The other night, me and Nessa met up for a catch up dinner. We had much to discuss- job wise, house wise, boy wise. So for this we were going to need some serious fuel, and serious fuel in my eyes means meat!
Beard to Tail in Shoreditch specialise in using the very best in barbecued meats and with Head Chef Dan Thrippleton who previously headed Hix, Soho at the helm, it got my carnivorous side excited.
I wont lie, the name was odd, but Beard to Tail comes from the rough French translation of 'Barbe à queue' which, according to legend, what the French called the Caribbean method of cooking a whole animal. Meaty and cultured.
Like any good old catch up we started with cocktails.
I had seen on their website that they did can Andy Warhol inspired cocktail, which came in a Campbell's soup can, so naturally I was a little disappointed when it came without the label. However it was still bloomin' well delicious.
Nessa had the Hedgerow Crumble, a muddled mixture of apple and blackberry with Vodka, which was sweet but still punchy.
Now, less about our alcohol tendencies, the food was our reason for coming. Beard to Tail specialise also in using more of the unusual cuts of meat, such as neck and cheeks. So never one to back down from a chance to try something new, I plumped for Braised pig’s cheeks with cloves, honey & mixed spring greens.
Now, I won't lie, I was a little disappointed. The meat was cooked beautifully, and it was soft and tender with just the right amount of seasoning, but what I was disappointed at was nothing to do with Beard to Tail, but more the pig itself- cheek tasted well, like pork. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I thought it might have been a hugely different flavour. Although maybe that's a good thing for some, as you should try cheek as it really is no different- but still very delicious.
I also went for Crispy parmesan polenta chips with green garlic mayo, which were really really good. A great carby side for all that meat.
Now the one thing I hate most in the world is when your food is about the arrive, and you suck in your breath, praying to God that you made the right choice, as I am a huge sufferer from Food Envy.
Well, let me tell you I got huge Food Envy at the sight of Nessa's ribs.
She had the Full rack of bourbon BBQ ribs with House slaw & crispy onions. I will say her face said it all, as she licked her fingers in between mouthfuls of sticky, fall off the bone goodness, however she also did managed to get some words out too "Ohhh, these are so good!". Me, jealous?
Now after all the salty meat, we decided we needed to restore balance to our diets, so the desert menu was whipped out. Now again, I'd taken a shine to something rather funky on their website. A tower of ice cream, cream, brownies, oreo, all drizzled with jack Daniels sauce- but best of all, served in a Jack Daniels bottle!
So I think its fair to say that when this...
... actually came like this, I was a tad disappointed. However crockery aside, it was once again, really good. I mean you can't really go wrong with biscuit and brownies, but it was definitely what we needed.
Salt- Sugar balance restored.
You can find Beard to Tail here:
77 Curtain Road,Shoreditch,
London,
EC2A 3BS
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