Rate this mightily confusing bowl o’ healthy stuff

Caesar Salad that I had after coming home from a long day at work made all the more stressful by severe delays on the Northern Line

Yeah, it serves two but I didn’t care. I dared to dream and in doing so I tasted a bowl of near perfection. It was bloody lovely I must say and when you consider that all you have to do is just open several packets in a certain order and dole out the contents in one place, this seemingly boring plate of food really comes into it’s own. So it’s easy to use, fine. But what do you get for your money?

A good helping of grated Parmesan, some dressing and a generous handful of croûtons to go with a sumptuous selection of green stuff which I can only assume is a concoction of various types of lettuce. I thought I would have to continue to raid my cupboard or refrigerator in search of other bits and pieces to quell my hunger, such was the filling factor of just a bowl of salad. But I was wrong! I couldn’t have asked for more of this wonderful stuff, it’s just a shame that in eating it I managed to cover my face in dressing due to my stubbornness in not wanting to use a knife to cut the mouthfuls down to size, so happy was I in simply forcing an entire lettuce in my mouth.

After all that I’ve got a weird after-taste. This may be the beer from earlier but then again it may not. This salad has left me full, healthy and slightly confused about what the hell has happened over the past few hours.

Rated: 5 out of 7

Rate this burning tongue

Nando’s (Chalk Farm)

Last Sunday was my first experience with Nando’s. I had heard fairly good reviews of this Portuguese restaurant chain, but knew nothing of the menu or format besides the fact they sold bucket loads of Peri-Peri sauce.

Entering was strange. The waiters would say ‘Have you been to Nando’s before?’ as if there was some complicated science to the process, but really it’s quite straight forward. You look at the menu, pick your food, walk over to the counter and they’ll bring you your meal in 5-10 minutes. It’s basically a higher form of fast food with the main difference being that the things you eat are actually well cooked and have less chance of killing you after you leave.

I ordered a chicken burger and chips for about £5 which is fairly good value…it wasn’t the biggest meal I have ever had, but for a lunchtime snack and for the taste alone, it was worth it. But the best component was the unlimited refills of soft drinks, something which I quickly realised was essential. You see the peri-peri sauce is hot…it’ll take you off guard…and one glass of coke wont be enough to get you and your suffering tongue through the meal. Thankfully it’s not so hot that you can’t enjoy the taste and perhaps next time I’ll go for something a little milder, but it did mean I needed to go through 3 glasses of coke filled to the top (maybe subconsciously I was just trying to get my money’s worth).

I had absolutely no problems with Nando’s…if I was being incredibly picky, I’d say the bathroom in the Chalk Farm felt more like a coffin than a place to relieve yourself. But that has little or nothing to do with the dining experience, so I can safely say that if you’re looking for a satisfying lunch, Nando’s is highly recommended (just make sure you’re sitting near the drinks dispenser)

Rated: 7 out of 7

Rate this taste sensation

Beppe Pizzeria- 11 Pennine Parade Drive, NW2

When it comes to ordering pizza, the amount of restaurant choices are astronomical, so choosing between the fairly identical menus can be troublesome. After all, once you’ve tried one meat feast, you’ve tried them all right? Well not quite, because in the NW2 region of London, there happens to be a small little pizzeria called Beppe, which is defying all the rules by producing the best pizza….in the world! This is no overstatement (well it kinda is, but bare with me) because after at least 50 different orders in the space of a year, their standard is impeccable for delivering the tastiest fast food in town.

Of course like any other restaurants, they’ve slipped up before and on occasion their pizzas have been greasy/sloppy messes (and I’d advise against ordering any starters besides the garlic bread), but when on form, Beppe is a taste sensation.  The base is never overly crisp, the toppings are full of flavor and this is matched by one of the best price offers in existence. For a small amount of £10.95, you can order any two 12″ pizzas on the menu! Considering places like Domino’s charge this amount for one pizza (an alternative which in my opinion is less enjoyable), this is an amazing deal and happily feeds four hungry people!

But even without this offer, I could happily recommend Beppe for providing some stunning food which is guaranteed to fully satisfy you. The service is entertaining and while the menu doesn’t provide anything earth shattering, the choice is adequately pleasing (personally I recommend the Vegetarian Hot for its spicy kick or the Beppe Super Special Pizza for it’s wacky name…and surprisingly interesting taste)

Banter provided while placing a order: 6 out of 7

Potato Skins: 1 out of 7

Rated: 7 out of 7