London Part II

Getting back to the London trip, our visit to Borough Market deserves a write up. This covered market is so well known not only in London but in the food world in general that it hardly needs a basic description, but here goes: green tin roofs and tarps, light slanting in from above on over a hundred stalls selling everything from hawaiian and french sea salt to parts of pigs and goats we don't usually sell at american farmers markets. The crowds are intense: there are many spots, where a queue for sausage come up against a thoroughfare, where you can't actually move forward, and where it would be impossible to fall over. For me, the star of the show at Borough is Monmouth Coffee.

These guys are serious coffee importers, roasters and retailers, who sell beans (never ground) or grind and brew coffee for you on the spot in the store. Their outfit has few places to sit: low wooden tables, with pieces of baguette and pots of jam on them. They sell some pastries, but the real focus is the coffee itself. What's interesting about it is that Britain has not generally joined the artisinal coffee roasting movement (and as I've observed, neither has France) so its nice to see these guys putting in such an effort. The guatamalan we had was fantastic, and I almost didn't mind spending $12 on three cups.

But, back to Paris. We had our first experience with a vegetarian Chinese, Tien Hiang, which generally pleased me. They're still not on the same page as vegetarian asian places in the states - too much of a focus on replacing meat with soy protein, rather than abandoning the 8 ounces of protein per dish rule altogether, which would be more culinarily and nutritionally sound. I enjoyed the veg turnip cake, the bun bi - vietnamese noodles with spring roll bits thrown it - and a seaweed salad.

More soon - we're headed back to Angelina tomorrow morning so that Shannon can try the hot chocolate.