Not Quite English

Last weekend, my daughter and I went on another brunch quest looking for a little bit of England in California.  This time, we tried Lucky Baldwins, a ‘British Pub & Café’ in Pasadena.  They have three locations and apparently have been there some 18 years, so it should be great, right?

First of all, we got there a bit late for breakfast and/or brunch.  It was around noon, which in theory should still be time for brunch, but whatever.  The actual menu was very patriotic, Union Jacks all over it, but that’s pretty much where it ended.  The only two items of a British nature that I could see were a bacon and egg breakfast sandwich (American bacon, Irish bacon for an extra charge) and a full English (an extra charge for crumpets instead of toast).   Oh, I could have had a cup of PG Tips too.

Very patriotic

Of course, we ordered one of each (with Irish bacon and crumpets).  Hannah had the breakfast sandwich which had a lovely runny egg and a couple of bits of bacon.  This would have been a great breakfast if you had made it at home, but in a restaurant you would expect a little bit more on the plate – even a bit of dead cabbage for garnish would have made it look a bit fancier.  But she said it was lovely, even though she thought she could have eaten another one!

That's it?

I had the full English - bacon, sausage, two eggs over easy, (I still can't figure out what I am supposed to ask for here, but over easy seemed to be okay this time), baked beans (Heinz), mushrooms, fried tomato - Mmmm, lovely jubbly.... but then there was also that potato/pepper/onion mixture that seems to be a standard in American breakfasts - FAIL! Gentlemen, this is most definitely NOT an English breakfast requirement!

What is that potato stuff??  Definitely not English!

The sausage was lovely, as were the mushrooms and beans.  The eggs were runny enough and the (tiny bit of) bacon was nice.  But then there were the crumpets.  The waiter (who was new on the job, he said), didn't know what a crumpet was, but I assured him they were on the menu and I could have them instead of toast,  Well, when I got them, they looked (and tasted) like they had been heated up in a microwave.  They were rubbery like they had just come out of the packet, no crispy bits on the bottom and not only that, I didn't get any bloomin' butter, just a little pot of lemon curd.  In all my years, I have never eaten crumpets with lemon curd (and no butter), but there's a first time for everything, as they say, and I tried.  But quite frankly, it was pretty blah.

Hmmm....a bit bland

I'm not saying I'm Egon Ronay or that I work for the Michelin Guide, but I was just a little, well, disappointed with the food.

But, I'm sure if we had got there earlier when the Premier League football was on, the place would have been bursting at the seams with all the Chelsea fans watching Frank Lampard put a goal past his old club, much to his dismay.   It probably would have felt a lot more "British."

Unfortunately, by the time we got there they were showing American Football and we were sitting at a table next to the most annoyingly loud and obnoxious person ever (yes, really loud and really obnoxious). But I'm sure he might have said the same thing had he been there for the 'real' football and sat among a load of boisterous and, some would say also obnoxious, English footie supporters.

I might be being a bit harsh, the waiter was new and we were surrounded by Yanks watching American Football.  Not exactly a definitive British experience.  We were on the patio also - maybe inside it was decorated extremely English.  I am not ruling out ever going there again, so who knows. Watch this space (as they say)..... *smile*

Mother's Day - Brit Style

Yesterday was Mother’s Day in the US.  Once again, I totally missed the English Mother’s Day because there is nowhere at all in America that you can buy a mother’s day card in March.  Usually, the shops are so way ahead of every holiday, that it seems a bit weird that Mother’s Day cards are not on sale in January (I’ve seen Easter eggs in January and Halloween costumes in July).  Then again, it might be that I didn’t actually go out of my way to look for one in time for the English day.  Oopsie!

But yesterday, I spent the day with my daughter who had, unknown to me, booked reservations at the Palihouse for their Brit Brunch. 

I thought I would review it, for any Brits that are looking for somewhere "like home."

Their building is in a quiet road in West Hollywood and we found parking really easily.  In fact, we were right outside the front door – how often does that happen in Los Angeles??  Gold star number one!!  The outside courtyard dining is so bright and airy and just wonderful looking.  There were a couple of tables in full sun which is actually quite nice if you are a sun loving Brit.  J

Ahh… the menu….

Just like mum used to make

• Scones
• Sausage Rolls
• Welsh Rarebit
• Scotch Eggs
• Fish and Chips
• Bangers and Mash

And more….. oh, the decisions!!

We wanted it all.  There was a family at a table close to us who ordered, from what we could tell, practically everything on the menu.  Oh, if only our stomachs were big enough to fit it all in.

Of course, we had to start with a couple of drinky-poos.  Not one to miss an opportunity to look a bit posh, I had a Pimm’s Cup.  Hannah had a Morning Sun, which she said was just lovely (dahhling!)

Fancy Drinks

For starters we had the sausage rolls.  The pastry melted in your mouth and tasted exactly like home.  Warm sausage rolls dipped in tomato sauce - Mmmmm.  She then opted for the Full Monty which, of course, was the full English breakfast.  It even included a bit of black pudding.  I have apparently not done my proper job as a mum because she didn’t know what black pudding was.  I made her try it and give her opinion before I told her what was in it.  I was expecting a bit of trouble getting her to try it when she said “You’re going to tell me it’s a nasty bit of the animal, aren’t you?”  Of course not, I said!!  [Does that make me a bad mother?]  Well, she tried it and lo and behold she liked it!!  Although apparently not enough to finish it once I had told her it was, in fact, blood pudding.  (*smile*)

  

Yes, that is black pudding next to the eggs!

I had the bangers and mash.  A wonderful  pile of mashed potatoes and sausages absolutely covered in onion gravy.  The gravy was so rich and so very decadent that I couldn’t manage to finish it all.  Needless to say, we didn’t order pudding!  (I really wanted to try the Eaton Mess, meringue and berries, but just did not have enough room).

The waiters/waitresses were brilliant and kept asking if the Englishness was good enough and if it reminded us of home.  How could we possibly complain??  We were stuffed to the gills and could hardly move, but still wanted more!  Not a pretty sight actually.

As we waddled back to the car we both decided this was one of our best 'go-to' places and we would definitely be back.  Of course, we have to try everything on that menu sooner or later.  I would even make the hour journey to LA from my house just for the sausage rolls.  Hmmm... I wonder if they deliver??

If there’s anyone in LA who doesn’t know about this little British gem, here’s a link : http://www.palihousewesthollywood.com/

Oh, and by the way, this is not a paid review (but if I could get some sausage rolls sent my way I would absolutely accept them)  *Grin*

A Full English?

So I posted this photo on Facebook yesterday because I was so pleased to have found 'almost' English bacon and I got some of the weirdest comments from American friends.

Mmm.. look at those lovely eggs and is that British bacon?

One of those comments was "'Beans and eggs together? that's an interesting combo. It's not something I would have thought of" ... and I was actually really confused and I don't get it. Why wouldn't you have beans and eggs? Is there something terrible about having baked beans and eggs together? I don't understand the need to have even thought about it - it's just natural.   Go ahead, if you’re English and reading this – what would you have thought of that question?  I bet you’ve never questioned it either.

 

A full English breakfast is eggs, bacon, sausage, mushroom, tomato and fried slice, with some variations depending on what you have in the fridge at that time. I don't like fried tomatoes, so beans are my thing.

 

Another comment (from a Brit, of course) was "Peanut butter and jam – that's a weird combination!" And I agree!  Oh, and putting pancakes and syrup on the same plate as your eggs and bacon - now that's very weird!  And being expected to use the same knife and fork for it, ugh.  Sweet and savoury should not be mixed on the same plate.

 

I’m sure we just grow up and get used to what we are given to eat, but who decided that breakfast needed a pudding?  Why does bacon and eggs always come with pancakes?

 

Then came the questions from the Brits –

• where’s the sausages and black pudding?
• where’s the mushrooms?
• where’s the fried tomatoes?
• where’s the HP sauce?
• where’s the fried bread?

Come on now – I’ve been here 20 years and only just found something that could be called “English” bacon.  Give me a chance already!  J

Beans Means Heinz

Last night I had a wonderful tea.  I had baked beans on toast.  Not just any old baked beans – curried baked beans.  Heinz Curry Beanz!  Who could ask for more?  It took me right back to my childhood.

Now, I had never had Heinz curried beans before so this was a treat.  I had recently found them in a local shop and I was so excited.

 

I poured them into the saucepan and they looked kind of funky… very dark, not at all like the Heinz baked beans I remembered.  Obviously I had to lick the spoon and they were, yes I’m going to say it – Awful.  I felt like a traitor.  How can I not like curried baked beans?  They are Heinz Baked Beans, and they are curried – who could ask for more?  I felt as though I was losing all that is British within me.  *sigh*

Oh, and they had raisins in.  It took me right back to those awful school dinners when it was curry day and you had to pick the raisins out of that slop they said was curry, but clearly wasn’t.

A very English tea

But, I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away, after all they were Heinz Baked Beans.  The more I ate, the more I realized they weren’t so bad.  I did, in fact, eat the lot, even mopping up the sauce with my toast.   By the time I was finished, I think I had convinced myself that I liked them. I probably won’t buy them again, but I was an experience (to say the least).

  

Did you ever find something you had craved since moving from England only to find you don’t actually like it?