haruki

Closing 43 stores is hardly a big deal when they have 3300 in the UK.

I got a lecture off the guy when I asked for some vegetarian cheese for fondue, along the lines of it being a ridiculous thing to ask for and the only solution being to order it from some guy in Kent. Plus I was informed that nobody wanted to make vegetarian cheese any more and in a few years I wouldn't be able to buy it. He then totally changed his mind and said that if it was only for fondue then pretty much anything would work and suggested three different options. He's a bit of a misery sometimes.

And in this context, they're hardly mutually exclusive. I'm not sure what caring about people has to do with being vegetarian. Every time you eat a piece of Quorn an orphan dies? Without wanting to get too philosophical, it's also fairly meaningless to just make a blanket statement saying you care more about people than animals. On a practical level I expect most people who own a pet would care more about it than an arbitrary person they don't know. It's all relative. But if it's about humanity as a whole, would the obvious extension of the statement be that you care about people more than anything else? More than plants, more than the environment, etc etc. Because then you're kind of stuck that it's all mutually dependent.

The Pembrokeshire coast path is stunning, 186 miles long. http://www.visitpembrokeshire.com/explore-pembrokeshire/coast-path/

Come on now, surely you must be joking? A serious threat to children?! I don't think anyone is advocating an exclusive diet of pizza. And the cheese on toast comparison is odd. It's like saying beer is "just" flavoured water with bits. For one thing, the difference between type of flour, tomatoes and cheese alone, ignoring toppings, mean there's a huge variety. E.g. Chicago style vs Naples style. But I'm not sure you will be convinced.

The Plough is owned by Mitchell & Butler, part of their "Castle" range of pubs, that includes the Crown & Greyhound, the Phoenix at Denmark Hill, Southwark Tavern, Gipsy Moth in Greenwich and numerous other locations across London. They're all pretty hit and miss at doing food, it's not just the Plough (but I agree it's bad). Sometimes you get lucky, and it's great. A lot of the time, it isn't. This has all been re-hashed many times, but basically the chef has very little control over the food they serve as it's planned centrally. All the pubs in this chain suffer from it. The drinks are normally good though!

These are pretty good. Not widely available yet though: http://www.squarerootsoda.co.uk/about/

I've just done the exact thing you describe, nearly 3 years renting in ED and then moved... to Forest Gate. It's not really sketchy. Admittedly, large parts of it are a bit run down, but the housing stock is pretty good. we've got a small weekly market, a couple of independent coffee shops, a decent pub (same people as EDT) and a craft beer cafe that knocks the spots off anything similar in ED. However, that's about it. We are lacking in restaurants. And if you want shops selling assorted twee knick knacks and birds, you'll be lacking. But on the up side, you've got Wanstead a ten minute bus ride away, which is basically ED-lite and has a load of nice pubs/restaurants. I'd definitely take a look around FG, as with Crossrail coming soonish the area is probably only going to go one way. Ideally you want to be North of the train tracks, or in the couple of streets immediately to the South.

Do you mean this? http://www.artangel.org.uk/projects/2014/spectra/

Best place is the 'comfort and joy' stall on north cross road, but it's only there Friday/Saturday. Otherwise kebab and wine do a fairly disappointing one. I'm still on the search for someone who can top the Palestinian guys at Tachbrook street market in Pimlico.

You can't beat Clos Maggiore's conservatory for romance/prettiness. Nothing round here like it. It is Covent garden though, so not exactly walking distance.

Audrey (who appears to be the new owner) has posted a link to the actual website above. It's a bar/cafe. It looks intriguing. Something that could never be said about boho at least!

Not so sure it's a shop. When I peered in the other day it was laid out like a bar, a big shared table, trendy retro lighting etc.

It's not just those nights, there's also the monthly phsycic night, weekly student night (not sure where the students will come from), piano night, karaoke night, the list is endless. Obviously an attempt to make it an entertainment venue. I guess it's filling a gap in the market.

It still sounds almost exactly like House of Tippler. Is there room for two "proper" cocktail bars on LL? HoT is great, but it's often fairly quiet in there.