Last weekend I entered a competition. Ok, that’s a lie. Skint London tweeted that a competition winner had pulled out and they asked who wanted to get £100 free food and drink tab. Saturday Night. Old Street Terrace. Well, free food and drink is always a plus, but the fact that this was for Beersham, a beer, cider and champagne event absolutely sealed the deal. So, I put my case forward on Twitter and the folks at Skint London gave me the prize. The one and only time I can say this and mean it literally: #winning.
EAT: I rocked up to Old Street Terrace hungry and in need of drink (of course). I took a few friends along too and once we had our tab sorted, we were treated to a complimentary glass of champagne (something everyone who paid £5 to get in receives. Which, actually is a bargain, because it’s essentially a pop up bar giving you a £7.50 flute of champagne for free for a £5 cover charge.)
Turns out that the free stuff I got included beer, cider and food (not champers, sob)… well, no more champagne after the first flute. So, with my champagne I decided to indulge in the food on offer. The food was pizza… but not as you know it. Technically it’s called ‘Tarte-Flambee’. Flambee specialise in this Parisian-style pizza, which instead of tomato uses half-fat fromage frais on a VERY thin base (so thin it takes less than 5 minutes to cook). Flambee have just graduated; they don’t have a shop of regular pop-up space yet, but I hope they get embedded in the London food scene because they’re offering something different and at a very reasonably price (pizzas were going for £.5.50).
Looks odd, I know. Tastes delicious. I went for the pulled pork pizza, my friend went for the traditional ‘flambee’ pizza (onions and lardons [basically pork cubes]) and my veggie friend went for the veggie pizza (courgette and Camembert cheese). They were all wonderful. The base is thin which means that it’s quite difficult to pick up the pizza in the usual way – so we opted to roll up the thin base. The fromage-frais isn’t as overbearing as you’d think – it’s light and compliments the meat and cheese added on top. The pulled pork version was by far my favourite, but all the pizzas went down well between us. Well worth picking one up if you see Flambee out and about.
Just a note – not so nice to eat cold in the morning though. Bleugh.
SEE: So, onto the event itself. Beersham was the event that was taking place (hence why it was £5 entry) however Old Street Terrace itself is usually free entry. You get there directly from the Old Street St. underground – go up some stairs and you find yourself in the middle of Old Street roundabout. True, doesn’t sound like a bangin’ night out so far, but actually the space is large, quiet and reasonably well set up for all kinds of weather.
So, onto Beersham. The champagne I had was lovely, but I can’t feel like I can really comment on it because for a pauper like me, all champagne is lovely. Beersham were offering a huge range of beers, from craft to pale ales, most from casks, with cans on offer too. But the cider was the focus for me. They had two on offer – a sparkling 4.5% and a still version hitting 7.5%. The still was, of course, far heavier and it’s for the people who want to invest in their drink (eg: if you like Westons over Koppaberg). The sparkling cider was lovely – crisp, light and refreshing, just as it should be.
The event itself was set up around the big screen showing the World Cup third place play-off. They had plenty of benches… but not enough. They also offered terrible pointed wooden chairs… if you go to Old Street Terrace please believe me when I say sitting on the floor is more comfy. That’s my only gripe about the whole event and event space, so both Beersham and Old Street Terrace are doing far better than most places I visit (hah!). Old Street Terrace is open for the summer and I believe there will be a host of street food vendors, art work and lots of booze and events.
LISTEN: The music played on a Saturday night was bloody wonderful. 90’s hip-hop in all its forms – some commercial, some far less so, with funk remixes which was perfect for the people there (aged 25-35). There was also a lot of music which was used in that era of music – a particular highlight was being treated to Patrice Rushen‘s Forget Me Nots (as you’ll know, sampled in the original Men in Black theme tune). This led seamlessly into Will Smith’s Getting Jiggy With It… please trust me, when on a roundabout, getting drunk, in hipster London, these tunes work. I hadn’t heard Forget Me Nots in ages, so here you go: treat yourself and try not to start with “The good guys dress in black, remember that, just in case you ever face to face and make contact”.
LOVE: My friends get hit on when we’re out constantly. It’s usually my job to act as the cock block and save my friends from having to harshly tell drunk men they’re not interested. Guys: if you’re hitting on a beautiful woman, well done for attempting it. But if you talk to her and she gives short answers and doesn’t ask you any questions, then please please understand that means she’s not interested. If we want to keep talking to you, we’ll continue the conversation. But when a women turns away after answering you, that is not your cue to try to talk to her a further 6 times that evening.
The 4 stages of getting hit on by an undesirable guy in a bar (as told by me via my female friend’s experiences and a few of my own, hah).
Stage 1: Polite, but hesitant, conversation.
Stage 2: Glazed look/not really responding to him.
Stage 3: Turn away slowly but surely.
Stage 4: Get irritated when they pester.
Guys: bow out if you reach Stage 3 within 2 minutes, ok? If this happens, you know what you have to do…
Eat See Listen Love 