Bambuni Deli and Coffee Shop, Nunhead

Before I had my boy, we lived in the top of a victorian house between Nunhead and Peckham. Technically we were Queens Rd Peckham, but like some “borderline’ areas it depended who we were talking to as to where we admitted to living. I loved urban living though, being only 6 minutes on the train from London Bridge with direct access to Borough Market, Tate Modern and the lovely Monmouth Coffee. 

I used Monmouth at Borough Market like my local coffee shop. Extreme I know, but the establishments of East Dulwich were so inaccessible by public transport, that ten minutes door to door seemed reasonable. This is the logic of living in London I think? Anyway, we didn’t have a local cafe and Jack and I both LOVE coffee, so it was a good solution for the three years we lived there.

But had we stayed a little longer we would have had something within walking distance. Up on Evelina Rd in Nunhead, Bambuni has just opened. A cafe and deli stacked with well sourced products and running the seasonal coffees from Volcano, its a great addition to the independent Nunhead mix.

It’s quite a way from my new home in East Dulwich. However a brisk walk will be had to select from their range of Kent and Fraser gluten free biscuits, refill wine, olive and rapeseed oils, plus the scoop section of loose ingredients such as rice, ground nuts and popping corn (and for the gluten consumers there is a great selection of flour including 00). I love the lack of packaging with refilling bottles and loose food, plus of course the financial savings. Friendly staff make up a mean flat white so we can top up the caffeine levels for the return via Peckham Rye Park. It sounds like a nice way to do some rather boring food shopping. And I am always up for that.

Ask Tim (not Kim)

India being a 'dry' country - in terms of alcohol - means I am on a natural detox, no longer consuming bottles of wines from boutique wineries selected from our favourite local wine shop in London. Although I probably consumed my recommended daily intake for the year when visiting California last year, I do miss the odd glass on a Friday night.

Alcohol consumption is rising though, and many times I have been offered a glass of wine - it being the more sophisticated thing to drink over whisky (the preferred Indian tipple with a growth of 10% a year). And in Outlook Lounge, Delhi's airport magazine there was an article on India's foremost wine taster - with these (for real) wine buying tips :

• Check for pretty labels. If you like the label you may well enjoy the wine
• At the base of the bottle is a punt; the deeper it is the better and more expensive the wine is likely to be.
• Be honest, if you don't like the wines aroma, don't drink it.

But purchase of alcohol in Delhi is tightly restricted, only really available in Government shops and a couple of supermarkets at certain times. You can get wine, beer and spirits in some of the bars and restaurants in the city, however the quality of the wine on offer is dubious - Piat d'Or anyone?

When researching Indian food and drink before I left, I came across some articles in the press referring to India's flourishing new wine industry. I decided to ask the man who would surely know about this ... Tim Adkin - Master of Wine and writer of the Guardians wine column among others.

He replied to me just last week, saying the answer would be in the paper this weekend.... and it was literally!

Actually, we had a Shiraz from Sula Vineyards this weekend on a visit to Jaipur. It was a very new world style wine and would have benefited decanting - but was a perfect way to toast the Friday night in Jaipur. Maybe I will break the detox a little in the name of research...?

Terroirs

A good review is great for a new restaurant, but sometimes sucks for the locals! Living just 20minutes from Covent Garden, I am often in central London and love to dip into and try new restaurants. I use reviews to give me a feel for the place and the type of food on offer (and whether I will be able to eat much on the menu). However in this instance - when a restaurant such as Terroirs on the Strand recieves such rave reviews and the critics loudly sing in chorus the praise for French tapas and "natural" wines - I couldn't book a table. Even in the credit crunch?

Attempting the bar menu / chance table approach on Thursday night with my good friend Mrs Burger, we managed to get a spot by the bar for a glass of their natural French red wines, but no food.

Fast forward to Saturday lunch time in Covent Garden and looking for a late lunch venue after rejecting the idea of a 40minute wait at Wahaca (!), I took a punt on Terriors again. A perfect late lunch venue, there was space at the bar which we snapped up - as I was eager to try this place before my departure for the Indian Sub-Continent.

Phew - we were in.

The menu is dotted with a broad range of Gallic inspired dishes - piperade basquise, clams with aioli, a stunning French charcuterie range, duck scratchings (?) of which we chose 4 small plates. A succinct puds selection featuring the first rhubarb of the season on a panna cota which was perfectly wobbly.

With a terribly relaxed service, to the point where the chef took our order... we were relaxed enough not to be too annoyed, and happy to have had a chance to experience the hype.

Shame I am leaving the country, but hopefully it rise above the credit crisis until my return.

Great gluten free foods

The Californian neighbourhood food shop is none other than Wholefoods and the nerd in me was quietly pleased to have some time alone to wander the aisles. Despite having our first outpost of the organic superstore in London, the ranges vary hugely and I found many of the products often raved about by US bloggers, such as Bobs Red Mill Flours.

The most exciting and inspiring thing for me was the variety of gluten free ingredients and products, even in a small town store such as Sebastapool. Each product, including the loose ingredients to buy in bulk were highlighted with a Gluten Free label on the shelf, all mixed in with the "normal"products.

To me this was great, as when I go food shopping I think about what I am going to eat and therefore when I want to buy biscuits, I go to the biscuit section. The Wholefoods approach to product placement - and this may be only my interpretation - is integrated without shouting "special needs" and risks people without the need to eat gluten free picking them up.

And it is a risk - In the UK a large proportion of the large scale manufactured gluten free ingredients would not be eaten by those who do not have to - with exceptions of course. However in the US, I was consistently suprised at the quality, variety, taste and ingredients of the majority of GF foods. (It has to be noted here that I acknowledge Wholefoods is a more expensive food shop, but for me is the benchmark for what our supermarkets should aspire to).

Fortunatley I had enough room in my luggage for a handful of ingredients to try at home including:

Quinoa pasta - a much more robust pasta than rice, that had a less noodle-y texture, but no distinctive taste like the fresh chickpea pasta from Sainsburys.

Crackers - made from rice flour they reminded me of the ritz crackers without the cheesey flavour and only a hint of rice flour aftertaste.

Blue Corn Tortilla Chips - Wholefoods own label with a hint of lime without flavourings so you could taste the corn.

Marys Gone Crackers - Mini crackers made from seeds which are crunchy and tasty whilst all natural.

Teff flour / Amaranth flour / Differnt ground cornmeals

Almond meal - sold as a great alternative base to pastry, made from locally grown almonds great for puddings.

Gluten free wraps - made from ground corn

Gluten free macaroons - just one of the many baked goods made in the inhouse bakery

Japanese crackers - light crackers made with rice flour

Gluten free cereal bars - a great on the go snack that doesn't taste of cardboard.

and these are just the ones I found in a half hour wander...oh for WholeFoods to expand in the UK... at least there was lots of inspiriation for cooking.