As luck has it, while still in Chicago I ran into a former colleague of mine who coincidentally was looking to possibly move to London. She just happened to be here this weekend, so we were able to meet up on Saturday. So, the plan was to meet at the Borough Market tube stop at 11:30AM (the market I had been waiting for). I overslept a bit since I had been up for over 30 hours the previous day (lets be honest, nuclear warfare couldn't have woke me up), then had to do some business at the bank to get my card working (it is, small victory!), figure out my first journey on the tube (another success!), and ended up meeting her a little late (sorry Shannon!). However, the market certainly lived up to expectations.
The freshness of the fruit and veg was amazing, even seeing varieties that are more rare in the states. The cheese and breads felt artisan, and they were literally shaving cured pigs legs to provide prosciutto and jamon serrano. You may know, the English are famous for their meat pies, and there were plenty of those. Also, a lesson learned - saw a REAL English muffin. Looked pretty tasty - I bet the nooks and crannies in that baby are big enough to hold a quarter stick of butter.
Oh wait, I had to buy an unmarked bottle of truffle oil made by the owner of the booth (first time I had ever seen a whole truffle before - have to say if encountered in nature don't think I would have been the first to take a bite of that little sucker)! I had to hold myself back - it is a great feeling (unlike being on vacation) that you know you don't have to take it all in at once because you can come back as often as you wish. The pastries have been flat out amazing, but I'll have to write an entire blog about those. They had quail eggs (which I love to eat, a lesson learned in Brazil), pates, salamis, fresh fish, REAL bacon, passion fruit juice, figs, fresh oysters ... I was a happy lady.
The also have a ton of booths with people preparing food as well. There is great diversity - middle eastern, Turkish candies, chorizo sandwiches, ostrich burgers (Jo - we're going to try one of those when you're here) - you could tell those that were legendary because they had lines wrapping around everywhere. I opted for a foot long bratwurst with mustard and crout from a genuine German booth. I had been craving a brat since the 4th and this baby did the trick. Yummy! They also had what has to be one of the best creations of all time - it is called the Raclette (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raclette). They have these concoctions that support and fire the top of a wheel of cheese, upon after which it is nice and bubbly, they scrape it off onto a mountain of potatoes and gherkin pickles. I resisted this time, but Raclette - you are in my future.In the end, I bought enough fruit and fresh yogurt for breakfast this week, steak and greens for a dinner at home, tomatoes and bacon for a stellar BLT, and some prosciutto and goat cheese for a baguette snack. And, I have to say I think it was cheaper than what I normally spend at Whole Foods. Yes!
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