Boe & Burgers with friends...

4 weeks ago back in December part of my Christmas activities included taking some special ladies in my life out for the evening to see Alfie Boe. The golden girls as they are affectionately known are big Alfie fans and I grabbed tickets for them as a Christmas treat.
We headed to the O2 early so that we could make the most of the evening, the O2 has undergone a huge development of food offers and we were pleasantly surprised at the choices we had, opting for burgers at Byron.

A couple of us opted for the Holy Cheesemas  ~ 2 6oz patties, four kinds of cheese;mature cheddar, american, red leicester, monterey jack, double bacon, red onion , iceberg, pickles & cheesemas sauce. With sides of fries, onion rings & a Brooklyn Beer it was the perfect pick me up from from stateside slump having returned from NY that week.

Having been fed and watered we moved into the arena to be entertained by Mr Boe for the evening. We saw Alfie in Brighton in 2013 and expected a similar type of how, how wrong we were, this was a completely different show, complete with a fabulous orchestra & band.

Highlights of the evening were of course the gorgeous "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables.

• Alfie accompanied by Rick Wakeman ~ Volare 
• Alfie singing Oh Danny Boy

At the end of the evening Alfie pulled a lady Emily out of the audience who asked to sing with him and this is what happened... Alfies reaction is just lovely

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Myself and the golden girls had a fabulous evening and I am delighted to have ticked another box on their bucket lists!

London Loves - Burgers

This month I shared my New York burger loves and today I am sharing my London burger loves. The London Burger scene has exploded over the last couple of years and now London is a strong contender for the Burger capital of the world, offering some fabulous patty's from some of the best burger joints.
Here are 5 of my favourites across the city:

Patty & Bun - this fabulous little gem of a burger bar is hidden down a side street off Oxford Street and queuing is a legendary now as its burgers. There Ari Gold burger is one of their signature dishes and is mouth-wateringly delicious medium rare burger complete with signature burger sauce, cheese, onions .. A feast for the taste buds. Not for the neat eater as it is gloriously sloppy, can only be eaten with a bib!. The ambiance has a real old school feel, with wooden tables & chairs and lots of brown Kraft paper! The burgers are delicious, melt in the mouth perfect accompanied with rosemary salted fries.
Meat Liquor - queuing for entry into this burger joint is mandatory, nestled underneath a carbuncle of a car park, behind Debenhams in Oxford street, this cool edgy burger joint has managed to transfer the street vibe of a burger van into a edgy underground meat & liquor joint. Great food, fab ambience and perfect for a fun night out with friends.
Byron Burger - I've been a huge fan of Byron Burgers for many years, from its cool old school warehouse in Islington, to its theatre bars in Leicester square and Covent garden, I'm a fan. Fabulous burgers and Brooklyn beer its the perfect venue for a burger, beer & fun with friends. Their Bacon cheeseburger is my favourite and I have never been disappointed on any visit.
Bleecker Burgers - this cool little burger van is much sort after around the streets of London, found often alongside the Gherkin or on the streets of Kings cross, this burger joint serves amazing tasting burgers straight from the New York streets... if you see this little black van, its a must.
Brgr. Co is a burger joint in Soho which I have visited twice, both occasions for its very fun Burger afternoon tea. I have sampled its summer tea and its Christmas holiday version which were gorgeous, perfect little treat in the city.

As with all London loves posts, here is a map of my burger favourites in London.

 If this post has wetted your taste buds for exploring London's Burger bars Here are some other burger posts from my blog over the last couple of years.... enjoy x

A bite of the big apple in London.

This year with no trip to New York planned I decided to see how much of NY i could bring to London on a day out in the city. A couple of years ago I did something similar, here  are my adventures from that day. My perfect day in NY would include Pancakes, Ice skating, Eggnog, a huge Christmas tree, and  a walk in the Park, finished off with a sweet treat.
My day started early with breakfast at the very american Automat, tucked down a side road in Green park, it reminds m very much of The Smith restaurant that I fell in love with the last time I was in New York. I ordered buttermilk pancakes with fruit compote and a side order of crispy bacon.... mmm delicious, along with large coffee it was perfect start to the morning.

A short walk through the streets of Green park bought me to the iconic Old Bond Street, complete with Tiffany's ... no-one can visit NY without a visit to this iconic store on 5th avenue and has been a key feature for many visits. As well as gazing at the beautiful townhouse scenes for this years windows, a fabulous horse drawn carriage was parked outside the iconic address waiting to transport little blue boxes across the city. I saw this on 2 further occasions during my day. gorgeous, romantic and very christmas in New York.

From Bond street I walked along the backstreets until I reached Piccadilly, a quick stop in wholefoods to stock up on some American sweet treats, it looked just like a grocery store on a side walk, complete with trees stacked up on the pavement. Really liked the Merry Citrusmas sign...

The lovely eros had been converted into its own snowglobe and Trafalgar Square 's iconic tree had a lovely blue tint to it this year.

From here I walked along the embankment to the historic Somerset House, where I whiled away an hour tentatively skating around the rink and enjoying lashings of hot chocolate and mince pies in the Skate parlour. This years rink was sponsored by the New York apparel brand Coach. With a huge decorated tree and lots of places to sit and watch the world skate by, this is London's equivalent to the  Rockefeller   centre.  I loved it... a London favourite in the holiday season.

Late afternoon after a walk through Covent Garden and a stop at the Hummingbird Bakery where I picked up an Egg nog cupcake I finished my day off in Brgr & co in Soho where I had Christmas afternoon tea burger style!

Cupcake was taken home and eaten as a late supper with a large Baileys coffee in my New York memories mug....
perfect.... what NY treats would you do in London?

Birthday, Burgers & Beer

With Bestie... Is how I spent my birthday. After breakfast with twin I headed into work for a couple of hours before escaping and catching up my best friend J. This was the first time that we had seen each other in the flesh since meeting up in New York last year, so I was overjoyed that we managed to coordinate diaries and get together coincidentally on my birthday. J's is 6 days after mine so we always try to get together sometime in between the two dates.
With no real plan we ambled through the back roads of soho towards Covent Garden, tacking each others ears off!... It felt like we had seen each other yesterday instead of 7 months ago. We browsed a few shops and then stopped at Shake Shack for a couple of concretes, J opted for the Union Shake and I for the Drury Lane Jam... Both very yummy. The Shake shack ethos pretty much summed up our day! "Friends that eat Shack together stay together"

After a little bit more meandering we headed to Byrons on Drury lane for a burger, beer and more chatting & lots of laughter ... Loved the Well Done on J's burger... Commented that she should savour as she never got one at school!.. Too busy day dreaming and staring out if the window!!

A perfect day, sun shining, beer, burger & bestie... Best birthday present I could have wished for x

Burger wars in London!

Over the past few months the social networks and media have stoked up much noise of Burger wars coming to London. This started with the news at the back end of last year of the NewYork favourites Shake Shack and Five Guys crossing the pond to London and setting up home in Covent Garden. It definitely seems that London 2013 is the home of the burger. I have a few favourites Patty & Bun, Byron, Bugr & co, and of course Shake Shack.
I love a good burger and think its an easy after work treat to meet up within friends and catch-up... This I have done a couple of times in July.
This was my 2nd trip here (my restraint is needed as it is 3 minutes from the office!) I met up with a friend and indulged in the 'Ari Gold' which is a delicious medium rare burger complete with signature burger sauce, cheese, onions .. A feast for the taste buds. Not for the neat eater as it is gloriously sloppy, can only be eaten with a bib!

My other burger treat for the month was of course a trip to Shake Shack... I waited a few days after opening, but with London bathed in summer sunshine the Q was in a league of Madison Square park's Q in New York. However if you go don't let the Q put you off, it is incredibly well organised and moves very quickly, these guys are the kings of Burger Q's.

I went the full monty at the Shack, ordering the Shack burger, cheesy fries, old school lemonade and the Union Shack concrete. It was as good as in NY and bought back lots of great memories...
Here's  a couple.
The Union Shack concrete is amazing.. Chocolate custard ice cream, salted chocolate bits from Paul Young and Brownie bites from St Johns Bakery... Deliciously yummy.

Here are a few  of my favourite Burger joints in London, worth a visit.

• Shake Shack  a perfect bite of New York in London
• Patty & Bun  a cool, hip burger joint.. Delicious .. Worth the waiting time
• Byron  not just in London .. The British burger bar that gives the Americans a run for their money.. Cool spaces, complimentary to the local environment.. Great burgers & Brooklyn beer .. Perfect combination.
• Brgr & co  - fun & funky burger afternoon tea.. 

Burger & Lobster

Last Friday a friend from work(N), her mum and my friend had tickets for a very special evening in London. ( a little event at the O2) To make the day even more special, we decided that an early supper somewhere fun in London was needed.
Chosen venue of choice was Burger & Lobster. We decided to leave early from work and after a lovely stroll through Mayfair to the restaurant we were able to be seated straight away. ( for those familiar with this venue will know that you can often wait an hour to be seated due to popularity and inability to reserve a table) Why is it popular?... Because its one of the only places that you can get whole lobster cooked deliciously for £20... Complete with fries & salad!. As the title suggests you have a choice of 3 things on the menu, burger, lobster or lobster roll!
2 of us opting for lobster and 2 for lobster roll it was an easy selection!... Accompanied by beers and fizzy water we had a great couple of hours relaxing, chatting, & enjoying the food. Considering it was the first time the two of the four of us had met, a fun time was had by all.

What aided to the ambience was that we were not continually bothered by the waiters, who when required looked after us very well and at no point did we feel rushed, which can often happen in places that don't book tables and are busy.

This was my Second  trip to burger & lobster and don't imagine it will be my last. Great lobster, & a fab cocktail list ..what more could you ask for!.. Perfect start to a fabulous evening...

Afternoon tea with a bun!

Unless you have been hiding in a cupboard for the past few weeks, you would not have failed to  noticed that London is awash with Burger wars!... Since the opening of a number of 'gourmet' burger establishments over the past 18months and Shake Shack and Five Guys crossing the pond to open in Covent Garden. Burgers have suddenly become more than what gets thrown on the BBQ in the summer. I have several favourites including Patty & Bun, and Byron .. However when I saw Brgr & co doing Afternoon tea with a bun I had to give it a go!... As an avid afternoon tea fan and burger junkie this was my idea of heaven.

The menu is fixed, 3 sliders; cheeseburger, lobster roll and chicken caesar, fries for savoury. Sweets consisted of warm chocolate brownie, vanilla milkshake, strawberry cheesecake shot, and a warm salted caramel donut. All of this was washed down with a glass of chilled prosecco and a pomegranate & mint iced tea which was delightful.

The tea was tasty, fun and good value, with attentive service I had a fun evening, with bookings until 6 great after work treat.... Recommended, but grab it quick only available until end July.

Bard & Burgers...

A couple of Fridays ago I had managed to secure a ticket to the critically acclaimed  Kiss me Kate at the 'Old Vic'... With a couple of hours to fill, my other must for the evening was to grab a burger at the recently opened and Time Out featured "Patty & Bun" .Patty & Bun is a tiny restaurant a stones throw from work and after my first visit I am confident this won't be my last.
The ambiance has a real old school feel, with wooden tables & chairs and lots of brown Kraft paper! The burger was delicious, melt in the mouth perfect accompanied with rosemary salted fries.
As I ate the queue outside was building,  but there was no pressure from the servers for you to hurry which I really liked. Fab atmosphere, delicious food, definitely worth queueing for.

After some fab food, I jumped on the jubilee line to Waterloo for an evening on entertainment at the Old Vic. The theatre was beautifully lit in red, which brightened a cold wet evening.
Those that aren't familiar with the story of Kiss me Kate, it centres around a touring theatre cast who are staging Shakespeare 's Taming of the Shrew.  The theatre casts personal lives are complicated with the lead characters in the play a waring divorced couple. The play is full of fun, dance and theatre entwined with the culture of the Bard!... and the eye candy of Adam Garcia... a great night out.

Shake Shack..

As well as places, I have favourite foodie haunts that feature on my New York must list.... Shake Shack is one of these places. There are several located across New York, but my favourite is the original Shack located in Madison Square park ... featured in many movies and tv shows its popularity means that often the queue can snake around the green.

On a beautiful sunny winter afternoon in December I joined the queue for my Shack treat, complete with Eggnog custard shake!... This may be deemed as a fast food joint, but the burgers are delicious, and cooked to your specification finished off in a soft brioche bun... My order was complete with their signature crinkly cheesy fries... Oh my!... 

 Had to walk several blocks to walk that off but it was so worth it!..... Before embarking on my trip, Shake Shack had tweeted their holiday bauble for the Christmas tree, free with every $25 gift card purchase, So I purchase said gift card which I redeemed some of it on my dinner and got  bauble for my tree!....

I've filed the card to redeem when the Shack opens in Covent Garden this spring... I am a little excited to see the best burgers in New York coming to the UK!... There does seem to be a bit of a burger revolution in London at the moment...

Ballet & burgers

My friend and I usually try to do something together as a Christmas treat. For the last few years the ballet has formed part of my holiday season activities. Normally it is some form of The Nutcracker, however with this already part of my New York adventures I wanted to do something different in London. This year I booked to take us to see Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty. Matthew Bourne is famous for his contemporary ballets so I knew that it would not be anything traditional!
The ballet had a very gothic feel from the start and was a world away from the Disney version!... The opening act was amazing which featured a puppet baby which was just simply brilliant. The dancers we spellbinding.

As ever with Matthew's writing there was a fantastic twist which bought Sleeping Beauty into the 21st century and present day on waking!.... It was Sleeping Beauty mets True Blood/Twilight... 
We had a fabulous evening and avidly wait for Matthew's next fable!
As with every trip to the ballet we usually accompany by a trip for Byrons Burgers!.... The tradition continued this year with a trip to Byron's in Islington.... Perfect burgers, beer and then a treat at the Ballet.