Borough Market -OR- No Enforced Snacking Limit

No adventure voting this week! Voting will resume on Monday, when I post about my trip to the cold county of Cumbria.

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On Saturday I fulfilled my promise to you, my loyal readers, and adventured south of my normal haunts to audaciously extract every interesting snack that Borough could offer. This time I had the pleasure of TWO adventure buddies, both of whom wish to remain unnamed for the sake of privacy. Celebrity is tough, ain't it?

We started with the intention of meeting at St. Paul's tube station, but of course, London Transport being what it is (thanks Mr. Lord Mayor!) St. Paul's station was closed. So about forty-five minutes were spent wandering about near the north bank of the Thames talking on phones and trying to locate each other. But when we finally got going, we headed for the Millennium Bridge, a beautiful, pedestrian-only way of crossing the Thames.

St. Pauls.


Tower Bridge in the distance.


Fashion photoshoot on the Millennium Bridge!

This pink orchestra was interesting, but we couldn't figure out what they were shilling for. In American it would be breast cancer, but we really had no idea.


The views of Tower Bridge and St. Paul's are spectacular from the Millennium Bridge, and of course it leads directly to Tate Modern. But the only thing Tate has up right now is the Rothko, which I saw (not a fan) and the Cildo Meireles (which was amazing....oh shit, closed last week!)...well anyway we had a goal and we were sticking to it.

The walk along the South Bank is really fun as it winds and ducks. We passed through several really neat tunnels, and even saw a boat that had belonged to an explorer equally as intrepid as myself, but of course better equipped.





We assumed that this was Southwark Cathedral, but who knows? In any case it's beautiful!


Wooo, a tunnel!



Arriving at Borough we saw some fruits and veg, and thought that we had arrived. "Self," I said, "You could have seem these veg at Marylebone Farmer's Market!"




But we needed only to press on, to break through the tissue-thin veil that hid the true splendor from us, and suddenly we were saw it. And we knew.






Turkish Delight and Baklava, FREE SAMPLES!




Sausage, FREE SAMPLES!



Cheese, FREE SAMPLES!


Bread, FREE SAMPLES!



Venison Burgers! Well, not free, but I stole a nibble from one of my buddies.

The whole place was so teeming with amazing food, cooked and raw, cured and smoked, baked and breaded, mulled and mashed, hammed and baconed, brined and basted. It was truly...truly...the most amazing food experience of my young life. Those of you that really know me know that I have made food my passion, and seeking good food is one of my greatest joys. I would take Borough over Harrod's any day of the week. Granted, we ended up spending £60 between the three of us, but in the end, it was so, SO worth it.

The Winner - Harrods Food Halls - Don't Shop Hungry

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So of course the winning adventure this week was Harrods Food Halls! So I trekked intrepidly across Hyde Park with my indomitable adventure sidekick (who is that mysterious man?!), and we resolved to plumb every deep and complex mystery offered by the Halls of Food. It turns out that visiting the Food Halls has severe side effects including wallet ache and extreme lobster-lust, but we pressed on, unmindful of the risks!

The first battle was with the crowds. Who knew that Harrods would be packed and crowded on a Saturday? Certainly not me!

Being that I am such a fan of the rare and exotic, I headed first to the imported fruits.

And, as luck would have it, there was even a sale on!

But you know me, I'm way more about the vegetables. And everyone knows that it's colorful vegetables that have the most healthful vitamins and nutrients. Harrods sure is a healthy place.

But why eat yucky vegetables when there's meat around? Juicy, fortifying, heart healthy MEAT!

Jerky!

Salami!

Braised lamb shanks!

But, as the French have known for a very long time, meat is so much better when you grind it up with livers and other organ meat. Best served chilled and topped with a garish garnish.

Plenty of people would prefer a manly haggis to a sissy pate, especially my adventure sidekick. Have no fear! Harrods knows what you want, and they're ready!

After all that heavy meat, it was definitely time to take a deep breath and really dive into the snacky bits. Gorgonzola and olives anyone?

At this point I really knew it was time for a sweet, to cleanse the palate before the fish course. I might prefer a few chocolate bonbons...

But in homage to my lovely cousin Jaina, I went for the creme brulee. Unsurprisingly, storing pre-caramelized creme brulee in a refrigerated case doesn't do much to preserve the crispy top. Next time I'll hit up Claridges.

The seafood section of the Food Halls really is amazing. You can pick anything from these massive piles of fish and they cook it for you right then and there, at their seafood grill and chip shop. The queue was CRAZY though so we saved this experience for next time.

At this point the lobster-lust got really bad. All I wanted was lobster Thermidor and I had to be dragged away bodily, slavering at the mouth.

Here, as a cherry on top of this delicious tour, is what I most hungered for out of everything. I think I'll go back next week and actually buy some...

In Britain, it's important to be polite, queue properly, and follow all the rules. Even when it's most difficult.

Come back tomorrow for pictures of today's exciting trip to the Farmer's Market! Cheese and goats milk and oysters, oh my!