Big Bad Best List:
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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
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