What I Ate: London’s Food Edition

I am a teacher and summer vacation has officially begun,  which means I am pouring through Google flights hoping to catch a deal to some exotic locale. In addition to thinking about all the places I would rather be I am pining for the dream vacation I took to Europe last summer. I visited London, England, and Paris France, let me tell you these cities are as beautiful and cultured as you can imagine. I took well over 2000k pictures while these at least half were pictures of food I ate. I’ve decided to share some of the pictures from that trip in hopes of inspiring others to chase their foodie dreams.

My dream trip started off as a bit of a nightmare. After making my way from NOLA to Atlanta via Delta. I arrived at the airport having missed my connecting flight due to a storm, after waiting in line for hours to speak with an airline representative and being told that I would have to wait until the next day to catch another flight, I decided to get a room and get some rest but not before having an after night midnight meal from McDonald’s.  Yes, I know but I needed food. I wanted to arrive in London fresh-faced, which of course didn’t happen but more on that another time. Eventually, I was able to board a plane the next day and spending the night in a sketchy hotel.

Airline Food: Not so bad after all.

I am one of those people who reads and researches about any conceivable topic. In preparation for the trip, I read about the new menu the airline I flew had recently put out. By the time I made it on to my actual flight to London I was ready to eat. I am a little funny about meat sometimes, I’m not a vegetarian but … anyway, I ordered the vegetarian meals. This is what I received.

I enjoyed the meal, It was hot and fresh. There was a grain side salad with Greek inspired flavors and it was beyond beyond. After what seemed like eons and several meals and snacks ( shout out to Delta) I landed in London at Heathrow Airport.

Mama, I Made It! Let The Vacation of a Lifetime Begins.

I was staying near the famous Paddington Station (Think Paddington Bear)I took the very convenient Heathrow Express to Paddington which only a few blocks from my hotel. It was my luck that there were two hotels with almost the exact same name within two blocks of each other, so of course, I went to the wrong one first. I eventually found my hotel but, by the time I made it there I was of course hungry. Again I had already done my research and googles so I knew the layout of the area I was staying in. Anyone who knows me knows I love all things London. I watch BBC, I drink tea. There was both a Tessco and a Sainsbury’s within blocks of my hotel so after I settled in I went out for a snack.

 

 

That night my friend and I went to dinner at a restaurant near our hotel. I love that London is such a walkable city.  I was determined to have the famous fish and chips for my first dinner in the city. It was quite nice, as the Brits say. I found out that Ketchup doesn’t seem to be a thing. It’s not offered as readily there as it is here.

Hitting the Town:

Our first full day started out early we did one of those Hop- on-Hop off bus tours. My thinking was that we could go a general tour then go back and see the sights we really wanted to see. The first stop was to this coffee shop to grab a coffee because coffee is life. I picked up a cold brew from this cute little Italian coffee shop, it was hands down the best coffee I’ve ever had in my life. Like as a walked away sipping I immediately regretted not getting a bigger size. It was bold and smooth yet robust. There wasn’t a hint of acidity or bitterness like in some of the coffee giants that shall not be named in America. It was a little cup of perfection.

 

We visited the Tower of London and spent hours traveling back in time. While there I had some of the best ice cream I have ever eaten. It tasted like milk, cream, and sugar. That’s it.

 

Dinner is Served

Dinner the second night was at the famous Nandos. You can’t scroll through a Londoner’s IG without seeing a post about them having a cheeky Nandos. Nando is a casual dining restaurant that makes some of the best chicken you ever want to eat and you can have it slathered in your choice of sauce.

On our last night in London before we left for Paris, we did a very traditionally London thing and had a takeaway. The place we chose was actually featured on a  Gordon Ramsey tv show but I can’t remember the name of the place. The food was delicious, the rice was awesome. I could have eaten just that, it was fragrant and fluffy.

 

My plan was to combine the two cites of Paris and London together in one post but honestly, each city should have its own post. Look out the next edition of “What I Ate”. Comment below if you enjoyed reading about my trip to London. Have you ever been to London? What is your favorite place to travel for food? Are there any cities you want to travel to just for the food? Until next time, do good and eat well.

-Toya