Club Mexicana

Being a fan of most things pop up related I thought it would be fun if Steve and I tried out Club Mexicana a few months ago. This isn't your usual Mexican fare, it's vegan friendly and for a meat and cheese lover like myself I was curious to see how this would work. For £25 we were promised a 3 course meal with a cocktail which sounded like a pretty good deal to me. Club Mexicana were hosting their night in the Black Cat Cafe in Hackney. This is a really cute vegan cafe only a few minutes walk from Hackney Central station, with plenty of books and trinkets scattered about the place it has a really friendly vibe. Club Mexicana had is decked out in blow up tropical accessories for the night which was really fun.

Both Steve and myself had a Margarita and whilst this isn't my usual choice of cocktail it did have a good kick to it. If you prefer your cocktails salty rather than sweet than this one's for you. We also shared a bucket of Coronas (3 each) which costed £12 i.e. excellent value and a must drink for any Mexican meal.

We had a choice of starter, either seitan or black bean sopa de tortilla. I went for the black bean version and Steve the seitan. Both tasted the same in my opinion and very equally as tasty. The chillies gave it a nice heat and the mix of tortilla chips and vegetable made it surprisingly filling.

For the main course we decided to both have black beans but in the form of tacos and tortilla chips. Before these arrived we were given sweet potato wedges and a Mexican inspired club salad. The chips especially were delicious, coming with a chipolte sauce and tasting autnetically Mexican due to the spice. I would definitely have these again!My only concern was that they didn't come at the same time as the main course.

The toppings on both the tacos and tortilla chips were the same, a combination of beer soaked black beans, guacamole, creamed corn, chilli sauce, pickled onions, sour cream and fresh lime juice. I love soft tacos and tortilla chips so I can't say that I liked one of these more than the other. The toppings were delicious and I really did not notice that the cheese and meat which are normally a key ingredient in Mexican food were missing. The ingredients tasted fresh and tangy which is an extremely important quality for a Mexican feast to have. These mains really were delicious.

By the time the chilli chocolate desserts came I was close to bursting. The meal had been huge but I still managed to eat a bit of this spicy chocolate mouse. Any type of chocolate pudding gets a thumbs up from me and considering this mouse was vegan friendly I was extremely impressed with the creamy like consistency.

Club Mexicana is a really impressive pop up for anyone who likes Mexican food whether you're vegan or not. The experience is great value as I guarantee you will leave with a fully belly and a smile on your face. I'm looking forward to future pop ups with a greater selection of vegan friendly Mexican fare.

What vegan meals do you recommend x

Follow me on: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Bloglovin'

The Pickled Fork - Brixton Diner

A month ago I went for dinner at a new pop up venture that was so delicious I thought it was about time I wrote about it. Better late than never as they say... For a few weeks The Pickled Fork were hosting a pop up diner in an old solicitors office in Brixton called the Brixton Diner funnily enough. Being a lover of all things Brixton and food related I knew I had to check it out, especially as my friends Peckamite had said how delicious it was. The menu was right up my street promising to serve an assortment of American style classics made with locally sourced produce.

Upon arrival we were given a bag of cayenne flavoured popcorn and asked what we would like to drink. Being the non beer drinker that I am I went for the long island ice tea which had a good kick to it and went nicely with the spicy popcorn. It came in an old fashioned tea pot which was a nice touch as I'm a sucker for little details. Steve went for a local IPA which he said was very nice. Can you tell I don't do beer? The drinks were reasonably priced with the beer being £3 and the cocktail being a standard £7.

Enough of the drinks and onto the main deal, the food. I was really looking forward to the starter which was chicken wings served with a selection of sauces. The wings themselves were juicy and delicious and I very much enjoyed trying the 4 different sauces which were variations on mayo, pickles, chilli and blue cheese. My favourite was the Shropshire blue which is funny because I don't normally like blue cheese, the flavour wasn't over powering so that's probably why I enjoyed it so much.

 

One of the big appeals of this pop up was the main course, a burger or to be more specific a brisket bap complete with cheddar crisp. To put things simply, it was delicious! The meat was succulent and tender and the cheddar crisp with wild garlic slaw added a nice contrast to texture. The corn on the cob was lovely and sweet and the fries were just right with the cheddar salt flavour really standing out, all-in-all an absolute taste explosion, I loved everything (except the pickles, I don't do pickles). The starter sauces were left on the table so we were able to enjoy more of the Shropshire blue with our fries as well, so much better than ketchup.

The dessert was something I thought I wasn't going to enjoy as I'm not a huge fan of banana or peanut butter but this clotted cream pie was really enjoyable. The hobnob base was nice and biscuity and the French meringue was sweet and chewy on top, delicious.

The meal we had that night really was excellent value (£20 pp) as both Steve and I left feeling satisfyingly stuffed. The Pickled Fork now have a new venture in Wandsworth and Wimbledon called #grimedining which I fully intended on visiting. With monthly changing menus using seasonal ingredients and a contemporary twist on English fine dining but at a value price (£30/£35 pp) this isn't something to be missed.

Have you been to a pop up restaurant recently x

Follow @hansyhobs

    

Tommi's Burger Joint at the Princess of Wales

 

If there's one thing I don't mind going out of my way for it's a burger which is why I headed (all the way) over to Primrose Hill on a school night. Tommi's Burger Joint, whom I'm a long standing fan of, are holding a pop-up at the Princess of Wales pub on the third Thursday of each month and the burgers they're serving up are delightful!

I first tried Tommi's well over a year and a half ago in Marylebone and then again on a trip to Iceland in December 2012 and very single time I've tried one of their burgers the taste and quality remains consistently good. The burgers are cooked to perfection, as are the fries and now I'm looking forward to the permanent Kings Road restaurant opening up (finally a decent burger joint in my neighbourhood).

This time around I tried the New Yorker which is a bacon and Monterey Jack cheese burger complete with sweet pickles, onions and horseradish mustard i.e. my idea of burger heaven (minus the pickles, I don't like pickles). It really was delicious, the meat was nice and pink, the burger held together even though it was on the messy side and the individual flavours of the different toppings really came through. All in all an extremely delicious dinner.

To accompany the burgers the Princess of Wales were serving up some lovely drinks. There were a few tasty cocktails on the menu so I went for the Ginger Ninja, a ginger and honey infused rum and ginger beer mix followed by the Breakfast Margarita which includes tequila, grapefruit juice and marmalade. Neither of these were drinks I'd normally go for and considering I'm not a huge fan of ginger or grapefruit I found them rather tasty, the Ginger Ninja especially so. My friend also tried the Peanut Butter Milkshake (vanilla vodka, caramel spiced rum, vanilla ice cream, milk and peanut butter) which is my idea of hell (I hate milk) but she LOVED it! And for all you beer lovers do not fear because the Princess of Wales has a mighty fine collection of craft beers too!

During their residency Tommi's Burger Joint is running a diferent theme each night. On this particular evening it was a Man vs Food challenge where the contestants have 5 minutes to devour the Ultimate Burger i.e. a super New Yorker with 3 patties instead of 1.The next night is on the 20th March and I'm sure the theme will be just as exciting!

Will you be tempted by this Primrose Hill pop-up x

Follow @hansyhobs