Not exactly prolific,  am I? That said I honestly hadn't cooked nor eaten much of any note recently. It's been work work work aside from a short trip to Prague, which consisted mostly of solid potato dumplings that would probably bounce if you threw them, some tasty but uninspiring meat dishes and plenty of Pilsner. 

A huge chunk of Prague ham from the street food stalls of Old Town was good, and washing it down with mulled wine made it all the better. Yanno how in December it's completely acceptable to drink hot booze all day every day? This stretches into March in central Europe. Maybe I should move.

Also from the street food stalls came Lángos, a sort of pizza dough type flatbread, deep fried (I  know,  I know) then brushed with garlic oil and sprinkled with grated cheese - not sure what, maybe Gruyere? Either way that was pretty tasty although I could've done without the carb induced lethargy which followed. I've been told tradititionally it would be served with soured cream but we  were only offered ketchup. Shame, it would've been a nice addition.

Closer to home, after a spell of not really eating out much at all (bar finally getting to Dishoom for a bacon naan and mango lassi last weekend - and BY CHRIST were  they good!) I've broken the habit in the last week. I am probably  the last  'foodie' in London to make it to John Salt, and after months of anticipation I finally  got round to seeing what  every blogger and critic in the city has been raving  about since they opened on Upper Street. I recently noticed upon passing that they do a set lunch at 2 courses for £12 or 3 for £15 and that seemed too good a deal to miss.

Thursday's set menu was a Korean beef salad, grilled mackerel on barbecued fennel and an earl grey cream with burnt toasts and marmalade. Not bad for fifteen quid, eh? The salad was an absolute triumph, rare jagged slices of marinated bavette in a sweet, sticky and lightly spiced dressing, topped with hot little watercress leaves and a sprinkling of sesame seeds, giving a delicate nuttiness. I could've eaten ten platefuls without batting an eyelid. Initially I wasn't convinced by the main, as I love mackerel but loathe fennel. However, sitting underneath the crisp skinned and juicy fillets it didn't look so bad  so I got stuck in. While it's still not my favourite flavour the charred  edges gave it a nice smokiness and it had none of the harsh aniseed flavour of fresh fennel. It was dressed in plenty of a deep yellow oil which I think was probably extra virgin rapeseed, giving it a silky finish. For dessert we opted against the earl grey cream and instead tried the infamous 'banana dog' - a whole banana dipped in corn dog batter, deep fried, smothered in butterscotch sauce and sprinkled with crushed Oreos and Hobnobs. Frankly you could feed me anything smothered in butterscotch sauce and I'd lap it up like a starved dog.

Aside from the fantastic food, despite it only being 3pm we couldn't resist getting our booze on. £22 for a bottle of decent Prosecco sounds pretty reasonable to me, and I drink A LOT of Prosecco. The Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade cocktail was potent but delish; Maker's Mark  bourbon muddled with blackberries and lemon juice then topped up with Prosecco (yes, more Prosecco, can you see why I like this place?) I've  now learnt that they do a happy hour from  5-8pm Monday to Thursday so  I will be coming back to try them ALL.

Also last week was the return of the mighty STREET FEAST LONDON. Now in their new home opposite Haggerston Station, a mere minute's walk from my gaff, they're ready to feed hundreds of hungry street fooders every Friday night after shutting up shop for the winter. I tried a nice, gooey mac'n'cheese from a trader whose name escapes me and a couple of scoops from my favourite ice cream makers Sorbitium but had to shoot off sharpish so didn't get to indulge as much as I'd like. Never mind, just an excuse to go  back every Friday...

Finally, this week has been the week I've been waiting for for 5 years or more. I fulfill my dream of visiting Mexico this Saturday! Sixteen days travelling from city to city sampling all the amazing food the country has to offer. No doubt I'll be blogging about tacos, burritos, tamales and ceviche a fair bit over the coming weeks, but  first of all I'm stopping off for 2 nights in New York, so let's see what that brings to my belly...