London Street Food: Kerb

In case you missed the first part of our epic sort-of city break come street food adventure you can catch it here.

Smart phones really are pretty magical in London. As a devout northerner Barny will leave all forms of London navigation to me, claiming ignorance, whippets, flat caps and Yorkshire puddings served as a starter as some form of exemption. But with a smart phone in hand we shot through the back roads and were hardly even late. The book launch was a brand new experience, with a free bar, John Lloyd (the guy who invented the TV show Qi) and filming of me saying my adulterated Liff. I also discovered that most of the people likely to submit Liffs are almost exactly the same type of people as us, and much of the evening was spent realising how disturbingly similar we were, despite varying degrees of facial hair.

The evening was turning out very pleasantly, but we had dinner reservations and the free bar was almost out of beer, so we said tipsy goodbyes and swayed back out into the streets of London, heading for St Johns Bread and Wine. This is a restaurant which Barny has wanted to visit for years, seduced by tales of offal and marrowbone. It’s a stark, white box with tiny tables and an open plan kitchen, very industrial and simple with a faint feeling of butchers shop or fish monger. The food is served as soon as it’s ready, which is a stroke of genius on the part of the kitchen; Customers are amused by the different style of service, and in the kitchen there is no juggling checks to make sure everyone is ready at the same time. Cunning. Let me show you the food:

It’s very tempting to gush appreciatively about how delicious everything was, but I was not entirely convinced. I would highly recommend a visit if you are nearby, as it was reasonably priced (considering its status as a London foodie destination) and all the dishes are served with sharing plates, which is fun. Just make sure you accept the offer of more bread: the menu is entirely literal and virtually carb-free. The blood cake and duck egg was literally just that, and even shared between us it was dense enough to be quite hard work. However, everything was genuinely tasty and Barny was thoroughly delighted with the entire meal, and claims crispy pigs ears as a new favourite.

The following day we were heading for Kerb Kings Cross. This was the important part: In terms of London street food Kerb is the one to watch, the one best suited to see how it compares to Birmingham. To do this we had also recruited experienced Londoner Clarissa Widya, for additional eating assistance and perspectives, as well as an overdue catch up on life.

It was a Tuesday, so only 5 traders were parked up, although the normal line up is larger. They were Rainbo (Japanese gyoza), The Grilling Greek (Greek wraps & chips), Tongue n’ Cheek (burgers and steak), Fundi Pizza, and Good and Proper Tea. Neither Greek nor Japanese food are currently represented in Birmingham as far as I know, so these guys were at the top of the agenda. Tongue n Cheek had recently won Best Sandwich at the Street food awards, and they were serving Barny’s Achilles Heel. Not literally, that would be unsanitary, but they had Philly Cheese Steak on the menu, and so he got in line.

Clarissa and I ordered a pizza, as street food pizzas are always pretty good, and I had met Fundi Pizza before in Birmingham and wanted to actually try it. The choices were fairly safe, but the end product was fantastic. Crispy base, the right amount of cheese and a tasty tomato sauce. Good enough that it was gone before I remembered a picture. Also cunningly rustic presentation: a plate for stability with a brown paper bag disguise. Neat.

Off to a good start. Barny was still waiting, so we industriously cracked on with the Grilling Greek. Feta chips and a pork wrap. I have to say, feta and chips is a stroke of taste-based genius. Except that feta is, as we have discovered in the past, pretty crumbly. Meaning you have to pop a chip, then a piece of feta, or balance feta on your chip as it travels mouth-ward. The pork wrap was tasty, but the meat had had too long on the burner, and was getting a little tough, but the pita was delicious, the chips crispy and the sun had come out, so again a good score.

At this point Barny, who had been commuting between our table and Tongue n Cheek, finally arrived with his steak. It was a bit of a beast, with all the components of a good Philly cheese steak. It tasted filthy, melty and delicious, good enough to rival some of the meatiest offerings we have tasted elsewhere. Impressive.

Last of the foods was the Gyoza from Rainbo, little dumplings of meaty goodness served with salad. This is clearly the healthy option, and as such will probably often struggle for custom against the meatier counterparts, but those dumplings were delicate and delicious, and I think even hardened carnivores would enjoy them.

We finished with tea, impressed that a business can actually survive specialising in tea rather than coffee, and a brownie. The tea was excellent, brewed with a patience you rarely see these days and just right to ready us for the long ride home.

London street food is undoubtedly still more varied than we have up here, but it is cooked with the same level of passion and attention. Everything we ate there was good, some verging on amazing, and this is a good thing. We’re not competing with these guys, we’re helping each other make an industry that can be proud of what it is, and as such, I think that they are some pretty excellent folks to be standing beside.