Pizza, the Mystery Pub, and 282

Carl and I decided it was time for another adventure in London this past weekend. He has a knack for finding all the best pizza joints in town so after work on Friday we met up near Embankment Pier and walked along the South Bank until we reached the Gourmet Pizza Kitchen. The air was refreshingly crisp and the sun was just beginning to set so we nabbed a table outside overlooking the river. Shortly after ordering (a bottle of Californian Chianti, dough balls, an outstanding mixed salad topped with melted goat's cheese on proper bacon, and two pizzas we were both torn between and ended up splitting down the middle), we got a text from some friends who also happened to be out on the town and agreed to meet up for drinks at a pub Carl once walked past on the way to/from an office Christmas do (a do is like a party so a 'hen do' and a 'stag do' are the British equivalents of a bachelorette and bachelor party respectively).

Teaching Carl the real way to eat pizza: folded!

Following a bit of a wander, all four of us discovered Carl's mystery pub - henceforth known as the Mulberry Bush. Christian was kind enough to grab the first round of beers (a fine brew called DNA). A bit of pub etiquette for you: drinks are typically bought in rounds with everyone taking turns picking up the tab. For more pub tips, check out this fantastic site! Apparently tourists have a real problem with waiting at tables to be served instead of going straight to the bar like everyone else!

282: Sample first-class sushi in Ealing

Carl and I have been talking about finding a good sushi joint for ages so when we found one recommended by our book we knew we would have to give it a try! It may have taken about six weeks for us to finally get around to it but it was certainly worth it! Atari-ya is an authentic little sushi bar across the street from the Ealing Common tube station. The chefs, staff, and most of the clientele are Japanese so it really feels like you have been magically transported to Tokyo.

I must admit, I have never really had sushi aside from California rolls and spam musubi (neither of which particularly count because the closest they get to raw fish is imitation crab) so I was feeling a bit nervous. Despite living by the ocean my entire life (or perhaps because of my close proximity to live fish and volunteering in an aquarium), I never developed much of a taste for fish. Of course, I waited until after we ordered before I dropped my "I'm from southern California so I must love sushi and know all about it" act and confessed that the real reason why I was so excited to get sushi was that it meant I would get to share a new experience with Carl (aww so cheesy but true).

Warm sake, cucumber rolls, and special of the day (sardines) to start us off.

Somehow we managed to talk ourselves into ordering some warm sake (with a bit of help from the waitress), two pieces of the sardine nigiri special of the day, a cucumber roll just to be on the safe side, and the biggest and baddest of the nigiri platters: the superior nigiri! We decided to be daring and have the chefs give us the authentic treatment with wasabi already in the nigiri. Things got a bit dicey when we each tried to pick up the pieces with chopsticks and only eat half but in the end we both got to taste a little of everything. Unfortunately they didn't provide a handy informational pamphlet so we only knew what we were eating about half the time. According to the menu our platter included 'fattest tuna', sea bass, salmon, turbot, sea bream, eel, razor clam, scallop, sweet prawn, mackerel, yellowtail, tuna, and salmon roe (Ikura).

The superior nigiri! (plus some leftover starters)

Thanks to visual inspection and the process of elimination, I think the fattest tuna, salmon, mackerel and salmon roe were my favourites. I am absolutely hooked on sushi now and I can't wait to come back to this place! Although we've only tried three places to eat from the 1000 things book I have truly enjoyed all of them (and have already made return trips to both Gelateria Danieli and Steins) and I can't wait to start crossing off more adventures.

Until next time, enjoy some sushi of your own! x