APRIL: best bites, books and bangers
a lovely month spent schlepping around the UK and hanging out with friends and family
Hey hey hey! welcome to my monthly round-up of the best things I ate, read, and listened to. I’ve been all over the UK, saw one of my favourite artists live (shout out Kaytranada), went to my hometown pub (The Crown 4 eva xx), saw my Eastbourne besties, my uni pals, and almost all of my family in the UK, and of course have eaten extremely well. I’m a very lucky girl who is also looking forward to a (hopefully!) slightly quieter month ahead, but who knows!! I am eyeing up tickets to Cross The Tracks so a London trip could be in the cards…
BITES
Beef tartare with crisps at Ox and Finch
Crisps are on every menu at the moment and I’m not mad about it. This was one of the best beef tartares I’ve ever eaten, mostly due to the heavy pickle to meat ratio making it so delightfully tangy.
Apple tarte tatin, fourme d’ambert, prune and raisin at Ox and Finch
Two big hitters from the revamped Ox and Finch! This dessert was the star of the whole show for me: the sweetness of the tarte tatin pairing perfectly with the blue cheese. It reminded me of my favourite breakfast of halloumi on toast with my Yia Yia’s apricot jam, if it was reimagined as a small plates dish in the West End of Glasgow.
Duck leg stuffed with apricot and pine nuts with greens at Sotto
This definitely isn’t the proper name of this dish (the menu changes nearly every day and I didn’t take a picture), but all you need to know is that it was absolutely wonderful, and that we should all be eating more duck!
Fig and hazelnut bun from Hobz Bakery
Think of this as a very elegant and grown-up fig roll. My baker friend Aisling told me I could easily recreate the childhood nostalgia by making fig rolls at home, but I think I’ll leave that to the experts, considering my lack of skills or equipment.
Cheeseburger from the Burger Store pop-up at Urban Ground
I have been desperate to return home, the main reason being to try this burger (but don’t tell my mum that). Multiple people have said it’s the best cheeseburger they’ve ever had, and I would almost agree, although the Dexter Cheeseburger at The Plimsoll still holds the top spot for me.
Dad’s Souvla
Tell me you are Cypriot without telling me you are Cypriot. Who knew chunks of lamb that have been spinning on sticks over a fire could be so incredible?
Sheftalia
We take the Easter feast very seriously in our household, and since Greek Easter and English Easter fell on the same weekend this year, we pulled out all the stops. Shout out Andy for driving to Hastings at 8am to get the caul fat we needed. For a first attempt at making sheftialia, I think we did pretty well.
Vodka pasta at Onda
Onda has been massively hyped on socials, and we couldn’t get a booking for the life of us (believe me, I tried), but we did manage to get a walk-in spot at the pasta bench. I hate to say it, but this isn’t just the vodka pasta that my pals and I make when we are hungover or prepping for a big night out, it was so much more than that. Crispy burnt edges, a colossal shaving of parmesan and the creamiest sauce with a hint of chilli - what more could a gal want before a night out on the town?!
Rhubarb pastry at The Palmerston
A late contender but a springtime favourite. Why was I a rhubarb hater for so many years? The tartness of the stewed rhubarb combined with the buttery pastry is a real match made in heaven.
BOOKS
Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald - If you enjoyed Shuggie Bain or Young Mungo, then you will enjoy this. Glasgow Boys wasn’t quite as devastating or moving as either of Stewart’s novels and the Glasgow landscape wasn’t as keenly evoked, but I would still recommend it! (P.S.:I’ve just been reading some reviews and apparently it’s a YA novel?! I got it in the charity shop so I didn’t realise, but that would explain why it’s much less gritty and complex lol)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz - I read and loved Junot Díaz’ short story collection This is How You Lose Her at uni, and so when I saw this at the charity shop I picked it up without hesitation. The prose can be hard to follow if you don’t speak Spanish, but the way Díaz characterises his narrator Yunior so vibrantly is unlike any other author I’ve come across.
SUBSTACK: In defense of pretension from Rent Free by Ayan Artan
A fascinating read - I didn’t agree with every point the writer makes, but the sentiment of cultural homogenisation and how the internet, TikTok and AI are making us dummies made me rethink my daily doomscroll and swap my phone out for an actual book.
BANGERS
Timeless by Kaytranada
I have almost exclusively been listening to Kaytranada in the run up to the concert, and his newest album makes it impossible not to get up and dance (Erin and Izzy will tell you, my dancing cleared quite the space around us at the CO-OP Live oops)
Losing You by Solange
I recently rediscovered this song and I forgot how freaking good it is! It makes you want to dance and question everything in your life all at the same time.
Visions of a Life by Wolf Alice
I will never stop listening to this album!!! It still hits the same as it did when I was 17, slightly depressed and desperate to escape my hometown!! Don’t Delete The Kisses might be the most beautifully depressing song ever written.
Looking for reccs for…
(if you have got this far, thank you so much, you are a real one)
San Sebastian
I’m going to San Sebastian in June with my parents and I actually cannot wait to not stop eating and drinking for 72 hours. If you have any reccs pls send them my way - would love to hear from you!
Books
I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately, so if you’ve read anything good pls share - I need some inspiration if I’m going to read 30 books this year!
(Let me know if you like this format, I’m still trying to find my groove) Lots of love!!! xx