The Weekly

Various

Each week I find myself in various pubs, bars, and restaurants that for reasons of time, company, or phone signal I can't flag or comment on. This is an attempt to give those places some recognition.

The Victoria - Jericho, Oxford - full review

My number one choice in Oxford. Everything thought through perfectly and staff brilliantly trained. Ales served in your choice of straight glass or tankard, lager served in an chilled glass. Large garden at the back and small sun-trap at the front. Whatever you do, buy a pie.

The Bear Inn  - Central Oxford - full review

A classic Oxford tourist trap - low ceilings, few seats, and eccentric collection of tie cuttings. A Fuller's pub, so guaranteed a nice pint of London Pride, but also serves ale from Shotover Brewery. The staff here can be quite slow, so on a Friday afternoon expect a long wait.

Chiang Mai - Central Oxford

An overrated thai restaurant which offers better than average food, but nothing you couldn't make yourself with a pot of Thai Taste. Definitely visit if you're touring the interesting architecture of Oxford - visit SoJo or Edamame if you want something Asian and far better.

Barburrito - Paddington Station, London - full review

I usually arrive in to Paddington at dinner time, so this has become a regular haunt. That said, it's not quite as good as The Mission or Benito's Hat. It offers some very strange additions to the usual burrito (mushrooms?) and seats are at a premium.

Burritos - London & Oxford

Various

I seem to have caught the burrito trend slightly late. Of course, I've long been a fan of burritos - having the excellent Mission in Oxford yards from the office helps - but aside from a Chipotle in New York, I hadn't sampled much else, so this month I set out to change that.

A couple of short waits in Kings Cross gave me the chance to try a Benito's Hat; a trip to Oxford Street,  Wahaca; and a late arrival in Paddington, Barburrito.

Being no expert I naively assumed that the burrito would be a fairly uniform dish - oh no, how wrong was I. Benito's Hat is a dry affair, with the ingredients not quite mixed enough for my liking - a line of meat along one-side flanked by a line of sauces and toppings on the other. Don't get me wrong, this is a good burrito, it just needs more work in it's preparation.

Wahaca was the antithesis. A much more sit-down-and-dine kind of place, the burrito was served swimming in juice, with the meat itself already sticky and dripping red before any further sauce was added. I consider myself quite the accomplished burrito eater, but this required a technique of continuous rolling to avoid sleeve dribble and saturated no fewer than four napkins.

Barburrito in Paddington was slightly lacking in flavour, but did achieve the correct size and shape of a burrito. No footballs here, even with all of the toppings included. Perfect for perching on a stool, eating with one hand, holding a beer in the other.

The Mission though is still my first love. A great tasting burrito, expertly put together, and accompanied on each table with individual bottles of Tabasco and half-a-foot of napkins. They even offer to swap beans for peppers and onions - something which caused confusion when asked for elsewhere.