thessalian (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thessalian) wrote2010-02-21 02:21 pm
thessalian) wrote2010-02-21 02:21 pm
Fruit Beer?
To elaborate from the Twitter aggregate comment on what I got up to last night: birthday get-together, much belated, and I finally went to Belgo after years of hearing about how awesome their mussels are.
(Side note: their mussels are awesome.)
mitchy and I started at the Lamb and Flag, another place that I've been hearing about for years (my Daria fandom friend Padre, aka Father Martin, and I met up in London for drinks many years ago and we pondered the Lamb and Flag because of its fantastic ale and good sausages but it was too crowded so we ended up somewhere else). I did not have the ale, because I don't actually like beer, with a few very random exceptions (Labatts, Newky Brown, that Mexican stuff where you jam a wedge of lime into the bottle neck... but only very rarely in the case of all three). Instead, I had a half-pint of cider and two packets of crisps because I honestly anticipated a longer night and did not want to dump more alcohol on an empty stomach than necessary.
We honestly didn't expect to see anyone at the L&F, on the grounds of very last minute decision of which pub to go to. However, thalinovel turned up along with random and unexpected but very nice to see him again tyrell. Albeit briefly for tyrell, which was a shame, but at least there was a few minutes of conversation and "Yes, we do know each other from more than online, even if I've only been at Brighton Below three times before my character died" with added "no, let's not talk about the job hunt because frothing at the mouth often offends".
And then it was off to Belgo, with me serving as navigator because someone who is actually very familiar with the area and wandered said area frequently not so long ago trumps the bother of looking at a map. :) And I did get us there, though admittedly I took us the long way around. Mostly I did this on the grounds of my firm belief that there is no point in going to Covent Garden if you're not going to blow past the Covent Garden Market and up from there past the station because missing the buskers is criminal. Actually, there was more entertainment in the two girls in the brightly coloured coats doing a little hoppy-dance and singing "Reach for the stars" out of absolutely nowhere, but the point stands. In any case, we met adelpha and kelemvor in the reception foyer and minmorton turned up a bit later and we were, on the whole, quite the group.
And so there was food and fruit beer. I was dubious about the fruit beer thing (see above about not liking beer) but I was assured that it didn't taste like beer. So mango beer was, in fact, a revelation, though of course it turned out that I liked everyone else's drink better than I did my own. But seriously. Mango beer. Anyone who knows my fondness for the humble mango knows I had to try it, and it was really nice. It was just, ironically, the most beery-tasting of the three I tried. In any case, there were also the mussels and these really nice salmon cakes and there might have been dessert if not for the fact that 95% of the dessert menu involved chocolate in some way and I was already developing what promised to be a monumental migraine. Belgo is a lovely place with great food and good service but it is also sardine-tin crowded, rather close and excessively loud. This is never good for me anyway, but I wasn't about to dump chocolate on top of it - I still had hopes of actually beign able to enjoy the rest of the evening.
...Of course, that entirely relies on 'the rest of the evening' not involving London pubs on a Saturday night. Crowded and loud is my bane, and ... well, y'know, West End. In the end, I had to bail early, with the rest of the merry crew happily ensconced in a hard-won table at the Captain's Cabin, after a protracted game of musical chairs that managed to span both floors of the establishment. I was really sorry to have to leave but it was for the best - there were painkillers and a relatively early night (for a Saturday) and unfortunately rather broken sleep and now it's afternoon and while the head still hurts, I don't feel specifically like I'm going to pass out any time soon. Bonus. Added bonus: haven't had one that bad in quite awhile.
Further bonus: it's a pretty nice day. I will finish my coffee and possibly find food and go for a stroll, and then sit down and figure out what to do with the rest of the afternoon. It may or may not involve DAO (about which I kept conversation to a minimum last night, go me!) but will definitely involve roasting turkey bits later on.
So to those at the birthday dinner celebration thingie, thanks for the company and lovely conversation, and I hope to see you all again at some point.
(Side note: their mussels are awesome.)
mitchy and I started at the Lamb and Flag, another place that I've been hearing about for years (my Daria fandom friend Padre, aka Father Martin, and I met up in London for drinks many years ago and we pondered the Lamb and Flag because of its fantastic ale and good sausages but it was too crowded so we ended up somewhere else). I did not have the ale, because I don't actually like beer, with a few very random exceptions (Labatts, Newky Brown, that Mexican stuff where you jam a wedge of lime into the bottle neck... but only very rarely in the case of all three). Instead, I had a half-pint of cider and two packets of crisps because I honestly anticipated a longer night and did not want to dump more alcohol on an empty stomach than necessary.We honestly didn't expect to see anyone at the L&F, on the grounds of very last minute decision of which pub to go to. However, thalinovel turned up along with random and unexpected but very nice to see him again tyrell. Albeit briefly for tyrell, which was a shame, but at least there was a few minutes of conversation and "Yes, we do know each other from more than online, even if I've only been at Brighton Below three times before my character died" with added "no, let's not talk about the job hunt because frothing at the mouth often offends".
And then it was off to Belgo, with me serving as navigator because someone who is actually very familiar with the area and wandered said area frequently not so long ago trumps the bother of looking at a map. :) And I did get us there, though admittedly I took us the long way around. Mostly I did this on the grounds of my firm belief that there is no point in going to Covent Garden if you're not going to blow past the Covent Garden Market and up from there past the station because missing the buskers is criminal. Actually, there was more entertainment in the two girls in the brightly coloured coats doing a little hoppy-dance and singing "Reach for the stars" out of absolutely nowhere, but the point stands. In any case, we met adelpha and kelemvor in the reception foyer and minmorton turned up a bit later and we were, on the whole, quite the group.
And so there was food and fruit beer. I was dubious about the fruit beer thing (see above about not liking beer) but I was assured that it didn't taste like beer. So mango beer was, in fact, a revelation, though of course it turned out that I liked everyone else's drink better than I did my own. But seriously. Mango beer. Anyone who knows my fondness for the humble mango knows I had to try it, and it was really nice. It was just, ironically, the most beery-tasting of the three I tried. In any case, there were also the mussels and these really nice salmon cakes and there might have been dessert if not for the fact that 95% of the dessert menu involved chocolate in some way and I was already developing what promised to be a monumental migraine. Belgo is a lovely place with great food and good service but it is also sardine-tin crowded, rather close and excessively loud. This is never good for me anyway, but I wasn't about to dump chocolate on top of it - I still had hopes of actually beign able to enjoy the rest of the evening.
...Of course, that entirely relies on 'the rest of the evening' not involving London pubs on a Saturday night. Crowded and loud is my bane, and ... well, y'know, West End. In the end, I had to bail early, with the rest of the merry crew happily ensconced in a hard-won table at the Captain's Cabin, after a protracted game of musical chairs that managed to span both floors of the establishment. I was really sorry to have to leave but it was for the best - there were painkillers and a relatively early night (for a Saturday) and unfortunately rather broken sleep and now it's afternoon and while the head still hurts, I don't feel specifically like I'm going to pass out any time soon. Bonus. Added bonus: haven't had one that bad in quite awhile.
Further bonus: it's a pretty nice day. I will finish my coffee and possibly find food and go for a stroll, and then sit down and figure out what to do with the rest of the afternoon. It may or may not involve DAO (about which I kept conversation to a minimum last night, go me!) but will definitely involve roasting turkey bits later on.
So to those at the birthday dinner celebration thingie, thanks for the company and lovely conversation, and I hope to see you all again at some point.