Big Sandy at the 100 Club

This month has been full of birthdays and weddings, but August has also been the month which featured the best gig of the year - Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys at the legendary 100 Club!

I have seen these guys play many times in many different cities, but this has been my favourite time seeing them, so far!

Big Joe Louis opened the night with his hip-gyrating blues....

The atmosphere was buzzing and the club was packed, as the night that us Londoners had been anticipating for months was finally here...

That Big Sandy is quite the charmer, with his honey-smooth voice, and cheeky banter.  The band were on point, and the crowd lapped up every musical note that filled the club...

We sang along, we cheered, and some people even got up on stage and had a boogie...

Quite fitting that such legendary musicians should play an iconic London venue.  The perfect choice for interacting with the crowd, with a low stage and an intimate atmosphere.  It was a real party!

To top off a perfect evening, loverboy spotted Heather Holliday and Danik Abishev who are both currently performing in LIMBO.  After going to see the show at the London Wonderground back in July, I was mesmerised by the talent of these two artists, so it was an absolute pleasure to meet them and to chat with them for a while - they are both so fun and easy to talk to!

The show is still touring, but its run in the UK has now ended, so if you haven't seen it, let me just tell you that Heather is a sword-swallower, and Danik is a hand balancer, and they are both enthralling to watch!

This was definitely a night to remember!

Now hurry back soon guys, y'hear?!

Quacky Birthday!

I celebrated my birthday earlier this month, and kicked off the festivities in a fittingly fancy fashion, with lunch at Duck and Waffle.

Duck and Waffle is located in the Heron Tower - the same building as it's sister restaurant, Sushi Samba, where I went for my birthday dinner last year, and for my wedding anniversary this year.  You may have guessed that I thoroughly enjoy this venue...and who could blame me, with this view?

Dining in the sky, with London sprawled out below and views as far as the eye can see, simply does not lose it's novelty on me!

Duck and Waffle is located on the floor above Sushi Samba, and I had been wanting to see what they had to offer for a very long time now.  Let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed...

A date with bacon wrapped dates - it was definitely love at first bite...

We started with the bacon wrapped dates which are stuffed with a smokey linguiça sausage and manchego cheese filling, and paired with a tangy mustard dressing.  This dish was pretty much our idea of heaven on a plate.  Each bite was so plump and juicy, and the mixture of sweet and savoury is a combination that I really enjoy.  Basically, these bacon wrapped dates were perfection.

Next up we had the scallop with apple, elderflower, caviar and dill.  On first inspection, we were a little underwhelmed with this one.  I was expecting whole plump scallops - but I probably should have realised otherwise, given that the description was 'scallop' (singular).

The scallops were a little underwhelming, but they weren't a dill breaker... 

Thin slices of scallop were placed on top of apple slices, and the combination of textures was surprisingly pleasant.  The flavours were exceptionally well balanced, and the sweetness of the apple was really heightened by the seafood in a fresh and delicate way.  I liked this one, and thought it was a clever dish, but on the whole, it was probably the least impressive from our selection.

We also opted for the crispy pigs ears, which came in a paper bag, and provided a little something to crunch on, between dishes.

They didn't make a pig's ear of this! 

Given my penchant for interesting-sounding, experimental dishes, I could not pass up the spicy ox cheek doughnut with apricot jam and smoked paprika sugar.

A savoury doughnut?  The cheek of it!

The fluffy exterior and meaty interior reminded me a little of dim sum bbq pork buns.  I liked the accompanying dipping sauce, and overall the dish worked, but despite it's grand appearance, it was not my favourite out of our choices.  Simply put, although there were some great flavours in this dish, it did not make me sigh in the way that those stuffed dates did!

Next up was perhaps my favourite dish...how have I lived so long without foie gras crème brûlée in my life?

A tap with the spoon resulted in the perfect crack in the top layer... 

The foie gras had the creamy, light texture of crème brûlée with a caramelized, crunchy layer on top.  It was served with butter roasted lobster and toasted brioche.  Oh my word, this is one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten!!!

We ended our savoury dishes with the pièce de résistance and signature dish: the duck and waffle. Crispy leg confit served with a fried duck egg, mustard maple syrup and of course, a waffle.

This delicious flavour extravaganza was the bomb. In fact it's so good, they named their restaurant after it. Here, have a closer look...

Holy duck, this was a tasty plate of food...

By this point, I was well and truly stuffed, but Loverboy insisted that we must have dessert!  We opted for the Baked Alaska - a dessert that I knew of, but had never actually tried before.  Whilst we were waiting for that, they brought out a little birthday surprise...

Birthday girl full of delicious food and champagne! 

Our final dish was served, and we were impressed!  After we oohed and ahhed a bit, we busted that sucker open and inside the squishy, chewy, gooey meringue, was a solid ball of ice cream.  It was accompanied by poached peaches, and was so yummy that I wondered why I had waited so long to try this wondrous creation.

We had a wonderful, leisurely lunch, enjoying the taste sensations, taking in the view, and pointing out buildings in the distance. Our table was in a prime spot by the window, with a view that looked down on the Gherkin.

We both left feeling full and happy. I couldn't have asked for a better start to my birthday weekend, it was a real treat!

Now that's what I call music! 1980-1999

There have been so many birthdays lately (including my own!) and we were invited to a particularly fun, joint birthday party, at the end of July. The theme was 1980s and 1990s, and everyone was strongly encouraged to participate in fancy dress costume, choosing any icons from that time period.

Well, as you can imagine, it didn't take much encouragement for loverboy and I to get into character, as we love a good fancy dress party!

Can you guess who we went as....?

No, it's not Slash and Cyndi Lauper...guess again....

MJ and Madge were in the house for one night only!

If you guessed Michael Jackson and Madonna, then you are correct!

There were so many brilliant costumes, including Poison Ivy, Thelma and Louise, Yoko Ono, Laura Palmer, John McEnroe, Morrissey and Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes, to name just a few.

We made quite a racket...

The birthday girls were almost unrecognisable as Eddie and Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous...

Happy birthday, sweetie, darling! 

Of course, Michael Jackson had the moves to accompany the style. There was moonwalking, the kick, the lean....and the Electric Slide...Shamon!

Loverboy getting down to the Electric Slide...

The drinks were flowing, and the ladies were rowing...

 Oops Up Side Your Head!

There were glow sticks...

Big fish, little fish, cardboard box! 

Growing up in the 80s and 90s, it was nostalgic hearing so many songs from our youth, and we might have gotten and little carried away in our excitement...

Kate Bush brings out the abstract dance expression in everyone...

But we all made sure to sing happy birthday to the birthday girls...and then eat the giant cake!

 Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!

By the end of the night, beauty marks were smeared, and wigs were ditched...

That was definitely a party to remember, and it was so in vogue!

Wheels on fire, rolling down the roaaaaaaaaaaaad....