Raison d’Etre - London
Aside from attending Mac’s wedding, I used this trip to England to catch up with a few friends from my Kew days.
Raphael’s one of them, although he now works under the umbrella of the British Museum. Both of us have left our former professions based on this whole “allergy to poverty” situation.
We headed down to South Ken to meet up with him and let him pick the lunch spot. He brought us to Raison d’Etre, down a street lined with French restaurants and cafes. Turns out the French Embassy is just at the end of the road and the businesses there were bursting with French folk. That suits Raphael just fine, as he is French himself!
The sandwich offerings were mouthwatering, with so many flavorful concoctions, and I have to say that while American sandwiches certainly are filling, there is often so much of the same stuff in them - mustard, mayo, pickle, lettuce, tomato, plain cheese - that they all start to taste the same. But the sandwiches here are like tasteful dishes, bundled into a crusty baguette.
Raphael had the bacon, chicken and avocado baguette. The filling was finely chopped, which was different to what I would expect, but apparently still good to eat. There were only a few places in England that I could order an avocado dish from with confidence that I would get decent avocado, so I was likewise suspicious of the avocado here. Raphael pointed out the healthy, green, fat avocado halves in the deli case and I felt better.
Ted ordered the winner baguette: melting raclette cheese, ham, tender new potatoes, and pickled onions. Ooooh!
I ordered a crusty baguette with grilled aubergine, goat cheese, basil, tomato and caramelized onions. It was delicious, and for a meat eater I was completely satisfied with a vegetarian sandwich. Grilled aubergine in sandwiches is amazing.
My only regret was not getting a panino. My first introduction to panini was in Morocco and France, where it is always done with a parbaked baguette, which then flattens into a crisp but chewy hot sandwich. I had full intentions of eating one if not several of those on this trip and I’d just passed up my first opportunity.
Over lunch we got caught up on our lives, then walked back to the Science Museum where we had a grand old time exploring the Launchpad interactive exhibit, then pottered around the Victoria and Albert Museum until closing time. Of course, in this heat, we dunked our feet into the shallow pool in the V&A courtyard along with half the other visitors.
Raison d’Etre (South Kensington)
18 Bute Street
London SW7 3EX
Nearest Tube: South Kensington