Plane Food Review (continued)

Apologies for not finishing up my review of Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food. I was so excited about Berlin and the Obama speech that I decided it could wait so better late than never.

Some people, perhaps most, find Gordon Ramsay to be obnoxious, arrogant, and downright mean. They view him as just another member of the celebrity chef epidemic that has hit our TV channels, magazine racks, and radio waves in recent years. The whole concept of celebrity chefs is a topic that deserves a blog post of its own so I won't go much more into detail about my feelings on the subject here. All I'll say is that I do believe the Mario Batalis, Alice Waters, Anthony Bourdains, even Gordon Ramsays and Marco Pierre Whites of celebrity chef fame have a place in our gastronomic world. Seriously, where would our (mostly meaning Americans) palates be today without Julia Child or M.F.K. Fisher?

Gordon Ramsay - Plane Food

Now back to Plane Food. When I last left you readers I had missed my flight due to silly non-negotiable rules at Heathrow's T5. I wasn't really in the mood for retail therapy so decided this was the perfect chance to try out Plane Food. I wanted to eat there before but really, who wants to come to the airport an extra hour or so early just to eat at a new restaurant? Plane Food keeps in line with the entire T5 concept. The theme here is to offer passengers a swanky, sophisticated, upscale, and glamorous travel experience. As though you would expect Ingrid Bergman decked out in tailored gloves, matching clutch, a wide-brimmed hat strategically covering one eye and her impeccable locks to turn the corner with her porter carrying exotic crocodile skinned luggage behind her. I would say the architects and decorators delivered on this promise but perhaps not the chefs.

The food is supposed to be typical Ramsay style of traditional British fare at its best but he'll have to explain to me someday how croque madame and salmon ceviche are traditional British. To ensure its success, Ramsay brought in Stuart Gillies from his Boxwood Cafe property to run the kitchen. When the manager informed me of this I should have known what to expect from the food right then and there. I've only been to Boxwood Cafe once, but my opinion of it was good, not great, and definitely not worth the price. Plane Food was no different. I started with a small portion of the English beetroot salad including Fourme d’Ambert cheese, hazelnuts and green beans (£8). If you've ever watched an episode of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, you'll know that this simple crowd-pleaser is something he tends to feature on menus. It was just that, simple and pleasing. I followed this with a small portion of the celeriac risotto with peas, pine nuts and lemon (£8). This was much more impressive than my starter and brought the meal back up to a nearly inspiring point. The celeriac was blended through the sauce along with perfectly cooked chunks mixed into the rice. The English peas were extremely bright and fresh and popped when I bit down. The rice itself also had the perfect texture for risotto, smooth and creamy with just a little bite and pine nuts to add that final crunch. Finally the sprinkling of lemon zest really made this dish bright and fresh. I really lingered over this plate. I almost passed on dessert but finished with the special dessert of the day since I figured it was the least I deserved for my troubles. And it was the special so how could I resist? The macerated strawberries with mint on a meringue with clotted cream (£6) was again another excellent example of great texture in a dish with the soft sweet strawberries on the crunchy meringue. I was worried the clotted cream would be too heavy but the overall combination of flavors and textures blended very well into a dessert that was refreshing, not too sweet, and just enough to be satisfying and not sickening.

I do applaud Ramsay (and Stuart Gillies) for staying true to his belief in fresh high-quality ingredients, although several items definitely were not sourced locally (e.g. San Daniele prosciutto). The food is solid and tasty. As I alluded to previously, the overall experience was pleasing but not impressive especially for the price (particularly since I wasn't expensing this). If you've missed your flight and have some time to kill by treating yourself to a nice meal, then I would give Plane Food a try. For myself, I will likely be sticking to the free food, alcohol, and wifi in the T5 British Airways lounge.

The Damage

1 small bottle sparking water £1.85
1 glass Albarino wine £7.00
beetroot salad £8.00 (small)
celeriac risotto £8.00 (small)
strawberry/meringue dessert £6.00

12.5% service charge £3.86

Total = £34.71

Overall rating:



2.5 (out of 5 tube stops)

Ambience: According to the website, the architects "have crafted aerodynamic lines to conjure up shapes associated with flying". My take was that it's a beautiful, open, and bright space perfect for watching the world (or planes) go by. The decor was a throwback to the art deco style of the 1920's and 1930's where inspiration came from "modern" aviation. This period is also referred to as the golden age of flight (for the western world).

Drinks: I struggled with the wines by the glass list and ended up with an innocuous Spanish Albarino. Like the food, it went well with my meal but wasn't impressive. Sitting across from the bar I could see that they do offer an extensive list of spirits (some I've been challenged to find elsewhere in the UK) along with the somewhat short wine list.

Price range: £££ (out of ££££)

Reservations: They do offer reservations if you provide your flight number and departure time. However, the restaurant was about 20% full when I was there for lunch on a Monday and I would guess their capacity is for 50-75 persons. Also back to my previous comment, I don't know how many people would really take time out to plan and arrive at the airport extra early just to eat here.

Wahaca - Restaurant Review

I've been told by several readers that, although I take a ton of pictures and write a lot about what I eat, I need to do some proper restaurant reviews. Also, one of the most common questions I get is how is the food in London because the assumption is that the food in the UK is inedible. Since Yelp has failed me by not going international, I'll have to post my reviews on my blog. Here are the caveats on my reviews: 1) no these are not professional reviews so I'm not going to eat several times to try everything on the menu; 2) I will not go in costume unless I'm drunk or am in costume for some other reason; 3) yes the prices seem sky high if you convert to dollars, so don't; 4) these reviews are based on my tastes and opinions so if you don't agree, tough.

For my debut review I chose Wahaca restaurant near Covent Garden because a fair amount of Americans and most Californians who have relocated to the UK have been unable to find any decent Mexican food.

Wahaca - Mexican Market Eating

Wahaca was opened in 2007 by chef/owner Thomasina Miers. Although I was not here to follow the series, this was a highly anticipated opening since Chef Miers was the 2005 winner of MasterChef. As you've probably guessed, MasterChef is a BBC reality program where amateur chefs compete in weekly tasks to earn the title and take home a prize of working unpaid in a top London restaurant for one year. Chef Miers is a committee member of Slow Food in London and is a huge proponent of local farm to table sourcing so I had high expectations for Wahaca. The restaurant has also been awarded "Best Cheap Place to Eat in the UK" by The Observer Food Monthly Magazine which is a huge nod since dining out in London is decidedly always expensive or fast food.

The concept behind the food at Wahaca is Mexican market eating, the simple yet fresh and diverse food you would supposedly find walking down the streets of Oxaca, Mexico. I can't vouch for it's authenticity since I've never been to Mexico but the food at Wahaca was decidedly fresh, flavorful, and inexpensive. I ordered from the selection of smaller dishes which are served "tapas" style where you choose from a list of soft tacos, quesadillas (Mexican style), tostadas, or taquitos. They also serve soups, entree salads, and larger plates but given a choice I will always go for the variety of a few smaller dishes over one large entree.

I didn't plan my afternoon very well so by the time I reached the restaurant I was starving. I ordered the pork pibil soft tacos (£3.60) and tender, marinated chicken taquitos (£3.75). All orders are accompanied by a side of tomtaillo and tomato salsas and the restaurant's homemade habenero sauce which I didn't have the courage to try. The tacos are served in a trio with each about 1-1/2 in round. They are layered with a soft corn tortilla at the bottom, a dollop of black beans, shredded pork slow cooked in their special Yucatan marinade, and then a sprinkling of pickled red onions. The pork was moist, tender, and flavorful with the right amount of spiciness for my taste and the black beans not only added flavor but kept the pork from sliding off the tortilla. The red onions did add a nice contrasting tanginess but I would have like a little more crunch in this dish. I also added the tomato salsa on top for an added bonus. The taquitos were served in two with marinated chicken wrapped in a corn tortialla and deep fried. They were then topped with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, shredded Lancashire cheese, and something resembling sour cream that they call crema. Although the dish was good and I really enjoyed the texture, the chicken was a bit bland as I couldn't taste the marinade. I do applaud them for using white meat chicken, even though I prefer dark meat, since this is a cheap eats place.

I was able to finish the taquitos and two of the pork tacos and would have been fully satiated there but who could say no to churros y chocolate (£3.40). They served me three churros piped into tear drop shapes instead of the standard stick with a rich chocolate sauce. The churros were lightly sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, a little too lightly since barely any stuck to them and I would have preferred them to be a bit denser/cakier instead of doughy in the middle. The chocolate sauce more than made up for it though since it really was a rich sauce made from dark chocolate.

All in all the food was great, especially for the price and the flavors satisfied the California-Mexican side of me. The small dishes may be a bit small for some guys with a larger appertite but just come with a group and order a few dishes here and there until you're full. Also, a few points off for naming it Wahaca (the phonetic spelling of Oaxaca) presumably because they didn't trust people to pronounce it properly.

pork pibil soft tacos £3.60
chicken taquitos £3.75
churros y chocolate £3.40
agua fresca £1.25

total = £12 (+£1 for tip which isn't bad in the UK)

Overall rating:

1/2 (out of 5 tube stops)

(I chose tube stops as my rating marker since it was appropriately thematic and also represents the distance/trouble I would go to in order to dine there)

Ambience: The idea is supposed to be Mexican outdoor market so there is a hint of an outdoors brought indoors feeling. The space seems like a converted warehouse (complete with metal rolling doors) painted in vibrant yellows, greens, and turqouise blues. There are simple metal chairs and tables with some long wooden benches for a communal feel.

Drinks: I had the agua fresca which was pretty unmentionable. They do have a good list of beers, margaritas, and other cocktails which I'll have to try next time.

Price range: £ (out of ££££)

Reservations: They don't believe in them. Afterall, you're supposed to feel like you're out in a Mexican market. I tried to go another night with a friend for dinner and it was an hour wait.