http://nutsandboltons.com/food

We had a number of recommendations for this place. Complete strangers who found out in an airport that our guests were coming to London would recommend it, to the tune of "If you only have one night in London, this is the place to go." Tayyabs. Foodie friends of ours had heard of it and were dying to try it out. Tayyabs. Any time we talked to anyone about London and food, the name came up. Tayyabs, Tayyabs. I missed my opportunity last spring because we didn't have a reservation and I was worried about finding my way home across the river late that night. Tayyabs, Tayyabs, Tayyabs. Our friends went, and had nothing but good things to say. By the time we finally made it last night, we'd heard so much hype about this place we were worried the experience would collapse under the weight of all this dogged enthusiasm. TAYYABS!

Hammersmith holds a special place in my heart. It was the first place I stayed (well, ok, technically I was in Shepherd's Bush) in London. I know it's not exactly a tourist mecca, but I was here for work. There's a tiny little sushi bar called Yoshi Sushi I visited with some guys from work. Years later, it's still open, and I've taken the wife and kids a couple times. We wanted to stop by one more time before we move back to the states, so we popped in late last week. They were fully booked. So we went to Capri instead.

I've established where The Table Cafe falls in the hierarchy. It's last. Dead last behind Caravan and Kopapa. Not that it wasn't good. It just wasn't great. Their fry-up was sorely disappointing, and the ham hock beans that came with it were not the same ones I have photos of in my other article. The banoffee waffles the wife tried were also a bit of a let-down. The caffe mocha was excellent, but I'm not enough of a coffee drinker for that to lure me back. Oh, and the duck hash is no longer on the menu. They're off the list.

Patara was a fun little excursion last night. You may have noticed from some of my other reviews that I tend to stick to the mid-range price band when I eat out, preferring to find the best flavor value rather than frequenting trendy fusion joints or the hot new thing. Every once in a while, though, I'll make an exception, usually when someone else picks the venue. This was the case last night at Patara.

It's been a busy couple days. The posts will be fast and furious the next couple months as we wind down our European adventure and rush to use up gift vouchers and hit the places (new and old) on our bucket list before November. Click through past the break for the write-up on the first whirlwind round.

I tried the Samichlaus at The Draft House near Tower Hill last night. It comes with a nice story about how it's only brewed once a year on December 6th and ages for 10 months before it's bottled. It also comes with a very syrupy consistency. I shouldn't have had it with my burger. The brewery recommends having it with dessert, especially chocolates, and advises that the brew matures in the bottle for years. I imagine that's true, but it certainly wasn't what I was looking for yesterday evening.

Goofy name, fun festival. The Foodies Festival's FEAST fest was a great time, even if they don't have a website yet. The best description I've been able to find is here. It was a whole lot of fun.

Nighjar is difficult to find, especially if you show up before they open. Walk north from Old Street station about half a block and look for a large pair of wooden doors on the right-hand side of the street with the Nightjar logo (a blackbird) on a tiny little brass plaque. It's nestled in between a coffee shop and a sandwich shop. Don't bother knocking, they'll open the door once they're open for the evening. Don't tell them Vinnie sent you, either. They won't have any idea who he is, or why that would matter.

I have a confession to make. I'm not a fan of real ales. I find them bland and lacking character. I find that generally true of most British beers. There are exceptions, of course, like Badger Ale and Abbot Ale and (my Brit friends will lynch me for saying this) Newcastle Brown, but by and large, I don't really enjoy them. I find they're too mired in tradition to dare anything truly interesting. To be honest, while I love Belgian and German beers, the innovation of trailblazing American micro-brews is where I feel the action happens. Even the smaller British breweries stick to the same old tired styles, trying to mimic the incumbents rather than show them up. So you may wonder why I would shell out 10 quid for a ticket to an exhibition dedicated to beer I don't really like.

I've heard a lot of the locals complain about Jamie Oliver and his proliferation of restaurants. "They're popping up everywhere." "They're not all that good." "He's singlehandedly ruining British cuisine." Poppycock. I've been to a number of his restaurants, and with the exception of Union Jack's, they've all been worth going back to. This week's excursion to Barbecoa was no exception.