42 Gloucester Avenue
NW1 8JD
Tel: 020 7722 2800
Date of Last Visit: Tuesday, August 15, 2006
The Victims: Me, myself and I
The Damage: 22 quid
The Background: I took a couple of days off work to catch up on life. I forgot how time-consuming and EXPENSIVE life in London can be, particularly when one has a couple of errands to run, and credit card fraud is a serious problem. Here’s my day yesterday:
8:30 a.m.: Wake up. Make coffee. Milk has gone bad b/c UK milk isn’t as highly pasturized as US milk so milk only lasts 6 -8 days. Uggh.
8:50 a.m.; Stand in line at post office to mail 1 letter to the US and 2 locals. Cost: 1.52p.
9 a.m. Drop off wash. (I let the drycleaner do my sheets and towels for 5 gbp a load.) Cost: 10 gbp.
9:30 a.m. Back at drycleaner with real drycleaning. Cost: 35 gbp.
10 a.m.: Call Credit Card Company #1 because they’ve locked me out of my card because I tried to buy a laptop on Saturday. They were just being safe.
10:10 a.m.: Call Bank because I tried to buy furniture last week and my card was rejected.
10:15 a.m. Call Credit Card Company #2 because when #1 failed, I used #2–my US back-up card–and they called my Mom on Saturday in the US to confirm purchase. Post-purchase.
10:30 a.m.: Board bus for John Lewis. Cost: 1.50
10:50 a.m. Drop off pictures at John Lewis for framing. Cost: 110 gbp.
11:15 a.m: Get eyebrows threaded at Selfridges. 15 gbp + 1.50 tip.
11:45 a.m: Buy new underwear at M&S. It was time. Cost: 110 gbp.
12:30 p.m.: Stock up on essentials at Boots. 20 gbp.
1:00 p.m.: Drop off shoes to be reheeled. Only in London, folks. They can’t be fixed by tomorrow, so hold one pair for neighborhood guy that I should have gone to in first place. 7 gbp.
1:30 p.m.: Give neighborhood guy my pair of shoes that MUST be fixed by tomorrow. 10.50 gbp.
2:00 p.m.: Ponder printers at PC World. Almost spend 200 gbp. Wisely put it all back.
2:30 p.m. Home.
Total Damage: 322.02 gbp. And I didn’t even EAT!
So I digress, as always. My point it, I was just very tired an in need of a good meal. And I really wanted to go to Camden. So this morning, Tuesday, I woke up bright and early and set off for the market, figuring I’d work up a hunger. I did a little research before heading over and had narrowed my choices to Gilgamesh (it had an escalator–frightening–and it looked empty), Le Petite Train (a long walk, only to discover they were closed), and the Camden Brasserie (looked good–I just wanted to check out my other ptions).
When I discovered Le Petite Train to be closed, I made my way back to Camden, hoping to pick up the trail along the canal. As I was heading down the steps to the canal debating my next meal (at this juncture, the Mexican stand in Camden Market was an option), I spied a cute little restaurant–Sardo Canale–tucked alongside the canal and the overpass. I stopped in.
I was quickly shown a table and then left alone with no menu, but with some delicious little olives and carrots. The people next to me were loud talkers and there was no one else around, so I was annoyed. But I had TimeOut to keep me busy. Bummer part being that there’s no view of the canal in Sardo Canale.
Eventually, they brought me the menu and I opted for the set menu–prociutto to start, and veal and potatoes for my main.
The Starters: The bread basket was HUGE. I wondered if a table for 5 would get the same size bread basket I did. They must have realized I was very very hungry. They provided me with some very delicious olive oil. I quickly gobbled two slices of bread, Atkins be damned. And then my ham arrived and I was disappointed. It looked like supermarket ham. It was on a bed of rocket, with a little oil sprinkled on it, and some cheese-substance. Hmmm. How not-so-exciting looking.
Never, my friends, judge a book by its cover. Your mother was RIGHT. I ate it, and it was good. Very very good. The cheese–they should have given me more of that cheese!!! What is this delicious substance? Bring me more!
The Main: I like veal. And I like potatoes. But my mother always provided a vegetable at mealtimes, so I was perturbed. I needed just a little something else. The veal was good. The potatoes were good. But they needed a little something to tie them together. More cheese perhaps?
The Toilets: Very clean. Well kept. Good job.
The Verdict: I’d go here for a business lunch. It’s a little too formal for me. The food was good. I think if I went back, I wouldn’t order the lunch/dinner special–I’d go more a la carte. But give me some cheese and I’ll order anything you want me to.
