Burro e Salvia is coming to East Dulwich

[????]

The Tex mex place was awful.

[Otta]

Well I liked it. Genuinely.

Although I think I'm talking about an older incarnation. Don't think I went to the last version.

[Louisa]

I'm old enough to remember 'Never on a Sunday' steak restaurant in that same spot. When the Text-Mex place took it on, Mexican cuisine was only in it's UK infancy and it was a bold step for anyone to try and make a Mexican restaurant in any form work in this country. Now of course, we are spoiled for choice and our pallets are more knowledgable.

Louisa.

[jj2]

Another +1 here, even though a bit biased as it comes from an Italian :-)

What I still find it interesting though even after a few years in London, is that places like these here cater for a more upscale clientele.

In Italy you would find Burry&Salvia-style products in most bakeries even in the less affluent areas.

Maybe an entrepreneurial idea for some?

[tfwsoll]

'I'm old enough to remember 'Never on a Sunday' steak restaurant in that same spot. When the Text-Mex place took it on, Mexican cuisine was only in it's UK infancy and it was a bold step for anyone to try and make a Mexican restaurant in any form work in this country. Now of course, we are spoiled for choice and our pallets are more knowledgable. Louisa.'

Was Never on a Sunday the restaurant where they had the belly dancer? The owner converted it to a Tex Mex in the mid-90s when TexMex was going out of fashion in London. I can't recall any of the dishes being authentically Mexican.

I am really looking forward to a new Italian eaterie but feel that Lordship Lane could do with a decent Swiss restaurant....

[Mustard]

Louisa Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I'm old enough to remember 'Never on a Sunday'

> steak restaurant in that same spot. When the

> Text-Mex place took it on, Mexican cuisine was

> only in it's UK infancy and it was a bold step for

> anyone to try and make a Mexican restaurant in any

> form work in this country. Now of course, we are

> spoiled for choice and our pallets are more

> knowledgable.

>

> Louisa.

Louisa has planks of wood where her palate is.

[worldwiser]

You find this kind of thing all over Italy because all Italians are fastidiously uncompromising when it comes to the quality of their food. It's the national conversation on a par with the English and the weather. Even service stations in Italy serve mouth-wateringly, heavenly food. Memorable food is for everyone whereas in the UK it's apparently only for snobs with too much money: people who have foolishly and misguidedly come to live in East Dulwich rather than the more obvious habitat of Chelsea where they clearly belong.

[Louisa]

I disagree with that worldwiser. A lot of the foods the middle classes worship in areas like this have their origins in poor working class communities in Italy, Spain et al. The difference is, in those countries food is for everyone because deeply rooted snobbery doesn't transcend into every facet of daily life. Food in particular is for all to enjoy. In this class obsessed nation, middle England sneers at the food traditions of the working class rather than celebrate them and consequently there is a huge gap between the food traditions and shopping habits of each class. Having said this, I think those barriers have or are falling away, and even the poorest in our society now enjoy a diet involving a bit of everything. It's not often you'll see one of the foody snobs of ED eating jellied eels or pie n mash though. Why can't the British food snobs be as open as their Italian counterparts? (I'd also like to remind you all that M. Manze was an Italian immigrant who opened his first pie shops to serve the dockworkers and costermongers of London).

Louisa.

[Otta]

I remember Never on a Sunday from when I was a kid. Proper old skool "posh" decour involving dark wood and red velvet if my memory serves.

[nxjen]

Don't have to be foody snob not to eat jellied eels, they are disgusting!! And the pie stall on North Cross Road market has been doing good business for many years now though I couldn't possibly comment whether the clientele comprises the aforementioned foody snobs.

[jimbo1964]

So, another thread has dissolved into the old class war debate.'Gaurianista, blah blah, Chelsea, blah blah, snobs, blah blah' zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

I miss the old fashioned steak house. I remember Never on Sunday but never went. There was one in Camberwell we used occasionally the name of which escapes me. I guess Gaucho is the nearest to it these days.. without the red velvet opulence of the 1970s.

[nxjen]

Otta Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I remember Never on a Sunday from when I was a

> kid. Proper old skool "posh" decour involving dark

> wood and red velvet if my memory serves.

Makes me cringe to remember it. I don't remember the food being up to much either but as there was so little choice of restaurants and eating out in restaurants a less frequent occurrence than it is today, we probably thought it was a lot better than it was if compared to today's restaurants.

[Otta]

No doubt.

I only remember going there once or twice, as eating out was just something that didn't happen unless there was a very good reason for it. Have no recollection about the food, but seasoning was not big then, sop I'm guessing it was just a plain steak and some chips (with undressed salad on the side).

[Mick Mac]

jimbo1964 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> So, another thread has dissolved into the old

> class war debate.'Gaurianista, blah blah, Chelsea,

> blah blah, snobs, blah blah' zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

>

>

> I miss the old fashioned steak house. I remember

> Never on Sunday but never went. There was one in

> Camberwell we used occasionally the name of which

> escapes me. I guess Gaucho is the nearest to it

> these days.. without the red velvet opulence of

> the 1970s.

Really? I'm surprised, as I think Gaucho is close to high end and pretty bloody expensive. I cant imagine anything similar venturing to ED.

[Mick Mac]

???? Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The Tex mex place was awful.

Agreed. I went a couple of times - I remember they had salt and pepper in old Sol bottles. That was ok but when I picked one up it was laden with grease from other peoples hands.....sticky and grim... didn't go back after that.

I guess it doesn't take much to put you off a place.

[edcam]

We used to think Angus Steak Houses were the height of sophistication when I was a kid and we cam to London. In reality we preferred The Golden Egg. Egg, sausage and chips on a chrome plate with vinegary tomato ketchup. Yum.

[DulwichFox]

There was a Chez Nico .. Nico Ladenis (born 22 April 1934) a Tanzanian-born chef of Greek descent

I believe it was near the Police Station so possible where Mr Liu is now. But I don't know for sure.

Ladenis was famous for throwing out anyone who asked for salt.

DulwichFox

[nxjen]

edcam Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> We used to think Angus Steak Houses were the

> height of sophistication when I was a kid and we

> cam to London. In reality we preferred The Golden

> Egg. Egg, sausage and chips on a chrome plate

> with vinegary tomato ketchup. Yum.

So yummy but now raises the question is it possible for something to be both delicious and disgusting?

[DulwichFox]

edcam Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> We used to think Angus Steak Houses were the

> height of sophistication when I was a kid and we

> cam to London. In reality we preferred The Golden

> Egg. Egg, sausage and chips on a chrome plate

> with vinegary tomato ketchup. Yum.

I was only thinking a bit earlier about The Golden Egg.

Me and my mate used to go the one in Oxford Street 1970ish

We thought we were the Bees Knees.

http://www.vads.ac.uk/images/DCADB/250/OTC00044.jpg

Used to go to Wimpy in Oxford Street too.

Then off to Carnaby Street..

Foxy

[Louisa]

Black pudding. Delicious and disgusting.

Louisa.

[Penguin68]

I think Chez Nico was in Queenstown Road (Battersea) by 1979 - I hadn't known (WikeP apart) he had ever operated in Dulwich - we then lived in Prince of Wales Drive just round the corner

[MrBen]

If you think about it. The food scene in London just gets more and more sophisticated.Very like NYC. Like rock and roll music, how far can that go? Perhaps when we have a Peruvian truffle shop on the lane in 2036 it will all have been done. Until then I'm going to have me some excellent fresh pasta.

[Mustard]

there is a woman selling fresh pasta already in Northcross road market on Fridays and Saturdays.

[edcam]

DulwichFox Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I was only thinking a bit earlier about The Golden

> Egg.

> Me and my mate used to go the one in Oxford Street

> 1970ish

> We thought we were the Bees Knees.

>

> http://www.vads.ac.uk/images/DCADB/250/OTC00044.jp

> g

>

> Used to go to Wimpy in Oxford Street too.

>

> Then off to Carnaby Street..

>

> Foxy

Yes, I think that's the one we went to. I'd say 1973-5ish. I definitely remember going to see "Earthquake" at the flicks and then going to the Golden Egg. That was 1974. Quality.

[Louisa]

The food scene gets more sophisticated and yet what most people crave after a night out is a kebab and/or a fry up the next morning.

Louisa.