt.

At the tiny Cevabdzinica Sarajevo (37-18 34th Ave; 718-752-9528) in Astoria, it’s all about the grilled meats again, especially ćevapi. Quite a contestant to Old Bridge above, this no-frills spot has a devoted following.

Next we’re off to Croatia, in Queens. In the basement of Istria Sport Club (28-09 Astoria Blvd; 718-728-3181) in Astoria, an unassuming restaurant serves Croatian specialties with emphasis on staples from Istria, a heart-shaped peninsula in the northern Adriatic. The homemade pasta known as fuži is fantastic, as is the grilled fish, and the garden in the back where you can play bocci.

A similar menu can be found at Rudar Club New York (34-01 45th Street; 718-786-5833), another Croatian social club in Astoria where food has an Istrian twist and expats gather to celebrate special occasions.

Lastly, you can travel all the way to Serbia at the latest ex-Yugo opening in New York: Kafana (116 Ave C; 212-353-8000), a cool little bistro in the East Village. You can also taste ćevapi here but, unlike in the Bosnian joints above, these are made of pork. The lamb stew is stellar here, as is the prebranac, a baked bean stew.

Photo “wide angles of nyc – 3” by b0r0da on Flickr

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I love to eat at African restaurants so I thought I’d tell you about a couple of my New York favorites.

Madiba (195 Dekalb Ave; 718.855.9190) in Fort Greene is a longstanding favorite, a convivial South African spot with wooden benches, colorful paintings and quirky folk art. I’ve been going there since it first opened in the late 1990s in a tiny front room that now houses the bar. The owner has since moved to Miami and opened a South Beach branch of Madiba. More recently, the Brooklyn flagship updated its menu. Apart from curry and stew mainstays, offbeat food options include ostrich carpaccio and prawns peri-peri. If entrails are your thing, don’t skip their spicy chicken livers. I was at Madiba the night before the inauguration and the party was on, with live music and lots of people celebrating.

A couple of months ago, I fell in love with A Bistro (154 Carlton Ave, 718.855.9455; closed Mondays), an intimate Senegalese spot where the ambiance is down-home and communal and the food a real pleasure to your taste buds. The actual menu is small but the daily specials are extensive and include a lot of great fish options and mouthwatering desserts (don’t skip their banana shortcake!). The portions are on the small side but the interesting flavors make up for that. The only thing is: the restaurant is BYOB so make sure you pick up a bottle of wine or some beer along the way. They do have great and quite unusual juices, served warm or cold.

When I have a craving for Ethiopian, I usually head to the downtown branch of Awash in the East Village (338 East 6th Street; 212.982.9589). The food served here is great for sharing – the combo dishes are best, all served with the spongy injera bread. The decor is nothing to write home about but the atmosphere is low-key and unpretentious. And it’s so much fun to eat with your hands! Plus I really like the sweet Ethiopian honey wine they serve. The uptown branch (947 Amsterdam Avenue; 212.961.1416) is apparently worth trying too, if you’re in that neck of the woods.

Photo “African food menu” by Joi on Flickr

Visit everthenomad.com for more by Anja Mutic

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