That sneaky tikichris has hijacked the Qype Does London blog to say goodbye to me. I’m honestly touched. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot out of Qype, from free wine to free events to being Qyper of the week back in April of 2008. And I know they’ve gotten a lot of reviews out of me. So it’s nice to have a “so long and good luck” wave at the end of my London stay.
Archive for the 'Qype' Category
19
Oct
09
Qype love
As my stay in London comes to a close I’ve naturally been reflective about my UK adventure.
I’ve been thinking about all the excellent live music I’ve seen; that’ll be an upcoming topic for my other blog, The Plummet Onions. But I’ve also been thinking a lot about the associations I’ve made here: all the people and groups that I’m now connected to, and better for, simply because I moved here in February 2001.
The most important of all is obviously my amazing wife, whom I met in November 2001. There are also the really good friends I’ve made via that relationship, flatmates and friends of hers, people that I now count amongst my best friends: PC, the She-Aussie, the Colombians, and others. We also have some good friends in the Neighbours. I’ll leave it at that, since – despite appearances – I don’t actually live my entire life on the internet.
I’ve made some good friends at work here: the Scotsman, the Other Scotsman, and the Other Other Scotsman (see the trend?) especially. There are definitely some folks I’ll keep in touch with, and Facebook and LinkedIn make that easy to do.
It’s important to say that I’ve kept in touch with my closest friends back in Canada since moving here, and that’s not going to change. We never talk as much as I’d like, but I get to see them now and again and we email all the time and I know they read my blog. I’m not letting them go.
There are also some groups I’ve connected with that have resulted in some really good times and friendships here in London. One of those was Echoing the Sound, a Nine Inch Nails fan discussion forum. I was quite busy on there for a few years during the productive recording and touring period for NIN. I’m not on there much anymore, but the common thread of the band meant I got to know some new, cool people all around the world. And the London shows meant I got to meet a lot of them here for lots of Good Times™.
A couple of years ago I also started attending th
e London Blogger Meetups because I felt a little isolated in my blog writing. It was a small group when I started, but under the guiding hand of Andy Bargery it’s grown into a waiting-list, sponsor-pursued social networking event. I’ve gotten to know lots of good people via that gathering. Andy’s even been kind enough to ask me to say a few words at my last LBM tomorrow night.
The LBM has been a gateway for some other fun, friendly, and beneficial associations, particularly with Qype UK. If you read this blog you know that I was getting invited to a lot of food, fun and drink events with them. They’re a very good gang of folks as well. And that in turn has spawned occasional invitations to food and drink blogger events with Relish PR.
And all of those channels have spawned Twitter connections, some of which have turned into real-life connections of various types.
Some of the things I’ve been involved with in London have been temporary, of course: not everything produces life-long friends. I really enjoyed the many evenings I spent at Birkbeck College getting my Certificate in Philosophy, and the few weeks I spent at the London College of Contemporary Music learning to play the bass guitar.
People often complain that it’s hard to get to know people or make new friends in London. And maybe that’s true, relative to other places where people are less guarded. But it’s certainly not impossible to extend your network of acquaintances, and maybe even make some real pals.
You’re ace, London.
30
Sep
09
Steak at the Hawksmoor
There was another Qype Meat Up - a gathering for carnivores only – this week. This one was held at The Hawksmoor, a growing legend for steak restaurants in London. It was a good night, and I met a bunch of other new Qypers, all of whom were exceptionally cool people.
Photo from the awesome Food Stories via Creative Commons license
I don’t think I can describe the restaurant experience itself any better than I did in my Qype review:
Meat.
Meeeeeat.
The Hawksmoor is an average-sized restaurant, subdued and classy. They have a unique and varied cocktail menu (they didn’t all work brilliantly for me, but it was fun trying – though at £8 per cocktail you mightn’t want to try too many). Great service, too, they really took care of us. Though I was part of a group here for a special Qype event.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. You come to the Hawksmoor for meat. And it delivers that. Meat.
Especially beef. There were chicken and pork and fish dishes, I think. There’s a generically-labeled “vegetarian” dish for a tenner. There were starters, too, and I managed to slide some quite tasty oysters down my neck. But really, you come here for beef.
There are four standard steaks you can get: a 300g fillet for £30, a 600g bone-in sirloin for £26.50, a 400g rib-eye for £22 or a 400g rump steak for £19.50. They also have various sizes (they’ll have to tell you on the night) of prime rib, porterhouse (each at £6 per 100g) and chateaubriand (at £12 per 100g).
And oh, sweet god, are they ever good.
I shared a medium-rare sliced porterhouse with two other people. It was undoubtedly some of the best beef I’ve ever had: juicy, perfectly cooked, intensely flavoured, and softly textured. Charred on the outside, scarlet red in the middle, it looked as good as it tasted.
Yes, it’s on the pricey side. But it is soooo worth it for the occasional celebration of how a bit of roasted cowflesh can be a transcendental experience.
Meeeat.
Last week I blogged about attending Qype’s 2nd birthday bash, an ’80s-themed quiz and karaoke night.
Here are the pics. Many dozens of them, of people you mostly won’t know.
DIY '80s outfit: t-shirt and jacket with the sleeves pushed up
Qype UK is now two years old, and last night they held a birthday bash at Lucky Voice karaoke in Islington (where I and some other Qypers have previously been spotted). Since I love writin’ reviews for these guys, and they love givin’ me stuff, I rounded up a few mates (tikichris was one) and went.
Fun, fun, fun: there was a (mostly) ’80s music quiz, with prizes for first, second and third placing teams. Surely, I thought, my age will give me an advantage over all the young punks who view that decade through the glasses of nostalgia. And it nearly did. Out of the 19 quiz teams, ours – Guilty Feet – came in fourth. Soooo close. Although it needs to be said that we were greatly benefited by the late addition of a couple of team members who were actually in Britain in the ’80s.
It was a whole bunch of fun. Those who were able to did a bit of an ’80s dress-up (which for many of the men was a default T-shirt under a jacket with the sleeves pushed up). I’m really forward to seeing some pics (Lucky Voice seemed to be taking loads).
We had a few beers and cocktails on Qype whilst we quizzed, and some very tasty pastries from nearby Euphorium Bakery.
After the quiz dust settled we had a free hour in the karaoke booths. I got in a few shouty attempts: The Doors, G’n'R, Frank Sinatra, and Prodigy. It was a school night, though, so we sloped off before things got out of hand.
The view of things from the Qype London blog.
Thanks for the party, Qype.
18
Aug
09
Mini-golf pics
Tikichris took a few pics during mini-golf last night.
Photo from tikichris's flickr stream
17
Aug
09
Mini-golf with Qype
I had no idea that there was a mini-golf course just steps from Liverpool Street station, but it’s true. I went tonight as part of a Qype gathering and had a laugh. I guess all those years playing as a kid stood me in good stead, since I kicked ass.
Afterward we got a cocktail and some nice canapes from Cinnamon Kitchen. Thanks, Qype and tikichris!
I attended a Qype wine tasting event back in April. Last night was another one, this time organised by TikiChris and held at Carluccio’s in Covent Garden. All the wines were from a single Sicilian winery: Planeta.
The setting was a classy and private upstairs room. Michael Stocks, Carluccio’s bar and training manager, took us through the wines. He’s clearly enthusiastic about Planeta as an example of a winemaker that’s doing things differently (i.e., following the new-world trend of naming bottles by grape type) and changing the presumed status quo on wines from Sicily.
Sicilian wine tasting at Carluccio's with Qype. Photo from tikichris
We had a good group of about twenty Qypers and tasted 11 wines, all supplemented by non-stop servings of yummy antipasti. I was pleased with the consistency of wine quality. Nothing was rubbish for my tastes, and a couple really wowed me, especially near the end. Whether that’s because I favour robust reds or because my fussiness diminishes as the evening goes on is a matter of eternal debate.
What we drank:
- Rosé – Nice, not too sweet, and – since it’s made from Syrah – a little bit of gutsiness.
- La Segreta Bianco – “The secret”. Too easy to drink for me. Meh.
- Alastro – “The gorsebush”. A little different, very soft fruit, not too challenging.
- Cometa – “The comet”. Lots of straw colour. Tingly. Tough, complex, yet balanced. I don’t like many whites, but I like this.
- Chardonnay – Too much oak. I maintain it’s buttery, though my table thought I was nuts. Not a fan.
- La Segreta Rosso – “The secret”. Meh
- Cerasuolo di Vittoria – Very fruity, jammy, and rich. Needs some pretty rich food.
- Santa Cecilia – Quite good, but hard for me to pin down the flavours.
- Merlot – Again with jammy, candied fruit. Finish goes on and on. Nice.
- Burdese – Wow. Fun. Big and ripe and very robust. Chunky is the word I use, though once again my table thinks me odd.
- Moscato di Noto – Citrusy, of course, but especially lime. Okay on its own, quite good with the fab cannoli.
A great slice through an interesting set of wines with some good folks. Thanks, Qype!
16
Jul
09
Karaoke pics
Remember Qype Karaoke the other night? The pictures are indeed as fearsome as I’d…well, feared.
Siany and I sing Foreigner's "I Want To Know What Love Is"
Dav and I sing AC/DC's "Back In Black"
15
Jul
09
Karaoke Night on Qype
Okay, that was entirely too much fun.
Qype held another of its famous events last night: karaoke singing at Lucky Voice in Islington. Arranged by the fab Siany, there were roughly 10 people in a room that was undoubtedly the loudest in the place.
Those who know me know I don’t mind belting out a tune if the time is right. Somehow I ended singing (although most songs were group singalongs anyhow) “Welcome to the Jungle” by G’n'R, “Break On Through” by The Doors, “Jump” by Van Halen, “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-A-Lot, “Lady is a Tramp” by Frank Sinatra, “Back In Black” by AC/DC and “Word Up” by Cameo.
I’m not really looking forward to the pictures. Though, having just come from work and still in my suit, I think I raised the tone. Well, until “Baby Got Back” anyway.
Super fun, though, with a good karaoke system and lots of songs to choose from. It’s a great spot for a gang of friends to have an immense laugh.
