Pie n Mash @ F Cooke - Crimes against Pies

I have a fondness for pie n mash, maybe because of all the stories I used to hear from my parents, aunts and uncles when I was a child about how great it was.

When I first tried it, I thought it was the blandest meal I’d ever had. Then I learnt pretty quickly that the vinegar, white pepper and salt are all there for you to make it to your liking. And like it I did.

Every pie n mash shop I’ve ever been to, sells the dish exactly the same. There is but one recipe and change it at your peril.

The mash is always smooth but never seasoned or buttery enough. A bit like mash at school in the 70’s but without the lumps. The pies are made with a cold water pastry with a lovely minced meat filling that a tad of vinegar brings to life.

The green liquor, which I used to deplore, has become a staple on my plate these days. Something about that eel water and parsley that has a hook in me now.

I’d never been in a F Cooke Pie n Mash shop before. But I was expecting everything to be as I’ve eaten countless times before. But it wasn’t quite there.

The mash was as it is always, smooth but bland. The liquor was green and not too thin that it ran around the plate, it was pretty spot on.

The problem was the pie. The filling was good after a drop of vinegar and white pepper on it to bring the bugger to life.

It was the pastry. It was like cardboard, bloody hard and old. I not sure how long they had been stuck in that small oven on the counter waiting to be sold, but it was more than a day. The pastry was so hard, I could of done with a knife to cut it. Normally a spoon suffices but on this occasion it was rock solid. Not a happy man.

The girl behind the counter was less than interested, and seemed annoyed that people were coming into the shop and was taking her away from her texting marathon.

I was less than impressed with my first venture into an F Cooke shop if the truth be told, that I’m not sure if I want to venture into one again, but as I am a sucker for these things I probably will, but maybe not this branch on Broadway Market.

Broadway Market

It's been a long while since I made any type of video. So this is just a short one to get me back into the swing of things. 

As you can see the quality is not that good, but it was taken with a naff digi camera. I'm hoping to buy a better one quite soon and hopefully the quality and standard will improve. Time will tell. 

Anyhows sit back, enjoy and hopefully this will inspire you to goto Broadway Market. Don't forget to have your speakers turned on as well. 

A is for Argentina @ Buen Ayre

I hadn’t eaten at Buen Ayre for quite a while, especially after discovering Garufa, which is very close to our house. Then again Broadway Market is just a bus ride away. I do enjoy where I live.

I first went there not long after it opened, oh so many years ago now, to celebrate an ex work colleagues birthday. That was a great Sunday afternoon, and I met a few Argentineans there, who subsequently kept inviting me to their weekly asados. Heaven.

This return trip to Buen Ayre, was because our Colombian friend and her Polish husband were in need of some serious steak action. We had recently returned from a weekend in Paris, where we tried but failed to find some good steak and frittes. The quality of meat in Paris has seemingly declined over the years. Disappointing. So after Buen Ayre was suggested we jumped at the idea of eating some good red meat.

For some reason I had my apprehensions about eating here. No idea why, but I have become a major fan of Garufa, and having eaten at some of Buenos Aires best restaurants over the years, that any restaurant being hailed as a true Argentinean steak restaurant I take it with a pinch of salt. Sometimes over hype is never a good thing.

But former eatings at this restaurant should have reminded me that I had nothing really to worry about, as it’s still pretty damn good. That wood burning parrilla churns out steak after steak all night and all of them are cooked to perfection.

People think it’s an easy job to cook a steak on a bar-b-q as they do it once a year, whenever the sun comes out. But to do it perfectly for several hours time and after time, day after day is a real art. In Argentina these artists are not called chefs, but Asadors or parrilleros, as they are the maestros of the asado.

As we were on for some serious meat eating tonight we went straight for the Parrillada Buen Ayre. A fine selection of chorizos, morcillas, mojecas, rinones, steaks and ribs. Man we were in meat heaven.

The steaks were cooked just as we liked them. Rare and juicy, but with that smokiness from the fire, that always makes any steak taste a whole lot better. The offal were gorgeous and as I like them. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.

The accompaniment of chips and an onion and tomato salad, the quintessential side order of any asado. Actually they were some of the best chips I’ve eaten in a long time. Damn good, as good as Garufas, if not better.

The parilla was as good as you would get in any no frills restaurant in Argentina, but for over here, it’s pretty bloody fantastic, and to be still producing great food on a constant basis for many years is one hell of an achievement.

As we were finishing the decent bottle of wine, we decided to start this crazy thing that may or may not last. But we’re gonna give it a go anyhows. Well we had just started with A, so why not go onto B. Well we were pretty drunk by this point, so any idea seemed like a good one.

So onto B. Let’s hope it will be as good as A was.