Across the Irish Sea

Laura Kobak  

Being in London itself was fantastic, but having the opportunity to visit and explore other European cities was the cherry on top. My first venture was just across the Irish Sea to Dublin for a weekend. Arriving at night, my friend and I walked to Temple Bar, an area of medieval streets lined with restaurants and pubs. Choosing a bar compatible with our budget, we dined at “The Auld Dubliner.” Since I’m all about trying cultural cuisines, I went for the Irish stew, while my friend ordered the Guinness beef stew. Appearance is not a primary concern when it comes to these dishes, but flavor is. On top is a huge dollop of mashed potatoes and a side of Irish Soda Bread. Top off the night with some Bailey’s and you’ve got yourself a meal.

The following morning before a full day of sightseeing we stopped into “Queen of Tarts,” a café and patisserie ranked #3 on Trip Advisor and earning 4.5 stars on Google Reviews. We ordered eggs and a scone for breakfast, but were so entranced by the display of pies, brownies, cupcakes, and cookies, that we got a blackberry and apple crumble to go. Unfortunately, after a full day of being scrunched in a backpack “crumble” truly was a suitable description. Nevertheless, once we were through there was not a crumb left.

Being in Dublin, a trip to the Guinness Brewery was a must. On a self-guided tour you explore the process of brewing from start to finish, see the evolution of advertising, and learn how to pour the perfect pint.

Fun Fact: Pouring a perfect pint of Guinness must be done in six steps, including waiting for the beer to settle for 119.5 seconds (almost 2 minutes).

Upon completion, complimentary pints are received on the top floor of the complex at the Gravity Bar, offering panoramic views of the city. I personally could not withstand more than a few sips of the stout beer.

A drink I could finish, however, was a latte from “The Bald Barista,” voted best coffee in Dublin.

The Bald Barista serves you himself, decorating your cup with some beautiful latte art.

The final Dublin food stop was lunch at “Avoca Café” atop a crafts store. I ordered butternut squash soup. While not a particularly Irish dish, it is a personal favorite, so I could not resist. The soup was creamy and flavorful and served with a side of Irish soda bread. I must admit, after only having tasted the soda bread occasionally offered at Marketplace in MoJo, I was disillusioned as to what the real thing actually tasted like — sweet, slightly crunchy, and delicious.

While not quite Italy or Spain in terms of sought after cuisines, if you like stews, bread, and alcohol, you won’t have a problem getting by in Ireland. Next stop on the culinary study abroad tour — Brussels in Belgium — home to chocolate, waffles, and…more chocolate.

Searching for Bits of Home

Laura Kobak  

Staying in London for nearly 9 months, I had to find the best spots for two items my life would not be complete without — cupcakes and lattes. As many people know, I have a serious sweet tooth, and there’s no hiding it. I’m from New York City, home of the cupcake craze, so London faced the serious competition of “Crumbs,” “Magnolia Bakery,” and “Buttercup Bake Shop.” After a ton of online research I had my compiled list of go-to bakeries.
Labeled as having “US-style cupcakes,” “Hummingbird Bakery” looked promising. With a location on Portobello Road (home to the famous Portobello market), the wait on a Saturday was nearly twenty minutes. With great online reviews, my expectations were high. Unfortunately, with the plain vanilla, I was left disappointed. Neither the cake nor the frosting did it for me. Another bakery off my list was “Violet,” a stall at the Broadway Market in Hackney, which I traveled to with directions in hand. These small cupcakes had the best frosting of all my tastings, but the cake I found dry and lacking in flavor. Additionally, I tried “Lola’s Cupcakes,” “Ella’s Bakehouse,” “Beas of Bloomsbury,” “Crumbs and Dollies,” and “Buttercup Cake Shop” to no avail. (See, I wasn’t kidding about my sweet tooth.) The place that took the cake (pun intended) was “Primrose Bakery.” Not perfect, and not up to the standards of my New York comparisons, but definitely the best of the lot. The cake was moist enough and the frosting was sweet enough, and the rose-flavored cupcake was surprisingly tasteful. Jude Law, Kate Moss, and U2 frequent the bakery’s locations, so at least my taste is agreeable amongst celebrities.

Now, as anyone college-aged and older will agree with me, coffee is a necessity of life. Studying film abroad, many mornings were spent in the dark watching movies. I needed something in hand to help get me through. Exchange rates are never fun, so price was a key factor in my decision-making. Starbucks, of course, was available on several corners, but I vowed to myself that I would not frequent any American chain while abroad. With Starbucks off the list I had to find a viable alternative. The other two main chains available were “Costa Coffee” and “Caffe Nero.” After looking at the prices, there was really no competition: “Caffe Nero” was the winner. With a stamp card for every 9th cup free, I was a relatively frequent customer of this chain. During the winter season I had an amaretto latte, which was to die for. “Monmouth Coffee Company” made a deliciously creamy latte as well, but with a hefty price tag and no “skinny” option, a visit there was more of a treat.

So, if you ever visit London and need a pick-me-up or a sweet treat, you know where to go!
Fun Fact: The British version of a cupcake is called a “fairy cake”. (It sounds much more enchanting than plain old “cupcake” if you ask me.) Also, a “tall” at Starbucks in America is equal to a medium-sized drink in Europe.
Updated 11/19/2011 4:45pm

A Foodie’s Trip Across the Pond

Laura Kobak  

It’s no secret that people tend to have a love-hate relationship with food. It tastes delicious, but our bodies sometimes display the consequences. I spent the entirety of my junior year away from the small quaintness of Ann Arbor and in the “brilliant” city across the pond: London. Traveling throughout Europe I was faced with this age-old conflict between love and hate. So, to ease the struggle, I came up with my own personal food motto that applies to any situation: “Calories don’t count on vacations, celebrations, and in other nations.” Lucky for me, I would be exempt from calorie counting and nothing would stand in my way of all the fish n’ chips, desserts, and fried food I could consume.

Now London isn’t exactly the food capital of the world, but if all you’re after is some pub food or anything out of a deep fryer, then it’s certainly the place to be. To best immerse myself in British culture I figured my first dinner outing would be at a pub. Ending up at “The Porcupine” on Charing Cross Road in Leicester Square, my friend and I had no trouble sorting through the menu, definitively set on trying some meat pies. We ordered one chicken and one beef, paired with some mash and steamed vegetables. Note about pub vegetables: whether peas, carrots, broccoli, etc, they are bland and distasteful. Maybe they’re meant to balance the heaviness of the pies; I don’t know.

However, while the city doesn’t boast much British fine dining, the city does possess the outstanding food market known as Borough Market. I’ve yet to find anything comparable to this mecca for foodies. (Plus, if you’re a fellow film fan like myself, the general location has been used in both Bridget Jones’ Diary and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). Only open Thursday through Saturday, traders offer their food-related products from all over the world. From homemade preserves to freshly baked goodies to meat and alcohol, it’s impossible to leave empty-handed. Plus, with all of the free samples you won’t leave on an empty stomach either.
On my many visits to the market I accumulated several favorites. “Burnt Sugar” sells some of the best fudge I’ve ever had. With flavors like crumbly fudge, stem ginger fudge, and fudge with sea salt (my personal favorite), you can’t go wrong. Diverging from the sweet tooth, there are stalls that boast huge wheels of cheese, from Comte to Stichelton to Parmesan. A cinnamon elephant cookie, berry-flavored vinegar, hard cider, dulce de leche spread, brownies, granary bread…I had it all! Borough market is just one of the many food experiences I have from my time abroad, and if I ever return to London it will be a can’t-miss stop.

My food travels through London are far from over, and that’s only beginning. No time spent in London is complete without fish n’ chips and afternoon tea. So I hope you stay on board my journey through Great Britain, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Spain as I provide you with a virtual taste of some of the world’s best foods.