Q:
Huh??

A: My life as a
Los Angelino, now
expatriate in London

A trite look into my
explorations and findings
of those wily Brits

By the end, I will have
figured out what
makes them tic and
use mind control on them



 
Big Bad Best List:     > <   |  
Aside from being large mega cities, London and my hometown of Los Angeles essentially have nothing in common. They do however both have some fantastic places and things to do beyond your common touristy stuff if you know what rock to look under. So this section is dedicated to listing for you, my special reader, the Big Bad Best List of what you can find in these two great cities, that are a tad off the beaten path.


LONDON:

London is a huge, diverse, and cosmopolitan city and as I am just a yearling , I still have much to discover, but so far I have found some great places that make this city pretty damn cool to live in. Just don't let the crap customer service taint your experience, so wear your best teflon and grin and bear it.

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Nightlife
camdentown.co.uk/clubs.htm and Time Out are good sources for what gigs are going on in Central London. The town is always hoppin so you can't go wrong by just wandering around SoHo at the very least. I used to live near my old work in Central London so you will notice most of my recommendations are for places in EC1.

The Dovetail - A homey Belgian bar with a funky gothic-like interior. This was a fav of the folks at flutter to hang out at after work with a nice cold Leffe beer and fries with mayo- and bitch about the owners. They have a pretty good selection of Belgian beers plus it has a really good menu of authentic Belgian dishes to boot.
Where: 9 Jerusalem Passage near Farringdon station


Fabric- The ultimate clubber experience with five rooms on four floors, a bass system built into the dance floor, wall to wall people, and the hottest DJs around. You will never again see outside of maybe a dorm room in Fort Lauderdale where there will be this enormous of a consumption of alcohol and ecstasy tablets in one building.
Where: at the Meat Markets near Farringdon station

dust -A great bar in Clerkenwell (pronounced 'clarkinwell') that usually is packed with hipsters, as a chick-DJ spins some pretty wicked tunes.
Where: 27 clerkenwell road near Farringdon station

Nylon - You want London chic, you want 70's retro cool, you want funkadelic, well this place is it. There's more cool in just the bathroom than most other places have even if Samuel L Jackson made an appearance.
Where: 1 Addle St near Moorgate station


Good Eats

Wagamamas - A Japanese noodle bar with fresh mixed juices and tasty soups. Sit on communal wooden benches in a very Japanese-like simple designed decor and try their Ramen soups topped with vegetables, meat and tempura. You can have a nice big bowl of soup, an appetizer and a drink and make it out alive for only £12 or so.
Where: Locations near Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Tottenham Court and Camden Town stations

Belgos - Dressed as monks in black leather aprons, you will have entered a Martian-like monastery to all that is Belgian. They have hundreds of the tastiest Belgian beers (including some beers made from berries and lemons) and you can get a giant bucket of steamed mussels in a variety of broths that comes with fries served with mayo. They have an early bird special where you can get all of the above for under £7. Nice...
Where: Locations near Covent Garden, Camden Town, Portobello Road stations

Brick Lane
- It's not specifically a restaurant, but a street that contains at least two dozen of the best Indian and Bangladeshi restaurants in the city. I have yet to have a bad Indian meal in London, but Brick Lane has some of the best. There you will find these guys who stand in front of each storefront competing for business by bidding on you. If you're good you can haggle out a deal where you can get free wine or appetizers.
Where: Near Aldgate East and Shoredtich stations

Mango Room - Sure, the tables are a little cramped and you have to book in advance due to the popularity. However, the Caribbean food is absolutely fantastic. The atmosphere is buzzy and lends to the tone of the food. The goat curry is delicious as is the coconut chicken, topped off with fried plantain or yam mash. Just don't expect any of that nice friendly service stuff. You're in England now, it doesn't exist.
Where: Located near Camden Town station

Lan Na Thai - This is considered the best Thai restaurant by many Londoners and won't disappoint unless ofcourse you are looking for a hamburger on the menu. It's a gorgeous place right on the water in Battersea and the food is superb, but the waitresses are a bit on the mail-order slave bride side, so don't expect much smiling.
Where: Near Clapham and Battersea

Hampstead Creperie - There is always a 20 minute line of locals waiting for their chance to indulge in eight minutes of the most divine meal to ever exist in the universe from a little stand next to a pub. I have tried a Belgium chocolate with hazelnuts and cream crepe as well as a lemon sugar and strawberries crepe so far and I can confess without a doubt I have found Heaven hiding itself in Hampstead.
Where: Down the road from Hampstead station

New World Chinese Restaurant - There are many upon many great Chinese restaurants in China Town and you normally can't go wrong. They all serve Hong Kong style Chinese food which means more fish dishes and with less fried foods, which is quite different from American style, which are recipes based on ingredients available to Chinese railway workers of the 1880s. New World is one of the better ones with a nice big selection, including the all important 'Set Menu'. Try the Fish Soup, Duck Pancakes, and Prawn Dim Sum at the very least. The one thing though you won't find while in England are fortune cookies as they don't do those here in the UK. Bastards.
Where: 1 Gerrard Place near Leicester Square 0207 7334 0677

Buy! Buy!
Cyber Dog - Okay, for this clothing store you will need to use your imagination to picture: Rave techno music thundering inside abandoned catacombs, with rubber outfits on the walls for sale, breakdancers perform on podiums dressed as cyborgs, home-made space ships hang from the ceilings, it's really dark with black lights everywhere, and people with giant mohawks and spikes through their bottom lip ask if you need any help trying that on... kick ass.
Where: Inside Camden Market which is up the street from Camden Town station

Portobello Road - Open air markets are everywhere in London but this one is one of the best. Most of the vendors are specializing in the old, as you'll discover everything from high-quality antiques to garage sale, secondhand goods. The Westway end of the market is where you'll find all the trendy new and vintage clothes that have become a real specialty.
Where:
Portobello Road near Notting Hill or Ladbroke Grove stations

Spitalfield's Market
This suggestion is from Mike in London. Its a cool market but you better act quick as the latest is that its slated for demolition to make way for (of all things that are unholy) a law office: All day Sunday. It's a large, covered market with all sorts of good stuff to buy, browse, eat, drink. Very near Brick Lane, so you can head over to 93 Feet East afterwards for a beer!
Where: 65 Brushfield St. E1.Near Liverpool Street & Aldgate stations

Borough Market suggested from reader Liza, 'Situated in an original covered Victorian vegetable market, complete with old awnings and grand glass roof. It is a gastronomic extravaganza of stalls with farm and organic produce (including fish and meat), world food and crafts. It's on every Saturday from 10-5pm, and my advice is to go on an empty stomach and taste as much of the free samples on offer here, aswell as helping yourself to freshly-prepared hot food made on the premises from one of the many stalls. A truly satisfying day out can be had by walking to the river 5 minutes from here and enjoying your organic beer near a beautiful view of Tower Bridge, or linking it with a visit to Vinopolis (also two minutes round the corner). On a particulary lovely day, I'd sit in the churchyard next door and take a pint of organic farm cider from the nearby stall.' Sounds mighty good.
Where: Southwark Street at London Bridge Station

Top Shop and H&M - both of these places are mega-sized clothing stores featuring discount 'hip' apparel. These stores are busy and it can be like entering a worldwind with all of the people that are bargain hunting. Top Shop even sports a live VJ and camera crew. Be warned though, the look here for men is Geek Chic and may not be as impressive of threads to take home if you are from somewhere like Mississippi.
Where: On the corner near Oxford Circus station


The Must Do's
Regents Park - London has more parks per square mile than any other city in Europe and it also boasts some of the best. Regents Park has a little of everything for everyone including an incredible view of the city from Primrose Hill, paddle boat rides on the lake and intricately manicured flower gardens. More green than you can shake a stick at.
Where: Baker Street and Regents Park stations

St Pauls Cathedral - This gigantic cathedral built in the late 1600's dawns the second largest dome in all of Europe. It is absolutely immense and can be seen from anywhere in the eastern part of London, popping up over the skyline. As an American it doesn't seem very churchy from the outside because our Capital Building in DC is inspired by the St. Paul design. If you are lucky, you can time it and hear an organ performance or the top gallery will be open for you to climb up to.
Where: At St Pauls and Black Friars stations

British Museum - Despite its name, it has nothing to do with being a museum about Britishness. Instead it is a giant vault of the booty brought back from Englands Imperial days where it plundered the Earth. Here you will find amazing archeological finds that equates to the Louvre in Paris or the Met in NYC. Among its treasures are the remnants of the Pantheon, an enwrapped mummy and also the Rosetta Stone (which was taken from Napoleon, who had taken it from Egypt - why give it back?).
Where: Holborn and Tottenham Court Road stations

Important Links

London Underground Website

Heathrow Express Tickets

British Rail Train Times

Top Table Restaurant Guide

Top 10 Lists for London Guide

MultiMap City Maps

Time Out London Events & Gigs

London Phone Book



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