My 50 coffees with 50 people continues…consider this me, making up for lost time. For the last year, I’ve been living under a rock. A big one. But now I’m on the loose! And I’m on fire. Here’s what I got up to during my second(ish) week of 50 coffees.
Lunch with Aine at Sedap: Aine is a headhunter I used to work with at the job I used to have before I quit the job I just had. Aine found my old employer some great people and I’ve always enjoyed catching up with her so I reached out to set up lunch. I’ve also always loved Sedap and I know they do a good value set lunch. Over our curries, we discovered we have people in common beyond the people we already knew we had in common. A nice surprise! The Verdict: I love Sedap! Cheap and cheerful. And if you work in financial services and your company needs a headhunter, contact Aine!
Career Panel with Georgetown at The University of Notre Dame: My undergrad university hosted some alumni from Georgetown for a great career panel. They talked about the importance of WAITING and the importance of RELATIONSHIPS and how you may not get that job today but maybe that headhunter will remember how nice/cool/interesting and smart you are a few years down the line and you will get that job tomorrow. Lots of good food for thought. AND…the main reason why I went to this is because Alice (see Coffee #3) was going and suggested I go. So score another point for the benefits of socializing and reaching out to people.
Lunch with Con Ann at Chiltern Firehouse: When Con Ann suggested meeting up at Chiltern Firehouse, I was all like “YES!!!” I got there early. I pretended not to look for celebrities. And I enjoyed a great catch up with an old friend and a very good meal. The Verdict: I will gladly go back to Chiltern Firehouse. Gladly.
Lunch with Jordi at Roux at The Landau: I knew Jordi was available for weekday lunches and I also know that she loves Rimowa as much as I do. We met for a posh lunch at Roux at The Landau and it was really tremendously lovely. Once I get myself back into shape, I am going to join Jordi at one of her Psycle classes. Jordi also told me about Classpass — a way to try out classes at lots of different focused gyms and studios — which sounds AWESOME. The Verdict: I would very gladly eat here again. Once I have money again, that is.
Lunch with Jeanne (aka Cook Sister) at Vinoteca: Having lunch with Jeanne was funny. She told me she could do lunch, but only if I met her in Clerkenwell. I LIVE IN CLERKENWELL. Hah. We had a great value lunch at Vinoteca, only one of my favorite places for lunch. (Even though they did unfollow me on Twitter. BASTARDS!!!) Jeanne helped me get up to speed on all things London blogging and social media and suggested I join her for a supper club the next week. (Score another point for the benefits of reaching out to people.) The Verdict: You cannot beat the £10 lunch special at Vinoteca. £12 with a glass of wine! Great to see Jeanne again too! She is one of the original London blogging crew!
Drinks with Mike from Chicago: Mike moved to London from Chicago last year and the Chicago crew told him he should meet me. We met up for a quick drink at The Jerusalem Tavern (ace watering hole) last spring but I haven’t seen him since. So the other day, we met up for drinks and a catch-up tat Ask for Janice, only one of my new favorite places in Clerkenwell. The people that work there are SO NICE. We talked about financial technology (my previous area of expertise) and TransferWise and all sorts of good stuff. Mike still owes me a list of Fintech apps though. The Verdict: Get the garlic flowers. Drink all the beer. Ask to see the beers in the cooler.
Dining room at Jamie’s Italian
Lunch with Denise at Jamie’s Italian: Meeting up with London wine blogger Denise is always an adventure. We had lunch at Jamie’s Italian and then she convinced me to ditch my Instagram Meetup — I really would like to go to an Instagram Meetup — in favor of hanging out on the rooftop of the ME Hotel in Aldwych. Good times. Great times actually. Denise made me feel better about missing the Instagram Meetup by telling me who to follow on Instagram, so it all worked out. Also, the people that work at the rooftop bar at the ME Hotel are so nice, I actually had to keep telling them that. The Verdict: I liked Jamie’s Italian! And I really enjoyed the rooftop bar at the ME Hotel. Great people watching and great views of London.
Raw Sicilian prawns with some Instagram
Lunch with Mr. Noodles & Su-Lin: I should probably call Mr. Noodles by his real name but he was the mysterious and anonymous Mr. Noodles for so long that I can’t stop calling him that. I met my original London food and restaurant blogging friends Mr. Noodles and Su-Lin for lunch at Rex & Mariano and marveled at the relative cheapness and deliciousness of it all. Big takeaway of the lunch? Apparently, I need to get down to Wing Yip. The Verdict: As I said here, go.
Outcomes of Week #2
- Learned about Classpass.
- Met someone who had actually used TransferWise. Convinced me to give it a shot.
- Jeanne suggested I join her for May’s Malaysian by May supper club.
- Denise invited me to Taste of London.
- Mr. Noodles invited me to Barrafina. We’re going with EuWen.
- I need to check out Wing Yip.
