Goddard's Pie & Mash and Greenwich Market

Greenwich market is one of those places I can wander round for ages. I love the variety of stalls and little shops around the edges, the mixture of arts and crafts as well as clothes and antiques is always interesting. But the thing I like most is the huge variety of food available there. A truly international mix of authentic street food stalls at the river end of the market provides a mouthwatering scent in the background as you pick your way between the rows of stalls. More of that later though.

Pie, mash & green liquor is about as regional as food gets. Peculiar to East London, traditional pies are minced beef in flakey pastry. Personally, I like two pies, one mash and plenty of green liquor with a liberal sprinkling of white pepper and vinegar on everything. Originally the liquor was made using the juice of the eels that had been jellied, but these days it's pretty much just a gravey-like parsley sauce. Goddard's and Manzie's have been the two main rivals in south east London since the 1890's, both have their fans and both have their strong points. I always thought Goddard's had better pies but Manzie's did better liquor. It's been many years since I've had either, so when Josie suggested pie & mash for lunch today I was delighted! Inside Goddard's was exactly as I remember the Deptford shop looking nearly thirty years ago, with the traditional refectory style long wooden tables and benches, cream tiled walls, and real fast food. Josie chose a steak & kidney pie with mash and gravy, while Dee opted for a chicken & mushroom pie with mash and gravy (philistines...gravy. Really?) while I stuck with my traditional choice. It was every bit as good as I remember, and as good as I hoped.

If pie & mash doesn't appeal then wander along to the river end of the market. There you will find such a variety of food stalls I guarantee you'll find something to tickle your taste buds. There is everything from paella to dim sum, pizza to Moroccan cuisine, crepes to sushi, cupcakes to South African wurst. On a previous visit we tried the teriyaki, fresh tempura prawn and cooked to order chicken teriyaki on sticky rice was the stand out choice. Next time we're there I think I'll try the dim sum, it all looked so good it's really difficult to choose though. It's great to see some slightly more unusual food on offer as well, with Italian fried rice balls stuffed with all sorts of fillings, Ethiopian vegetarian dishes, Moroccan fusion food, as well as some slightly more mainstream things like fresh crepes and fruit with chocolate fondue poured over the top. There is a cupcake stand featuring a vast array of full sized and miniature vegan cupcakes, all beautifully decorated and presented, and a really good baker selling lots of different breads, cakes, pastries and macaroons.

Churros are Mexican straight donuts. Very tasty, covered in sugar and cinnamon.

The guys on this sushi stall were making california rolls and maki rolls while we watched. If it wasn't for the fact that we had sushi Saturday night I would have given it a try.

The food being produced on this dim sum stall looked particularly good. A wide variety of steamed buns, fried and steamed dumplings, char siu pork, all sorts of yummy looking things.

Greenwich is certainly worth a visit just for the history. The National Maritime Museum, the Royal Observatory, the Royal Park, and soon to reopen phoenix-like from her own ashes the Cutty Sark (one of the fastest tea clippers ever to set sail) in her fully restored glory are all worth the trip alone. Grab lunch from one of the market stalls, or perhaps one of the little independent tea rooms or restaurants around the town in preference to the generic chain places like Nandos or Zizzi. I don't have anything against them, it's just that there is better, fresher, more imaginative food available at very reasonable prices right there in the market.

Bluewater Glow Food Festival

We went to the first Bluewater Glow food festival on the way to visit Dee's mum down in Devon. The festival was a bit disappointing but there were several highlights. The guys from Coffeelate were there again (see my previous entry on the Ideal Home Christmas Show), so I bought a few more bars...yes Mel, one is for you...The Great British Sausage Co, The Backyard Co and a few others are worthy of mention.

The Great British Sausage Co make really tasty, fairly big sausages. The signature dish is The Churchill, made with pork shoulder meat, black pepper & white pepper. They were giving out samples, freshly grilled, juicy & delicious. They also had venison & port, pork & leak and pork, apple & cider amongst others. When I say they're fairly big, I mean you only get four sausages in a one pound pack!

The Backyard Co make Jamaican jerk sauces, and to showcase them at their best they were griddling a huge stack of jerk chicken breast, offering small free tastes, or a big slab in a bun for a fiver. Guess which I went for? It was fantastic! Just hot and spicy enough to get your lips and tongue tingling but not so hot it wasn't enjoyable. Well worth a look if fruity, spicy sauces are your thing, or you love barbequeing. I didn't get to try any of the hot versions as they'd sold out, but I bet they're worth trying.

There were a few other good ideas, a lady who made biscuits and hand iced each one. She had boxes of Christmas themed ones, clothes and shoes, all sorts! (picture below). Also there was a wonderful chocolate producer that offered single plantation South American cocoa chocolate bars, blends, beautiful looking gift boxes and some really clever chocolate sculptures & figures. Apparently the high heeled shoes (pictured below) are their most popular product!

Ideal Home Christmas Show taste tests

Dee and I went up to Earls Court to have a mooch round the Ideal Home Christmas Show last weekend.  The show itself was split fairly evenly into demonstrations, sales booths and show areas.  Needless to say we tried just about everything anyone offered us, and in the process discovered a few little gems!

The highlights for me were -

A coffee / chocolate bar called "Coffeelate" which is a lovely crumbly mixture of real coffee and darkish chocolate.  Deeply satisfying on a number of levels.  The stand selling it was generous with their samples and was only selling this one product.  It was nice to be able to meet the man behind the idea too, he is rightfully very proud of it.

A bit of a left-field choice, but next in line for a re-positioning in the market place (following the huge success Magners have had in marketing the cider and ice idea) is Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry.  They were there in force, with cute little stands like gardens complete with astro-turf and garden furniture.  The generous samples they were handing out were shot glasses of sherry with a slice of orange and a chunk of ice.  Not much of a departure from the traditional glass of sherry, perhaps, but then neither was adding ice to cider!  It certainly made it a much more appealing drink, and if you've got a bottle tucked away at the back of your drinks cupboard I'd recommend trying it that way.

Debbie & Andrew's sausages were handing out chunks of their fantastic sausages, sizzling away on a row of George Foreman grills on their little stand.  We know their products of old and always look out for them at shows as there are often deals to be had.  The traditional Lincolnshire pork sausages, pork and apple, and Toulouse varieties are our favourites.  They are meaty and low in fat (for a sausage!) and taste just as good cold the next day.

My personal favourite was a great drink called "Fireball".  I went to visit their stand to try the bourbon (which was very good!) but then the guy asked if I like cinnamon.  As some of you may already know, I'd eat a toadstool if it had enough cinnamon on it, so I jumped in.  He poured me the smallest thimble full of whisky I've ever seen, but that turned out to be enough.  It is well named indeed!  A blend of cinnamon and Canadian whisky, the feeling of warmth that spreads out as it sinks down has to be experienced to be believed.  It's fairly strong, at 33% it's not full strength but you'd never know it.  The highlight, though, was trying it again but mixed with apple juice....like a good apple pie in a glass!  What a stunning drink, delicious!

Amongst the better food stands was a butcher who had brought a griddle plate and was selling steak sandwiches the like of which you've never seen as well as joints, steaks, various cuts of fantastic looking meat.  Not what I expected to see at an Ideal Home Show, but he clearly knew his stuff.

There were a vast number of stands selling flavoured vodka of one type or another, toffee or fruit flavours, but they were all missing something.  An original idea perhaps?

The champagne and oyster bar next to the fashion catwalk was fun too, with a choice of oysters with tabasco, lemon, salt & pepper or au natural and a selection of champagnes.  Dee had a glass of Laurent Perrier Premier Cru, while I went a little up-market and opted for the Grand Cru to see if we could honestly tell the difference.  Well, we certainly could!  The Premier Cru was very good indeed, light and refreshing, but the Grand Cru was as smooth as silk and absolutely delicious.

All in all it was a good show, lots of new products being showcased and plenty to look at, try on, taste or just stand and watch.  Worth the trip up to London, without a doubt.