Boo in Montreal: July Round Up

Kimchinary
Hanna's Korean tacos are really special. I remember trying her rice pudding at We Feast back in November and being seriously impressed with the flavours she'd got going on. It's next level stuff with these tacos, just look at how pretty they are. I've sampled these, pulled pork belly ribs and braise bulgogi ox cheek tacos, 2 for £6, at We Feast at Brick Lane Yard and just last weekend at Street Feast in Dalston Yard.

You can also catch Hanna at her Zainichi supper club event this weekend where she'll be cooking an offal based menu alongside masterchef 2011 winner Tim Anderson. Tickets are still available, snap them up, it's going to be great. Rooftop and everything!

Bleeker St Burgers
I tried the cheeseburger with sweet potato fries from these guys at Street Feast too, cooked medium rare served with American cheese, lettuce and mustard. They have some awesome sounding dishes, have heard great things about the blue (cheese) burger and the atomic fries. Burger and fries cost around £9.

Dirty Burger
Staying on the burger theme, the recent spat of American imports, Shake Shack and Five guys, inspired me to try some home grown offerings that I'd been wanting to check out. I recently took a trip down the road from my place to Dirty Burger in Kentish Town.

They are not kidding with the name, we ate this sitting on the pavement outside for as dirty an experience as possible. Things got messy. No interior shot, but here it is safely wrapped up in it's paper. The crinkly fries were brilliant. I do love a crinkle. Perhaps something to do with this being the tail end of a 3 day burger bender, but I was a bit over it before it began. My fault though and I'll definitely be back to give them another go and to try Chicken Shop and Pizza East on the neighbouring site. Cheeseburger is the only option (£5.50) chips are crinkle or onion (£3) and it's all rather fun. Go in the warmer months though, it's literally like you're eating in the shed in the garden.

And, just to be clear, that is not my coke, I hate coke.

Joe's Southern Kitchen and Bar
Navajo Joe's has relaunched as Joe's Southern Kitchen on the same site on King Street in Covent Garden. I was lucky enough to be invited to a blogger preview event on the 4th of July to sample some of the new American inspired menu. Highlights included beer can chicken (£24.95), recommended for 2-3 to share,

Braised beef brisket chilli cups, soft corn tacos, diy loading and squirting of the sour cream is a nice touch but possibly for preview only (£5.95), and the key lime pie dessert, bottom right below. Unsure of cost, it's not listed on the website, but it was great. The girls next to us thought there was something off with the shortbread but I liked it. Crunchy topping and tart citrussy bottom, it's everything I want in a pud.

The guys working there seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the revamp and were keen to recommend things to us and to hear our feedback. Absolutely appalling mac & cheese though, wrong on so many levels that I was lost for words but the chicken was really good, as was the beef short rib.

Le Gavroche
Finally, not only did I have my birthday meal at Le Gavroche, but I also met Michel Roux Jnr, who must be the nicest man in food. God love him. Highlights of Le Gav were the cheese trolley and the cheese trolley. Ha. It's epic.

Other highlights were the octopus carpaccio, made even better because it arrived just after I'd spoken to Noyl who was stepping off the ferry at Manly beach in Oz, Happy days.

We had the tasting menu priced at £180 with matching wines, it's not cheap but it was a special occasion. 31, ouch. We were in the last sitting of the day so it felt a little rushed towards the end, I only had 1 sip of the last wine and we were the last people to leave. If you're going, go earlier. Lovely crockery and brilliantly salty butter balls. Think we were a bit rowdier than the typical Le Gav diner, but they were ever so gracious about it.

Kimchinary
Catch Hanna at at Kerb, check twitter for details weekly.
8/10

Bleeker St Burger
Also regularly at Kerb but check website for regular updates.
7/10

Dirty Burger
79 Highgate Road
Kentish Town
NW5 (woo!)
7/10