Charing Cross Hotel

Charing Cross Hotel
Originally uploaded by Andyrob

Charing Cross Hotel is reputed to have a fabulous restaurant.

Normans coach and horses

Social Media Cafe London
Originally uploaded by Andyrob

These are the cider pumps at Normans Coach And Horses in Greek Street London

The last box ever from Abel and Cole

The last box ever from Abel and Cole
Originally uploaded by Andyrob

Two lots of oranges for the second week in a row, and bananas which I specifically delisted

Fuji Japanese Restaurant

Often the bearer of accolades beginning with "best of," Fuji Restaurant in Haddonfield was overhyped for me. I did like the decor, but only relative to most other sushi restaurants and not to, let's say, a charming BYO or Morimoto.

I had even picked out exactly what I was going to order. I read LaBan's review and convinced an equally enthusiastic friend to add it to our Jersey excursion. Arriving slightly before opening, we were nonetheless greeted warmly and served wonderful hot green tea.

We didn't bother with soup, opting instead to go directly for sushi. I got the subject of much praise, the Fuji roll, consisting of yellowtail, scallions and burdock root inside out with tobiko (fish eggs). The burdock root is looks strikingly similar in both looks and taste to baby carrot, somewhat of a disappointment to me. I also tried the Rainbow roll, which Fuji changes up a bit through the addition of the Waluu leaf, a similar taste to mint. It struck me as out of place, honestly. Finally, I went for a safe favorite, a shrimp tempura and avocado roll. It was just that -- safe and plain. My friend, mindful of the recent reports of mercury, stuck with a vegetarian line-up and was pleased with the selection.

Fuji was good but ultimately a disappointment. I am a sucker for a creative roll with a perfect flavor combination. Perhaps Fuji's strong point is the freshness of their fish, something that did not particularly shine (nor detract, in all fairness) for me in my selection. If you find yourself in Haddonfield, though, certainly stop in.

Fuji Restaurant is located in the Shops at 116 on East Kings Highway in Haddonfield, NJ, http://www.fujirestaurant.com/.

Cho Cho San

If wonderful sushi is served in a strip mall in North Wales, is it still wonderful sushi? Why is this placed named after the iconic heroine of Madame Butterfly? Such philosophical questions are best put aside on your journey to Cho Cho San. I will not overhype this place for you, I will simply advise you to go. Put it in mapquest, print it out, and go.

First and foremost, Cho Cho San offers a unique creation (at least for me, perhaps another restaurant has also dreamed it up): the sushi sandwich. This happy idea, pictured at right (with spicy tuna) essentially sandwiches spicy tuna, or yellowtail, or another "salad" version of sushi, with tempura batter (think crispiness) between a layer of rice and seaweed. Thickly. Which means you get a rich taste of spicy tuna, a hint of crispiness for texture, with a relatively smaller amount of rice and seaweed. Believe me when I tell you this works. And for spice-phobes like myself, you can ask for it "not spicy." You will begin to crave these puppies, which prompted my second visit recently.

Second, there's everything else on the menu. The avocado salad with ginger dressing offers a generous portion of avocado; the seaweed salad is the perfect mix of sweet and savory, with the seawood done to a vermicelli-like perfection. The descriptions of the rolls take some time to peruse, but favorites will emerge. Mine is the "fancy roll," whose complexity makes up for its rather simple name. It includes shrimp tempura, caviar (don't get too excited, this is the same stuff in the other restaurants), top smoked salmon, eel, and avocado. I'm not a fan of mayonnaise in my sushi, but the "rock and roll" is popular, with shrimp tempura, top crabmeat mixed with mayonnaise and caviar. Roll specials are posted on the bulletin board as you walk in and are worth a look. Cho Cho San offers the kind of selection that has you planning not for just this order, but for your next visit.

What of the atmosphere? Did I mention it was in a strip mall in North Wales? Well, still not as bad as you might think. The servers are tremendously friendly, even conspiratorially giggly as we observed them devouring a bucket of KFC chicken in the back (it was an off time). The artificial fish tank in the back speaks to the charming efforts. It really doesn't matter. Order green tea, iced or hot, and save room for the sushi. This is a find and worth the drive.

Cho Cho San is located at 981 North Wales Road, North Wales, Pa., (215) 855-1681.

Blue Bell Inn

How many places can claim they've been serving since 1743? How many can simultaneously serve up atmosphere that reflects this fact without being in costume (a la City Tavern) or serving mediocre food? Blue Bell Inn does it all, offering great traditional food in an authentic tavern managed with a familial friendliness. You can't resist ordering Yuengling in a place like this, nor a good steak, for which they're known.

We chose to sit in the bar area, which is equivalent to a sizeable restaurant. The bar meanders a bit and in one corner, a lounge singer belted out tunes over a grand piano. In another corner, a fire roared under a large chimney that reached to the vaulted ceiling. I peeked back into the "restaurant" area and found a strange decorating mix of large paintings of horses (polo? racing? something like that) against a green background - wainscotting, carpet, all green. It felt dated. Stick with the bar area, which serves the full menu.

Speaking of the full menu, it offers a wide range of traditional American options with a high end twist, from french onion soup and New England clam chowder to haricot verts salad or lump crabmeat cocktail, for starters. Stick with the steak, I was told, and I did - enjoying my favorite New York strip, served (as all the steaks are and, in my mind, should be) with bearnaise sauce. It's also served with a salad. Now, I'm used to the starter-salad-that-comes-with-the-meal being all about iceberg and carrot shavings. Not the case here; Blue Bell Inn offers greens with fresh herbs that was surprisingly refreshing as a first course. The steak itself, done to perfection and hard not enjoy next to the giant, warm fire, was a thick cut served with potatoes au gratin and my choice of two vegetables (I went with broccoli over lima beans). The broccoli tasted like butter, which is to say I ate every bit of it. For the first time in a long time, I was unable to finish the steak. Needless to say, I was more than satisfied.

TPB tells me that the Blue Bell Inn is a hotbed of republicans. I didn't hear politics being discussed, but I did see a variety of folks, young and old, with and without families. The clientele all felt like regulars, yet I didn't feel like an outsider. Somehow, the Blue Bell Inn has managed to capture what I imagine to be the best parts of a colonial inn - a good pint of lager next to a fire, a nice cut of meat, and the company of your fellow townspeople. A good place to pass the time.

The Blue Bell Inn is located at 601 Skippack Pike, Blue Bell, Pa., www.bluebellinn.com.

Vegetable box 4

Vegetable box 4
Originally uploaded by Andyrob

Parsnips and beetroot with carrots fennel and kohl rabi.

Oranges and clementines

mixed box from Abel and Cole

mixed box from Abel and Cole
Originally uploaded by Andyrob

The first box contained a large swede and some Kale

Lakeland wild rabbit

Lakeland wild rabbit
Originally uploaded by Andyrob

I'm documenting the preparation and cooking of this rabbit bought yesterday at Borough market.

Marinading the rabbit in mustard in the fridge

Marinading the rabbit in mustard in the fridge
Originally uploaded by Andyrob

This needs to be left now at least half a day, or overnight.

Gurnard filleted

IMG_0531.JPG
Originally uploaded by Andyrob

Here is the Gurnard after having been cut in two either side of the backbone. The fish scissors is from Ikea