Brunch at The Blue Legume Cafe, London N8

When we moved to this particular corner of North London last January, I set out to do The Crouch End Knowledge, i.e. visit all pubs, bars and cafes in the N8 area and report back to you.  But, due to some other important business (such as the publishing of my book), this task has been rather on the back burner lately. But today, to start these efforts anew, I persuaded the Englishman and Daughter to join me for brunch at the more recently opened establishment in Crouch End, Blue Legume Cafe on Crouch Hill.

I've been wanting to go to this place for some time, because when passing the place onboard the number W7 bus, I've watched people sitting at tables outside, enjoying cups of milky coffee and delicious looking plates of food. Sometimes it takes all of my will power not to get off the bus and join them, and delay what ever trip I am making into town.



When looking at the menus today I noticed (to my slight disappointment) that the Blue Legume Cafe serves the kind of fare which most small restaurant/cafes London nowadays do. You know the kind that's called 'Modern British', old-fashioned food with a Mediterranean twist. But since this place almost always looks full, I decided here the food must be a little more special. Or at least a good example of its kind.

And the place is certainly friendly. As soon as we sat outside on this unseasonably tropical morning here in London, a smiling waitress came over to ask if we'd like drinks. We were given menus and (almost too) swiftly our first order of skinny cappuccino, americano and Earl Grey tea arrived.

Both the Englishman and I decided to have the vegetarian sausage breakfast, while Daughter went for Eggs Royal. All again arrived in record time and were on the whole delicious.

Vegetarian sausage, grilled 1/2 tomato, beans, fried mushrooms and granary toast.

Eggs Royal: Toasted muffin with smoked salmon and two poached eggs.

The poached eggs were well cooked (not a mean feat), just soft enough in the middle.  Although both the Englishman and Daughter found theirs were a little cold, mine was perfect.  The wholemeal toast was also hot and the butter which arrived was room temperature, a perfect match. I also loved the mushrooms, they weren't slimy, nor dry, which they sometimes can be, and as a whole my meal was just what I wanted on this Saturday morning.

So as the first establishment of the second leg of The Crouch end Knowledge, I would wholeheartedly recommend the Blue Legume Cafe. It's friendly, has a nice atmosphere and on the whole is as nice as it looks!

A Finnish Breakfast

Best breakfast ever: Talkkuna with viili and black, strong coffee

Talkkuna flour is made from whole oats, barley and dried pea. It tastes pretty much like toasted rye bread and mixed with low-fat viili (soured milky product - a little like yogurt) tastes just delicious.

My daughter who spent a year in Finland recently tells me I'm pretty unique in still eating this old-fashioned stuff but I think it is the best breakfast fare ever.

When I was growing up in Tampere my mother would mash the flour into freshly picked lingonberries and sprinkle it with a little sugar to make pöperö. We'd all eat it straight from the bowl, fighting over who'd get the most spoonfuls.

When the Englishman saw me mix my first breakfast bowlful of viili with Talkkuna on our honeymoon in Finland, he made jokes about the consumption of such foodstuffs being enough cause for an annulment of the marriage vows.

He says it tastes like wall-paper paste.

But I wouldn't be swayed by the opinion of an Englishman. Didn't think the English had a leg to stand on when it came to culinary matters. They ate spotted dick and couldn't produce a decent cup of coffee anywhere in those days.

So when we first moved to the UK, I phoned the Laihian Mallas factory to see if they could send me regular supplies of Talkkuna. (For some reason I couldn't find the flour at Tesco's - go figure?) A kind man in marketing told me I could have industrial quantities, but even my passion for the stuff couldn't cope with 1,000 bags of Talkkuna in one go. Besides, I couldn't get viili anywhere, although I was willing to make my own. All you needed was the culture from one pot...

As you can see I'm a true Talkkuna girl - any others out there?