And now for something completely different...

BEANS! My last post didn't really capture the true bloody awfulness of breakfast beans. Not the way Terry Gilliam does. I like baked beans, don't get me wrong, even the canned ones from Bush's. Especially the canned ones from Bush's. But what passes over here for what we can get over there is, overall, quite underwhelming. Overwhelmingly so. So it is with great pleasure that I can announce I've found breakfast beans worth trying.

I say worth trying because I haven't actually done so yet. They certainly looked good. And homemade. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

My breakfast dates had texted to say they were going to be half an hour late. This was after I'd already boarded the bus on my way to The Table. Oh, well. Their tardiness meant I did have time for a latte, so I stopped off at Starbuck's near Borough station for a chai. It was delicious, and served at just the right temperature, not scalding like you'll get at so many places. I hate waiting 20 minutes for that first sip and then burning your tongue anyway.

Anyway, on to Table. It's a tidy little place on Southwark Street not far from the Tate Modern and the Globe theater. We didn't have any trouble getting seated, but it was 9:30 on a Sunday morning. Brunch rush wouldn't be for another 2 hours or so. Service was prompt and courteous. The orange juice was good. My companions split the full English and a pancake served with grilled lemon. Everything looked good, and it all disappeared, so I assume it was. The thing that caught my eye from across the table, though, was the portion of beans that came with the fry-up. The sauce was thick and had a nice appetizing color to it, which was a welcome change from the dingy runny pallor I'm used to seeing from canned beans. I'll be going back, if for no other reason than to actually try them. I was told they were excellent.

I ordered the duck hash, which was duck confit and potatoes garnished with a poached egg and served atop a bed of greens, grape tomatoes, sliced apples, and celery. For those who don't know me, I get a little excited about celery. This dish didn't disappoint. The celery wasn't effing around. It had a big bold celery flavor (tell me if you've ever heard those four words in sequence before) that worked really well with the hash. I need to find their supplier. The duck itself was a good mix of crispy and moist. The ratio of potato to meat was good, although I would have pulled the meat apart a little and mixed it in more instead of leaving it in bite-sized chunks. The sweet apples and tomatoes offered a good counterpoint to the savory duck, potato, and celery flavors. While the dish overall was excellent, I kind of felt the leafy greens were at odds with the rest of it. The flavor was ok, but the hot/cold dissonance really threatened to harsh my hash enjoyment.

I'll be giving this place a second go. It's up there with Kopapa and Caravan, but I won't be sure where it falls in the hierarchy until I try their fry-up.