The Duke's Cut

The Duke's Cut is another Oxford pub, and though it wasn't in my guidebook, we passed it each day as we walked from our bed and breakfast to the city center. It has a little terrace over a stream, and on our second night, when we were looking for something cultural to do as well as a scenic place to eat, we noticed the sign outside proclaiming that it was comedy night at the Duke's Cut. There was no space to sit on the terrace, but as the whole interior was opened up to the air and it was getting a bit chilly to be right out on the water anyway, I didn't mind sitting inside. The comedians wouldn't be on for another hour, so we decided to order dinner and eat while we waited for the show to start. That Eton Mess pictured above was dessert, a lovely mash-up of cream, berries, and meringue cookies. Yuri was the one who ordered it, but I helped him with a spoonful or two, and it was lovely, light and sweet.

We both had fish and chips for our main meal. Unlike the fish at the White Horse, where we had eaten the night before, the batter on this fish was very crunchy and substantial, made with one of the beers they had on tap, and so sturdy it could have been taken off all in one piece. The fish inside was a much thicker cut, and the chips were thicker too. Again we got some local ales to go with it. It was delicious.
To counteract the typical traveler's bane of vegetable deprivation, we also got a side of what were billed as roasted root vegetables. I'm pretty sure that even in the UK, red peppers and brussels sprouts aren't grown underground, but they were certainly tasty, sprinkled with rosemary and roasted to a caramelized bronze. We were quite satisfied with our dinner, and finished just in time to turn away from the table and enjoy the comedy show.

The Duke's Cut

1 Park End Street

Oxford OX1 1HH

(01865) 204060

Tiny Tim's Tearoom

Though Chaucer never wrote about it (his pilgrims never did actually make it all the way to Canterbury, after all), Tiny Tim's Tearoom is the kind of place that seems worthy of a tale of its own. Housed in an antique building - its only bathrooms are for some reason on the third floor, which requires climbing a rickety staircase and allows a nice view of the dark wood timbers on each level - it's decorated in wicker, frills, and potted plants, and looks like it hasn't changed since the 1980s. But the appealing window display of cakes and tea breads drew me in, as did the sign declaring it a member of the UK Tea Guild and the "only traditional English tearoom in Canterbury." It was my last day in England, and my last chance for a proper English tea.
Though the dining room was full, they squeezed me in at a small table near the window (and slightly hidden behind a potted palm tree). It was after noon, and most of the tables around me were having tea and gigantic slices of cake, which was extremely tempting. But I opted for real food instead, ordering the Ploughman's Lunch - that massive block of cheddar you see in the top picture, served with a thick chunk of wholemeal bread, salad, and a sweet onion-and-raisin jam - and then a Cream Tea for dessert. The three-tiered presentation seemed a bit ostentatious, considering that both scones, while they were of above-average girth, would easily have fit on a single plate. In fact I put them onto a single plate shortly after taking the picture and proceeded to slather them with jam and clotted cream. Tiny Tim's was the only place where I was given butter along with cream to put on my scones, but I didn't use it. The scones, one plain and one raisin, were gorgeously misshapen, and extremely dense and filling. I don't know if I could have finished everything if I hadn't been returning to Japan the next day - but somehow I managed to enjoy every bite.

Tiny Tim's Tearoom

34 St. Margaret's Street

Canterbury CT1 2TG

(01227) 450793

Patisserie Valerie

With my instinct for locating cake shops, it should have come as no surprise that I seemed to find a Patisserie Valerie everywhere I went in England. I first noticed it in Oxford, its row of elegant slices of cakes lined up in the window. There were numerous locations in London, as well as one in Canterbury. All the front windows are the same, though the two I visited were quite different inside. I ordered lunch each time - a grilled cheddar and tomato sandwich one day, a bowl of minestrone another - and found the savory offerings both tasty and stylishly presented, but lunch was really just an excuse to try the cake.
At the top is the most popular cake: the Double Chocolate Gateau (all the cakes go by the Frenchified taxonomy here). A vanilla-cream-filled chou pastry and a swirl of frosting sits atop a two-layer chocolate cake filled with more chocolate frosting and iced with a flexible piece of chocolate, not really ganache but not as hard as couverture, either. It was quite rich and satisfying, but I preferred the other cake I tried another day, the Black Forest Gateau shown just above. This one uses what may well be the very same chocolate cake, but it's smothered in soft whipped cream, filled with dark cherries, and topped with a cone of that same flexible-but-firm chocolate. Other choices in the window included berry tarts, tiramisu cake, and fruit-filled millefeuilles. All in all, Patisserie Valerie seems not all that different from a patisserie in Tokyo - and I think that was one of the things that appealed to me about it.

Patisserie Valerie

Locations around London and in some other English cities

Waterfront Cafe Bar-Bistro

If only I lived in Wallingford, I'd probably spend my entire summer at the Waterfront Cafe. Not only is it located at a marina where a small navy of speedboats and party cruisers are moored at the Benson Waterfront, not only is it an extremely pleasant mile's stroll through the meadows along the Thames upstream from the historic castle town of Wallingford, but the food is actually delicious as well. What could be nicer than sitting on a wooden deck watching the sun set over the water, with green trees and birdsong, surrounded by tables of happy families enjoying the nice weather? We were lucky to have an unusually warm day for late April in England, and we had been walking all afternoon, exploring the Ridgeway Trail, the Thames Path, and the castle ruins. The Waterfront Cafe was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

That burger at the top is a Stilton-smothered portabella mushroom, served with roasted red pepper salsa on a whole-grain bun. I couldn't have invented a more perfect combination of flavors myself - the smelly cheese was the perfect accent to the sweet, tangy relish, and the mushroom was grilled to juicy perfection. Serving the chips in a bowl was a whimsical touch, and the mixed salad leaves a welcome addition (I don't think I ate half as many vegetables as I'm used to on this trip). Of course, a cold London Pride beer is just the drink for sitting and watching boats bob on the river. Waterfront Cafe

Benson Waterfront

Benson, Wallingford

Oxon OX10 6SJ

Selfridges' Afternoon Tea

One thing I was really looking forward to doing in England was having afternoon tea. Japan, being the food-obsessed culture that it is, promotes the teatime culture of England quite heavily - my Japanese guidebook had a special section devoted to it, and in April a travel magazine made the subject its cover story. As all these resources helpfully explained, while tea means tea, "cream tea" means tea with scones, while "afternoon tea" means tea with scones, sandwiches, and pastries. While that amount of food seemed a bit excessive for a between-meals snack, and the price was somewhat excessive as well, I decided I could do it at least once, especially if it took the place of lunch or dinner. Visions of three-tiered cake stands dancing in my head, I led the way to the Selfridges department store's Hix Restaurant on our first full day in London, determined to find a real, elegant afternoon tea.

The cake stand was just as I'd pictured: pastries on top, mini-scones in the middle, dainty sandwiches at the bottom, tea with milk and sugar alongside, and of course, lashings of clotted cream and strawberry jam (don't you love the word "lashings"?). The sandwiches were delicious: an extraordinarily creamy egg salad that must have been at least 70% yolks in a soft brioche bun with sharp sprouts sprinkled on top; a thick slice of smoked salmon with butter on brown crustless rectangles of bread; the classic cucumber and cream cheese. The scones were also delicious, two each raisin and plain, served warm. The pastries, though, were the most memorable thing: the eclairs contained a vanilla cream that really popped with fresh vanilla-bean flavor, and the same cream was inside the meringues topped with passionfruit. The French macaron, an unidentifiable berry flavor, was bigger than the macarons found in Tokyo and quite tasty, despite its scary color.

Even the tea itself was delicious. There was a menu describing each type of leaf in connoisseur's language, and we finally settled on one pot of "richly complex" Lost Malawi and a Darjeeling boasting "rich floral aromas" and "soft green notes of wet earth." They were both quite flavorful, and quite different from the standard English breakfast or Earl Grey. I really liked the silver strainers: they're hinged so that they hook over the side of the cup while you pour the tea, but the seive tips to hang over the base once you stand it on the table, preventing drips. All in all, it was an afternoon tea that lived up to all my expectations, leaving me entirely satisfied.

Selfridges Hix Restaurant
400 Oxford Street
London W1A 1AB

White Horse Pub, Oxford

What could be more British than fish and chips? I think the Union Jack stabbed through the lemon makes the answer quite clear. A cozy little den slightly below street level, the White Horse was my Japanese guidebook's recommendation for a pub with centuries of history behind it - apparently it was originally (in the 15th century) known as the White Mermaid. Though full of customers, it wasn't too crowded, and though all dark wood, it wasn't too gloomy. The bay window giving onto the street let in plenty of the daylight that was still strong at 7:30 p.m.
We ordered a couple of pints of English beer - one was local to Oxford, the other wasn't. I have absolutely no memory which was which or what their names were, though I think the word "dragon" appeared in one. They were nice, sweet beers, like I like them. They went very well with the fish, which was flaky inside and crispy out, and came with a fine choice of accompaniments, from malt vinegar to tartar sauce to ketchup (though I tried to use my ketchup only on my chips). Though I ended up having a lot of fish and chips on this trip, the first time was the most memorable. Maybe it was the pub looking exactly like I would have imagined an old English pub should look. Maybe it was the strong beer coloring my perceptions. Or maybe it was that little flag waving atop its lemon.

White Horse

52 Broad St., OX1 3BB

(01865) 204801

Scones Fit for a Queen: Chocolate Theatre Cafe

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and, like almost every day of my trip, I still hadn't had lunch. I'd filled up on the hotel's full English breakfast, spent the morning touring Windsor Castle, and then embarked on what turned out to be a long, chilly walk through horse pastures in search of the elusive Dorney House. When I didn't find either the house or any sign of it within half an hour, I detoured back towards Windsor along the river, only to learn at the visitor information booth that I'd been on the right path after all. Dejected, cold, and weary, I gave up on the house, which closed at four, and squeezed into a back table at the bustling Chocolate Theatre Cafe.
If the name alone hadn't been enough to cheer me up, the display of cakes and chocolates should have done the job. I ordered a cream tea - a big mug of tea that came with the gorgeous scones, jam, and clotted cream in the picture at the top. Supposedly this is "Windsor's Best Cream Tea," though I'm not sure how much weight ought to be given to a blackboard sign outside a shop. Not having tried any other teas in Windsor, I can't judge, but I do know that this cream tea was excellent. The scones were light and sweet with raisins, the place was humming with customers, and I had a nice view from my little table into the kitchen, where a harried chef was making sandwiches and slicing cakes. It was so restorative that I decided to make another attempt at Dorney House, and even though I never did find it, I spent a very pleasant afternoon strolling by the river, watching the swans and boats, instead - all fueled by the power of scones.

Chocolate Theatre Cafe
57 Thames Street
Windsor SL4 1QW
(01753) 736629

Supper for a Tired Traveller

I returned from two weeks in England yesterday, and as the plane landed in the morning and I hadn't managed to get any sleep on board, I spent the rest of the day groggily trying to stay awake while getting housekeeping chores accomplished. There were trips to the supermarket, the bakery, the dry cleaner. There was a load of laundry for my tiny under-the-stove washing machine. There were lots of books, brochures, and maps to organize and put away. There wasn't a lot of time or energy left over for adventurous cooking, and the upside-down time had confused my sense of dinnertime, anyway. I wanted something simple, light, and filled with vitamins to counter the terrible cold I got a few days ago. Even though Tokyo is nice and springtimey, unlike chilly England, soup was what I wanted.

I ate a lot of soup in England, mostly carrot as that's what's in season. I decided to try to recreate a carrot-vegetable soup, though without a handheld blender I wasn't sure how it would turn out (I really prefer soups velvety rather than watery). Still, encouraged by the music of my newly-downloaded soundtrack to "Wicked" (which I saw for the first time in London last week), I set to work chopping and dicing. First I put just a small amount of water and salt in the pan and added 1 diced carrot, 4 diced garlic stems, and the minced stems of 4 shiitake mushrooms. When they had cooked a while, I added more water, more salt, pepper, and another diced carrot, 3 more sliced garlic stems, and the mushroom heads very thinly sliced. I went away and folded some laundry. Then I added more water, just to keep everything covered, and some broccoli florets and chopped spinach. Those I cooked just a couple of minutes, till they were tender, and I took the pot off the stove.

It was perfect! Even though not creamy, there was a high ratio of vegetables to water, and the earliest-added vegetables had started to fall apart. There was a lot of cold-fighting garlic flavor and a nice contrast of colors. I made enough soup for a number of servings, so we'll see how it holds up - I hope it will taste good cold, as well, so I can eat it at work like gazpacho.

I had picked up a loaf of rye and wholemeal bread at Pointage, one of the small, independent neighborhood bakeries near my apartment, and a small wheel of camembert cheese. I also ate a bowl of the very soft tofu that comes in its own milk, and is very pudding-like in texture, with some soy sauce poured over. This is such a mild and comforting dish, it's perfect as a first course for someone almost too tired even to chew.

Tanuki Senbei

The tanuki is a crafty, semi-magical creature in Japanese folktales. The senbei is a thick, old-fashioned rice cracker. Put them together and you have Tanuki Senbei, one of the Azabu Juban-area shops that goes heavy on the nostalgia inducement. They sell a variety of rice crackers in the usual flavors: spicy red pepper, crushed black sesame seed, sugar-coated, soy-sauced. The crackers come in the typical shapes - big circles, big rectangles, small amoeboid, small crescent - as well as the utterly kawaii tanuki silhouette. As at many Japanese shops, your purchase will be wrapped up in multiple layers of tanuki-emblazoned paper and bags. But best of all are the man-sized tanuki statues standing watch by the door and in the display window, which changes seasonally. Like gnomes, tanuki statues are common as garden decorations, but these are definitely the largest I've ever seen.

100th Post!

Wow - 100 posts! That's something to celebrate! When I started this blog, I had no idea if I'd actually keep it up, and I certainly didn't think my first hundred posts would go by so quickly! I still haven't run out of things to write about, so I guess I'll just have to keep going. Thanks to all who read regularly - I look forward to sharing my next hundred posts with you!

Ancien Camembert at Paul

This is probably my favorite sandwich. Given that I work only 30 floors away from it, I could all too easily eat it every day, and for a while, when I first started my job, I actually did. Occasionally I'd get something else, and sometimes the tuna sandwich Paul also sells usurps its place of privilege in my sandwich rankings. But most days, if I haven't brought my own lunch and haven't made plans to go out, this sesame baguette buttered and filled with three rectangular pieces of thickly-sliced camembert and a ruffle of green leaf lettuce is what I pick.

Paul is a bakery, so naturally the bread is excellent. Indeed, it's the bread as much as the fillings that occasionally inspires me to choose something different. Another wonderful vegetarian sandwich on offer is a fresh mozzarella and tomato on an olive baguette, but it costs twice as much as the other sandwiches due to the fancy ingredients. But they sell the olive bread by itself as well, and for a while I would just bring my own cheese and pick a different petit pan - walnut, six-grain, raisin, plain - and call that lunch. Other delicious savory choices include mini-pizzas on brioche dough and a hot dog encased in pastry, though I've never tried that one. I've already written a bit about the sweets on offer.

PAUL Bakery

It's a chain with shops around the world - though unfortunately not many in the US.