NYC - London Dispatch 1
We went, we ate ... and ate.
Hi eaters!
For our next few issues we’ll be moonlighting as restaurant critics (or hype girls?) to share the culinary venues that we recently enjoyed overseas with you. Part escapism, part denial that we have day-jobs, part motivation to make something besides a sandwich, part admiration. All important sustenance.
WINNIE
ROCHELLE CANTEEN
16 Playground Gardens, East Shoreditch, London
Rochelle Canteen opened on the other side of the world in the year I finished high school (you can google that). I want to say that I went for the first time in 2008, the year I lived in France, but it could have been 2011, when my mum and I visited my sister, and I ordered sweetbreads for the first time. I’m bothering with the numbers because all these years later Rochelle Canteen still lives up to expectations. It’s a culinary Kate Moss, Rochelle’s still got it.
This year my sister chose lunch at Rochelle Canteen to celebrate her 40th birthday. We needed somewhere child friendly, but chic, and that’s Rochelle. The table behind ours had 3 groups of recent parents, each better groomed and better dressed than I manage to be without children, so can confirm that it’s good for people watching too. But on to the food.
To start… a fabulous, ice-cold gin and tonic, served in a tall glass. A welcome difference to the colony, where G&Ts are like the little teapot; short and stout. There was bread and butter too, but they didn’t live long enough to photograph.
We were in London in the height of summer and at Rochelle in the middle of the day so I chose the chilled soup, mostly for its temperature, but also because it sounded like the cold version of my favourite hot soup of zucchini, basil and Parmesan from one of Australia’s finest, Neil Perry*. Achieving the same teeny tiny cube texture will be challenging at home but I’m keen to try and replicate it for our southern summer.
My aunty had the sardines, which need very little dressing up.
*Flashback: I had the pleasure of meeting Neil at his home (very random) for one of my first jobs out of high school and he was so lovely, he made smoothies for the whole team as soon as we arrived! A real-life lesson in hospitality from the legend himself that I probably should implement.
Now for seconds…
I couldn’t go past the girolles and fried egg on toast even though I was doubling down on the first course menu because they are SO cute, SO flavoursome, and I don’t see them regularly back home. So much better than your average $5 side of button mushrooms, maybe a portobello if you’re lucky, in Oz. Plus look at that butterrrr!
Others went for:
And never not ordering a well-dressed salad, especially when it comes with capers and my favourite elegantly oblong French radishes. May 2023 be the year that oblong radishes finally take over and get the restaurant real estate that they deserve.
If you’ve indulged me this far, you deserve dessert!
I’m already getting the wind-up message from Substack that we’re reaching the limit of what is considered an acceptable email length, so I’m going to leave you by saying that if you love a long lunch, understated glamour and great food then you’'ll love Rochelle. Aaannnnddd welcome back …
CHENELLE
She’s back! Read: she has finally decided to stop being a complete delinquent, relying purely on the benevolence of one Winnecke B in keeping this little endeavour alive! My excuse: travel really threw me off, and after two months I’m still trying to find my groove…also: I have managed to oversubscribe myself to too many extra-curricular activities! But anyway! That is neither here nor there and you are here for the food, I am here for the food, so here we go!
DAME
87 MacDougal Street, New York, NY
In keeping with today’s British theme (I’m going with the flow here people) — Dame is a seafood-focused, modern English restaurant: in the New York Times’ words: it’s a chip shop that’s not a chip shop. It’s one of NY’s hottest reservations at the moment (cringe, can’t believe I just said that): but I managed to snag a late slot (9 pm) because apparently, everyone in the city is eating early now.
Let’s start with my hot hot tip: eat dinner with a chef. Or someone “in the industry.” Can’t recommend it highly enough. One of my favorite things about eating in New York is having my friend Francis around (and his partner Chin of course! Hi Chinchin!!!!) — he seems to know someone at every kitchen — and I am only too happy to be on the receiving end of free apps and desserts. 😅
I live for a grilled oyster situation — or any oyster situation really — and this one was no exception. I spent a few years in my early 20’s with an on-again-and-off-again allergic reaction to oysters — but I think I’ve finally managed to beat it and my appetite for oyster-related things knows no bounds.
I’m also a sucker for most cucumber salads. While my usual go-to is just smashed cukes with that ever-reliable ginger/soy sauce/vinegar/brown sugar combo, this elevated cuke sitch was a welcome change. Hidden mussel treasures! What more could you ask for!
Ugh, I love a squid skewer. I love green sauces and scallion-y oils even more.
And the main event: fish and chips — definitely did not disappoint. The batter was crunchy and delicate at the same time: a feat unto itself. Would I have loved to douse it in malt vinegar? Maybe.
Is the Eton Mess the most English dessert of all time? Likely. No seafood here, but a delicious close anyway.
Digestif
Kate Moss isn’t showing any signs of retiring, and happily, Rochelle isn’t either.
Book a table at Rochelle Canteen.
Unlike Winnie, I did not have the presence of mind to photograph the menu at Dame. I do know my way around the internet though, so here is a link to their current one.
Reservations at Dame here, and in direct contrast to the aforementioned NYT article: walk-ins are not dead! Walk-ins only on Mondays.