Review: Tweat-Up Taco Wars

What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than heading over to the giant food orgie that was the Tweat-Up organised Taco Wars?

What's Taco Wars? I hear you cry - well here's the gist of it: 10 traders serving up one delicious Taco each, one winner to be crowned the best Taco in Britain voted by us, the public. We had the pleasure of trying each Taco in turn surrounded by a great atmosphere. There was music, free margaritas (how could we refuse?) and even a crazy tape measuring contest.

If you didn't make it to Merchant Yard for Taco Wars upcoming Tweat-up events include Ginstock, the Craft Beer Battle and more. it was our first but judging by the day we had certainly not our last.

Anyway - let's get down to the serious stuff... what were the strengths and weaknesses of each taco? Check out the photos to see all the Taco's and our personal faves. And the winners were Luardos, just in case you were wondering.

Review: The Crown and Goose on Arlington Road

The Crown and Goose is a real gem in Camden Town that despite being very central is often overlooked. Don't get me wrong, this pub is certainly buzzing at peak times, but is still relatively unknown by a lot of Camdenites.

Review: Oliver's Fish & Chips on Haverstock Hill

Every good neighbourhood deserves a good Chippie, and Camden's finest is hands down Oliver's Fish and Chips on Haverstock Hill.

Take your pick from cod, haddock, tuna or salmon (to name but a few) either in the traditionally battered style or coated in Matzo breadcrumbs, prepared right there and then in front of you. And if that doesn't tickle your fancy, then also offer a great selection of fish on the grill - simply pick a fish and a sauce/ topping and you're good to go.

The food is delicious and the setting is lovely, and if Haverstock Hill is too far to travel then on the weekends you can also find them at Camden Lock market.

It's worth noting that this is a fish and chip shop that truly lives up to it's name, there are no pukka pies or battered sausage to be found here, so fish haters beware. However, for all you Celiacs out there you will be happy to learn that Wednesdays are Gluten-free. Cool, huh? 

And guess what? They even do home delivery. 

Review: The Ginger Pig Butcher's Shop (Marylebone)

Regular readers of Les Greedy Cochons may remember this fantastic little butchers from our Primrose Hill Scotch Eggs recipe.

The Ginger Pig is an absolute haven for meat lovers. With shops in Marylebone, Shepard's Bush, Hackney, Waterloo and in Borough Market, it's fair to say that when in London, you're never far from a Ginger Pig.

Marylebone is our closest and one of our favourite places to stock up on food for our regular meatfests. We are not going to list what you can buy here because it would simply take too long, but it's safe to say that you won't be disappointed. From speciality sausages to steak to oxtail, they've got you covered. As well as the plentiful meat counter, they serve up pre-prepped and ready to eat food like pies, pates and sausage rolls.

Now with Christmas on the horizon, not only is the Ginger Pig the perfect place to pick up your Christmas turkey, goose or whatever, but it's also a great little place for gifts. They do butchery courses, gift tokens and have even released their very own cook book.

It's not for nothing that they supply some of London's best known restaurants.

Recipe: Baked Cheese (Vacherin Mont d'Or) with White Wine and Garlic

Us Greedies love cheese and Vacherin Mont d'Or is one of our favourites, so when our friends (who we like to refer to with the collective noun Natalain) bought us one the other night, we were very happy Cochons indeed.

Vacherin is great as it is - served on bread or with crackers - but with Christmas quickly approaching, we thought we'd share with you this super quick and utterly delicious recipe for Baked Cheese with white wine and garlic. It's gooey, it's creamy and it's sure to be a hit.

Trust me, if you like cheese, you'll love this.

Review: The Battersea Pie Station in Camden Market

Few things are better on a cold and blustering day than some good old British comfort food. With that in mind, us Greedy Cochons wrapped ourselves up in our scarves and gloves and headed to Camden Market.

In the area next to Proud galleries, nestled between the Mexican burrito stands and the Moroccan lamp stalls stands the Battersea Pie Station.

This stall is a shoot off of the larger, more central shop in Covent Garden and as such has a slightly smaller menu, but all the classics you could want to warm your cockles.

I had the Chicken and Mushroom pie with mash and gravy and Mr. Greedy Cochon plumped for the steak and ale with mash and pie liquor, yum!

You can see the full menu over on their website here.

Review : Kerb at Kings Cross

Last night, Mr. Greedy Cochon and I headed over to the newly developed area of King's Cross next to Central Saint Martins for the launch party of Kerb.

Kerb is the new collection of street food vendors that has replaced Eat Street. It's open Mondays-Fridays from 11am-2:30pm. If you're in the area it's well worth checking out, last night there was a huge choice of food from the like of The Rib Man, Pizza Pilgrims, Yum Bun and loads more.

To find out who is around you can follow them on Twitter or head over to their website.

Review : The Colonel Fawcett Pub

At the beginning of September, the Colonel Fawcett celebrated it's 1st birthday since it's grand opening back in 2011 and my what a year it's been. There have been secret concerts, comedy gigs, birthday bashes and gin galore, but mostly there has been great, delicious, traditional pub food.

Recipe : Garlic and Thyme Butter for Beef or Lamb

The other day Mr. Greedy Cochon and I decided to brave to throngs of tourists and went to Borough Market. By the time we headed home our bellies were full of cheese, meat and any other freebies we could get our hands on and our wallets were severely lighter due to the two amazing steaks that we had picked up for dinner.

Mr. Greedy Cochon decided to whip up a quick and easy Garlic and Thyme butter to slather over the tender steaks and boy was it delicious.

Review : Breakfast at Camden Bar & Kitchen

Mr. Greedy Cochon and I have been searching a good fry-up in Camden for a while. In fact, at one point we had even given up entirely and settled for the ubiquitous Wetherspoon, up until we saw a huge rat scuttling about inside.

So we are happy to say that after having it on our 'to do' list for a while, we finally found the time to head over to Camden Bar & Kitchen to sample their fabulous breakfast offerings. Verdict - we have found a winner.

Review : Goat's Cheese Salad at The Blues Kitchen

Ok, so normally I wouldn't post a review for just one dish but I have to make an exception for this one. I am totally addicted to Goat's cheese... seriously... I do not understand people who don't like goat's cheese. I especially love Goat's cheese salad.

Recipe : The Camden Stuffed Marrow

This little recipe is one that was taught to Mr. Greedy Cochon in the best way possible, by his Mum. He has decided to share it with you today, enjoy!

Recipe : Rosti with Mushroom Sauce

Rosti is a delicious recipe from Switzerland that hasn't quite caught on in the UK, or anywhere outside of Switzerland in fact. We sometimes eat potato cakes, but only really as a side-dish rather than a meal in itself.

This great little recipe is quick and easy and the mushroom sauce is absolutely devine.

Review : Namaaste Kitchen Camden

Nestled amongst the pubs, estate agents and pet shops of Parkway in Camden Town is the fantastic little Indian restaurant called Namaaste Kitchen. 

Recipe : Shoulder of Lamb served with a compote of garlic confit on toast

Mr. Greedy Cochon has once again been busy in the kitchen creating a brand new recipe. The shoulder of lamb is juicy and incredibly tender and the compote of garlic is deliciously floavoursome without being overpowering.

It's great as a dig-in, sharing king of dish, but it's also great for parties if you pre-make the little toasts and hand them out, although on second thoughts, with the amount of garlic that goes in, serve at your own peril.

Recipe : Sticky Pork in Ginger Beer

This amazing recipe of Mr. Cochon's invention was inspired by the mouth-watering sticky pork BBQ recipes from the deep south of America with a bit of a British twist.

Perfect served with corn on the cob, mashed potatoes and ice cold ginger beer.